Battle in the Passage

Flame Breath

Wing Buffet!

Tail Sweep!

Relying on her massive size and the devastating power of her dragon breath, Vermees successfully kept one of the Flesh Golems at a safe distance, preventing it from getting close enough to attack.

Not only that!

She also used her weight to pin another Flesh Golem beneath her, leaving it unable to move.

Then she swung her claws, forcibly tearing off the corpse chunks reinforced with protective magic.

Once the damage dealt in a short period exceeded its self-repair capacity, one of the Flesh Golems finally lost all ability to move, turning into a pile of shattered remains that reeked of decay and death.

"Nicely done!"

Raymond did not hesitate to praise Vermees. Then he recovered quite a bit of Black Mana and universal mana from the fallen Golem.

Just as the Red Dragon pounced toward the other Flesh Golem, intending to finish it off the same way, the previously empty passage ahead suddenly began flashing with intense multicolored magical light.

Immediately afterward, summoning circles appeared out of thin air one after another.

In the blink of an eye, the passage was packed with dozens of creatures summoned by Conjuration School magic.

More than half of them were the undead favored most by the Necromancer Archmage—Astar. There were also evil creatures such as Trolls, Half-Giants, bugbears, Orcs, and the like, as well as ferocious beasts including wolves, lions, tigers, bears, and leopards.

Clearly, their true purpose was not to defeat the intruders.

It was to use their numerical advantage to drain the intruders' stamina, spells, potions, scrolls, and magic items as much as possible.

Unfortunately, Vermees had just used Flame Breath and could not unleash a second breath attack so soon, making it impossible for her to deal area damage to so many targets at once.

So she directly used the Flesh Golem pinned beneath her as a weapon, grabbing one of its legs and viciously smashing it forward.

Bang!

With a deafening crash, several undead creatures at the very front, completely unafraid of Dragon Might, were smashed to death on the spot.

The Skeleton Warriors clad in metal armor and wielding weapons were struck so hard that their entire bodies fell apart.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the violent and savage Red Dragon leaped up, using her enormous body as a weapon and the thick, hard scales on her back as protection, before crashing down and rolling forward.

A large number of summoned creatures immediately suffered crushing damage far beyond their maximum health.

Brilliantly colored reverse-summoning circles appeared beneath their feet, sending them back to the worlds they had originally come from.

Just as Vermees was about to press the advantage and wipe out the rest, a strange sound suddenly came from the stairs around the corner of the passage.

Then two more Flesh Golems charged down from above alongside eight Metal Constructs of roughly the same size.

The latter carried heavy weapons such as axes, scythes, two-handed swords, and warhammers, all of them glimmering with magical light.

Without question, these enchanted weapons met the minimum standard needed to pierce dragon-scale defenses.

"I need help!"

The Red Dragon shouted for support without looking back.

At that moment, she finally understood why Raymond had repeatedly emphasized how dangerous the route to the upper levels was.

Those Metal Constructs wielding magical weapons alone were enough to block an adult dragon in a cramped space and surround it until it was killed.

"Fall back!"

Raymond clearly understood that the battle in the passage had triggered the defenses of the upper area, so he took out a card he had prepared long ago.

Magic Card: Swamp

LV1 Black Card (Cannot be upgraded)

Card Quality: Common

Effect: Creates a swampy area at the designated location, filled with mud that makes every step difficult. Any object or creature weighing more than ten kilograms will sink into it, regardless of whether it is friend or foe. Duration: one minute.

Using this card requires one point of universal mana, one point of death mana, or twice as much mana of another type.

Once the Swamp is created, this card automatically enters the graveyard to await rebirth. Rebirth time: one day.

Seeing Vermees quickly break free from the summoned creatures and retreat into the room behind the passage, Raymond immediately activated the card.

Instantly!

A vast black swamp appeared out of thin air in the middle of the passage.

The heavy Flesh Golems, Metal Constructs, and some of the summoned creatures did not even have time to react before falling straight in, sinking deeper and deeper.

Since the passage was relatively narrow, the entire stretch of floor was covered by the Swamp, while the walls stood directly on both sides, leaving nowhere to brace themselves and climb out.

But that was not all!

Raymond obviously would not let such a perfect opportunity to deal damage slip away.

He swiftly took out a Magic Scroll and activated the spell stored within it with a simple motion.

The next second...

A blazing Wall of Fire appeared out of nowhere above the Swamp, continuously scorching the enemies trapped within it and unable to move.

Immediately afterward, another string of Fireballs flew from a gemstone ring glowing red, exploding above the summoned creatures and Flesh Golems.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The flames from the explosions rapidly raised the surrounding temperature, turning the entire passage into an inferno.

The former was an Evocation School spell called Wall of Fire, while the latter was the deluxe upgraded version of Fireball—Chain Fireballs.

Under such fierce bombardment, the numerous summoned creatures were the first to give out and vanish completely.

The Flesh Golems, which were likewise vulnerable to fire, also suffered severe damage.

Only the Metal Constructs showed no sign of melting at all. They continued struggling to crawl out of the Swamp as though nothing had happened.

"Immune to fire damage?!" Vermees's expression changed slightly.

As a Red Dragon aligned with fire energy, she hated enemies immune to fire damage more than anything.

Because that meant one of her most effective weapons—Flame Breath—would become completely useless.

"Those should be Iron Golems with specially designed appearances! Ignore them for now! Use Flame Breath and finish off the Flesh Golems!"

At the critical moment, Raymond kept a clear and calm mind.

A Flesh Golem's weakness was fire, while it converted Lightning Bolt damage into energy to repair itself.

An Iron Golem's weakness was Lightning Bolt, while it converted fire damage into energy to repair itself.

If fire spells were used to attack the Flesh Golems, the nearby Iron Golems would be repaired.

Conversely, if Lightning Bolt spells were used to attack the Iron Golems, the nearby Flesh Golems would be repaired.

The Necromancer Archmage—Astar—was clearly using this combination to ensure that no matter what form of energy attack they faced, at least one type of Golem could still threaten the intruders.

Without understanding these mechanics, or without keeping a clear head in battle, one would be slowly worn to death by the two complementary types of Golems.

Raymond's tactical thinking was very clear: concentrate their firepower on the heavily damaged Flesh Golems first, then deal with the Iron Golems trapped in the Swamp.

Although the Red Dragon did not quite understand the order, after a brief recovery, she still opened her mouth and unleashed a stream of scorching Flame Breath.

After being battered in succession by the Wall of Fire, Chain Fireballs, and dragon breath, all the Flesh Golems present finally could not hold on any longer, turning into blackened, charred corpses.

While the Swamp on the ground had yet to disappear, Raymond quickly rushed forward, stepping along the edge between the floor and the Swamp. He raised the device fixed to his belt and containing a large amount of electrical energy, releasing all of its stored power in one go.

Crack!

A thick bolt of lightning shot from the cylindrical crystal like a silver serpent, striking the nearest Iron Golem ahead with perfect accuracy.

Then the second, the third, the fourth...

In an extremely short time, the powerful electric light ricocheted back and forth among the Iron Golems several times.

Since they were all standing extremely close together, and metal was naturally an excellent conductor, they took nearly the full force of the lightning without the slightest bit of energy going to waste.

Then Raymond showed no restraint at all, activating several high-level Magic Scrolls in succession.

For a moment, all kinds of powerful acid and lightning ravaged the Iron Golems overhead.