The 9th Class Swordmaster: Blade of Truth-Chapter 347: Dragon Hunt (1)

“Ghah—!”

“Save me...!!”

In the wake of the dragon's wrath, the battlefield was plunged into chaos, with both friend and foe being obliterated.

Whooosh...!!

Despite the chaos, Python spread his wings wide, unleashing a powerful gust of wind that sent soldiers flying through the air. Their screams echoed across the battlefield as the sheer force of the dragon’s power swept them aside.

“You wretched humans...! I’ll kill you all...!!”

The enraged Red Dragon seemed to care little for the imperial soldiers. His only focus was on killing the two people in front of him.

“It’s going berserk,” Karyl coldly observed Python’s rampage.

“Is that the winning card you were counting on?”

Azif, standing beside Karyl, looked around in despair only to see his soldiers die left and right. His expression was vacant, his mind unable to process the scene.

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“A noble creature? Do you see any wisdom in that centuries-old dragon? No, he was simply born with great strength. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“ROAAAAR...!!”

Python opened his mouth wide, and a searing breath of molten fire spewed forth like a river of lava.

“AAAAHH...!!”

“Aaargh!!”

The imperial soldiers were incinerated the moment the fireballs hit them reduced to ashes in an instant.

“A Guardian Dragon may be different, but that thing is no guardian of yours,” Karyl sneered. “Human history must be written by humans, whether it leads to ruin or glory. Make no mistake; whatever pact you’ve made with these creatures, they aren’t fighting for your victory.”

Azif watched helplessly as Python’s madness raged on, trembling all over.

“If they were, they wouldn’t be trampling your own soldiers like this.”

Karyl lowered the sword from Azif’s throat, leaving him stunned.

“They aren’t fighting for their survival or out of concern for their existence. They fight because they arrogantly believe there is no threat to them in this world.”

Karyl turned to gaze at the scene of devastation.

“They’re fighting for their pride. They interfere with human affairs simply to assert their superiority over you. It’s nothing more than a game to them.”

With that, Karyl chuckled, a sly smile creeping onto his lips.

“And I might have bruised that dragon’s pride just a bit.”

“...What?" Azif murmured, baffled by Karyl’s cryptic words. He lifted his head, but Karyl wasn’t looking at him anymore.

“So now, open your eyes and see the truth,” Karyl went on. “It’s not magic that determines who’s superior.”

Karyl’s words seemed directed not just at the dragon, but at the imperial soldiers who had long distinguished themselves from the so-called immigrants.

“The first one I cut down on this battlefield was neither you nor Bran Gamunt, but that creature.”

Karyl’s voice was clear, but it seemed to carry across the battlefield. Far in the distance, Bran’s face hardened at his words. Both Azif and Bran, standing apart, could only stare in shock at Karyl, speechless.

“Imperials!” Karyl’s voice, brimming with mana, resonated across the battlefield, carrying to every ear. “Remember this if you wish to live! Remember who it is that you owe your lives to! Do not forget who it was that let you live today!”

Fwoosh...!

Karyl’s figure vanished in an instant. Behind him, as if awaiting his cue, Revol extended an arm, and Karyl leapt onto the metal spike protruding from the golem’s hand.

“A life for a life.”

Crack! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Karyl launched himself into the sky, using the pillar as a springboard. Faint shockwaves rippled his feet, as though running on air. He surged toward Python with incredible speed, dodging every single lightning strike.

“When we meet again, you shall repay that debt.”

Ssssss...!!

As Karyl passed through the storm clouds, they parted into wisps of mist, trailing his path. His sword, Lakna, gleamed with its silver-gray aura. At the same time, Karyl drew his second blade, the Freezing Talon, and forcefully clashed the two together.

Annihilation Strike: First Cut

CLANG!!

The resounding clash of blades pierced through the deafening roar of the lightning. Python, spewing fire, recoiled in panic, lashing out with his tail.

Slash—!!

But Karyl’s sword was faster, cleaving from Python’s cheek to his neck. Blood sprayed from the wound, a deep crimson line marking the dragon’s flesh.

“You managed to protect the reverse scale, huh?” Karyl muttered as he landed on the ground, pivoting on his right leg and spinning into a defensive stance. His eyes stayed locked on the massive creature above him.

It had been a lightning-fast strike, but Python had instinctively shielded his vulnerable reverse scale with his hide, which was as tough as armor.

“You filthy human...!!” Python growled despite his injury, wiping the blood that flowed from the gash along his face and neck. Even the mighty Red Dragon’s invincible scales had been torn away, leaving a raw, bleeding wound.

[Karyl, he’s none other than the Red Dragon. Forget about cutting his head like that. He’s no ordinary opponent.]

Allen’s voice carried a note of caution. Though he was a master of magic, even he recognized the terrifying power that dragons possessed. It was enough to make him tremble.

“That goes both ways.”

Karyl, however, was unfazed as Python charged at him again, his massive form hurtling forward.

Boom—!!

But before Python could reach Karyl, his enormous form suddenly staggered. Revol, the giant war golem, seized the dragon’s tail with both arms and was pulling it in the opposite direction.

“Grroooooooar...!!”

Revol struggled under the immense force of the dragon.

Power core activation: element change.

Emergency power supply engaged.

Discharging stored mana.

