Legacy of the Dark Sage

In the brief moment that Kyran was contemplating what to do, all the rubbles around him had already gathered around him.

"Tsk."

Kyran could not help but clicked his tongue at the inconvenience of moving around in midair. Once more, he was reminded of one of his weaknesses, which was his inability to fly or levitate. When he imitated such movements, he had to make full use of his magic sense and manipulate an object attached to his body— like his shoes, armor, etc.

Since he was unable to use magic without suffering any consequences, he could only make use of Draconic magic at a bare minimum, while he could not even use Void magic unless he wanted to reveal his identity.

Now that he thought of it, he was under such disadvantageous condition while sparring against these superior beings! He should have demanded for them to provide some handicap apart from resting for a few minutes after each match. Then again, if he managed to survive all his matches, the dragons would stop underestimating them. That was all that mattered.

Due to the limitations in his magic usage, Kyran decided to focus all the Draconic magic energy he could control freely to his lower body. Doing so would allow him to further enhance his speed when using Dragon Steps. Besides, he would be wasting his energy if he tried to enhance his strength since Ambros's body could not be damaged with brute force alone.

Kyran slipped through the gaps in the rubble to avoid getting trapped inside.

'I knew you'd do that,' Ambros thought, seeing Kyran's agile movements as he zig-zagged his way out of the rubble he was trying to imprison him with.

Ambros's eyes flashed, and the magic fluctuation around him intensified. He did not make a move at once. He first observed Kyran's movement and predicted the route he would go through. Once he had a better grasp of the latter's route, he found a good spot to execute his move.

'Now!'

As soon as Kyran entered an area where there were only several small rubbles were gathered, the magic fluctuation around Ambros exploded.

"!"

Ambros spread his arms and manipulated the small rubbles around Kyran. In the blink of an eye, long sharp steel0like needles protruded on all those rubbles and pierced through Kyran's body.

"...kuh!" Kyran gritted his teeth and endured the piercing pain as the needles sank through his skin. His skin had been enhanced, yet those needles managed to pierce him with ease.

This just proved the depth of magic knowledge Ambros used to mold those needles. The magic array he used for those needles possessed more layers than a normal one.

It should be noted that magic summoned without magic array was far weaker than those who had them. So, Ambros's needles should not have been that powerful. But that did not seem to be the case. In fact, they appeared to be far more solid than real steel and sharper than most blades.

Kyran's movement was momentarily stopped because of the needles, giving Ambros enough time to complete the prison he meant to confine Kyran with.

All patriarchs and seconds-in-command looked at Ambros approvingly. They were all impressed at his proficiency in using Earth magic.

It was common for others to have a misconception of the Earth Dragon Tribe's strength. Given their Earth innate magic, which was considered to be more effective in defensive magic, few expected them to use it for offense. However, the Earth Dragon Tribe was known not only for their indomitable defenses but also for their powerful offensive magic.

This was because the depth of their knowledge when using Earth magic was far greater than that of any beings.

Most mages considered Earth magic as manipulating the brittle soil into something more solid. But that was not the case. Earth magic pertained to anything that had a relation to earth, including all other minerals that could be found therein.

As long as one had a deeper understanding of Earth magic, one could mold it into a more solid material akin to metals. That was how Ambros managed to mold needles as sharp and solid as metal with Earth magic.

BOOM!

The massive lump of rubbles fell to the ground with such intensity that it sank several feet deep, creating a sizeable crater.

Ambros looked at his handiwork and nodded in satisfaction. He did not want to reveal any of his abilities, which was why he wanted to end the match against Kyran as soon as possible.

Although his patriarch asked him to test the latter and force him to show his cards, the fact that he could not even defend himself from the needles nor escape from the prison he created was proof that he was only worth that much. Kyran might be the new Dragon Lord, but that did not mean he could manifest the prowess of a dragon.

"Sir Eissen," Ambros called Eissen's attention respectfully. "I tried my best not to inflict too much damage. However, if he left him be, he'll likely suffer loss of blood. Please announce the match so I can release my magic."

The dragons in the audience did not show much enthusiasm during the match. They were not a rowdy crowd that would shout or react to everything that was happening in the arena. Besides, when it was announced that the new Dragon Lord was up against the young talent from the Earth Dragon Tribe, they more or less guessed how the match would go.

Nonetheless, like Ambros, they all believed that the match was already over, and they all waited for Aide Eissen to announce the winner.

Eissen did not respond to Ambros's call. Instead, he looked at the rubble before turning toward Aillos.

BOOM!

Before Eissen could even ask the latter's opinion, an explosion occurred right at the spot where the prison rubble was.

"What?" Ambros exclaimed in shock as the prison rubble he created exploded.

A small smile tugged at the corner of Aillos lips as he raised his hand just in time before the bits and pieces of rubbles could reach the audience. The barrier around the arena activated at once, protecting the audience from the stray rubbles.

The whole arena was covered in a cloud of smoke, and Ambros used his senses to try to find the spot where the rubble had been.

But then...

BAM!

"!"

A force impossible for Ambros to block immediately slammed onto him, forcing him back several meters back.

"Ngh…!"

Still, he managed to stop his momentum and grabbed the object that slammed into him.

"!"

Unfortunately, he was a second slow at grabbing hold of the object, and it successfully moved out of his reach.

'This smell…' Ambros frowned as he finally realized the true nature of the object.

"Seems like that is still not enough," Kyran muttered, moving out of Ambros's reach.

"So you actually managed to get out of that. Not bad."

Bam!

Ambros stomped on the ground and leaped right in front of Kyran.

'This guy…!' Kyran gritted his teeth and barely dodged Ambros's fist that came hurtling to his face. Apparently, Ambros had not used his maximum speed earlier. Or maybe it was him finally utilizing Dragon Steps. No matter the reason, Ambros had gotten faster.

By then, the cloud of smoke that covered the arena had subsided, and everyone in the audience and the hovering platforms could see the arena again.

Most of them were not affected by the cloud of smoke. With their natural enhanced senses, they could still see through the smoke. However, it still affected their ability to observe what was happening correctly. Moreover, they could not see his movement well because Kyran's presence was too weak. Because of this, they, like Ambros, belatedly realized that the object that slammed into him was Kyran.

As for Ambros, he managed to realize it sooner than the audience because of the scent of blood coming from Kyran's wounds.

Kyran managed to escape from the prison rubble, but that did not mean he was not unscathed from the needles. Moreover, he might be good at concealing his presence, but he could not remove the scent of blood on his body.

Kyran admitted moving recklessly when he broke free from the needles. In fact, several of these needles were still sticking out of his body, making him look like a porcupine. He could not remove them for fear of bleeding out to death. Obviously, that was an exaggeration, but even if he did not die, he would lose a lot of blood.

In any case, Kyran was enlightened on how to fight because of what Ambros did with the rubble.

A few days ago, Aillos mentioned the truth about the nature of Chaos magic. If Kyran utilized that while applying the concept that Ambros used to mold those needles, he could make his body into something similar.

It was hard to do for the first time, which was why it took him some time to execute it. Since Ambros would not wait for him to learn the concept thoroughly, Kyran settled for an acceptable result and broke free from imprisonment.