Chapter 1207: 194. Ember

“The one that has been poisoned... is the dragon blood?”

Muen abruptly raised his head. “What does that mean?”

“Of course it means exactly what it sounds like.”

“Kran” raised the sword in his hand and lightly ran his fingers across the blade. For this sword to have become Kran’s personal weapon and helped him slay an earth dragon, its craftsmanship was naturally extraordinary.

But now, it no longer possessed the glory and brilliance it had displayed before. Dim, multicolored patterns of light crawled across the blade without the slightest trace of beauty, as though it had just been picked up from some foul-smelling vat of swill.

“This poison only works on one kind of creature: dragons. To a dragon, it is an extremely terrifying deadly poison, but to any other existence, it is completely harmless, as ordinary and commonplace as the water you and I drink.”

“Kran” moved his gaze away from the blade and stared mockingly at Muen.

“You seem to possess some kind of ability that allows you to resist toxins, which is why you are so surprised. But no matter how powerful that ability may be, how could it possibly defend against something that is fundamentally harmless? If you want to blame something, blame the dragon blood inside your body. Walk too close to calamity, and sooner or later, you will be dragged into it. That is one of the truths of this world.”

“A deadly poison that only works on dragons? Could it be...”

Muen’s thoughts surged violently. Still ignoring Avik’s slander toward Miss Dragon, he continued carefully sensing the filth moving through his body.

Sure enough, rather than saying those insect-like impurities had fused with his flesh and blood, it would be more accurate to say that they had fused with several tiny golden points of light.

Those golden points of light were probably the dragon blood inside his body.

Ancient dragon heartblood... or dragon blood from some other source.

And that dragon blood had already completely merged with his body. There was no way to separate it out on its own, which meant that this poison, which should only have worked on dragons, now worked on him as well.

But what shook Muen was not the effect produced by the poison, nor was it the realization that the amount of dragon blood inside his body was slightly greater than he had imagined.

Instead, he suddenly remembered something.

Back in Annabawei.

Priscilla, one of the Tars survivors, had suddenly appeared and caused trouble.

She had used the “Goddess of Light”... or rather, the Withering King’s Pollution, to mutate the residents of Annabawei and make them attack Miss Dragon. According to what she had said at the time, her goal had been to defeat Miss Dragon and “liberate” everyone.

But looking at it now, she definitely had not intended to rely on those mutated residents and the Withering King’s power to defeat Miss Dragon, because that was simply impossible.

She herself must also have known that it was impossible. After all, if Avik, another survivor, understood Miss Dragon’s strength so clearly, there was no reason Priscilla would not.

Her goal at the time had obviously been to force Miss Dragon into a massacre and make her destroy all of Annabawei along with them.

Muen had never understood why she wanted to do that.

What possible use could there be in treating the entirety of Annabawei as “bait”?

And it had not been only her. Avik, not long ago, had also displayed the exact same intention, openly and secretly luring Miss Dragon into killing and destroying.

Why did they want to do that?

What benefit would they gain from it?

Could making Miss Dragon kill people somehow lead to her defeat?

All this time, Muen had not understood at all. He had not even been able to connect these events.

But now, he had vaguely grasped something.

Because of the word Avik had used.

Poison.

A poison specifically effective against dragons...

Such an exceptionally strict prerequisite meant that this was definitely no ordinary toxin. The amount of dragon blood inside Muen’s body only amounted to a few drops. It was not very much, yet the poison had already left him in unbearable pain.

In other words, even Miss Dragon...

Even the strongest calamity...

Would still be unable to escape the effects of that poison.

Therefore, if he connected this poison capable of harming Miss Dragon with the survivors’ strange behavior all this time, many things began to make sense.

At the very least, everything they had done all this time...

Definitely had not been mere madness.

“The weakness of Miss Dragon that you people kept talking about... You were referring to this poison?”

“...Who knows?”

“Kran’s” expression stiffened for a moment before he concealed it perfectly.

“You can try guessing.”

“Then give me ten minutes... No, half an hour. Let me think it over carefully.”

Muen immediately adopted a contemplative posture.

“Do you take me for an idiot? Time is not on my side. How could I possibly cooperate while you deliberately stall?”

With a sharp ring, “Kran” pointed his longsword diagonally forward, murderous intent surging around him.

“Muen Campbell, according to our original plan, we should not have bothered with an insignificant figure like you. But your presence is simply too difficult to ignore. You have not even been Crowned, yet you have obstructed our plans again and again. I have no choice but to deal with you first. Otherwise, further complications will definitely arise later.”

“Are you insulting me... or complimenting me?” Muen asked.

“Interpret it however you like.”

“No, I think it would be better not to interpret it however I like. As someone who cares deeply about his reputation, whether you are complimenting me or insulting me is extremely important to me. Please analyze it carefully for me.”

