IYAMD: Episode 86

As Jaha and Marsilia stepped back, the dragon flew up again.

The moment Jaha’s feet touched the ground, he glanced at the man who was using Divine Power on him. Marsilia, with a worried look, examined Jaha and asked,

“Are you okay?”

As the light touched him, a refreshing sensation spread through his body. The internal injuries he had just suffered were healed almost instantly, and the turbulent energy in him calmed down.

“Yeah.”

Despite Jaha’s response, the man couldn’t shake off the worry that lingered in his eyes. Even though it wasn’t the time to be calm, his gaze remained fixed on Jaha’s body.

Jaha, bypassing him, stretched his hand forward.

“You should be looking there.”

The man, frowning, sighed and turned his body to check the situation.

Bolts with iron cables were shot toward the flying the dragon again, but none of them hit this time. As its magic poured toward the ballistae, Marsilia sighed and muttered,

“I really hate that thing.”

Light erupted from his body, and at the same time, multiple layers of shields covered the battlefield. When the dragon’s magic hit the first defensive shield, it was pierced, but beneath it, more layers of shields formed by the priests piled up one after another.

Marsilia narrowed the defensive barrier covering the entire camp, focusing on the area where the sphere was flying. He continued to exert power without even flinching until the huge dark mass vanished.

“Are you okay?”

Jaha asked again, echoing his previous question. The man smiled gently and nodded.

“Darren brought many priests capable of amplifying Divine Power with him.”

Though Jaha wasn’t sure what that meant, it likely meant that it was easier for him to use his powers than usual. Jaha nodded and surveyed the surroundings.

He saw the priests kneeling between the open spaces around the ballista, continuously releasing bright light. The energy they emitted felt different from Marsilia’s.

While Marsilia’s Divine Power felt like a cool breeze, the energy they emitted felt more like the soft warmth of cotton.

But there was no time to marvel at that. The dragon had started roaring again, as his magic collided with Marsilia’s shield.

“That guy can’t seem to use magic continuously, can he?” Marsilia asked, and Jaha nodded.

“It seems like its breath also needs a time to regenerate.”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s aim for that window in his next attack.”

“Alright.”

As bolts were shot again from the ballistae, the two quickly finished their brief strategy meeting. Marsilia sent a hand signal toward Darren, who nodded in understanding.

“General Des, we need to bring him down. Reload the ballistae.”

“We’re collecting the missing amount, Your Majesty. It will take a little more time.”

Marsilia clicked his tongue and looked around. Knights were pulling on the chains connected to the bolts that had fallen from the dragon.

The fortunate thing was that the personnel operating the ballistae were safe. While it took time to reload, the ballistae continued to fire bolts steadily.

“That guy should be taking damage by now.” Marsilia thought to himself with a faint hope in his heart, waiting for its to use magic or breath again.

“Jaha, let’s aim for the gap between its scales, like before. It has the habit of shifting its scales when the heat rises, like a snake preparing to strike.”

“If we time it right when its scales rise, we won’t even need to break through the tough scales.”

“Got it.”

Jaha nodded and let out a long breath. Marsilia instantly felt the energy erupting from his body and clicked his tongue inwardly.

Jaha lightly leaped up and flew toward the dragon’s neck.

Before it could notice him, General Des’ signal to fire was given. This time, over thirty bolts were shot from the ballistae.

Marsilia reached out, staring at the dragon’s maw, which was preparing to release it breath.

“Breath incoming. Priests, maintain the shield.”

Leaving a warning in case the it slipped through, Marsilia released his Divine Power. His heart thumped loudly. As he released Divine Power, a force that would be difficult to endure in a human body, Marsilia quietly clenched his teeth.

Jaha, leaping into the air, controlled his illusionary swords as he neared the dragon’s head.

Though he had planned to ambush while it was preparing its breath, the dragon noticed and swung it tail.

Jaha, kicking off from mid-air, jumped over the tail that rushed toward him. Meanwhile, the illusionary swords flew toward the dragon’s neck.

A rattling sound was heard as the swords clashed with the scales, and the dragon lowered its raised scales again.

Clang! A loud sound echoed as the illusionary swords vanished after hitting the scales, and the dragon twisted its neck to release its breath toward Jaha.

At that moment, Marsilia’s Divine Power surrounded Jaha. The latter, stepping on the air, leaped up and avoided the breath. However, it was too sudden, and one of his thighs was directly scorched by the breath.

“Jaha!”

Marsilia’s shout sounded like a scream. But Jaha calmly increased his speed, thinking it would be better for one person to attract attention.

