Beyond the Apocalypse
Chapter 455: Vlad vs Draco Leviathan Lord (I)

Chapter 455: Vlad vs Draco Leviathan Lord (I)

The pain was excruciating, but Vlad clenched his teeth as his eyes began to glow with fiery energy. The next second, a laser beam emerged from them, landing straight into the head of the Draco Leviathan Lord. The intense heat and destructive power of the Burning Eye of Fury scoured flesh and bone alike.

"ZZZZZ."

The sound of flesh burning echoed across the sky. Vlad’s laser beams, unleashed at full power, seemed like the Depravita wanted to lobotomize the Leviathan Lord. The concentrated energy seared into the creature’s skull, vaporizing tissue and leaving scorched wounds.

"AHHHHH!"

The Draco Leviathan Lord roared in agony. Its voice resounded through the battlefield below, a howl of monstrous pain. Yet, even as the beam reached its skull and galvanized its bones, it refused to let go of Vlad. Instead, the unbearable pain only made the creature tighten its grip around him, applying more and more strength until Vlad’s ribs and muscles strained beyond their limits.

"CRACK!" "AHHHH!"

A chilling sound cut through the air, and Vlad’s own scream of pain followed immediately. Blood spurted from his mouth, eyes, and ears as his bones began to crack under the enormous pressure of the Draco Leviathan Lord’s embrace. The Depravita of Wrath was strong and resilient, but even his endurance could be tested to the limit by this monstrous foe. Still, Vlad refused to surrender. Even as blood blurred his vision, he once more unleashed a laser beam point-blank, directing his last use of Burning Eye of Fury straight into the Leviathan Lord’s skull. Sparks, flame, and sizzling flesh danced in the air.

The next instant, Vlad mustered every ounce of his dwindling strength and headbutted the Draco Leviathan Lord’s weakened skull.

"CRACK!" All the previous beams had softened its bony plating, and now the headbutt split the creature’s skull open. The Leviathan Lord let out a guttural roar and, for a moment, lost its grip. Not even a second later, Vlad unleashed a ferocious kick, sending the massive creature flying away through the open sky.

His breathing ragged and his body screaming in pain, Vlad refused to let the advantage slip from his hands. He channeled two streams of his Depravita Aura, concentrating all the flames, lightning, and inherited powers from his bloodline, demon soul, and runic set. The energies swirled around him, coalescing near his heart. Then, with a thunderous shout, he released that energy forward.

"Sundering Heart Wrathful Blast!"

The very words shook the battlefield below. A massive beam of energy emerged from his heart, streaking through the air and crashing into the Draco Leviathan Lord. The unstoppable torrent of power drove the creature downward, smashing it into a nearby mountain. The impact tore apart rock and earth, burying the foe deep inside.

The residual shockwaves from this attack seemed to sunder the very sky. The hive mind and the soldiers on the ground were left speechless and stunned. The intensity of Vlad’s wrathful blast had been beyond their comprehension.

Yet, before the human forces could celebrate or find relief in this turn of events, movement erupted once more in the distance. A figure blasted through the mountain’s peak, shattering stone as it emerged. The Draco Leviathan Lord appeared in the sky again, its body charred and bleeding profusely. Burning wounds covered its dark, chitinous scales, and blood fell from numerous gashes across its flesh. Nonetheless, it remained alive and full of raging vitality. The creature’s power had not diminished enough to make it falter.

Vlad was shocked by the monster’s endurance. He watched as the Draco Leviathan Lord hovered in the distance, its eyes still burning with malice and dominance. He was tired and exhausted, but determination burned in his eyes as he forced his shoulder back into its socket with a sickening pop.

"RRAAAGH!" A roar of rage and killing intent burst from Vlad’s lips. His wrathful energy surged higher, enhancing his physical might and intensifying the lightning and flames he could wield.

"ROOOOOAAAAA!" The Draco Leviathan Lord unleashed a roar of its own, a thunderous sound filled with determination and slaughtering will that mirrored Vlad’s fighting spirit. There would be no mercy, no surrender, no fear on either side.

Both combatants’ power rose higher and higher. They lunged toward each other once more with everything they had, their forms streaking through the sky like meteors of opposing energies.

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!"

An explosion of kinetic power and lightning-infused fire flooded the heavens, illuminating them as though a second sun had appeared.

Down on the ground, where the human soldiers and Leviathan drones clashed in a sea of blood and bodies, Major General Theodoro cut down a Leviathan warrior with his sword. Pausing only for the briefest instant, he looked upward into the blazing sky.

There, he saw how Vlad struggled at the absolute limit of his abilities, with the outcome uncertain. Theodoro’s eyes flashed with determination.

"Shadowstrike Legion, Berserk Pills!!" Theodoro shouted, his voice carrying across the battlefield.

Thousands of soldiers, having trained and prepared for this exact moment, obeyed without hesitation. Their eyes glowed as they crushed special pills hidden inside their cheeks. Immediately, bursts of energy and renewed vigor coursed through their veins, pushing away exhaustion and making it feel as though fire ran in their blood. Muscles tightened, senses sharpened, and all fatigue disappeared, replaced by a fierce and sudden surge of power.

"KILL THEM ALL!" Theodoro’s words thundered across the ranks. Empowered by the Berserk Pills, the Shadowstrike Legion regained their full might, as if they had just entered the battle fresh and unscathed. With savage efficiency, Theodoro sliced through another Leviathan warrior, and then nearly a dozen aerial units fell to his blade and aura. Around him, the rest of the Shadowstrike Legion unleashed an onslaught too intense for the Leviathans to counter.

Of course, a few thousand soldiers enhancing their power could not butcher over a million Leviathans alone, but they did not need to achieve such a feat single-handedly. What they did was break through the enemy’s defensive lines and formations. Their sudden surge of strength shattered the Leviathan ranks, allowing the rest of the human forces to wash over the swarm like a tide of death and destruction. The carefully formed units of the hive mind crumbled beneath the renewed ferocity of the humans.

High in the sky, the Draco Leviathan Lord narrowed its eyes at the sight of its forces being massacred below. For a moment, the creature’s focus drifted downward, a fatal lapse in concentration.

"Where are you looking at!" Vlad’s roar filled the air, snapping the Draco Leviathan Lord back to the reality of their duel. Distracting itself had been a mistake. The next second, a ferocious blow landed on the Leviathan Lord’s chest, followed by another, and another, as Vlad capitalized on this weakness.

"BOOM!" "BOOM!" "BOOM!" "BOOM!" "BOOM!" "BOOM!"

Explosion after explosion echoed across the battlefield as Vlad kept punching and driving forward, unleashing a relentless barrage of strikes. His muscles felt as if they would snap at any moment, tendons threatening to tear from the sheer force of his blows. But the Depravita of Wrath refused to slow down. He gave it everything he had, summoning deep reserves of will and hatred.