Chapter 655: Misha's Intervention
Misha crouched halfway, her left hand pressing firmly against the ground. Beneath her skin, the pulse of her Royal Bloodline surged like a dormant volcano.
Crack!
【Stone Power】
This was one of the most iconic Divine Spells of the Molradin faith—a sacred rite that granted the caster the favor of the Earth, temporarily amplifying their Strength to supernatural levels.
In an instant, a sharp crack echoed through the air as dust and debris erupted into the sky. Soil and stone crawled up her arms, fusing together in a cascade of motion, forming a thick, armored shell around her body. A deep brown glow pulsed from the hardened surface—radiating the raw energy of the earth elemental.
Aid lifted his head, his expression unyielding, eyes locked onto the Wyvern. His Aura flared, climbing higher with every passing second.
“Roar—useless, Dwarf! Your resistance is pointless. I am the Embodiment of Flame, a true follower of the Emperor of the Ashen Flame!”
Now, Smaug was swollen with arrogance. Even the legendary “Mountain Lord” was nothing more than a pile of mud and clay in his eyes—fragile, insignificant, utterly disposable.
With a triumphant, guttural roar, Smaug unfurled his vast wings, gathering unstoppable momentum as he plunged from the heavens, diving straight toward the King of the Dwarves.
Whoosh—
The edge of his dragon wings sliced through the air, screaming like a blade through flesh. The colossal Wyvern trailed a storm of fire as he slammed toward the earth.
But Aid stood firm. He didn’t flee. He didn’t flinch. With both hands gripping his War Hammer, his muscles bulged like iron blocks beneath his skin, veins standing out in violent relief. His knees bent slightly, coiling like springs, drawing power from the very ground beneath him.
At the very moment Smaug loomed above him, Aid struck.
With every ounce of strength in his body, he swung the War Hammer upward, cleaving the air with a thunderous crack—a wave of earth elemental power tearing through space.
BOOM!!
The collision unleashed a shockwave so violent it tore through the surroundings like a living storm. The air itself seemed to scream. Dust and stone erupted in every direction, swirling in a maelstrom of destruction.
Behind it came Smaug’s agonized wail.
His head snapped back violently, blood and shattered scales spraying through the air. The sheer force sent his massive body flying backward, crashing into the ground like a fallen mountain.
Aid’s blow was devastating—so powerful it felt like a golf swing against a dragon. The beast tumbled, rolling across the battlefield before slamming into the city wall with a deafening boom, bringing the ancient stone structure crashing down in ruins.
Twenty meters of dragon flesh lay scattered in wreckage, reduced to a smoldering pile of broken bones and scorched scales.
“Damn Dwarf! How—how could you have such strength?!” Smaug struggled to rise from the rubble, his once smug, fearsome face twisted with fury, humiliation, and a flicker of true panic.
The Mountain Lord’s strength was beyond anything he could have imagined. He never thought a Dwarf—so small, so frail—could possess power capable of hurling him like a ragdoll.
Now, his jaw was torn open, scales cracked and peeled back, his mouth warped from the impact.
He didn’t know—thanks to Stone Power—this legendary warrior’s strength had already broken through the thirty-point threshold. Even an ancient Red Dragon would be outmatched.
But Aid gave him no time to recover.
Holding his War Hammer high, he leapt into the air, descending with a thunderous Jumping Slash, roaring, “Monsters! You will witness—The Rage of the Mountains!”
His eyes flared with light. Behind him, a phantom image of towering mountains materialized, as if a colossal peak were hurtling down to crush the Wyvern.
Smaug gasped in horror. He flapped his wings frantically, barely managing to lift himself into the air, dodging the strike by mere inches.
Boom!
Dust exploded. Stone fragments flew. The earth trembled violently as Aid’s fury carved a crater dozens of meters wide. Had it landed on Smaug, it would have crushed his skull like an egg.
The Wyvern barely escaped, wings beating in desperation, his body battered and bleeding.
Boom! Boom!
Another pair of rocks shot upward from the ground—this time, Aid landed on them, using the jagged stone platforms as stepping stones, swinging his War Hammer with relentless fury as he chased the wounded dragon through the air.
A sandstorm raged overhead, swirling with grit and dust, trapping the Wyvern in its maelstrom. Yet Aid moved through it like a mountain spirit—unhindered, unshaken.
“You dare defy a dragon, Dwarf?!” Smaug bellowed, voice thick with rage. “You know what’s at stake! The Imperial soldiers, the High Mountain Kingdom’s Dwarves—they’re all watching! Even His Majesty may be observing this moment!”
If this humiliation spread, his prestige within the Empire of Ashen would be destroyed. His name would become a joke.
Enraged, Smaug’s eyes blazed with fire. He spun around, opened his maw wide, and roared with every fiber of his being: “Dwarf! I will turn you to ash!”
Boom—
From deep within his throat, a torrent of molten dragon flame surged forth—raging, devouring, a river of fire rushing toward the Dwarf.
Aid remained calm. He raised his left arm, and the sand and dust around him spiraled inward, coalescing into a thick, massive shield.
Pillar Stone Shield!
With one hand holding the shield, the other gripping the War Hammer, he charged forward—unflinching—into the storm of fire.
His voice rumbled like stone: “Come, Monsters. Dwarves are forged in the furnace of Father God Moradin. We have never known fear of fire!”
Smaug flapped his wings, summoning a scorching gale, hoping to blast the Dwarf into oblivion. But Aid stood firm, as if rooted to the earth. His feet pressed into the ground, and with each step, the earth rose beneath him—like a winding mountain beneath his feet.
Only then did Smaug truly grasp the meaning of “Mountain Lord.” This was no boast. This was truth.
Damned Dwarf!
