Chapter 40: Brutal Tarsania (Explosive!)

Boom! ! !

A massive dragon claw slammed down with terrifying force, sending up billowing clouds of dust and smoke.

The earth itself trembled violently.

Inside the barrier of Thorny Protection, Roy felt as though every bone in his body had been shattered. A searing agony wracked his entire frame, and his limbs trembled uncontrollably.

A sweet metallic taste flooded his throat, and he coughed up a mouthful of dark blood, his face turning deathly pale.

Yet outside the thorny barrier, Tassanya’s condition was far worse than his.

The crimson pillar of light erupted by Thorny Protection had pierced directly through one side of her body, sending gouts of bloody mist into the air.

The deep crimson hue in her eyes slowly faded, and the phantom image of the red dragon dissipated.

"Agh! ! !"

Excruciating agony spiked straight into her mind, and her scream was razor-sharp and agonizing.

At this moment, one side of her body was completely paralyzed, leaving her listing awkwardly on the ground like a broken limb.

To prevent further loss of blood, Roy dispelled the Thorny Protection and drew out the Goblin Shaman Staff.

Dragging his aching body, he walked slowly toward Tassanya.

Even though one side of her body was immobile, Tassanya still glared at him with ferocious intent, baring her teeth as she roared:

"I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you! !"

Roy chuckled. Looking down at Tassanya, who was still half a head taller than him, he laughed with dark satisfaction:

"Yes, that’s the exact expression I want, Tassanya! I have no use for some spineless wretch who collapses and begs for mercy after taking a couple of hits! !"

"Agh, agh! I will definitely kill you! !"

Right now, Tassanya was like a fierce beast caught in a hunter's trap, roaring in frenzied rage.

She could no longer understand what Roy was saying; all she wanted at this moment was to tear Roy completely to shreds.

She swung her remaining functional arm viciously toward Roy.

Roy easily ducked out of the way.

The next second, he brought the shaman staff down hard against Tassanya’s waist, sending her flying backward through the air.

Boom! !

Tassanya crashed heavily to the ground, rolling repeatedly until she finally came to a halt.

Propelling herself up with her only remaining hand, she tried to force herself back to his feet:

"I’ll kill—"

Boom! !

Roy closed the distance in three strides and delivered another brutal blow with the staff.

Blood sprayed through the air, and Tassanya was sent hurtling through the sky once more.

Her trembling fingers clawed deep furrows into the earth as she tried desperately to rise.

The pride of a dragon would not permit her to fall.

"I’ll kil—"

Boom! !

Another strike of the staff.

"I’ll—"

Boom! Boom! Boom! ! !

Time and again, Tassanya attempted to crawl back up, only to be beaten down by Roy with relentless cruelty.

She roared in bitter frustration. She possessed the unyielding pride of a dragon, and she absolutely refused to fall before a human.

Yet her roars were repeatedly cut short by the heavy thuds of the shaman staff.

Once again, she was batted away like a ragdoll, landing several meters off.

"It’s getting late, stop all that unholy howling."

Roy delivered yet another merciless strike.

Puff! !

A fresh mouthful of blood erupted from Tassanya’s lips.

Her consciousness was slipping into a murky abyss, yet a single stubborn conviction kept her anchored to reality.

*Stand up from the ground.*

Even in death, she would die standing; she would never collapse before this damned human.

Yet her only reward was another punishing blow from the staff.

Her body, once sculpted with lines of breathtaking athletic beauty, was now a tapestry of wounds, beginning to twitch and spasm beyond her control.

With agonizing effort, she once more reached out a trembling hand to touch the earth, seeking leverage to lift her torso.

Just as her fingers brushed the soil—

In the next instant, she squeezed her eyes shut and her entire body convulsed.

Because, by now, she anticipated the inevitable follow-up strike.

Yet the anticipated blow never descended.

Trembling, she cracked her eyelids open to find Roy looking down at her with a mocking, playful smile.

"Very good, Tassanya. You’re learning to fear. That’s an excellent start."

Roy’s smile filled Tassanya with a scorching mix of humiliation and rage.

She knew she was being toyed with by this human, that he was deliberately debasing her.

Yet there was nothing she could do. The only thing within her power was to seize this brief respite while Roy withheld his blows, stand upon her own two feet, and die with whatever dignity she had left.

Her sole functional hand shook violently. She tried to push off the earth several times, only for her fingers to slip uselessly in the dirt, sending her crashing heavily back down.

*Stand up, stand up, stand up already, Tassanya!!*

She screamed the command deep within her own mind.

Yet it was all in vain. Her hand slid across the ground again and again, and her broken body slumped down repeatedly.

*Why? Why can't I stand up?*

*I am a dragon! Why can't I even manage to stand in front of a human?!*

A profound wave of grief, indignation, and desolation washed over Tassanya’s heart.

