Dragons, the legendary creatures. Everyone knows what they are, but that’s where thing stop often.

  Their language, Draconian, is only spoken by them. Some bother to learn Kaledonian, but those are few and far between.

  Some dragons live under men in their humanoid forms, recognizable by horns and scales growing on their body, but even these are rare.

  3 types of dragons had been identified; no-winged dragons, two-winged dragons and four-winged dragons.

  The no-winged dragons had long serpentine bodies, large manes and claws and legs that were relatively small compared to their bodies.

  The two winged dragon were the common dragons as it was the type that was the most popular as it was the most numerous. It could be argued that they were just enormous lizards with wings, but a dragon would certainly kill anyone who said that.

  The four-winged dragons were more of a mystery, but rumor has it that they were the reason that dragonflies had been named like they do.

  Each having a distinct look and each having different traits.

  The most common and recognizable dragon was the two-winged dragon.

  Every mythical and legendary being was rumored to have a role in the world, but those had been mostly forgotten, except for the mythical and legendary themselves.

  They weer forces of nature and often compared to natural disasters. Be it physical or magical abilities. Abilities brought forth from within their bodies or unique abilities that fall outside these categories.

  Challenging a mythical or legendary being was akin to challenging an erupting volcano, a flood, an earthquake or a hurricane. All that would await would be destruction and ruin.

  One such being was currently staring down at Loran.

  One thing needed to be added to this, however. Spirits were equal in this status, which made it unclear what would win.

  Dragons had been felled before, by humans, nonetheless. It wasn’t impossible, it was just unlikely

  Trees crackled and something massive approached the Moorland Menace.

  There was green everywhere, and more green with scales was approaching.

  The Moorland Menace’s body jerked as it couldn’t move, as if something was pulling it back to its original position.

  Vines wrapped around its legs, immobilizing it.

  A wall of green came awfully close and slammed into Loran.

  The dragon tail attack didn’t send him flying, however, as the vines pulled him back and kept him in place for another attack; a [Nature Dragonbreath].

  Masses of green energy blasted the cursed armor, completely obscuring Loran’s sight as all he saw was green.

  Minor ‘clangs’ and ‘tinks’ suggested that it did something, but the damage appeared to be miniscule.

  The Moorland Menace clawed at the vines binding its feet as the stream of green ceased.

  The legs were freed, and the Moorland menace started moving and caught the face of the dragon in the space between it’s cupped hands.

  Black and blue fire exploded on the dragon’s face, but it was instantly clear that it had hardly done anything as its head moved around and got rid of the spectral fire. It did appear to wonder what had hit it.

  Not many were known about jungle dragons, but it’s weakness to fire was well known. The Moorland Menace had the problem that it’s fire wasn’t real fire.

  The dragon scales showed minor scorch marks, but that was it.

  Two armored beings, unable to damage each other.

  Running was greatly hindered as trees and foliage sprouted out of the ground, blocking Loran’s path, causing the Moorland Menace to adjust its route constantly.

  It raised its arm several times, but the [Spectral Fire Pillars] did minimal damage.

  Tail slams, [Dragon Claws] and dragon breaths also did minimal damage to the Moorland Menace who was forced to keep in motion else the vines would bind its feet.

  The battle had just begun, but they were already at a stalemate.

  Jungle flora moved in the dragon’s best interest, disallowing the Moorland Menace to get close to the jungle dragon.

  It was obvious, but the Moorland Menace had the environmental disadvantage.

  Loran bored as the pointless exchange of range attacks continued. The dragon got some minor scorch marks and the Moorland Menace got some minor dents and scratches.

  What was the plan? To fling attacks at each other for infinity?

  Loran hooped that at least the dragon would push for a change, but it kept up the pointless stalemate and had him doubt the intelligence.

  Dragons could take on humanoid shape, converse and contribute to society. There was no need to thinking dragons were stupid, but here they were, 2 hours into their fight and still sing the same attacks and tactics that didn’t work.

  Countless trees had been taken down, and several parts had been burnt but not severely enough to pose a threat to the jungle.

  A large pat of trampled and flattened jungle had appeared, indicating that the browsers were moving about, but to where? As long as there was jungle, the moorland menace would have a massive disadvantage, meanwhile the dragon couldn't seal the deal even with its advantage.

  The area got less and less green, and Loran suddenly found himself at the border between the moorlands and the jungle.

  The dragon stayed in the jungle part, while the Moorland Menace stepped on familiar ground.

  The stalemate turned into a staredown.

  And then….

  A green streak shot to the sky and the dragon flew in strange patterns as its mana spiked.

  Black armored hands clapped together, pulled a stream of spectral fire out of it’s palm and threw it into the air. The streak of spectral fire expanded and formed into an enormous sword.

  The jungle got animated and rushed at the Moorland Menace. The sky lit up and a [Spectral Skysword] descended, targeting the jungle dragon.

  The Moorland Menace couldn’t evade the jungle rushing at it, nor could the dragon evade the [Spectral Skysword]. The rushing jungle was too wide, and the dragon appeared to not notice the giant spectral fire sword descending, targeting its head.

