Flying Dragon Agheel

Lu Mingfei stood atop the wall of the Church of Elleh, gazing into the distance at the knight known as the Tree Sentinel, who had once sent him fleeing at the mere sight of it. Now, that towering figure no longer filled him with fear.

"Looking at it now, it doesn't seem that strong..."

He murmured to himself, several possible strategies already taking shape in his mind.

The old man's teachings had been exceptionally thorough. Besides ways to deal with humanoid enemies, he had explained and simulated methods for handling all manner of common creatures in the Lands Between.

"Well, this guy isn't my target this time." Lu Mingfei shook his head, lightly leaped down from the wall, and planned to test the Tree Sentinel's strength on his way back.

He crossed the lawn and headed toward the nomadic merchant in the corner.

Galle, draped in a rain cape and wearing a little red cap, was plucking at the instrument in his hands.

"Yo, Brother Galle!"

Galle put down his instrument and offered a friendly expression.

"Customer, it has been a long time. I'm truly delighted to see that you're still alive."

Lu Mingfei waved a hand, ignoring Galle's daily blessing, and casually sat down cross-legged.

"Give me twenty beast-bone throwing knives and twenty arrows."

Galle did not ask any questions. He simply opened his pack and retrieved the goods.

Merchants of the nomadic people had always conducted business this way. I don't ask what you're buying things for, and you don't ask where I got them.jpg

But that was not Lu Mingfei's only purpose here.

He calmly took the items and asked in an apparently casual tone:

"Brother, do you know about a Flying Dragon named Agheel, north of the Church of Elleh?"

Galle raised a brow and glanced at him, seeming thoughtful.

"Flying Dragon Agheel. I know of it."

He nodded.

"Immortal Tarnished often gather in the center of the nearby lake, simply waiting for Dragonfire to burn them to death..."

"It breathes fire." Lu Mingfei nodded and committed that information to memory. "Does it do anything else? Call wind and rain? Command lightning and Storm?"

Having long grown accustomed to Lu Mingfei suddenly using strange terms, Galle merely shook his head.

"Very few Flying Dragons can command lightning and Storm. That is the domain of Ancient Dragons..."

The moment Galle finished speaking, Lu Mingfei let out a small breath of relief. He weighed the beast-bone throwing knives in his hand and muttered:

"So it only breathes fire... That makes things much easier."

After bidding Galle farewell, Lu Mingfei used the Spectral Steed Whistle to summon Torrent. He raced along the rocky path by the cliffside, leaving those hideous giant bats far behind.

Those bats had once been Lu Mingfei's nightmare, but now they could no longer withstand even a single exchange with him. Still, a prolonged fight could easily leave him injured, so he avoided them whenever he could.

Upon reaching the lake district, Lu Mingfei dismounted and casually cut down a Land Octopus with two slashes.

He was not skilled at fighting on horseback. His earlier wild ride had relied entirely on Torrent's cooperation.

Lu Mingfei stood on the lakeshore and began surveying the terrain.

"I don't have time to explore these ruins for now... The islands ahead should be Agheel's territory, but this terrain is way too open."

Lu Mingfei muttered:

"How am I supposed to hide here?"

Soon, the howling wind announced the arrival of the Flying Dragon. Its enormous shadow swept across the sky, and the splendid yet deadly Dragonfire it spewed ignited those Tarnished seeking death.

Lu Mingfei crouched behind a rock by the lake and carefully observed the Flying Dragon.

Agheel's scales were blackish gray, carrying a metallic sheen beneath the sunlight. Even with its wings folded at its sides, it looked imposing. Its thick tail occasionally slapped the water, throwing up waves, while the spikes at its tip were especially conspicuous.

Its horned head looked fierce, and its jagged back was covered in bony spines. Its four Dragonclaws were long and powerful, packed with sinewy muscle and tipped with razor-sharp talons.

"A frontal assault would be no different from suicide..." he muttered. "Are Dragon Communion warriors all insane? They actually want to hunt monsters like this."

Even so, Lu Mingfei could not help but feel awe. If he had not possessed an immortal body, his first reaction upon seeing this thing would definitely have been to turn and run...

The best option was still to fight it in this rocky lake region. The rocks could serve as cover, while the lake water could lessen the heat and damage from its flames.

"I need to lure it over here first..."

Lu Mingfei took a deep breath and nocked an arrow. It tore through the air in a whistling arc and struck precisely into Agheel's folded wing membrane.

"Roar—"

The Flying Dragon abruptly raised its head, its vertical pupils locking onto the direction from which the arrow had come. It spread its wings and threw back its head with a deafening roar as scorching dragon breath brewed in its throat.

Lu Mingfei had already shifted position at high speed. He ran along the route he had surveyed beforehand, the plates of his armor clanging constantly together. Every so often, he turned and fired another few arrows to ensure the Flying Dragon remained in pursuit.

Agheel beat its wings furiously, stirring up a gale. Its massive body skimmed over the lake as scorching dragon breath poured from its mouth in a fan-shaped semicircle.

Lu Mingfei scrambled behind a massive boulder. Dragonfire swept past the rock's edge, evaporating the lake water into vast clouds of white mist.

He felt the heat wave crashing into him and the searing rock behind him, his heart pounding like a drum.

"I'd rather go back and practice Stormcaller another three hundred times..."

Lu Mingfei touched his armor, which had been baked scorching hot, and muttered.

Though he said that, Lu Mingfei still took a deep breath and darted out from behind cover, a faint white glow blooming over the greatsword in his hand.

He sprinted at full speed, and the instant the Flying Dragon turned, he viciously slashed his greatsword at the joint of its hind leg.

Spinning Slash!

"Roar—!"

Agheel howled in pain. The tremendous dragon roar made Lu Mingfei's eardrums ache, and its thick tail swept sideways like a whip.

Seeing those sharp tail spikes, Lu Mingfei did not dare hesitate for even an instant. He rolled toward the Flying Dragon's flank, rose, and followed with a heavy thrust. Scorching dragon blood gushed down the blade and splashed across Lu Mingfei's face.

But how could a Flying Dragon be so weak?

It directly raised one massive dragonclaw, then stomped it back onto the ground, kicking up a heavy blast of air.

Caught off guard, Lu Mingfei raised his sword to block, yet the impact still sent him flying several meters before he crashed heavily into the lake.

The fall left Lu Mingfei's mind spinning. If this had happened before, he would probably have broken every bone in his body and could only have lain in Cassel College's infirmary, waiting for a nurse to feed him...

He climbed to his feet and was about to turn around when an enormous shadow already loomed overhead!

The Flying Dragon had taken advantage of his dizziness to beat its wings into the air and dive straight down, intending to finish Lu Mingfei with a savage pounce and bite!

Lu Mingfei snapped awake at once and scrambled directly behind the Flying Dragon's crotch.

Lu Mingfei did not care whether that move carried any other implications. Even Han Xin had endured the humiliation of crawling between someone's legs, so what was wrong with Little Lu slaying a dragon from beneath its crotch?