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Everyone recoiled at Qi Yan's casual demand. "Slaughtered?!"
This wasn't a monster; this was a legendary Dragon! They had believed the idea that a single Dragon could annihilate a nation was an old wives' tale—until the last five minutes proved it to be stark, terrifying fact.
The purple-haired youth, Alazam, was still utterly unconcerned, watching Qi Yan with amused interest. Humans were prone to empty boasting. In his eyes, these were just the impotent yelps of an insect.
"So," Qi Yan repeated, his expression placid as he faced the enormous Dragon, "when will you put down my client?"
Alazam's lips curled into a nasty smirk. He tightened his grip on the King's neck and lifted him higher. "If you have the ability," he taunted playfully, "then come and get him yourself."
"Since that's the case," Qi Yan replied, his voice chillingly calm, "I won't hold back."
He drew the katana slowly from its sheath, then took a simple, deliberate step toward the Magic Dragon.
Alazam mentally choreographed the next few seconds: the human would attack, realize the futility of his effort, and then the Dragon would crush the King like an ant. Humans needed to be reminded of their place.
Qi Yan swiftly closed the distance and casually swung his blade toward the Dragon's wrist—neither fast nor slow, just the most ordinary-looking sword swing.
No harm at all, Alazam thought, dismissing it.
But just as the blade was about to touch his skin, Alazam's hair stood on end. An intense, primal instinct screamed at him. He sensed a terrifying, absolute danger.
The playful look vanished. Instinct took over.
Alazam instantly released the King and retreated rapidly, his massive feet sliding dozens of meters across the broken ground. He created a vast distance between himself and Qi Yan, his golden eyes reverting to slitted, bestial vertical pupils. He stared at Qi Yan as if he had just seen death itself.
"What?!"
"What happened?!"
"That monster... he actually retreated?!"
Everyone was dumbfounded. This creature hadn't flinched from Arthur's strongest ultimate move, yet it was driven back by Qi Yan's simple slash? They had believed Dragons were impervious to human hands. Now, they watched a Dragon, utterly wary, backing away from a man who was just a step slow.
"What a pity," Qi Yan muttered, shaking his head. He'd tried to suppress his killing intent, but a Dragon's danger sensing was truly extraordinary. If the creature hadn't retreated, he would have severed its claw.
"You fellow..." Alazam's voice was low, his previous arrogance replaced by a grim focus reserved only for a true enemy.
Qi Yan ignored him. He looked at the shaken King. "Your Majesty, are you alright?"
"I'm... I'm alright!" the King finally stammered.
"Good. Please return to the city. I'll take care of this fellow."
The King, recognizing that this was no time for heroics, nodded grimly. "Alright! I'll leave everything to you!" He roared the command: "Everyone! Retreat to the city!!!"
The soldiers and injured swordsmen swiftly aided one another, scrambling into the city. They knew they were useless here, only getting in the way.
Alazam sneered. "What good will retreating do? These city walls are no different from paper to us Dragons." He focused back on Qi Yan. "And you, human boy, do you want to be a hero?"
"A hero? I've already been a hero," Qi Yan said with a slight shrug. "What's the harm in being one again?"
"Interesting, kid. When you die, everyone else will die too."
"Is that so? Well, there's nothing I can do then. After all, I've tried my best. Perhaps this is fate!"
"In that case, go die!"
Alazam swung his claw, releasing five immense, razor-sharp slashes imbued with Dragon power. The ground where they passed was carved away like soft mud.
Qi Yan simply tapped his foot, sidestepping the massive attack.
Boom boom boom boom boom!
The slashes slammed into the hundred-meter-high city wall. The historic fortifications, which had withstood countless sieges, shattered like glass. The attack didn't stop there; it sliced straight through the city itself, only dissipating after tearing apart the wall on the opposite side.
"The city... has been cut in half---!!!"
Everyone stared in sheer horror at the divided cityscape. Such power—could a human truly fight this thing?
"Hey, hey!" Qi Yan called out, sounding genuinely annoyed. "If you're going to fight, don't destroy other people's property! That was someone's house they spent half their life saving for. You just destroyed it. Now they've worked for nothing, haven't they?"
A collective silence fell over the watchers on the ruined wall. This is not the time to worry about mortgages!
"Ah! My apologies!" Alazam grinned. "But who told these things to be so fragile? Don't worry though. I'll kill them all, so they won't have the pressure of a mortgage anymore."
He stomped his foot and charged, his enormous, Dragon-power-infused claw sweeping down to tear Qi Yan to shreds.
"Sun Breathing, Fourth Form: Setting Sun Catastrophe!"
Whoosh—!
The Dragon's claw sliced through empty air. The attack connected with nothing. Alazam was momentarily stunned; he'd seen himself connect, yet it was an illusion. Even his advanced Dragon vision hadn't tracked the movement.
Qi Yan reappeared instantly at the Dragon's side.
"Sun Breathing, First Form: Waltz!!"
He unleashed a powerful, arc-shaped crimson slash, aiming straight for Alazam's neck. The Dragon's expression twisted in terror, and he instinctively threw his arm up to block.
"Pfft!!"
"Ugh ah ah ah!!"
Blood sprayed. The Dragon screamed, his body violently sent flying backward.
Boom boom boom boom!
Alazam's massive frame shattered tree after tree in the forest, finally skidding to a halt against a colossal redwood.
"It's injured!!"