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 Magical Beast Mountain Range and stopped once he reached its central region. The central region of the Magical Beast 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 Magical Beast 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 Magical Beast 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 Magical Beast 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.