"What the?!"

"Where did it go?

The merfolks hiding inside the Golden Cave watched the battle intently. Their faces are full of mixed emotions from anger, fear, and disappointment.

These merfolks had been experiencing trouble one after another ever since Elric came. With Elric's situation not clear on their side, most of them had long agreed that the human had been eliminated. As such, they could only hope to their Lord Dash as their last form of defense that will bring the enemy down and restore the peace they used to live with.

They tried their best to remain positive and strong after the disaster with Aghus but the sudden appearance of this unexpected Dragons was like a strong blow of wind to their barely lit hope.

But with the awakening of Dash, they decided to trust one more time and let him do the rest. Or else, they are as good as dead, once that enemy succeeds.

Dash braced himself for the worst. Now that the enemy has hidden from his sight, defending against its attack would only prove the battle even harder. Not to mention its crazy speed and agility while its attacks are filled with deadly poison and a corrosive effect just to make it worse.

SCAN!

Using the power of the Lord's Authority, Dash scanned the surrounding area to feel and locate all the lives of the creatures inside its range. His turtle eyes glowed in divine light and seem emanate holy power that can reveal the truth.

The only problem is that once Dash used this power, all of his energy and focus will be used to execute this power, causing him to become unable to move while using it. As such, Dash could not use the power to its fullest advantage considering the undeniable speed of his enemy. He might just lose his life before he could even spot the Thagda!

Just as he was about to focus on the area, he quickly realized that a certain powerful energy signature was coming from his left side.

"Got you!"

Dash undid his eye powers and turned his face to the left.

FLAME BURST!

BWAAAck!~

Suddenly, Dash's Flame Burst attack failed. The blue fire that is supposed to hit the enemy at front disintegrated in mid-air due to the quick depletion of his energy. Panic quickly surfaced in his weary eyes.

"Finally." A smile crept into the Thagda's sinister face.

KSSK!~

KSSK!~

The mutated Thagda's attack connected at Dash's body and left two deep gaping wounds in the surface of his sh.e.l.l. Thank's to its outstanding durability, Dash had managed to minimize the damage and jumped back as quickly as he can. If not, he could have been done already without his head intact.

Although Dash managed to avoid getting his head sliced into two, the long gaping wounds in his back immediately brought him unimaginable pain. The poison, naturally embedded from the Thagda's two-long-claws, immediately took effect and caused Dash to stagger and sharply slowed down.

"Its over turtle." The mutant Thagda revealed himself before the staggering turtle. Its dark-red body covered in glistening scales of a dragon. Pitch blackthorn that is oozing with poison decorated almost every part of its body. Its long black tails moving sideways like a playing cat.

GRRR~

Dash tried his best to stabilize himself, but the powerful poison, whom he thought he could just flush out easily before, has unexpectedly increased in its potency, making its effect deadly beyond compare.

If it was just an ordinary Dragon, their body would not just become slice in half, but will also melt into a piece of lump due to its horrifying corrosive effect. Fortunately, Dash's foundation has significantly improved ever since he became the new lord, giving him an incredible physical and magical boost.

However, he is currently facing a creature strong enough to face even three Dragon King at the same time. Added with its stealth and poison ability, Dash realized that his chances of surviving this fight are close to impossible.

Water Blast!

CLANG!~

Suddenly, Dash shot another desperate attempt to push his enemy but the upgraded condition of the mutated Thagda allowed it to face even the full brunt of the attack. Dash's attempt barely putting a scratch to its skin and a wide confident smile quickly itched in its scaly face.

SSSSk~

"Today I will show you the difference between..." The Thagda walked steadily and confidently while talking. Its long black thorns sprouting even longer, out of every part of its body.

"The difference between a turtle and a real Dragon." The Thagda mumbled.

The eyes of the spectating merfolks felt a bone-chilling sensation just watching its terrifying stance alone and even the bravest soldiers had also lost their hope.

"Huh! You are just a fake freak Dragon. You ain't no original like me!" Dash smiled desperately and quickly opened its mouth.

Water Blast!

Clang!~

Water Blast!

Clang!~

Water Blaaast!

Clang!~

Dash desperately fought, releasing powerful water cannon one after another while he stepped back in retreat.

However, before he could even move further, multiple blackthorns suddenly sprouted out of the sand, piercing his arms, legs and even his sh.e.l.l-covered body!

"ACK!~" Dash suddenly shouted in pain, his barrage stopping at the same time. Blood spurted out of his mouth and other parts.

"NOOO!" The princesses and the people of the water realm saw everything that happened. Their frightful gazes watched as the body of their new Lord got skewered by multiple blackthorns emerging out from the fine sand.

Some could not help but cry while others held each other in disbelief. Before them, reflected in the big white pearl, is their dying Lord of the water realm. To be more specific, the shortest-lived as Lord of the water realm.

