You are very strong, but my painting style is better than yours!

But for some reason, the closer he got to the battlefield, the more uneasy Iori became. It wasn't until the clouds in the sky grew thicker and that strange feeling came over him again that he stopped the small boat, his eyes showing a solemn expression.

"Ho~~~"

Sure enough, the clouds parted again, and a giant dragon, covered in blood but still powerful, looked down at the sea with godlike majesty. After quickly passing a pile of wrecked ships, it finally locked its gaze on Iori!

Chapter 40: The Broken Dragon and the Severed Blade

In her past life, Iori had also depicted the appearance of dragons in her youthful, immature fantasies. I believe that everyone has had the experience of being shocked by such creatures in movies and TV shows. However, no matter how realistic the special effects are, they cannot compare to the miracles seen with one's own eyes.

Beauty, danger, holiness… these feelings seem irrelevant at this moment, because when the distance closes to a certain point, feeling that vibrant breath, and being suppressed by some invisible aura, only one thought remains in the mind—

powerful!

This is a magnificent body built up by pure strength and the passage of time!

It was so close that Iori could clearly see her own reflection in her eyes, which were the size of a round table.

Lacking both bestiality and divinity, these eyes were so calm, like a lake without a ripple, a stark contrast to their ferocious appearance during the previous battle.

call--

Her breath stirred Iori's cloak, revealing the famous sword Kousetsu tucked at her waist.

"roar~"

The resounding roar of the dragon stirred up waves on the sea, and the small boat swayed like a leaf in the autumn wind, but Iori's feet remained firmly planted on the deck.

As the dragon raised its majestic head and opened its massive maw, Iori's pupils slowly contracted—

boom!

Without any preparatory movement, neither fire nor frost, but by instantly creating a vast vacuum, a dense, torrent-like array of invisible blades swept across, shredding the small boat into countless pieces that mixed with millions of tons of seawater and soared into the sky.

But Iori was not among them.

The next moment, the boy who had drawn his katana appeared slightly behind and above the giant dragon's head. The spinning blade tore through the wind and struck the dragon's neck like lightning.

Stab it!

A series of sparks flashed, followed by a teeth-grinding scraping sound. The feel of the knife was nothing like cutting into flesh and blood.

But the seemingly soft mane has an extraordinary strength. Iori used the momentum of falling to cut off several of them with a single blow, but it was blocked by a thin silver thread hidden in the middle, and the blade was deflected to the side!

The result was just a noticeable scratch on the hard dragon scales.

"Roar--!"

Suddenly losing its target and then being attacked, the sea dragon paused for a moment before letting out an excited and high-spirited roar, accompanied by a huge shockwave that swept across the surrounding area.

Iori instinctively reached out to grab the fur on the dragon's spine, but her tentacles sensed something was wrong and immediately withdrew. The next moment, she was blown far away.

In the howling wind, Iori struggled to adjust his posture, his feet skimming the surface of the sea, kicking up a series of splashes before finally disappearing into the water. In the dim light, he looked at his left hand; his leather glove was torn across his palm, and from his palm, a string of tiny beads of blood slowly seeped into the seawater…

Did you get cut? Are body hairs naturally this sharp?

Iori felt a chill run down her spine as she thought of the Imperial Arms [Thousand Transformations - Cross Tail] from the original work.

It is said that the Silk Thread Imperial Armor was made from the body hair of the Cloud Dragon, a super dangerous species from the East Blue. Its toughness and sharpness are extremely amazing, and the strongest one is even called "Boundary Severing Thread," which has a rather amazing performance in actual combat.

This is just body hair. According to the laws of nature, for large predatory creatures like dragons, body hair is often used to enhance their intimidation or keep them warm. In general, it plays an auxiliary role. The real attack organs are sharp teeth and claws.

Since its body hair is so tough, there's no reason why its claws, teeth, and scales should be any weaker!

It's like fighting a mobile arsenal...

Another incredible thought flashed through Iori's mind: Could this guy be the same one that the first emperor of the millennium encountered?

Although the time span is very large, there are long-lived species in ordinary life that can live for hundreds of years, so it is not surprising that super dangerous species have such an extremely long lifespan.

boom!

Before Iori could think for long, the sea was quickly parted by the enormous body, and the dragon, its eyes gleaming with divine light, pounced on Iori.

We've been waiting for you!

Iori's eyes sharpened, and she abandoned her usual diligent and house-keeping style, letting her spiritual pressure pour out without restraint.

