Ancient Dragon in Arknights

The monster used its hind legs to propel itself forward, attempting to use its immense momentum to throw Neltharion off the ground.

How could Nesario let it win so easily? He retracted his grappling hook, pushed off with his feet, and leaped into the air—in mid-air, he spun three and a half times, his weapons, gripped tightly in both hands, spinning like tiny tops, unleashing multiple attacks in an instant.

It's unclear whether the eye was hit precisely, but being slashed in the face must be incredibly painful.

After landing smoothly, Nesario quickly began to move, chasing after the creature's hind legs; although its tail was dangerous, its length, size, and curvature prevented it from attacking his heels, making that a safe position.

More importantly, Neltharion observed that this creature seemed quite adept at slashing enemies in front of it, especially when it controlled the distance. With Neltharion hiding at its feet, it would be extremely difficult for the creature's small eyes to see him clearly. Although this risky move might result in Neltharion being stepped on and turned into Neltharion-chan.

Aiming at the enormous beast claw in front of him, Nesario unleashed a backhand slash, followed by a double slash and a six-hit combo!

At first, Nesario disliked the weapon in his hand, finding it too strange and with too short an attack range. But once he got used to the style, the desperate fighting instinct of the Odogaron began to be activated within him.

What pleased him even more was the weapon's damaging capabilities. The monster's thick shell had made Nesario break out in a cold sweat; it looked even thicker than Angelia's shield.

But each strike of the sickle in his hand left deep marks on its shell, which is what is known as being able to scrape.

As long as damage can be inflicted, there is a chance of victory!

Roar--! ! !

The deafening dragon roar came again, this time Neltharion was almost at zero distance from his opponent, and this time the impact was quite significant.

My head was spinning, and I could even feel pain in my ears. This guy could probably kill Nesario with just his shouting.

'Danger! '

Before Nesario could fully recover from his dizziness, a sense of danger sent a chill down his spine—he struggled to roll forward, and the greatsword radiating intense heat cleaved the floor behind him in an instant.

Nesario was slightly relieved to have escaped, but the sense of danger had not dissipated; in fact, it had intensified!

'There's more!? I'm getting out!'

Forget about manners and elegance; nothing was more important than saving his life at that moment. Nesario rolled haphazardly on the ground, looking as disheveled as could be.

Stupid!

The blade that had been slashing into the ground did not linger. Instead, enraged, the beast dragon leaped and turned with all its might, its massive tail slashing down again with the force of its momentum, delivering a deadly double strike!

The impact of the slash alone was enough to give Nesario a run for his money, and the big guy seemed to have energy left after using that move? It didn't seem tired at all.

"Damn it, I'll fight you to the death."

Without further hesitation, Neltharion activated his berserk mode.

If his previous speed was merely rapid, then his current speed can only be described as teleportation.

With twin scythes in hand, he suddenly spun forward and charged – Berserker Charge Slash! Nesario, like a spinning top, unleashed several slashes in an instant, slashing from his heel to the enemy's face.

Before he could stop, right in front of him stood the imposing dragon head—Nesario unleashed all of his berserk energy in one breath. His twin scythes became almost a blur as he slashed backhand, cleaved horizontally, swept left and right, leaped back and slashed wildly!

In an instant, Neltharion transformed into a storm of blades, unleashing countless continuous slashes that left the dragon's head, originally covered in blue armor, riddled with wounds.

Chapter Thirty-One: Classmates

'That works! If I keep going like this, I'll smash its brain!'

Nesario has exhausted all his potential and limits. Given a little time, he can't guarantee that he will kill his opponent, but he can definitely severely injure him.

But the other creature wasn't stupid; avoiding pain is a biological instinct. This dragon was no exception. Faced with the relentless onslaught, it wisely chose to take a small step back.

The feeling of his blades piercing through armor suddenly became lighter, and Nesario watched helplessly as his opponent escaped, watching him spin around foolishly from a distance.

"Coward! Don't run away if you have the guts!"

Dragon Slayer: Challenger has triggered.

Nesario had staked his victory on this moment. Even if he couldn't win in a head-on confrontation, he would gladly accept his fate. But this charged punch hitting the air was enough to make anyone blush.

Neltharion wouldn't let any opportunity slip by, and neither would the mighty warrior, Dragon Slayer—faced with a weakened and panting Neltharion, its choice was simple.

He held the long sword tail horizontally in front of him, turned sideways, and used his hard jaws to bite the middle and end of the tail. As he exerted his muscles, the sword tail, which had been slightly worn from hitting the ground, began to clang in his jaws, which were as hard as a whetstone.

The metallic scraping sound sent an extremely unsettling signal through Nesario. Seeing the opponent's taut muscles and his eyes fixed on him, Nesario knew that he was about to unleash his ultimate attack.

'Oh no... I don't have enough stamina to create distance.'

Nesario estimated that he had at most one more roll on the ground with his remaining strength, so... he could only seize that one fleeting opportunity.

As the sword's tail was fully sharpened from the dragon's jaws, a long-awaited slash swept across—this strike could cut through steel and shatter iron!

The crimson slash drew a huge arc, and everything within that range—sand, stalagmites, the ground, and even Neltharion—was cleaved in two.

Zhanlong once again secured his victory, just as always.

......

Startled awake, Nesario realized he had lost.

"Ah... I couldn't dodge it after all. That move was too dangerous. I couldn't just slash at it head-on, and it was even difficult to dodge. I had to interrupt its attack."