  The jungle collided, and the armor got pushed back. Loran tumbled and couldn’t see anything besides vines, plant stems, leaves mixed with some dirt and the occasional flower. Clattering and clanging, but the armor took minimal damage. Plant material and rocks rushed by, leaving a sound effect behind at every collision.

  The ground tremored as if something large and heavy had crashed down. It also got marked by a loud roar.

  Armored arms clawed everywhere, trying to get out. It was unclear what was up or down, but the Moorland Menace kept clawing. The seemingly endless tumbling had been extremely disorienting, but the cursed armor clawed with conviction, as if it knew where to claw toward.

  More dragon roars went off in the distance, but it was unclear what happened to the green scaled opponent.

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  Armored hands got together again, pulled a spectral sword out of it’s palm and threw it through the thicket covering Loran. The thicket smoldered as the streak of spectral fire had passed through it.

  An explosion went off, and spectral fire spread everywhere and consuming all the plant material that had covered the Moorland Menace, suggesting that it had not been thrown into the air.

  The spectral inferno raged, and the Moorland Menace climbed out of the burning plant matter.

  Loran looked around to witness slabs of bark appearing from the jungle and covering the jungle dragon, giving it a [Bark Armor] to ward against fire. The [Bark Armor covered its whole body, besides its eyes, nostrils, mouth and claws. The bark armor had large and small ranches with leaves, giving it more the appearance of a moving tree.

  The Moorland Menace’s arms stretched forward, and the inferno rushed at the armored jungle dragon.

  A dragon roar marked the dragon’s next attack as it flew up and made a strange dark green pattern in the sky, ordering the jungle to rush into the spectral inferno.

  Another spectral sword got pulled out of an armored palm and thrown into the air.

  ‘Thud, thud, thud.’

  The Moorland Menace started running, despite its target benign airborne.

  The dragon however dissipated the attack with a roar and exerting mana pressure, suppressing anything in the immediate area.

  The Moorland Menace dropped to one knee and the spectral inferno started to flicker and to die out due to the suppressive mana pressure.

  Dirt got kicked up as the dragon landed meters away from the Moorland Menace while keeping up the mana pressure.

  The armor rattled as the Moorland Menace tried to resist the mana pressure this legendary beast was giving off.

  Fear gripped Loran, but there was nothing he could do as he had no autonomy. Not that it mattered, as even the Moorland Menace was immobilized.

  Mana pressure was something anyone could do to suppress or to intimidate but this only got practical when in possession of vast reserves of mana, which caused almost every race to get excluded. Strong individuals, witches and the mythical, the legendary and gods could do this. That was all.

  The armored arms raised slowly, cupping its hands, targeting the dragon.

  The sound of metal hands clapping set off the [Spectral Explosion] which did minimal damage as it got suppressed near instantly.

  The dragon snorted, spoke some Draconian words and moved.

  ‘Thud, thud.’

  Not the metallic kind, the large creature kind.

  The mana pressure increased as the dragon approached, and the rattling of the armor increased as the cursed armor got forced into the ground by the mana pressure.

  Draconian words got spoken again, but Loran couldn’t understand it.

  A shadow appeared above the Moorland Menace and a dragon foot slammed into it.

  Loran felt the impact but that was all. Earth made way for the armor as the heavy dragon pressed its foot into him.

  The pressure decreased, no more earth got moved to the side as the foot got removed. The mana pressure disappeared, and the surrounding earth was the only thing suppressing the cursed armor.

  ‘Thud, thud, thud.’

  The footsteps of the large legendary creature got further and further.

  Loran got forced to pull himself out of the crater, get up, pull 5 swords out of his palm and throw them into the air.

  ‘Thud, thud, thud.’

  The familiar metallic footsteps.

  Faster, faster, before the dragon notices.

  The back of the dragon got closer and closer and Moorland Menace jumped up, grabbed on the dragon tail covered in [Bark Armor] and climbed up to the back by digging its claws into the bark and clawing its way up.

  The [Spectral Skyswords] descended, and the Moorland Menace started clawing furiously into the [Bark Armor] on the back of the dragon, removing piece by piece at every clawing motion.

  Spectral flames covered the claws as the bark got chipped away.

  Green scales appeared, and the Moorland Menace rolled aside as the [Spectral Skysword] landed and hit the hole in the [Bark Armor]. Spectral fire burst out and engulfed the back of the jungle dragon.

  The dragon roared at the impact and claws dug in the [Bark Armor] to ensure the cursed armor wouldn’t fly off.

  The mana pressure returned, but shortly after, the second [Spectral Skysword] dropped on it. The Moorland Menace crawled over the back, holding on as the dragon thrashed and lit up the area with [Nature Dragonbreath] and dragon fire.

  The neck came in sight and the Moorland Menace started clawing at the [Bark Armor].

  ‘This isn’t going to work.’ Loran thought. Going for the jugular only works on creatures with soft necks.

  He got proven right minutes later as the Moorland Menace tried to thrust its arm into the dragon’s jugular but failed due to the tough dragon scales.

