NOVEL WEB Chapter 102: Level 18
From nearly two kilometers away, Venus and the other four felt the tremors ripple through the ground. Shockwaves rolled over them, making the very air feel hotter.
Draconic roars thundered, deep and guttural, as if they were echoing straight from the depths of hell.
"What are these? Don't tell me there's even more powerful creatures?" Irina's voice trembled.
"Sounds like two sides are fighting," Luthor guessed, narrowing his eyes toward the distant smoke.
Rudos let out a long breath. "Doesn't that mean we got lucky? Those Hollowfied Wyverns won't be chasing us anymore."
Venus frowned, her gaze instinctively sweeping the area in search of Ryu's figure.
But he was nowhere to be found.
"Where's Ryu? I don't see him anywhere," she muttered, her unease growing.
Irina glanced around as well. "Yeah… where is he?"
Only then did the others realize his absence.
"Huh… he was right behind us a minute ago. Where could he have gone?" Rudos said, puzzled.
"RYU! Where are you?!" Venus's worry spiked, and she broke into a frantic search.
The others quickly joined her, hearts pounding with the fear that one of the Hollows might have already gotten to him.
On the other hand:
Ryuzen and Grakar had nearly annihilated the Wyvern horde.
The ground was a graveyard of scorched limbs and shattered bones. Black, corrupted blood pooled in thick, tar-like puddles, seeping into the earth.
The first rays of dawn crept over the horizon, casting a cold light upon the carnage. The battlefield reeked of ash and death, yet amidst the ruin stood two figures untouched — the Golden Dragon and the Black Dragon, side by side, their presence like twin monuments of destruction.
[ Name: Ryuzen De Manus ]
[ Bloodline: Solarfrost Imperial Dragon (S) ]
[ Age: 6 Years ]
[ Lifespan: 300 years ]
[ Level: 18 ]
[ Strength: 280 (↑60 ]
[ Agility: 279 (↑60) ]
[ Vitality: 283 (↑60) ]
[ Mana: 2307 (↑600) ]
[ Skills: Eclipse Cataclysmic Roar (D), Ice Guardian Armour (D), Solar Cryo Lance (D), Mist Phantom Steps (D), Crimson Apex Frenzy (D), Abyssal Grasp (D), Sun Dragon's Gaze (E)
[ Skill Tree: Manus (D)
_____
Ryuzen had leveled up three times during the battle, seizing every opportunity to land the killing blow.
The Wyverns were non-magical creatures, ranging between Level 20 and 30. For his human form, facing them head-on would have been nearly impossible. But in his Imperial Solarfrost Dragon form, they were nothing more than prey.
Their bloodline rank was lower than his, their physical strength lacking despite their higher levels. Against the overwhelming power of a true dragon, they stood no chance.
None of his teammates knew he possessed the strongest physique among them. Not even Venus could compare. To them, he was simply a warrior with terrifying fire abilities and impressive physical awareness and coordination.
But Ryuzen's real power lay in his draconic body — a form that had never been defeated till now.
Next, Ryuzen gathered all the Hollowfied corpses and transported them back to his Fusion Lab to make use of them later.
"Swoosh!"
Suddenly, a shadow fell from the sky.
A massive, dark-skinned, bulbous creature descended, its body writhing with dozens of twisting tentacles.
An eerie smile stretched across its jagged white teeth. This was no mindless beast. Its single glaring eye gleamed with sharp intelligence and cunning.
Ryuzen's senses snapped to full alert. Grakar growled low, flames flickering along his jaws.
Grakar unleashed a torrent of hellfire, but the inferno was absorbed as if into an endless core, leaving the creature untouched.
"Kekeke...So… we meet again, Dragonborne," it hissed in a guttural beast tongue.
Ryuzen's brow furrowed in disbelief.
"A talking Hollow? Who are you?" he demanded, replying in his own draconic tongue.
"Kekeke... So, you've already forgotten me—the so-called Descendant of the Sun Dragon?" he said, his voice dripping with suppressed anger.
That tone... it sounds so familiar...
Ryuzen's mind instantly flashed back to the moment when Grakar was abducted, nearly becoming a Hollow's meal atop a desolate mountain.
Back then, a Hollow had possessed a human body. Ryuzen had driven it away by bluffing—claiming to be the Dragon Prince.
And now, that same Hollow had returned.
Still, Ryu remained calm.
"I see... so you're the Hollow who kidnapped my friend. What do you want now?" he asked evenly.
The grotesque, blobby creature twisted its form into something resembling a smirk, though it only made its face more hideous.
"Nothing… except your life." Its tone shifted into a venomous hiss. "The Void Lord told me I was fooled. Because of you, I was disgraced before my peers. He told me there is no Sun Dragon lineage left in the Dragon Realm—meaning you are nothing but a filthy imposter."
Its warped features darkened with pure rage.
"How dare you deceive me?! Do you know what your little trick cost? Because of your lie, all those humans died needlessly... Poor humans... Truly, dragonkind are nothing but a curse upon them."
Ryuzen's eyes narrowed, confusion flickering across his face.
"What do you mean?" he asked, though a cold premonition began to coil in his chest.
"Kekeke... Want to know? Then listen—
We never intended to destroy the human City," the Hollow hissed. "But because of your insolence, the Voud Lord sent his personal army to wipe it out—including you. With one arrow, we meant to kill two birds.
Yet you survived… but at the cost of thousands of human lives. You should rot in hell for your sins…"
"Bastard!" Grakar's voice boomed like distant thunder. "My lord, this is none of your fault… This ugly creature is just trying to twist your mind!"
Ryuzen staggered for a heartbeat, but steadied himself. Grakar was right. He was not the cause of all those deaths.
The Hollows were.
"Ohh, another lizard…" the grotesque blob sneered, its voice dripping with hunger. "I'm feeling peckish once again…"
With a deafening slurp, the creature unleashed a violent suction force, attempting to drag Grakar into its gaping maw.
"Enough!" Ryuzen roared, his voice shaking the air.
"No one touches my people!"
With that his golden eyes ignited, blazing with an otherworldly brilliance.
"BUZZ!"
In the next instant, a concentrated beam of pure golden energy erupted from his gaze, lancing toward the Dark Blob with terrifying intensity.
But the creature's amorphous mass swallowed the light whole, dissolving it into harmless motes.
Its ability was eerily similar to Ryuzen's own Abyssal Grasp.
"Kekeke…" it chuckled darkly. "There's nothing in this world that can harm me, little lizard."