Chapter 334: Offspring of a True Dragon Lord? My Name is Mishenkenpulite

Boom!

The deafening roar and the shockwave generated by the punch overturned all the surrounding tables and food, causing a massive tremor.

Both Yalaer and Chief Diyelong were sent flying by the shockwave at the same time, tumbling across the ground in a wretched state.

"Ah!"

Chief Diyelong let out a miserable shriek and fainted.

Yalaer felt the blood surging throughout her body; she propped up her upper body, looking at Little Nick with her hair standing on end, her face full of disbelief and horror.

The people of the oasis who had been sleeping in the area were all jolted awake, each of them frozen in place, unable to control themselves, filled with confusion and fear.

A terrifying sense of oppression permeated the air!

"You, you are not Little Nick." Yalaer’s voice trembled.

Little Nick was just an ordinary child!

Yet the Little Nick before her felt too terrifying; merely standing there gave Yalaer a sense of helplessness, as if she were unable to resist.

It was as if a predator were exerting dominance over prey, leaving only the result of being captured and waiting for death.

He looked down at his own fist.

"The tactile feedback is wrong."

Little Nick frowned slightly.

"Qi Blast Palm" does not make direct contact with the opponent; it is a technique designed to prevent the negative effects of physical touch, but he could still feel the feedback generated by the attack.

Little Nick’s face was sullen as he walked with a composed gait toward the spot where Tang Zheng had been blasted away, ignoring the terrified gasps of the humans behind him and Yalaer’s trembling questions.

A group of inferior beings—who would care about insects?

Though it looked like he was walking, his speed was actually very fast.

Two or three breaths.

Little Nick’s figure had already arrived at Tang Zheng’s location, where a large crater had appeared in the soft desert sand.

Inside lay a corpse half-covered by sand, a clear depression visible on its chest, its clothes stained red by a large amount of blood.

—A miserable sight in death.

Seeing this corpse.

"There is magic like this? Oh haha, how interesting."

"You inferior beings always provide some amusement from time to time."

As he spoke, Little Nick’s eyes shifted, locking onto a small sand dune to the northwest.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

"Magic Arrow: Fire."

Three crimson streaks of light suddenly flew out from behind the sand dune, accompanied by a piercing sound of breaking air, all striking Little Nick with precision.

Bang—

The three magic arrows shattered the moment they made contact, dissipating into faint mana.

Tang Zheng’s figure walked out from behind the sand dune.

"Unharmed? Is it magic nullification... no?"

Tang Zheng narrowed his eyes, using "Ninjutsu: Perception" to observe the changes in Little Nick’s aura; after being attacked, there was not a hint of decline in his aura:

"Fire attribute nullification? What a frightening surprise."

Under his investigative vision.

Little Nick’s entire body was wrapped in a layer of flame-like life energy that kept rising, a life aura far exceeding the Hero realm level.

This level is... around 45lv!

Tang Zheng was stunned internally, his gaze sweeping over the information that had just appeared on his attribute panel.

"'Qi Perception'?"

"And the 'Qi Blast Palm' from just now—it’s a Monk-class build."

Tang Zheng made a quick judgment, feeling both surprised and alert; he hadn't expected to find a powerhouse of this level in this Valley of Despair.

Among the powerhouses he had encountered so far, this opponent’s strength was second only to the Ancient Fire Dragon and the Sun Angler!

"First discovering the anomaly of the corpse, then using 'Qi Perception' to pinpoint my location—so he also possesses a considerable degree of keen intuition."

Tang Zheng had used the mana-based [Illusionist] spell "Feign Death" to create a fake corpse that was visually indistinguishable from the real thing.

It was within his expectations that it didn't fool the opponent, but it had indirectly allowed him to obtain some information.

Now the intelligence was unclear!

At a level around 45lv, solving this opponent would likely require revealing a portion of his strength.

No!

He couldn't determine the opponent’s identity, or if he had companions.

Watching Tang Zheng, who was covered in sand and dust, looking disheveled but having suffered no serious injuries, Little Nick’s expression changed.

He had obtained detailed intelligence on this foreign human from the humans in the oasis; logically, the opponent shouldn't have been able to withstand his punch!

These inferior beings were clearly like withered tree branches, easily snapped in two, yet the opponent had managed to block it.

Did he use some kind of magic item?

"What stupid thing are you doing?"

"This kind of fragile magic couldn't kill me even if you cast it ten thousand times."

Little Nick spoke with disdain, his cold eyes fixed on Tang Zheng: "This place is quite boring; the appearance of an interesting human is indeed worth investigating."

"Can you tell me where you came from?"

"To actually dare to ruin my plans!"

Plans?

What plans.

"You aren't human, are you!"

Tang Zheng’s face was solemn; he needed to extract information from the opponent. Although he used a questioning tone, he was unusually certain.

He made this judgment because it was impossible for a human to exceed the "Deviation" level.

Furthermore.

Tang Zheng had indeed not detected any abnormalities in the opponent’s human disguise.

Even the attribute panel gave no hints; there was only one possibility for this situation: the opponent was using a pan-magic skill, similar to a talent or a racial ability.

"How could I possibly be an inferior being like you! Damn it, damn it!!"

Little Nick seemed to have suffered some kind of insult, his facial expression twisting: "It’s all because of you damn humans that I have been trapped here all this time!"

"It’s all because of you—you ruined my plans!"

Crack—crack—

The petite human body began to expand at a speed visible to the naked eye, cracks appearing on the surface of the skin as the external disguise completely vanished.

In the blink of an eye, the body grew by two meters!

The pupils turned gold, the entire body was covered in a layer of fine, dark-gold scales, with well-developed, powerful muscles and a short tail.

The head was completely beast-like, with upward-curving horns on both sides!

The terrifying aura made the air heavy, air currents surged, and the desert beneath the opponent’s feet formed circular ripples that spread outward!

Seeing this strikingly conspicuous appearance!

"Dragonman?" Tang Zheng thought.

How could there be a Dragonman in this place? The question was, did the Dragonman race even exist in this other world!

—It was indeed possible!

Most Dragon Lords could communicate deeply with any living creature; for instance, the Dragon Lord of the Dragon Kingdom and the Lizardman Kulu Xue both possessed dragon bloodlines within them.

The problem was!

The opponent’s level was as high as 45lv; this level was already comparable to some aged dragons!

An offspring of a True Dragon Lord?

That was a lot of information.

Tang Zheng’s gaze sharpened; he stomped hard on the ground, his body moving to retreat while he whispered an incantation:

"Third-Tier Magic: Composite Elemental Summoning!"

"Sandstorm Elemental Spirit!"

Whoosh—

A whirlwind generated out of thin air; the wind and sand in the desert transformed into a sand-yellow, whirlwind-shaped elemental figure, whipping up a massive amount of dust as it charged toward Little Nick.

"Fool!"

The desert beneath the Dragonman’s feet collapsed, and his strong body sped across the desert at an extreme speed, yellow sand splashing up into the air wherever he passed.

"Aura of Destruction."

A faint white light enveloped the Dragonman’s hands as he collided with the Sandstorm Elemental Spirit.

The rotating sand and wind rubbed against the Dragonman’s body, emitting a "crackle" of intense collisions, but the next moment, a beastly claw reached out from the dust and tore the Sandstorm Elemental Spirit directly in two.

It clearly possessed damage effects that suppressed elements!

"The aura has decreased a little; although not by much, wind and earth elements should be able to cause him damage. The opponent doesn't have resistance to this type."

Tang Zheng analyzed while retreating:

"Additionally, like a normal Monk-class professional, he should lack long-range attack methods."

"Not even surprised to see an elemental spirit; is it because you already obtained intelligence on me from the humans in the oasis?"

That’s fine.

Tang Zheng felt steady inside; the only intelligence he had exposed here in the Valley of Despair was his capability as a third-tier magic caster and warrior.

Bang!

After the Dragonoid finished off the elemental spirit, it had already charged right in front of Tang Zheng, the distance extremely close.

At this moment, casting magic again was unsuitable, whether in terms of chanting time or distance!

Swish—

Tang Zheng waved his hand to draw the magic greatsword that had been hidden by his cloak and hung at his waist; it was the one he had obtained from the troll, Gu.

His sleeve opened.

A bronze-colored armguard appeared, faint and flickering; it was the "Death Guard Armguard," which he had already equipped in advance during the probing process.

Although he didn't think the opponent would possess instant-death type moves, he still had to be prepared just in case.

"Qi Gathering Impact"

A fist covered in fine, golden scales entered Tang Zheng’s field of vision.

"Rapid Slash"

The magic greatsword swung!

Boom!!

The blade and the fist collided first, and a violent shockwave exploded instantly.

To prevent being suspected by the opponent, Tang Zheng even proactively deactivated the "Aura of Courage" of the [Valkyrie], a move that could produce double damage during the initial collision.

Bang—

Tang Zheng’s body flew horizontally, crashing heavily onto a sand dune tens of meters away.

The [Ninja]’s "Conceal Presence" passive activated; Tang Zheng’s complexion immediately turned deathly pale, his aura grew weak, looking exactly like someone who had suffered heavy injuries.

"Oh-hahaha!"

The Dragonoid retracted its fist and, seeing Tang Zheng defeated by its single punch, let out a triumphant laugh:

"Too foolish, to dare to take my fist head-on after seeing my true form."

"What kind of monster are you!"

Tang Zheng revealed an expression of disbelief and spoke loudly.

"Monster?"

"Ignorant person with no insight, I am a Dragonoid!"

The Dragonoid spoke proudly, seemingly not at all surprised by its own effortless victory, looking as if it were a matter of course.

Lacking combat experience!

Tang Zheng evaluated internally; the opponents the other party had encountered before must have been too weak, to the point that it didn't have the slightest suspicion when he faked being defeated.