Reflecting and summarizing are two habits that will never harm you.

This enemy is extremely powerful, and cannot be defeated by luck alone. Nesario must concentrate all his energy and focus entirely on the battle to find even a sliver of an opportunity.

Ding-ding-dong... There was some noise outside the door. It was probably that kid Fisher. He gets up very early and is a disciplined boy.

Nesario took a look and, sure enough, he felt as if he hadn't rested well, his whole body filled with fatigue.

"Damn it, I have to do physiological endurance training today. I hope I don't fail the test because of it."

Nesario had some concerns, and these concerns materialized during class.

In the morning, we had a military skills course.

Although Nesario was tired, he wasn't so tired as to go fishing in class; he considered himself to be in reasonably good spirits.

But others don't see it that way.

During the break, Nesario was about to take a rest when someone approached him.

The classroom seating is entirely free to choose, a system that allows ambitious students to sit at the front while also providing room for those who lack motivation.

Of course, the majority of students at the Royal Guard School in Victoria are ambitious and hardworking; the few troublemakers don't even make it past the first year's tests and are eliminated in the second year. This isn't a school that guarantees graduation; it's a school where you have to meet certain requirements to graduate.

Rita, sitting a few seats away, went over to Nesario and asked him with concern:

"Nesario, you don't look like you've had a good rest?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Yes... Your eyes are usually very sharp, like a fine sword; but now, that sharpness is gone."

"..."

How could Miss Rita utter such an embarrassing line with such a calm expression? Praising a man's eyes as sharp as swords? Isn't that a bit too much of an honor?

“I feel the same way. Usually when you're staring at me, I always straighten my back unconsciously, but I don't feel that way today.”

Chen, who was in the front seat, turned around to explain, and judging from her explanation, Nesario's gaze did become quite intimidating.

The Odogaron has terrible eyesight, but is it precisely because of its poor eyesight that it appears so ferocious?

Nesario's thoughts wandered; he shouldn't have been so unfocused on a normal day.

"Look, you're spacing out. What were you doing last night?"

"Indeed, what are your plans for the afternoon's test?"

"Don't worry, you'll have enough rest at noon."

How could Nesario explain this? Last night he dreamt of a majestic samurai girl who engaged him in a fierce martial arts duel. In the end, he was outmatched and lost to her Iaijutsu. And yet, she continued to invite Nesario to a rematch?

Something just doesn't look right.

"Chen Chen, Rita, you two are being so inconsiderate. Isn't Nana feeling listless? He needs rest right now, not us making a racket here."

Just as the three were about to chat, Fiona interrupted the conversation, and unexpectedly—this usually crazy girl was surprisingly perceptive at this moment.

"You just want to sleep, don't you!?"

Chen symbolically tugged at Fiona's ear. Judging from her angry expression and words, Fiona's concern seemed to have another reason.

"Let me tell you, this guy suddenly barged into my room last night and woke me up. And the reason? He wanted to look at the stars with me..."

Judging from Chen's clenched fist, which was taut but she couldn't bring herself to strike, she was really angry.

"But...that spot is really good, you can see very clearly."

Fiona explained that because her and Chen's dormitory was on the top floor of the dormitory building, its balcony offered an unobstructed view of the entire night sky.

Fiona discovered this auspicious location while circulating water at night, and couldn't wait to wake Chen up.

Now, Nesario has a sleeping buddy.

The little farce ended quickly, and Nesario and Fiona took the opportunity to catch up on sleep during the break.

It's worth mentioning that while Chen verbally criticized Fiona's nonsensical behavior, he actually stopped her when the others were about to disturb the sleeping girl, Vayvan.

Incidentally, Rita did the same; she managed to switch seats by having a friendly conversation with Nesario's deskmate, and just sitting there made the people around her unconsciously lower their voices.

With the help of two sleep protectors, the two Vaivans were not awakened by anything strange while they were sleeping.

Chapter Thirty-Two: Holiday

As expected, the afternoon's lesson was an endurance test. When Angelia appeared, her right hand bandaged and immobilized, everyone's awe of Neltharion was rekindled. Even though they had recently comforted themselves with the thought that "he doesn't know Originium Arts, he's disabled," the ability to subdue their instructor was already a level that many could only dream of.

So what if I don't know Originium Arts? I can defeat my enemies with just my physical strength. That's youth!

Enough chit-chat, let's finish the test as soon as possible! Because today is Friday, which means tomorrow and the day after are a golden holiday. Nothing could be more exciting, and everyone is looking forward to it. The sooner we finish today's assignments, the sooner the holiday will begin.

"Hurry up, hurry up. The endurance test is very simple: weighted running. The weight is a quarter of your body weight. Run until you can't move anymore. Don't think about resting beforehand. I can tell at a glance whether you can keep going."

It's clear that the teacher is more eager to leave work than to see her students. It seems the mere fracture hasn't affected Angelia's enthusiasm at all; at least, there's no sign of anything unusual on her face.

"Teacher! What happens if someone pretends they can't keep going?"

Some people try to be clever and want to know the punishment in advance. If it's not serious, then don't make things difficult for yourself.

"Of course there are. First, if someone is being negative—Nesario, go to the equipment room and get a stick. When the time comes, whoever I point to, you can chase after them and beat them up. I'll take responsibility if anything happens."

"learn!"

This job looks easy and fun, but it's actually not a good one. Angelia gives the orders, but Nesario does the work.