Chapter 94 Fighting Back
"This is going swimmingly." Hadron muttered, glancing around the scene of battle. Bright lights flashed as the defensive magic of the Women Warriors team began to fold.
As the Leader had predicted, the Tone Transportation Alliance folded immediately and retreated upon their attack. With so many Lord Class warriors and Wizards, it was no real question. If he wanted, they could probably annihilate the entire caravan of Wizards, though at great loss to themselves.
That left them with plenty of time to take out their targets and make a quick escape.
"Collision Magic: Collision Blade" Hadron clasped his hands together, quickly putting together a Spell. His Collision Blade Spell was technically only a Grandmaster Class Spell, but one that increased in strength linearly with the power of his Soul Spell Matrix.
"Well, let's get this over with." He held his hand up, pointing the blade at their target. The daughter of the former Captain of the Golden Moon Alliance.
"ROOOOOOAAAAAAAR!"
An enormous, ear-piercing roar shook the air, stunning Hadron due to its proximity. The sheer, physical presence of the creature that made the roar was overwhelming, its virile strength unbelievable.
He twisted his body to the side, looking up desperately as he raised his Collision Blade.
Even in the depths of a surprise attack, he was still a powerful, Lord Class Wizard, seasoned by many years of tough living and missions.
"Lau-" Before he could completely finish casting the spell, he felt an enormous impact on the side of his chest.
This blow shattered his innate barrier in a literal fraction of a second.
"Shi-" He managed to mutter out the beginning of a word as his body took the impact, and literally exploded into paste, blood spattering everywhere.
Killed instantly.
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
'Transform! Black-Scaled Rage Dragon form, let's go!' Dorian's Sun Eagle form instantly shifted, expanding and growing in size to a towering 7 meters. Lustrous, dark scales covered his physical body as it exploded outward, his wings stretching to a much larger size. A network of spikes ran up and down his spine, while a long, sinuous tail grew out from his rear.
He grew a pair of tree-trunk thick arms and legs, bulging with muscles and strength. His wings had stronger, heavier bones in them, changing them into tough, tensile weapons. Tough and strong enough that he could fly with them, albeit at a rather slow pace.
He became a Black-Scaled Rage Dragon.
'Ability: Moving Force! Activate!'
'Ability: Berserker Boost! Activate!'
Dorian's body took only an instant to shift forms. In that instant, the Wizard he was charging at managed to twist over, turning to face him.
He was a Lord Class Wizard, standing at the Peak of Lord Class.
–
Dorian – Soul Status
Soul Stage: Lord Class (Middle)
Health: Perfect
Energy: 39,982/39,996
–
Dorian was only at the Middle of the Lord Class. In terms of raw energy, he was outclassed.
That said, however, Dorian was a dragon.
In the 30,000 Worlds, the Energy Level of a being was a good metric for their overall strength. A powerful Wizard had a powerful Soul Spell Matrix, allowing them to cast a variety of devastating Spells.
The Energy Level of a creature, however, could not account for everything.
Between a Titan and a human, if both of them had the same Energy Level, it is an almost certain fact that the Titan will outclass the human in power.
This is due to the power of bloodlines, and physique. A mighty beast will almost always be stronger than a mighty human or humanoid.
Dorian's Energy Level was only at the Middle of Lord Class.
But he was a dragon.
Specifically, a Black-Scaled Rage Dragon. A type of creature known for their unstoppable might.
After the second Dorian took to cross the distance between himself and that Wizard, taking the fighter by surprise, Dorian slapped down with his right claw, slamming it into the Wizard.
He felt a slight bit of a resistance as the innate barrier of the Wizard struggled against him, and then collapsed.
An instant later, the Wizard died, unable to protect himself.
This also highlighted the difference between Lord Class Wizards and warriors. Some Spellcasters, like Helena, were capable of facing King Class threats and surviving. Incredibly skilled, agile, and mighty, she was an example of a genius Lord Class Wizard.
The Wizard before Dorian wasn't weak. No one that reached the Peak of Lord Class could be. But in terms of skill and technique, he couldn't hold a candle to Helena.
Energy Level and Class was a good baseline for strength, but it wasn't everything.
BOOM
The part of the ship that Dorian landed on cracked as he knocked the remains of the Wizard away, sending up shards of wood. His abrupt expansion had knocked away several warriors, sending them near the edge of the deck.
'Kill them! Welcome them into the silent embrace of chaos.' The voice in Dorian's mind shivered, almost in pleasure, as Dorian attacked.
