Chapter 566 - Sand Dragon

An old man alongside a few young men was facing a creature that looked like a mix of a caterpillar and a Dragon. This old man was Mo Fan a loyal servant of the Mo family. The Mo Family was one of the high-ranking clans in Swallow City. The Patriarch of the Clan was a legendary figure that was considered to be the strongest person in the city. There was also their young master who was a genius that could very well reach the legendary Saint Realm. 

At this moment Mo Fan was tasked with finding a certain ore in the desert fields. This ore was something that could potentially create the perfect weapon for their young master. They had been searching for days and when they found it, they also found some trouble. The thing that they were looking for was actually guarded by a Sand Dragon. 

The Dragon species had always been known for their love of treasure, so the ore must be one of its treasures. Those that face a Dragon usually have one emotion and that was fear as they face one of the strongest races second only to the Gods. Unlike humans, Dragons do not need to train as they're the strongest from the start. They also grow stronger the older they get, and the one they were facing was not a normal young dragon but one that was nearing adulthood. 

When they saw the dragon emerging from the ground, some of the men felt despair. With their current strength, they were not a match for the Sand Dragon. What awaited them now was most certainly their end. 

"GET INTO A DEFENSIVE FORMATION! Mo Ye, bring this back to the Master and tell the others of our final bravery!" 

Mo Fan passed the ore in his hands to the young man called Mo ye. Hearing their leader's command Mo ye could not accept it.

"No! I will not do it, I can't leave you guys! We either come home together or we fall together!" 

Mo Fan was about to respond but then the Sand Dragon roared and looked about ready to attack them. Seeing this scene some of the men went out to distract it, to give Mo Ye time to say his goodbyes. 

"You fool! If we all die here then it would be all for nothing!" Seeing Mo Fan so angry, Mo Ye unconsciously backed away. 

"But-" 

"I beg of you, Mo Ye, leave. At least make our deaths have meaning." 

The others nodded their heads when they heard Mo Fan's words and encouraged Mo Ye to go. 

"You better live your life to the fullest, for all our sakes." 

"Today is not the day we will die, so you can go first will catch up with you later." 

"Yeah, he's right so you should just go, if you stay you'll just get in our way." 

"As the new guy in the group, you shouldn't question your elders." 

Seeing the smiling confident faces of his companions Mo Ye truly didn't want to flee, but he knew that he should honor their last wishes. Mo Ye who was feeling conflicted bowed his head and started running away. Once he was gone the group looked at the Sand Dragon that had just flung two of their companions. 

"We must delay this Dragon long enough that it won't be able to catch up with Mo Ye! This will be our last battle together so show me everything you've got."

In response to Mo Fan's words, the young men roared their battle cries. Even the Sand Dragon looked like it was taken aback by the sudden passion of its formerly frightened prey. The group then charged at the Sand Dragon without fear for their lives. 

...

Ren who was watching the battle from a distance was impressed by the valor these men displayed. In face of a Dragon especially one nearing adulthood most would flee from terror. 

'Now these people are true warriors... Still, I wonder what kind of energy they're using, surely you know the answer to that, right Mr. Oringal?' 

'That's the source of all other spiritual energy, it is the base of the energy in which all the universes are created. It is the very energy that the ORIGIN himself is made out of, and thus its name is origin.'

'Huh? The f*ck kind of half-ass name is that, who the heck gave it that name?' 

'I don't really know, people back then just started calling it as such.'

'So how do I gather and use this origin energy?' 

'No need to worry about that, it's the same as mana, you automatically gather it. As for how to use it, it's basically the same as any spiritual energy. Surely with the talent of a reincarnation of mine, this should be easy.' 

...

While the two were having their conversation the battle between the men of the Mo clan and Sand Dragon was getting more intense. Numerous sword beams assaulted the Sand Dragon but it did not even scratch the Sand Dragon's scales. Not only did the attack do no damage it just made the Sand Dragon angrier. 

Despite them knowing that no matter what they did they could never win, the men fought with no fear. They had already accepted their deaths and had passed their hopes onto Mo Ye. As long as Mo Ye survives they would've won.

After a few more exchanges one of them was going to get eaten.  The man watched the open jaws of the Sand Dragon as he was about to get devoured. Yet before he was about to get eaten he the Sand Dragon and everyone else felt an overwhelming pressure assail them. 

...

The Sand Dragon who was about to eat one of its prey stopped as it felt something a Dragon like itself should never feel, it actually felt fear. The Sand Dragon's instincts were telling it to flee with all its might before it was too late, yet its pride as a Dragon had helped it stand its ground as it roared angrily at itself and whoever was making it feel this way. 

"Oh as expected of a Dragon nearing adulthood, you actually overcame your instinctual fear." 

The Sand Dragon lifted its head and saw a man floating above it. The moment it saw the man with a vicious smile on his face, the Sand Dragon felt an oppressive force coming from the man. The Sand Dragon used its dragon's breath to attack the threat before him. 

A beam made out of the purest of earth elementals came out of the Sand Dragon's mouth and headed towards Ren. Seeing the incoming attack, Ren didn't even need to move as his mana barrier was enough to block the attack. Even though he was tired, hungry, and thirsty, it wasn't a problem to deal with a Dragon of this level. 

Despite it being a Dragon nearing adulthood it was still in the end a young dragon that hasn't even gained the Dragon race's strongest racial ability its Divine Might. The Divine Might was an ability that a Dragon gains once it reaches adulthood. This ability was one of the reasons the Dragon race was comparable to the Gods. The Divine Might was an aura that has different effects depending on what kind of Dragon that uses it and how old the Dragon was. 

If this Sand Dragon had its Divine Might, Ren who was weakened would have had a lot of trouble fighting the Sand Dragon, but without it, the young Dragon was nothing more than a sturdier ant to Ren.