409 Chapter 409: The Chronicles of Lute Dragoon III (1/2)

I didn't even bother with a smart, witty remark. I just had Vermillion Phoenix unleash his fury upon Lute Dragoon and his scorched wyvern. The harem main character succeeded in cleaving the flames in half, but his wyvern was incinerated, leaving nothing but ash. Gritting his teeth, he sliced the fiery torrent apart and lunged at me.

\”As long as I take out the summoner, his Soul Beasts will go down with him!\”

The wings materialized on his shoes once more and he flew into the air. I didn't eeven bother to defend myself – before Lute could reach within ten meters of me, he was discouraged by a ferocious jet of flame that had him hopping backward.

\”Damn it!\”

Cursing, Lute slammed the blunt end of his spear against the ground and reassessed his options. Realizing that his flight spell wouldn't work much, not when my Vermillion Phoenix could also fly, he retreated from the next embroiling storm of inferno.

\”I was saving him as a trump card for the next match…but I can't believe I'm forced to use him against my first opponent!\”

Backing off, Lute grumbled inaudibly to himself. I narrowed my eyes when I heard him, and quickly mentally commanded Vermillion Phoenix to retreat.

Just as well, because the entire space btween Vermillion Phoenix and Lute exploded into a colossal conflagration of destructive mana. If I hadn't held my Celestial Guardian back, he would have flown right into that maelstrom and gotten severely hurt.

\”Light Dragon!\”

A golden dragon materialized in the colossal conflagration, sucking up all the mana into its gleaming body. It turned to rest its arrogant eyes upon me, its nostrils flaring in disdain.

\”Whoa…amazing.\”

\”Hmph. It's only natural. I'm the main character of a harem story, it's a given that I can summon dragons. That even the most powerful dragons are at my beck and call.\”

Lute was sneering proudly at me. I wasn't sure how to respond to that. One moment he was trying to act like the perfect Mary Sue protagonist, and the next moment flashes of his creator came shining through the holes he inadvertently left in his obvious self-insert avatar. Best not to think too deeply about this.

The dragon and the phoenix clashed in midair, holy light and superheated flames clashing violently to send shockwaves throughout the arena. Only the barrier and boundary field protected the stunned spectators from the scale of destruction taking place within its parameters. Below the two dueling behemoths, Lute and I had a battle of our own, the former thrusting his spear at me and forcing several desperate blows and parries.

Like I said, swordsmanship was not my specialty. Yeah, Dad trained me in the sword, but I had some way to go before I could measure up to a proper swordsman. I knew enough to take out monsters, but against a skilled swordsman, my skills were lacking. A lot.

And I was up against a Mary Sue harem main character who had mastered almost every weapon in existence, and enslaved a dragon. I really had my work cut out for me.

\”Huff…\”

Parrying another spear strike, I skidded a few steps back and almost lost my balance. I brought Bai Ri up to deflect Lute's spear, and then ducked under his reverse sweep. Slashing at his midriff with Hei Yue, I hoped to eviscerate him, but he deftly moved out of range.

The wings on his shoes fluttered and he took off into the air, making use of his heightened mobility to outmaneuver me. His spear lanced toward what he thought were my blind spots and openings, and I had to depend entirely on instinct and reflexes to guard against them.

\”Ugh…!\”

Another powerful blow sent me staggering backward, but I righted myself and crossed my swords to withstand a downward swing from Lute's heavy spear. My knees buckled and the ground underneath my feet cracked, but somehow I endured with nothing more than quivering arms.

Kicking off the ground, Lute feinted to the right, then swung his spear from the left. I just barely blocked his strike with Hei Yue, but the sheer weight and bulk of the weapon knocked me off my feet. Stumbling, I swept about with a clumsy riposte from Bai Ri, but Lute effortlessly deflected it before slamming the shaft of his spear against the side of my head.

Thankfully I had pulled my head out of the way just in time and the blow left nothing more than a graze. Blood trickled down my face, but I ignored it and slashed with Hei Yue. Chortling, Lute jumped up high into the air, the wings on his shoes flapping to ferry him away.

Then Pegasus slammed into him above, catching him off guard. As he tumbled helplessly in midair, Pegasus stopped and kicked him in the gut, sending him flying across the ring. He crashed into the edge, the spear clattering from his grasp.

\”What the…!?\”

I ddin't waste the chance and bounded forward to finish him off.

\”What unfair and despicable tactics!\” Lute howled as he scrambled to snatch up his spear to defend against my attack. My swords clanged harmlessly against the shaft of his spear and he shoved me back. \”Launching a sneak attack like that, and ganging up on me two against one!\”

I frowned. \”I don't want to hear that from you, who summoned your wyvern first and started the whole two versus one in the first place. And I know you've done that against other opponents, so you're in no position to complain about that.\”

\”So what? It's all right if I use such tactics, but other people should not be allowed to employ them against me!\”

\”Why? What sort of logic is that!?\” I demanded, resisting the urge to hold my head in despair. \”That's the most hypocritical thing I've ever heard!\”

\”Because I'm the main character and the entire universe revolves around me! Now, just go down already!\”

Lute's spear almost sent me crashing onto the ground. Above, his dragon blasted my Vermillion Phoenix out of the sky with a well-aimed holy beam. Pegasus kicked off the ground to assist my plummeting Celestial Guardian, but Lute's dragon disintegrated the poor winged horse with a single spell. The monster didn't even bother to spare my Constellation spirit a glance as he did so.

This was not looking good at all.

Lute's dragon then spun toward my Vermillion Phoenix, who had finally managed to swerve upward and flapped his wings to prevent himself from hitting the ground. He raised his head and unleashed a torrent of flames at the dragon, who effortlessly dodged. Before my Celestial Guardian could recover his balance and soar up high again, the golden dragon unleashed another colossal holy beam in his direction.

Still off balance, Vermillion Phoenix wouldn't be able to dodge.

At the same time, Lute thrust his spear forward, intent on spearing my heart. I stumbled backward, parrying his strike, but the momentum behind his attack sent me hurtling backward. Exhilarated, Lute pressed on and delivered what he thought would be the finishing blow.

Before either attack hit me and or my Vermillion Phoenix, several walls of ice appeared. The golden beam struck the glacial wall and dissipated harmlessly, while the frost screen in front of me melted into water and fuidly swirled around the stunned Lute. Black Tortoise had finally materialized. Seizing the opportunity while he was still floundering about in shock and disbelief, I swung both of my swords and disarmed him. His spear flew out of his hand and clattered several meters away.

Cursing, Lute wisely retreated to escape the trajectory of my swords. Instead of going for his spear, he reached for empty space and pulled a sword out of nowhere.

\”Huh? Where did you….?\”

\”Hah!\” Lute snorted arrogantly. \”I'm the main characer, remember? Of course I'll have a spatial storage device! A rare, unique device exclusive only to me! Now be jealous! Start screaming about how unfair it is that you don't have it, and demand that I give it to you, or you'll threaten to beat me up! That will justify me crushing and stomping you onto the ground!\”