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The sight was intoxicating. On the city wall, the crowd erupted in cheers, a wave of hope washing over the paralyzed masses.
Moments ago, neither the King's magic nor the strikes from Arthur and his knights could scratch the purple-haired demon. But Qi Yan's attack? It drew blood.
They finally understood. That flicker of fear, that immediate retreat—it was all because of the swordsman.
There is still hope!
Humanity can defeat the Dragon!
The King stared, disbelief etched across his face. "He wounded a Dragon... without Dragon Slayer Magic? That's... that's simply unbelievable!"
Arthur was vibrating with excitement. "As expected of Yoriichi—no, Mr. Qi Yan! This swordsmanship has reached its absolute peak!"
Clay, gripping the hilt of his broken sword, could only muster a single word. "What a monster..."
He had attacked, aiming for the creature's neck, only to have his own blade shatter. Yet, facing Qi Yan, this 'monster' had been forced to block.
The purple-haired young man looked down at his bleeding arms, his face twisting into a furious mask. "Brat. You've truly made me angry!"
A sound that ripped the sky apart followed. The young man's body began to warp, expand, and tear. Dragon horns stabbed out from his forehead. Purple scales erupted across his skin. Massive wings tore free from his back, and a spiked tail lashed out behind him.
In a horrifying, lightning-fast transformation, a purple Dragon, dozens of meters tall and radiating malevolence, stood in Qi Yan's place.
The purple Dragon unfurled its wings and roared a challenge to the heavens.
A terrifying shockwave slammed outward. The ground shattered into a thousand pieces, flipping and dissolving into dust. The mighty trees of the Demon Beast Great Forest snapped like twigs, instantly pulverized by the raw force.
Demon Beasts fled in blind panic. The very earth beneath the city wall trembled violently. Everyone on the battlements fell flat, prostrating themselves behind the stone to avoid the devastating impact.
Staring at the Dragon's towering, sky-obscuring body, a cold, heavy feeling descended on the humans: despair.
Just a roar could do this. How could mere humans possibly defeat such a powerful creature?
"Stop roaring," Qi Yan's voice cut through the chaos, somehow calm, somehow clear. "Has anyone ever told you that your roar is very unpleasant?"
The Dragon's massive head lowered. "Human brat. I was merely careless just now; that's why your attack wounded me. Now that I've returned to my original body, your attacks will be useless. Die!"
The maw of the purple Dragon opened, spewing a terrifying plume of purple Dragon's Breath.
Qi Yan gripped his sword, his stance low, and swung with explosive force. A blade of raging, brilliant flame erupted from his Nichirin.
The flame slash hit the Dragon's Breath dead center, cleaving the terrifying torrent cleanly in half.
"What?!" The purple Dragon watched in disbelief as the searing slash continued, striking its armored body.
The Dragon bellowed in pain. A visible wound, shallow but accompanied by a searing, intolerable agony, marked its scales.
"You... you foul creature! How is this possible?! How could a mere human's attack break through the defense of my Dragon Scales?!" Its massive eyes widened in pure shock. It knew this man was not a Dragon Slayer Mage. To wound it without that magic was impossible.
"Don't keep saying 'mere human,'" Qi Yan replied, his tone indifferent. "Didn't a 'mere human,' in your own words, annihilate your entire Dragon race? What right do you have to look down on us?"
He tightened his grip. "As for how I broke your defense? What? Did you really think your scales were strong?"
"BASTARD! DIE!"
The purple Dragon's colossal claw shot down, aiming to crush the annoying speck.
The impact shook the world. The ground exploded with a thunderous roar, collapsing and disintegrating in huge, cavernous sections.
"Sun Breathing, Fifth Form: Fire Wheel!"
Qi Yan was no longer there. His figure suddenly appeared behind the Dragon. Spinning in a blur, he unleashed a circular, blazing cut.
"Ow ————!!"
The Dragon roared. The attack hadn't gone deep, only a scratch, but the burning effect was like fire eating its soul.
The Dragon spun quickly.
"Sun Breathing, Tenth Form: Beneficent Radiance!"
Qi Yan dove, his descent a rapid, dizzying spiral of high-speed slashes.
"Ugh ah ah ah ah!"
The Dragon's chest and belly were immediately crisscrossed with wounds. The pain was unbearable, forcing a tortured scream from its huge lungs.
The Dragon endured the pain and lunged, claws outstretched, planning to seize the swordsman and torture him slowly.
"Sun Breathing, Third Form: Blazing Crimson Mirror!"
Qi Yan moved faster, delivering symmetrical slashes left and right.
Both massive Dragon claws were repelled, a wound appearing across each of its palms.
"Waaah ah ah ah ah! BASTARD!"
"Sun Breathing, Sixth Form: Burning Bone, Scorching Sun!"
Qi Yan's assault was relentless. He swung his blade, releasing a rotating, blazing torrent that slammed into the Dragon's abdomen.
The Dragon's colossal body was sent skidding back dozens of meters by the sheer force of the blow.
It fought through the agony, rushing back at Qi Yan, a fist imbued with deadly Dragon power swinging down.
"Sun Breathing, Seventh Form: Solar Heat Haze!"
Qi Yan met the blow without hesitation.
The Dragon's fist met the tip of the sun-forged blade.
The sword plunged fiercely into the massive fist, but the Dragon's sheer size and power were overwhelming. Qi Yan's body flew backward, the force too much to fully overcome.
A ferocious grin spread across the Dragon's face, seeing the human knocked back. It flapped its wings, shot into the air, and charged.
A moment later, Qi Yan checked his flight.
"Sun Breathing, Eleventh Form: Solar Halo Dragon Dance!"
Moving at superhuman speed, a fiery blur that resembled a living Dragon of fire passed through the purple Dragon's body.
More wounds opened.
"Wuwah ah ah ah ah! You damned bug!!!"
The purple Dragon attacked again and again in blind fury, its claws pulverizing the surrounding forest and ground into dust.
In a low whisper, almost lost in the roar, Qi Yan muttered, "It should be about time now."
The Dragon's inherently powerful hearing picked up the sound. 'About time now?' What did he mean? A sudden, crippling sense of dread surged through its heart.
Qi Yan gripped his long sword with both hands, his eyes focusing, his expression deadly serious. Accompanying a powerful, controlled breath, Qi Yan's entire body seemed to ignite with Raging, golden-red flames.
The Magic Dragon Alazam felt a lethal danger radiating from the human. No. It couldn't let him attack.
"Earth Shatter!"
The Dragon concentrated its immense magic, slamming its claws forcefully onto the ground.
The entire landscape trembled. The earth for hundreds of meters around exploded, turning into countless fragments that shot violently into the sky.
Qi Yan stood his ground on a single piece of upturned earth, defying gravity, hanging upside down in the chaos.
His expression was utterly unchanged. His gaze, fixed on the colossal Dragon below, did not waver as he poured every drop of his focus and magic power into his blade.
"Sun Breathing..."