The dragon opened its jaws wide in the sea, and the surging undercurrents shot out like high-pressure water jets, threatening to plunge Iori into the abyss!

However, the water column was clearly not as fast as the vacuum blade. Iori calmly extended his left hand, manifesting a glowing spiritual energy shield, which was none other than the Eighth Binding Path: Repulsion. Although it was a low-level Kido, it protected Iori well, causing him to be propelled by the attacking undercurrent to accelerate his fall and thus move away from the dragon.

This distance gave Iori enough time to silently prepare and chant the incantation—

【Binding Technique Sixty-Three: Chain Binding】!

Thick, serpentine chains shot out from the darkness, spiraling along the undercurrent. The dragon almost willingly went to meet the chains and was caught in their coils. But when it realized something was wrong, the chains, under Iori's control, suddenly tightened and locked its neck and jaw together!

The dragon struggled frantically, but to its astonishment, it found that it could not open its mouth.

The chains were tightly wrapped and very strong, making it difficult for the creature to exert force for a while.

——!

Iori moved with incredible speed, and after grabbing the chain, she followed the force of the dragon's pull, tracing a graceful path in the sea before attacking its relatively soft lower abdomen.

The dragon's eyes revealed boundless fighting spirit, and its massive body burst forth with powerful force. Suddenly, it stopped its descent and rushed towards the sea surface in the opposite direction. As a result, Iori was impacted by the powerful water pressure, and her movements became chaotic.

puff!

The dragon broke through the sea and soared into the sky, spiraling upwards into the clouds, while Iori held tightly to the chains and never let go.

The dragon was more agile in the clouds than in the sea. Iori felt like he was pulling a high-speed train that was speeding down a roller coaster track. His body was at risk of being forcibly torn apart at any moment, but even so, he had to persevere.

Because once he lets go, without his direct control, the chain could break at any moment!

Wait, that's it!

Thanks to her long-term persistence, Iori was able to see a scar hidden by the fluffy mane on the inside of the dragon's lower jaw, near the theoretical throat (actually, Iori wasn't very good at judging the dragon's body structure).

They are absolutely invisible under normal circumstances, and can only occasionally appear when strong winds are blowing.

Iori's gaze sharpened. After a quick assessment of her remaining spiritual pressure, she began chanting a spell for a certain type of deity.

The spiritual pressure fluctuations seemed to have startled the dragon as well. Although it had never seen this type of attack before, its mental strength was not weak, and it keenly sensed the anomaly.

Suddenly, crackling electricity crackled across the dragon's scales, and Iori sensed something was wrong—

Click!

A blinding bolt of lightning struck the dragon from the clouds, instantly enveloping its entire body. But this did not harm it; instead, it made its mane appear magnificent and flowing under the tempering of the lightning, showcasing the pure beauty of power.

At the same time, the dragon felt the chain on its mouth loosen, and with a slight exertion, it snapped it. Then, a ball of fire slowly fell from the sky, seemingly the human who had been affected by the lightning.

A look of regret appeared in the dragon's eyes as it gazed at the ball of fire—

His vertical pupils suddenly shrank to a slit!

The flames were scattered by the wind, revealing that it was merely a burning cloak!

An astonishing surge of spiritual pressure suddenly appeared on the left side of the dragon's head. A masked swordsman dressed in tight-fitting clothes held a famous sword, coating the blade with compressed "qi" to the extreme.

A head-on confrontation? Or a desperate, all-or-nothing attack?

The human saw the wound on its neck!

"Roar!!!"

The dragon opened its massive jaws, its laughter like that of a human, and lunged at Iori.

In a split second, just a split second, either Iori could break through the mane's protection and pierce the wound, or he would perish in the dragon's mouth!

Time seemed to stand still at this moment, as the dragon's sharp teeth were about to pierce Iori's body—

Ka!

The dragon's jaws snapped shut with a terrifying clanging sound, but no blood splattered, leaving the dragon utterly astonished.

This human's trajectory was not directed towards its wound!

The next moment, Iori appeared on the other side of the dragon's head, her skillful Instant Step technique as precise and composed as Saito had described.

[Hado Chapter 78: Zankarin]!

A pure white blade of energy adhered to the katana, slicing through the dragon's vertical pupils like a spinning blade wheel!

Zheng! ! !

"Roar----!"

The longsword tore its way up to the jawbone, colliding with the hard bone and sharp dragon teeth, producing a clear metallic hum.

Ka!

The famous sword Jiang Xue has broken!

Chapter 41: Huh? The Dragon Slayer Saber, me?