It really is a Dragonoid.

In fact, this was the first time Tang Zheng had seen this race, and he was still a bit uncertain; now that the other party had admitted it personally, it was naturally for the best.

This made him think of Sebas, one of the Floor Guardians in the "Great Tomb of Nazarick," who was also of the "Dragonoid" race.

"You, you—the Gray Dwarf race exterminating humans, you were the one pushing it from behind!"

Tang Zheng acted as if he had discovered something unbelievable, his voice weak: "No, with your power, you could completely destroy humanity with ease."

The Dragonoid had mentioned in its previous words that he had disrupted its plans; Tang Zheng recalled it for a moment, and the only thing that could be related was the actions of the Gray Dwarf race.

Too strange?

This was the point that had always made him feel something was wrong.

"Shut up!"

"Shut up!!"

The Dragonoid seemed to have been stimulated by something, stomping on the ground while shouting, looking somewhat neurotic.

Bang—bang!

Every step on the ground made the earth shake.

Seeing the other party in this state, Tang Zheng felt as if he had caught a flash of inspiration in his mind.

"I know now... *cough*, *cough*!"

Tang Zheng spoke loudly, then began to cough, his aura even weaker:

"With your power, you don't need to disguise yourself as a human to suddenly launch attacks in the oasis; you are protecting the oasis... to be precise—you are protecting the humans in the oasis?"

"I heard a rumor from the now-extinct Gray Dwarves that 'humans are a cursed race,' and that as long as one attacks humans, a disaster will occur."

"The so-called 'disaster' is you!"

"Clearly viewing humans as inferior creatures, yet having to protect them, while also manipulating the Gray Dwarves to destroy them; this completely contradictory situation—there is only one possibility!"

The Dragonoid stopped stomping, its neurotic mood fading; it slowly raised its head, a pair of golden beast-pupils with traces of bloodshot staring at Tang Zheng, a dense killing intent seemingly about to erupt from its eyes.

"You are being ordered to protect humans here by a more powerful existence, an existence you cannot resist at all."

"You would rather indirectly manipulate the Gray Dwarves to exterminate humans than do it yourself... what kind of existence could make you fear it so much, and even..."

"Even after the rumors have lasted for at least a hundred years, you still dare not disobey this order?"

The air became eerily quiet at this moment!

"Inferior creature!"

The Dragonoid’s sharp arms, covered in dark golden scales, moved slightly, and it took a step forward with its strong, powerful legs: "You talk too much."

"I will crush your neck with my own hands."

Tang Zheng had initially suspected that the Dragonoid before him might be the offspring of some Long Wang, but now he could rule that out!

How could an existence like a Long Wang care about humans, who were like bugs in their eyes?

In this other world, possessing great strength and holding some kind of favor toward humans, there is only one possibility—a player!

Could this Dragonoid before him be an NPC arranged here by some player who descended into this other world?

"My name is Michen Kempulite."

Tang Zheng suddenly spoke.

"An ant crawling on the ground is not worthy of me remembering its name."

The Dragonoid was expressionless, still walking over coldly, as if contemplating how to kill this human painfully.

Alright, not an NPC!

And definitely not a player.

"Geez."

Tang Zheng did a kip-up, standing up from the ground; his weak aura vanished, and even his pale complexion returned to a healthy, rosy glow.

The Dragonoid’s dense killing intent paused, staring blankly at Tang Zheng, who had recovered instantly from a near-death state.

"Intelligence gathering complete."

"Investigation is also finished; there are no companions of yours here, only you." Tang Zheng patted the dust off his body.

He hadn't just been fishing for information; he had also been constantly scanning the surroundings to see if there was any possibility of this area being observed.

That had also been ruled out!

Because if there were any magical observation here, the attribute panel would have alerted him immediately.

"I have many questions, so I'll just learn them directly from your mouth." Tang Zheng reached out and grabbed the magic greatsword stuck to the side.

"—Yie-yie-yie-ah!!"

The dark golden Dragonoid let out a sharp roar: "You inferior creature, you actually dared to fool me!"

Rumble!

The distance of tens of meters between the two was covered in an instant by a golden afterimage, its sharp claws viciously grabbing toward Tang Zheng’s neck.

"—Grasp of Steel"

"Four-Light Consecutive Slash · Magic Slash · Wind!" Tang Zheng swung the magic greatsword with one hand.

Using a martial art combined with the [Magic Swordsman] job skill, then infusing it with elements that could change its properties,

The translucent, sharp magic wind blades formed four elemental slashes under the swing of the magic greatsword; wind-attribute magic is known for its speed!

Before the Dragonoid could even get close to Tang Zheng, both of its arms and legs were struck simultaneously by the wind-attribute slashes!

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

The dark golden scales shattered, and blood bloomed simultaneously on its arms and legs.

"—Ya-ah-ah-ah." The Dragonoid roared in shock and anger, flying backward at a speed even faster than when it had charged.

It left a clear, unmistakable trail on the desert.

(End of chapter)