Beside her, Roy squatted down, smiling warmly as he looked at her:

"Why aren't you continuing? Come on, get up, Tassanya! Hurry along."

*Damn it, damn it, damn it! ! !*

Roy’s gaze pierced into Tassanya’s heart like a razor-sharp blade, filling her with an ultimate sense of degradation.

Yet she was utterly incapable of forcing herself back to her feet.

Her arms hung limp and unresponsive to her will.

The crushing sense of helplessness, combined with Roy’s taunting gaze, caused her heart to lurch violently, and moisture welled up in the corners of her eyes.

She was actually being humiliated to the point of tears by Roy.

Yet Roy was having none of it.

"Crying?! What are you doing, Tassanya? Stop acting like some pathetic wench!"

Roy’s expression darkened, and he snapped at her:

"Come on, get up and kill me! ! Weren't you always talking about killing me? Hurry up, don't make me look down on you! I have no use for useless trash!"

"Hurry up! ! !"

"Agh, agh, agh! ! !"

Roy’s words reignited the fires of fury within Tassanya’s chest. Her eyes flushed crimson, and a surge of latent strength welled up from her exhausted flesh.

Pushing down hard against the earth, she actually managed to stand, glaring through bloodshot eyes with unbridled wrath at Roy.

"Very good."

Roy’s smile returned:

"Now I can rest easy letting you finish what comes next."

With that, Roy delivered a devastating blow with the staff straight into Tassanya’s abdominal muscles.

Puff! ! !

Tassanya’s waist instantly bent into the shape of a drawn bow, and a mixture of gastric juices and bile sprayed from her mouth into the air.

She collapsed back to the ground, clutching her stomach and shrieking in agony.

The shrillness of her cries was enough to make the hair on anyone's arms stand on end.

"Kill... kill... me."

Tassanya wheezed out the words with a trembling voice.

Clearly, she preferred death over enduring any further humiliation from Roy.

At this point, she had completely given up; even if she were slain by this human, it hardly mattered anymore.

All she wanted now was a swift release.

"Kill you? Sure, I can do that."

Roy’s lips curved upward into a subtle, inscrutable smile.

A sense of ominous foreboding gripped Tassanya’s heart.

"You... what are you planning to do?"

She hadn't even realized that her voice was shaking.

"I’m not doing anything. Didn't you just ask me to kill you?"

Roy turned his gaze toward Layla, who had been watching the battle from the safety of a tree trunk, and called out gently:

"Layla, come here!"

"Coming right now, Master! !"

Hearing her master call, Layla scampered over on quick, light steps until she stood right beside him.

"You, what on earth are you planning to do?! !"

Watching Layla, Tassanya felt the ominous chill in her chest intensify, her expression twisting in panic.

"To kill you, of course. Wasn't that your request?"

Roy turned to Layla and asked:

"Did Dave and the others escape safely?"

Receiving an affirmative nod from Layla, Roy produced a heavy black broadsword, handed it to Layla, pointed straight at Tassanya’s abdomen, and instructed:

"Go on, Layla. Drive it in."

Layla obediently took the heavy broadsword. As she looked at the terrified Tassanya, a wave of disgust and anger rose within her heart.

She still vividly remembered that rainy night—it was this very creature who had almost taken her master away from her forever.

Gripping the broadsword with both hands, she thrust it forward with all her might toward Tassanya’s belly!

Agh, agh, agh! ! !

A piercing shriek echoed through the clearing.

Layla blinked in surprise, staring at the sword tip which had only managed to pierce the barest fraction of an inch into the skin. She looked up at Roy with an apologetic expression:

"Master, it didn't go in."

"It's fine, try again."

Roy smiled encouragingly.

A continuous series of agonizing screams rang out through the woods.

A few minutes later.

The broadsword had pierced clean through Tassanya’s body, burying its tip deep into the soil below.

Thick, dark blood oozed in sluggish streams from the wound.

Roy looked down at the pinned dragon and smiled warmly:

"Didn't you want to die? Don't worry. Even for a dragon, an injury like this will finish you off before long."

As night quietly descended, Roy’s voice drifted through the woodland like a low whisper from a demon:

"You must really hate half-beasts, right? In a way, this means Layla was the one who killed you."

"You might just be the very first dragon in the history of the continent to perish at the hands of a half-beast, securing your place in history forever."

"Once you're dead, the entirety of Bantanda will know that the notorious red dragon Tassanya has finally met her end."

"I think I’ll take your corpse and this sword, donate them anonymously to the Bantanda Museum, and have them turned into a taxidermy exhibit so everyone can admire this wonderfully composed scene."

"I've even thought of a title for it: *The Evil Dragon*. How does that sound?"

Hearing these words, Tassanya cast a gaze of pure despair toward the broadsword jutting out from her stomach.

Night had only just begun, and the evening stretching before her was going to be very, very long.