Chapter 56: A Tangled Dance of Fangs and Blades!
Like ink poured into a clear pool, darkness spread like a surging spring. Facing the blazing sun-like sword descending from the heavens, the Black Dragon immediately flapped its wings, dyeing the sky black with purple-black chaotic scale powder in an attempt to conceal its form. Under this magical interference, all communication and reconnaissance methods were blocked, and even prophecy spells could not locate its position.
But this was utterly useless. Joshua had already locked onto the Black Dragon's aura.
After completing the professional quest for the Chaos Warden, the warrior had obtained two talents, [Purifying Radiance] and [Chaos Nemesis], which allowed him to easily see through the purple-black chaotic mana and mist—the dragon's movements were nothing more than meaningless struggle in his eyes.
Riding a crimson streak of light that tore through the atmosphere, even sound was left behind. Howling icy winds brushed past his ears, blowing the warrior's hair wildly like a demon or god. Joshua gripped the silver greatsword wrapped in golden lightning, watching as he rapidly approached that dark cloud of mist, his gaze utterly unflinching.
When was the last time he had slain a dragon?
It seemed like a very long time ago.
Chaos Black Erosion Dragon... The thought of soon killing this powerful opponent that could threaten his life made the warrior's heart pound violently. Power surged through his blood, spreading throughout his body, and his soul was invigorated.
"—Hoo!"
The air screamed. A pure black beam shot out from the ink-like mist. The air was struck by high heat, scattering escaping lightning. Snow and frost along the way vaporized into nothingness. This dragon's breath was incredibly fast, carrying infinite heat as it struck directly at Joshua, but the warrior cleaved it apart with a single sword stroke—using the sword as a dividing point, the two separated black chaotic beams brushed past the warrior's body. The scorching air struck his skin but left no trace.
The exchange ended, and he accelerated again. Joshua plummeted rapidly through the air, charging toward the Black Dragon. The mountains and rivers below rapidly approached, and the distance between them grew shorter and shorter. Behind the warrior, rumbling sonic booms continuously erupted but could not catch up to his speed.
"—Hoo hoo hoo!"
The mist was torn apart from within. One, two, three, and then more beams shot out endlessly. To block this crimson figure in the sky, the Black Dragon frantically spewed dragon's breath while flapping its wings to descend rapidly, trying to create distance.
Dodge, accelerate, block and cleave. Joshua smoothly dealt with the enemy's obstacles. He had handled dragon counterattacks so many times that he could block them purely on instinct. The warrior's eyes pierced through the increasingly thin black mist, staring intently at the rapidly approaching Black Dragon, muttering to himself.
"The most vulnerable moment—"
His voice was torn apart by the gale, scattered in the air. At this moment, Joshua could see every detail of the dragon's body. The black-gold dual-colored body of the giant dragon was incredibly fluid. Its powerful dragon wings bore strange patterns, radiating chaotic fluctuations, while a single golden horn stood erect, as if it could pierce the sky.
Golden dragon pupils met the warrior's crimson eyes. With a furious glare, the pressure of nature's supreme ruler surged forth. But Joshua gripped the divine mechanism greatsword tightly with both hands, showing no fear. Black-red light flames erupted from his entire body, converging on the blade into a blinding, dazzling golden lightning. Light flowed within it, and all things seemed to freeze for an instant.
"ROAR!!"
The Black Dragon also abandoned its retreat. As a dragon, its instinct transcended the opposition between chaos and order. It roared, flapped its wings, and instantly all the remaining black mist around it gathered, then converged into its fang-filled maw. The gale mixed with the scent of destruction spilled out. This was the strongest breath it had used since that siege. The threat of death rose in the hearts of both parties, but neither man nor dragon backed down.
The most vulnerable moment—the instant before preparation, the instant before attack—the instant before spitting!
Crimson battle qi exploded behind him, creating a massive ring-shaped shockwave. Joshua's speed increased another level. Carrying the power of the sun and the descent from the high heavens, he raised his arm. Instantly, all the radiance on the silver greatsword contracted. The lightning dimmed, and the light vanished completely!
"Die!"
With a sharp shout, the formless sword light blazed and expanded!
