Farewell, Ozymandias

Unlike the Green Wyvern Li Ye had encountered before, this giant dragon was several times larger in sheer size alone, and the sense of power it radiated seemed capable of tearing the earth apart.

Powerful, vigorous muscles, impenetrable scales, and even magical energy fluctuations that surpassed Li Ye's!

Their gazes met briefly. Li Ye's momentum did not falter as he drove a fist straight into the dragon's abdomen!

The violent recoil forced Li Ye to retreat decisively.

So strong!

The instant he saw the dragon, Li Ye realized there was a high chance he would be unable to inflict any significant injuries on it, but he had never expected the gap to be this enormous!

That punch had been like an ant trying to shake a tree, completely incapable of damaging the dragon!

Li Ye's own arm had even gone numb from the recoil of that punch!

"Roar!!!"

The deafening roar sent waves of air surging outward. The dragon, which had assumed a combat stance because of Li Ye's punch, slowly lowered its head, faint mockery visible in its enormous vertical pupils.

It was clearly mocking Li Ye, a person with Dragon Blood, for being so weak.

Boom!!

Scorching dragon breath poured down without mercy, swallowing Li Ye and the dragon itself like a tide!

This space, wide enough to accommodate the dragon's movements, now seemed incomparably cramped. The nearly all-encompassing dragon breath even kept spreading through the tunnel Li Ye had entered from!!

A clear cry rang out—

The flames vanished, leaving only the lingering heat in the air to speak of what had once been there.

Li Ye held his hand like a blade, faint crimson magical energy coiling around his fingertips.

Li Ye's emotionless, gem-like vertical pupils were clearly reflected in the dragon's eyes.

With just one punch, Li Ye had recognized both his own disadvantages and advantages against the dragon. The defense formed by those scales and muscles was not something he could break with his bare hands, and the continuous bursts of power had already reached one of his current limits.

So Li Ye gave up on defeating the dragon head-on through strength.

He chose to kill it with a single strike in the shortest possible time!

Roar!!

The dragon did not know what Li Ye had done to make its breath vanish without a trace, but one thing was certain: this insect was provoking it!

Facing the enraged dragon, Li Ye's figure flashed, shooting forward like an arrow released from its bow!

Compared to the dragon, whose movements were slow due to its massive size, Li Ye's Divine Speed was an absolute advantage!

Crimson Lightning flashed. Before the dragon could retaliate, Li Ye had successfully approached its defenseless abdomen!

Squelch!!

His long arm became a spear, effortlessly piercing through the scales where the Lines of Death lay—

The dragon's gaping maw was only a few meters from Li Ye, but the highly condensed magical energy within it dissipated completely at that moment.

As the Lines of Death were torn apart, this dragon raised by the Atlas Institute met its destined death.

Its upright body no longer moved, standing there like a lifelike statue.

But Li Ye's attack was not over—

Boom!!

Beginning from his arm, countless bolts of Crimson Lightning erupted within the dragon's body!

In just a few breaths, that towering dragon body swelled madly like an inflated balloon, until it exploded with a deafening blast!

When Holmes and Nitocris arrived after dealing with the remaining Automatic Defense Devices, what they saw was a crimson hellscape.

The shattered dragon body still stood within the underground world, and the stench of blood in the air made Holmes realize what had happened.

Li Ye shook his numb arm. The Dragon Heart within his body pounded wildly, while threads of crimson magical energy still danced across his skin.

"Mr. Li Ye, this truly is—" Holmes raised a brow. The martial strength Li Ye had displayed through such violent destruction surpassed every battle before this.

Holmes had no choice but to raise Li Ye's assessment by another level. He could not help marveling at the vast power of the Lion King. Just how much Dragon Blood had been used to grant Li Ye such Non-human strength in so short a time?

"I almost couldn't beat it. Good thing I barely won. Miss Nitocris, thank you." Li Ye smiled at Nitocris.

Nitocris's Noble Phantasm had held back all the Automatic Defense Devices, giving Li Ye the chance to unleash his attacks.

"This is the power of a Pharaoh. If you submit to the Sun King, I can make you a priest—"

Nitocris proudly lifted her chest and chin, the pair of long ears atop her head swaying slightly.

"Mr. Holmes! How are we supposed to get out?"

After dealing with the Automatic Defense Devices, Li Ye looked at the maze of interwoven tunnels and felt a headache coming on.

"Naturally, we return the way we came, Mr. Li Ye.

"Once one enters a labyrinth, one cannot rely on visual information. One must advance while constructing a three-dimensional map in one's mind. That is common sense, my friend."

Holmes's casual words left Li Ye deeply shaken.

Li Ye had tried the method Holmes described before, but only when he had first entered the Atlas Institute. As he continued deeper, he had long since become lost.

Holmes had entered alongside him, yet he could completely record that complicated route and retrace it in reverse. This talent made Li Ye marvel again. "As expected of a great detective—"

More than ten minutes later, led by Holmes, Li Ye and Nitocris finally left the underground Atlas Institute.

The storms filling the skies came into view again, yet Li Ye felt as though he had been reunited with an old friend after a long separation.

"Then this is where we part, Mr. Li Ye."

Holmes suddenly said.

"Hm? Mr. Holmes, you're leaving already?" Li Ye was not surprised by Holmes's departure. Whether it was Li Ye's Lion King faction or Nitocris's Sun King faction, neither was as important to Holmes as Chaldea.

"After all, there are others I must pursue. They are called Phantasmal Spirits—no, that is not something to discuss now. But could you do me a favor, Mr. Li Ye?"

Holmes's expression was serious, forcing Li Ye to put away his relaxed smile. "Mr. Holmes, you—"

Although Li Ye was full of suspicious points, he was a rare and valuable fighting force. Holmes believed Li Ye could become a companion of Chaldea—

"Mr. Li Ye, if I have not appeared after half a year, please receive Chaldea when they arrive. They are still trapped by a mystery.

"If necessary, please help answer their doubts."

"No problem!"

Li Ye raised a thumbs-up and accepted the request.

Only then did Holmes relax. "Then I shall take my leave."

Watching Holmes disappear into the sandstorm, Li Ye finally withdrew his gaze and turned to Nitocris. "Miss Nitocris, are we returning to the Holy City now?"

Instead of receiving Nitocris's reply, he sensed magical energy rising.

"Unfold, Mirror of the Underworld!"

Nitocris swung the Staff of Vance, and a black circular mirror emerged from the void, standing upright before Li Ye.

"Hm?"

Li Ye was somewhat baffled by Nitocris suddenly deploying the Mirror of the Underworld, and he asked, "Miss Nitocris, what are you doing?"

"Returning to the temple, naturally."

Nitocris gave Li Ye a puzzled look, as though blaming him for asking such a basic question.

Teleportation?

Li Ye stared at the black circular mirror before him and immediately thought of how Nitocris had appeared when he first encountered her.

When Nitocris passed through the Mirror of the Underworld first, Li Ye followed right after her.

He only felt his entire body wrapped in strange magical energy. He could not see his hand before his face, and the place was as silent as though he stood in the underworld.

Within the magnificent golden temple, the black-haired king lowered his gaze.

"Oh? It seems you and Nitocris found that anomaly."