Smaug gritted his teeth, helpless against the stone-like warrior. Then, memories of his earlier kill flashed—Bren, crushed beneath his claws.
As a Wyvern, Smaug had his own advantage. He could wrap his tail hook around the shield and stab the Dwarf from the side.
With a roar, he spread his wings, his aura flaring, fire roaring from his maw like a tidal wave.
Roar—
“I said it before,” Aid growled, eyes blazing, “Dwarves fear no fire!”
Facing the inferno, Aid didn’t retreat. His Battle Intensity only grew. His steps became faster, more urgent. The War Hammer in his hand pulsed with a bright yellow aura.
Smaug flapped his wings, hovering midair, pouring more fire into the onslaught.
But his eyes flickered with cunning. His tail muscles tensed—coiled like springs—its sharp hook gleaming coldly in the light.
“Come, Damned Dwarf! Let me show you the true power of the Empire of Ashen’s fire!”
“As you wish.”
Aid raised his shield, swung his War Hammer, and leapt into the air—cracking the earth beneath him, launching himself nearly a hundred meters into the sky.
Then, from above, he fell.
Crack!
The moment he left the ground, Smaug struck.
With a whip-like motion, his tail lashed out—spring-like, impossibly fast. The cold, gleaming hook tore through the air, slicing past the stone shield, aiming for the Dwarf’s side.
Aid was trapped—nowhere to run.
Crack!
The hook plunged into his body—ripping through armor, slicing through fabric—yet there was no flesh beneath.
Instead, the impact felt like driving into solid rock.
“Kai Xiusu above… what?!”
Smaug froze, eyes wide with shock.
Shards of stone flew through the air. Aid’s armor was pierced—but the body beneath was not flesh. It was rock.
“Damned… that Dwarf is a Half-Earth Elemental!”
Smaug snarled in fury. But the blow had done no damage. Aid’s body merely shifted slightly, unharmed.
“Monsters!” Aid roared, his voice like thunder. “My body is as hard as stone! Your cowardly ambush fails. And I will crush you!”
His stone-like form radiated an aura so dense it blocked all light. Still falling, he swung the War Hammer with the force of a collapsing mountain.
The sandstorm raged. Rock after rock surged from the earth, coalescing around the hammer—growing, stretching—until it became a weapon of colossal scale, a hammer the size of a mountain, spanning dozens of meters.
“No… no, this is just a damn Dwarf… how—”
Smaug’s face twisted in terror. There was no space left to dodge. He could only raise his front limbs to block.
At that moment—the air itself distorted.
Endless flames erupted from nowhere, pouring from the void like a river of fire. They formed a massive, wall-like barrier that spanned the sky, standing between Smaug and the falling giant hammer.
Boom—
Flames erupted outward. Stone and sand flew in every direction. The clash of fire and earth exploded in a cataclysmic clash of elemental forces, creating a storm that swept across the land.
Smaug gasped in relief. He knew—if that hammer had struck him, he’d be dead or crippled for life.
Then, from behind, a languid, feminine voice echoed through the flames.
“Not bad, Famous Mountain Lord. You’ve got some strength.”
From the fire emerged a young woman—red hair flowing like embers, golden eyes blazing. She wore a luxurious robe, an Imperial Medal pinned to her chest. Delicate, slender dragon horns curled above her head, and her long hair danced in the wind.
—Misha, the Dragon Oath Mage who served the Emperor, the wielder of the Tower of Conflagration, and the one the people of the Empire called the “Dragonfire Maiden.”
Kai Xiusu had foreseen that Smaug would not stand a chance against Aid.
After all, Aid’s Challenge Rating was a staggering 24. With decades of combat experience, even severely wounded and far weaker than before, he was still a true legend among legends.
Smaug, on the other hand, was merely a creature birthed from a Bloodline Gift—forcibly infused with Dragon Blood. His Strength was impressive, but his Challenge Rating barely reached 19. He was no match for a genuine warrior like Aid.
And Misha—under Kai Xiusu’s cultivation—had awakened her full potential as a Child of the Elements. Now a Legendary Oath Mage, her Challenge Rating stood at 21.
But in truth, with Kai Xiusu’s Watch upon her, her true combat power far exceeded her stats. Together, Smaug and Misha were perfectly balanced—enough to face Aid without fear of defeat.
Smaug’s draconic face twisted into a respectful smirk.
“Misha, Lady. Thank you for your timely intervention.”
Then, with a snarl, he added: “With you here, we’ll reduce that damn earth-worshipping Dwarf to dust!”
Within the Empire of Ashen, Misha held a unique status. Though she bore no noble title, she had sealed a Pact with the Supreme—His Majesty himself—and served as the Emperor’s Representative.
Every faction, no matter their power, courted her favor—hoping to gain the Emperor’s attention. Smaug was no exception.
Aid narrowed his eyes, his expression darkening. He stared at the red-haired girl now floating above the battlefield.
Though she looked delicate, fragile—like a child made of glass—Aid knew better.
To a warrior who had survived countless battles, her aura was terrifying. The flames surrounding her were fiercer than Smaug’s own. The elemental power radiating from her made even the ground tremble.
And she carried the overwhelming presence of a dragon—so intense it rivaled that of an Ancient Red Dragon. She was not human. She was a dragon in human skin.
Worse still—she had just blocked his full-power strike.
No ordinary sorcerer could do that.
Misha regarded the Dwarf with a faint, calculating smile.
“Master,” she said softly, “the great Emperor of the Ashen Flame has always cherished talent.”
She tilted her head.
“If you kneel before the throne, prostrate yourself at his feet… perhaps my Master will spare your life. Let you and your people drag on in suffering… forever.”
(End of Chapter)
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