Chapter 982
– “Well, you’re not wrong.”
Wrath narrowed his eyes, watching the violently trembling sand mountain.
– “If we’d kept going like that, we wouldn’t have saved the dwarves or the humans.”
“Right. The Light Wind would’ve been in danger too, but some of the hostages would have definitely died.”
Raon brushed the sand from his hands and nodded.
“Desius’s lair has a boundary spell.”
A defensive spell covered the lair—one that roasted anything entering or leaving, turning intruders and even fleeing hostages into ash.
“If we dug into the sand like that, Latiru and the dwarves waiting inside would have all died.”
As Latiru had warned, Azure Dragon Desius wasn’t just powerful—he was a cunning lizard.
“You crazy bastard!”
Martha burst up from the sand like she was swimming, screaming at him.
“Why are you actually doing this!”
Burren’s patience snapped as he clenched his teeth.
“Haa…”
Runaan calmly brushed sand from her clothes, as if she understood there must be a reason.
“That’s enough! I’m calling you an enemy! An enemy!”
“Why interfere when you’re the one who gave the mission!”
“What do you want, you damned demon!”
The Light Wind Palace swordsmen yelled as they emerged from the sand.
-There’s no demon like that!
Wrath grimaced at being compared to Raon.
-But today… I understand them.
He shut his eyes tightly, pitying the Light Wind kids.
“If you kept going like that, not only you but the hostages inside would’ve been roasted.”
Raon clicked his tongue at their scrunched faces.
“What…? Really?”
Martha blinked in disbelief.
“I kept spreading Aura Sense, but I felt nothing…”
Burren trembled, having sensed no flow at all.
“I think… there’s a very faint one…”
Runaan narrowed her eyes, picking up the subtle mana only now.
“Th-Then…”
“For us?”
“Lord Raon…”
The Light Wind swordsmen bit their lips—they finally understood why he acted.
“An Ancient Dragon can easily set up magic that deceives your Aura Sense.”
Raon shook his head.
“Latiru even warned you that Desius isn’t just strong, but cunning. You should’ve examined the lair more carefully. Minus points.”
He clicked his tongue. Their plan wasn’t bad—just poorly investigated.
‘If they checked properly, they would’ve found the distortion in the mana.’
Desius hadn’t fully concealed the boundary spell, underestimating his captives. There were distortions anyone careful enough could detect.
-Honestly, not easy.
Wrath frowned at their embarrassed faces.
-It’s like threading a needle—checking flow without alerting an Ancient Dragon.
He nodded sympathetically.
“So Lord Raon was trying to save us…”
Dorian clasped his hands dramatically.
“No.”
Raon shook his head without hesitation.
“I don’t care if you burn. But I have a promise with Latiru.”
Breaking the Light Wind’s confidence was fine. Letting hostages die wasn’t.
“So I’m saving the hostages. You stop the lizard.”
Raon waved casually and dove back into the sand.
Kugugugugugu!
The ground trembled as the sand mountain collapsed. Then a massive, eerie-red-scaled transcendent figure rose.
A neck so long its end vanished into the sky, wings wide enough to blanket the desert—Azure Dragon Desius revealed himself.
Gooooooo!
His blazing red eyes radiated murderous intent. Dragon Fear swept through the Light Wind swordsmen.
Uuuuuuuu!
Their hands shook around their swords, sweat rolling down their faces as the Ancient Dragon’s killing intent pressed on them.
They all thought the same thing:
‘Raon Zieghart… you crazy bastard!’
How are we supposed to fight that?!
* * *
Kugugugugu!
Azure Dragon Desius narrowed his eyes at the trembling humans.
‘These bugs dare…’
He’d been enjoying new tributes from his slaves when humans insulted him—calling him a lizard.
For the first time in thousands of years, he had been mocked.
So he burst from his lair, intending to crush them all.
But looking closely, the humans weren’t complete insects.
‘More than one Grand Master… maybe several.’
