Chapter 177
“You’re dead, you cult bastards!”
“You betrayed humanity! Have you no shame, bowing to lesser creatures?”
“Dragons are nothing more than oversized worms!”
“You’re a disgrace. A failure!”
The shouts rang out in unison, hundreds of voices merging into a single roar. The sound echoed through the forest, rattling the trees and making the ground tremble faintly.
Drayken simply shrugged, calm and unbothered. He extended a hand forward.
“I’ll test my new skill on you,” he muttered silently.
Arcs of lightning crackled around his body as his long crimson hair turned into sharp, spiky strands of glowing white.
The sky above darkened.
Thunder rumbled.
And lightning fell.
“Eh… What is he?”
The telekinetic users perched on the tree branches grew uneasy as the sky shifted. A strange pressure weighed down on them, like the heavens themselves were bending to the will of the man below.
“They’re only two, and we are countless! Focus and finish them all!” one of them shouted with all his might.
“Yes!”
Their voices rose in unison. Courage surged through the group as unity rekindled their hope. Then came the assault.
Swords were flung like spears, arrows loosed in waves, and daggers hurled in deadly volleys and other countless weapons rained down.
With precise control, they manipulated each weapon midair using Telekinesis, weaving them like guided missiles, all aimed at the man with spiky white hair.
Drayken stood still, calm and unflinching beneath the storm of attacks.
Had this attack landed, it would’ve been fatal, maybe not for a Telekinetic Master, but any Level Nine would’ve been obliterated on the spot.
Even his former self would have barely survived, likely left with devastating injuries.
But now…
Drayken didn’t move.
Just as the storm of weapons was about to strike, lightning roared from the heavens, dragons forged of pure electricity descended in a flash, incinerating every weapon midair.
Blades, arrows, daggers, everything was vaporized in an instant, reduced to nothing by the searing wrath of thunder.
“Hmm,” Drayken muttered, thoughtfully touching his chin. “Should I capture them… or wipe them out?”
The lightning dragons didn’t disappear after their strike. Instead, they soared upward, then coiled around him, circling like sentient beasts, forming a crackling army of lightning dragons behind him.
Drayken stood motionless, his spiky white hair crackling with energy as the lightning dragons circled around him like guardian beasts.
The Telekinetic users froze, their faces pale in terror.
“W-What is this…?”
“He can control lightning?!”
“A monster… he’s a monster!”
“Wait, there was intel about a dragon with powers like this. The groom of the Dragon Princess… Drayken. He has the same ability!”
A moment of silence passed as they exchanged fearful glances. Then, without another word, they scattered, vanishing into the forest with desperate haste.
Drayken watched them flee, a sneer curling on his lips:
“Did you really think you could escape so easily after attacking me?”
His eyes locked onto the fastest runner, a lean man with glasses, the one who had sneakily hurled a nearly invisible, poison-coated needle at him.
Drayken raised his hand and pointed two fingers at the man like a gun.
In an instant, one of the lightning dragons shot across the ground like a predator unleashed, obliterating the lean man into nothing but a cloud of scorched ash.
Without pause, Drayken began pointing at others.
Each time his fingers locked onto a target, a lightning dragon roared to life, weaving through trees and terrain with terrifying speed. One by one, the attackers were reduced to ash, their screams lost in the crackle of divine fury.
Within moments, a dozen lay dead.
Drayken lowered his hand slightly, an expression of boredom creeping across his face.
’Still so many left…’ he mused. He raised his palm, ready to unleash a full storm and end it all in one devastating wave.
But just then, a sharp voice rang out from the sky.
“Stop.”
A woman descended from the heavens, flying upon a gleaming sword, her presence itself commanded respect.
Drayken glanced up at the woman, tilting his head slightly, an almost innocent look on his face.
“Why should I stop?” he asked, his tone calm, almost playful. He shrugged. “Stop me if you can. If not… get lost.”
At that moment, the lightning dragons behind him surged forward, blitzing across the battlefield at the speed of lightning. Every fleeing figure was struck down in an instant, reduced to ash before they could scream.
“Nooo!” the woman roared, her voice cracking with fury and horror, her eyes burning blood-red.
But how could she hope to match lightning?
Before she even touched the ground, it was over.
Every last one of them…
Gone.
The woman crashed to her knees, eyes wide and bloodshot as she stared at the scorched earth. Smoke curled from burning trees, ashes swirled in the air like snowfall, and the silence was deafening.
Utter devastation.
Nothing remained but destruction.
Her body trembled, disbelief etched across her face. Her pupils flickered, as though her mind refused to accept what she was seeing.
“How could this happen…!?” she gritted her teeth.
She turned her head to look at Drayken:
“I’m going to kill you, bastard!”
“Oh?” Drayken raised his brows. He could sense her level, she was a Telekinetic Master, but he felt no fear in his heart. On the contrary, this woman was the perfect test subject for his power.
With that thought, he unleashed his full strength.
Arcs of lightning crackled wildly around him as he slowly rose into the air.
The lightning dragons circling the sky returned to him, shrinking as they spiraled into his body.
Boom!
Drayken’s eyes flared with a blinding burst of blue lightning. Wherever his gaze landed, everything was reduced to ash in an instant, consumed by the sheer power radiating from his eyes.
For a moment, his entire body shone with a brilliant blue light.
The clouds in the sky churned violently, sending powerful bursts of lightning crashing down onto him, fueling his power.
With every strike, his strength grew bit by bit. Though temporary, the energy also steadily reinforced his body.
’I’m close to hitting Rank 5,’ Drayken thought, eyes fixed on the woman before him.
She swallowed hard, fear flickering in her gaze. But as a Telekinetic Master witnessing the devastation unfolding and knowing who she faced, there was no way she could back down.
Where would her pride be if she did?
“Hmph. You’re just a Rank 3 dragon. Even if you’ve reached a higher rank, it shouldn’t be more than Rank 4. How dare you stand before a Telekinetic Master?” she mustered her courage.
Drayken extended his hand forward, beckoning with his fingers:
“Try me, then.”
“Drayken…” Synthia, standing to the side, watched the scene with stunned eyes.
How strong was a Telekinetic Master?
In theory, they were as powerful as a Rank 7 dragon.
Though even dozens of Telekinetic Masters could barely match one, now Drayken’s mere presence was enough to make this woman afraid.