172 Dances with Dragons (Part 2)
"People call you a princess, but in my opinion, you played well. Your strategies and skills were top-notch. You went all out in every attack and were able to adapt to the situation."
Li Aoz squatted down, adjusting his center of gravity. He had really enjoyed the fight today, and even found Dia Lan pleasing to the eye. He casually said:
"Compared to the Golden Princess, she's more like Valkyrie Valkyrie or something."
Time remaining: 29 seconds.
"Valkyrie..." Dia Lan murmured as he gathered his last spell, "What is that?"
"I heard it from a Silicon Valley bar owner. It's supposedly a story from beyond the Abyss. Valkyrie, the Valkyrie, are messengers of Hall of Valor. They collect the souls of fallen heroes from the battlefield and guide them into a temple where they can fight forever."
Li Aoz clenched his fists, thought for a moment, and said:
"In our terms from the Abyss, it would probably be something like, 'a female agent of a certain main god,' right?"
agent.
"I initially thought this was a great victory, but the situation is not optimistic. A large number of experimental subjects became transparent and disappeared completely shortly after losing the Blood of Ether."
At night, the doctor wrote furiously, pouring out his long-cherished wish on the manuscript. "When that time came, I realized that once you step into society, everything that belongs to you has long since disappeared, but I still want to believe in Dia Lan. After all, she is only 14 years old now."
As he wrote this, his pen paused. He turned his head and looked at himself on the operating table not far away. The two gazed at each other for a long time.
"Doctor?" she asked softly, "Does the surgery need to continue? I can still hold on."
The doctor turned his head away, unable to meet her gaze. He muttered a silent prayer to a non-existent deity as he wrote a desolate declaration on a piece of paper:
"Given time, she will surely become the savior of the Star Abyss, a being like Lioz, the Dia Lan (Falicia Language: agent)."
"Snort."
Dia Lan's lips curled up slightly.
"Huh?" Li Aoz in surprise, "Did you laugh?"
"Ten seconds left in the game!"
Countdown: Ten!
Dia Lan raised her head, not answering, her gaze suddenly becoming incredibly clear as she looked directly at Li Aoz and said:
"The score is 524-524, we're tied."
--Nine!
Li Aoz nodded, without giving it much thought:
"Let's settle this with one last blow and decide the winner."
--eight!
"(Dragon language) I am most pleased." Dia Lan raised her hand, and a pair of small, sharp Dragon Horn pierced through the skin on her forehead. She opened her mouth and began to chant the final spell.
"(Dragon language) Dragonkin of the earth, stand for me!"
--seven!
Li Aoz frantically drew energy from the Element Pool, gathering all his power. His mana rapidly burned down to its lowest point, and the Lava Guardian's form instantly expanded to its maximum size.
--six!
Rumble! The earth cracked open, and a colossal rock dragon, as large as a mountain, slowly rose up. Its eyes, like magma balls, reflected an even more ferocious figure— Lava Guardian, its body radiating the scorching heat of sulfur, with the arena dome shield on its head.
--five!
The mountain dragons and lava guardians instantly occupied the entire arena. Their heads and horns clashed, their scales and obsidian collided, and the intense heat caused cracks to spread across the arena's protective shield.
"Damn it, scatter! Have these two gone mad?!"
"This way, use the safety passage, don't push, evacuate in an orderly manner!"
"This is a protective shield used to prepare graduates of the Zeta-rank for their exams!"
--Four!
Li Aoz Dia Lan had already disappeared in the frenzied battle, the clash between the dragonman and the giant erupting with a thunderous roar.
--three!
The mountains trembled, and flames rose from all directions.
The Lava Guardian slammed his elbows down, shattering the Earth Dragonkin's horns. The Earth Dragon stumbled and fell, then performed a genuine Earth Dragon somersault before slamming his fist into the Lava Guardian's helmet. A veritable volcanic eruption erupted, spewing lava.
--two!
Perhaps under the control of their respective masters, the two colossal creatures that shrouded the earth in shadow exchanged a glance.
The golden Dragon Eyes met the fiery red and black eyes.
The next moment, both took a step back, the earth shattered, and the two giant beasts simultaneously unleashed their massive punches! "One!"
Boom! The scorching flames swept across the sky and earth. The protective dome could no longer hold back and shattered completely. The surging explosion engulfed the entire arena and even triggered an energy tide.
In an instant, all the lights in the nearby facilities went out, the magic network was disrupted, and a powerful magical pulse swept across the entire campus. Even from high above, 300,000 meters above the ground, one could see the red light that had been lit up here.
It took several minutes for the energy supply to be restored.
"Sjdia*&% Time... to—"
The demonic referee, affected by the noise, emitted a piercing electrical sound, "The score is as follows:"
As the mushroom cloud from the explosion dissipated, two solidified behemoths stood tall in the center.
Both men's fists slammed straight into each other's faces, the dragonman's brains and flesh flying everywhere, his lava head dancing with the rock strata.
The two colossal beings, created by magical summoning, froze here, then gradually dimmed. The dragonman's corpse lost its luster, collapsed, and the lava body disintegrated, turning into a hill of ashes.
As the smoke and dust cleared, the scoreboard hanging high above was revealed: Dia Lan: 529 points
Li Aoz: 529 points
Snap.
Li Aoz fell from a great height, but the passive effect of the [Gravity] Aoneng allowed him to land safely.
He was pampered by the entire planet, and even the dust obediently dispersed, unwilling to pollute him with its own ash.
Li Aoz stepped forward and came to the hill of ash. After looking around, he saw a hand lying at his feet. He immediately grabbed the wrist and easily dug the person out of the ashes.
Smack
A slender body fell into Li Aoz's arms. Li Aoz frowned slightly. The other person was covered in ash. Dia Lan's head gently nestled in his arms. Bathed in his light, the ash on her body gradually dissipated. Dragon scales peeled off, and bright red blood flowed freely, revealing her smooth and graceful figure.
"Hey, wake up, wake up! Don't die here! I don't want to go to jail."
Li Aoz shook the girl.
He has the bloodline and the favor of White Candle Star, so he's fine. But Dia Lan doesn't have such good conditions.
Her clothes had been burned off in the battle. Although she was pretty, she wasn't as stunning as the person Li Aoz saw in the mirror every day. Plus, the girl was younger Nomi, so Li Aoz had absolutely no interest in her.
He patted the other person's face, and seeing that the other person showed no sign of waking up, he had no choice but to take off his coat and wrap it around the other person's body.
"Luckily, the clothes won't get damaged or dirty. I'll ask Ya Wen for a few more later; that will save me a lot of Diamonds..."
Li Aoz picked up Dia Lan, and everyone around him had disappeared. At this moment, he was the only one holding Dia Lan in the ruins of the arena, and he could not get help from anyone.
This is troublesome.
Li Aoz wanted to scratch his head, but the princess-carrying position was really inconvenient. Just as he was about to adjust his posture and drape her over his shoulder like a dead fox, a voice suddenly came from afar. "Mr. Li Aoz?"
Li Aoz was startled. He turned his head and saw a woman in a beautiful long dress slowly walking into the burning ruins through the gate, carrying food in both hands. His gaze immediately met hers. In her spiderweb-like eyes, there seemed to be a moment of 'astonishment' and 'surprise' before turning into 'emptiness' and a blank expression.
"Hey, Ya Wen— "
"Li Aoz." Ya Wen's tone suddenly turned cold. "Who is that girl in your arms?"