Reborn As a Pirate - Chapter 158

Chapter 158: Severed Dragon’s Horn!
The Thunder Dragon reared its head, and a roar exploded from its throat, a sonic assault that flattened bushes and blasted debris across the clearing. Ryan, caught in the blast wave, was hurled backward, the world blurring and doubling as he struggled to regain his senses.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!” He stumbled back three steps before stabilizing himself.

The roar, though not as sonorous as the [Upper] Unicorn dragon’s, was disorienting enough to make his head spin. And as the ground vibrated anew, Ryan squinted through his dazed vision, just in time to see the massive silhouette of the Thunder Dragon launching itself at him from above.

In that critical moment, despite the shock, Ryan’s training held. He rolled to the right, evading the thunderous descent of the beast.

“Boom boom!” The ground where he had just stood splintered under the impact, sending shards of earth skyward. Ryan’s heart hammered in his chest as he prepared for the next move in this dance of death.

When the [Upper] Thunder Dragon crashed to the earth, the impact was cataclysmic. The ground splintered under its enormous weight, creating a crater where hundreds of tons of force struck, sending a devastating shockwave rippling through the air.

Caught mid-roll, Ryan was swept up by the tremor and unceremoniously slammed into a palm tree. Dazed, it took him moments to shake off the disorienting effects of the Thunder Dragon’s mighty roar and regain his bearings.

He gingerly touched the back of his head, feeling a throbbing pain, and surveyed the upheaval around him. Just feet away, the Thunder Dragon’s electrically charged white hair bristled fiercely, its massive claws embedded in the ground where Ryan had just been moments before. The realization that he had narrowly escaped being pulverized sent a chill down his spine.

Despite the setback, a wry smile curled Ryan’s lips. The title “Unparalleled Hunter” seemed fitting for such a formidable adversary.

Flexing his neck, Ryan disentangled himself from the battered palm tree and stood upright, his gaze locking onto the Thunder Dragon as it sauntered forward, front paws lifting with deceptive casualness.

“That’s interesting…” Ryan muttered, a spark of determination igniting within him.

The Thunder Dragon’s pace quickened abruptly, transforming into a blur of lightning that crackled and sparked through the night. Its silhouette, now a shadow fused with electric fury, charged towards him with relentless speed.

Ryan, undeterred, hoisted his greatsword onto his shoulder. His spiritual energy surged, enveloping the blade in a roaring flame that seemed to draw strength from his very soul.

With eyes fixed unblinkingly on the Thunder Dragon, Ryan waited until the beast was nearly upon him. Then, with a practiced twist of his torso, he channeled all his might into a forward surge, the greatsword poised for impact.

A blood-red aura cloaked him, colliding with the dark blue energy of the dragon in a dazzling explosion of light.

The Thunder Dragon’s charge halted as if it had smashed into an unyielding wall. For a moment, the world seemed to freeze.

Pain contorted Ryan’s features as the protective “blood membrane” from his [Special Sword Skill – Collision Attack] shattered, the residual force battering his body and leaving him with searing pain.

Seizing the moment of disorientation suffered by the dragon, Ryan bellowed, “die!” His voice was a war cry, echoing off the trees around them.

He unleashed his pent-up “three-stage power accumulation” with a devastating slash aimed directly at the dragon’s horn—his target since the fight began. The horn, glowing faintly with accumulated energy and attracting lightning bugs, was too significant a vulnerability to ignore.

“Crack!”

The True Crimson Crown Horn greatsword, its design forsaking finesse for brute strength and hardness, met the dragon’s horn with a jarring impact. Ryan’s hands numbed under the shock of the collision, and he staggered back, even as a stark, deep crack appeared along the horn, splitting it grievously.

The piercing sound of the horn fracturing seemed to snap the Thunder Dragon out of its stupor. It roared, a sound that was both a cry of pain and a call to the wild fury of nature, as it reeled from the unexpected wound. The battle, it seemed, was far from over.

Positioned a safer distance away this time, Ryan managed to evade the full brunt of the [Upper] Thunder Dragon’s deafening roar. Despite his preparation, the sight of the dragon, its body crackling with electric fury, filled him with a deep sense of foreboding.

The lightning bugs around the dragon glowed with intensified brilliance, their light feeding the dragon’s power. The air around them was thick with the smell of ozone as visible electric arcs shot outward, signaling the [Upper] Thunder Dragon’s entrance into its fearsome ‘super charged state.’

Ryan’s face set into a mask of grim determination. “This must be the ‘super charged state’ the panel warned about,” he muttered to himself, watching the dragon’s power swell.

