Chapter 394: Shocking Appearance

"Cough, cough..."

As the dust settled, the Bull Marquis coughed weakly, unable to get up.

The Sky Knights formed a circle around him, but the focus of everyone's attention was no longer on the Bull Marquis, but on the edge of the dark clouds in the northwest.

There.

A flying creature, resembling both a bird and a bat, was gliding leisurely towards them. From its flight path and silhouette, many hearts began to race.

Including Liszt, who felt his heart skip a beat.

"This..."

Levis's voice rang out in surprise: "It's a dragon!"

The approaching creature indeed had the outline of a dragon, quite similar to the Invisible Dragon Liszt had once seen.

"Dragon!"

Someone suddenly shouted.

Followed by bursts of cheers: "It's a dragon!"

"The Sapphire Dragon!"

"The Grand Duke has finally arrived!"

"The dragon is still alive!"

The First Prince, who was encircling the Bull Marquis, laughed heartily: "The Sapphire Dragon, the authority of the Sapphire Family, it's still alive! Traitor Andy Sapphire, your end is near!"

"No... cough... how could... my power... is fading... how could the Sapphire Dragon... still be alive!" The Bull Marquis's terrified words were intermittent, the blue flames on his body dissipating towards the direction of the approaching dragon, as if blown by the wind.

The second Prince Angus Sapphire lifted his visor, his eyes wild with a mix of fury and triumph.

"It's Father! Haha, Father's here, riding the Sapphire Dragon!"

He suddenly raised his sword, pointing it at the Bull Marquis: "Today, I will reclaim all the humiliation you forced upon me! Haha!"

"Impossible... impossible... impossible..." The Bull Marquis didn't even glance at the second Prince, his blue-flame eyes fixed tightly on the increasingly large flying creature. "That familiar magic power... It really is the Sapphire Dragon... Impossible... Why hasn't it died!"

Following his gaze, everyone looked up, watching the fully revealed form of the Sapphire Dragon.

But unlike the imagined Sapphire Dragon, this one was grotesque, with large patches of skin and muscle rotting, the flesh at the wounds turned outward, some places even rotting to the bone. Pale blue light emitted from the exposed bones, adding to its horror.

Excluding its two wings.

It had four legs, two shorter front legs and two thicker hind legs.

However, not only was the Sapphire Dragon's body covered in sores, one of its front legs was broken, and one of its hind legs was reduced to a skeleton glowing with blue light.

Its massive wings were tattered, the membrane parts of the wings full of holes of various sizes, like a piece of cloth that had decayed for many years.

Although it also had dragon scales with a crystalline luster similar to that of spirit bugs, distinctly blue, as if made of jade, it was still the ugliest dragon Liszt had ever seen.

It was like...

"It's like it's been doused in concentrated sulfuric acid. How did it end up like this?" Liszt swallowed hard, his skin crawling, just like when he first saw the Invisible Dragon.

The Hiddleston beast's fur stood on end, and Loki's feathers bristled.

The horses of the surrounding knights became restless, and if not for the knights holding them back, they would have turned and fled.

Unlike the last time, when he had only seen the magical outline of a dragon, this time Liszt saw a real dragon, the Sapphire Dragon that suppressed the Sapphire Duchy: "Levis described to me that the Sapphire Dragon is a magical and incredible creature that combines beauty and strength."

But the Sapphire Dragon before him was horribly disfigured.

"Was it caused by Marquis Bull's sneak attack, or did something happen when the Sapphire Duke was treating it?"

The question circled in his mind.

The next moment.

The Sapphire Dragon, cloaked in a roaring gale, descended from the sky and landed on a clearing left by the sky knights, directly facing the Marquis Bull lying on the ground.

The dragon landed on its feet, supporting its body, about four stories high, with a wingspan probably exceeding fifty meters. Even when folded, it was still as huge as a building. It was many times larger than the invisible dragon Liszt had seen, and its dragon aura was also many times stronger.

It bore down on Liszt, suffocating him with its overwhelming presence.

He endured the discomfort and summoned the Magic Eye, observing the landed Sapphire Dragon in another way. Inside its body glowed a vigorous blue light, though it wasn’t water-attribute magic. The magic power had huge fractures on the surface, each fracture corresponding to a rotten part.

It should have been a magnificent treasure, but the fractures marred its beauty, leaving it chaotic.

It bared its massive jaws, poised to strike the terrified Marquis Bull lying on the ground. Liszt could clearly see that Marquis Bull's body also had the same blue light, which, like visible lines, quickly converged towards the Sapphire Dragon, repairing the magic fractures inside its body.

Just as the Sapphire Dragon was about to bite Marquis Bull, a majestic voice boomed: "Sapphire, calm down."

The next moment.

The Sapphire Dragon stopped its mouth, letting out a roar of unwillingness.

Its roar echoed like thunder, mingling with the deep bellow of an elephant—a strange yet mighty sound.

Thud!

A figure jumped down from the connection between the Sapphire Dragon's neck and back, landing on the ground. He wore silver-white armor, a blue cloak, and had flaxen hair. He was of average height, not wearing a helmet, and his face was very ordinary.

With just a glance, Liszt felt a pressure radiating from him, akin to the Sapphire Dragon's aura.

It turned into a pair of big hands, choking his throat, and the illusion of suffocation arose again.

"Whew!"

Liszt forcefully activated his mana, dispelling this uncomfortable feeling.

At the same time, under the leadership of the First Prince, all the sky knights knelt on one knee, shouting: "Duke!"

Following them, including Liszt, the Earth Knights also knelt on one knee: "Duke!"

In the entire battlefield, the only human standing was the Sapphire Duke.

He nodded slightly, with a faint smile on his face: "Gentlemen, rise. It seems I arrived just in time, and you have successfully vented my anger."

As the knights stood up, he looked at the dazed Marquis Bull, who seemed unable to accept reality, and his smile disappeared, turning calm: "Andy, my once most trusted partner, comrade, and family, I never thought we would meet in such a way one day."

"Why is the Sapphire Dragon not dead!" Marquis Bull asked in a daze.

Shaking his head, the Sapphire Duke remained silent, striding straight to Marquis Bull, then squatted in front of him, seemingly letting out a barely audible sigh.

Extending his left hand, he suddenly opened it, his fingertips transforming into bestial claws, then forcefully plunged them into the Marquis of Bull's chest.

"Ah!" the Marquis let out a blood-curdling scream.

The Sapphire Duke showed no emotion, yanking out a glowing sapphire the size of a clenched fist from the Marquis's chest.

His hand reverted to its normal state.

Holding the sapphire, he commanded coolly, "Tie him up."