0p0 #252 - Section 252
#252 - Section 252
When does a giant need to consider what an ant thinks?
The strong dominate the weak; they don't need the weak's approval, only enough fear, awe, and obedience.
Those cowards who are clearly strong but are manipulated by those in power are, in his eyes, a bunch of useless trash.
They clearly possess great power, yet willingly allow themselves to be controlled. Aren't they fools?
Reverence for authority?
What is that?
As long as his strength is great enough, even authority will only be in awe of his power.
The instant this thought flashed through his mind, Rhode found that the black sphere, having absorbed all the power of darkness, became even more condensed, as if it were gestating some terrifying creature.
The aura that faintly emanated from it made Rhode feel like every hair on his body was about to stand on end.
His intuition told him that whatever came out of the black sphere next would be very dangerous.
In the crowd, Queen Frannie's face instantly turned pale.
She was the one who summoned this thing, and it consumed her magic every second.
The shadow creatures she had just summoned were fine, but this next fellow was her trump card, and even she could only summon it for a short time.
It could only be maintained for a very short time.
At the same time, an invisible pressure spread across the battlefield.
The terrifying pressure was like that of a predator at the top of the food chain. The mere aura it invisibly exuded was enough to make people struggle to breathe.
The curiosity in Rhode's eyes grew stronger. He could sense from the aura that this guy was ridiculously powerful. What exactly was it?
Under Rhode's curious gaze, a jet-black claw emerged from the darkness.
Boom!
The instant the claw landed, the ground cracked open, forming a fissure dozens of meters long.
A creature capable of causing such destruction with pure strength alone… Rhode faintly guessed the identity of this fellow.
Roar!
Accompanied by a low, violent roar, a hideous head emerged from the black mist.
Jet-black scales, ferocious fangs, a massive body dozens of meters long, wings that blotted out the sky when spread, casting a shadow that nearly covered half the castle.
The soldiers of the Alman Kingdom on the castle walls let out terrified screams, fleeing in a chaotic scramble.
Even the swords of the knight overseers no longer inspired fear.
"You've got to be kidding me! It's just a war; why are you bringing out something like this?"
A drop of cold sweat trickled down the knight captain's face, his whole body trembling.
Looking at the fleeing soldiers around him, he no longer had the heart to care about their lives.
After all, the enemy they were facing now wasn't the army of the Chris Kingdom.
But the legendary...
Dragon!
That's right, a dragon.
Rhode raised an eyebrow, looking at the gigantic creature in the sky with wings spanning nearly a hundred meters.
Hard scales, an aura of overwhelming pressure, a terrifying figure that inspired awe, a pair of icy eyes, as deep as an abyss, concentrated with the aura of death.
The predator at the top of the magic world's food chain, the existence at the pinnacle of all magical creatures.
Dragon!
A legendary species second only to gods.
Although fairy tales circulated all sorts of stories about evil dragons and dragon-slaying heroes, no one had ever personally witnessed a legendary dragon.
Even if one was lucky enough to encounter a dragon, there was only one outcome.
Reality isn't a fairy tale, with princes and heroes rescuing princesses.
Magical creatures like dragons, with their inherently brutal and ferocious nature, had destruction and slaughter flowing in their blood.
Any being targeted by it would have no chance of survival, and even an entire country could be buried in the dragon's wrath.
As for the scenario of a dragon snatching a princess and being rescued by a hero, it couldn't be said to be absolutely impossible, but it was 90% nonsense.
Although dragons are powerful and even possess considerable intelligence, they are essentially beasts. What use would they have for a princess?
Did they want humans to breed offspring for them?
Putting aside the differences in aesthetics, even if it were possible, which human could withstand the power of the dragon race?
Even powerful wizards would be rammed into mincemeat.
To exaggerate, it's debatable whether a human's size is even one or two inches.
It might be possible for the giant race.
Of course, dragons have extremely high intelligence. If the princess was taken for some purpose, then there might be a slight possibility.
Many thoughts flashed through Rhode's mind. Looking at the shadow dragon in the sky, he didn't feel the slightest bit of fear. Instead, he was eager to try.
Although this dragon was very strong, with his current strength, he wasn't without a chance to kill it.
