The 9th Class Swordmaster: Blade of Truth-Chapter 364: Battle with the Platinum Dragon (3)

Ssss...!! Hiss...!!

The blue serpent coiled around the two blades in Karyl’s hands, wrapping himself tightly around the swords.

“Kyaaa...!!”

As the snake flicked his tongue, Lakna and Agnel were engulfed in a glow. When the light faded, it revealed a single massive sword, its blue blade stretching toward the heavens as if to pierce them.

Clouds swirled rapidly around its edge, as though the sword itself was conjuring a storm.

Boom! Crash...!! Rumble...!!!

The blade’s bright blue glow shifted to a violet hue as Karyl’s own energy mixed with Mael’s, and finally, it turned black.

“Give me a little more.”

The veins on Karyl’s hand bulged as though they were ready to burst, but he kept drawing out more power. The blade, blackened by the spirit’s energy, shone once more, this time turning a silvery grey.

“This isn’t normal... It’s not even Dragon Magic,” Allen murmured uneasily.

“Indeed,” said Karyl, “this is the magic I’ve been searching for. The magic beyond the reach of other dragons.”

At that, Allen’s lips curled into a slight, mysterious smile.

“KRAAAAA...!!”

The Platinum Dragon’s roar shook the earth.

Annihilation Strike.

“Haaaa...!!”

Karyl swung his blade with full force against the oncoming breath attack. The condensed energy of the sword had expanded to the size of a five-story building.

As the breath surged toward him, the energy cleaved downward.

BOOOOM...!!

A deafening explosion erupted from the collision of the two massive forces. A dome of light descended upon the battleground, expanding rapidly.

“Aaagh...!!”

“H-Help...!!”

The imperial soldiers caught in the blast were reduced to ash almost instantly, their screams cut short.

“Hold your positions.”

The Black-Eyed warriors, having wisely kept their distance from the battle, could only watch in awe as the blast instantly obliterated everything within a radius of hundreds of meters.

“This is absurd...” one of them muttered in disbelief, prompting a nod of agreement from Zigra.

“That one strike could have destroyed even the capital. The dragon is one thing, but for our lord to split apart a breath of that magnitude...What in the world...”

“Hey, get a grip! Our mission is to rescue our lord immediately! We’ll break through the frontlines, regroup with the reinforcements, and then target their rear again.”

“What?”

“Lord Karyl has just withstood an attack from the mightiest ancient dragon. You’ve all seen it with your own eyes. He must have used a tremendous amount of energy!”

Zigra rushed forward through the fleeing imperial troops, heading straight for the wasteland left in the explosion’s wake.

“But because of that, our lord will only grow stronger...”

The other Black-Eyed warriors followed without a moment’s hesitation.

* * *

“Ugh... Ghh...!”

The Platinum Dragon looked down at Karyl sprawled on the ground, his right wing gone, eyes burning with disbelief and fury.

“You miserable piece of...!!”

Karyl’s sword had pierced his wing earlier when he had shielded Neil Blanc, the wound ultimately delaying his reaction. The Platinum Dragon had been caught off-guard, never expecting anyone to counter his magic like that.

Crack... Crack...!

The dragon’s shoulder joint twisted and cracked, flesh bubbling and stretching forward.

“He’s... regenerating? That’s not healing magic—he’s naturally restoring his wing. Even for a dragon, that should be impossible... That thing’s a monster...”

Allen watched Narh Di Maug with an incredulous smile.

Lying beside the battered dragon was Karyl, unconscious.

“Karyl...! Hey, Karyl!!”

Despite Allen’s urgent calls, Karyl showed no signs of stirring.

“Shit...!”

He might’ve been thought dead if not for Mael’s mark on his arm, still glowing fiercely.

“Hey, can none of you wake him...?!”

None of the Spirit Kings responded to his desperate plea.

“What the hell is going on...?”

Thud...!! Thud...!! Thud...!!!

