There was a chance that White Dragons lived in broods of two to five. The one consolation was that, judging by its solitary movements, this one was probably a lone-wolf White Dragon.
Regardless, even a White Dragon—the lowest-ranked of the Colored Dragons—was more than enough to give Ganis's embassy a hard time.
Their greatest hope was that this powerful white beast would face 'that person' head-on.
As long as the two fought, Ganis could easily see what this mysterious magic mentor was made of.
"Sir Quijote, I suggest we pick up the pace. If anything happens, we can still support your teacher," Ganis said, finding a good excuse.
"Okay!" The somewhat naive Downs didn't catch the other man's real intentions. He surged ahead and started toward Lone Peak.
Closer!
Closer and closer!
When they reached a spot one kilometer from the foot of Lone Peak, the embassy witnessed the standoff atop the mountain and in the sky, just as they'd expected: one man and one dragon facing off.
From a kilometer away, an ordinary person would see only a tiny speck.
But to the sharp-eyed Half-elves and the Rangers, whose vision was nearly as keen, it was another matter.
"Can you see clearly?" Ganis asked quietly.
"Clearly."
That was right!
Atop the peak, beside that strange machine, stood a solitary figure, his bearing proud and aloof.
Lightning God of Thunder writhed around him, yet formed a fairly perfect sphere. The raging electric current didn't affect him in the slightest.
In the sky, the White Dragon hovered, repeatedly roaring threats at the man.
The two had already fallen out. They were clearly about to settle things with a fight.
At that moment, the furious White Dragon stopped hesitating. It beat its wings, and its huge, beautiful body became a streak of white light as it began to climb.
In a few seconds, it would dive from high above and blanket the entire mountaintop in Dragon Breath, a symbol of death and cold.
What happened next left everyone stunned. Even Downs, who had already witnessed his master's formidable abilities, found himself gaping—
A brilliant Lightning Ball descended from above the clouds, streaking across the sky.
That lightning was practically the ultimate art of the Dongfeng Sect.
The essence of this Express Delivery Art lay in three words: fast, accurate, ruthless!
Like a comet falling from the heavens, it dragged a long tail of lightning and slammed into the White Dragon's head as it climbed.
It all happened too fast.
Perhaps this was what they meant by "lightning too swift to cover your ears"—or your bell.
The White Dragon managed only an instinctive twist before it was hit.
Even its naturally magic-resistant scales and hide couldn't withstand the lightning.
With a deafening boom, flashes of light spread through every gap between its scales and coursed across its body.
Amid a long, agonized scream, the White Dragon crashed to the ground.
As its enormous body plunged down at a 60-degree angle, it shaved the top off a small hill in an instant.
The entire Vulture Dragon Mountain range seemed to groan. Even its solid rock strata couldn't withstand such an outrageous impact. They split apart on the spot, and the force continued to spread in all directions, gouging a deep ravine down the mountainside along the dragon's path.
The White Dragon crashed down the slope, its momentum undiminished. Trees of every size shattered beneath its body. It was no longer like a bulldozer; it was more like a mudslide, wiping out half a mountainside.
Most incredible of all, by some stroke of awful luck, the White Dragon landed right beside the road ahead of them, under the horrified gaze of Downs and the embassy.
Ganis and Master Famite exchanged a look. Both could see the shock in the other's eyes.
"..."
To them, the meaning behind the mysterious and powerful Mage's actions was clear.
He was displeased!
Very displeased.
But that was taking things too far.
Other people killed a chicken to frighten the monkeys. You killed a dragon to make a point to us?
Even if Legendary powerhouses called White Dragons the Shame of the Colorful Dragons, the fact remained that a Young White Dragon could flatten Ramanque City, a city of six thousand, without much trouble—and then simply leave.
You killed a dragon of that caliber just like that?
What had they done to deserve being the 'monkeys'?
Downs turned around, oblivious to what was going on, and saw his 'companions' looking pale. "Uh, what's wrong with you all?"
Ganis knew he represented the kingdom's dignity, but it wasn't as if he could say they'd shown too little respect on this visit and angered the demigod Mage who was his teacher.
All he could do was laugh awkwardly. "Well, falling from that height—even if the lightning didn't hit it, it must have left a few bruises, right?"
Master Famite kept the awkward conversation going. "If it were me, I'd probably be scattered in pieces all over the place."
Luckily, Downs was innocent. If some transmigrator had been there instead, he'd surely have suggested, "You take a bite, I'll take a bite," and skipped straight to the feast.
That enormous dragon had tumbled down the mountainside like a gigantic broken toy, finally landing in the ravine beside the mountain road ahead of them.
Was it a coincidence?
It really was!
Ever since Lein accepted his dear disciple's [Comprehension???] talent, he'd been in a daze.
His vision held not only real-time images and system notifications, but also a mysterious light and shadow, faintly rippling into view.
It was lightning that, from afar, looked like a dandelion in bloom.
It was history being recreated.
It was the vast power once wielded by a great pioneer of physics—the knowledge modern people on Earth had lost, and an invention that could have changed history.
The roar of a steam locomotive echoed endlessly in his ears. Knowledge swept in like a gale, filling every crevice of his mind. Fantasies of the unknown seized his reason. A Science and Engineering Dog yearned purely for the guidance of the man hailed as the [Man Closest to God]...
Lein's eyes widened. A complete machine blueprint appeared on his retina.
He worked himself into a frenzy in the Blacksmith Shop for a full twenty-four hours.
Without sleep or rest.
Then, in his hands, a miniature [Wardenclyffe Tower], only 5.7 meters tall, came to life.
Legend had it that the enormous explosion near the Tunguska River in Russia in 1908, roughly a thousand times as powerful as the Hiroshima atomic bomb, was the 'work' of the [Wardenclyffe Tower].
In reality, the mysterious tower had only one function: wireless power transmission.
Of course, it could also be called the [Tesla Tower]!
Just after the tower successfully powered up, an annoying intruder appeared.
Without hesitation, Lein instinctively bestowed the punishment of 'Dongfeng' upon the pest.
Only after a vast amount of electrical energy followed his will, crossed through space, and landed on the head of that white lizard did the poorly constructed, shoddily built electric tower overload and explode.
At that very moment, Lein finally awoke from his strange epiphany.
Who was he?
What had he done?
And what was he going to do next?
Lein instinctively looked toward the place where the White Dragon had fallen. Though he couldn't see clearly, he had a vague sense that there seemed to be... people over there?
Ah! People had actually come to this godforsaken place?
Lein had been thinking about finding somewhere to climb down, but when he saw the steep cliffs, he... lost his nerve.
Strangely enough, on the other side, Ganis, Famite, and the High-level Ranger, who had been watching Lein, all shivered at once.
"Did you feel it? That gaze, like the God of Thunder's," Ganis whispered.
"Mm." The other two nodded together.
"What do you think?"
Master Famite cleared his throat. "Anyone who's killed people and dumped the bodies—ah, I mean, anyone who's killed dragons—should know that killing a dragon is easy, but disposing of a Dragon corpse is a pain. That great lord's meaning is actually quite clear..."
Ganis gave a bitter smile. "Got it! Killing the dragon was his way of expressing his displeasure and warning us. Now we help him deal with the corpse, and he'll forgive us this time."
Before you continue