The Dragon-Slaying Hero

It must be said that Nia did indeed choose a very good location.

Walking on the edge of a cliff, Li Lin couldn't help but sigh.

A deep roar echoed through the mountains, and a massive, dark shadow swayed on a platform atop the mountain, causing even the ground to tremble slightly. The only path leading there was a short, narrow trail. One wrong step and one would fall into the Abyss and be turned into mincemeat. The paladins were currently walking on this path, but this time, Li Lin was in the lead.

"Stay close to me, everyone, and don't let your guard down."

As Li Lin spoke, he casually pressed down on a protrusion on the stone wall beside him. Soon, the previously loose structure tightened again under the power of magic, enough to support the weight of everyone. Otherwise, those tin cans behind him would have already fallen into the Abyss below along with the saintess they were protecting, becoming nothing. Of course, this required careful concealment to avoid being discovered by the people behind him. Li Lin was confident that his little trick wouldn't be noticed by these guys who were only focused on their own feet. Besides, even if they did, what could they do? Once he withdrew the power, this place would definitely not be able to support so many people—although it wouldn't be fun if it did.

Whether sensing their approach or not, another loud dragon roar rang out. The group stopped uneasily, looked up at the sky, and only lowered their heads again and continued forward after they saw nothing resembling a black dot or a black dragon.

"Please be careful, Miss Saint."

Li Lin reached out and grasped the saintess's right hand, helping her maintain her balance. Even seasoned paladins struggled to traverse this narrow path, let alone a woman like her. The saintess thanked him softly and took Li Lin's outstretched hand. She lowered her head, continuing to observe the path at her feet, and thus failed to see the smug smile on Li Lin's face as he glanced at the guardian knight commander behind him.

That damn bastard!!

Herbert clenched his fists. Although he knew this wasn't the time to dwell on such things, he couldn't suppress his anger. That coarse man, merely a wandering adventurer, dared to so brazenly touch the Saintess's hand. This infuriated Herbert. As her lover and protector, being unable to help the girl before him and only able to watch helplessly was an indescribable torment and pain. Moreover, despite his extreme dissatisfaction, a life-or-death battle was about to unfold; it was not the time to think about such trivial matters.

But that man looked at him like that!

Who exactly is this guy?

It was only then that Herbert realized something was amiss. Although he couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong, his intuition told him that something was definitely wrong.

Where exactly is the problem?

Herbert frowned, but quickly gave up thinking. The narrow path before him made it impossible for him to concentrate. Moreover, they had no way back. Although Herbert desperately wanted to leave with the saintess, reason prevented him. He knew that without a proper reason, the saintess wouldn't listen to him. Besides, they had already come this far, and the terrifying dragon was on the mountaintop platform not far above them. The situation was irreversible; there was no turning back.

No matter what this man wants to do, he will not succeed!

Watching Li Lin and the saintess clasp hands, Herbert gritted his teeth and made a vow in his heart.

I will protect her, even if it costs me my life!

For the paladins, the journey was exceptionally long, yet the time they spent on it was incredibly short. It seemed like an instant, yet also like an eternity—there was even a sense of reaching the end of time. In any case, when Li Lin extended his left hand, signaling them to stop, it meant they were nearing their destination.

We've arrived.

He lowered his voice and, whether intentionally or unintentionally, leaned close to the saintess's ear and spoke to her. Then, he quietly gestured to the paladins behind him, signaling them to be quiet, before slowly walking upwards.

The final few steps are always the most nerve-wracking. The paladins held their breath, gripping their sword hilts, watching Li Lin slowly make his way to the finish line, clinging to the edge of the rock. Even Herbert temporarily forgot Li Lin's earlier rudeness towards the saintess, focusing intently on the man's back. If they were discovered by that dragon, the group currently trapped in the narrow path would be completely defenseless. That terrifying monster wouldn't even need to lift a finger; a mere turn would cause an earthquake that would be enough to send them to meet the great god they had always longed to see but could never attain.

Li Lin cautiously peeked out, then immediately flipped over and jumped off. This action startled everyone, but after finding nothing unusual above them, they quickly followed him onto the platform. After all, a larger space always felt safer.

"It seems we've found the prey we've been looking for."

Looking at the colossal object before him, Li Lin spoke in a remarkably relaxed tone, which caused the other paladins to glare at him angrily. Clearly, uttering such words at such a solemn moment was extremely imprudent. However, Li Lin made no response to their gazes. The prelude to this scene had ended; the main event was about to begin.

"Then, we will proceed according to the original plan."

Herbert drew his longsword, using his body to separate the saintess and the princess, and said coldly. His unease grew stronger, whether from the tension and fear of facing the dragon or for some other reason, he didn't know. Whatever it was, it made him feel uneasy.