Jaha, not feeling any pain, was quickly healed by Marsilia’s Divine Power. New flesh began to grow on his leg, and he easily avoided the fire with swift movements.

While the dragon swung its front paw to grab the bothersome Jaha, it opened its mouth and lunged as soon as it stopped breathing fire.

Jaha, seeing the approaching maw, stopped in mid-air. Gathering his inner energy, he concentrated it at the tips of his fingers, causing a small orb to rapidly grow larger.

With the orb now larger than his fist, Jaha flicked it toward the dragon’s maw, causing an explosive burst of energy.

Boom!

The loud sound rang out, and Jaha staggered back, pushed by the shockwave of the explosion. In the meantime, the dragon’s teeth sank into the defensive barrier surrounding Jaha.

The barrier cracked under the dragon’s biting force, and soon shattered. The dragon’s teeth pierced into Jaha’s shoulder.

The sensation of large teeth sinking into his flesh was chilling. However, there was still no pain. Jaha stared into the dragon’s eyes as he injected his energy into his sword. As the blade extended, he stabbed it between the dragon’s teeth, into the soft inner mouth.

With the blade embedded in the roof of the dragon’s mouth, the beast screamed and opened its jaws wide.

However, unable to shake Jaha off, the dragon quickly began shaking his head.

“Kieek!”

The creature flailed in mid-air, trying to dislodge Jaha. Meanwhile, the knights shot bolts again.

Jaha wrapped his arm around the dragon’s teeth to steady himself and continued to twist and turn the blade lodged in the dragon’s mouth. Unlike the scales, the soft mucus inside the dragon’s mouth caused dark red blood to pour out. The dragon’s breath hit Jaha’s face.

Marsilia continued creating defensive barriers with his divine power, but it wasn’t enough to withstand the direct impact of the dragon’s breath.

The blood that touched the barriers caused them to dissolve, and the heat from the dragon’s breath began to melt Jaha’s arms.

Once both of Jaha’s arms were melted, he had no choice but to let go of the dragon and fall to the ground.

As Jaha retreated, he found himself face to face with Marsilia’s fierce gaze, and he flinched. His melted arms were already regenerating, and while he felt no pain, the intensity of Marsilia’s stare was uncomfortable.

Marsilia said nothing, only glaring at Jaha. Soon after, the man bowed his head and poured divine power into Jaha, regenerating his arms before turning his back and heading toward the center of the battlefield.

Jaha puffed out his cheeks, staring at Marsilia’s back before lowering his gaze. After confirming that his regenerated hands were functioning perfectly, Jaha reached for the sword still lodged in the dragon’s mouth.

The dragon, with bolts piercing its wings, plummeted back to the ground. As it let out a loud cry, the knights, who had been pulling on the chains, knelt to the ground.

As the dragon’s blood spread throughout the camp, Marsilia’s voice could be heard, urging the knights to stand and not succumb to fear.

“Do not be afraid, rise!”

As the dragon struggled on the ground, the knights, still holding onto the chains, flew through the air, keeping their hold on the beast. Watching this, Jaha let out a quiet, long sigh.

Jaha’s sword, responding to his inner energy, wavered inside the dragon’s mouth before finally breaking free. The sword flew in a large arc towards Jaha, who caught it mid-air.

With explosive inner energy emanating from his dantian, Jaha sent his illusory swords toward the dragon’s mouth.

Fifteen swords. The number increased from usual, overlapping in mid-air as they flew towards the dragon’s maw.

The blades, passing through the dragon’s open mouth, hit various angles. However, it seemed impossible to pierce through the hardened scales from the outside.

Jaha was unable to withdraw the swords from within, so he allowed them to explode inside the dragon.

With its head violently snapped backward, the dragon fell to the ground with a loud crash.

Thud. As the dragon’s enormous body sprawled across the ground, the knights, who had been hunching from the pressure of its blood, slowly began to rise.

Jaha, landing on the ground, gasped for breath. The attack, using all his inner energy, had left him exhausted, and his knees buckled beneath him.

When the dragon finally stopped moving, silence settled over the area. Jaha raised his head, his breathing still heavy, and gazed at the fallen dragon.

At that moment, the dragon closed eyelids opened and its long, snake-like eyes rolled towards Jaha.

The dragon raised its head and let out a howl in Jaha’s direction. Jaha was powerlessly pushed back by the wind pressure caused by the ear-splitting howl and he covered his ears.

His head was pounding, his heart was pounding, and the energy that had been dormant in his dantian began to boil.

Jaha, who was trying to calm down the energy that was boiling like lava, raised his head when the wind pressure stopped.

In that moment, a golden aura flashed from Jaha’s eyes and then burst into light.