They weren’t on his level, but strong enough to challenge an Ancient Dragon.
‘Still not a threat.’
They trembled under his aura. One swing of his tail could wipe them out.
‘Kill half, torture the rest for information.’
No one except Dragonkind knew he lived here. Someone leaked it.
Kugugugugu…
Just as he raised his colossal tail—
“Hey! You idiots! Don’t be scared!”
A black-haired woman exploded forward, drawing her sword.
“We endured that crazy bastard’s training! A lizard like that is nothing!”
She stomped the ground, refusing to lose before the fight began.
“Yeah. We’ll win.”
The silver-haired woman raised her sword, cold killing intent in her eyes.
“We can do it…”
Runaan calmly prepared, unaffected by his aura.
“Lord Raon wouldn’t give us an impossible mission! Rescue the hostages and kill the lizard!”
The blue-haired swordsman stepped forward.
“Formation!”
At his shout, the trembling swordsmen moved as one, gathering their aura.
Paaaaaa!
A cold shiver ran up Desius’s spine at the sharpened sword aura rising from them.
‘This could be dangerous…’
He wouldn’t die, but he might be injured. The Lord had ordered him to conserve strength for the coming war.
‘Use the hostages.’
Those humans clearly prioritized saving the hostages.
If he used them as shields, it would end instantly.
[Come out.]
He summoned the slaves. They always obeyed—they couldn’t defy him.
But none came.
[What…?]
He sent Mana into the lair.
‘They’re gone?’
Impossible.
The slaves were gone. The overseers were dead. Not even a trace remained.
His eyes twitched.
[What have you done!]
He roared at the humans—
BOOM!
The sand behind him erupted.
“Ah, good. I made it in time.”
A blond-haired, red-eyed human stepped out, licking his lips.
Behind him stood the dwarves and humans Desius had enslaved—alive, dazed, free.
[Was it you!]
Desius gnashed his teeth.
[I don’t know what you did, but it’s pointless. You won’t leave alive…]
Normally he would’ve unleashed magic immediately, but his hands wouldn’t move.
A chill ran through him.
‘Something’s wrong with that human.’
He felt a foreign, unsettling aura.
He tried gathering mana to examine him—
“Are you sure you want to keep staring at me?”
The blond-haired swordsman tilted his head.
[Shut—]
Pain burst through Desius’s leg.
Pueooo!
The human swordsmen had slipped behind him, breaking mana barriers and scales, carving a deep wound.
[What!?]
Desius’s eyes widened. He had raised three shields. They pierced all of them.
“We got through!”
“If we amplify Astral Ring with the Light Wind Sword Formation, it works!”
“Let’s go!”
Their momentum surged.
[You insects!]
Desius summoned a rain of fire—narrow but strong enough to incinerate them.
“Scatter!”
The blue-haired swordsman shouted.
Paaaaang!
They scattered instantly, slicing the trailing flames.
“Gather!”
As soon as the spell ended, they regrouped and struck again.
[Th-these pests!]
Desius conjured a massive flame spear and hurled it.
Kuwah!
The explosion swept across the field.
[Maggots…]
He turned, expecting charred corpses—
Paaaaaang!
They burst through the flames unharmed, striking again.
[Defense!]
He activated Dragon Tongue, halting their blades just in time.
‘Damn humans…’
If he’d been a moment slower, they would’ve severed his leg.
[Get lost!]
He unleashed a storm with Dragon Tongue and blew them back.
“It works?”
The black-haired woman licked her lips.
“Training in the sand was worth it. With Aura, the heat is manageable.”
The blue-haired man nodded.
“But it’s still hot…”
The silver-haired girl stuck out her tongue.
[Damn insects!]
Desius trembled with rage.
‘They’re a nuisance… but that blond one is the real threat.’
The one standing behind them—the one whose presence restricted him.
‘I’ll kill him first.’
He opened the Dragon Heart fully.
