Chapter 97: The Black Lightning Asura
[The shuttle is empty.]
[Lady Cher isn’t aboard.]
Chaz sat inside the great castle as the two messages arrived one after another. His gaze shifted to the huge tactical display map upfront, and with every passing second, his expression darkened.
He had been following the battle closely. Silas and Darius remained trapped at the heart of the chaos, while Cher’s shuttle continued circling the outer edge of the mining territory without approaching the battlefield. The sight had already stirred his suspicions, so he ordered the squad intercepting the reinforcements from the other clans to board the shuttle and verify whether Cher was inside.
His fears had been confirmed.
"So that’s how it is..."
His eyes slowly drifted toward the battlefield where the dragon was tearing through his forces.
"You actually dared to deceive me. Impressive... very impressive."
His voice was calm, yet every word carried a murderous weight. The Enhancers standing nearby felt an involuntary chill run down their spines. They had served Chaz for years, yet few had ever seen him this enraged.
He was the unquestioned ruler of the mighty Avaron Clan, an A-Enhancer, an L-Enhancer, and above all, a Lisan Al-Gaia. He was one of the handful of humanity’s greatest powerhouses. Wherever he walked, respect and fear followed in equal measure.
Yet today, his own daughter had done what no one else had ever dared.
"If you think you can make a fool of me, I’ll show you how mistaken you are."
His gaze settled on the last known location of Silas and Darius, the very place where the dragon was still raging.
"You can hide in the shadows all you want, but I refuse to believe you’ll stay hidden while your friends are tortured to death."
Chaz rose from his seat and walked outside. Without a single command, the remaining members of the Avaron special squad fell in behind him. Nearly twenty Enhancers followed, led by a single B-Enhancer.
His fury had stripped away the last traces of patience. He was convinced Cher had remained somewhere near the place where Silas and Darius had disappeared. First, he would bring the dragon under control. Then he would find the two boys and use them as bait to force Cher into the open.
Once she appeared, he would unleash the dragon upon her before killing her friends before her very eyes.
"Only then will my anger be satisfied."
He boarded his personal shuttle, a vessel that resembled a flying warship far more than an ordinary transport, and continued watching the battlefield as it accelerated toward the dragon.
***
"Chaz Avaron himself is joining the battle? Interesting..."
Leopard sat inside his own shuttle, studying the tactical map with narrowed eyes.
Ever since Silas and Darius had vanished, the entire battlefield had descended into complete disorder. Their disappearance alone had been suspicious, but when no one managed to locate them afterwards, everything spiralled out of control.
It felt as though someone had overturned the game board and scattered every piece across the floor.
The Dark Hunters suddenly clashed with the mine forces. Then the dragon descended upon both sides, forcing the mine forces into a desperate struggle while the Dark Hunters scattered in every direction.
The battlefield had already become chaotic enough, but Chaz Avaron’s sudden arrival with the Avaron Clan’s elite squad made Leopard realise the situation was only becoming more unpredictable.
Leopard knew exactly who Chaz Avaron was, and few names inspired greater fear across Eldrune.
The man wielded four perfectly matching abilities that merged into a massive floating cloud of white, from which torrents of black lightning descended without end. The world knew him as the Black Lightning Asura, one of humanity’s greatest champions. Seeing such a figure personally descend onto the battlefield to confront the dragon should have been enough to end the battle.
Yet reality refused to follow common sense as the dragon stood its ground.
Black lightning tore through its body again and again, carving wounds far deeper than those inflicted by any other Enhancer, yet the monster endured them with terrifying resilience. It bled, but every injury seemed little more than superficial to such an overwhelming existence.
Leopard stared at the live feed, his gaze fixed not on the battle itself, but on the streams of blood spilling from the dragon’s wounds, making his heart race.
"Dragon blood coagulates the moment it touches air," he muttered with a frown. "It turns into those strange orange crystals. They’re still valuable, but they lose almost ninety-nine percent of their true worth."
He knew the proper harvesting method for dragon blood well. A suction syringe had to be inserted directly into a fresh wound before the blood touched the air. Only then could its original properties be preserved.
Yet every second that passed sent another crimson stream onto the ground.
"All of it is being wasted..."
His fists slowly tightened.
"I can’t just stand here and watch."
Even if the dragon continued to overwhelm expectations while fighting the Black Lightning Asura, Leopard knew there would never be a better opportunity to obtain its blood.
He immediately gave an order.
"Everyone, gather up. We’re moving out."
Naturally, he could not reveal his true objective.
"The legendary Black Lightning Asura is risking his life against the dragon. We cannot stand by while one of humanity’s greatest heroes fights alone. We’re going to support him... for humanity."
That alone was enough.
The Black Lightning Asura’s name carried immense weight, while the familiar slogan had inspired countless Enhancers throughout history. Combined together, they drowned out reason itself.
The shuttles soon landed, and Leopard led the assembled teams toward the battlefield.
The dragon remained in its humanoid form, making it difficult to spot, but locating the battle was effortless. Violent explosions echoed across the land without pause, each one shaking the ground beneath their feet.
As they drew closer, the oppressive aura surrounding the battlefield became increasingly unbearable.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?"
Montar stepped beside Leopard, his voice noticeably less confident than before.
"The closer we get, the harder it is to breathe..."
"We can’t allow a dragon to invade our territory while one of our strongest Enhancers fights alone," Leopard replied calmly, though he could already feel the fear spreading through the group. "Besides, think about what this means for our mission evaluation once we return to the academy."
He deliberately raised his voice so everyone could hear. And Montar’s eyes lit up.
"How so?"
"Just imagine it... The Black Lightning Asura personally praises our courage and acknowledges our contribution. Do you think the academy would ignore something like that? We’d earn more merit points than anyone. They might even hold a special ceremony, award us titles, and celebrate us as heroes."
His words spread through the group like wildfire. The hesitation in their eyes gradually disappeared, replaced by excitement and greed. Satisfied, Leopard wasted no more time and led everyone toward the dragon.
The outcome, however, was nothing like the fantasy he had painted.
The dragon slaughtered more than half of the force within minutes, leaving Leopard and the remaining survivors gravely wounded before they fled in utter disgrace with their tails tucked between their legs.
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