Hot dragon blood spilled down, and a roar filled with suppressed pain echoed through the sky, while Iori's body fell freely in the gale.

In the end... was it still a miscalculation?

Iori glanced at the broken sword in her hand and gently shook her head.

If it were a Zanpakuto, the outcome would be very different—of course, saying that now would just be making excuses for myself.

With most of his spiritual pressure depleted, the remaining energy was insufficient to sustain such an intense battle. The weapon he carried was also broken. Although there were spares on the ship, the small boat had been destroyed at the very beginning.

It could be said that they had exhausted all means but were helpless.

In contrast, even with the loss of an eye, the dragon still maintains formidable fighting power. What are Iori's chances of winning next...?

puff!

The boy fell into the sea, creating a splash. This time, he quickly jumped out and found a plank to stand on.

"no solution anymore."

Iori gazed at the giant dragon circling in the sky, reached into her robes, and grasped a hard object—[Dimensional Array Shangri-La].

It seems we have no choice but to flee... We've made a victorious retreat. Before that, let's mark this place to avoid having to take the sea route again in the future.

Iori gripped his Imperial Arms tightly, ready to activate it at any moment, but he was in no hurry. For some unknown reason, he hesitated to make a move, instead staring at the wounded dragon with a deep look of contemplation in his eyes.

A moment later, the giant dragon spiraled down, creating a wave crest on the sea. Iori, standing firmly on the wooden plank, looked up at the overlord-level life form amidst the undulating waves.

"Roar!!!!"

The raging dragon's roar calmed the sea considerably, as if even nature itself was in awe of it.

Surprisingly, the dragon, whose eye had been slashed, did not immediately launch a revenge attack on Iori. Instead, it stopped when it saw the broken blade in the boy's hand, and even revealed a human-like sense of regret in its remaining eye.

It gave Iori a deep look, as if trying to remember this human who showed no fear even after losing his weapon. Then it let out a long, melodious cry and soared into the sky like a whirlwind, disappearing into the dark clouds.

“…left?”

Iori stared at the clouds in surprise. Although he felt that the dragon had a certain level of intelligence and there might be some unknown reasons behind its behavior, he did not expect that it could restrain its bloodthirsty beastly nature and choose to give up at this stage of the battle.

The clouds have begun to gradually disperse, or rather, move further away, and the waves at sea have gradually calmed down, so it seems that it has really left.

"why?"

Just as Iori was thinking this, a faint light suddenly fell from the sky. It wasn't moving very fast; it was just freefalling and didn't seem to be emitting any dangerous aura.

After hesitating for a moment, Iori activated Shunpo to enter the air and caught the glowing object. Its cool touch refreshed her spirits.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a round, orange-green bead about the size of a cantaloupe, with a clear and transparent texture. However, a wisp of misty airflow inexplicably lingered on its surface, appearing and disappearing intermittently in a magical cycle.

"This is……"

Iori had a thought, but the vast sea was not a good place to think things through. He tore off a piece of cloth from his body and wrapped it up simply. Then he found a large piece of driftwood to use as a raft and started paddling hard with a broken plank in each hand.

He certainly wouldn't want to cross the ocean by such means, so his goal was to collect as many supplies as possible and find a relatively intact small boat.

He could clearly see that all the large ships were destroyed by the dragon's attack, but many small boats survived, and these became his means of transportation.

Sure enough, he soon found a suitable sampan. In the process, he also found the wreckage of his small fishing boat and retrieved things such as the spirit particle conversion device. Although he lost most of his money and supplies, at least the important things were not lost.

It is also worth mentioning that there were surviving sailors in the fleet. Some clung to driftwood and struggled to survive, while others took advantage of the chaos to run to the sampans, where they witnessed Iori's battle with the dragon with a mixture of fear and awe.

Iori knew he had failed, but in their eyes, he had single-handedly defeated the overlord of the ocean and even caused it to shed blood in the sky. His achievements surpassed those of their entire fleet, making him a powerful man who was like a demon!

Whether out of blind obedience to the strong or helplessness in their desperate situation, they naturally placed their hopes on Iori and asked for help, hoping that Iori could take them back to land.

We're not too far from the "Eastern Island Nation" now. If nothing unexpected happens, it should be a five or six-day journey at most. If everyone gathers usable supplies, we should be able to make it to our destination.

The problem is that with so many people gathered together, they are very likely to attract aliens (dangerous species) from the sea on the way. Without a large ship to rely on, they will be powerless to fight back against the monster's attack. The only one who can save them is Iori.

And Iori readily agreed to this: