The world was constantly shaking. Elric felt like he was being quizzed between five unmoving gigantic rocks, not to mention, his mind is constant disarray due to the dizzying sounds created by the vibrating pillars, messing up his ability to conjure his elemental and soul abilities.ZUZUZUZUZUHHH~
Like a compact gigantic metal, the cone formation formed by thousands of Southern Dragons was inching closer and closer building up with overwhelming might and weight generated that left Elric with chills running down to every part of his body.
Elric knew, judging from its sheer size, speed, and solidity; he would be pierced and squashed into smithereens once these terrifying attacks reached him. Punching a hole towards the earth"s core could even be possible with the amount of momentum it has generated so far.
But what could he do? Should he fully unleash the power of the Ancestral Dragon essence and go on a rampage again? Should he risk the whole world a second time just so he can survive?
Elric"s mind and soul might have grown stronger than before, but he knew himself well that it is still not enough to fight the corruption again. Especially that the last will of his great ancestor Lapu-Lapu has been undone, he has no more ace sleeping in his sleeve that would save him from the corruption"s power this time!
The farthest he could push himself is using only about forty percent of the total power of the Ancestral Dragon"s essence. Overusing the power and pus.h.i.+ng himself farther would easily spark the corruption"s attack and he could not help but fear it especially this time that his mind and soul are being messed up by the diamond pillars!
ZUZUZUZUZUHHH~
"Darn it!" Elric, like a paralyzed Dragon frozen inside the middle of a mountain of ice, could not help but curse at himself. The cone was still falling around ten kilometers above his head but he could already feel the push of the gravity locking him further with the incoming ma.s.sive attack! As if the earth itself is preparing for the terrifying impact about to shake the earth"s mantle!
Moments ago, he was too confident with his strength and abilities that the Dragon King and Queens manage to take him off guard. Now he could only accept his fate of getting punctured to bits by the incoming gigantic cone!
***
"Sister, we should help him! We can"t just let them suffer alone!" Inside the bright barrier far away from Elric"s location, Long could not stand watching their last hope about to be executed before them.
With anxious eyes, his long and beautiful Eastern Dragon body was just about to move away from his position when Lesse"s flexible tails managed to grab a hold of her little brother"s body.
"Don"t be stupid! Focus your eyes on the surroundings and understand why we should not move out of our protective formation!" Lesse scolded.
Upon hearing his sister"s reply, Long immediately focused his senses towards their surrounding, only then did he understand what Lesse"s words meant for.
About hundreds of hidden Dragons from the different regions are expertly blended in their surroundings, their temperatures imitating their spot and like ninjas, they are incredibly silent as well. Not to mention, they were all at an Elder Dragon"s level, with fangs and eyes locked in their target"s direction.
The hundreds of hidden Dragons are in a tight formation surrounding their defensive barrier from all directions. Under the command of the Leah, they were patiently holding themselves and their urges to fight Elric. Their eyes fixed to the next objective - the eastern Dragon"s and the old woman they are protecting.
If only it was Lesse alone maintaining the defensive barrier, they might have forced their way inside with their sheer number, but with another King Dragon level keeping up the s.h.i.+eld, they are afraid they have to wait for an opportunity to push in.
And sensing the Long was moving and was just about to move, their muscles started to bulge instinctively waiting for the final signal to push through. Unfortunately, Lesse managed to stop her brother and so they have no choice but to keep lying in wait.
Knowing that he was just inching closer to putting themselves in danger, huge drops of sweat popped out of Long"s scaly head.
"I-I am sorry. I was too preoccupied with thinking what to do that I fail to notice them creeping in camouflage outside." Long apologetically mumbled. He now understands more why Elric told them to maintain the defensive barrier!
It turns out it wasn"t just to protect the old woman with them, but also to save themselves from the hidden b.a.s.t.a.r.d lizards!
Lesse did not bother replying to Long"s mumble and instead, she took a deep breath in contamination. She too could feel the sudden changes in the gravity that is weighing down everyone. It was part of the Southern Dragon King"s special ability through the forbidden blood spells, the ability to control the gravitational force according to his will!
By paying ninety-five percent of his life span, temporary control of gravity to aid his next attack is basically an overkill already. But just to make sure that his attack will succeed, he must do what he can and bring an end to this stretching battle!
