Chương 395: After The Clash

Vale dropped to one knee as the serpent towering over the clearing opened its enormous jaws and let out a harsh hiss at the Dragon Turtle. The sound rolled across the forest. The turtle answered at once. Its jaws opened, showing rows of huge teeth before a deep roar burst from its throat. The force of it made the trees around them shake. For a moment, the two beasts simply stared at each other, neither willing to give way. Then they charged. The hundreds of meters between them disappeared at once.

The serpent moved first, its massive body rushing forward with shocking speed. Before the Dragon Turtle could react, the serpent wrapped itself around the creature's mountain-like shell, its long body locking the turtle in place. At the same time, the lake beside Vale exploded into motion. Huge pillars of water rose into the air, pulled upward by some unseen force before bending toward the serpent as though answering its will. The Dragon Turtle fought back with all its strength. The ground shook beneath them.

Trees swayed wildly, and rocks rolled across the clearing as the two ancient creatures pushed against each other. Vale, despite being close to the peak of human physical strength, struggled to stay on his feet. He tried to steady himself, but another hard tremor passed through the ground and forced him back onto one knee. Shade, however, didn't seem bothered at all. The shadow warrior stood beside him without moving, his ruby eyes fixed on the battle as though the ground wasn't shaking.

Vale slowly looked up at him.

"Can you at least pretend this is difficult?" Shade glanced down at him. For a moment, nothing happened. Then Shade suddenly began wobbling from side to side, shaking his whole body like an idiot. He nearly threw himself onto the ground before catching his balance at the last second. Vale stared at him. He sighed.

"Never mind. Just keep watching." Shade straightened again as if nothing had happened. (Eskar POV — Earlier) Deep within the forest, the ground began to tremble. Eskar stopped walking. His single eye lowered toward the ground as another heavy vibration passed beneath his feet. He reached out and stopped Nova before she could take another step. She looked at him with confusion.

"Is something wrong?"

"I don't know." Eskar crouched and placed one hand against the ground. He closed his eye and focused on the faint sounds beneath the earth. For several seconds, he remained still. Then another tremor came. This one was much stronger. Eskar's eye opened. The icy blue pupil flickered as he slowly raised his head. Something was moving through the forest. Something enormous. Between the trees, he caught a glimpse of what looked like a moving mountain. His expression soured.

"That idiot must have done something stupid again. I thought he was more mature by now." Nova took a few uneasy steps back.

"S-Should we run?" Eskar looked at her. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Then he placed a hand against his burning chest and shook his head.

"No. I'll deal with it. You go back to camp." Nova hesitated. She clearly didn't like the idea of leaving him alone, but after a moment, she slowly nodded.

"Okay." She turned to leave. Eskar turned toward the approaching mountain and took a single step forward. Then he stopped. Something soft touched his shoulder. Before he could react, Nova leaned over and pressed a quick kiss against his cheek. Eskar's eye grew. A faint blush spread across his face as he slowly turned toward her. Nova was just as red.

"Don't do anything stupid like Vale, alright?" Eskar stared at her for a few seconds before his expression softened.

"Of course." He gently placed a hand on her head.

"I wouldn't allow myself to die this early. I promise." Before Nova could say anything else, Eskar leaned down and kissed her forehead. Her face turned even redder. She quickly looked away and hurried back toward the camp. Despite her embarrassment, however, a small smile remained on her face. Eskar watched her leave. His own smile stayed for a moment longer.

"I love her." The words came out quietly. They were simple, but they meant more to him than almost anything else he could have said. Nova was different from everyone else in his life. She didn't care about his family name or his talent. She didn't look at him as the heir to some great dynasty, nor as the genius who had always stood above the rest of his class. To her, he was simply Eskar. And he liked that quite a lot.

Because he loved her, he wasn't going to let some reckless dragon destroy the life they were only beginning to build. The smile disappeared from his face. He took a slow breath and prepared to speak. Then another voice echoed through the forest." REVESH!" Eskar froze. His head snapped toward the sound. A huge disturbance came from the direction of the lake. Trees shook as the guardian serpent rose from the water, its enormous blue body climbing above the forest while streams of water poured from its scales.

Eskar stared for a moment. Then he gave a quiet chuckle.

"It seems you aren't quite as stupid as I thought." His eye narrowed as he watched the serpent.

"Well done, Vale." The arrival of the serpent changed everything. Eskar knew the creature would deal with the Dragon Turtle. The only thing that worried him was how much damage the fight would cause. From more than a kilometer away, he watched the battle closely. Water burst from the earth. It wrapped around the Dragon Turtle's enormous body, making it harder for the creature to move and throwing off its balance. Eskar remained calm. Fortunately, the turtle wasn't fully grown. That made a huge difference.

Until now, Eskar had only ever encountered one fully mature True Dragon. His own. Though even that dragon had been far from normal. His Enigma had taken the Bloodscale's ability to speed up growth through energy and forced it into an unnatural adult form. The result had been a strange dragon that represented heat and cold instead of its natural element of destruction. That creature had eventually become Eskar's spirit. It was also the reason Eskar could speak Ancient Draconic with ease.

More importantly, it gave him the confidence to stand against beings on the level of other True Dragons. But confidence didn't mean he was careless. Eskar knew what his power demanded from him. Every advantage came with a price. For now, though, he had no reason to interfere. Eskar jumped from the ground and landed on a thick branch high above the forest floor. He settled against the trunk and watched the battle below. A faint smile appeared on his face.

"Let's see what True Dragons are really capable of." Before him, the battle grew more violent. The Dragon Turtle charged. The serpent rushed forward to meet it. Eskar raised an eyebrow. He expected the collision to create a massive shockwave. Instead, there was almost nothing. The two enormous bodies crashed together, yet the force seemed strangely controlled.

"Interesting..." Eskar leaned forward slightly, paying closer attention. The serpent twisted around the turtle at once. It moved between its limbs and around its shell before wrapping its long body around the creature. Its coils tightened. The Dragon Turtle struggled against them. For a moment, it looked trapped. Then the turtle slammed its own body into the ground. BOOM. The impact broke the serpent's hold and threw it loose. The turtle turned toward it. But the serpent was already moving. It struck first.

Its jaws closed around the side of the turtle's skull, its teeth biting deep into the thick armor. The Dragon Turtle pulled back and snapped at its attacker, but the serpent had already slipped away. Water surged beneath the turtle's feet. Its balance suddenly vanished. The enormous creature stumbled. The serpent didn't waste the chance. It controlled the water beneath and around the turtle, constantly shifting the ground beneath its feet. Every movement became harder.

The turtle's own massive weight worked against it as it struggled to stay upright. The Dragon Turtle roared. It thrashed wildly. It slammed its limbs into the ground. But nothing worked. The serpent was faster. It was more flexible. And with its control over water, it could keep the Dragon Turtle off balance almost whenever it wanted. Finally, the serpent twisted its entire body and used its full weight to throw the Dragon Turtle away. The massive beast crashed into the earth. BOOM!

Another heavy tremor passed through the forest. Even from his branch, Eskar felt the impact. A small smile returned to his face.

"It seems I wasn't needed after all. I'm glad." The Dragon Turtle slowly pushed itself back up. Its legs shook as it regained its balance, and for a moment, it simply stared at the serpent. Then it released one final, angry shriek before turning away. The massive creature retreated into the forest, its footsteps slowly fading into the distance. Eskar watched until it disappeared. His smile faded. He knew what would have happened if he had stepped in.

"If it had been me..." He looked toward the forest where the Dragon Turtle had vanished.

"... that dragon would have died."