He ignored it, turning his focus onto the remaining attackers.
WHOOSH
WHOOSH
THUD
Dorian felt two blows slam into the right side of his body, knocking him towards the Women Warriors team. He winced as he felt it, feeling several of his scales crack. Small trails of blood leaked down his chest and back, tiny puncture wounds dotting his body.
Two quivering vines, covered in thorns, had just slammed into him. Each vine must've been a meter thick, and more than a hundred meters long, shifting and turning in the air like snakes.
Dorian's chest heaved as he stood up on his back legs, the wooden deck of the ship buckling slightly more under him.
'Black Flames!'
–
Ability: Black Flames
Powerful flames that contain the essence of darkness in them, these flames are deadly and can melt through almost any substance if given enough time. They rank towards the middle in strength in regards to all dragonfire, and can be found in Black Dragons, some breeds of Darkness Dragons, and other darkness or demonic-related dragons.
–
WHOOSH
A huge fireball of black flames shot from Dorian's mouth, slamming into the twisting vines. This fireball melted right through the vines, shredding them into two in a second, with only a brief instant of resistance.
At the same time, Dorian felt several pinpricks of pain.
"GRR!" He let out a loose roar, twisting his body to the side violently.
BOOOM
Two Lord Class warriors had plunged their blades into his side, rushing up at him. Dorian felt a corrosive strength seem to seep into his blood from one attack, while the other attack carried with it a burning power.
Dorian's body knocked them both backwards, sending them near the edge of the ship before they managed to stab into the badly damaged wooden deck, holding on.
THUD
"ARRRGH!" A heavy impact slammed into Dorian's back as he turned, cracking at least one or two bones. Dorian spun about yet again, lashing forward with his claws against another Lord Class warrior, one that wielded a huge mace.
He felt a sensation of weakness from this blow, one that seeped into his bones.
Attack after attack rained down on Dorian as he took a beating, being surrounded on all sides.
The team he had blindly charged in against was an adept one. While none of them were genius warriors or Wizards, they were all experienced and coordinated fighters.
In a span of three seconds, Dorian had suffered from nearly a dozen separate attacks.
The Warrior Women team, meanwhile, were managing to hold on securely, fighting against only a handful of Lord Class warriors, and a single Lord Class Wizard.
Dorian's eyes flashed, a bloody rictus of a smile stretching across his face despite the injuries he was taking.
The info on the Ability he had activated flashed into his mind.
–
Ability: Berserker Boost
A mighty, strengthening Ability. The more physical damage one takes while this Ability is active, the greater a creature's physical strength and power will increase. This mystic Ability is rare and can be found in Rage Dragons, Rage Demons, and Embodiments of Wrath. It draws upon the natural laws of the universe to temporarily adapt the muscular makeup of a being.
–
'Power…'
'POWER! Hahahaha!'
Dorian didn't feel any of the injuries. Instead, he felt an overwhelming sensation of raw, physical might.
–
Dorian – Soul Status
Soul Stage: Lord Class (Middle)
Health: Okay (Injured)
Energy: 76,224/39,996 (Boosted)
–
His eyes flashed a second time as he saw his Boosted Energy Level.
While Energy Levels didn't mean everything in a battle… Nearly doubling his Energy Level was still an incredible increase in strength.
Especially when this increase was a direct result of his physical strength increasing due to his Berserker Boost Ability.
'Condense.'
Dorian activated his Condense Ability.
His huge, 7 meter tall stature shrank in an instant, replaced with a smooth, 3 meter tall draconic form. His black scales became denser, his entire body and muscle structure becoming tougher and more tensile.
–
Dorian – Soul Status
Soul Stage: Lord Class (Middle)
Health: Okay (Injured)
Energy: 152,224/39,996 (Boosted) (Condensed)
–
Dorian blinked.
The world around him seemed to have slowed down somewhat.
He looked down at his sleek, shining black claws, and then around the deck, his eyes widening.
Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion, to some degree.
'You may only maintain this form for 8 seconds before the strain is too much.' Ausra's voice rang out in his head, helpfully informative.
'8 seconds?' Dorian smiled.
'That's plenty.'
His body blurred forward as Dorian shot across the wooden deck, landing in front of the two attackers that he had just knocked away.
The wooden deck beneath him exploded into shards of wood, two huge imprints of his clawed feet damaging it at the force of his leap.
They were both wearing black armor and black masks, covering up every portion of their body. Ausra told him they were both at the Early Lord Class stage, warriors, not Wizards.