Muen spoke with complete seriousness.

“Preferably in a detailed critical essay of more than one thousand... No, three thousand words. That way, at least I can die with a clear understanding.”

“...Shut up. I already told you, I will absolutely not let you stall for time!”

The veins on “Kran’s” forehead bulged violently. He did not give Muen even the slightest opportunity to delay and swiftly attacked him.

Muen was currently afflicted by the deadly poison. Although the poison was not enough to kill him because the amount of dragon blood inside his body was not particularly high, it was already enough to make it difficult for him to gather the strength to resist.

Therefore, in “Kran’s” eyes, killing this fellow whose skin was as thick as a city wall should have been effortless.

All he needed was a casual thrust like this...

“Huh?”

But “Kran” suddenly froze.

His martial techniques had been refined through an extremely long period of training. Although they had not reached the very highest level in this world, they should still have been enough to completely crush a yellow-haired brat like this.

But after he thrust out that fatal sword strike...

“You actually dodged?”

“Cough, cough...”

Muen coughed up a mouthful of blood, his face pale.

He appeared not to have moved from where he stood, but not far away, two deep footprints had been clearly “engraved” into the ground.

It was obvious that the instant “Kran” attacked, Muen had erupted with unimaginable speed and successfully avoided that fatal move.

“Luck... It was luck. Cough, cough. This poison really is powerful.”

Muen’s voice was weak.

“I almost died.”

“Then you will not be so lucky next time!”

“Kran” became furious and thrust out another sword strike.

“...”

It missed again.

The air strangely froze for several seconds.

“Kran’s” eyes widened as though he had seen a ghost. The previous time could have been explained by his own carelessness, but what about now?

He had truly used his full strength in this attack!

Why...

Moreover, the yellow-haired brat had dodged so quickly that even he had barely managed to see the movement!

“Luck... It was still luck.”

Muen’s face became even paler, and his body swayed unsteadily as though he might collapse directly onto the ground at any moment.

But he stubbornly remained standing.

“How about... trying one more sword strike? One more strike and I really will kick the bucket.”

“Then I will!”

“Kran” felt that he had suffered unprecedented humiliation.

This time, it was no longer merely a full-power strike. He directly overdrawed the strength of this body that did not belong to him, releasing every trace of potential hidden within its marrow.

In an instant, fierce winds howled and space trembled.

It was clearly only a single sword strike, yet its momentum was like an entire mountain crushing horizontally toward the pitiful yellow-haired man!

But...

It still missed.

The longsword stopped less than a few centimeters away from Muen’s neck. Several strands of golden hair even drifted through the air. It looked as though, had “Kran” been only slightly more accurate, Muen’s head would already have been separated from his body.

But “Kran” knew that those few short centimeters were an uncrossable chasm.

“H-How could this be?”

“Kran’s” body trembled slightly. It was impossible to tell whether it was a side effect of overexerting the body or the storm raging through his mind.

“Are you really only a Fifth-Rank warrior?”

“Could that possibly be fake?”

Muen looked puzzled.

“If I were Crowned, I would have beaten you into the ground long ago. Would I really have let you act arrogant for this long?”

“Then how did you dodge my attacks?”

“Kran’s” entire face twisted together, becoming terrifyingly hideous.

“I am—”

“All right, stop talking. I know you are an eight-hundred-year-old fossil. Even if you are borrowing someone else’s body, your attacks are naturally extraordinary.”

Muen impatiently interrupted “Kran.”

“But did I not already tell you? If you want to kill me... at the very least, you need to come in your real body. Or bring a Crowned being, a Truth-Rank mage, or something like that. What, did you think I was joking?”

“You are the one joking!”

“Kran” nearly jumped up.

“Saying that it has to be a Crowned being or a Truth-Rank mage—are those really words a mere Fifth-Rank warrior should be saying?”

“No. I never joke about this sort of thing.”

Muen finally stopped pretending and revealed an evil smile.

“Although the deadly poison has indeed left me with almost no strength to fight back, as long as the one who comes is not a genuine Crowned being, or a prepared Truth-Rank mage or something like that, then doing something like running away... is still within my capabilities.”

After all, leaving everything else aside, his ability to escape had already fully reached the Crowned level.

Personally selected by the Witch of Repentance.

Absolutely genuine, fairly priced, and guaranteed not to deceive either children or the elderly.

“You... You actually—!”

“Kran’s” chest rose and fell violently. He was clearly furious.

From the moment he used Kran to launch this final charge, he had calculated everything down to the smallest detail.

But the one thing he had failed to account for was...

This yellow-haired brat was actually this difficult to kill?

This was supposed to be Fifth Rank?

Where did a Fifth-Rank warrior this abnormal come from?

If someone told him this brat was an old monster just like him, he would have believed it!

