Chapter 202 — THE CITY IN THE DRAGON’S SHADOW
The Ninefold Sovereign Array had collapsed.
Where monts earlier nine forces had stood united beneath a single structure of power, now only broken ground remained.
Dean Xu Canglong slowly rose from the trench his body had carved across the shattered battlefield. Dust slid from his shoulders as he pushed himself upright, his sword still clenched tightly in his hand.
Around him—
The others struggled to stand.
General Han Dae-Woo dragged himself from the rubble of a collapsed ridge, coughing blood as he forced his body upright.
Commander Rafael Ibarra climbed out of a crater filled with broken jade fragnts and dried mud.
Phoenix embers flickered weakly around Dean Feng Yanrui as he stabilized himself in the air again.
High above, Headmaster Suryavansh Rao hovered unevenly, solar light flickering around him like a dying star.
Grandmaster Tenzin Dorje pushed himself to his knees, one hand pressed against the ground to steady the trembling earth beneath them.
Astra Nyx stepped out of folded space near the edge of the battlefield, her breathing slower now, but noticeably heavier.
And several hundred ters away—
Dr. Elena Kovács leaned against a shattered pillar of jade crystal, blood running down her temple as she tried to recalibrate the few drones she still had left.
The Nine were still alive.
But the formation was gone.
Above them—
The Jade Dragon hovered.
The creature’s erald body stretched across the sky like a mountain that had learned to fly. Its wings moved slowly, each motion bending the clouds around it.
The massive wound across its chest still glowed faintly where the Ninefold Sovereign Array had struck.
But it was no longer bleeding.
The fractured scales had hardened again.
Stronger.
Denser.
The dragon’s erald eyes shifted.
Not toward the Nine.
Toward sothing behind them.
Toward the horizon.
The sixth city.
Smoke rose from its outskirts where evacuation convoys still moved through the streets like thin streams of ants fleeing a flood.
From this distance, the city looked small.
Fragile.
Temporary.
The dragon studied it quietly.
Then spoke.
"You defend it."
Its voice rolled across the battlefield like distant thunder.
The Nine imdiately understood.
Dean Xu Canglong’s gaze snapped toward the dragon.
"No."
The Jade Dragon ignored him.
Its massive wings began moving.
Slow.
Powerful.
Each beat pushed the creature forward through the sky.
Toward the city.
Commander Ibarra’s eyes widened.
"It’s ignoring us."
General Han cursed under his breath.
"Of course it is."
The dragon had learned.
The Nine were not its objective.
They were an obstacle.
And obstacles could be bypassed.
The Jade Dragon accelerated.
Its enormous body glided across the sky toward the distant city skyline.
Dean Xu Canglong’s voice cut through the battlefield.
"Stop it!"
The Nine moved again.
Even exhausted.
Even injured.
They launched into the air after the dragon.
The Chase
The dragon’s wings beat again.
The distance between it and the city closed rapidly.
Miles vanished in seconds.
The Nine chased from behind.
Astra Nyx opened spatial fractures to shorten the distance.
General Han launched himself forward in massive leaps across the broken ground.
Phoenix flas reignited as Feng Yanrui surged through the sky like a living cot.
Solar light flared around Suryavansh Rao as he accelerated.
Commander Ibarra rode a spiraling column of water through the air.
But the dragon was faster.
The skyline of the sixth city rose ahead.
Towering buildings.
Highways.
Evacuation convoys.
Thousands of people still fleeing through crowded streets.
Sirens wailed through the city.
Military aircraft circled desperately overhead.
The dragon approached.
And the city fell into shadow.
From the ground—
People looked up.
Phones dropped from shaking hands.
Cars screeched to a halt.
A child pointed upward from the sidewalk.
"What... is that?"
The answer ca seconds later.
The sky turned green.
The Jade Dragon’s enormous body blocked the sun.
Its wings spread wide above the city.
The creature hovered directly over the skyline.
Buildings looked like toys beneath it.
Helicopters turned away imdiately.
Jets fired missiles.
Dozens of them.
The missiles struck the dragon’s side.
Explosions blossod across erald armor.
The dragon barely noticed.
It inhaled slowly.
Erald energy began gathering in its throat.
Back on the battlefield—
Dr. Kovács’ voice burst through the comm channel.
"Energy spike!"
Dean Xu Canglong was already moving.
"No!"
The dragon’s chest expanded.
Its wings lifted.
The erald glow intensified.
If that roar fired here—
The entire city would disappear.
General Han roared.
"We can’t let that happen!"
He launched forward faster than ever before.
Every muscle in his body ignited with kinetic energy.
"Titan Breaker!"
Han slamd into the dragon’s side mid-air.
The impact produced a thunderclap that shattered several skyscraper windows.
The dragon’s aim shifted slightly.
The erald glow flickered.
But the energy did not stop building.
Commander Ibarra arrived next.
He raised both arms.
Water erupted upward from the city’s harbor.
A massive tidal column surged into the sky.
"Leviathan Spear!"
The water drill struck the dragon’s chest wound.
Erald scales cracked.
The dragon growled.
The roar paused.
For half a second.
Then—
The dragon’s tail whipped sideways.
The air exploded.
The tidal spear shattered.
Ibarra was thrown across the city skyline, crashing through a half-built skyscraper.
Concrete collapsed around him.
Astra Nyx appeared above the dragon’s head.
Her blade flashed.
"Void Crescent!"
Space split open across the dragon’s jaw.
The erald glow wavered.
Dean Feng Yanrui followed.
Phoenix flas erupted across the sky.
"Phoenix Sovereign Descent!"
The flaming phoenix slamd into the dragon’s neck.
Crimson fire engulfed the creature’s head.
The roar disrupted.
Solar light followed.
Suryavansh Rao unleashed another beam.
"Solar Cataclysm!"
The beam struck the dragon’s throat.
Erald energy exploded outward.
The dragon roared in anger.
But the roar was no longer aid at the city.
It fired upward into the sky.
The shockwave shattered clouds across kiloters.
Back below—
Cars flipped.
Windows exploded.
But the city remained standing.
For now.
Dean Xu Canglong arrived last.
His sword flashed.
"Azure Heaven Severance!"
The blade struck the dragon’s injured chest again.
A new crack spread across the erald armor.
The dragon recoiled slightly.
Its massive wings beat violently.
The resulting windstorm shattered dozens of buildings.
The Nine hovered around it.
Exhausted.
But still fighting.
The Jade Dragon looked down at the city.
Then at them.
"You persist."
Its voice echoed across the skyline.
"But protection is weakness."
The erald glow in its throat began building again.
Larger.
Brighter.
Stronger than before.
Dr. Kovács’ voice ca through the channel.
"Energy density increasing again!"
The Nine stared at the dragon.
And realized the truth.
They had stopped the first attack.
But the Jade Dragon was preparing sothing far worse.
And this ti—
It was aiming directly at the heart of the city.
[Chapter ENDS]
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