Eclipse Plan Begins (Part 2)

With the defeat of Skiadrum, the first wave of attacks came to an end, but the Black Dragon did not get a chance to catch his breath, as Igneel and his men had already begun the second wave of attacks.

Seeing Igneel and Metalicana closing in from the left and right flanks, the Black Dragon immediately retreated, soaring into the sky and leaving the two far behind.

"Trying to run? Dream on!" (Igneel)

As a seasoned battlefield veteran, Igneel instantly saw through the enemy's intention to wage mobile warfare, so he and Metalicana immediately engaged them, giving the enemy no chance to dodge.

"Roar!"

Upon seeing the Fire Dragon King and his companion following behind, the Black Dragon unleashed a breath attack, forcing them back.

Just as the Black Dragon repelled Igneel and his companion, a fist marked with a white holy mark descended from the sky, smashing directly towards the Black Dragon's head. At the same time, Vyseria, lurking in the shadows, also rushed towards the Black Dragon at incredible speed.

"Roar! Azure Fang Sword!"

"Whoosh!"

Two white swords flew from the Black Dragon's hand, rushing towards the white and Shadow Twin Dragons attacking from above and below.

After narrowly escaping again, the Black Dragon realized he had to find a way to turn defense into offense, otherwise he would either be killed or exhausted. So in the ensuing battle, the Black Dragon familiarized himself with the attack patterns of Igneel and the others while searching for an opportunity to counterattack.

As time passed, the intensity of the battle between the two sides continued to rise, and Black Dragon's combat abilities were constantly enhanced under the tutelage of Igneel and the others. He had now recovered from his initial chaotic struggle and was handling the situation with ease. However, he still hadn't found an opportunity to counterattack; breaking through the four-man encirclement was all he needed!

Igneel and the others naturally sensed the changes in the Black Dragon, but they could only watch helplessly as it unfolded. After all, even if they wanted to stop the Black Dragon from enhancing its combat abilities, there was nothing they could do!

Igneel and his group noticed this change, and Grandiere, who was providing support from the rear, naturally also noticed it. To ensure their victory, the Sky Dragon King converted all the magic power within him into auxiliary magic and applied it to the frontline combatants.

"Um?"

The situation had been evened out, and victory seemed imminent, but the opponent's strength suddenly increased, and the Black Dragon was back to square one. However, this defeat was not without its challenges, as it helped the Black Dragon discover the fatal weakness of Igneel and his companions.

After forcing everyone back once again, the Black Dragon did not flee the battlefield and engage in guerrilla warfare as usual. Instead, it mobilized its magic power and unleashed a powerful magical attack.

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art Azure Fang Gale Sword"

"Whoosh!"

The Black Dragon dragon transformed into a cloud of sword rain, showering endless sword rain upon Igneel and his companions.

While Igneel and the others were busy dealing with the rain of swords, the Black Dragon bypassed them with lightning speed and rushed straight towards Grandiere at the rear of the battlefield.

"Oh no, we've fallen for their trap!" (Metalicana)

Upon seeing that Grandiere was in danger, the Iron Dragon King transformed into a steel sculpture and charged towards the Black Dragon amidst a rain of swords.

"Roar!"

Seeing the enemy charging towards her, Grandiere exhaled a breath attack from her magic container towards the Black Dragon, and then she herself dodged to the side.

If their opponent were anyone else, Grandiere's strategy would be flawless. Unfortunately, their opponent was Black Dragon, Black Dragon that had inherited the power of the Sacred Dragon. As a result, the Sky Dragon King did not escape far before being caught up and struck down by his opponent.

"Aww!"

"Boom!"

The Sky Dragon King crashed to the ground with a cry of pain, stirring up clouds of dust.

Without the assistance of the Sky Dragon King, the speed, strength, and defense of Igneel and the others were greatly weakened. The most obvious example is the Iron Dragon King, who was originally close to the speed of light, but now he can only reach the speed of sound.

Faced with such a golden opportunity, Black Dragon was not about to let it slip by, so he immediately launched a counterattack against Igneel and his men.

"Boom"

"Boom"

"Boom"

The Fire Dragon King, White Dragon King, and Iron Dragon King, whose nerves could keep up but whose bodies couldn't, were instantly knocked down. Although the Shadow Dragon King managed to dodge a fatal blow thanks to his special ability with the Shadow attribute, he was not far from defeat.

"Whoosh!"

"Bang!"

Without tanks, marksmen, and supports, how could a squishy mid-laner possibly steal Baron Nashor? Therefore, Shadow Dragon King's ambush ended in failure, and he himself was sent back to the fountain. Uh... there doesn't seem to be a fountain here. Oh, right! He was just slammed into the ground by the enemy.

