The sun was setting. The deep yellow afterglow spilled over the massive body of Hitsuya, whose length exceeded fifty meters, adding a strange, eerie stillness to the mountains.
Everyone kept a tacit silence, completely afraid to move.
Hitsuya's roar had shaken them to their core. Even though they were all magic users, it was hard to imagine that magic alone could produce such destructive power.
Whap!
Hitsuya's thick tail struck the ground, instantly creating a massive crack. Looking at the drake's black-and-green scales, long and powerful body, razor-sharp claws and fangs, and wings that could whip up a hurricane with a single flap, everyone's thoughts shared a single idea,
"This… is a drake?"
Roar!
Hitsuya bellowed, its copper-colored eyes filled with bloodlust. Since ancient times, dragons have mostly seen humans as food. Dragons that agreed to coexist peacefully with humans were extremely rare, and it was clear this drake was not one of them.
Whoosh!
A fierce wind hit them.
Hitsuya's iron tail swept horizontally, striking everyone around, sending them flying, blood splattering everywhere.
The gap was immense.
Most of the magic users here had come only to try their luck. More than ninety percent were around D- to C-Class in strength. For them, the appearance of Hitsuya was nothing short of a disaster.
Furthermore, dragons' bodies naturally resist ordinary magic. Even though this was only a young drake, its massive size alone meant it could easily ignore magic from B-Class or lower users.
Hitsuya continued rampaging. Soon, most of the nearby fortune-seeking magic users were either dead or severely injured, and the rest fled in terror.
At this moment, several figures suddenly emerged from the dense forest.
One figure, in particular, appeared directly above Hitsuya's head and slammed a fist down on the drake's skull. Though it used no magic, the sheer force combined with immense magic power caused Hitsuya to stagger.
Everyone watching felt their hearts skip a beat; the scene was terrifying.
Thud!
The figure landed, and everyone could see that it was a massive being—over three meters tall, with arms thicker than an ordinary person's waist.
"Finally, the large guilds have decided to take action?"
Seeing these individuals, whose mana levels clearly surpassed ordinary magic users, Ur's eyes glinted.
They might have been among the first to discover the dragon, but they certainly weren't the first to act. After all, no one works for free for someone else. From the start, those hoping to try their luck here were doomed to fail.
"Time for us to step in too ~man!"
Ichiya said, seeing the other large guilds take action. Ur knew that although Ichiya seemed unreliable, he was actually quite shrewd.
They had considered acting as bystanders, waiting for others to fight the drake and then taking a share. But being a bystander wasn't so easy. In this situation, doing nothing could be fatal. The safest strategy was to participate and get a slice of the pie.
Throughout history, anything related to dragons was rare and precious. For most major guilds here, the treasure itself wasn't critical, but a dragon like this was an opportunity they could not miss.
"You go ahead. I still have some business to handle!" Ur released his hand from Natsu's mouth.
No way!
Seeing the drake, Natsu nearly lost his mind. If Ur hadn't held him back, he would have charged straight at the young dragon, ready to fight to the death.
As expected, the moment Ur let go, Natsu shot forward like a wild horse, yelling excitedly.
"Hey, green dragon up there! Do you know where Igneel is?"
"Hey~ hey~!" This was the first lead Natsu had found about Igneel in all these years. Even if it wasn't directly related, it was still a glimmer of hope.
Hitsuya looked down at the tiny insect-like creature and was puzzled for a moment. Then, with a single swipe of its tail, it sent Natsu flying.
Far.
Everyone watched silently.
Natsu's appearance had exposed Ur and the others, but they didn't plan to stay hidden any longer.
After all, everyone who needed to appear had already done so.
Seeing Ur and the others shift their gaze, Karen and Ichiya instinctively struck poses they considered "handsome" or "beautiful."
Everyone else: "······"
Are these people idiots?
Even Ur found the behavior of the Blue Pegasus Guild exasperating.
To avoid being "infected" by their antics, Ur decisively moved several steps away, landing on a nearby tree branch, and looked toward the slightly darkened forest ahead.
"Raven Tail members, stop hiding. Show yourselves!"
❖≔﴾═══════ﺤ
Next Chapter: Ivan
Next Next Chapter: The Fierce Hero
Next Next Next Chapter: The True Roar