Boom!!!
A thunderous crash rang out as the giant tree collided with the human body.
"Aaaah!!!"
The level 7 assassin felt as though every bone in his body was about to shatter and let out an utterly agonized scream.
"Aotuo!"
A startled cry rang out in the distance.
Several arrows and Arcane Missiles struck Xiluo at once.
The Arcane Missiles exploded, blasting several holes in Xiluo's Earth and Stone Armor and even slightly damaging the dragon face beneath it.
Several arrows drove straight into the Earth and Stone Armor.
"Ngh..."
Xiluo grunted in pain.
His Earth and Stone Armor absorbed almost all the force of the Arcane Missiles, and naturally, the same went for several of the arrows.
But one silver arrow among them was distinctly different.
Xiluo felt that arrow break through his Earth and Stone Armor, pierce his dragon scales, and lodge in his flesh!
A faint numbness spread from the wound!
The silver arrow was poisoned!
But it was still within what he could tolerate.
Sensing the level 9 assassin closing in from behind as well, Xiluo endured the pain, twisted around swiftly, and viciously flung the impaled level 7 assassin at him!
The level 9 assassin did not reach out to catch his companion. He merely dodged sideways, letting his companion fly seven or eight meters before landing on the ground.
With Xiluo's horn no longer plugging his chest, the unfortunate assassin bled continuously. He looked gravely wounded and unable to fight, and without treatment, he would undoubtedly die.
The Cleric in the distance actually raised his scepter again.
[Heal Wounds]
[Heal Minor Wounds]
The two holy spells descended.
The wounds on the level 7 assassin's chest and abdomen began rapidly writhing.
At the sight, Xiluo's heart tightened.
Back when he played games as an Adventurer, he had never thought much of it.
Now that he was the one under attack-or rather, the monster the Adventurers were hunting-
Facing a Cleric immediately felt indescribably sickening.
That blow against the level 7 assassin should clearly have taken an enemy out of the fight. Yet after two healing spells, if left alone, the assassin would probably survive, even if he lost seventy or eighty percent of his fighting strength afterward...
He might even land a hit on Xiluo at a critical moment.
This thwarted Xiluo's plan to thin their numbers.
At the same time, he realized there was an even more troublesome problem.
He had only achieved this result by catching them off guard and paying the price of some injuries.
If he fought these people head-on and could not deal enough damage to kill them quickly, the Cleric's healing could practically keep the recipients fighting indefinitely.
Unless he dealt with the Cleric first, this battle was impossible to fight!
What? Exhaust the Cleric's holy power? Fight a battle of attrition?
Xiluo would have to be out of his mind to do that.
Although this Cleric was only level 7, Xiluo still had some discernment as a chromatic dragon. The man's scepter and clerical robes both greatly enhanced and aided his use of divine spells.
If they really did that, the inevitable result would be that they were worn down and killed one by one.
And there was still the restriction imposed by the Lost Incense!
The Wyrmlings could not use their Breath Weapons, which also limited their fighting strength.
The level 9 assassin had already closed in on Xiluo again, swinging his dagger to stab him.
Xiluo hurriedly swept his tail back in retaliation, forcing him away.
Then lightning flickered all over his body.
[Electric Discharge] erupted again as he tangled with the assassin.
Level 7 against level 9.
Xiluo was not at a disadvantage in the slightest.
In fact, in a one-on-one fight, he was absolutely confident he could defeat his opponent.
But the Hunter and Spellcaster nearby were watching for their chance.
The other Wyrmlings, who had not even reached level 6, put too little pressure on them...
A level 7 assassin or a level 7 Warrior could face two Wyrmlings almost without difficulty.
As a result, the Hunter and Spellcaster could attack him from time to time.
In just over thirty seconds, most of his Earth and Stone Armor had been blasted away, some of his scales had been broken, and his body was injured! Blood slowly seeped from his wounds.
