Chapter 49 - Krul Yanringgo

'How can this be possible?'

The Emperor may have not used his full strength in that punch, but the momentum created for the punch was something anyone wouldn't like to experience. Even if the punch was not strong enough, it shouldn't be like this. His fist shook against Alistein's stone-like skin. It wouldn't budge.

Alistein let out a smirk. "Heh. Where did all that confidence disappear to?" he taunted. He reached up and seized his father by his trembling forearm, prying it away from his face.

Then.

With the power of a dragon's surging within, Alistein swung his leg towards his father's knee, causing it to hyperextend, rendering it useless. The Emperor let out an excruciating roar, but wasn't even let to finish as Alistein turned and threw the suffering Emperor onto the ground.

Boom-!!

Alistein sneered and pushed his glasses back up to his eyes with a finger, looking down on his father the way his father had looked down on him earlier. He might not have mastered the Art of the Killing Throw like his father, but his dragon power compensated for his lack of proficiency.

Piiiiierce!

All of a sudden, the tip of a dragon-slaying spear shot from behind, and Alistein quickly tumbled to the side to avoid getting stabbed through the back. "Hoh, I knew you would come." With a brush of his clothes, Alistein stood back up and turned to face the blonde-haired man that just arrived. "I've been itching to ask… Where…is Alexandria?"

Kingsley's grip tightened on his spear. His teeth clenched. He knew well why he asked, and he knew what would happen to the crazy guy once he found out what happened. "…my sister is not someone the enemy needs to worry about."

Alistein sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with a hand. "Ahh…fine. I'll just beat you till you tell me."

* * * * *

"She- she's my cousin?!" Kaiser yelped in absolute terror. He knew his mother was from the Ember Tribe. It was something he found out when he asked why his hair was slightly different from Earth Tribe's usual brown color. The Ember Tribe was a huge tribe with many people, but of all people, it had to be Blaze…

"Agh, don't tell him!" Blaze yakked. "He'll just brag about it. I don't want people to know about my relationship with him!"

"Hahaha! Why not? He's your cousin," Warchief Dyingstar continued to poke fun despite Blaze's disapproval, and she cringed just thinking about being Kaiser's blood-related cousin.

"WHAT?" Kaiser screeched once again, his hold on the shield weakening. He heard clearly, but he simply couldn't accept. Hell, he used Blaze, his own cousin, as his fap material before, after all. How come he never knew anything about this?!

"Now do ya understand why I always had high expectations for ya despite not belonging to the main family?" Warchief Dyingstar asked. And to add to Kaiser's shock, he said, "The blood of the strongest families of the Earth and Ember Tribe courses through your veins, stupid nephew!"

Kwiiiiiisk!!!!

While they bickered, the rock-like paw of the Infernal Tarrasque fell as someone sliced through its thick, rough flesh in lightning speed.

Finally.

"Are you all done talking?" Warchief Hastamvidé emerged with a stiff expression, staring down at them with cold indifference. From head to toe, he was drenched in thick, stinking red dragon's blood. He looked down at his blood-coated weapons. '…I thought my blades wouldn't be able to penetrate it. But all I needed was a boost from Warchief Clamory to successfully severe that dragon…,' he thought to himself motionlessly.

The dragon cried in agony. It had paid little to no attention to the hunters and brawlers since they could barely harm, let alone get through its dragon's scales. But that lone hunter that had been running around by himself managed to inflict damage not once but twice now. How could an ordinary human be so powerful?

And that tanker managed to withstand its second claw attack. Even if he received help against this second attack, it wasn't an excuse for the great dragon of abomination, who stood more than fifty feet, to lose.

Blaze and the rest withdrew from their positions after Warchief Hastamvidé's successful attack, hauling the Earth Tribe's Warchief out from the ground before they once again began stalking their now-injured prey like a pack of wolves.

Inside the forest where they lurked, the thudding footsteps of multiple people were heard.

And from the shadows, came an elder man, tall and broad-shouldered, his strong build sharp and muscular. This old man, red hair turned white due to his age, wore the fearless and steady expression of a commander's, and he was a loyal one at that. Krul Yanringgo was Batarak's right-hand man and the captain of the Estereon Family's loyal bodyguard brigade. Those he brought with him, all were the surviving members of the Family's bodyguards.

He took one knee before Blaze, and the ones behind him immediately followed suit. "Little miss, I have come," Krul said, his old rough voice firm. "What is the current situation?"

Blaze, on the other hand, was not so glad to see him. "Captain Krul?!" she hissed. "Why are you here? My orders were clear! Don't leave the surviving tribesmen alone and unguarded!"

"Forgive me, little miss. But I cannot let you face that huge dragon without me. I cannot forgive myself if something happens to the little miss. I must protect you before anyone else at all costs." Krul stood his ground, and Blaze could only sigh in response. Krul was the protector of the Estereon Family, once his mind was set, it was near impossible to change…especially now with her parents and brother dead, and the tribe dwindles to few numbers.

Warchief Hastamvidé stepped forward. Although he deemed himself as the strongest Warchief after Batarak's passing, he acknowledged Captain Krul's power. As the right-hand man of the one who used to hold the title of Lunargard's strongest, Bolt knew Krul Yanringgo was more than able to give him a run for his money. "He is right, Blaze," he said. "Let them help. It shall make this battle much easier."

Warchief Clamory suddenly stepped in, his usually calm expression holding a bit of an edge. "Enough talk. We should get moving. I had five special elixirs, refined with dragon's blood. I had already given two, one each for Warchief Dyingstar and Warchief Hastamvidé. That makes it three."

Blaze and Kaiser shared a look. "We'll drink it," Blaze answered. "Me, Kaiser, and Captain Krul. But…we won't kill the dragon. I need it alive."

Everyone turned towards Blaze, their eyes widened with shock.

Bolt was the first to protest. "I do not know what crazy stunt you are planning but that is simply not possible!"

"We can't put that big a dragon inside our cells, Blaze," Terry spoke up right after him. "Why would we need to keep such a dangerous dragon alive?"

Even Captain Krul, who would like to take Blaze's side found it absurd, but he kept quiet.

Wave was the only one that approved of Blaze's request. "I agree with Blaze. The dragon can be a great sample of an experiment that can help us in the future. Besides, it will not be dangerous if we manage to weaken it to a point it cannot fight back." He said so evenly.

"That is the problem, the dragon is not weakening."

"What?"

Bolt lowered his eyes, his fingers clenching tight on the grips of his weapons. He felt at a loss having to say this. "It is just my observation but…the dragon's scales become harder to penetrate the more it receives damages. Not only that, it became more agile. Everything about it is becoming more and more frightening as the battle progresses. Terry, you have withstood its attack twice, don't you see it as well?"

Wave's deep blue eyes lit up just subtly. "Ah. Now that we are talking about it, the coalition of shamans in Lunargard have also deduced that all dragons have abilities unique to them, separate from their dragon lineage's usual capabilities."

Blaze frowned. "A dragon that gets stronger and stronger the more it takes damage? Then that's more the reason to keep it alive. I'll make the dragon acknowledge my strength…" – she clasped her hands together firmly – "…and seize its power."