Samantha's roar echoed through the Iron Fir Hills, shaking dust from the cliff walls.
Including the joint of its right wing that had been hit first, several poisoned crossbow bolts were embedded in its body. Blue venom spread across its flesh, and combined with the Necromancer's curses, it continually felt weakness, numbness, and sluggishness rise within it.
The Alchemy Workshop had long since become ruins.
Boiling Black Oil had been splashed across the ground, melting sand and gravel into a glassy, scorched crust. The trunks of the Iron Fir trees were covered in claw marks, their bark charred by the lingering flames of Dragon Breath.
Samantha's tail swept across a rocky ledge, sending fragments of stone flying like buckshot and clattering against the warrior's armor.
The Necromancer's Skeleton Ghostfire struck again, this time aimed at Samantha's eyes.
Samantha tilted its head to evade it, but the Blonde Warrior seized the chance to rush in. His slab-like greatsword slashed viciously across the old wound on its forelimb, and Dragon Blood sprayed out, gleaming a vivid red beneath the moonlight.
"You lowly insects!"
Samantha roared.
The intense pain instead stirred the ferocity within its Red Dragon Bloodline. Samantha suddenly reared upright, kicking off the ground with its hind legs and launching itself several meters into the air, crashing toward the Blonde Warrior with all its weight behind it.
Unfortunately, its movements were neither refined nor swift enough.
Its might was not even a tenth of Garos's.
The Blonde Warrior rolled aside, easily avoiding Samantha's charge.
That mistake cost Samantha dearly.
The Spellcaster's Binding Spell descended at that moment, stamping itself onto Samantha's back.
It felt as if a mountain had suddenly been placed on its back. Its claws sank deep into the rock, and for a moment, it could barely support its own body.
A Grappling Hook whistled through the air, its tip wedging into a gap between Samantha's dragon scales while the Rogue wrapped the other end around a thick Iron Fir trunk.
Divine Retribution!
The white-robed priest raised his palm and pressed it downward. A bolt of sacred energy descended from midair like lightning, striking Samantha and tearing open its flesh as scorched green smoke rose from its body.
This kind of holy attack dealt double hostile damage to evil dragons.
Samantha bared its fangs in pain, its entire body trembling violently.
The adventurers' attacks came like a raging storm, wave after wave, leaving the Red Dragonet hard-pressed to defend itself.
The Blonde Warrior raised his greatsword again. The runes on its blade blazed with blinding light as he swung it down toward Samantha's hind leg.
This savage strike was not aimed at Samantha's neck or any other vital spot. The adventurers' earlier attacks had also rarely gone directly for lethal blows. The reason was simple: they wanted to capture the Red Dragonet alive.
A living Hatchling Dragon.
It was worth several times more than a dead one.
Thinking of the immense fortune waiting for them, smiles could not help but spread across all five of their faces.
However.
Just as the sword edge was about to fall, the sky above suddenly darkened.
It was not a cloud covering the moon, but some creature blocking the starlight and moonlight, casting a shadow over the battling dragon and humans below.
The tension on Samantha's dragon face immediately eased, and it began to laugh.
"Lowly insects, now you will all die."
It said.
The tension shifted to the adventurers' faces, and their smiles stiffened before vanishing.
Everyone heard that sound.
—Like a thunderstorm rolling across the ground, like steel being violently torn apart.
It was the explosive crack of dragon wings ripping through the air. As Garos dove at extreme speed, the airflow was shredded by the feather-like fine scales on his wing membranes, forming an oppressive proclamation of death.
"A dragon—there's another dragon! Everyone be careful! Havyn, use the Anti-Air Spell, now!"
The Blonde Warrior shouted, looking up into the Red Iron Dragonet's dragon eyes, darker than the night itself. A fierce wind struck his face, whipping his hair wildly.
The Spellcaster skillfully constructed an Anti-Air Spell.
This spell locked directly onto its target and could not miss. A Hatchling Dragon's magic resistance could not exempt it, and once the magic energy in its wings was dispelled, its flight would be severely affected and it would lose balance.
Just like when they dealt with Samantha earlier.
The intricate spell directly appeared across Garos's wings.
Yet, to the adventurers' surprise, this Hatchling Dragon, whose body was incomparably powerful, seemed completely unaffected. As his enormous, disproportionately massive wings beat, he still flew toward them at astonishing speed with unmatched agility.
The black-red dragon shadow swept over the treetops, snapping dense branches at their roots and sending countless leaves dancing wildly through the air.
There was no time to think about why.
Facing the Dragonkin descending toward him like a meteor, the Blonde Warrior hurriedly rolled away from his position as before, dodging the attack from above.
At the same time, the black-red dragon shadow tilted its right wing, displaying incomparable agility.
It changed direction. Rather than pursue the Blonde Warrior, it suddenly appeared above the Spellcaster's head.
A shadow engulfed his body.
The Spellcaster's heart tightened, and beneath that overwhelming pressure, he nearly forgot how to breathe.
At that critical moment, the necklace around his neck suddenly lit up, activating a protective spell.
Shield Spell!
A translucent yellow shield enveloped the Spellcaster, protecting him within it.
Crash! With a dull, thunderous boom, the shield shattered beneath Garos's claws like an eggshell. Despair filled the Spellcaster's eyes as his entire field of vision was blocked and filled by dragon claws.
The ground immediately shook violently. Dust swelled outward on the blast wave, while chunks of rock shot in every direction.
When the dust was blown away by the dragon wings, a deep, sunken crater was revealed.
Garos shook his body, scattering gravel and dust before leaping out of the pit.
The body embedded in the cracks at the bottom of the crater had been mangled beyond recognition. Its gender and race were impossible to discern, fused into the soil.
Only then.
As they stared at the Red Iron Dragonet, whose scales seemed forged from steel, the remaining attackers fully reacted, their nerves tightening.
This Hatchling Dragon's attack had come too swiftly and explosively, utterly exceeding their expectations. In an instant, he had eliminated the Spellcaster from their party.
And now that they thought about it.
His initial attack against the warrior had actually been a feint. His target had been clear from the start: the party's core Spellcaster. Catching him off guard, he had killed him in one blow.
The Spellcaster was inferior to the Blonde Warrior in direct combat.
But he had been more important and crucial. Samantha's miserable state was also mainly because of him.
On the other side, the Blonde Warrior, whose roll had been completely ineffective, rose to his feet with an expression grim beyond measure.
He raised his head slightly and took a deep breath. The Magic Energy Stone embedded at the chest of his armor began to shine, and all the surrounding runes lit up.
The Blonde Warrior gained greater strength, speed, reaction time, and defense.
The price was the consumption of a precious Magic Energy Stone.
"Evil dragon, die!"
The Blonde Warrior roared, gripping his slab-like greatsword as he charged at Garos.
Garos tensed all four limbs and grinned at the Blonde Warrior. Then he shattered the ground beneath him, dodged an alchemical crossbow bolt, and pounced toward the white-robed priest.
In a team fight.
Kill the mage first, then the healer.
This valiant warrior could live a little longer. Garos would save him for last.
Before you continue