Flying Dragon Agheel

Lu Mingfei stood atop the wall of the Church of Elleh, gazing into the distance at the knight called the Tree Sentinel—the one 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 softly, several possible strategies already taking shape in his mind.

The old man's teachings had been comprehensive. Aside from dealing with humanoid enemies, he had also 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 and lightly leaped down from the wall, planning to test the Tree Sentinel's mettle on his way back.

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

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

"Yo, Galle!"

Galle set down his instrument and offered him a friendly smile.

"Customer, it has been a long time. I am truly delighted to see that you are still alive."

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

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

Galle did not ask any questions. He merely opened his pack and silently 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 from.jpg

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

He calmly took the items and asked in an offhand manner.

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

Galle raised a brow and glanced at him, looking 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 filed away that information. "Does it do anything else? Summon wind and rain? Command thunder and lightning?"

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

"Very few flying dragons can command lightning and storms. That is the domain of Ancient Dragons alone..."

The moment Galle finished speaking, Lu Mingfei relaxed slightly. He weighed the beast-bone throwing knives in his hand and muttered.

"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 beside the cliffs, leaving those ugly giant bats far behind.

Those bats had once been Lu Mingfei's nightmare, but now they could not even withstand a single exchange with him. Still, fighting them would inevitably mean getting hurt, so he avoided them whenever he could.

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

He was not skilled at fighting on horseback. His carefree charge earlier had been entirely thanks to Torrent's cooperation.

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

"I don't have time to explore these ruins for now... That island 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 flying dragon's arrival. A massive shadow swept across the sky as it spewed brilliant yet deadly dragonfire, setting the Tarnished seeking death ablaze.

Lu Mingfei crouched behind a rock by the lake, carefully observing the flying dragon.

Agheel's scales were dark gray, gleaming with a metallic luster under the sunlight. Its wings remained folded at its sides, yet it still looked imposing. Its thick tail occasionally slapped the water, sending up waves, and the spikes along its tail were especially conspicuous.

Its horns were fierce and imposing, while its ridged back was covered in bony spines. Its four dragon claws were long and powerful, muscles coiled beneath them, their talons razor-sharp.

"A frontal assault would be suicide..." he muttered. "Are Dragon Communion warriors all insane? They actually want to hunt something like this."

Even so, Lu Mingfei could not help feeling 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 choice was to fight it in this rocky lake district. The rocks could serve as cover, while the lake water could lessen the heat and damage from its flames.

"First, I need to lure it over here..."

Lu Mingfei took a deep breath and nocked an arrow. The arrow tore through the air in a whistling arc, precisely embedding itself in Agheel's folded wing membrane.

"Roar—"

The flying dragon suddenly raised its head, its vertical pupils locking onto the direction the arrow had come from. It spread its wings, threw back its head, and let out a deafening roar as scorching dragon breath gathered in its throat.

Lu Mingfei had already swiftly changed position. He ran along the route he had scouted beforehand, the plates of his armor constantly clashing with sharp metallic clangs. Every so often, he turned and fired another arrow to ensure the flying dragon kept chasing him.

Agheel furiously beat its wings, whipping up a gale. Its enormous body skimmed across the lake as it spewed scorching dragon breath from its mouth in a semicircular fan.

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

He felt the heat wave crashing into his face and the scorching 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 with all his strength. 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 toward him like a whip.

Staring at the sharp tail spikes, Lu Mingfei did not dare hesitate for even an instant. He rolled toward the flying dragon's flank, rose to his feet, and followed with a heavy thrust. Scorching dragon blood gushed along the blade and splashed all over Lu Mingfei's face.

But how could the flying dragon be so weak?

It directly raised one of its enormous claws, then stomped it back onto the ground, stirring up a heavy blast of air.

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

That 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 lie in Cassel College's infirmary, waiting for a nurse to feed him...

He climbed to his feet and was about to turn around when a huge shadow already loomed over him!

The flying dragon had taken advantage of his dizziness to take flight, diving straight down from the air in an attempt to finish Lu Mingfei with a savage pounce and bite!

Lu Mingfei instantly snapped awake and scrambled directly behind the flying dragon's crotch.

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