The Platinum Dragon raised his massive foot over the fallen Karyl. He flapped his right wing—pulsing with raw flesh, as the scales had yet to regenerate.

“Ugh, this is bad...” Allen muttered nervously.

Woosh!

At that moment, the scales on the back of Narh Di Maug’s foot—poised to crush Karyl—were cleanly cleaved off.

“Ugh?!”

“Don’t stop attacking!”

Countless blades slashed in rapid succession. Given the dragon’s sheer size, they were little more than scratches, yet the cuts still pierced its scales and exposed the muscle beneath.

Snap...!!

With the sound of something tearing, the massive dragon staggered.

“Kraaaahhh...!!”

As the Black-Eyed warriors clung to his leg and severed the tendons, Narh Di Maug’s massive frame buckled and crashed to the ground.

Boom...!!

A cloud of dust erupted as Narh Di Maug let out a furious roar. Normally, not even the Black-Eyed tribe would’ve been strong enough to bring down the dragon like this. However, Narh Di Maug had expended a significant amount of energy to regenerate his wing, and he hadn’t anticipated the sudden ambush either.

“How dare you...!!”

Everything kept defying his expectations.

“Draw his attention! Even if it costs you your lives, keep him from moving!” Zigra commanded, lifting the unconscious Karyl onto his back.

The warriors nodded in acknowledgment.

“This is our purpose!”

The Moonlit Night—the elites of the Black-Eyed tribe and the last ten of their kind—lunged at the Platinum Dragon without a hint of hesitation, willing to give their lives to halt him.

* * *

“Cough...!!”

As Zigra dashed through the smoke, Karyl jolted awake, coughing up blood.

“You fool... Are you alright? What were you thinking, taking the Platinum Dragon’s mana-infused breath head-on...”

Allen gazed at the battered Karyl, clearly worried

“You almost died.”

“Huff... huff...”

Karyl’s labored breathing gradually steadied as he circulated his mana, and the wounds on his face slowly disappeared. Like the Platinum Dragon, his regenerative abilities had surpassed those of ordinary mortals.

There was no doubt about it—that breath would have instantly killed any other Sword Master.

“What about the Black-Eyed?”

“They’re holding off the Platinum Dragon. They’ll cover our retreat. You should withdraw from the frontlines and recover.”

“They can’t handle him,” Karyl argued.

“So, did you succeed?”

“Zigra!”

Despite Karyl’s shout, Zigra didn’t slow down.

“They won’t die. Just as we believe in you, you should believe in us. We’re not being reckless. We’re simply taking a necessary gamble so you can reach even greater heights.”

“...”

At that, a bitter smile played on his lips. “Fine. I succeeded.”

Zigra nodded, satisfied with the answer.

[That settles it. What that traitor gained in exchange for betraying us... The magic the Platinum Dragon used just now. It was...!]

Mael’s voice echoed with urgency as Zigra rushed forward with Karyl.

The serpent mark finally settled down, its blazing energy fading.

[Don’t make a fuss. We know it too.]

[We know it better than you.]

It seemed the Spirit Kings had returned after their brief absence. Allen wanted to ask what had happened, but he refrained from interrupting their conversation.

[It’s Divine Power.]

[But it’s different. It may be the same essence, but it’s different.]

[Indeed. The dragon possesses the power of Rasis, the Spirit King of Light. For a dragon to wield the power of a Spirit King... it’s unthinkable. Since the Mythical Era, no spirit has ever formed a contract with a dragon.]

[Even though he was known as the Ruler of Spirits during the Great War, that was for the sake of the war. After his betrayal, there’s no way he could have made a contract with a Spirit King again.]

Duaat, Ethereal, and Ramine all spoke in solemn voices.

“You might not have known, having been sealed for so long. He may have discovered a method we don’t understand,” Allen interjected.

[What do you mean?] Ramine asked.

“Think back to the discovery in the Thousand-Year Ice Cave. Among the two figures frozen within, one was undoubtedly the original Blader. But no one knew who the other one was. All we know is that he was associated with some kind of power, right?”

