“Droplet Shackles!”

Beads of water condensed along Vur’s scales, and his body sagged downwards. There was a series of cracking sounds as the person he was standing on, the Flame Lord, gasped from the increased weight despite already being unconscious. Vur’s reptilian face was split by a frown as he turned his head towards a man wearing blue armor, the Water Lord.

“Who cares if he’s a dragon?” the Water Lord said and sneered. “It’s not the first time we’ve had to fight one.” A harpoon gun appeared in his hands, the barbed weapon coated with a layer of purple liquid. The Water Lord pointed the harpoon gun at Vur and fired, launching the poisoned bolt towards his side. “Try avoiding this!”

Vur bent his knees and leapt to the side. Thanks to the heavy water gathered on his body, he couldn’t move fast enough to avoid the harpoon despite his increase in speed thanks to Tafel’s haste spell. An instant before the harpoon touched Vur’s scales, the outline of his body blurred as he turned purple and dissolved into a large puddle of poison. Bubbles and steam rose from the submerged Flame Lord’s body, and the large guild members retreated from the expanding pool of purple liquid.

“What!?” the Water Lord shouted, his eyes widening.

“Earth magic, frost breath, and a leviathan skill,” the Earth Lord said while retreating backwards. With every step he took, ridges rose out of the ground, acting as miniature walls to separate the puddle of poison on the ground from himself. “Zoose! What are you waiting for!?”

Peals of thunder rumbled through the air as lightning crackled around a man dressed in golden armor. The Lightning Lord vanished and reappeared in the air several meters above the tallest building in the region. With a shout, he jerked his arm downwards, throwing a bolt of lightning at Vur’s liquified body. Thunder boomed as the lightning struck the puddle of liquid. Blue bolts of electricity rippled and traveled through the liquid, but they vanished a second later as the liquid rose and reformed into an ocean-blue dragon.

The Lightning Lord’s eyes narrowed. “He’s immune to lightning. No, rather than being immune, he absorbed my attack to replenish himself!” The root bracelet around his wrist flashed with an amber glow, and a gigantic net made of gold appeared in his hands. Lightning crackled around his wrist, and the surface of the golden net glistened and warped as the metal heated up. With a grunt, the Lightning Lord tossed the net down at Vur, the metal expanding wide enough to encompass his whole body.

“Droplet Shackles!” The Water Lord pointed at Vur, causing another layer of liquid to condense on his scales. At the same time, the Earth Lord pressed his palms against the ground, and the surface underneath Vur’s feet turned to sand that rose up to wrap around his ankles.

“Sand Trap!”

Vur snorted and stood on his hindlegs, rearing his body back as he glared at the falling golden net. He flapped his wings, shaking the heavy water off his scales while sending gusts of wind at the descending metal. The green starlike rune near his shoulder shone, and the gusts of wind increased in intensity, blowing the golden net off course and into the crowd of the gathered guild members. They yelped and shouted upon making contact with the heated metal, pushing each other while scrambling to get away.

“Did you help him!?” the Lightning Lord asked, shouting in Jasmine’s direction.

The Wind Lord shook her head. “That wasn’t me!”

White light leaked out of the gaps between Vur’s teeth, and the Martial Lord dashed in front of the Water Lord. “Watch out!” Ouyang Feng shouted as he summoned a tower shield just in time to block the beam of light surging out of Vur’s mouth. He braced his feet against the ground and leaned his shoulder into the orange shield, pushing back against Vur’s purifying laser. A prolonged yell came out of his mouth as he held the light at bay, the ground cracking around his feet. When the light dispersed, the Martial Lord thumped his chest and shouted, “Is that all you got!? My grandma can hit harder than that!”

Vur glared at the Martial Lord and swung his paw at the man, easily escaping from the sand wrapped around his ankles. At the same time, Vur’s eyes glowed golden, and the region around him distorted as gravity increased, forcing everyone around to drop onto their hands and knees.

“Not enough!” the Martial Lord said through gritted teeth. Veins bulged on his neck as he forced his upper body off the ground, raising his shield to block Vur’s strike while kneeling. Vur’s paw hit the shield directly, but Ouyang Feng didn’t budge. The Martial Lord laughed and shouted, “I’ve been hit by tumbleweeds stronger than you!”

Vur snorted and drew his leg back, preparing for another strike.

“Ignore him,” a feminine voice said, piercing through the din. “His ability grants him an increase in power proportional to his opponent’s emotional fluctuations. The angrier you get, the stronger he becomes.”

The Martial Lord’s eyes bulged as he wiped his head around to stare at Ashley. “Why in the world would you tell him that!?”

“I’m not your friend,” Ashley said and crossed her arms over her chest, her rifle barrel pointing at the ground. At some point, she had retreated far enough to be out of Vur’s increased-gravity zone. “I’d love to see you get stomped by a dragon.”

Ouyang Feng gritted his teeth, and turned away from Ashley. He’d love to hurl abuse at her, but Vur’s descending paw was a more pressing matter. The Martial Lord grunted as he once again blocked the dragon’s attack, the floor cracking around his knees from the impact. “Frostie!” he shouted. “Help!”

“Don’t call me that,” the Frost Lord said. “Be more respectful when asking for help.” Despite his words, the armored man rose to his feet and grunted as he pointed his palms at the Ouyang Feng. Half a dome of ice surged out of the ground, shielding the Martial Lord from Vur’s follow-up attack. Vur’s paw struck the layer of diamond ice; a web of cracks spread throughout the ice, but it didn’t break.

Ouyang Feng caught his breath and climbed up with his right leg, still kneeling on his left knee. His eyes widened upon seeing the cracks in the icy shield. “He’s as strong as Volearden!” He glared at Ashley. “All of us have to work together.”