CHAPTER 127: PHOENIX FIRE TO THE RESCUE

"Roar!"

Lucien roared in anger after being unable to tear apart this thick scale in front that was stopping him from getting the draconic essence.

No matter how much force he used, even managing to use his 318 points of strength at one point, he just couldn’t do anything at all.

But just because he was trying hard didn’t mean his body would understand.

As time went by, the extreme hunger he felt in each cell of his body was getting stronger and stronger. It was so much that his body, that recovered before, was getting damaged once again.

To be honest, such a thing could happen to Lucien just to properly awaken an A-rank physique he already got from the system as a reward was truly absurd.

After all, just like before, shouldn’t he just feel a daze or at least some pain before directly getting overpowered?

That’s what always happened before, right?

Didn’t he get SSS rank skills back-to-back just like this before? Didn’t he awaken a unique class just like this before?

Then, why was it now...?

Maybe, unconsciously, Lucien also felt that and didn’t take the note of needing Draconic Essence from the system seriously.

Now, he was in such a situation just because he was careless, or maybe he had grown a little smug due to all those debt extractions he had done.

This incident would surely bring him down a notch... if he managed to survive, that is.

"It seems I have to help him. Velmara, get closer and protect Lucien while I prepare the spell."

Fortunately for him, Malcolm was near and was able to help, even if he did screw up.

"NO-"

Just when Malcolm had decided to help Lucien pierce the chest of the dragon and thereafter allow him to absorb the essence, he suddenly heard a loud voice from Lucien.

Only, this time it wasn’t a roar devoid of sanity.

Rather, it was a raw, wild roar of pride, on the verge of being shaken by the aid a new dragon was about to receive at the moment of its birth.

Lucien was denying that, or rather, his half-draconic existence was denying that furiously.

Dragons had always been synonymous with pride, and they thought themselves as the topmost existence of the world since birth.

It wasn’t some acquired knowledge they got after their birth. Instead, it was the innate quality every dragon possesses since they came out of their egg.

It wasn’t without a reason that they were considered the favourite host of one of the greatest sins of the Abyss...

....Sin of Pride.

"What is he doing?"

Malcolm, who was about to help, was once again stunned after seeing an absurd reaction from Lucien.

He realized, all of a sudden, that the strikes he was raining down on the dragon’s chest were growing faster and heavier, each blow carrying a raw, frantic edge with desperation.

"NO-"

And most importantly, the instinctive denial that came out of Lucien’s mouth when his unconscious self realized that Malcolm was about to help was a sight to behold.

The situation had spiraled so badly that Lucien was now hammering away nonstop with his own sharp bone, already splintered from the dragon’s unyielding scales, even as each strike tore his wounds open further.

His own blood had already dyed the red scale of the dragon even more crimson, yet his attempt was just a joke, even with all of this.

Not to mention the situation on the other side...

"Malcolm, look."

Velmara suddenly shouted to Malcolm, who remained perplexed by Lucien’s behavior.

However, when he paid attention to the chest of the dragon as Velmara pointed, he finally understood what had happened.

"Is it...trying less?"

There were two entities currently trying to pierce the chest of the dragon in front.

While one was Lucien, another one was the draconic essence that was looking to get assimilated within him.

However, now that Malcolm came near, he felt that the force with which the essence was trying hard to come out before was getting less and less.

While it managed to dent the chest with force before, now it was just producing a loud sound and nothing else.

"I...I don’t think we should help him."

Velmara suddenly said, while simultaneously getting a little farther than Lucien, allowing him to go mad for now.

As a beast who also had a trace of Vermillion blood, he knew more about the ancient bloodline than Malcolm.

At least, he knew that gaining an Ancient bloodline wasn’t as easy as finding a treasure and absorbing it outright.

While it was indeed possible to do so with absolute power, that was a very inefficient method.

Only when the bloodline recognized you and willingly got assimilated within you would you be able to get everything.

Otherwise, you would just be another excellent but failed product at most, just like Sera.

"B-But...he will die like this."

Malcolm, of course, understood the severity of the situation, and he wished nothing more than the best for Lucien.

However, the whole thing had been completely uncalled for. Both he and Lucien had been caught totally off guard with no preparation whatsoever.