The plan was simple: first, several paladins would use their Radiant Holy Flame to attack the Shadow Dragon, at least rendering it unable to fly. The next step was much simpler: the saintess would use her pendant to unleash Divine Radiance, which would damage and significantly weaken the Shadow Dragon. Of course, considering the dragon wouldn't be easily subdued, it might summon the strange ghosts that had appeared before. At that point, Li Lin would need to restrain its movements. After all, he had once blinded one of the dragon's eyes, so another success was quite possible.

In Li Lin's view, this plan was riddled with flaws. Any dragon with a modicum of intelligence would not choose such a fighting method. These paladins were complete novices; they didn't even know that a Dragon Fear Aura would naturally appear around it. In fact, if it were a real dragon, it would never allow its intruders to approach its territory so closely. They would have become the dragon's meal halfway up the mountain. Not to mention that they had already brazenly walked up to the dragon and didn't even blink... If dragons had a family tree, such beings wouldn't even be considered among the sub-dragons; they might be relegated to the same level as pigs.

Of course, this is acting. It can't be too realistic. For art, a certain amount of exaggeration is necessary. Nia, who received Li Lin's order, did a very good job—under her control, the Shadow Dragon was sleeping like a puppy on its front paws. Its dark eye sockets were particularly striking, and it seemed that the dragon had fallen asleep because it was too tired.

Nia had indeed put in a lot of effort; at least the exhausted state of the Shadow Dragon gave the paladins a bit more confidence in slaying the dragon—though that was just an illusion.

Herbert took a long breath and made a few gestures. Soon, several other paladins quietly approached the sleeping Shadow Dragon and slowly surrounded it. They aimed at the dragon's wings, and then, holy light instantly shot up from their longswords.

In the name of God!

With the paladins' roars, a holy pillar of light descended from the sky, easily piercing the Shadow Dragon's wings.

Startled, the Shadow Dragon roared deafeningly. It hastily rose and spread its wings—several large, tattered holes already visible in them. The once thick shadow was now torn apart by the Divine Radiance, rendering the dragon unable to fly. The Shadow Dragon, swaying from side to side, clearly noticed this. It immediately raised its head, and soon, darkness began to gather in its mouth, then transformed into enormous waves.

"Evil darkness, retreat before the holy light!"

At that very moment, the saintess finally activated the pendant she had been preparing.

The light acted like a solid dam, blocking the waves of darkness and then causing them to vanish completely, leaving nothing behind.

Seeing that its most powerful weapon had become useless, the Shadow Dragon began to rage and pound the ground before it. Its body, formed from pure shadow, began to crumble before the holy light, and even its massive claws, which were pounding the ground, seemed somewhat powerless.

That doesn't seem quite enough.

Nia, hidden in the shadows, watched the dragon's movements with a slight frown.

Although Li Lin had asked her to lower the "difficulty" of the Shadow Dragon, it seemed that these paladins were stronger than she had imagined. Letting them defeat the dragon so easily would clearly not meet Li Lin's requirements. Therefore, Nia raised her staff, and its magical light began to flicker again, then transformed into a dragon pattern.

The difficulty has increased dramatically.

The dragon, which had been tormented by the holy light, suddenly lowered its body. Its tail transformed into a long, black whip that swept across the entire platform. This powerful strike not only dimmed the holy light that had previously held the upper hand, but also struck a paladin who hadn't had time to dodge. With a shrill scream, the unfortunate creature vanished into the sky, and his final fate would certainly not be to become one of the stars.

At this moment, the Holy Maiden looked at the huge crack in front of her, let out a long breath, and then looked at Li Lin beside her.

Thank you for your help.

If Li Lin hadn't pulled the Holy Maiden back in time, she probably would have been hit squarely by the dragon's tail.

"You are welcome."

Li Lin shrugged, then refocused his gaze on the Shadow Dragon. At the same time, the other paladins immediately adjusted their attitude; they were finally relieved to be facing a dragon, not a winged giant lizard. They cautiously dodged the dragon's claws and tail, keeping themselves within the protective range of holy light to minimize the damage they suffered. Although the Shadow Dragon repeated its tricks with several sneak attacks, the prepared paladins were not fooled. This resulted in the Shadow Dragon having less and less room to maneuver; after all, the mountaintop platform was far too cramped for a dragon.

However, despite the looming victory, the paladins remained vigilant. They remembered that this terrifying dragon had once summoned many ghosts that were not afraid of the Holy Light; who knew if it would summon them again now?

Of course, they didn't know, because Angela was currently leading the two sisters in cleaning and decorating the "Demon King's Castle" and was not present at all. Therefore, the dragon naturally couldn't summon any ghosts.

