The Primal Hunter Chapter 1237 - Dragon Hunter (6)

Dragons were famous for many attributes, but their signature attack stood above all else. This legendary strike was renowned for possessing innate concepts, granting it devastating power. It was a universal trait among their kind, making it a threat that any opponent had to anticipate when facing such a beast.

This ability was, of course, Dragon’s Breath. Despite its straightforward appearance, this skill had likely claimed the lives of more geniuses than any other technique in the history of the multiverse.

Jake had previously witnessed a wyvern’s breath on Earth and seen Villy’s version through the Path of the Heretic-Chosen. Yet, those observations paled in comparison to facing the real thing head-on.

As Yrelstromoz inhaled, Jake watched the world grow dark; the very concept of light seemed to be sucked into her jaws. The surrounding environment was stripped of mana while her throat began to glow with an intense radiance, her aura becoming more suffocating than ever.

To make matters worse, the breath was only one component of her strategy.

Massive magic circles positioned both above and below him ignited simultaneously, discharging relentless torrents of light. Their sheer scale left Jake with no room to maneuver as the magic closed in. In that moment, he realized Yrelstromoz’s intent.

"Shit," Jake spat as the light from below slammed into him, an immense force trying to propel him upward. A fraction of a second later, the light from above struck with equal physical weight, attempting to crush him downward.

The opposing forces pinned him in place, making movement nearly impossible. This constant "attack" prevented him from even using One Step to escape. Jake immediately summoned his wings and braced himself, attempting to channel the escape function of the Wings of the Malefic Viper. However, he quickly realized he wouldn't be fast enough.

Just as his wings manifested, Yrelstromoz released her Dragon’s Breath upon the world.

Her maw opened, and a beam of concentrated light erupted, illuminating the entire planet with the most blinding radiance Jake had ever encountered. The sheer intensity of the flash felt dangerous; he instinctively squeezed his eyes shut to prevent them from being incinerated. Even then, his vision was washed out in pure white as the light pierced through his eyelids.

Simultaneously, his danger sense went into a frenzy. Trapped between the two colossal magic circles, Jake had no way to evade the lightning-fast Dragon’s Breath. He steeled his mind to attempt the impossible:

Blocking it.

He unleashed his Pride, fighting against the crushing pressure of the magic circles while manifesting multiple layers of barriers. His wings curled around his body for protection as he flooded his scales with energy. He diverted every scrap of mana he could spare to reinforce the barrier generated by Arcane Awakening.

As the Dragon’s Breath bore down on him, a Shadow copy of Jake lunged forward. Powerful energy swirled around Eternal Hunger as the Shadow executed a Piercing Fang against the beam. Jake briefly considered using the movement to dodge, but the suppression was too heavy and the breath’s diameter too massive.

While his Shadow attacked, Jake shifted his body as much as the pressure allowed to optimize his defense. He tucked his limbs in like a defensive boxer, shielding his face with his forearms and minimizing his silhouette by tucking his legs. He even angled the soles of his feet toward the blast so his enchanted boots could absorb part of the impact.

There was no more time for movement, but his mind raced at high speed, pulling out every stop to survive the imminent destruction.

Then, the Dragon’s Breath hit. The oppressive heat reached him even before his Eternal Shadow struck the beam, only for the double to be instantly vaporized in an explosion of cursed energy.

His barriers were shredded one by one, offering virtually no resistance to the dragon's might. With his danger sense still screaming, Jake activated Umbral Cloak at the final microsecond, wrapping himself in shadow energy just as the Dragon’s Breath made contact.

Jake felt his wings incinerate instantly, the webbing riddled with holes as the light poured through. He was shoved back by the physical force of the beam, though that weight felt trivial compared to the sheer sense of primal annihilation it carried.

His wings vanished in a heartbeat. The shadow energy was next, struggling to hold back the tide of light washing over him. The two clashing concepts fought until the shadows were utterly overwhelmed, rays of light piercing the darkness to strike his final defenses.

The thin arcane barrier offered little protection before the light reached his skin. His armor fared no better, save for his boots and mask. Jake felt a massive surge of energy flood his system as his scales absorbed as much of the Dragon’s Breath as possible before shattering. These breaking scales turned a portion of the energy into desolation, helping to neutralize the heat before it cooked his flesh.

