The next day, Xia Mi rose early, but nothing unusual occurred at the forward command post. No one advanced toward the Nibelungen. Everyone simply remained quietly positioned a few kilometers away from the entrance.
Xia Mi felt extremely confused. Had the main force not arrived yet?
In fact, Xia Mi wasn't the only one confused. Everyone who hadn't witnessed Gustave and Norton's battle shared her bewilderment. However, since no orders had been issued, no one dared act rashly. They could only wait quietly.
After breakfast, it was nearly ten o'clock, but there was still no movement. Xia Mi grew increasingly anxious, so she asked in a low voice:
"Senior brother, where is the main force?"
Chu Zihang glanced at the time, then looked up at the sky, thinking: 'Could it be that Gustave overslept? No, I should go wake him up.'
Suddenly, thunder cracked across the sky and Gustave's figure materialized in the air above them.
"Well damn, is this entire spectacle to welcome me?"
Although Anjou and Gustave had discussed joining forces with China to slay the dragon, Gustave hadn't expected it to become such an enormous production.
"Mr. Gustave!"
When Anjou spotted Gustave's arrival, he waved, and Gustave descended toward him.
"Principal Anjou, so many people gathered just to welcome me? I'm truly flattered!" Gustave said with playful exaggeration after landing.
"Haha, to welcome Mr. Gustave, no spectacle is too grand. Shall we go inside to talk?"
"Of course."
Gustave followed Anjou into the command tent. Yesterday, Chu Zihang and Xia Mi had been allowed to enter and exit freely, but today, only the commanders of various forces were permitted inside.
"Senior brother, was that person just now the main force?" Xia Mi asked.
Although Xia Mi couldn't detect any aura emanating from Gustave, the thunderous arrival and the sheer presence he commanded told her that Gustave was an extraordinarily powerful existence—and his ability clearly involved controlling thunder.
"Yes, he's the main force for this operation," Chu Zihang replied with a smile.
Gustave hadn't overslept, and Chu Zihang didn't need to visit the Bamboo Staff to wake him. As long as Gustave had arrived, everything would proceed smoothly.
'Who is this person? I've never heard of him before. He's clearly human. Has such a being appeared in human history?' Xia Mi's mind swirled with layer upon layer of questions.
After a while, Gustave emerged from the command tent. No one outside knew what had been discussed within.
After exiting the tent, Gustave flew directly above the location of the Nibelungen.
'The dragons in this world are truly peculiar. Their raw strength is at most comparable to mine, yet they can fold space and create independent pocket kingdoms of their own.'
If Anjou and the others hadn't informed Gustave that the Nibelungen lay hidden below, even if he'd passed directly over this location, he wouldn't have noticed the anomaly. After investigating with his Observation Haki for a while, Gustave still couldn't pinpoint where the Nibelungen was concealed.
However, Gustave discovered the Nibelungen through his Rumble-Rumble Fruit abilities. He sensed the abnormality in the magnetic field of this location and realized a separate dimensional space existed right beneath his perception.
"Lucky for me that the fruit I accidentally swallowed was the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. If it had been something else, I'd have to enter your territory to fight you properly."
After determining the Nibelungen's location, Gustave spoke to himself.
Then, Gustave spread his arms wide, and countless blue electrical serpents erupted from his hands, blanketing a vast area of space before him.
Gustave exerted his power, using electrical fields to manipulate the magnetic field, then using the magnetic field to compress the space itself. Slowly, the Nibelungen began to shake violently. The sky cracked piece by piece, as if some terrifying existence was about to crawl forth from within.
"This person is absolutely terrifying!"
Xia Mi watched in shock as Gustave shattered the Nibelungen through sheer brute force. At this moment, she could finally perceive just how powerful Gustave had become. In her entire memory, only the Black King and the White King could compare to this level of strength.
Yuan Zhisheng felt equally terrified. He had arrived in China some time ago, but only yesterday had he rendezvoused with Anjou under the banner of Cassel Academy's Japanese branch, then rushed together to Kunlun.
Yuan Zhisheng had anticipated that this crusade against the King of Sky and Wind would be an extraordinarily brutal battle, but Gustave's appearance forced him to completely reassess that assumption.
'If this person can kill the King of Sky and Wind today, then we need to fundamentally re-evaluate our relationship with Cassel Academy.'
Yuan Zhisheng didn't believe that someone as powerful as Gustave truly belonged to Cassel Academy, but from the previous interactions, Gustave had clearly been summoned by Anjou. For the Japanese branch that had always desired independence, this represented a massive obstacle.
Yet Gustave was simultaneously an obstacle and an opportunity—at least, an opportunity for Yuan Zhisheng personally. If Gustave could kill the King of Sky and Wind alone today, didn't that mean he could potentially kill the White King as well?
If Yuan Zhisheng could establish contact with Gustave in the future, then when they finally located the White King, he could hire Gustave to eliminate the dragon. Then Yuan Zhisheng could finally escape the Eight Families of Sheqi and realize his dream of selling sunscreen on a nude beach in France.
Meanwhile, as Gustave continued increasing his power output, the massive Nibelungen above Kunlun finally shattered completely. First, all manner of Death servitors creatures rushed out—some in human form, some as serpents, with even a few dragon-shaped Death servitors mixed among them.
Thunder crashed down from the heavens. These Death servitors were instantly obliterated by Gustave's lightning. Although he'd negotiated with Anjou for twenty billion to kill the dragon, Gustave still maintained professional standards. Eliminating these Death servitors counted as complimentary service.
After the swarm of Death servitors had been dealt with, a colossal azure dragon roared and burst forth from the shattered Nibelungen. Even from this considerable distance, the tremendous pressure radiating from the creature impacted all the hybrids gathered below.
While most people struggled to resist the overwhelming pressure emanating from the giant dragon, Chu Zihang noticed that Anjou had clenched his fists until veins bulged on his hands, his fingertips turned white, and his eyes burned with flames of vengeance.
Anjou would never forget this aura for as long as he lived. The King of Sky and Wind appearing in Kunlun was indeed the same dragon who had nearly wiped out the entire Lionheart Society all those years ago!
Today, bitter enemies met face to face, their mutual hatred burning fierce. If Gustave hadn't been invited to handle this, Anjou would likely have seized a blade and charged forward himself.
In a place Chu Zihang couldn't observe, profound shock flashed through Xia Mi's eyes. She couldn't comprehend how this Dragon King had managed to hide for so long without being discovered, even recovering to complete form.
Although Xia Mi didn't know the status of the other Dragon Kings, based on her own experience, this should have been virtually impossible. After all, it had been extraordinarily difficult for her to conceal even Fenrir's existence.
Yet this Dragon King had completed their development so thoroughly?
However, Xia Mi also felt somewhat fortunate that a powerful being like Gustave existed to deal with this threat. Otherwise, when the final battle arrived, all the other Dragon Kings combined might not be able to defeat this one.
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