It's about time.

Watching the saintess's retreating figure, Li Lin smiled slightly. He lowered his longbow, and then a blue light flashed on the back of his hand, forming intricate magical runes. Li Lin then reached out towards the saintess's back. Whether it was instinctively sensing danger or not, just before Li Lin's fingers were about to touch the saintess, she suddenly turned around.

"Well, it's about time... What are you doing!"

In the saintess's eyes, Li Lin's actions clearly did not represent any friendliness. She subconsciously placed the pendant in her hand in front of her chest to block Li Lin's fingers, while Li Lin only responded to the saintess's actions with a cold smile.

Blue and white light burst forth.

Intense holy light enveloped the saintess's body, protecting her from Li Lin's spell. However, the blue light in Li Lin's hand was clearly more powerful; it almost forcefully enveloped the holy white light, devouring it entirely in the blink of an eye. As a result, the space that had been brightly lit by the holy light was plunged into darkness for a moment, before being immediately reclaimed by the blue light.

With a sharp scream, the saintess slowly collapsed to the ground, her eyes tightly closed, her face pale, clutching the shattered pendant in her hand.

"Even the power of the God of Justice is nothing more than this."

With a gentle smile, Li Lin withdrew his right hand, gazing at the still flickering and burning magical light at his fingertips. He blew on it lightly, and then the blue flames vanished completely.

This upheaval also affected the paladins who were fighting the dragon. They looked back, but the Shadow Dragon controlled by Nia naturally wouldn't let this opportunity pass. Soon, two more paladins were sent onto the one-way train to Heaven, never to return.

"You bastard!!"

The guardian knight, who had dodged the dragon's attack, naturally witnessed Li Lin's assault on the saintess. Filled with shock and anger, he roared and transformed into a streak of white light, lunging at Li Lin. But just as he charged forward, he felt a tremendous force press down on his body, and then he was completely crushed to the ground by the Shadow Dragon.

Who are you? What do you want?!

Even though he knew he was likely to die in the dragon's jaws, Herbert's eyes were still bloodshot as he stared intently at the man before him.

"There's no need to be in such a hurry."

In contrast to Herbert's anger, Li Lin remained remarkably calm. He still wore his gentle and refined smile, nodded to Herbert was pinned under the dragon's claws, and then snapped his fingers. Soon, magical light enveloped Li Lin's body, dispelling his illusion. His jet-black robe, shimmering with magical runes, reappeared, and the paladin who witnessed this clenched his teeth tightly.

"Evil mage!!! So you're an evil mage after all. You despicable worm! How dare you deceive us...!!"

"Say it whatever you want, I think this form of address is fine."

Li Lin shrugged at the paladin's angry curses, seemingly ignoring them completely.

"Next, I'll answer your second question, what I want to do... The answer to this question is actually quite simple."

As he spoke, Li Lin reached out again, and with a burst of magical light, the saintess's body, which had been lying unconscious on the ground, slowly floated up and came to Li Lin's side. Li Lin smiled and looked at the paladin who was being held down by the dragon's claws. He reached out and stroked the saintess's slender, fair neck, then reached down to her soft breasts and gave them a firm squeeze.

"... Now I think you understand?"

Li Lin withdrew his hand, rubbed his fingers together, and then looked at the guardian knight with a smile.

"You bastard, you despicable scoundrel, you beast...!!"

Seeing Li Lin's actions, Herbert suddenly began to twist his body like a madman. He even forgot that he was under the dragon's claws, his only thought being to crawl out, rush to this hateful, evil mage, and strangle him to death!

"Let her go! She's not someone a filthy, despicable person like you can defile!"

"I have a different opinion on this, however..."

Li Lin watched Herbert's body with great interest. At this moment, even the paladin himself did not realize that his body was slowly changing. Thick blood vessels were bulging in his muscles, and his eyes were becoming increasingly crazed.

"... Now it seems that this is not the time to discuss the issue. Moreover, as the saying goes... practice is the sole criterion for testing truth."

As Li Lin spoke, he casually swiped his hand, and soon a spatial portal appeared beside him.

"Perhaps I should let my results speak for themselves."

Then, Li Lin revealed the peaceful smile he had maintained throughout the journey, bowed slightly to the guardian knight, and then led the unconscious saintess into the teleportation portal. The spatial rift began to close slowly after the two figures disappeared. At this moment, Nia withdrew her power, and the Shadow Dragon, originally formed from power, began to dissipate into smoke and vanish into thin air.

"Don't go!! You bastard, come back here!! I'll kill you!! You damned bastard!! Evil mage!! I will never let you go!!"

The mountaintop was silent, save for the angry roar of the guardian knight, echoing through the mountains...