As Ye Han awoke from his meditation, two tremendous auras pressed down from the sky, breaking through his array and making it difficult for him to breathe.
Looking up, Ye Han saw in the sky not far ahead, a twenty-zhang long black dragon circling in the air, its massive body covered with black scales that shimmered in the sunlight with a chilling brilliance. Its wings, each spanning fifty zhang when fully spread, flapped powerfully.
The magical beast "Black Dragon" belongs to the top echelon of magical beasts within the dragon race. Among them, the Black Dragons are known for their immense strength and defensive power. A ninth-order Black Dragon's strength and defense are comparable to a human saintly order powerhouse.
In front of the Black Dragon, a hundred zhang away, stood a figure in a gray robe, standing tall in the howling winds. Despite the fierce gusts, he stood straight like a spear, as stable as a boulder, his gaze fixed on the Black Dragon, a long sword on his back.
The Black Dragon in the air was confronting the man in the gray robe.
Only wind-elemental beasts and wind mages who cast flying spells can remain in the air like this, apart from those who have reached the saintly order. The stillness of the Black Dragon and the man in the gray robe clearly denoted their status.
Black Dragon, a saintly order Black Dragon.
Swordsman, a saintly order swordsman.
Witnessing the two saintly order powerhouses in the sky, Ye Han was greatly alarmed.
With a roar, the Black Dragon let out a furious cry, its giant wings beating furiously, its terrifying presence bending the trees on the ground and leaving Ye Han feeling breathless and weak.
"This is the aura of the saintly order," Ye Han exclaimed in alarm.
After escaping from a ninth-order aura, Ye Han had thought that ninth-order was all there was, and that saintly order might only be ten times stronger. But now, feeling the aura emitted by the Black Dragon, he realized how naive his previous thoughts had been.
The saintly order was indeed very powerful.
"Autrus, do not go too far!" came a loud shout from the Black Dragon, echoing like thunder.
With that shout, the Black Dragon also withdrew its saintly aura. With the oppressive aura gone, Ye Han quickly ran to a large, dense tree and quietly observed the sky.
From what the Black Dragon had said, it was clear that there was a conflict between the two saintly order powerhouses, and a grand battle was inevitable. Ye Han watched intently, eager to understand more about the powerhouses of this world.
"Niraseck, since you are so stubborn, do not blame me for resorting to force," a cold voice sounded from the sky, just as loud as the Black Dragon's. The Black Dragon, infuriated, roared and spewed out black flames from its mouth. The dragon flames, far hotter and more powerful than any flame a fire mage could produce.
"Autrus, today I will see how powerful a human saintly order swordsman really is," the Black Dragon roared.
With a roar, the Black Dragon unleashed a torrent of black flames towards Autrus.
However, Autrus stomped in the air, causing ripples of space to spread from beneath his feet. His body shot towards the Black Dragon like a bullet, dodging the dragon flames.
Autrus's body suddenly shone with a dazzling red light, accompanied by the sound of a sword's hum louder than the Black Dragon's roar.
With his long sword, he swung, creating a ten-zhang long red sword light that slashed fiercely towards the Black Dragon Niraseck. The Black Dragon coldly watched the giant sword light approach without a hint of dodging, instead, murmuring a magical incantation.
As the Black Dragon recited the incantation, energy from within a hundred zhang rapidly converged, and hundreds of sharp ice spikes, each one zhang wide and three zhang long, formed out of thin air.
At the moment the incantation was completed, the red sword light was less than five zhang away from the Black Dragon.
"Ice Spiral Pierce!"
The Black Dragon shouted, and the massive ice spikes scattered, covering the area where the red sword light was attacking and completely blocking any space Autrus could dodge to.
With a "boom," the red sword light collided violently with the ice spikes. The intense explosion could still be faintly heard even from kilometers away. The shockwaves spread out from the explosion.
Dragons not only have great strength and defense but are also natural magicians capable of casting magic from any element. This is what makes the dragon race formidable. However, the heavens are fair; while granting dragons immense talents, their reproductive ability is significantly reduced. It takes a thousand years to breed a single dragon egg, which is why their numbers have always been small
. Otherwise, the world would have long been ruled by dragons.
"Is this the true power of the saintly order? A casual swing can unleash such a formidable attack." Ye Han watched the brief clash between the dragon and the man in the sky and marveled.
He tightly gripped the tree trunk to prevent being blown away by the wind, swallowing hard as he looked at the forest, now in ruins due to the powerful residual energy of the battle.
The short exchange did not cause any harm to either party. At their level, the so-called probing attacks were superfluous. Their every move was a powerful technique.
Autrus made no superfluous movements, with a clear shout, and a dense array of sword shadows, with the sound of tearing the air, suddenly appeared in front of the Black Dragon, enveloping it completely.
However, this envelopment did not last long. A violent explosion roared as a massive black tail swept through the dense sword shadows, and a splash of blood blossomed in the air.
The Black Dragon's huge pupils suddenly flared with a purple light, its massive claw smashing down towards where the man in the gray robe stood, disregarding the human's attack.
The claw tore through the resistance of the air, and sharp sonic booms resonated in the sky.
Watching the Black Dragon's assault, Autrus's face grew solemn. At this moment, Autrus was caught between moves, unable to defend against the Black Dragon's strike.
The claw tore through the layers of space, reaching Autrus in a blink. Autrus's body suddenly glowed bright red, his powerful fighting spirit forming a huge energy shield around him in an attempt to fend off the Black Dragon's attack.
With a "crack," the claw struck the energy shield. A sudden surge of dark light and a crisp cracking sound shattered the shield, dispersing it in less than a moment's time. In the brief span of a breath, which is enough for saintly order powerhouses to accomplish much, Autrus retreated ten zhang away. But he had underestimated the Black Dragon's attack; the claw, having broken through the energy shield, accelerated again and slammed down on Autrus, who was now ten zhang away.
With a "boom," the claw struck Autrus fiercely.
Accompanied by a thick mist of blood, Autrus was carried by the enormous force of the explosion, crashing into the forest, raising a cloud of dust.
"Now you've really angered me, Niraseck," Autrus's cold voice flew out from the forest.
"The noble dragon race will never submit to the lowly humans. Your desire to make me your magic pet is an insult to our proud race, and you will pay a heavy price," the Black Dragon roared. Its huge wings beat fiercely, stirring a wild wind.
At this point, Ye Han understood why they were fighting. Autrus wanted to subjugate the Black Dragon as his magic pet. How could the proud dragon race ever submit to another creature?
Magic pets are magical beasts bound by a contract to fight for their owner, greatly enhancing the owner's combat abilities. To contract a magical beast, there are only two ways: overpower it into willing submission, or obtain a magical beast egg and hatch it with a blood drop. However, both methods are not easy.
Ye Han admired Autrus's courage to attempt to subdue a dragon, especially a saintly order Black Dragon as a magic pet. It was absolute confidence in one's own strength.