The assault of lightning and fire struck simultaneously, leaving Stah with no escape routes. Yet, he made no attempt to evade. He stood his ground, intending to withstand Leon and Rosvisser's initial onslaught head-on.

The blazing dragon fire hit Stah's golden armor first, triggering a series of chain explosions. The impact caused the ground beneath his feet to crack and sink, sending shockwaves radiating outward.

Seeing Rosvisser's attack land, Leon followed up swiftly.

With his lightning sword raised overhead, he swung it down with precision, aiming directly at Stah's back. However, all that was heard was a low, muffled sound as the lightning sword shattered upon impact with the golden armor.

The blue glow from the broken sword fragments reflected on Leon’s helmet, his gaze cutting through the fragmented lightning, meeting Stah’s.

The old Dragon King turned his head slowly, and from beneath the thick helmet, his ancient, deep voice came through, laced with condescension.

“Is that all you’ve got?”

Leon sneered. “Don’t worry, I won’t disappoint you.”

As he spoke, the shattered fragments of the lightning sword and the scattered sparks suddenly flared with light, transforming into sharp lightning needles that shot toward Stah.

The storm of lightning needles bombarded Stah’s armor, crackling with energy. Though it wasn’t enough to inflict real damage, Leon never intended this attack to do so.

The needles embedded themselves into Stah’s armor. At first, Stah felt only a minor irritation, as if the human’s follow-up attack was just a harmless afterthought. But soon, a numbness began to creep through his body.

The lightning needles, instead of hurting him, began paralyzing him—like ants crawling under his skin, their electric charge spreading throughout his nerves and bloodstream.

Seeing the effect take hold, Leon and Rosvisser swiftly moved to opposite sides, putting distance between themselves and Stah.

Once they were far enough apart, the couple charged their respective elements—lightning and fire—and launched a synchronized attack at Stah.

Rosvisser unleashed fireballs in rapid succession, while Leon’s lightning converged into countless needles that intensified the paralysis, their sharp energy increasing the damage.

The battlefield was quickly shrouded in thick dust and smoke as their combined attacks ravaged the ground.

But the couple’s bombardment continued. 

As Rosvisser had said before—they were perfectly in sync. They always had been.

The smoke grew denser, covering Stah completely, but their barrage showed no sign of stopping.

After a moment, they prepared to unleash their final strike.

Both stopped their attacks simultaneously.

Rosvisser spread her arms wide, gathering crimson flames in both hands, then brought them together. The flames took the shape of a dragon’s head, roaring as it shot forward into the swirling dust cloud.

**S-rank Fire Magic: Dragon Flame Mod—Dragon Fire Obliteration.**

But the queen wasn’t finished.

As the flaming dragon head surged toward Stah, Rosvisser unfurled her dragon wings and beat them powerfully, creating air cannons that propelled the fireball with greater force.

Not to be outdone, Leon prepared his own final move.

After pausing the bombardment, he concentrated lightning into his palm. In the next instant, a wolf made of pure lightning burst forth from his hand, crackling and snarling as it charged into the storm of smoke and debris.

**A-rank Lightning Magic: Thunder Wolf Assault.**

The couple’s ultimate moves collided with the cloud of dust where Stah stood, causing a violent magical disturbance.

The residual energy of fire and lightning scattered through the air like brilliant fireworks.

As the smoke and dust finally began to settle on the battlefield...

The golden figure stood firm, unmoved.

Surrounding Stah was a massive, translucent ancient bell, faint but clearly visible. Traces of Leon and Rosvisser’s energy crackled on its surface, but Stah remained unharmed inside.

Rosvisser’s eyes widened, her silver pupils trembling slightly. “What… what is that?”

*Stah*, the Radiant Dragon King, one of the most ancient dragon rulers. But his abilities had never been recorded in any documents or tomes.

Fighting against an unknown adversary always came with risks, and they had just encountered their first.

From afar, Anna and the others watched in shock.

Shirley, wide-eyed and trembling, muttered, “That was the combined attack of our queen and the prince consort… Even Constantine wouldn’t have survived that. But it didn’t even scratch him.”

“That’s why the queen and the prince consort joined forces to face this enemy,” Anna said, her voice heavy. “This opponent… far surpasses Constantine.”

