Iron Block!

Jon stared at the Dragon Feast Altar before him, his mind reeling with a turbulent mix of emotions.

If we're talking about the impact of the emergence of underground cities on people's lives, then the ability to witness incredibly high-quality illusions and visuals is definitely one of them.

"That's fantastic! Prince Lanle will definitely give me a raise when he finds out."

A smile involuntarily crept onto his lips as he reached for the altar once more.

This time, when I touched that burning flame again, I did not experience any hallucinations.

In the darkness, it seemed as if the voices of ancient Dragon Warrior from all ages had converged and overlapped, forming an ethereal and indescribable sound that echoed in his ears, instructing him on how to perform the Dragon Feast Ritual.

It's actually quite simple: just consume the heart of the dragon you personally defeated in front of the Dragon Feast Altar, and you will gain power from the dragon.

The Dragon Warrior's voices repeatedly emphasized the words "personally slaying" as if the true main course of the Dragon Feast Ritual was slaying the dragon, and consuming its heart was merely the final act.

Jon couldn't understand why they were so insistent on personally carrying out the killings; couldn't they just devour the hearts sent over from the killings of others?

Will it reduce the effectiveness of the Dragon Communion, or cause some negative effects, or something else he can't even imagine?

He didn't understand, but he could understand human speech. Since the Zane Dungeon had given him this hint, he would definitely do as he was told.

Only a fool in a play would deliberately break the rules.

Moreover,

Swallowing a dragon's heart given to you by someone else is not manly at all!!!

Since you're going to become Dragon Warrior anyway, why not go and slay a dragon honestly and honorably?

Aside from the method of performing the Dragon Feast Ritual, the voices also told him something else:

The Dragon Feast Altar contains the dragon power left behind by the Dragon Warrior of the past. Over the years, this power has gradually formed into a universal and applicable dragon power.

By devouring the heart of an ordinary dragon, one can unleash the hidden power within the Dragon Feast Altar and transform it into one's own power.

Jon focused his mind and sensed the power within the altar:

[Dragon Bite], [Dragon Claw], [Dragon Flame], [Dragon Ice], [Lava Breath], [Glintstone Breath].

The [Rot Breath] prayer, which should also be present in the Elden Ring Yugi, is missing.

This was deliberately deleted by Gong Qiying because he felt the adventurers wouldn't be able to handle it.

What if someone were to obtain the Rot Breath that could spew Scarlet Corruption and then spread it everywhere? He didn't want the Zane Dungeon to become a corrupting goddess from another world, so naturally he had to restrict adventurers from using the power of corruption.

As for the compromise of reducing the power and contagiousness of Scarlet Corruption before teaching Rot Breath to adventurers...

If Scarlet Corruption isn't strong, can it still be called Scarlet Corruption?

Gong Qiying would rather simply delete [Rot Breath] and [Ekzykes's Decay] than make Scarlet Corruption a buyer's show versus seller's show.

When the time is right, we'll unleash all our corrupting capabilities.

These remaining powers reappear in the human world in the form of prayers. Once you learn them, you can transform a part of yourself into a dragon when you use them, and unleash extraordinary powers that only dragons can wield!

Jon was deeply moved. No one could resist the allure of power, especially since most of the older people in the Warrior Country were still all muscle and brains.

The thought of being able to use Dragon Bite and Dragon Claw to fight each other in the future... awesome!

He smiled expectantly, his mind involuntarily replaying the locations of dragons within the Zane Dungeon.

There's an Aegis right next to the Great Dragon Feast Church, but he's quite strong; most people can't beat him.

There's a Grafted Dragon in Stormveil Castle, but can that thing, long dead, really still be used for Dragon Communion?

Lake Liurnia has a Glintstone Dragon Smarag, but it's quite strong, so all things considered, it's the easiest to challenge.

The Flying Dragon Agheel, entrenched in Limgrave!

It's decided, your next target is you, Yakir!

Jon is now eager to go back to Lan Le, not only to report what he saw and heard today, but also to work hard to learn the Hunting Horn that Lanler asked him to learn. When they become a hunting team of five, they will surely be able to kill dragons and do anything!

"Karakara--"

Just as Jon was lost in his imagination of a bright future, the sound of armor plates rubbing and colliding against each other came from nearby once again.

Wait, why use "once again" to describe it?

Overjoyed, his vigilance dropped considerably. It had been a while since he'd heard the sounds of adventurers fighting Aegis outside the Great Dragon Feast Church, so he naturally assumed it was Si Telan arriving. He turned around with a smile and said:

"You've come! This is exactly the place I've been looking for. Thank you so much for your hard work."

Jon's voice stopped abruptly, not because he had seen Si Telan group.