His frantically warning intuition told him that this guy was very dangerous.
But, it could be killed!
And he believed in his intuition.
Since it was something that could be killed, what was there to be afraid of?
Thinking of this, the corners of Rhode's mouth slowly rose.
Today, he would be a dragon-slaying hero and make his name resound throughout the continent, so that wandering poets would sing his name.
Although it was useless, it was still very satisfying to think about.
Moreover, prestige is a very important thing in this era.
If his prestige was strong enough, he would be respected by others no matter where he went.
The name of a dragon-slaying hero was enough to make even the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire treat him with courtesy.
Do you understand the value of a dragon-slaying hero?
Although it's only four words, it represents the pinnacle of knightly achievement.
Most importantly, it represents the strongest symbol of force in this world.
For those nobles, the title of dragon-slaying hero also had a deeper meaning.
Either offer your awe, or face the wrath of a strong man capable of slaying dragons.
A strong man who could even slay dragons could kill a few small nobles with ease.
It could be said that once he had achieved the feat of slaying a dragon.
As long as he didn't rebel, kick the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire off the throne and replace him, or knock down the pope's crown and yell while stepping on the pope's head.
There was almost nothing he couldn't do in this world.
There would be few people who dared to show him disrespect.
So...
"Let you become a stepping stone for me."
Rhode looked at the dragon in the sky, his eyes filled with boiling killing intent.
It wasn't that he was afraid of this dragon, but that this beast had already become his prey.
Sensing the undisguised gaze, the shadow dragon seemed to be provoked and let out a low roar.
Although it wasn't a true dragon, it still inherited the pride and tyranny of the dragon race.
How could it, as powerful as it was, tolerate a human ant showing it a provocative expression?
Sharp fangs slowly opened, and flames filled with the aura of destruction gathered in its mouth.
Boom! A moment later, magic flames condensed to the extreme spewed towards the earth.
The scorching aura approached from afar, instantly engulfing a piece of land.
The grass withered and burst into flames.
The hard ground was incinerated into crystals in the scorching flames.
"This temperature is more than a thousand degrees."
Rhode muttered softly.
Standing in the sea of fire, Rhode felt like his hair was about to burn.
But this scorching dragon flame did not cause him any substantial harm.
Instead, the Immortal Armor on his body absorbed and devoured it the moment it approached him.
Although the Immortal Armor on his body was not in a complete state.
It was not something a dragon could easily break.
Whether it was magic, physical, or soul-level attacks.
As long as it didn't exceed the Immortal Armor's carrying limit, it would be absorbed, devoured, and transformed into his power.
So far, the Immortal Armor could not resist only when facing the power of the gods.
But this was only because the Immortal Armor had not reached its complete state.
As long as this armor was repaired and perfected, it could withstand the power of the gods for a moment.
Without this armor, he was confident that he could kill this dragon.
Moreover, he now had the Immortal Armor's amplification, and all of the shadow dragon's attacks would be transformed into his power.
As the dragon flame ended, the atmosphere inside and outside the castle became tense.
Queen Frannie stared intently at the center of the flames, on the ground that had been incinerated.
This shadow dragon could be said to be her most powerful trump card right now.
If even it couldn't kill this guy, then it seemed she had no other way to deal with him.
No, there was a way.
But the price to pay was too great, and even she couldn't bear it.
So she could only place her hopes on this shadow dragon.
This was a legendary dragon.
Even if it wasn't a true, complete dragon, its power was enough to easily destroy a marquisate.
No matter how powerful this guy was, he couldn't possibly withstand the power of the shadow dragon, right?
Although she thought so, she always had a sense of unease in her heart.
And the knight captain on the city wall was now extremely nervous.
Looking at the shadow dragon circling in the sky, the thought of surrendering even arose in his mind.
If he was facing the armies of other kingdoms, he wouldn't be afraid even if he fought to the death.
But they were now facing the legendary dragon.
This suppression from bloodline and soul, the instinctive fear of a creature at the bottom of the food chain towards a creature at the top, was engraved in their blood and bones.
He hadn't directly surrendered and ran away, which was already the greatest restraint.