Inside Revol’s cockpit, the color of the mana plugs attached to Wingel Hart’s veins shifted from blue to white in an instant.

Zzzzzzz—!!

Wingel Hart removed his goggles and hurriedly pulled down a long lever attached to the magical screens that displayed the battlefield.

Clunk—!

As the mechanism clicked into place, the horizontal lever dropped, and he pushed it forward with all his strength.

Drrrrrrrrrk—!!!!

The frame around the magical screens turned red, and a series of characters appeared.

Form change activated.

Emergency mode engaged.

Unlike the usual ancient runes displayed on the interface, these characters were in modern script—an indication that the newly activated systems were not relics of the past but Wingel Hart’s own creation.

Clunk—!!

Rumble—!!!

The massive dragon faltered right as he lunged at Karyl. Before anyone could notice, Revol had gripped his tail with both arms and was pulling him in the opposite direction.

Crack...! Crack!!

At the same time, the spike that had emerged from Revol’s hand dropped to the ground. The golem’s vambraces opened like blooming flowers, wrapping its hands in massive gauntlets.

No way... The third mode...?!

Karyl’s eyes widened in surprise as he watched Revol’s gauntlets take shape. He remembered the golem’s three combat modes from his previous life. The second mode, built for crowd control, featured magical cannons, while the third was designed specifically to counter massive Tarak.

The third mode had been conceived following the Oracle and the emergence of the Tarak, and at that time, Revol had only been developed up to the first mode during the White Bunker era. Now, the fact that Wingel Hart had already completed the third mode was a sign he had far surpassed his past self.

No... it's slightly different.

As he examined the current Revol, he realized it had diverged from the form he remembered. In his past life, some of the massive Tarak had physical bodies, while others were spiritual entities. Because of this, the third mode of Revol had once been equipped with weapons forged from processed triquartz, allowing it to strike incorporeal enemies.

However, the current version of Revol lacked those features. Instead, its design seemed focused entirely on fighting physical entities.

Why had Wingel Hart developed the third mode without knowing about the Tarak? The answer was simple—he had designed it to fight colossal monsters, not Tarak. And now, as if to justify his efforts, a massive creature loomed right before him.

Wingel Hart had created the third mode for this exact moment—for hunting dragons.

Boom! Boom! BOOOOM—!!!

The magical cannons mounted on Revol’s shoulders unleashed a torrent of firepower. The deafening explosions reverberated all across the battlefield.

Roaaarrr...!!

The energy from Revol’s cannons shot in a straight line, piercing through Python’s wings and tearing them apart.

...It’s colorless?

Karyl immediately noticed that the condensed mana from the cannon had no elemental properties.

It seems Calypson has succeeded in fusing elemental stones.

Even in that brief moment, Karyl pieced together the preparations that had been made back in the principality.

Looks like I finally have something to offer Gordon.

He chuckled faintly at the thought. Though he had left Gordon all battered up in the north, he knew a monster like him wouldn’t die so easily. The fact that Gordon hadn’t shown himself, despite the chaos in the empire, meant the Guidance Mercenary Gang had their own hidden agenda.

“You arrogant fool...!!”

Python flapped its torn wings and opened its mouth wide once again.

Whirr—!!

Five magic circles formed around his jaws, and the dragon began condensing his power into one spot.

“KRAAARRRRR—!!!”

With a deafening roar, the combined force of the magic circles and Python’s fiery breath shot toward Revol. The ground trembled under the force of the attack.

Crack—!!

But Revol was ready. The giant war machine crouched lower, driving its legs deeper into the ground as it brought its arms to its chest.

Zzzang—!!

A massive tower-like magical shield appeared, reminiscent of a colossal barrier. The shield was transparent, visible only through the occasional glint of light that shimmered across its surface like bubbles.

KRAAAAAANG!!!

Python’s breath collided with Revol’s shield in a cataclysmic explosion. Though it wasn’t powered by draconic magic, the shield, reinforced with the newly synthesized colorless elemental stones, was powerful enough to rival a dragon’s might.

“...!!”

The impact was so intense that the auxiliary armor securing Revol to the ground shattered, and the war golem was pushed back several dozen meters, leaving deep grooves in the earth. Black smoke rose around Revol, looking as though it had caught fire from the searing heat.

“You blocked... my breath...?”

Despite being forced back, Revol maintained its stance, and Python’s eyes widened in disbelief at the sight. But the real shock was yet to come.

"You shall be my first offering, Python."

Karyl had suddenly appeared on Python’s head, unnoticed until now.

Shlunk—!!

With all his might, Karyl drove Lakna into the back of Python’s neck, piercing the hard scales. Blood erupted like a fountain.

“Urgh...?! Ghah...!! You... damn human...!!”

Python thrashed wildly, swinging his head back and forth in a desperate attempt to throw Karyl off. But the more he struggled, the deeper Lakna sank into his flesh.

Gripping Python’s scales tightly, Karyl drew on his magic to amplify his voice.

“The dragon hunt begins now!”

“Waaaaaaahhh...!!”

“Yeaaaaaaahhh...!!”

At that moment, the Free Army’s battle cries echoed across the battlefield, shaking the very ground. The imperial soldiers, on the other hand, were frozen in fear, only able to stare at the scene in a daze.