Fierce Battle with the Giant Moth, Lu Chongwei Draws His Blade

Lu Chongwei did not speak.

He stood at the very front, his gaze deep as he stared down at the city with its flickering lights.

His hand rested casually on the hilt of the blade at his waist, his entire body in a state of extreme relaxation yet ready to erupt at any moment.

Suddenly.

Lu Chongwei's eyebrows arched slightly.

"It's here."

The two simple words instantly caused the two people behind him to tense up.

Gray immediately looked in the direction of Lu Chongwei's gaze, but he saw nothing.

"Where? Why can't I sense any magical fluctuations?"

Gray was somewhat skeptical.

His sensory perception was definitely among the best of his peers, yet the night sky before him remained deathly still.

However, the next second.

A nauseating, fishy stench suddenly swept in from the darkness in the distance.

Following that, a massive black shadow swooped down from the clouds like a shroud of dark clouds.

By the faint moonlight, the three of them finally saw the true face of the monster.

It was a giant moth.

Its wingspan was over five meters wide, covered in eerie purple patterns that shimmered with phosphorescence in the night.

Its bloated abdomen writhed continuously as it flew, and viscous green liquid dripped from its mouthparts, landing on the roof tiles with a sizzling, corrosive sound.

"Holy crap! It's that big?!"

Gray's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but curse.

This size was several times larger than the ordinary Gidoken he had seen in the illustrated guide!

"It's going to hunt!"

Gildarts's eyes narrowed.

The Gidoken ignored the three people on the clock tower and headed straight for a house nearby that still had its lights on.

Warm silhouettes were cast against the windows of that house; clearly, they hadn't realized that the Grim Reaper had arrived.

"Oh no!"

Gray exclaimed, slamming his hands together, ready to launch a spell to intercept it.

But someone was faster than him.

Clang—

A clear, resonant ring of a blade echoed through the night sky.

Lu Chongwei pushed the tsuba with his thumb, and the long blade slid half an inch from its scabbard.

That mere half-inch of cold light seemed to illuminate the entire night sky in an instant.

An invisible and terrifying sword pressure, like a physical hammer, slammed fiercely toward the diving Gidoken from hundreds of meters away.

Ryujin Jakka, First Form—Nadeshiko!

Although there were no flames and no physical slash, this pressure, originating from the depths of the soul, was more terrifying than any tangible attack.

The Gidoken's movements suddenly stiffened.

Its beastly instincts allowed it to instantly sense a fatal threat.

It let out a piercing shriek, forcibly halting its dive in mid-air, and flapped its massive wings violently to change direction.

Its compound eyes locked onto Lu Chongwei on the clock tower.

In its perception, that tiny human radiated an aura that made it tremble; it had to eliminate this threat first!

Whoosh—

The Gidoken turned its spearhead, and with a piercing whistle, it lunged toward the clock tower like an arrow released from a bow.

The sense of oppression was like a runaway fighter jet crashing into a crowd.

"Hey, hey! It's coming right at us!"

Gray instinctively assumed a defensive stance, cold air surging in his palms.

"Uncle Gildarts! Do something!"

However, Gildarts remained sitting there, calm and collected, even shifting into a more comfortable position.

"What's the rush?"

Gildarts said lazily, a hint of playfulness in his eyes.

"Since this is the rookie's debut, what would it look like if an old guy like me interfered? I might as well see what this kid is made of."

Gray froze, just about to say something, when a gust of wind whipped up beside him.

Lu Chongwei had moved.

He didn't use any flashy magic; he merely tapped his toes lightly against the railing.

"Bang!"

The stone railing instantly shattered into powder.

Using the recoil, Lu Chongwei launched himself into the sky like a black cannonball, charging straight toward the massive beast.

Mid-air.

Man and beast closed the distance rapidly.

Before the behemoth with its five-meter wingspan, Lu Chongwei's figure appeared so minuscule, like an ant trying to shake a tree.

Gidoken opened its hideous mandibles—teeth capable of crushing rock in a single bite—and descended upon Lu Chongwei.

"Seeking death."

Suspended in the air, Lu Chongwei's eyes were indifferent.

He twisted his waist in an impossible maneuver, dodging the foul-smelling maw, then surged upward, appearing instantly above Gidoken's back.

He raised his right leg high and brought it down like a battle-axe.

There was no magical fluctuation.

Only the purest, most extreme physical strength erupted in that moment.

"Get down!"

He let out a low shout.

"BOOM!!!"

The dull sound of impact rang out like a muffled thunderclap.

The massive beast, which had been so arrogant just a moment ago, was swatted like a fly, kicked violently toward the ground by Lu Chongwei.

Its massive body lost balance in the air, and with a shrill, miserable shriek, it slammed heavily onto the platform atop the clock tower.

"Thud!"

The entire clock tower shuddered violently.

The stone floor cracked instantly, gravel flew, and dust billowed into the air.

A deep crater several meters in diameter appeared, and the Gidoken lay embedded in the pit like a pile of mush, twitching in agony.

As the dust settled.

Lu Chongwei landed lightly on the railing, not even a corner of his clothes out of place.

Beside him, Gray's mouth hung wide open, his face full of shock.

He stared blankly at the crater, then at the nonchalant Lu Chongwei, his mind a complete blank.

"What... what kind of monstrous strength is this?"

Gray's voice trembled.

As a mage, he knew all too well the weight of that strike.

No magical fluctuation!

Not even a single trace!

In other words, this guy had crippled a Gidoken—a beast comparable to a B-rank or even A-rank monster—with nothing but raw physical power?

Gulp...

Gray swallowed hard, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

He suddenly recalled the scene at the guild yesterday, where Lu Chongwei had knocked him unconscious with a single punch.

At the time, he had thought it was because he was careless and caught off guard.

Now, it seemed...

This guy... he was definitely holding back yesterday, wasn't he?

Gray felt a chill run down his spine.

If that punch yesterday had carried this kind of force, his head would have likely exploded like a watermelon, wouldn't it?

How was this a mage?

This was clearly a Tyrannosaurus Rex wearing human skin!

"Screech—screech—"

In the crater, the Gidoken let out a painful hiss.

Its spine seemed to have been snapped by that kick, and it was frantically flapping its wings, struggling to crawl up.

Lu Chongwei jumped down from the railing and walked toward the crater step by step.

"Quite a tenacious vitality."

Lu Chongwei sneered.

He reached the edge of the pit, looked down at the struggling beast, and suddenly reached out, grabbing hold of Gidoken's massive left wing.

The wing was covered in slime and scales, looking utterly disgusting, but Lu Chongwei didn't care in the slightest.