The weak can think as much as they want and have opinions about everything but it wouldn't matter. That is not so for the strong. The opinion of the strong matters a lot.
If he were prideful and foolish, he wouldn't take the advantage that has been offered by attacking first. Unfortunately or fortunately for him, he is anything but full of pride right now. That blow to his pride made sure that he is lacking in pride right now.
So he made the first move. He grabbed hold of the gravitational field of the dragon to control it. He pulled on it and found it to be immovable. It stood unaffected and resilient to his manipulations like that of a fortress. His own gravitational output and influence over gravity are not strong enough to overpower that of a dragon that has been empowered by the power of the world.
He wasn't disappointed by his failure since he expected it. The dragon could stay afloat because it is negating the effect of gravity on it which means it is somewhat adept at the use of world power to manipulate its own gravitational field. Otherwise, something of that size that can only be measured in kilometers and megatonnes should not be airborne. It was just an attempt on his side to probe the dragon and get a feel for its power. His attempt didn't sit well with the dragon though. He has already made his move and it was a disrespectful move too.
He had the chance to make a move. He could have attacked the dragon. He could have even thrown a stone at it but he tried to ground the dragon. He tried to remove the dragon's ability to fly. That's just insulting. It is like Soverick was not raised well enough. If he were raised well, then his parents ought to have taught him that you don't try to ground a dragon.
The dragon became upset and it roared at him. The sound of the monstrous roar was also amplified by world power. It sounded like an explosion had occurred from its mouth. The vibrations that passed through the air as sound also contain a lot of energy that made air expand explosively. It led to the creation of a sonar shockwave from the mouth of the dragon that spread outwards.
Soverick stood in the air as the shockwave approached him. The blade of his spear glowed for a split second and he waved it at the incoming shockwave. It was more of a flicker. His movements were so fast that it seemed like he didn't move at all. But light flashed on his spear when he flickered.
Light was reflected sharply by the side of the blade of his spear and the shockwave split apart before reaching him. Apparently, something unseen had split them. The two portions of the shockwave continued on behind him. They smashed into the ground and decimated it. It was like a giant plow had gotten to work on the forest. Trees were uprooted and the soil turned to bury the uprooted trees.
The dragon snorted when it noticed that its roar didn't work on Soverick. Soverick shrugged and rolled his shoulders.
He beckoned to the dragon, "Give me your best shot."
He isn't like the weaklings that are cowering below in the forest when the aura of the dragon's might hit them. That roar is more psychological than it is physical. It is a roar of supremacy. The roar carries with it the pressure of the dragon's presence and slams that pressure forcefully into the mind of whoever hears it. It demands submission voluntarily or involuntarily. Those that hear it cower and submit, but it is not enough to make him submit.
The dragon felt insulted again. It sought to teach him a lesson. Soverick rolled his eyes when he saw his opponent light up. The horns and spikes of the dragon began glowing like some luminescent crystal and the red scales at the chest of the dragon turned orange from the light shining from within. A particular scale in the chest glowed brightly more than its surroundings. These are all indications that the dragon is activating its innate ability. It seems that his opponent took his words to heart. It really is ready to give him its best shot.
He gripped his spear tighter and readied his stance. One of his eyes glowed. That single eye is moving about rapidly taking in data while his mind swiftly analyzed it for information. He saw patterns in the world. They are the paths of least resistance. Moving in synch with them while riding on the flow of momentum within those paths will make his movements extremely fast.
The black spear in his hand began to glow too in response to the incoming attack. This time the entirety of the spear lit up not just the blade. It rang out with a cry as he overloaded it with power. He is ready to go all out. Those still watching ran away and began to dig into the ground. They know what's about to happen and they don't want to be around when it does.
The dragon raised its head showing its fully bright chest. That brightness extended to its neck as it straightened it towards Soverick. Its jaws split apart as it bellowed again using the full power of its lungs to push what is in its neck out. This time, it wasn't sound that came out. A torrent of bright red flames came pouring out from the mouth of the dragon.
He swung his spear around him and released black crescent blades of power from the blade each time the blade points at the dragon. His spear moved in a rhythm as it completed a circle around him. He continued to swing his spear using both of his hands and released more and more crescent blades. His speed of swinging the spear around him increased steadily as he accelerated the process until his spear became a blur around him.