Alexander declared his resolve and had no intention of letting the evil dragon escape. He leaped back, gripping the 【Blade of Praising Gods】 tightly.
Several distinctly different hymns sounded simultaneously. The originally harmonious melody became chaotic, but Alexander still activated the last hymn he commanded, a protective blessing, and the only control-type hymn.
“I praise... the rite of wind capture!”
As his words fell, a tangible, azure-blue melody rose to the sky, instantly filling the surrounding space.
“Hmm...”
Lian raised her exquisite head, gazing at the lead-gray sky entwined with the melody. Her finger, encased in a black glove, tapped her cheek:
“Oh, I can't leave directly now. Son of man, why bother? You haven't acquired any techniques or talents to weaken or target me. You can't harm me in the slightest right now.”
“Shut up! Just die quietly!”
Alexander roared at the dragon-maiden, maintaining the multiple hymns as he charged towards Lian.
“Thump-thump-thump-thump—”
“Thump-thump-thump—”
However, whether it was a thrust or a slash, a light cannon or a spell, all attacks dissipated just inches from Lian. The light-blue-haired dragon-maiden with a high ponytail was so bored that she even took a small flask from her waist, sipped some mead, and helplessly watched Alexander's tempestuous assault.
Each charge was repelled by the dragon-maiden's inherent ring of repulsion, sending him flying heavily to the ground.
But the next second, he would force himself back up and continue charging at Lian.
“Pfft—”
After a long while of such futile effort, Alexander finally spat out a large mouthful of foul blood. His gradually rupturing internal organs forced the young Brave One to his knees, gasping for breath.
Even with the extremely high damage reduction from the 【Hymn of Protection】, this hymn offered little in the way of recovery.
Thus, the pressure from the multiple hymns exerted on his body made the young Brave One's eyes bloodshot, his skin cracking from the strain, and the blood bursting from his veins and muscles stained his body crimson.
Yet, even in this wretched state, his enemy had not even counterattacked. She merely stood there, casting no spells, drawing no weapons, revealing no true form, and by relying on the passive effect of her aura alone, the human Brave One was left riddled with wounds.
The most bizarre and comical thing was that Alexander's injuries were entirely self-inflicted—a self-harm fighting style.
“Screech—”
Even his body, blessed by the 【Heroic Hymn】, could not withstand the overloaded entanglement of the poetic melodies. One of Alexander's arms suddenly twisted and folded in an incredibly grotesque manner, as if enduring terrifying gravity. The skin at the joint was pierced by stark white bone, gushing forth a pillar of blood.
“Frightening. Don't splash blood on me.”
Faust had already subtly retreated, coolly observing Alexander's fearless assault.
“To be honest, I don't consider this courage.”
Seeing this, Viviana's delicate and melancholic face was expressionless as she said:
“It's meaningless. The gap between them cannot be bridged by mere spirit or bravery. Moreover, he wasn't restricted or humiliated, nor did he have any compelling reason to attack.”
“Compared to bravery, this leans more towards stubbornness and pedantry.”
The light-gold-haired maiden expressed her inability to understand Alexander's persistence. If anyone dared to harm Faust, she would fight much more desperately than Alexander for the prince, perhaps even truly slaying the dragon.
But Lian had no intention of harming anyone on this trip. In fact, since this fairy became a dragonfall, there had been no record of her personally harming mortals. What kind of grudge could there be?
Alexander wasn't even an imperial citizen! He had no connection to the civil war!
The prince sighed, “Because he has no other choice.”
Only Faust clearly understood how much of a tool the young man, a country farmer by birth, truly was.
Alexander's actions were already heavily influenced by the 【Brave One】 fate-star, not to mention the added effect of the 【witches' feast】, which maxed out his “blood rage” buff, making any act of cowardice absolutely unforgivable.
“It wasn't this chaotic era that harmed him, but us.”
Faust sighed, but it was impossible for him to feel guilty.
His goal was to help the Second Empire deal with the 【Brave One】. Although his original intention was to debug the continuation effect of the 【witches' feast】, it seemed he had coincidentally completed a very important side quest?
Due to the severe injuries to his body, the 【Hymn of Wind Capture】 Alexander used to restrain the dragon-maiden's movement had already failed. Lian turned to Faust and said:
“Well then, I must leave. What do you plan to do next?”
Faust waved his hand, “No matter, I don't think I'll need your help anymore. Or rather, you've already helped a great deal.”
The prince looked at the young Brave One, who was almost a bloody mess and in a sorry state. Hearing their conversation, the talk of humans and dragons colluding reignited his fury.
“St... stop! Who said you could leave!”
Alexander, using his one functional arm, propped himself up with the 【Blade of Praising Gods】. The hymns, which had almost ceased, resumed, but these melodies were an ever-increasing burden on his mortal body.
Hymn after hymn pressed down on him more fiercely than before. The young Brave One, completely disregarding his collapsing body, let out a hoarse roar from his throat, unleashing his last reserves of strength. He spun and spun in the air, slashing at Lian with an unstoppable momentum.
“Traitor! Evil dragon! You all deserve to die!!”
“Bang—”
This strike finally broke through the true dragon's aura barrier. The passive spell's deceleration alone could not stop Alexander's strongest blow.
Lian raised an eyebrow, thinking it was time to sit up and use one hand. She tucked the silver flask back into her waist and raised her hand.
“Clang—”
With a crisp clang, the ethereal blade of the 【Blade of Praising Gods】 was grasped by the light-blue-haired dragon-maiden's slender, delicate hand, and then...
“Crunch, crunch—”
The ethereal blade, along with the metal of the divine-era relic, was effortlessly snapped by the dragon-maiden.
What was called a divine artifact was, in the end, only so for mortals; in the eyes of a true dragon, it was nothing more than scrap metal.
Alexander could no longer express despair or rage at this. After delivering his final strike, he collapsed to his knees. The melodies and hymns wrapped around him finally dissipated, and the young man lowered his head, his tense body relaxing at that moment.
He had burned out.
“Truly... a meaningless battle. Pitiful son of man.”
Lian watched the fading life of Alexander with a gaze of pity, shaking her head. Then she nodded and smiled faintly at the prince of Qingxi:
“Well then, I really must leave, or more sons of man will die over this trivial matter... Faust, I eagerly await our next meeting. I hope you won't make me wait too long.”
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