Red-Eyed Black Dragon

The battle with the ninth-level light-element magical beast, the Sacred Rune Divine Dragon, gave Arnold a clearer understanding of his own strength. He could already contend with ordinary ninth-level magical beasts, because his Greater Gravity Spell was simply too overpowered and placed immense pressure on his enemies.

Even earth-element magical beasts that understood how to offset gravity could not completely cancel it out. With the Greater Gravity Spell, Arnold could directly stand shoulder to shoulder with a Ninth-level Warrior or Ninth-level Mage.

Because he had remained in a constant state of training, Arnold crossed the Warcraft Mountain Range and stopped once he reached its central region. The central region of the Warcraft Mountain Range was deserted year-round. Seventh-, eighth-, and even ninth-level magical beasts appeared here from time to time. Only ninth-level experts probably dared to cross the entire Warcraft Mountain Range. Yet Arnold was an exceptional Eighth-level Mage, comparable to a ninth-level expert, which was why he was qualified to wander around the central region.

However, during all this time, Arnold had encountered only one ninth-level magical beast: the Sacred Rune Divine Dragon.

As Arnold wandered through the depths of the Warcraft Mountain Range, he spotted a forest. Before he even approached it, he heard faint sounds coming from within.

Given Arnold's strength, if he could hear those sounds, then there was likely a battle taking place in the center of the forest.

Still, to avoid being discovered, Arnold cautiously made his way deeper into the forest.

As Arnold continued inward, a tremendous dragon roar rang out. Arnold immediately became alert. After moving forward a little farther, he saw an enormous dragon.

This dragon possessed an incredibly powerful body, a ferocious head, razor-sharp teeth, and a long tail. Its entire body was covered in jet-black scales, while a pair of massive wings kept it aloft. Its most striking feature was its pair of red eyes, each as large as a cartwheel.

This dragon was unmistakably a ninth-level dark-element magical beast, the Red-Eyed Black Dragon. The Red-Eyed Black Dragon was a Black Dragon with True Crimson Eyes.

Black Dragons were among the most powerful magical beasts. Members of the Black Dragon Clan were generally ninth-level magical beasts, and some of the clan's stronger members might even be Saint Domain experts. This Red-Eyed Black Dragon, meanwhile, was a mutated dragon of the Black Dragon Clan.

Standing opposite the Red-Eyed Black Dragon was a man. He was a middle-aged man wielding a greatsword, with battle aura constantly radiating from his body. To contend with a Red-Eyed Black Dragon, one had to be at least a ninth-level expert.

As for why Arnold did not judge him to be a Saint Domain expert? If he were one, the Red-Eyed Black Dragon could not possibly have remained as unscathed as it was now.

While Arnold observed them, the battle between the two did not stop.

The middle-aged man continuously swung his greatsword at the Red-Eyed Black Dragon. With a loud roar, he suddenly shot forward until he was directly in front of it. Then, using the earth-yellow battle aura he had been building up, he slashed his greatsword toward the ground beneath the Red-Eyed Black Dragon. Borrowing the recoil, he immediately shifted sideways to another location.

The Red-Eyed Black Dragon's enormous claw, a full meter wide, slammed viciously into the spot where the middle-aged man had just stood. With a BOOM, waves of air bursts echoed through the area.

After missing its strike, the Red-Eyed Black Dragon continued pursuing the middle-aged man. Its wings flickered slightly as it flew toward him, then stomped down with one foot. Seeing the Red-Eyed Black Dragon attack, the middle-aged man did not hesitate and fled at top speed.

Centered around the Red-Eyed Black Dragon's claw, the ground within a three-meter radius was instantly shattered into fragments and sank half a meter deep.

The destructive power of a ninth-level magical beast truly was formidable. Arnold watched the battle between man and dragon with great interest, having no intention of intervening.

Again and again, the middle-aged man launched attacks against the Red-Eyed Black Dragon, but they had absolutely no effect on it.

The Red-Eyed Black Dragon even grew impatient at being pestered by the middle-aged man and fired a Black Flame Bullet at him.

The Black Flame Bullet was the Red-Eyed Black Dragon's signature move. Although it was merely a dark-red sphere with a radius of half a meter, it contained an enormous amount of fire-element energy and was no less powerful than an eighth-level spell.

In an instant, the Black Flame Bullet shot toward the middle-aged man. He was quite fast, and at the critical moment, he escaped its attack range.

The Black Flame Bullet struck the ground, blasting out a semicircular crater nearly four meters in radius. Even the grass around the crater burst into flames out of thin air. The dark-red fire was particularly terrifying.

The middle-aged man was also startled by the Black Flame Bullet's power. Raising his greatsword, he aimed it at the Red-Eyed Black Dragon. A sword aura nearly ten meters long tore through the sky and slashed viciously toward the dragon.

Yet the Red-Eyed Black Dragon simply swiped with a claw and tore the sword aura apart. The middle-aged man was utterly helpless. He had only just broken through to become a Ninth-level Warrior and had come to the Warcraft Mountain Range intending to fight fiercely, but he had run into the Red-Eyed Black Dragon, a mutated Black Dragon. Its attack and defense were no weaker than a normal Black Dragon's, and it possessed additional special attacks as well.

The middle-aged man decided to leave, so he sent another sword aura at the Red-Eyed Black Dragon's wings. The dragon lightly flapped its wings and evaded the attack, while the middle-aged man simply left.

As it watched the middle-aged man grow more distant, the Red-Eyed Black Dragon merely stared with its huge eyes and did not give chase.

Arnold also became interested in the Red-Eyed Black Dragon, but while the middle-aged man had still been fighting, it had not been appropriate for Arnold to interfere.

Only after the middle-aged man had been gone for two hours did Arnold reveal himself.

One Ninth-level Warrior had left, and another new warrior had arrived. Seeing Arnold's frail body, the Red-Eyed Black Dragon was deeply disdainful.

Slowly approaching the Red-Eyed Black Dragon, Arnold shouted excitedly, "Yo, Red-Eyed Black Dragon, fight me!"

The Red-Eyed Black Dragon remained silent and merely stared at Arnold. Though it was a mutant, it was not that extraordinary. Since it had not reached the Saint Domain, it naturally could not speak.

"I'm starting now!" Arnold happily declared.

What a nuisance, this human! Why is he so excited about fighting me? Just like that Ninth-level Warrior from before. The Red-Eyed Black Dragon felt utterly helpless.

Without warning, the Red-Eyed Black Dragon slapped a claw at Arnold. Arnold's sleeveless vest was instantly shredded by the powerful force. Yet after it tore apart, a crystalline, completely transparent suit of crystal armor appeared over his body. Smooth, natural patterns ran across its surface, making it resemble crystal jade.

"I knew you were annoyed. Did you think I wouldn't be prepared?" Arnold directly raised an arm to block the Red-Eyed Black Dragon's claw. He had long since cast an eighth-level spell on himself—Earthquake Sacred Armor. The armor covering his entire body was formed from crystal jade, and its defense was ten times stronger than that of seventh-level armor.

It was precisely because of the Earthquake Sacred Armor that Arnold could withstand the force of the Red-Eyed Black Dragon's claw. Even so, his feet were forced back several meters.