"Where is Young Master Merlin, Young Lady Catrine?" Gover asked seriously.

"Over there, Uncle!" Catrine pointed two hundred meters ahead. "Big Brother is fighting that man."

Gover gave a small nod. Without hesitation, he and the soldiers ran toward the direction she pointed. But suddenly, gray smoke spread out, clouding their vision.

"Wait!" Gover hurriedly stopped them. "There's something strange about this smoke. If we go any deeper, you might get lost. Young lady, stay here. I'll go in with the soldiers. I'll leave two men to protect you."

Hearing that, Catrine wanted to argue but held herself back. Gover's words were right—she would only be a burden if she followed. She couldn't afford to be selfish.

In the end, she nodded firmly and lowered her head.

"Alright, I understand. Be careful, Uncle. Please find my brother and save him," she said in a hoarse voice.

"Don't worry, young lady. Leave it to me," Gover replied confidently. He turned to the two young soldiers beside him and ordered, "Take care of Young Lady Catrine. Don't let her get hurt. Otherwise…"

His gaze sharpened, making both of them shudder.

"We understand, Captain! Leave it to us!" They answered in unison.

Gover nodded in satisfaction. Just as he and the soldiers were about to step into the smoke, a deafening explosion suddenly erupted, followed by the ground shaking violently.

Boom!

The ground trembled, forcing everyone to quickly steady themselves.

"What's going on? Is there an enemy?" Gover asked warily, shielding Catrine behind him.

"Captain, look!" A soldier beside him pointed upward with a pale, trembling face. "That… dragon!"

Everyone gasped in shock. They followed his finger and saw a massive red dragon towering thirty meters high.

The dragon's body was covered in thick, sturdy red scales, and its head was crowned with two sharp crimson horns.

Its teeth were razor-sharp and terrifying, as if they could crush the hardest material in the world with ease.

It spread its four wings wide and unleashed a soul-piercing roar.

Roar!

Gover, Catrine, and the soldiers quickly covered their ears, their faces filled with fear and horror.

"How can there be a dragon here? What on earth happened?" one of the soldiers stammered.

They had never heard of any dragons living in the surrounding forest, let alone connected to any legends.

After all, the Holy Kingdom of Aldoria was human territory, and the appearance of a dragon here was almost impossible.

While Gover and the soldiers were frozen in fear and confusion, Catrine reacted differently. She stared intently at the dragon, and for some reason, a name flashed through her mind—Lyserra.

'Don't tell me… That's Lyserra?' She whispered, covering her mouth in shock.

***

Bang!

The black-cloaked man was sent flying for tens of meters before crashing hard into a tree.

The impact was so strong that the tree shattered and collapsed. A sharp pain shot through his back as his spine cracked, making him let out a bloodcurdling scream.

"What the hell is going on, asshole!?" He lifted his head, but all he could see was thick gray smoke clouding his vision.

Just as he was about to summon his three monsters, something shocking happened—a black shadow rushed toward him at an incredible speed.

Before he could react, it smashed into his body and sent him soaring into the air. Before he could even scream, another shadow appeared and slammed into him midair.

Once again, his body was thrown downward like a falling meteor.

Boom!

A hole a meter deep formed where he landed. The once arrogant figure now looked battered and miserable.

Open wounds covered his body, with crimson blood seeping from every gash.

Cough!

He coughed harshly, covering his mouth as thick blood spilled out, shocking him.

"Damn it! What the hell is going on!? Who attacked me!?" He shouted furiously.

But the next second, pain surged through his body, making his face twist in agony.

As he struggled to rise, the gray smoke around him slowly began to dissipate. Finally, he saw the figure standing before him—a dragon.

"Hiiik…!" His eyes widened in sheer terror. "A… dragon!? How can there be a dragon here!?"

He recoiled, his body trembling violently. The dragon was so massive that he looked like a tiny, insignificant ant.

Even more shocking than the dragon itself were his three monsters, now standing obediently at its side, as if they were its subordinates.

Lyserra fixed her gaze on him, and his body froze with fear. Instantly, he felt a wet warmth in his pants—he had lost control.

"You're a weak, insignificant creature. But how dare you harm my master? You truly seek death!"

A roar erupted from the dragon's mouth. In an instant, the man was hurled into the air and then slammed down like a broken kite.

"Hah… Hah… Hah…" He panted heavily, staring blankly at the sky.

His injuries worsened from the earlier impacts, yet he refused to give up.

Forcing himself to rise, he gritted his teeth and glared at Lyserra.

"You damn dragon…" he snarled. "Do you think I'm a toy that can be destroyed at will? Feel my power!"

Boom!

A black aura exploded from his body, soaring into the sky. He clasped his hands together and shouted, "Fire magics, wind magics, lightning magics, and earth magics!"

Whoosh!

Twenty magic circles, each two meters in diameter, appeared both in the air and on the ground.

They all focused on Lyserra, and from them, a barrage of deadly attacks shot toward her.

In the distance, Merlin watched the scene, his face pale with horror and fear.

"Damn it! What the hell is that guy? How could he possibly cast that much magic at once?"

He remembered that the Seventh Spirit Core could only produce five to seven magic circles at most. Yet this man had created twenty at once.

It was impossible… but it had really happened.

'Hiss! Lucky for me, he didn't do this during our fight earlier. Otherwise…'

His words trailed off, but the meaning was clear—he would have been dead.

Boom!

All that magic slammed into Lyserra, the force blasting the surroundings with terrifying power.

Merlin raised his arm to shield his face from the shockwave.

Moments later, the dust cleared, and he finally saw Lyserra.

"This…" The corner of his mouth twitched in disbelief. Lyserra was still standing tall, completely unharmed.

The man stared in shock. "Impossible! How could you survive all my attacks?"

Fear made him step back. That had been his ultimate move, yet the dragon remained unaffected, as if his magic had done nothing.

"Huh!" Lyserra snorted coldly. "You lowly creature! Your magic is nothing compared to mine! Now, I'll show you what real magic looks like!"

She opened her mouth, and a five-meter plasma ball materialized in front of her.

The man's eyes widened in terror. He spun to run—but it was already too late.

Whoosh… Boom!

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