Chapter 182: The Unyielding Warrior
The Five-Color Elders struggled to push themselves off the ground. They looked toward the center of the battlefield. Ignius was gasping for air, his scales shattered, blood streaming down his body. Skele-Pride stood opposite him, his skeletal frame riddled with cracks, his left arm dangling, nearly detached.
"We must go help him!" Ignatz said, struggling to beat his wings. Suddenly, a pitch-black dragon claw pinned him down. It was Basaka.
"Don't."
"Why?!" Ignatz's dragon pupils widened. "That guy is clearly at his limit!"
"This is Ignius's battle," Basaka's voice was low, but every word was crystal clear. "He needs this battle. The Dragonkin need this battle, too. If even we don't believe in him, what does he have left to believe in himself?"
Ignatz gritted his teeth, finally lowering his raised wings.
On the battlefield, Skele-Pride flexed his neck, his bones emitting a crisp click. "Are you ready?" He strode toward Ignius, each step sinking deep into the earth, leaving heavy footprints. The pressure was palpable, like a physical weight. Ignius's breathing grew ragged, but this time, he did not retreat.
"Come and fight!" Ignius roared, charging forward once more!
This attack was more frantic than any before. Claws, tail, breath. He used every part of his body as a weapon, ignoring defense entirely, seeking only to strike. He didn't care when Skele-Pride's blade sliced his shoulder. He didn't dodge when Skele-Pride's fist smashed into his abdomen. Ignius had only one thought: Strike him down. I must strike him down. This is the only way for the Dragonkin to survive!
The surrounding Dragonkin warriors erupted into roars upon seeing this. "Keep going!" "Lord Ignius!" "The undefeated genius!" "The strongest warrior of the Dragonkin!" The waves of sound surged, threatening to overturn the very battlefield.
Ignius heard these voices, and a hot stream surged in his chest. That's right. He was not fighting alone. Behind him stood the entire Dragonkin race. The young hatchlings who adored him. The kin who followed him. The Elders who placed their hope in him. He could not lose. Absolutely not!
"AAAAAAH!" Ignius let out a long howl, his mana spiraling out of control. Scales exploded off his body, blood and mana spraying from his wounds. But his speed only increased. His strength grew, too.
Skele-Pride blocked a claw from Ignius, his body pushed back half a step. "Not bad." His soulfire flickered more violently. "Show me where your limit lies!"
No sooner had he spoken than Skele-Pride's attack frequency spiked! His blade turned into a blur, enveloping Ignius. But Ignius didn't retreat; he charged forward, headlong into the rain of steel. His wings were shredded. His scales were shaved away. His blood stained the battlefield. But his dragon claws also struck Skele-Pride again and again. The sound of shattering bone echoed incessantly. The two figures collided madly in the center of the fray, neither willing to yield a single inch.
Time seemed to stand still. All the dragons held their breath. They watched the crimson figure dancing amidst the black sword light. They watched the young red dragon fighting with his life.
Minutes passed, or perhaps only seconds. Ignius and Skele-Pride retreated simultaneously, creating distance. Both were gasping for air. Ignius's body swayed, barely able to remain upright. Skele-Pride's frame was riddled with fissures, ready to fall apart at any moment.
They stared at each other. Neither moved first.
Suddenly, Ignius looked up at the sky. Skele-Pride looked up as well.
The next moment, both figures surged skyward! Ignius spread his tattered wings, forcing himself into the high heavens. Skele-Pride trod upon the void, step by step, pursuing him. They met above the clouds. Here, there were no earthly restraints. No interference from others. Only the two of them. And the final strike, now arriving.
Ignius hovered in the sky, mana gathering. Every ounce of strength, every drop of life, every shred of will. It all poured deep into his throat. Dragon breath churned. An unprecedented dragon breath.
Skele-Pride stood opposite him, slowly raising his bone sword. Soulfire burned to its limit in his eye sockets.
"Come." His voice echoed through the clouds. "I am the foremost of the Seven Generals of The Evernight Empire! Skele-Pride!"
Hearing this, Ignius bared his teeth in a savage grin. Blood dripped from between his teeth. But his dragon pupils were brighter than ever.
"The unyielding warrior of the Dragonkin! Ignius!"
No sooner had he spoken than the dragon breath surged forth! A crimson pillar of fire tore through the clouds, mixed with blood, blasting towards Skele-Pride!
Skele-Pride did not defend. He tightened his grip on his bone sword and charged head-on into the dragon fire! Flames wrapped around his skeletal frame, igniting him entirely. But he did not stop. One step. Two steps. Three steps. Skele-Pride, engulfed in flames, walked step by step through the dragon breath towards Ignius.
Watching this, Ignius felt a chill creep into his heart. Escape. Flee. This thought struck him again. But only for an instant. Ignius gritted his teeth, pouring the last of his mana into the breath. "I must be the one to defeat you!"
The temperature of the dragon breath spiked! Skele-Pride's skeleton began to show signs of pulverization under the extreme heat. But he kept advancing. Ten meters. Five meters. Three meters. One meter.
Skele-Pride burst out of the flames, his bone sword raised high.
Slash!
Pfffsch. Ignius's body was severed at the waist. His upper and lower halves separated, plummeting towards the ground. But almost simultaneously, as Skele-Pride landed, his entire body of bones clattered into a pile.
The battlefield fell into a deathly silence. All the dragons were stunned. Ignius fell from the sky, his vision blurring. Mana exhausted. Life fading. Consciousness drifting away.
Did... did I do it? He struggled to open his eyes, looking at the pile of bones reassembling on the ground. Will he keep his promise? Forget it. So tired. Eyelids are so heavy... Ignius closed his eyes.
On the ground, Skele-Pride's bones reassembled. He stood up and slowly walked toward the fallen Ignius.
Basaka saw this, his pupils contracting sharply. "NO—!" He roared, forcing himself up from the ground. Dragon breath gathered deep in his throat. At least. At least this child I raised since he was small must not become one of those monsters. Absolutely not!
Just as Basaka was about to unleash his dragon breath, Skele-Pride reached into the void and pulled out several vials of emerald-green potion. He walked to Ignius, knelt, and poured the liquid onto Ignius's wounds.
The radiance of Emerald's Respite lit up. Ignius's severed body healed at a visible speed. Basaka froze. Not just him. All the dragons were stunned.
Skele-Pride stood up and raised his hand. "Post-battle recovery."
No sooner had he spoken than countless skeletons pulled Emerald's Respite from their spatial bags, walking toward the dragons collapsed on the ground. They knelt, pouring the potion onto wounds. Combined with the Dragonkin's terrifying regenerative power, dragons who had been on the brink of death healed at an astonishing pace. Severed wings regrew. Shattered scales sprouted anew. Even the Five-Color Elders were restored to their former states by the potion.
Daelas looked at her regrown left wing, her mind completely blank. "This... this is..."
Vinodo touched his healed abdomen, his mouth wide open. Raijin flexed his regrown hind leg, his dragon pupils full of disbelief. Ignatz touched his regrown horns, unable to speak.
Basaka stared blankly at it all. He couldn't understand. Why? Why would these undead save them? They could have wiped out the Dragonkin entirely. They could have turned all the dragons into bone dragons. Why...
Just then, Skele-Pride walked to Ignius's side. Ignius had regained consciousness and was struggling to climb to his feet. He looked up at the skeleton standing before him.
Skele-Pride extended a hand. "I recently read a novel about Dragon Knights." He paused. "Are you willing to become my partner?"
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