Dash's sight opened only to realize that the tail of the Thagda is currently half-buried in the sand, extending towards him to empale him with incredible agony with astonis.h.i.+ng stealth.

"Annoying and arrogant turtle. Watch as I devour your people." The Thagda raised his tail and with it, Dash was lifted as well. It's unbelievably long-tail revealed the spiked end that had successfully connected to the turtle's bleeding body.

A guaranteed death as you can call.

Dash grunted in pain as his weight pulled his wounds deeper to the blackthorns. He gritted his teeth and tried to focus on changing his body structure back to the smaller version but the poison and indescribable pain limited his focus, causing him to fail his transformation skill.

"Not...yet...done... I.. can... still-" Dash gritted his teeth as his short arms desperately summoned its last remaining strength to pull himself away. Blood continued to ooze out of his mouth and body.

BAAM!

Dash was slammed to the hard sand and the latter quickly took this opportunity to walk towards the entrance of the cave and use his body as a cover. His half open-blood-covered eyes not willing to die right away without using his body as the last hindrance.

"You...huh.. have to step over my dead sh.e.l.l..huh..huh.. before you can have my people..." Dash murmured weakly.

"Huhuhu~ Let me out of here! I will kill that b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"

"Let us out! We need to help the Lord!"

"Stay back! We can't open the barrier or the enemy would use it as an opportunity to dive in!"

"Like that stupid barrier even works against that creature!"

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"You listen to us!"

"I said let us out! We will die with the Lord!"

The merfolks hidden safely inside cried in this sight while others came to a quick dispute as other soldiers wanted to go out and offer help at their dying Lord.

Even those so-called brave soldiers cried at Dash's dedication. His unwillingness to give up despite the looming death rekindled their determination.

"Pathetic." With a quick strike, the Thagda sent his tail for another slam. His eyes are full of condescending gaze, seemingly mocking him for being an inferior being.

Dash expected the attack and quickly hid inside his sh.e.l.l as his last protection. Summoning the Sand Sh.e.l.l at the same time for his last-ditch effort to protect the merfolks inside.

"Useless! Very well. I will play with you first!" The Thagda said as he whipped his spike-covered tail.

WHAAM!~

The tail of the Thagda ripped through Dash's defense. Its overwhelming strength left behind another set of gaping holes in Dash's sh.e.l.ls. Sending him to another gulping grit. Poison, wounds, and desperation filled his body.

"HAHAHAHAH! I will grind you into bits and turn you into an appetizer, turtle!" The Thagda laughed maniacally as he started his wild slaughter against the helpless turtle standing guard on the entrance.

SLAM!

SLAM!

SLAAM!~

Like a hammer, the Thagda sent more and more attacks, chipping away Dash's desperate defense.

And like a weak eggsh.e.l.l, Dash's b.l.o.o.d.y back slowly crumbled, revealing his bleeding innards.

It did not take a long time for Dash to stop responding from his relentless attacks.

Everything became numb and Dash closed his eyes, ready to accept death.

"So this is it huh."

Unexpectedly, images started pouring out of Dash's mind. Like a jar full of memories suddenly filling his head to the brim.

He suddenly remembered the day he was hatched from the egg. The scene of his struggle to come out of the surface because of his small body. He remembered the loneliness, finding out he was the last one that came out.

He remembered the distant bark of the dog who first found him.

"Bruno...the dog." His small b.l.o.o.d.y mouth crept into a faint smile. A surge of warmth and longing in his voice.

And then came the image of a kid.

With brown eyes that reflected innocence and kindness. He has dark brown hair that only complimented the radiant glow of the sun. He has a dark-tanned skin for playing under the sun for too long.

A young and skinny boy, overflowing with energy and curiosity. He was running along the sh.o.r.eline, wearing only pants and a pair of slippers chasing after Bruno, the dog who first found him.

Dash remembered how the boy decided to took care of him after realizing that he was too small to survive the ocean.

That same boy fed him. Sleep together with him on the side of his bed. Took care of him more than just a pet, and even protected him one time from an unexpected attack from his father.

This surge of memories also came with an unstoppable flow of tears in Dash's eyes.

An overwhelming feeling he never knew actually existed.

He longed for this young person. His careful touch and the kindness he showed gave him the warmth he needed at this painful time.

Just seeing the smiling face and the innocent giggle of that young man calmed his currently bleeding heart.

"I missed you, buddy." Dash mumbly said, letting himself drown on the shrouding darkness of death.

Suddenly, a familiar sound came from his side and woke him up.

"I missed you too buddy."

His eyes quickly opened, only to see the same brown eyes of the young man.

It was the calmest and warmest eyes he could ever imagine.

And the tears from Dash's eyes only came flowing more and more that Dash was incapacitated with a rekindled hope.