But it wasn't nearly enough.

The light cut through his scales and invaded his body, burning him from the inside out and destroying everything it touched. The skin beneath his scales was rapidly stripped away by the unrelenting stream of light.

Jake fought back by flooding his internals with stable arcane mana, prioritizing the protection of his heart and brain. He continuously manifested new scales as fast as he could to mitigate the damage. The constant explosion of these scales proved more effective than he expected, as the resulting desolation energy helped combat the incoming attack.

He didn't even bother trying to manifest magic outside his body. The moment the Dragon’s Breath struck, Jake had lost all control over the immediate area; his Pride of the Malefic Viper was simply washed away by the dragon's superior authority over magic.

He focused entirely on his internal defense. His skin was gone, his muscles were seared into nothingness, and in several spots, the light punched straight through his torso.

Jake ignored the agony, focusing every ounce of his will on staying alive. Using his arms, katars, and mask, he managed to keep his head relatively intact, but the rest of his frame was devastated.

The Dragon’s Breath felt like it lasted an eternity, though only a few seconds passed. Gradually, the energy began to wane. The intensity faded until the beam finally vanished, along with the magic circles that had bound him.

As the light cleared, Jake’s figure was revealed, still suspended in his defensive posture. He remained motionless as the lingering mana drifted away into the air.

The Dragon’s Breath had ravaged him from top to bottom. His legs had suffered the most since they were the least defended; they were now mostly bare bone with only scraps of flesh clinging to the back where the bone had provided shade.

His upper body was in a similar state of ruin. The bones of his arms were exposed, and several holes in his abdomen allowed a clear view through his body.

Jake was wracked with pain as he tentatively moved his skeletal limbs. Only his feet retained any significant flesh thanks to his boots, though they were still a mangled, bloody mess.

Despite his horrific condition, a small smile touched Jake’s lips beneath his mask. He had tanked a Dragon’s Breath directly. It hadn't been easy, and Yrelstromoz likely considered the attack a success given his injuries, but Jake had survived. In fact, his preparations had been so effective that Moment of the Primal Hunter hadn't even been forced to trigger—though he could have let it activate at any time by exposing his face.

Thanks to his guarding stance, his face was mostly spared, though he had lost his hair and his eyelids, which felt bizarre. His central chest remained the only truly untouched area, as he had successfully shielded his heart with a thick coating of stable arcane energy.

As a C-grade, Jake only needed to protect his heart and brain; everything else could be regrown, even if healing such vital areas was more difficult. His main goal was avoiding damage that would permanently cripple his combat ability. He was fortunate to still have all his limbs; while the Dragon’s Breath was powerful, it hadn't been enough to vaporize his bones.

His survival seemed to catch Yrelstromoz off guard, as she didn't immediately follow up. This gave Jake a window to down a healing potion. His body began to visibly knit itself back together as the Blood of the Malefic Viper accelerated the process, using the vital energy to sprout new flesh in real time.

While tracking Yrelstromoz, his Sense of the Malefic Viper picked up something. While he was enjoying the effects of his potion, Yrelstromoz was struggling. His Dragonsbane was hindering her recovery. Even if she suppressed the toxins with a massive influx of vital energy, the poison remained, making it difficult for her to close her wounds.

"Good," Jake thought. A brief lull settled over the battlefield as both combatants tried to patch their broken bodies just enough to keep fighting. Jake knew he couldn't fully heal the damage from the Dragon’s Breath yet; the destructive concepts of the attack still clung to his bones, forcing him to fight off the lingering energy while healing.

Yrelstromoz was also having a hard time. The vital energy she used could only momentarily push back the Dragonsbane, which continued to hamper her self-healing.

Jake was the first to recover enough to act, likely due to his Blood skill. He drew his bow, going back on the offensive. His limbs were still mostly bone with thin layers of new muscle, but he relied on pure inner energy to maintain his mobility.

He loosed a volley of arrows, forcing Yrelstromoz to raise a powerful barrier. Jake began circling the dragon, pelting her with curving shots that were difficult to evade. He started racking up damage, aiming to level the playing field after her devastating breath attack.