Indeed, there were two figures encased in the Thousand-Year Ice Cave. The blond man—a mysterious figure, absent from Karyl’s previous life—was found frozen in the middle of a clash with the Godslayer Judex—the first Blader.

[The Spirit King of Light...] Duaat muttered in a reminiscent tone.

[Right. He wasn’t around in Karyl’s past life. That means the seal must’ve been broken at some point. The question is when. Don’t forget we’ve found traces of Rasis not only at the Thousand-Year Ice Cave but also at another location.]

“It was inside the Platinum Dragon’s lair.”

“Exactly,” Karyl, having recovered slightly, responded to Allen. “Combine the two, and there’s only one conclusion. The seal of Rasis, the Spirit King of Light, has been broken and the Platinum Dragon has inherited that power.”

“But the Thousand-Year Ice Cave is protected by the tribes,” Zigra, still carrying Karyl, interjected.

“Hmph... Who’s guarding it now? All the renowned warriors of the tribes have come to the battlefield. Do you really think you can stop that monster with just your people, when even Karyl struggled against him?”

Allen’s retort made Zigra frown with unease.

“Perhaps that’s why he sent the three dragons to the front lines first and joined later.”

“Are you saying... there might be an issue in the northern territories?”

“Who knows? If Israphil were around, we might have been able to confirm it...”

Zigra fell silent, seemingly lost for words. There was no way his people would have given up the Thousand-Year Ice Cave easily. They would have fought, even against a dragon.

If the north had indeed been attacked, those stationed there would not have survived.

“You’ve said it yourself, Zigra. Trust them,” Karyl said, noticing his unease.

“Very well, but did your reckless plan yield any results? Let’s hear it,” Allen demanded, looking at Karyl.

Indeed, by blocking the Platinum Dragon’s attack head-on, Karyl had essentially gambled with death. Calling his move reckless would have been quite the understatement.

“Of course. I deciphered it.” Karyl’s lips curled into a faint smile.

“You madman...” Allen laughed incredulously. “Are you telling me you unraveled a 9th Class spell after seeing it just once? And you claim to lack talent? I’ve never seen anything like you.”

“You could say it was luck. It was possible because he wielded Rasis’ power.”

“So you anticipated this?” fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

“To some extent. When I saw evidence of Rasis’s revival in his lair, I asked myself where the safest place to store that power would be.”

“...Within the Platinum Dragon himself.”

“Maybe it was greed on his part. Either way, the fact that Rasis’s power and Divine Power share the same essence means it aligns with the Divine Power I can use.”

“Does that mean... you can use the Platinum Dragon’s magic?”

“Not exactly his magic. It includes the power of the spirits. He’s different from the other dragons, which is why I was waiting for his magic specifically.”

Everyone was struck silent.

“250 years ago, Kaye Aesir hunted down the Flame Dragon, Riseria. He was only an 8th Class sorcerer back then. I didn’t take this risk just to obtain the power of a dragon that could be defeated by mere 8th Class magic. To aim higher than that, I need to attain the mightiest power out there.”

“You...”

“However,” Karyl went on, “in order to use the Platinum Dragon’s magic, I must release Rasis from him. I need that power.”

“So the hunt isn’t over yet. You plan to take what you need and then finish him off... not a bad approach.”

“I’m just getting started.”

Hearing that, Allen felt a shiver run through him. After all, he stood before the one who had grasped the possibility of breaking down the barrier of the 9th Class—something no one in human history had dared to even attempt.

“Zigra, we’re going to bypass the hills where the main forces are engaged and take a different route.”

Tap—

Karyl, seemingly recovered, stepped off Zigra’s back.

“Do you plan to join the reinforcements coming from the principality?”

“No. Although they’ll serve to distract the Third Division, they’re not enough to take down Narh Di Maug.”

“Then...?”

“We’ll set a trap.”

At that moment, Karyl's lips curled into a sinister smile.

“This time, it’s my turn.”