The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

Chapter 950: Sea Dragon, Malma

The last beast Klaus deemed strong enough to cause a problem for his team, should the heavens intervene, was located in the Indian Ocean.

From what he learned from the ever-friendly seahorse he had named Brother Handsome, this sea dragon was the ruler of the entire ocean, and as such, every beast respected and feared it.

Of course, Brother Handsome hadn’t said what this sea dragon looked like, for he was too terrified to face such an existence.

However, from what Klaus gathered from the other sea beasts, the sea dragon was much more dangerous, and so he was eager to meet it

To get there faster, Klaus used his wings.

When he arrived, he was shocked to find that almost all the beasts were nowhere to be found in the water. It was as if they had abandoned that part of the ocean.

“Strange. Am I in the wrong place?” Klaus checked his warrior tracking watch and confirmed this was the location he had been given by not just one beast, but dozens of them.

“Maybe the sea dragon left before I got here. But if that’s the case, then how do I explain the missing sea beasts?” This question caused Klaus to pause and think.

However, he didn’t have long to ponder when suddenly, the ocean surged, and the water split in half, creating a path for him.

There was no command or even a voice, but Klaus knew what had to be done the moment the path opened.

He immediately knew who had opened the path, so wanting to get this over with, he followed it.

He moved toward the path and soon stepped onto dry land. Then the water closed behind him; yet inside, Klaus felt no water on his skin.

It was strange that he was inside water, but he wasn’t getting wet.

The place was built from sea crystals, and judging by the energy radiating from them, Klaus knew these crystals were anything but ordinary.

“It’s like a whole new world here.”

Klaus was clearly taken aback by the breathtaking beauty of the place. He walked along the path and soon found himself in a space that resembled a beautiful, remote island.

That was when a voice spoke, forcing Klaus to turn toward it.

“Welcome to my domain, Klaus Hanson. I have been waiting for you.”

Klaus turned toward the sound, and that was when his eyes landed on her.

She was a breathtaking beauty.

For a moment, Klaus was lost in her eyes, but he recovered quickly, demonstrating the strength of his will. Klaus wasn’t easily controlled, so he saw past the illusion of lust and gazed at the true beauty who stood before him.

She had pale skin, silver eyes, refined cheekbones, an hourglass body, and, best of all, a pair of dragon horns on her forehead.

There were silver scales on her arms and beneath her eyes, but they only made her even more beautiful.

‘So the Sea Dragon, the overlord of the ocean, is a lady — and quite beautiful, in fact,’ Klaus thought inwardly. Then he focused on the most important detail, the one Magnus had warned him about.

‘She’s at the Ascension stage.’

This discovery made Klaus study the lady even more closely. There, he saw the energy flowing from her body, and his heartbeat slowed.

‘Now I understand where Magnus’s emotions came from. Even at just level one of the Ascension stage, she’s already this powerful.’

“Nice to meet you, Klaus Hanson. I am Malma, the ruler of the Indian Ocean,” the dragon lady said, and Klaus raised a brow.

“Just the Indian Ocean? I expect you to rule the entire sea,” he said.

“Why don’t we sit and talk over some tea? I can tell you’re a little tired from all the hunting.” A smile appeared on her lips as she led Klaus to one side of her domain.

Klaus was on high alert, already creating thousands of ways to deal with the sea dragon if she proved dangerous or if this was a trap.

She poured him a cup of tea, which he accepted and sipped.

He wasn’t afraid of poison, for after his breakthrough, his Poison Overlord aspect had evolved, granting him perfect poison resistance and comprehension.

Malma watched him with a smile as he drank. “You’re not worried I might kill you with poison?”

Klaus chuckled. “You’re a dragon. If you resort to poison just to take my life, then you’re not a true dragon.”

“What if it was for survival?” she asked.

“That would depend on whether you, an Ascension stage existence, is afraid of me, a mere Tier-10,” Klaus replied with a calm smile, taking another sip.

Malma studied his expression and smirk. “But you’re not a normal Tier-10 warrior, are you? I saw your hunts. You weren’t even bothered when facing Tier-12 beasts.

To someone like me, that’s a dangerous prospect. So what if I resort to poison to deal with you while your guard is down?”

“True dragons die with arrogance plain in their eyes and oozing from their very being. No matter what, they wouldn’t resort to mere poison.

But say you did. Then I’m afraid poison doesn’t work on me. And even if it did, the chances of you killing me with it are very low.

Now, as to whether my guard is down or not, know this: out of 10,000 moves you could make if you fought me, I’ve already created 12 counters for each.

That means I’ve already devised 120,000 ways to kill you.”

Klaus chuckled softly. “But I’m not in the mood for killing. In fact, I didn’t come here to fight at all. So why don’t we have a pleasant conversation, enjoy your naturally brewed tea, and perhaps arrive at a fruitful conclusion to this meeting?”

“I suppose when you put it that way, we can indeed have a nice conversation.”

There was no arrogance in her voice; it was resolve — a calmness that reflected how satisfied she had become.

From one perspective, it seemed as though she had been carrying something heavy in her heart, but now, looking at her, it was clear that the weight had been lifted, freeing her from all her worries.

‘Looks like he is indeed, as the rumours say — the humans are not weak, and that is true because of him,’ Malma heard a voice in her head.

‘Indeed. Just now, I tried to probe him with my superior energy, but he is like a fortress; there are no openings to exploit,’ another voice replied.

‘We should listen to what he has to say, and afterwards, we can decide what must be done.’

Malma was about to speak when she noticed Klaus smiling.

“Seniors,” Klaus said, his tone calm yet carrying a faint edge, “I don’t suppose hiding from me is the cleverest thing to do. So why don’t we all sit down around this beautiful crystal table, have some tea, and then have a nice conversation?”

He raised his hand and snapped his fingers, shattering the void in four different places.

From within, four Ascension-stage beasts in their human forms stepped out, each wearing a shocked expression on their faces.