Izroth swiftly stepped outside the range of the fissure at his feet. Right after he did so, a cerulean dragon similar to the one that assaulted him before emerged from the cracks. However, this cerulean dragon was much smaller than the massive one from earlier and spanned approximately three meters high. It contained a lesser concentration of energy than its predecessor. Nevertheless, it was still not something that could afford to be looked down on.

'I underestimated him.'

​​

From what he observed and the way Tigran spoke, Izroth figured he was the type to anger quickly and allow it to guide in his decisions. But, despite having been hit twice by someone he no doubt held in contempt, Tigran maintained a calm head on his shoulders.

After their brief exchange, Izroth realized that he had misjudged Tigran. It was not anger or rage that drove him to kill the soldier earlier, but rather one word—Order.

The soldier spoke out of turn and disrupted that order; therefore, Tigran restored it by eliminating him. This order extended to the way Tigran fought.

When Izroth used Sword Counter, it was not the force of the blow that made Tigran slide his foot forward.

If someone looked closely at Tigran's foot, they would notice that it was now touching the broadsword he stabbed into the ground.

Izroth witnessed this just as he fell back to evade the cerulean dragon and quickly made the connection.

'That sword probably has something to do with the energy dragons. Does it require direct contact with its user to work? If so, I have to find a way to separate him from that sword.'

The moment Izroth attacked, Tigran had already calmly prepared a counter and did not hesitate with his execution. In addition, he was not underestimating Izroth, which was typically common for someone in Tigran's position. All of this paired with a mindset that prioritized order—in terms of pure combat intelligence, Tigran was one of the strongest individuals Izroth faced in RML! At least, this was the conclusion Izroth came to after their brief exchanges.

Boom!

When Izroth arrived at his new position, the ground he stepped on lit up and split open as a second cerulean dragon made its appearance.

Rooooar!

At the same time, the first cerulean dragon that Izroth avoided had already begun to make its way towards him with great momentum!

Izroth's figure flickered as he dodged the second dragon. However, it was not over just yet, as every time Izroth's foot touched the ground, another dragon would rise from the earth.

In less than a few breaths, more than a dozen cerulean dragons were spawned by Tigran and chased after Izroth with incredible precision. This created a terrifying scene that looked as if a hydra had descended upon the battlefield.

But, Izroth was not alone in experiencing the cerulean dragons' relentless and ruthless nature.

Izroth purposely moved throughout the crowd of onlookers in an attempt to limit the movements of Tigran's cerulean dragons; however, they simply charged through whatever, or in the case, whoever was in their path.

In response, the players began to scatter and escape from the area. As for those who were less fortunate, they were unable to resist Tigran's attack and fell at the hands of the cerulean dragons.

"He's crazy! We have to get out of here!"

"Why did I ever choose this outpost?! I'm never coming to this place again!"

"Forget the contribution points; it's not worth sticking around here!"

At first, they were curious and excited to see a battle unfold. After all, it was not often that one got to see a high-level NPC like Tigran in action. However, they immediately regretted their decision and no longer planned to wait around for the outcome. This battlefield was not something they could afford to stand on with their current strength.

"You cannot run forever." Tigran gripped the handle of his broadsword as the aura around the weapon surged twofold!

"Dragon's Mark, Twin Awakening."

A wave of thunderous roars echoed throughout the outpost as the number of cerulean dragons instantly doubled. Their size also quadrupled from three meters to twelve meters.

The dragons skillfully swirled and weaved around one another as if they had a consciousness of their own. But, the most frightening thing was that despite their sudden increase in numbers and size, each dragon moved in perfect sync with one another.

Before Izroth knew it, he was completely encircled with his path of retreat cut off by the cerulean dragons that created a makeshift cage with their bodies.

Izroth looked upward as a group of cerulean dragons dived from the top of the makeshift cage with their maws open as the light around their bodies began to shine brighter. They were about to explode just like the first cerulean dragon that targeted Izroth in the sky!