His perception of time had increased with his boosted Energy Level. This combined with his vastly increased physical strength in his Condensed form, making it possible for him to maneuver incredibly quickly.
He wasn't as fast as the Shade Light Wizard Dorian had fought on Blizzaria, especially not in his draconic form where he couldn't easily make use of the Mystic Martial Arts left in his memories.
But he could still move at an extraordinary speed.
"In your next life, try to not attack innocents." Dorian muttered, his eyes cool.
SNICK
SNICK
Dorian's black scaled arms blurred. A moment later, the heads of the two Lord Class warriors fell to the ground, killed before they had a chance to react.
WHOOSH
Dorian dodged to the side, running with all of his claws in a serpentine fashion as he ducked under a blast of fiery energy.
As he twisted to look behind him, he saw an enormous, 30-meter tall ball of red fire blasting right towards him, shooting across the deck at a speed equal to his own. The ball of flames had been conjured by one of the still living Wizard attacks, forming in an instant.
'Can't dodge in time.' He instantly reached that conclusion. He was fast, but not a God. He could try using some of those Mystic Martial Arts from his memories, but he had a better solution instead.
'Ifrit form, go!'
His body transformed, from his Condensed Black-Scaled Rage Dragon to a Condensed Ifrit.
'You may only maintain this form for 5.5 seconds.' Ausra helpfully informed him.
BOOM
WHOOSH
The huge ball of bright fire slammed into Dorian's waiting arms, trying to incinerate him. It gave off a decidedly concentrated and powerful heat, filled with energy from the Law of Fire.
Dorian smiled slightly as he knocked the entire fireball upward with ease.
Using a fire-based attack against him? It was like trying to use water to empty out a bathtub. Laughable.
His Ifrit form had a natural ability to manipulate fire, beyond anything his Fire Sense Ability gave him. When he was an Ifrit, he could manipulate and move fire as if it was a solid object, with ease, far more so then in any other form.
'Black-Scaled Rage Dragon form, go!'
Dorian's Condensed Dragon form blasted forward, landing next to the black robed Wizard that had just attacked him. The Wizard frantically tried to dodge backwards, clasping his hands together to cast a Spell.
Too late, unfortunately for the Wizard.
"In your next life, don't lob fireballs at the innocent."
BOOM
Dorian's claws slammed down with full force, breaking past the innate barrier of the Wizard and cutting into his chest with a nigh-unstoppable level of force.
THUD
The body of the Wizard slammed backwards, knocking off the mostly destroyed wooden deck before running into the railing on the side of the boat, breaking that, and soaring off into the air.
"Fall back!"
A panicked yell echoed out as the attackers began to retreat, the warriors disengaging with the Warrior Women squadron and the remaining Wizards stumbling backwards. They all fell back towards the still floating boulder that was currently stuck to the side of the flying ship.
Dorian watched them go, his chest heaving slightly with exertion.
His body transformed as he released his Condensed state, the strain threatening to overwhelm him. As he did so, he took a deep breath, stepping back onto his hind feet once more.
'Black Flames!'
As the attackers began to beat a retreat, Dorian launched one last wave of black fire at them, melting across the remains of the wooden deck and washing into the huge, floating boulder.
The last Dorian saw of the attackers was them fleeing, the huge boulder exploding outward from the ship and shooting off into the sky, coated in a layer of black dragonfire.
"Huff… Huff…" Dorian's breath came in huge gulps as his body shook. His Berserker Boost Ability deactivated as he finished fighting, the impact of his injuries slowly settling in on him.
"Grr." He shook his body, and then transformed, returning to his human form. The injuries transferred with him, but much smaller in size. As a human, the huge stabs and injuries from the attacks were reduced to small pricks and wounds. The sheer size and might of a dragon was a huge bonus when it came to tanking damage.
"Ahh. That went well!" He stretched his arms out, his heart slowing down as he laughed and smiled. The darkness in his mind seemed to have lightened after he killed some of the attackers, making the world around him seem almost cheerful.
He snapped his fingers a few times, nodding. He didn't seem to have suffered from any debilitating injuries. He smiled a second time, turning around to look around the badly damaged deck.
Coming face to face with a group of slack-jawed women, staring at him in sheer shock. Women that were rapidly whispering amongst themselves.
"…He's a Dragon?"
"Oh my god, a Dragon saved us?!"
"Praise the Dragon?"
"But why is he naked?!"
.