Like the sun's radiance wheeling across the sky, endless lightning bloomed here. The previously contracted light was released entirely in that instant. The formless battle qi light, like a solid substance, pushed and compressed the air, emitting a thunderous explosion!
"BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!!"
Unable to aim its breath in time, the Black Dragon was struck by Joshua's sudden acceleration. The violent explosion and impact caused it to lose control of its mana. With a low, pained roar, a black breath far surpassing the previous ones shot straight out, grazing the warrior's left side without hitting its target accurately.
This beam electrified the atmosphere. The scorching smell of air being decomposed and burned spread rapidly. Chaotic mana dissipated, and instantly a large chunk of flesh was missing from Joshua's left arm. The high heat carbonized the wound, preventing blood from spilling.
Even the Steel Armor Breathing Art combined with divine mechanism resonance enhancement could not withstand this breath that could destroy all matter—but compared to the Black Dragon, whose half-dragon wing had been severed and chest cleaved open by a third, the wound on the warrior's body was negligible!
The greatsword, comparable in size to a human body, was embedded in the dragon's chest. Purple-black blood gushed out wildly. The Black Dragon's aura rapidly declined. Although this massive blade was merely a small knife in front of the dragon's body, this small knife carried lightning and speed. One strike could shatter the hard dragon scales, muscles, skin, and bones together. Flesh and blood were fragile under the assault of the blade. If the Black Dragon had not been physically strengthened by chaos, it might have been cleanly cut in half by this blow.
But it was not cut in half. Although the Black Dragon was severely wounded, its life flame had not yet been extinguished. The intense pain stimulated its brain. The instinctive impulses of chaos and frenzy immediately destroyed its intelligence. With its left wing and chest both injured, its two front limbs could not exert strength and could not attack the warrior on its chest. So the Black Dragon's eyes blazed with purple-blue light. It opened its massive maw, with frenzied black qi emanating from its fangs, and then lowered its head, biting toward Joshua, who was on its chest!
Before using tools, human teeth and nails were the strongest weapons. And a dragon's fangs were even sharper than swords. Not to mention the warrior's body—even the hardest metal could not withstand several bites from a dragon.
"Want to eat me?"
Clenching his left fist, the severely wounded left hand suddenly raised. A fierce rising uppercut smashed into the Black Dragon's lower jaw. The sound of bone shattering rang out simultaneously from the warrior's left fist and the dragon's jaw. The warrior used his nearly shattered left hand to firmly prop up the dragon's jaw, preventing it from biting down further.
Under the immense pressure, the massive wound on his arm, which had been cauterized by the dragon's breath's heat, burst forth with countless black-red blood plasma. Joshua gritted his teeth, ignoring how the muscles and bones of his left arm were gradually collapsing under the dragon's great force. Standing on the Black Dragon's chest, he tightly gripped the silver-white greatsword with his right hand, trying to continue cutting downward.
But he no longer had the momentum from falling from the high heavens. The golden sunlight radiance had also been consumed in the previous strike. In the tangled fight with the Black Dragon, he could not continue to gather battle qi to use a finishing move. Although the silver-white divine mechanism was still slowly cleaving through the dragon's tough, steel-like flesh and bones, causing blood carrying chaotic mana to wash over the warrior's entire body like a fountain, the speed was far too slow.
"Open up!"
Mobilizing a trace of remaining battle qi for an explosion, crimson light flashed. A piercing sonic boom erupted beneath Joshua's feet. He stomped violently. The atmosphere, sound, and the dragon's body were all torn apart. Then he pierced through the Black Dragon's chest, stomping a large hole in its body. The force transmission even collapsed a rib.
But regardless, the human body was far too small when facing a dragon. Even though this explosion had cleaved open part of the Black Dragon's ribs and chest, it still had not reached the heart. Sensing the life threat increasing sharply, the frenzied Black Dragon continued to roar, trying to bite this damned warrior on its chest to death.
In the air, the dragon and the man, locked in mutual attack and struggle, had no time to continue flying. So, accompanied by the falling gale, both of them rapidly plummeted toward the surging beast tide below, which was besieging a deep cyan streak of light!