Izroth lowered his sword as the tip of its blade touched the ground. A small ring formed around him as a rippling effect with a sharp sword intent moved through the earth.

'Ninth Sword Form: World Quelling Ripple.'

...

Meanwhile, Tigran watched as Izroth was trapped with nowhere to escape. However, he planned to make sure that a repeat of last time did not happen.

"This one... He is too dangerous to be left alive." Tigran internalized as he felt the connection between the cerulean dragons and his broadsword become severed.

The cries of dragons died down as the energy that made up their physical structure started to fluctuate and grow unstable. The next moment, the once ferocious cerulean dragons shriveled up into thin strands of energy before dispersing.

Tigran pulled his broadsword from the ground at his side and stabbed it in front of him.

Woosh!

The sword intent from Izroth's ninth sword form crashed into Tigran's broadsword, or rather, it was forcibly drawn to the broadsword instead of Tigran.

Bzzzzt...! Crrrrkcle!

Suddenly, a purple bolt of lightning fell from the sky and struck the area Izroth stood in, creating a cloud of smoke. Inside the cloud of smoke, flashing trails of purple lightning flowed unrestrained, causing the smoke cloud to simulate a thundercloud.

Bzzzzt!

The sound of electricity buzzed right next to Tigran's ear. He acted quickly, twisting his body and swinging his large broadsword around in a crescent motion effortlessly with both hands.

Swoosh!

The wind pressure alone from the broadsword was enough to carve a deep cut into the earth. But, by the time Tigran finished swinging his sword, he realized that what he had cut in half was just a silhouette.

Woosh!

Izroth arrived in front of Tigran as he slashed down against his right shoulder.

Ding! Crrrrckle!

The purple lightning around Izroth's Sword of The Storm revealed his use of the Call of the Thunder God's First State: Heavenly Descent.

Using the cloud of smoke generated by the First State: Heavenly Descent, Izroth moved to several locations under its cover to create confusion with his flickering silhouettes.

After doing so, Izroth utilized a third charge of his Primed Instantaneous Movement to arrive at Tigran's back. But, knowing that the same trick would not work twice on Tigran, Izroth used his first attack as a feint.

When he appeared behind Tigran, without hesitation, Izroth activated the Sword Arts: Four Steps of Death to gain a large burst of movement speed.

With that burst of movement speed added to his Flickering Steps, it was almost as if Izroth teleported in front of Tigran.

Exploiting the gap left in Tigran's defenses, Izroth acquired one Step of Death stack as the purple lightning from his First State: Heavenly Descent traveled throughout Tigran's armor. However, it was still not enough to break his defenses. Though Izroth already anticipated this result.

He did not give Tigran time to readjust as his speed picked up again. Izroth launched a nonstop torrent of attacks against Tigran from every angle imaginable.

He had less than twenty seconds until the effects of his World Quelling Ripple wore off. Before that happened, Izroth knew that he needed to remove either Tigran's armor or sword from the picture.

«Immune»

«Immune»

Izroth's attacks seemed to have no effect; however, Tigran's movements were becoming noticeably sluggish with every blow. This was the influence of Izroth's Concealed Heavy Wounds, which increased its target's overall mass with each successful strike.

Though instead of countering as expected, Tigran stood perfectly still and received Izroth's blows head-on. But, the pressure he gave off was like that of a tiger waiting to pounce on its prey.

"There is a reason I have been granted the title of the Centurion Juggernaut of Tempest," Tigran said as his cerulean eyes turned red.

Clink! Clink!

Tigran's armor quivered as its dark blue coating became an enriched maroon, and a metal tail grew at its back. In the blink of an eye, his armor underwent a drastic transformation!

NPC Name: Order of the Gale Force -> Centurion Juggernaut of Tempest, Tigran(??? -> Legendary)

NPC Level: 60 -> ???

NPC HP: ??? (100%)

Tigran's voice sounded demonic as he spoke, "I will say this once more—a sword as dull as yours can never hope to reach me."