Though Anna wasn’t on the front lines, she could feel the immense pressure emanating from Stah. He was far too mysterious and terrifying. And this was only the beginning of the battle.

Would the queen and the prince consort find a way to break through?

Several kilometers away, on the observation platform, Ravi finally allowed himself a smug smile.

“I’ll admit it. Leon Cassmod is impressive, forcing Stah to use this technique right from the start. But this is the end of the road for them.”

Nacho glanced at Ravi. “That giant bell… what is it?”

“That’s Stah’s ultimate defense, something he spent a millennium creating—*Absolute Defense: Twilight Bell*.”

Ravi explained proudly, eager to show off dragonkind's magical achievements to the human who clearly didn’t comprehend their grandeur.

“Four hundred years ago, in a realm beyond human knowledge, Stah fought against four other Dragon Kings for the golden armor he now wears.

After obtaining the armor, he became the target of their combined assault.

But none of their attacks could break through the *Twilight Bell*. It rendered their efforts as harmless as a child’s scratch.”

“Eventually, Stah won the armor and earned the title of ‘Absolute Defense.’”

Nacho listened, contemplating for a moment before asking, “So… no one has ever broken through his defense?”

“Correct. No one in this world has ever done it. Not before, not now, and not in the future,” Ravi said confidently.

“That’s why I say it’s over. If they can’t break through his defense, there’s no point in continuing the fight. Leon Cassmod now has two choices:

One, wait until he’s exhausted and let Stah slowly kill him.

Or two, flee while he still has some strength, only to be executed later.

Different choices, same result. It’s just a matter of time.”

Nacho, knowing what kind of monster the Empire had bred, took a deep breath and said softly,

“I think there’s a third option.”

Ravi blinked, frowning. “What?”

Before Nacho could answer, a sharp, piercing bird cry echoed across the battlefield.

Stah turned his head toward the sound.

Standing there was Leon, silver armor gleaming, and in his hand, the crackling energy of an attack took shape.

“*Lightning Rush*?—No… in human terms, that spell is called *Chidori*. But it makes no difference. Are you really going to use such a trivial magic to try and break my ultimate defense?”

Stah almost laughed but restrained himself.

He had expected more surprises from the man who defeated Constantine.

But apparently, he had overestimated him.

Leon crouched slightly, bending his knees, preparing to charge.

“The strongest defense,” he said, his voice calm, “often needs the simplest method to break. Old Dragon King, watch closely.”

As he spoke, the crackling energy intensified, the bird-like screeching filling the battlefield.

Ripples of energy radiated outward, scattering dust and debris around Leon.

He wasn’t relying on just fifty percent of his mana to break that bell.

He had a little extra trick.

For example—

*The Nine Infernal Gates, Fourth Gate—Open!*

With a powerful kick, Leon launched himself like a bullet.

The *Chidori* in his hand hovered mere centimeters above the ground, tearing up the earth as he charged, leaving a long, deep trench in his wake.

The trench looked like a giant serpent racing toward Stah, its speed and power awe-inspiring.

With only half his mana left, Leon had no room to waste energy. The distance between them wasn’t great, so to amplify the *Chidori*’s power, he needed to accelerate.

Opening the fourth gate increased his speed dramatically.

At that speed, Leon became a blur, moving faster than Stah anticipated.

Still, Stah planned to take the hit head-on.

*Absolute Defense: Twilight Bell!*

The bell appeared again, surrounding Stah. He waited for the foolish human to crash into it, confident it would reduce him to nothing more than a smear on the ground.

But there was no turning back now.

Stah smirked, thinking, *Constantine, how could you have lost to such a brainless fool?*

Lightning struck. The bird’s cry pierced the sky.

The *Twilight Bell* quivered violently under the onslaught of Leon’s *Chidori*.

Ripples of energy spread across the battlefield.

And beneath the golden armor, Stah’s smile slowly froze.

*Crack!*

A visible fracture appeared on the surface of the *Twilight Bell*.

“W-What…? How is this… possible?!”

“There’s no such thing as an unbreakable defense. If it exists, it just hasn’t met me yet.”

Leon’s *Chidori* shattered the *Twilight Bell*’s supposed invincibility.

And from above, the sky-darkening flames of Rosvisser followed closely behind.