Uuuuuung!
Fire magic roared forth.
Kuwah!
A chain explosion of scorching light and heat engulfed the blond human—
Sizzling, melting the gray sand into glowing molten metal.
Huuuuuk!
When the blast cleared—
The blond-haired swordsman and the slaves behind him were unharmed.
[Huh…?]
Desius froze.
[What did you do!]
His magic—cut cleanly. As if erased.
[Kuaaaa!]
The Light Wind swordsmen struck again, deepening his irritation.
“Ignore me. Focus on them. Fight at our level.”
The blond-haired swordsman clicked his tongue arrogantly.
[A bug who doesn’t know his place!]
Desius spread his wings. The wind pressure alone pushed the Light Wind back.
Huuuuaah!
Their formation couldn’t reach him as he ascended.
[I wanted to leave you dwarves alone because of our past relationship… but fine! I’ll erase you all!]
He gathered atmospheric Mana, eyes burning with hatred.
[Resent the humans—you all die because of them!]
He opened his enormous jaws.
Heat that could burn the world gathered at his maw—
Kugugugugugu!
The Red Dragon’s strongest weapon.
Breath of Fire.
* * *
“As expected.”
Raon licked his lips.
“He’s coming out like that.”
Dragons—born as the strongest race—couldn’t tolerate being challenged by humans. Rather than fight smart, they tried to crush everything with overwhelming force.
“R-Raon! Shouldn’t we stop him?!”
Martha stomped her feet.
“Y-Yeah! It’s coming…!”
Burren’s voice shook.
“Wow… two suns…”
Runaan blinked as the Dragon’s Breath blazed beside the real sun.
“Uwaaaa!”
“Kuaaaa!”
Dorian and Krein screamed while clinging to each other.
“Look at that bastard just STANDING THERE!”
Trevin had already given up.
“Fi-Fire Breath…”
“What do we do now!”
“We’re dead!”
“We shouldn’t have come! We should’ve stayed underground!”
The rescued humans cried out in despair.
“No… this is better.”
“Better than being tormented by that Dragon…”
“We are the proud children of the earth. We won’t beg.”
Some dwarves trembled, but most raised their burned fists proudly.
“Don’t give up.”
Latiru stepped forward.
“These people were sent by Borgos. He would never send them thoughtlessly.”
His faith in Borgos outweighed everything.
“To speak Lord Borgos’s name…”
Raon smiled faintly at Latiru.
“Then I can’t move carelessly. I’ll keep my promise.”
He planted the Heavenly Drive and the Soul Requiem Sword into the scorched desert floor.
[It’s over!]
Desius widened his jaws and unleashed the fully condensed Breath of Fire.
Huuuuuu!
Even before the Breath of Fire could reach them, a scorching wind crashed down, stealing their breath and crushing what remained of their fighting spirit.
[Erased completely… Hmm?]
As Desius continued to spew his Breath, a golden sun and a silver moon rose on either side of him.
[I don’t know what you’re doing, but it’s already too late!]
Certain of his flames, he exhaled to the very limit. He fully expected the arrogant human’s face, the swordsmen who wounded him, and the slaves he had toyed with for so long to disappear without a trace. He slowly began closing his jaws when—
Hwaaaaaaa!
A clear, icy wind brushed past the tip of his nose, and time seemed to halt.
The Breath froze midair, unable to fall to the ground.
[What….]
Desius blinked in disbelief at a sight he had never witnessed since the moment he was born.
The Breath of Fire—meant to swallow the entire desert—was crystallized in an instant by blue frost and shattered into thousands of pieces.
Kyaaaaaaang!
Amid the cascading shards of ice laced with red flame, the golden-haired, red-eyed human twisted his lips into a cold smirk.
“I told you. Worry about those guys over there.”
Raon jerked his chin toward the swordsmen of the Light Wind Palace, frost gathering in his gaze.
“I’m telling you—you’re no match for me”