Instead, at this very moment, a being who appeared to be Exiled Knight was Stormcaller towards him.

Wait, where would Exiled Knight come from!?

Jon was shocked. So, having "lost home" in your names really means you've lost your homeland and wander around aimlessly? I thought you were unique monsters from Stormveil Castle!

He had no time to be surprised, because the sword-and-shield-wielding Exiled Knight already created a signature storm beneath his feet, and he charged forward with the storm's support!

Jon's eyes widened, and his mouth gaped open in an instant.

"Drink!"

He suddenly roared and swung his iron fists at the Exiled Knight's longsword. Those were truly iron fists; his hands had become like blocks of Iron Ball due to his Weapon Skill!

Did you think he'd scream in fright? No, how could the prince's bodyguard be scared by something like this!

Moreover, after experiencing the dual spiritual baptism of the Crimson Lightning of the Spike Mountains and the upside-down dragon of Crumbling Farum Azula seen in his hallucinations, he found that his courage seemed to have become greater than ever before, and he was no longer afraid!

Excessive Dragon Communion can cause Dragon Warrior to lose control of their brains due to the residual dragon power within the dragon's heart, eventually leading them to lose control and transform into dragons themselves.

This is related to both physical fitness and mental strength.

Although adventurers who can enter the Zane Dungeon and reach Caelid are unlikely to have mental problems, Gong Qiying, based on humanitarian principles, decided to give them some small favors free of charge to prevent them from being unable to withstand even the power of a dragon's heart.

The hallucination that Jon just saw used Hypnosis Magic to give him the psychological suggestion that he "would not be afraid of dragons," and also increased his mental resistance to dragons, allowing him to withstand the Dragon Communion. However, now it seems that it also honed his courage.

"Bang!"

Jon's iron fist collided heavily with the sword and shield of the Exiled Knight, and the resulting shockwave caused the flames burning on the altar to sway violently.

It looked like an evenly matched contest, but after that punch, Jon's arms were so sore he could barely lift them.

He inwardly cried out in dismay!

Oh no! I used the power I knew I could throw the Exiled Knight off balance when I fought him in Stormveil Castle, but I didn't expect that this guy, Caelid, has gotten stronger!

Although his cautious exertion prevented him from falling, the unexpected force of the impact from his opponent has left his arms almost out of control.

As a storm gathered on the Exiled Knight's sword and shield, and the Storm Blade Weapon Skill hurtled towards his chest with its sharp blade, Jon, whose arms were still immobilized, gleamed with determination and shouted out the name of his next Weapon Skill with great force:

"Iron Ball!"

Battle aura coiled around his chest, and his entire body instantly hardened like steel!

Thump!

The Exiled Knight's attack landed squarely on him, producing sounds unlike anything one would expect from a human battle!

"Mr. Jon!" came Si Telan's exclamation from not far away.

They rushed over after hearing Jon scream when he had his hallucination, only to witness what appeared to be the Exiled Knight plunging his sword into Jon's chest and killing him!

Upon seeing this, Luo Jieer immediately pulled out a red and white ball and threw it at the Exiled Knight. From the ball popped out a unique monster from Farron Keep, Ghrū!

Ghrū immediately clung to the Exiled Knight, its hands, which had never had their nails trimmed, frantically scratching at his head.

Although the opponent was wearing a helmet and could only produce sparks without breaking through the defense, Ghrū's movements successfully pulled him away to a distance!

"Didn't you say you didn't have any companions?" Dan Ya asked directly upon seeing this.

"Didn't I just remember there was another one?" Luo Jieer said without batting an eye.

"Mr. Jon, are you alright?"

Si Telan blasted the Exiled Knight even further away with her arrow, then ran over to check on Jon, who was standing motionless. To her surprise, Jon seemed to be alright.

"It's alright, it's alright," Jon smiled brightly. "This Iron Ball Weapon Skill has extremely strong defensive capabilities; I'm perfectly fine."

He pointed to the Exiled Knight was pinning Ghrū to the ground and beating him mercilessly, and said in a detached tone, "See that? Go do what you should be doing."

"I'm relieved that you're alright. We'll take care of him soon."

Si Telan patted him on the shoulder, turned around and called for everyone to charge at the Exiled Knight. With so many people attacking together, even the Exiled Knight couldn't withstand the onslaught for a while.

Seeing that everyone's attention was focused on the enemy, Jon smiled with relief, and his motionless body finally trembled.

Then, from the shoulder that Si Telan patted, his body began to make a cracking sound as his bones broke.

"What kind of bullshit Iron Ball?"

The fighting spirit that had been binding him instantly dissipated in all directions, and Jon collapsed to the ground.

This was his last cry before he fell into a coma.

After today, the location of the Great Dragon Feast Church spread among the adventurers.