Of course, “Kran” had absolutely no idea what kind of beings Muen had spent all this time playing deadly games of escape against.

Otherwise, he probably would not have been so angry.

After all, in terms of the degree of “humiliation,” he would not even have qualified for a number.

“I underestimated you.”

“Kran” was a clever man. The moment he realized that this task could no longer be completed, he immediately chose to give up.

However, he failed to notice that...

The instant he lowered his sword, a trace of joy also flashed deep within Muen’s eyes.

He had finally managed to bluff this fellow.

One more time...

Perhaps if he had attacked just one more time, Muen truly would not have had the strength to continue dodging.

Under the effects of the poison, he had already reached the verge of complete exhaustion. The previous evasive movements had almost entirely been forced out through sheer willpower.

That poison specifically designed to target dragons truly was extremely, extremely terrifying.

Leaving everything else aside, Muen could already feel his consciousness beginning to blur. He might lose consciousness at any moment.

“Looks like after scheming for so long, you are going to return empty-handed once again.”

Muen continued mocking him while forcing himself to remain alert and doing everything he could not to reveal any flaws.

“How pitiful.”

“Return empty-handed?”

“Kran” quickly regained his calm and suddenly smiled.

“Why do you think I will return empty-handed?”

“What? Did you not come here to kill me?” Muen frowned.

“Yes, I did indeed come to kill you... But since that cannot be done, then at the very least, I should accomplish something else. I... Cough, cough!”

“Kran” suddenly began coughing violently.

Large amounts of blood spilled from his mouth, instantly staining a wide area of the ground before him red.

His face also became deathly pale. Even though nothing had happened here, he now looked even more wretched than the poisoned Muen.

“Have you already reached your limit?”

Faced with this sudden situation, “Kran” remained perfectly composed.

Naturally, there was no one here capable of injuring him. The only thing that could have reduced him to such a state was what was happening on the other side...

He lowered his head and looked at Muen.

“Returning to what I was saying, since I cannot kill you, I should at least do a few other things. After all, this is time I bought with my own life. How could I possibly waste it?”

“Other things?”

Muen asked, “What exactly are you—”

“...”

There was no answer.

Or rather, there was no longer any need for an answer.

“Kran” was still smiling.

His smile was somewhat strange. Even though Muen could already sense the soul aura inside that body becoming weaker and weaker...

That smile did not diminish in the slightest.

He was like a grinning clown on a stage, faithfully completing his performance from beginning to end.

Naturally, that included the final act as well.

Clang.

Muen watched as “Kran” dropped the sword.

Then he raised both hands, and his fingers...

Hooked onto something.

Magic power rapidly spread through the surroundings.

Before Muen could react, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his mind.

His pupils contracted.

Because his magic...

Had been dispelled.

The one and only spell he knew and was currently using.

Illumination.

“Wait...”

Muen finally realized something.

Without the slightest hesitation, he tightly gripped the pure-white twin blades, preparing to kill “Kran” in advance.

But the moment he moved, the pain caused by the deadly poison savagely tore through his nerves.

Weakness spread wildly through his body.

Forget attacking—he could not even remain standing.

His consciousness was also collapsing at an extremely rapid speed.

The scene before him gradually darkened.

Muen saw the mocking smile at the corners of “Kran’s” mouth.

The surrounding scenery returned to reality.

The members of the Dragon-Slaying Team who had not yet left were staring blankly at Kran, who had suddenly appeared.

Kran abruptly turned around and raised his hand, seemingly about to touch the Dragon-Slaying Team member closest to him.

Immediately afterward, a streak of crimson lightning swept over from the distant horizon.

Its violent divine radiance nearly tore apart the entire sky above the city.

“Don’t...”

Muen instinctively tried to shout something.

But completely exhausted as he was, he could not even force out a complete sentence.

And even if he had shouted, it would have been useless.

His voice could never have traveled faster than the lightning.

Boom!

In the blink of an eye, that bolt of lightning pierced straight through “Kran’s” chest.

Before he could successfully touch anyone else, it completely annihilated his life force...

And even his soul.

Cold and merciless.

“L-Lord Kran!”

In the final moment before his consciousness disappeared, Muen saw the members of the Dragon-Slaying Team freeze briefly before rushing forward and catching the body that had already died completely and had even been left mutilated by the lightning.

They grieved.

They wept bitterly.

Kran was the captain of the Dragon-Slaying Team. They had spent every day together and had built a deep bond comparable to that of family.

And now, such an important person had died so miserably before their eyes.

Even though they did not know the “cause,” the “result” was incomparably real.

High above, the fiery-red figure slowly descended and looked down coldly at everyone.

And when the others raised their heads, their eyes no longer held only the obedience and fear from before.

They were also overflowing with rage that could no longer be suppressed.