As the ma.s.sive cone was inching closer to the ground, a powerful magnetic force is starting to magnify the gravitational pull. Everyone could feel their feet and tails starting to push deeper to the ground as their weight changes at an unexpected rate. Obviously, it means that everyone in the whole area is affected by the sudden changes and even moving is extremely hard at the moment!
A glint of hope flashed through Lesse"s eyes,
"I have an idea." she quietly said to the curious anxious Long.
"I don"t have much time to explain so I will only say it once and we can only do this once. Now listen..."
***
There are now only about ten seconds before the impact.
Everything that surrounded Elric felt like extremely heavy rocks. With the push of the extremely strong gravity, the ice below him had been crushed while his ma.s.sive Dragon body was forced to be lying helplessly and openly in the ground. Like a chicken waiting for the butcher, he never felt so pathetic in his life ever since becoming a Dragon before.
His eyes could see what used to be a pitch-black small dot from the sky growing into a ma.s.sive piece of sharp cone coming his way.
With his eyes closed, Elric started mumbling his last prayers. He also did not forget to try and contact Lesse and Long to run away if they could find the opportunity. Unfortunately, the ma.s.sive diamond pillars surrounding him continued to interfere with his thoughts and abilities. At least, they should escape with his grandma"s body!
Right now, he could only trust in his body"s natural ability to survive this ordeal!
Five seconds before the impact, Lesse"s ma.s.sive left arm is clutching granny Kahayag"s unconscious figure. Their eyes are locked at the falling cone, the gravity strengthening at a tremendous pace pus.h.i.+ng everyone on their feet.
"Now!" Lesse"s voice suddenly echoed in Long"s head.
Two laser-focused fire were being spewed out from both of Long and Lesse"s mouth. It was a sudden attack that caught the surrounding Dragons hidden nearby, some are instantly scorched to death while others managed to react on time and managed to survive the two Eastern Dragon King and Queen"s attack.
Nevertheless, most of the ambushers are disabled or killed on the spot. There were only few left with injuries and still have chance to fight back.
BWOOOOOMMMM!~
BWOOOOMMMMM!~
Without wasting a single milisecond, both Long and Lesse"s body suddenly exploded in brilliant red and green glow. Their ma.s.sive figures suddenly shrank back into their human form with Long expertly catching granny"s body; and with smaller bodies, their resistance against the gravitational pull has lightened.
Long and Lesse"s body exploded into a blur. They have already left the are and all these happened in a single second!
"This.."
"What are they-"
"Wait! They are-"
Before the barely alive creeping ambushers could even react, Lesse and Long"s figure had already disappeared from their location.
"CATCH THEM YOU FOOLS!~" Leah"s voice swiftly followed through with a bone-chilling threat.
"CATCH THEM OR I WILL FREEZE YOU TO YOUR VERY SOUL YOU USELESS PIECE OF LIZARDS!" Leah"s angry voice echoed to the few surviving ambusher"s heads.
Unfortunately for them, the timing was just perfect. The intense gravity was not letting them move as fast as usual. With only an Elder Dragon"s strength, they are like a newborn baby trying to chase an Olympic athlete at this rate!
With granny"s body on Long"s back, the two last Eastern Dragons left behind hip-deep tracks in the frozen ground due to the overwhelming gravity.
Fortunately, they were not the same as the normal humans as before; with the King and Queen Dragon"s strength pumping their muscles, they could still easily move even if their weight is multiplied a hundred times!
ZWOOOSH~
ZWOOOSH~
Knowing that it is their life that is at stake in this rush, both of them did not dare to reserve any strength and speed. In less than three seconds, Lesse and Long managed to cover almost two kilometers of distance, safely moving out from the intense gravitational range and the frozen land.
Then, without a single moment of relaxation, they transformed back to their Eastern Dragon form, activating their natural stealth ability, and dashed to a certain direction like a panicking snake - leaving the rest of the Dragons of other regions in helpless guess.
"Please survive."
Lesse mumbled as her long and beautiful Eastern Dragon figure completely disappeared on the horizon.
One second before the impact.
Elric"s eyes finally opened from his short prayer. His eyes were clear and a smile crept in his face. A little turtle head appeared in a minuscule interdimensional portal, followed by a cute voice that can be heard beside his head.
"Missed me Hugon kid?"