The Tragic Elf Maiden?

"Are those other adventurers who took the commission? Could she be planning to take down this Poisonous Demon Dragon?"

The Elf Maiden wore a leather battle skirt in black and yellow as its main tones, possessing a beauty that could be called a "stunner" even in this other world where handsome men and beautiful women were everywhere.

Yoru Machi had originally planned to leave—not because he lacked the courage to challenge the Poisonous Demon Dragon, but because he didn't want to be a sucker.

So he'd intended to find the local village, explain the situation, and appropriately raise the reward. In short, if they didn't add money, he definitely wasn't working for free.

Yet he never expected that competitors would now appear.

The Poisonous Demon Dragon's location was much farther than the previous underground labyrinth. Just getting here had taken Yoru Machi a full two days, and then using the map to find this Poisonous Demon Dragon had cost him nearly half a day more.

He'd spent less than half a day clearing the underground labyrinth from his first commission, after all.

Having wasted so much time, Yoru Machi naturally didn't want to return empty-handed. But now, before he could even finish negotiating with the village that issued the commission, the Elf Maiden had already gone up to fight the Poisonous Demon Dragon. If she actually killed it, wouldn't he be going back with nothing?

Thinking of this, Yoru Machi no longer hurried to leave. On one hand, he worried his prey would be snatched away; on the other, he also wanted to see just what level a true strong person in this other world could reach.

Someone at Rex's level, Yoru Machi naturally didn't acknowledge as a true otherworldly strongman. As for this orange-haired Elf Maiden... Yoru Machi couldn't yet make a concrete judgment.

But seeing her boldly challenge the Poisonous Demon Dragon alone, despite its massive size and the powerful aura it emitted, clearly showed she had a certain confidence in her own strength.

"Roar------!"

A furious dragon roar interrupted Yoru Machi's wandering thoughts, and on the field, the Elf Maiden now gripped her longsword and launched her challenge against the Poisonous Demon Dragon.

As an Elf, the maiden naturally could use magic, and her skill was quite impressive. She even seemed to master some abilities that appeared to be secret Elf Race techniques.

Even her swordsmanship, in Yoru Machi's view, was commendable. In short, in terms of combat power, the Elf Maiden before him could probably take on a dozen or two dozen Rexes without any pressure.

As Yoru Machi had initially guessed, the Poisonous Demon Dragon wasn't a pure dragon breed, but merely a subspecies.

Just like Half-beastmen were a type of demi-human, this Poisonous Demon Dragon seemed to be a hybrid offspring of a true dragon and some other race.

Yet even so, any magical beast that could be associated with dragons or carried hidden dragon blood was not to be underestimated.

The Elf Maiden's strength was quite remarkable. Using her agile traits, she nimbly dodged the Poisonous Demon Dragon's various attacks and left wound after wound on its body with her longsword.

However, since it was called a "Poisonous Demon Dragon," its characteristics naturally weren't limited to just a dragon's powerful physique and sturdy scales.

When thoroughly enraged by the Elf Maiden's provocative actions, the Poisonous Demon Dragon began to unleash its ultimate move.

A massive amount of corrosive purple poison mist spewed from the Poisonous Demon Dragon's mouth, instantly enveloping an area several kilometers in radius.

This had originally been a grassland, but when the Poisonous Demon Dragon sprayed out this corrosive poison mist, the surrounding plants and trees withered and died in an instant.

The once endless prairie was immediately transformed into a barren wasteland!

As the one directly in the line of fire, the Elf Maiden reacted the moment the poison mist was expelled, forming a protective barrier around herself with magic power to defend.

But what she never expected was that the corrosive nature of this poison mist was strong enough to eat through even a magic power barrier!

The Elf Maiden had already consumed a large amount of magic power earlier in her fight against the Poisonous Demon Dragon, including using "Flight" magic. Now trapped in the poison mist, her magic power quickly couldn't keep up.

The Poisonous Demon Dragon's poison mist was highly corrosive. Just looking at how the surrounding plants were instantly corroded and withered, exposing one's body to such an environment would have predictable results.

Moreover, the poison mist lingered everywhere without dispersing. Just to keep herself unaffected by it, the Elf Maiden had to constantly maintain her magic barrier's consumption. With this give-and-take, the longer the battle dragged on, the more disadvantageous it became for her.

In contrast, although the Poisonous Demon Dragon was only a subspecies dragon, its massive size wasn't just for show—the magic power it possessed was also astonishing.

Clearly, this Poisonous Demon Dragon had a certain level of intelligence. It hadn't used its killing move from the start, instead waiting to drain the Elf Maiden's magic power to a certain point, ensuring she now had no strength left to escape its grasp.

As things stood, the Elf Maiden's defeat was almost certain. The poison mist covered several kilometers around; just escaping that distance was already extremely difficult for her, let alone having to constantly guard against the Poisonous Demon Dragon's sneak attacks.

The Elf Maiden's magic power began to run out, and the magic barrier protecting her body grew thinner and thinner due to the consumption, even starting to corrode her clothes, exposing large patches of fair skin.

And what was worse, while the direct corrosive effect of the Poisonous Demon Dragon's poison mist on the body could be defended against with a magic barrier, all living things needed to breathe—humans and elves alike.

Because of the intense battle, the Elf Maiden had already inhaled a large amount of toxic gas from the surroundings, and now her mind was starting to blur and grow hazy.

"Challenging the Poisonous Demon Dragon alone—was that always too impulsive? It seems I've reached my limit here."

Trapped in the strongly corrosive poison mist, with her magic power nearly exhausted and her consciousness beginning to fade, Sui Cui Lu Qi La Ze Jia Lu Nie Er Lu Lei Ya A Ge Lan Ze Er Jia couldn't think of any way to turn things around, and so began to await death with reluctance.

"Honestly, if you're not strong enough, don't come out and snatch my prey, alright? This guy is my catch.

I wonder if I drag this big thing's corpse to those villages after killing it, whether they'll still be willing to add money."

The Poisonous Demon Dragon, though possessing intelligence far beyond ordinary magical beasts, lacked the ability to speak. So the voice that now appeared in her ears could only belong to a third party besides herself and the dragon.

And when Sui Cui Lu Qi La Ze Jia Lu Nie Er Lu Lei Ya A Ge Lan Ze Er Jia opened her eyes, she found a white-haired man standing right in front of her.