At this point, he no longer believed Lucien could seize that Draconic essence with his current strength.

True, he could already sense Lucien’s power surging toward the early Weaver rank through sheer physical force alone, a shocking feat in itself, but given the situation, it simply wasn’t enough.

In fact, Malcolm feared that if he didn’t stop Lucien soon, the backlash might cause irreversible damage to his mental power.

"Don’t worry. I have a plan."

Fortunately, Velmara knew something about Lucien that Malcolm wasn’t aware of. He just wasn’t sure if this would work.

"What do you mean?"

Just when Malcolm wanted to ask, he saw Velmara suddenly looking at Lucien’s battered and bloodied figure and roaring unexpectedly,

"LUCIEN, USE PHOENIX FIRE!"

The sound was so loud and piercing that it tore through the lingering mist, slamming directly into Lucien.

For a moment, it almost looked like an attack, his body jerking violently, making it hard to keep his balance.

"Use your PHOENIX FIRE to burn that scale down!"

But Velmara didn’t stop. Instead, he grew even more serious, roaring as if he were fighting Zeyvyr with his life once again.

Although he was indeed using the sound, he was also channeling his unique beast aura and the trace of the Ancient bloodline of Vermillion, conveying his emotions directly to Lucien, who had already lost his sanity and was driven purely by beastly instinct.

He was actually trying to resonate with Lucien, trying to activate something within him.

To be honest, Velmara was already using a force far greater than during his fight, as he hadn’t activated his Vermillion bloodline at that time.

"What are you doing? What Phoenix Fire?"

While Lucien became stunned by the roar of Velmara and turned to look at him with his elliptical vertical eyes instinctively, Malcolm, on the other hand, was totally stunned.

In the battle to get a Draconic Essence, why had Phoenix Fire suddenly appeared?

Moreover, why was Velmara asking Lucien to use that?

How could Lucien have such a thing with his mortal body and the physique of a dragon?

"Wha-how is this possible?"

However, today, Malcolm was destined to receive continuous shocks with no gap in between.

When Velmara’s furious and ancient roar landed on Lucien, he first indeed got disoriented and stopped his attack.

But just as Malcolm was about to ask Velmara to stop, Lucien suddenly did something that even made a shiver run down his spine.

"Roar!"

It seemed Velmara’s instruction went straight into Lucien’s mind, for suddenly, out of nowhere, his body began to heat up.

Then, brilliant, golden fire erupted from his body, swirling in fierce, spiraling patterns, shooting forth in violent jets.

The flames were so intense that they wrapped around his body, heating the surrounding air and scorching everything nearby.

Malcolm even saw Lucien’s body visibly healing by the fire as he resumed punching the dragon’s chest.

Only this time, his hands were engulfed in Phoenix flames, aiding in regeneration and helping him melt through the dragon’s tough scales that had refused to budge before.

No matter what, the dragon and the Phoenix were of the same rank, after all.

One could always affect the other.

Although the Phoenix flame Lucien wielded was borrowed and not genuine, the dragon before him was also already dead and defending only with its raw, physical body.

The moment Lucien drew every ounce of the Phoenix fire, engulfing his circle with the beautiful, blazing flames, his progress accelerated rapidly.

The unbroken red scales covering the dragon’s chest had already begun to visibly melt, exposing the softer areas, which Lucien pierced directly with his overwhelming power.

Where he had looked like a desperate child against a formidable foe before, now he resembled a true warrior, fighting a dragon with raw power, only far cooler, with all those flames raging across his body.

"Haha... I knew he could do this."

Velmara couldn’t help but shout in excitement as he saw Lucien finally piercing the chest ever so slightly.

Not to mention the fierce reaction of the Draconic Essence as soon as the Phoenix fire appeared.

Now, the situation had turned for the better.

He just lamented why he hadn’t done this before. Maybe Lucien wouldn’t have had to suffer so much.

"How can he have Phoenix Fire on him?"

Well, while he was excited, Malcolm, on the other hand, was completely confused.

Unfortunately, Velmara wasn’t in the mood to explain, as he was far too concerned with witnessing a Draconic Essence with his own eyes for the first time.