But his reflection was cut short. The ground between him and the Thunder Dragon sprouted several pulsating blue-purple spots, heralds of the impending electrical assault. Before Ryan could react, a surge of electric current struck the spot beneath his feet, enveloping him in a painful, numbing electric bath. The shock rendered him momentarily helpless, his body searing with pain as his muscles seized.

Ryan clenched his teeth, aware of the damage under his scorched armor, but he could afford no thoughts for his injuries. The Thunder Dragon was already launching its next attack, a trio of dark blue electric orbs, each larger than Ryan himself, hurtled toward him with terrifying velocity.

The orbs spread outward in an unpredictable pattern. In a desperate bid for safety, Ryan leaped, feeling the electric charge graze him, causing his hair to stand on end beneath his helmet.

Landing lightly, Ryan’s expression remained grave. The Thunder Dragon’s relentless assault continued unabated. Watching Ryan’s evasion, the dragon propelled itself off the ground with a mighty force, causing the earth beneath to crack. Its body, a live electric conduit, launched into the air, aiming directly at Ryan.

The air was thick with the crackle of electricity as the Thunder Dragon demonstrated the full extent of its hunting prowess in its ‘super charged state’ truly living up to its moniker of “Unparalleled Hunter.” Now, it was not just dangerous, but deadly.

Caught mid-air, Ryan found himself with nowhere to escape. Below him loomed the ground, above, the descending mass of charged scales and fury of the Thunder Dragon. With his options dwindling and the ground approaching fast, survival instincts took over. He inhaled sharply and positioned his greatsword defensively in front of him, bracing for impact.

The collision was monumental. Ryan and the Thunder Dragon met in mid-air with a thunderous clash. The force of the impact drove Ryan back to the earth, a cloud of dust billowing around him as he was slammed into the ground under the immense weight of the dragon.

Amidst the settling dust and debris, the battle’s outcome hung in the balance, with Ryan pinned beneath the fearsome might of the [Upper] Thunder Dragon in a moment fraught with peril.

In the aftermath of their clash, the pit where they battled was shrouded in dust, intermittently pierced by violent flashes of lightning that erupted from the surroundings.

Deep within the crater, Ryan stood unscathed next to the [Superior] Thunder Dragon, which lay sprawled across the shattered earth. A faint glow of blood-red light radiated from Ryan, a testament to his last-second activation of the [Special Sword Skill·Defensive Collision]. This move not only shielded him from a potentially lethal strike but also charged his next attack in a blink.

This successful defense triggered his skill [Turning Defense into Offense lv.3 (max)], enhancing his damage output by 20% for the next 60 seconds, a crucial edge in this dire moment.

The Thunder Dragon, dazed by its own failed “Lightning Kill” attack, struggled to regain its bearings. Ryan saw his chance to build up another powerful strike, but a sudden discharge of lightning from the dragon’s body threatened to disrupt his focus.

Despite the searing pain still echoing in his organs from earlier shocks, Ryan knew retreating would give the dragon a chance to recover. Determined, he chose to hold his ground and continue powering up.

To shield himself, Ryan activated the dark gold, blood-patterned gloves he wore. A blood-red thorn ball materialized on his shoulder, unfolding into a protective barrier just as a bolt of lightning struck. The barrier rippled violently under the impact, the light from the blood core within dimming significantly. Yet, it held, and Ryan, shielded from the electric onslaught, continued to gather his strength.

As the [Upper] Thunder Dragon began to stir, Ryan completed his “three-stage power charging.” With a fierce cry, he swung his greatsword down with all his might, targeting the dragon’s horn once more.

Ryan had noticed that the dragon’s horns, glowing a vibrant blue in its “super-charged state,” seemed to be the conduits for its overwhelming electric power. His blade met the horn in a clash of sparks and fury.

Fortunately, the [Greatsword·Red Crown Horn] contained only minimal metal, sparing Ryan from the worst of the electrical conductivity. Even so, a tingling sensation spread through his hands as a minor current passed through the greatsword.

But the payoff was immediate. With a satisfying crack, one of the dragon’s massive horns was severed, flying into the air. The Thunder Dragon howled in agony, the electric energy that had wreathed it now sputtering out as it lost its “super-charged state.”

Ryan’s theory was proven correct: the horns were not merely ornamental but vital to the dragon’s power. Severely weakened and unable to sustain its charged fury, the dragon could only heave for breath, drool dripping from its jaws, a pitiful sight compared to its former majesty.

Seizing the moment, Ryan readied himself for another devastating attack. Before the dragon could fully recover, he unleashed yet another “Three-stage Charge,” his blade whistling through the air as he aimed to end the battle decisively.