The Poisonous Demon Dragon Gets Crushed!

"This Poisonous Demon Dragon is very strong. You're no match for it. You should run while you can."

Su Cui Luki Raze Ganel Rureia Agranzelga Elga had no idea who the white-haired man before her was, but he was unquestionably human.

And it wasn't that she looked down on humans—she was quite familiar with the level of human adventurers.

Though it might sound boastful to say so, she had roamed the continent for so long that she had yet to meet a human adventurer whose strength could match her own.

Before the Poisonous Demon Dragon, she was little more than a plaything. The man before her seemed formidable enough, but she doubted he was a match for the dragon either.

"Whether I'm a match or not, we'll only know after a fight. At least from what I saw while watching from the sidelines, aside from spewing poison mist, flying, and having thick skin, this thing doesn't seem all that impressive."

The Elf Maiden's words brought a look of relief to Yoru Machi's face as he finally decided to step in.

Faced with a life-or-death situation, she still thought to spare him from being dragged down and urged him to flee. That meant she wasn't a bad person at heart, and it wasn't a waste for him to save her.

"ROAR—!"

Just as Yoru Machi was thinking this, the Poisonous Demon Dragon in the air seemed to understand his words. Feeling its dignity trampled, it let out a furious roar and dove straight at him from above!

Though it was only a subspecies dragon, it still carried the bloodline of the dragon race—how could it tolerate such insolence from a mere human?

"Careful, dodge..."

Seeing the dragon dive, the Elf Maiden instinctively warned Yoru Machi to get out of the way. But before she could finish her sentence, the scene unfolding before her left her utterly speechless.

Instead of dodging the dragon swooping down with flapping wings, the white-haired man before her showed no sign of retreat. Instead, a fierce battle intent filled his face as he gripped his blade and charged forward.

And what was even more astonishing was that, facing a Poisonous Demon Dragon over fifteen meters long diving from the sky, Yoru Machi—whose physique was far inferior—wasn't sent flying. Instead, he met the dragon's charging horns head-on with his longsword!

"CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG—!"

The collision of the dragon's horns and Yoru Machi's blade produced a series of metallic clashes, even sending sparks flying in all directions.

Against the charging dragon, Yoru Machi couldn't fully withstand the immense impact. As he blocked the dive with his blade, the dragon pushed him back hundreds of meters.

His feet carved two deep furrows into the barren ground beneath him!

Even though he was shoved back that far, the sight still left the Elf Maiden utterly stunned.

That was a dragon over fifteen meters long! Even a subspecies dragon was still a dragon-type magical beast. Among beasts of the same scale, the Poisonous Demon Dragon could easily crush anything its size with sheer physical strength alone.

Yet now, its dive had been stopped head-on by a human... No, was that man even human?

Earlier, when she—an Elf—had fought the Poisonous Demon Dragon, she had relied entirely on her speed advantage to wear it down. Who in their right mind would choose to brawl with a dragon?

"Hey, got a temper just because I said a few words? But the truth is exactly what I said. Aside from being big, having bad breath, and being corrosive, you really aren't all that impressive."

Taunted again by Yoru Machi, the Poisonous Demon Dragon's rage hit a new peak. This human had insulted it not once, but twice. How could it tolerate that?

Staring at Yoru Machi, who was right in front of it, the dragon didn't hesitate. It opened its massive maw and spat out a breath it had been storing for at least a century... Ahem, a cloud of poison mist.

This time, the poison mist the dragon spewed was far more corrosive and concentrated than before.

Earlier, the mist had been spread out to blanket the area and prevent prey from escaping.

But now, the mist was condensed into a focused beam of breath.

And since Yoru Machi was still blocking the dragon's horns with his blade, the distance between them was practically zero. If that concentrated dragon breath hit him directly in the face, even if he built a magical barrier like the Elf Maiden had, it would be useless.

The stronger corrosive mist, under such violent force, would instantly pierce through his barrier and corrode his flesh and bones in the blink of an eye.

"Proud son of heaven, iron-walled fortress, dragon's march, lion's roar, tiger's howl, wolf's sprint—sever heaven and earth before collapse.

Bakudō #81: Dankū!"

Almost the moment the Poisonous Demon Dragon opened its jaws, Yoru Machi had already predicted its next move. So as the dragon spewed its poison mist, he quickly finished chanting the Kidō incantation and traced a transparent wall in front of him with his finger.

The purple mist surged toward Yoru Machi like a flood, but when it reached him, it seemed to hit an invisible barrier. The highly corrosive mist couldn't reach him at all.

Though it was right in front of him, the transparent wall stood like an unbreachable chasm, completely separating him from the poison.

Yoru Machi's Reiatsu... mana was far stronger than the dragon's, and this was a fully chanted #81 Kidō. Even with the mist's strong corrosive properties, it couldn't break through the seemingly fragile barrier.

And just as the Poisonous Demon Dragon stared in confusion, a human-like shock flashing across its face, Yoru Machi sheathed his blade, lowered his stance steadily, and looked seriously at the dragon. "Since you've used your signature move, it's my turn to show you my swordsmanship."

Like a slithering serpent, tangible mana radiated from Yoru Machi's body, accompanied by an invisible aura spreading outward from him.

The Poisonous Demon Dragon, a creature at the top of the food chain, now faintly sensed a deadly crisis emanating from Yoru Machi.

It clearly understood now that this human was no ordinary prey like the ones it had devoured before. He was a threat that could actually kill it.

Without a moment's hesitation, it spread its wings and shot straight into the sky, desperate to put as much distance as possible between itself and that dangerous human.

"Thinking of running now? A little too late..."