Meanwhile, although the arrow and dagger wounds were shallow, the numbness and drowsiness kept intensifying.
From beginning to end, these attackers had intended to drug them unconscious and carry them away...
That suggested they probably would not strike to kill. In that case... there should still be a chance of winning this battle, difficult though it would be... but if he could win by merely sustaining some injuries...
He kept thinking as he dealt with the enemy's attacks.
Suddenly, he noticed that the assassin's attacks were weakening, while the moisture throughout the Green Forest grew increasingly dense.
He could not help glancing at Little White Dragon and Gordon.
One of the two dragons was using ice spells, while the other used fire spells.
As cold met intense heat, water vapor naturally kept forming.
The air and ground throughout the area grew slightly damp.
Xiluo's expression shifted.
He quickly made a wide sweep with his tail, forcing the level 9 assassin back.
Then he made a simple gesture to aid his casting.
[Water Condensation Spell]
Water Element rapidly gathered.
It formed a ball of water the size of a human head.
This brought looks of surprise to quite a few people who had diverted some of their attention to this outstanding Wyrmling.
They could not quite understand what he intended to do by casting a spell like this now.
Naturally, Xiluo did not answer that question. With a sweep of his claw, he sent the water ball shooting toward the distant Spellcaster like a cannonball.
The Spellcaster immediately blasted it apart with an Arcane Missile.
Water burst through the air, drenching a nearby armored Warrior.
The armored Warrior, who had been facing Gordon's attacks, slowed down. Gordon seized the opening and swept him with his tail, driving him back several steps and nearly knocking him over.
The man could not help shouting:
"Damn it! Don't splash water on me! My under-armor is soaked! It's slowing me down!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the furious Red Dragon Whelp roared and closed in again. His claws lashed out repeatedly, driving the level 8 Warrior back step by step until he even stumbled and fell flat.
If the Spellcaster had not bombarded the Red Dragon's head with consecutive Arcane Missiles, this shield Warrior might have been finished.
"Hmm... so that's the purpose of the Water Condensation Spell? To soak our clothes.
"That reduces our bodies' ability to adapt? And makes melee combatants less agile?
"That does have some use, but it's only a petty trick.
"The outcome still won't change!
"There's no point stalling for time. Whoever is backing you has either already fallen or been lured away!
"Your fate is to fall in defeat and be captured by us so we can find you a powerful master! Why not just lie down obediently? At least you'd suffer less that way."
The Spellcaster narrowed his eyes slightly and spoke softly.
He seemed to feel victory already beckoning to him.
That was indeed the case. In a head-on battle, they had absolutely no reason to lose.
Xiluo paid no attention to any of that.
He cast [Water Condensation Spell] repeatedly.
Balls of water kept hurtling toward the intruders and bursting apart.
Spray rained down continuously, making the moisture throughout the area even denser and slightly affecting some of the intruders' vision.
This did indirectly buy the other dragons some time.
Nearly another minute passed like this.
Five or six of the dozen or so dragon hatchlings had already been brought down, almost halving their numbers.
Those still holding out were all outstanding among the Wyrmlings, but even they were gradually weakening now.
Because of the drug, they had been holding their breath the whole time, making it difficult to fight at full strength, while minor wounds continued accumulating on their bodies.
The Red Dragon Whelp's breathing had long since become ragged, and his attacks grew increasingly disordered. The armored Warrior he was attacking could now fend off his attacks almost effortlessly.
This infuriated the Red Dragon Whelp, who roared:
"Damn you, you lowly humans! If not for these drugs, you would all be burned to cinders in my flames!"
Because of his lame leg, Little White Dragon Allen had been sent off to the side by Xiluo early on and had been using spells to help Xiluo attack the level 9 assassin.
But he was simply too weak.
Thanks to [Shiozawa Sakura] for the 200-coin tip and [Book Friend 20180310225347865] for the 100-coin tip, and to everyone for your monthly votes.
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(End of chapter)
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