"Hmph! It seems the Fire Dragon King isn't all that great after all! (Black Dragon)"

Looking at the triumphant Black Dragon in the sky, Igneel laughed and said, "I'm really nothing special, after all, my face isn't swollen!"

Upon hearing Igneel's sarcastic retort, the Black Dragon did not hesitate and immediately launched its final attack on the crowd below.

"Hmph! Die! (Black Dragon)"

Just as the Black Dragon was about to encounter the Fire Dragon King, a bright ball of light suddenly burst out from the dense forest on one side and stood between the two.

"Using this trick again? (Black Dragon)"

Having already gone blind once, the Black Dragon instantly recognized the move, so he immediately closed his eyes and turned his head to one side.

Shortly after the Black Dragon turned its head, a dazzling light emanated from the sphere of light, obscuring all surrounding light. Therefore, the Black Dragon did not notice that a circular Magic Array not far in front of it had silently activated before returning to stillness. So, it wasn't until the sphere of light disappeared that the Black Dragon realized the Fire Dragon King and the others had already slipped away unnoticed.

"Roar! No matter where you run, I will find you!"

After letting out a roar, the Black Dragon angrily flew off in a certain direction.

In the seas Western Continent, Teleportation Cavern (the underwater cave where Sordil set up the Teleportation Array when he intercepted the Western Continent's grain transport team, which is also where Sacred Dragon and others previously stationed their troops).

Looking at the familiar scenery around them, Igneel asked curiously, "Anna, how did you bring us here?"

"We're heading to the Western Continent later, so I set the teleportation point here. Besides, this is the only place we can hide to avoid the Black Dragon's search, so I had no choice but to teleport here."

Upon hearing Anna's explanation, Igneel's face darkened.

"I never imagined that Black Dragon was so powerful!" (Metalicana)

"Yes! I never expected that even with the five of us working together, we would still be defeated by him! (Vyseria)"

"This is mainly my fault. If I hadn't been defeated by the Black Dragon first, we wouldn't have suffered such a crushing defeat!" (Grandiere)

Looking at the self-reproaching Sky Dragon King, Igneel said softly, "Grandiere, if we hadn't had your help, we probably wouldn't have even lasted a single round of attacks before being defeated by the Black Dragon. Besides, the reason you were defeated by the Black Dragon was because of our inadequate protection, so the responsibility for this defeat lies with us, not you!"

"Grandiere, Igneel is right, the responsibility this time lies with us, not with you! (Vyseria)"

Hearing what Igneel said, Grandiere raised his head with red eyes and said, "Igneel, Vyseria, you don't need to comfort me. This little setback can't break me, so you don't need to take all the blame on yourselves."

Seeing Igneel and the others caught in a wave of self-blame, Zeref quickly stepped in to lighten the mood.

"Sister-in-law, our most important task right now is to heal your injuries as quickly as possible. After all, health is the foundation of everything!" (Everyone, I really don't know how to write this part, so I can only use this classic line. As for why Zeref knows this line, you'll have to ask Young Master Sordil!)

"Uncle Zeref is right. Mistress, you must heal your injuries quickly, otherwise, let alone fight the Black Dragon, you may not even be able to return to Ishgar!"

With Anna's divine assistance, Igneel and the others finally emerged from the shadow of defeat. Grandiere then began to fulfill his duties as a professional healer.

After a day of treatment and rest, Igneel and the others regained their peak condition. Now, the most pressing issue for them was how to take action next.

"Everyone, where should we go next? The Western Continent, or Ishgar? (Igneel)"

"Now that we've found Brother Zeref and left Ishgar, why don't we accompany him to Zeref Mildian Academy first, and then go back to deal with that Black Dragon! (Vyseria)"

"Sigh! Anyway, we can't deal with that Black Dragon if we go back now. It might be good to go to the Western Continent with Brother Zeref. Maybe we can find some clues to deal with that guy!" (Metalicana)

"Yes! That's what I think too! (Skiadrum)"

"Alright! Since everyone has decided to go to the Western Continent first, let's head straight Western Continent! (Grandiere)"

After deciding on the direction to proceed, Grandiere to Anna and said, "Anna, begin teleportation!"

Hearing Grandiere's words, Anna lowered her head and said shyly, "Master's wife, just now in order to get rid of the Black Dragon's pursuit, I chose the farthest coordinate, so... the Space Magic Crystal is gone!"

"Thump!"

After Anna finished speaking, everyone, including Zeref, was stunned by her extravagance. (Damn it, she used up all her town portal scrolls in one go, how are we supposed to play now?)

"Girl, you absolutely must marry a rich man in the future, otherwise, I'm afraid your husband won't be able to support you!" (Igneel)

"Given this girl's spending habits, she'd probably need to marry a king to live out her days in peace!" (Metalicana)

"The King? Can the King really hold on? (Vyseria)"

Hearing everyone's teasing, Anna's face turned even redder.