CH 567: Absolute Light (Patreon)

For the first time in nearly twenty years, the roar of a dragon once again filled heaven and earth, forcing all beings to acknowledge its might.

For the people of Lustburg, many old soldiers or citizens had tears forming at the corner of their eyes as they watched the majestic entity that appeared.

Ten meters tall, more than 50 meters long. Crimson scales on its back glimmering with golden scales under its belly, a beautiful mix of colors that did nothing more than increase the power it was emanating.

Even though they were not present on the battlefield, many of them started kneeling with their hands gathered in prayers.

After all, while this form might be foreign for the younger ones, they could never forget it. It may be slightly smaller, but this form was undoubtedly that of Her Majesty.

Blaze Dragona. The Queen of Lustburg.

While Mars enjoyed popularity out of this world in Lustburg, the one who garnered the most fear and respect was undoubtedly Blaze herself. Because her appearance was always the precursor of victory.

Her roars were always the signs that they did not have to worry and could leave everything to her.

Whenever she appeared, with Mars on her back, the soldiers knew that this fight would only have one outcome.

After losing both of their symbols, Lustburg had been sluggish. The economy fell, their influence diminished, and the nobles were plotting. Citizens could only await, hoping that a just King would come.

Sol never showed such a sign.

A young man who had been imprisoned all his life in a gilded cage while being pampered by the regent Queen.

While he made an impressive showing in the Gladiator match, this was it. He was not even a Duke. So what could they expect from him?

Even Mars Luxuria, the Hero King, took 3 years of training before actually reaching the King Rank. What could they expect from Sol in just a few months? Not even a full year yet?

Then war happened, they lost, they won, but none of this had anything to do with Sol. The citizens could not see all the negotiation he was doing. They could not see all the steps he was taking.

All they could see was that when Lustburg was losing, the one who stepped up first was the Princess. Making honor to her Mother's name, she defeated two sages with extraordinary means.

Then the Knight came, The White Knight managed to stop the advance of Wratharis. The same with Nuwa and finally —Setsuna Ira. Not even a true resident of Lustburg. She was the one who truly managed to bring the war to a stalemate, and everything was reversed after the Rangers took the field.

Victories after victories. Impressive showing after one. Legends were born from the battlefield, and all the citizens could see was that — The prince was not one of those legends.

Even now he was hiding in his golden cage, doing nothing but gazing at the distance as citizens died.

The negative rumors that followed, while of unknown origins, spread like wildfire as the negative sentiment against Sol was at an all-time high.

The prince was a fraud.

The prince was a coward.

The prince was even more useless than the Puppet King.

The prince was a shame to the bloodline of the Hero King.

Such sentiments became so prevalent, that there was no doubt that if the Blessed systems did not exist, the population would have risen in rebellion and asked for a new Prince to take his place.

All this negativity, all these suspicions, all those doubts.

—All of them vanished at this very instant alongside the roar of the Giant dragon.

***

In the Battlefield, Sol had no care for the changes in feelings the population of Lustburg was experiencing.

For him, such concerns were nothing but a simple trifle, not worthy of attention in comparison to the fight that was happening.

The Bull King was trembling. Even though he was a very powerful fighter, one who had seen hundreds of battlefields, he had never faced a true dragon outside of Blaze in the past, and to this date, the only ones who truly fought against a Dragon were Jialong and Sun Wukong.

‘How is this possible?’

His limbs felt frozen. His body was completely stiff, so much so that even breathing was ridiculously hard for him.

The feeling had when one was facing an apex predator. All his instincts were screaming at him, telling him that he was facing something that was beyond anything he could deal with.

That they were not on the same level. Two dimensions that were completely different.

The Bull King understood intellectually what was happening. This was Dragon Might. The natural pressure all dragons emanated.

But how could such pressure come from a Duke?

How the hell was this even a Duke!?

[Bull King. Once again, be proud. You are the first person to face this form. Your name will forever go down in history.]

The voice coming from his maw had nothing human anymore, and the way the King was looking at him was infinitely cold. Whereas before he felt pity and indifference, now it was as if he was gazing at something unworthy to be in its presence.

The Bull King should have been angry. But what stunned him the most was that, somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice seemed to whisper that this was reality. There was nothing wrong with this gaze that, in fact, even gazing at the majestic appearance of this dragon was something he should be proud of.

[Worms should not share the same sky as me.]

The dragon moved, and one palm filled with sharp claws was raised before pressing down toward him. This was enough for the Bull King to snap out of his daze and try to fight back, but he helplessly realized that his own body still refused to move, seemingly weighted down by an infinite mass. He had the feeling that the weight of the entire world was on his shoulders.

Space was under the control of the Dragon Prince and so was Gravity.

“I will not yield!”

The Bull King screamed, showing his defiance and refusal to bow in front of Heaven. But like the cries of all mortals who screamed at the injustice of the world — They were useless.

Whoosh!

The Bull King was swapped down like a fly and crashed against the ground at such a high speed that it seemed like a bomb had gone off. Large-scale destruction followed as everything in a hundred-meter radius was destroyed because of the shockwave that followed.

But this did not stop there.

The form one had would always affect his psyche, and Sol, in his full Dragon form, felt nothing but pure revulsion at the simple thought of wasting more time fighting against something that was nothing but a bug to him.

His large wings opened wide, showing a mixture of Gold and crimson scales intertwined in a beautiful schematic. Sol did not understand why his scales, which were usually Golden, had this crimson hue in his full dragon, nor did he care to know.

All he knew was that the mountain in front of him was a bother, and as such, he would destroy it.

Sol grinned, and his form seemed to be nothing more than the malevolent grin of an evil dragon. He remembered the first time he met Kiyohime, the first time he witnessed the true power of a true Dragon. He had been envious then. But now… His eyes flickered. It was time to test something. Raising his long serpentine neck, Golden light gathered in his throat, going from his stomach until it reached its maw.

Above him, pure mana appeared all around, seemingly gathering under his call. Water, Wind, and fire, three of the four fundamental elements in magic all came together and fused before being swallowed him by him.

For a few seconds, silence seemed to fall on the battlefield.

All those who were observing these fights, both in the fortresses or through the large screens floating in the sky, opened their eyes wide as they witnessed what followed.

They watched as the dragon opened its maw wide; they shivered as they observed the sharp row of teeth that seemed ready to tear everything apart.

Finally, they felt pure fear as the dragon finally unleashed his attack. He opened wide,

<<Dragon Breath: Prototype Light of Destruction.>>

Crimson light bloomed —And everything was erased in its wake.