Jake wasn't sure who held the resource advantage now. He had survived, but his health was below thirty percent; a few more clean hits would cripple him. Fortunately, the intensity of the fight meant he hadn't yet hit the wall from overusing his boosting skills.

His stamina was holding up, but his mana was dangerously low, sitting at about twenty-five percent. Manifesting so many scales and maintaining the dense arcane energy during the breath attack had been incredibly expensive.

As for Yrelstromoz, he couldn't see her exact numbers, but she was clearly flagging. Her health had recovered slightly from a potion or similar ability, but it remained low. However, her aura was still oppressive, making Jake worry that she still had massive mana reserves. True Dragons were absurdly gifted in that regard.

Still, Jake wasn't trying to outlast her mana. Even if she had an infinite supply, his Dragonsbane ensured her health would fail long before her mana did.

As he moved and fired, Jake tried to use Touch of the Malefic Viper to boost the poison, but her magic resistance held firm. He would have to settle for strengthening the toxin through volume of fire.

Yrelstromoz defended well, but Jake was slowly gaining momentum, forcing her to try and reclaim the initiative. She responded by filling the sky with light orbs again, though there were fewer than before.

Jake found himself back in a "bullet hell" scenario, but the dragon had clearly weakened; he found the orbs relatively easy to dodge. They limited his offensive opportunities, however, and Yrelstromoz used the smaller number of orbs to multitask between offense and defense.

The battle hit a plateau as they exchanged lower-stakes attacks, both waiting for the other to slip up. Jake spotted several openings caused by her lack of experience, landing solid hits that tilted the scales further in his favor.

Sensing the shift, Yrelstromoz grew desperate. She let out a roar, and the land itself seemed to wake up. She manipulated earth and wind to disrupt Jake, but he had already seen these tactics. He evaded her attempts and kept landing arrow after arrow.

In a final push, she summoned a magic circle in the heavens that detonated, sending a physical shockwave of light to hammer Jake toward the ground. Simultaneously, all the remaining light beams in the sky rushed toward her, fueled by their remaining energy.

Jake retreated as the atmosphere shifted again. The world dimmed, the mana stirred, and he saw the True Dragon taking another deep breath.

Before he could react, the planet was bathed in light for the second time. This breath felt weaker than the first, but it was still lethal. Jake weighed his options. The surrounding orbs had formed a corridor of light that blocked One Step, and the speed of the breath made dodging unlikely.

He chose not to run. He stopped and drew his bow. Just before he began to charge his shot, he used a burst of arcane energy to launch himself upward through the beams of light at a speed that wouldn't clear the breath's path.

As he pulled the string, time slowed down. He had barely begun to charge his Arcane Powershot when the second Dragon’s Breath arrived. With no defenses prepared, Moment of the Primal Hunter triggered instantly.

The world froze. Jake made rapid mental adjustments to ensure he would bypass the main force of the breath once time resumed.

With his calculations finished, he allowed time to flow slowly. He continued his upward trajectory, flying through several beams and enduring the pain as his Arcane Powershot reached full charge.

Time snapped back to normal. Jake had successfully avoided the direct hit, though the energy of the breath still scorched his lower body as it roared past just inches below him. Yrelstromoz cut the breath short the moment she realized she’d missed, but it was too late.

Jake fired the Arcane Powershot. Caught in the aftermath of her own attack, Yrelstromoz couldn't defend herself. The arrow struck home, staggering her and leaving a fresh wound in her chest. Jake didn't hesitate, firing another arrow while standing perfectly still to maximize the opportunity.

After the second shot, Jake activated a skill he’d been saving. Timeless Focus engaged, and Jake entered a state of rapid-fire. A relentless rain of arrows descended on the recovering Yrelstromoz.

Nearly thirty arrows struck her in a blur before she could reactivate her magic. Before she could mount a defense, Jake hit her with Primal Gaze, allowing him to continue the barrage until more than fifty arrows protruded from her hide.

Jake pushed through a splitting headache to keep firing, but once Primal Gaze wore off, Yrelstromoz finally forced him to move, breaking his Timeless Focus.

With a thunderous release of mana, the True Dragon roared and spread her wings. The earth erupted as the land rose to meet her. At the same time, she released—