Mist roiled as Hillman stepped into the forbidden land once more. The Mist Pearl in his palm gave off a faint glow, clearing the murky fog within three feet around him and allowing him to clearly sense the immense aura of dragon's might deep within the canyon.
He made no attempt to conceal his presence. Instead, he circulated the battle qi throughout his body, an earthen-yellow radiance blazing like a torch in the mist. He let out a long cry that sent the surrounding fog churning endlessly. "Spined Iron-Armored Dragon! I, Hillman, have come to challenge you again!"
Shortly after his cry faded, a deafening dragon's roar erupted from deep within the canyon. That imperious pressure swept toward him like a tide, even stronger than before. A massive, dark-gold figure burst through the mist amid flying stones and fierce winds, landing with a crash a hundred meters in front of Hillman.
The Spined Iron-Armored Dragon fixed its blood-red eyes on Hillman, its head slightly lowered, the spines along its back gleaming with the dual luster of darkness and earth. Clearly, it recognized the human who had escaped its claws half a month earlier, but the killing intent in its eyes had diminished somewhat, replaced by a trace of a powerful being's scrutiny.
"Roar-"
Before its roar had faded, the Iron-Armored Dragon drove forward on all four limbs, its enormous body charging like a battering ram, its dark-gold scales flashing coldly in the mist. Hillman was ready. Battle qi erupted beneath his feet as he dodged sideways with feline agility, pressing his left hand to the ground and bellowing, "Earth Cage!"
Rumble!
Dozens of thick earth spikes erupted from the ground, reaching to coil around the Iron-Armored Dragon's limbs. But the great dragon reacted far faster than he had expected. Its long tail swept across, shattering every spike, and amid the flying rubble, its claws were already reaching for his face.
Hillman held his sword across himself to block. With a deafening clang, numbness shot through his arm, and the impact sent him staggering backward. He dared not hesitate. Pouring battle qi into his blade, he unleashed the Mountain-Shaking Art's Armor-Breaking Slash, cutting toward the vulnerable part of the Iron-Armored Dragon's belly.
The Iron-Armored Dragon seemed to have anticipated his move. Its enormous body twisted nimbly to one side, its hard-scaled flank knocking the longsword away. At the same time, it swung its head, its fangs sweeping past Hillman's shoulder on a foul-smelling gust and leaving a wound deep enough to expose bone.
"Damn it!"
Hillman grunted, endured the searing pain, and thrust his sword backhanded toward the Iron-Armored Dragon's eye. The move was perilous in the extreme, forcing the dragon to tilt its head back to dodge. Seizing the opening, Hillman pulled away and retreated at full speed. He took out a Healing Herb, chewed it into a pulp, applied it to his wound, then turned and ran toward the canyon's outskirts.
That was the first battle. Hillman had lost, but his defeat was more composed than his last. He had worked out the rhythm of the Iron-Armored Dragon's attacks and discovered that, fierce as the great dragon was, it possessed a warrior's pride-every attack was open and direct. It never used the mist to conceal itself, nor did it strike to kill while he was wounded.
After three days of rest, Hillman's wounds had only just healed when he entered Mist Canyon again.
This time, he was in no hurry to attack. Instead, he used his earth affinity talent to maneuver through the canyon's complex terrain. The Iron-Armored Dragon's massive size limited its movements in the narrow gullies, so Hillman used the terrain to harass it relentlessly, ambushing its paw pads with Earth Spike and slashing at the weak points in its wing membranes with battle qi strikes.
The Iron-Armored Dragon was enraged. Its roars shook the canyon, yet it could never catch Hillman. Only after it feigned retreat and lured him into an open area did it suddenly turn and send him flying with its long tail.
Hillman slammed into the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood, yet he grinned. He saw small wounds left by his earth spikes on the Iron-Armored Dragon's forepaw pads, and a shallow sword mark now marred its dark-gold scales.
The Iron-Armored Dragon did not press its advantage. It merely stood where it was, its blood-red eyes fixed on him, as though sizing up an interesting opponent.
That was the second battle, and Hillman had lost again. But his struggle with the Iron-Armored Dragon had lengthened from the time it took an incense stick to burn to a full hour. As he left, he saw the dragon watching his retreating figure, the killing intent in its blood-red eyes growing ever fainter while its scrutiny grew ever more intense.
In the days that followed, dragon roars and the whistle of a sword often rang through Mist Canyon.
As though possessed, Hillman fought the Iron-Armored Dragon every day. His tactics grew increasingly refined, taking him from his initial desperate escapes to later standing against the dragon head-on for more than ten exchanges. His battle qi grew increasingly condensed, allowing his Earth Shield to withstand a blow from the dragon's claw without shattering. His body grew increasingly powerful, allowing him to rise swiftly and fight again even after being struck by its long tail.
The Iron-Armored Dragon, too, seemed to have grown accustomed to this human's challenges. It no longer struck to kill at the outset. Instead, it would knock Hillman's longsword away with a claw without taking the opportunity to attack. It would bump the fallen Hillman aside with its head, moving him out of the path of falling rubble. It would even withdraw into the depths of the canyon of its own accord when Hillman exhausted his strength, giving him time to catch his breath.
During one struggle, Hillman accidentally fell into a deep ravine whose floor was covered in sharp rocks. Just as he was about to be dashed to pieces, a dark-gold figure swooped down. Its long tail, like a steel whip, wrapped precisely around his waist and gently set him on the ground.
Hillman stared blankly at the Iron-Armored Dragon. The dragon lowered its head to look at him, and there was actually a trace of humanlike mockery in its blood-red eyes, as though it were laughing at his sorry state.
Hillman smiled. From his storage space, he took out a piece of dried Level Eight Demon Wolf meat-he had prepared it especially for the Iron-Armored Dragon. He held the meat to its mouth and said softly, "Here. An apology."
The Iron-Armored Dragon hesitated, then lowered its enormous head slightly and actually took the meat in its jaws, chewing it with loud crunches.
That day, there was neither victory nor defeat, only a man and a dragon facing each other in silence.
The setting sun shone through the mist, spilling golden-red light. Hillman leaned against the Iron-Armored Dragon's cold, dark-gold scales, feeling its immense dragon's might, and an odd sense of peace arose in his heart. The dragon gently rubbed its head against his shoulder, the spines along its back drawing in their sharp edges so they no longer hurt him.
"Old friend," Hillman said softly, "the next time we fight, I'll beat you."
The Iron-Armored Dragon let out a low roar, as though answering him, or perhaps scoffing.
A man and a dragon: one a human warrior seeking to break through to Saint-level and awaken his bloodline, the other a dragon overlord guarding its territory and awaiting an opportunity to break through. They had been mortal enemies, yet through one desperate battle after another, they had developed a bond called "mutual respect between heroes."
The mist roiled, enveloping the man and the dragon. Deep within the canyon, a dragon's roar rang out once more, but it no longer held overwhelming killing intent. Only a long, lingering resonance remained.
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