"Be careful, Mr. Luen!"

Fang Hong's warning came a tad too late.

Luen Linxiu had utterly failed to notice from which direction Nikopolas's tail had swept across, subtly like a phantom whip in mid-air, striking him squarely in the abdomen.

The former was sent flying out instantly, crossing a street and landing on the other side of the square.

"Luen—!" Misu's voice was heart-wrenchingly agonized.

Seeing this, Fang Hong didn't think twice before running in that direction.

"Cover me, Miss Red Leaf," he called out before he left. Red Leaf was left fuming: "You guy, why do you always like to act on your own—"

But Fang Hong wasn't acting without rhyme or reason.

The direction where Luen now lay was precisely the position he had been searching for.

On the other side, Misu, seeing Fang Hong make his move, bit her lip and turned back to the fight, knowing on the battlefield opportunities are fleeting, and in this combat, they didn't have the luxury of hesitation.

Sacrifice was inevitable—

Ever since Nikopolas had sent Luen flying, it had been searching for Misu's figure, aware that in this fight, only this woman's phantoms posed the greatest threat to it.

Even though the illusory Blade of Victory had been destroyed in the previous scene, who knew if the opponent had any tricks left?

It dared not relax its guard even against a mundane sword, let alone the authentic Fairy Holy Sword—Galapea from thirty years ago. But what made it nervous was that it had also failed to locate Misu.

So, it lay in the rubble, and therefore didn't dare to move hastily, including cautious actions like getting up to regain its balance.

This caution seemed to have helped it greatly, for just as it rose, it finally spotted the elusive Misu behind that building.

"Found you, bug!"

Nikopolas sneered internally but feigned ignorance, continuing to climb up from the ground as if it hadn't seen her, moving its tail to the furthest position with caution, as if to make her lower her guard, yet at the same time, it used a wing to shield its right claw.

Keeping its attack movements hidden beneath its wings throughout.

Misu was indeed fooled.

Believing the evil dragon hadn't noticed her, she leapt onto the wall beside her with agility, lightly stepping up to the roof and carefully positioning herself on the other side of Nikopolas.

Then, raising her hand, she fired a golden beam from her palm, hitting Nikopolas square in the back.

The dark giant dragon let out a cry of pain.

It was so furious it almost screeched, for instead of coming close to stab its eyes with a sword, she attacked it with her magic power, catching it entirely off guard.

Though the blow was far from serious for it, the pain was indeed real.

Nikopolas roared in pain and almost immediately understood her intentions—just when its eyes lost protection from its wings, Misu suddenly leapt from the rooftop, swooping towards its back.

If it hadn't been cautious, that move might have been successful.

But Nikopolas had been waiting for this moment, it roared deeply and suddenly, its right claw emerged from beneath its wing, aiming for Misu in mid-air.

It was then, from a relatively intact roof in the distance, that a gunshot suddenly rang out.

The bullet crossed half the square in a spin, shooting straight for Nikopolas's eye.

The dark giant dragon screeched in anger, fearless of mere iron, but not daring to take a chance, it had to retract its claw and block with its wings, deflecting the bullet.

It glanced in that direction only to see the noble young lady's shadow disappear adeptly behind the roof.

As keen as a vigilant deer—

This thrust brought both back to square one, and only then did Misu realize she had fallen into an ambush. In her desperation, she thought to retreat. But how could Nikopolas give her that chance? The giant dragon spread its wings and suddenly belched forth a string of deep spells from the depths of its throat.

Dragon Magic.

One of the most primal forces in this world.

An invisible barrier materialized behind Misu, shackling her rigidly in place.

However, Nikopolas himself did not have it easy, either. As a betrayer of the Dragon God Bahamut, the Dark Giant Dragons rarely used the Dragon Magic that had long been forgotten in their bloodlines, and would not have done so if not of sheer desperation.

But traitors would ultimately be cursed by the Dragon God, and the curse within their blood, coupled with Ether Magic Power, began to wreak havoc inside Nikopolas, nearly causing him to lose his balance and topple to the ground.

But he had ultimately seized the final victory—

He gasped for breath, looking at Misu restrained midair, and suddenly let out a low, crazed chuckle—he had won.

He had finally freed himself and could leave this cursed place.

Head towards the descendants of Xiuyuede, head towards this damned kingdom for revenge.

But to Nikopolas's surprise, Misu, who should have been in despair, showed little fear on her face.

The human woman, instead, looked at him with a hint of compassion.

What had gone wrong?

He squinted slightly, and then it dawned on him suddenly—the sword was not in her hand—the Fairy Holy Sword, Galapea.

To be precise.

Her hands were completely empty.

"How could this be!?" Nikopolas felt a chill flash through his heart and blurted out, "Where's the sword!?"

"It's right here!"

A faint voice said.

Nikopolas instinctively turned his head, seeing only the solemn expression of an elder knight coming closer with.

The Fairy Holy Sword.

Galapea—

The scene was a reenactment of one a hundred years prior.

The man called Yoshude had blinded it in one eye just like that, and the pain and humiliation of those days flooded back into Nikopolas's mind at this moment.

He screeched, trying to close his eyes in panic.

But it was too late.

The sword struck with a thud into his amber-colored eyes.

The knight released his grip, falling heavily. But as he looked up, he saw that his Galapea had left no mark on the surface of Nikopolas's crystal-like pupils.

Amidst the dragon's screeching,

The sword was knocked away.

Spinning through the air over half the plaza, it landed with unerring precision, embedding itself in the pedestal of a statue at the center of the square.

With a light clang.

...

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