At such a perfect timing, Arthur could not afford to get hit by the Azure Dragon. Seeing the approaching wide-open mouth, Arthur raised his hand and created a small dark cube around him, protecting him from the impact. He didn't stop at that point, he added two more layers of dark cubes as one won't be enough, heck! Even three would collapse upon contact but at least it'll lessen the damage he'll receive and buy some time for him to unleash the next wave.

Holding the dark blade with two hands, he raised his weapon and closed his eyes, concentrating his Nether Energy. Meanwhile, the dragon's body crashed into the layers of dark cube protecting Arthur. The first cube was obliterated upon contact, the second lasted two seconds and the third was the sturdiest of the three, it managed to buy Arthur five whole seconds before it shattered, revealing a flaming humanoid figure which had black flames burning from one side and red flames covering the other side.

As the dragon was launching a full-on offensive assault on Arthur, the white tiger had already clashed with the descending thunder sword. Using its mysterious golden energy and its monstrous strength, it met the sword head-on and ferociously slashed with its claws, creating heavy turbulence in the air and shattering the very space the golden claws passed through.

Five golden lines met the tip of the white sword, although the white tiger was obviously going to deflect the sword, it wasn't done as easily as anyone would expect. The golden claws unleashed a dense amount of golden energy that met the sword, cracking it from its tip to its hilt.

Godly Thunder roared and winds howled due to the clash, even the Vermillion Bird didn't dare assist the white tiger as there was a chance it'll be stunned too. The forest that was situated under the area of the battle had long since it transformed into a desert, whether it was incinerated by the Vermillion Bird's flames or the pure pressure of the previous attacks that created sufficiently strong shock waves that were able to create a large hole and uproot thick trees.

...

When the last dark cube was destroyed, Arthur was done preparing for the third wave, he couldn't unleash them one after one even if he wanted to. Just by executing two waves in a very short period of time tired him mentally, so he couldn't afford to damage his mind further, especially when the dragon can use mental attacks that affect his thinking and force him into an uncomfortable dizziness that causes his battle prowess to diminish by a huge margin.

'Third wave, Extinguishing Flames, Fire of Redemption!'

This wave was unlike any other one, empowered by the skill [Eternium], the red flames covering one side of Arthur became even more violent, large flaming wings appeared on his big. The dark blade had the same color as melted iron, it emanated intense heat but surprisingly, it didn't emit any flames like any other time.

Not wanting to disappoint its master and partner, Makaze let out a deep cry similar to the growling of a beast and by the next second, when the fearful eyes of the Azure Dragon landed on Arthur and its mouth was just a few meters away from him, the wave was finally unleashed, going straight into the dragon's mouth.

Since the wave was sent inside the large body of the Dragon, it had no effect on the environment, nonetheless, one could see that Arthur's attack was fruitful at last as the dragon's body was pushed back fifty or meters.

It curled its body in a strange way and cried angrily as flames came out from its mouth, they were not its flames but the ancient flames that belonged to Arthur.

Arthur didn't need to take a closer look to see that the ancient flames were very effective against the Azure Dragon, although it wasn't a fatal strike, it would take some time before it gets rid of the effect of the third wave, after all, extinguishing the ancient flames isn't an easy feat, especially when one is vulnerable against them such as the Azure Dragon.

Actually, Arthur wanted to use the third wave to hit the stunned white tiger, which was preoccupied with the godly thunder sword, unfortunately, the Azure Dragon butted in and obstructed his plants thus forcing him to use his strong attack against it.

Just as he was about to rush at the white tiger, Arthur lost sight of it, he couldn't see the godly sword or the tiger which was supposed to be resisting it. Even if it was strong, it couldn't have destroyed it this fast, could it?!

His instincts warned repeatedly so he cloaked himself using Spatial Magic and used [Faster Than Death] to retreat from that position, however, such efforts were futile against a foe that was much faster than him.

The shadow of a white beast appeared before his sight, with its tail striking him from above, Arthur let go of Makaze and held his shield with both hands.

Knowing that this wasn't the time to think about counter-attacking, he unhesitatingly used [Blood for Blood] multiple times again just to make sure he isn't severely injured by the tiger's tail.

[Aura Of Inversion]

[Concentration of Glory]

[Spatial Crack]

These three were one of his strongest defensive skills, the first one was a newly acquired one, it belonged to the druid he killed inside the ancient tomb and if it's used at the right time, it can be beneficial.

On the surface, it is a simple skill that makes the area around the user a bit like water so that any skill that is launched at him is absorbed, or rather, drown inside that conjured surface.

But if one were to dive deeper into the details, they can discover that such a skill causes a massive molecular change on the environment surrounding the user, if he could wield it flawlessly then no enemy could dream of touching him.

[Concentration of Glory] is a shield-based skill, it increases the percentage of blocking any incoming magical skill but it sacrifices 10% of the user's current Health. Its cost was tremendous so Arthur only uses it in emergency situations.

As for the last skill, it belonged to the Spatial Master he killed last time, it simply cracks the space around it, causing the void to devour any skill that is close to the crack. It is a very strong skill and it can also be used offensively, however, in terms of defensive abilities, it is a bit lacking compared to [Aura Of Inversion].

The area around Arthur turned a bit hazy, as for the dark shield he was using, the changes around it started trembling as a yellow rune was imprinted on its surface, boosting the equipment. Several spatial cracks appeared around Arthur, seeing this, he heaved a sigh of relief and readied himself for the impact as it's not entirely certain that he'll be able to block this attack.

Just as the long and large tail of the tiger was going to hit the shield, the whole tiger dispersed into a fading light that vanished right after.

Shocked, Arthur stared dumbly at this sight, he soon realized what was happening but by that moment, it was far too late for regret.

'Shit, it's an illusion!'

For even himself to be unable to see through it, this was a very high-grade illusion, even the aura of the white tiger was real, he couldn't notice anything different. It was odd that the white tiger wasn't stunned and the white sword disappeared but since he was facing Divine Beast, he didn't give it much thought as they are absurdly strong, however, it turned out to be an illusion from the start and he had been duped.

What's saddening is a continuous usage of [Blood For Blood] for naught, he activated three strong defensive skills only to be hit by nothing, or so he thought.

When he just realized his mistake, it was far too late as a wave of heat assaulted his back which was followed by the sharp beak of the Vermillion Bird...