  The mana pressure dropped gradually, which prompted more [Spectral Skyswords]. The armor produced more spectral swords that got thrown into the air.

  Spectral fire rained on the dragon, who couldn’t locate the threat, despite it’s rampage and keen dragon eyes.

  Dragon wings spread, and the jungle dragon flew up.

  The dragon might not have had the most intelligent strategy, but it was aware the Moorland menace was somewhere on it’s body.

  Claw, and blast spectral fire. Claw and blast spectral fire, was what the moorland Menace did as it clawed its way to the head of the dragon despite the rapid ascent.

  Everything had become small and was getting smaller as the dragon flew higher and higher until movement stopped momentarily, and the dragon inverted, setting itself up for a [Jungle Dragon Dive].

  Spectral flames engulfed the jungle dragon as the moorland Menace hadn’t missed a beat and continuously blasted the [Bark Armor] with spectral fire.

  50 centimeters, 20 centimeters.

  A claw dug into the dragon, but it wasn’t [Bark Armor].

  The dragon head shook as a roar went out, and red liquid escaped the wound.

  Gouge and blast spectral fire, gouge and blast spectral fire.

  The Moorland Menace continued gouging out the dragon’s right eye while the ground approached at a blinding speed.

  Loran’s world shook as the [Jungle Dragon Dive] completed, and both parties crashed into the ground. Spectral fire and green energy flew everywhere. His body tumbled and kept tumbling. The tumbling slowed down and Loran got to a halt eventually.

  The cursed armor tried to move, but something heavy stomped and pressed it down into the earth, which again made way, so the cursed armor could get pressed down even more.

  ‘Stomp, stomp, stomp’

  A brief pause and concentrated green energy got blasted at the cursed armor that had been half buried in a crater.

  Some Draconian words were spoken before the sound of wings flapping got further and further until the sound disappeared.

  Some damage had been occurred, but it was relatively minor. Magical attacks and physical impacts had a minimum effect or were straight up ineffective.

  The armor strained as it pulled its limbs out and slowly got up.

  The carnage that the battle had unleashed on the moorlands and jungle became evident. Green swirling energy and spectral fire had marked the land, possibly leaving permanent scars.

  More unevenness had been introduced to the moorlands, and the Moorland Menace got to work. No running, just walking.

  Visiting spirit hotspots, creating balls of spectral flames and rolling them to the disaster zone.

  It could retrieve the black and blue spectral flames, but not the masses of nature energy nor the dragon fire.

  Did the Moorland Menace win? Did it lose? Did this matter? One could call it a loss, while another could call escaping an encounter with a dragon alive as a win.

  Everyone has their own win conditions, or some don’t care. The Moorland Menace was one of those who didn’t care.

  A roar originating from the jungle drew Loran’s attention, but nothing happened afterward.

  The spirits started to repair the moorlands, the jungle got left untouched, however.

  It wasn't much, but Loran had survived an encounter with a dragon. Not something he would have expected to pull off, even if he didn't do anything.

  The bragging he could do. Wild Claw would be so envious, and Reia… what would she say?

  It had been over 2 years since he had disappeared. Would they still remember him? What if he managed to get out and return. Would they welcome him? They would, right?

  It hadn’t been long since Eileen’s notebook had been retrieved. Loran had to be patient. He couldn’t give up on life just yet. Eileen had worked hard and given her life so he could one day be free.

  It was the only thing he could cling to; he had nothing else.

  The steam drew near, and the Moorland menace sat down to share spectral fire.

  Nothing water related needed to be repaired so the water spirits could do whatever they wanted.

  The cleaning of the armor started but nothing could be done by the few dents left on the armor.

  Loran’s mind wandered to the jungle.

  Never had he witnessed widespread destruction when he still had his body. Never had he visited a place to return and find it repaired like how he moorlands is benign repaired.

  Also, nothing repaired the jungle. What was the deal with that? Did the spirits only repair the moorlands? Who was responsible for the jungle?

  The ‘will of the jungle’ came to mind, but those were just spirits, as he had determined. Jungle dragons? Surely not. That dragon left the destruction be.

  Loran couldn't come up with many options. The others were that everyone, including the beast kin, were responsible or… the elves.

  The spirits fled as strange sound filled the waterside.

  Loran caught a green glimpse before the Moorland Menace got sent flying.

  He was sure of it now. What he was hearing was music. Was it a flute?

  The tune changed and something green shot at him at high speed, sending him flying again.

  ‘Where did that come from? Who did that?’

  Loran got no answers, just more music and green flashes that sent him flying.

  The Moorland Menace had been unable to act as these attacks came from random directions.

  “You must be the one who destroyed the northern part of the jungle. I will have you answer for your crime.’

  A young male voice said that appeared to come from everywhere and nowhere.

  Loran noticed deep cuts in the cursed armor and instantly knew what was going on.

  The race most likely to be responsible for this would be the one Loran would put bets on for being responsible for repairing the jungle.

  He wasn't sure, but an elf might have followed him and marked him for annihilation. His crime? Destroying the jungle, probably.