"A dragon. it's really a dragon?"
The two dark figures leapt from the sea, sending a ripple of startled whispers through the crew.
One of them was a massive dragon, over twenty meters long, with several pairs of fin-like wings along its neck and sides, its scales a deep, vivid blue.
"I never expected a dragon to exist… Could the Azure Water really have some connection with the dragons?" Pasfield's eyes widened in shock.
After all, the source of the Azure Water was already claimed by dragons. Now, the newly discovered location also harbored dragons. The coincidence was too striking to ignore.
Pfft!
The two dark figures clashed as soon as they emerged from the waves.
The blue dragon's opponent was a middle-aged man clad in knightly armor, wielding a silver spear. Though the dragon's massive body and draconic lineage granted it formidable natural defenses, each strike from the spear pierced its flesh, leaving the dragon bleeding heavily within moments.
The middle-aged man's expression remained firm, but as he saw the dragon's blood, a wild, violent gleam flared in his eyes.
"Moo!" The blue dragon let out a pain-filled roar like a bull, thrashing through the waves and sending enormous surges toward the man.
Yet the man remained unshaken. Using some unknown technique, he stood firmly atop the water, unhindered by the massive waves. Slowly, he raised his silver, magically infused spear and thrust forward.
A piercing whistle rang out.
Magical energy surged along the spear. The surrounding seawater twisted into a concentrated current, forming a serpentine shape resembling a coiling dragon. With a single thrust, the water-dragon blasted through the towering waves, slicing them into countless splashes.
Thud!
Unrelenting, the water-dragon barreled into the blue dragon's belly.
Blood erupted immediately. With the sound of tearing flesh and cracking bone, piercing the dragon's chest, spilling draconic blood high into the air, coloring the surrounding waves red.
"Moo!" The blue dragon groaned weakly, casting a resentful glance at its opponent before collapsing into the sea with a tremendous splash.
The man exhaled, the bloodlust in his eyes fading. Only then did he notice Ur and his companions. Brief caution flitted across his gaze, but soon he dragged the dragon's corpse across the water and swiftly disappeared into the distance.
The crew of the Dori XVII exhaled collectively.
The middle-aged man had single-handedly slain a dragon, a feat awe-inspiring in itself. Had someone like Guild Master Bich Fard or others faced such a foe, the pressure would have been immense.
Only Ur and Pasfield remained composed.
Though from the flicker in Pasfield's eyes, he was clearly unsettled. He had a growing suspicion about the middle-aged man's identity.
"Ur… are you sure about this?" Pasfield asked suddenly.
"No problem," Ur replied.
"Good." Pasfield relaxed slightly.
Being a non-mage, Pasfield lacked deep knowledge of magical affairs. The man's display of power had unnerved him.
Moreover, given the timing and location near the Gulya Glacier, it seemed highly likely that this middle-aged man had been hired by his "siblings." There was no other reasonable explanation.
Ur paid little attention to Pasfield's thoughts. His focus remained on the man.
Though the middle-aged man was powerful, he was not a figure Ur feared. While the blue dragon had some draconic blood, it was far weaker than a true dragon like Hitsuya.
But the man's techniques were what caught Ur's attention. His immense suppressive and offensive power over dragons suggested nothing short of "dragon-slaying power." Ur could think of no other explanation.
"So, this is the so-called Dragon Eater of the Guiltina Continent? Looks… pretty average," Ur mused silently.
Though the man wielded dragon-slaying magic, it lacked the purity of someone like Natsu. The magic felt neither fully magical nor purely dragon-slaying in nature.
Historically, dragon-slaying mages evolved across several generations.
First-generation dragon-slaying mages, like Natsu, learned dragon magic directly from dragons. Fifth-generation Dragon Eaters gained power by consuming dragons, harnessing their strength for magic. Dragon meat is hardly fit for ordinary consumption. While the method by which a Dragon Eater suppresses the dragon's transformation is unknown, it's clear that their dragon-slaying force is not equivalent to true dragon-slaying magic.
"Ur, we should hurry inside!" Pasfield urged, seeing traces of his siblings nearby.
Ur, however, posed a question in return. "What do you think of the Vichy tribe's strength?"
"Huh?" Pasfield hesitated, then considered: "They're strong, a naturally warlike people."
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