Chapter 357: Damage Displacement: The Despair of [Blue Rose] (Dragon Boat Festival)

Boom!

The force generated by the dragon tail’s whip-like strike was like a thunderclap exploding in the clear sky, instantly creating a gale of force seven or eight that bent the dense forest in this area.

The sound of branches snapping was as dense as thunder!

The lush, thick leaves were swept up into the sky by the gale, like green blood, scattering across the sky!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

One figure after another was sent flying by the intense impact, smashing into the jungle behind; several thick trees were snapped in succession by the bodies.

After snapping three large trees in a row, Tina and Tia slammed into a brown tree trunk half a meter thick with a dull thud, then fell to the ground.

The two slender figures were already covered in small wounds cut by branches and leaves!

One figure lay limp on the ground, while the other leaned powerlessly against the base of a large tree, blood constantly spilling from her mouth.

As ninja-class assassins, they did not wear heavy defensive equipment to maintain agility, stealth, and ease of movement.

This resulted in the following.

Even though Landfall had used defensive magic to offset a portion of the attack, the power of the shockwave still caused immense damage to Tina and the other.

Lakyus and Gagaran were slightly better off, but they were also severely injured, lying in the ruins of broken forest branches.

In the entire area.

The only one standing was Landfall.

The giant dragon Tang Zheng had transformed into spread its dragon wings, circling above the jungle; its crimson figure was like a scorching sun, and its golden pupils looked down with indifference at the group of Blue Rose below.

He had not triggered the acquisition of Origin Magic when he previously made contact with Landfall, so he could only attempt to transform into a Dragon King and make contact again.

However!

Tang Zheng did not intend to expose his identity as a Golden Dragon, so he activated "Physical Armament" to cover his entire body.

Due to the Sun Angler he had previously devoured, the color of the Physical Armament armor had turned crimson, so from the outside, he looked more like a giant crimson dragon.

"Lakyus, Gagaran, Tina, Tia!"

Landfall looked up at the crimson giant dragon in the sky, not daring to let it leave her field of vision, and growled with a trembling throat.

"Cough... cough."

"I, I and Tina are not... dead yet..."

"Little one, hold on for a moment,"

"Evileye, be careful..."

The voices of her companions came from behind.

Landfall could sense the weak auras behind her, especially those of Tia and the other, who gave a response even while severely injured.

This was her companions preventing her from being distracted.

Fury burned in Landfall's eyes as she stared fixedly at the crimson giant dragon in the sky, its mountain-like figure and terrifying dragon pressure.

As an undead, she should not have been affected by emotions, yet her heart beat inexplicably faster.

The crimson scales were as delicate and smooth as fish scales, and the massive dragon wings were spread wide; under the sunlight, a pale red light flowed between the gaps in the scales!

Landfall had lived for over 250 years and had never been in such close proximity to the most powerful race in this world.

Such size and pressure proved that the opponent was not an ordinary dragon, but a King of Dragons—a Dragon King!

"A monster? Are you kidding me!"

Landfall noticed that the giant dragon's size seemed somewhat abnormal.

She had seen dragons with slender builds from afar, but the crimson giant dragon before her was clearly much more robust.

The scales all over its body also felt somewhat strange.

However, there were many types of dragons, and their builds were not necessarily all slender.

Very strong!

Stronger than most of the Demon Gods that had descended!

"Mortal."

Tang Zheng opened his mouth, and arrogant syllables rolled out from between his sharp teeth; he was in the image of a Dragon King, so naturally, he had to imitate the arrogance of the dragon race:

"You ants crawling on the ground, who gave you permission to look up?"

The rolling, humming sound vibrated through the air.

"Even if you are a Dragon King!"

Landfall was uncontrollably furious: "Don't get too full of yourself!"

The Dragon King before her was indeed powerful.

Landfall could feel the obvious gap, but if she wanted to run, she was confident she could escape; but what about the companions left behind?

The only way now was to lure the opponent away and then teleport back to take everyone away!

I am a woman who has lived for over 250 years!

"Magic Maximize Magic: Crystal Dagger!"

Evileye was the first to cast a spell.

Crystal bullets the size of fists, injected with negative energy and further enhanced by magic, roared toward the giant dragon in the sky like real cannonballs.

This was her specialty earth-attribute piercing magic; not only was it an area-of-effect attack, but the sharp crystals could also further increase the destructive power.

After seeing the crimson Dragon King's tail attack easily shatter the crystal shield, Landfall already knew that she must never give this Dragon King any chance to get close!

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Tang Zheng looked down at the tiny figure below, not making any move to dodge, letting the attacks fall.

There were not many opponents of Landfall's level, so it was a good chance to verify his own abilities.

Boom—

The crystal bullets landed on his body and exploded.

Tang Zheng's body did not sway in the slightest, and the scales on his body did not even show a single mark.

As expected.

Looking at the attribute panel, "Physical Armament" had lost twenty-seven points of durability.

"Not bad," Tang Zheng thought to himself.

Landfall's fingertips trembled; even though she had expected that her attacks could not cause effective damage, she had not expected them to have no impact at all.

"Fly"!

Magic surged.

Landfall took to the air, flying in the opposite direction, and cast a spell again:

"Magic Maximize Magic: Dragon Lightning!"

A brilliant blue electric light surged from her arm, turning into a galloping dragon-shaped lightning bolt that roared toward Tang Zheng.

There was no need to aim specifically!

"Dragon Lightning" was an area-of-effect spell, and besides, with such a large target, she could hit it even without aiming.

After casting the spell, Landfall did not pay any more attention, instead focusing all her mana on escaping.

Swish!

Her red robe rustled in the wind.

This most powerful race seemed to be born with astonishing resistance to both magical and physical attacks.

However.

Damage was one thing, but the paralysis effect caused by "Dragon Lightning" would to some extent affect the opponent's movements, making it easier for her to put more distance between them.

"Are you trying to compete with me in flight speed? Mortal!"

Tang Zheng looked at the fleeing Landfall and sneered. Facing the incoming piercing blue lightning, his massive body suddenly shrank.

"Shadow Assault"!

In an instant!

A massive shadow vanished from its original spot at an extraordinary speed, easily dodging the Dragon Lightning attack while leaving a black afterimage in mid-air.

In the span of a single breath.

Landfall, who had already escaped some distance, looked ahead as if her throat had been gripped: "How could this be..."

The crimson giant dragon's figure had already blocked Landfall's path.

"Shadow Assault" was one of the abilities of "Physical Armament."

Boom!!

A dragon claw, sharp as a wall, swung down from the sky, grabbing fiercely toward Landfall.

"Gravity Reversal!" Landfall chanted quickly.

Tang Zheng felt his swinging dragon claw lose some force, as if some of its power had been drained, and his movement slowed by a beat.

—Whoosh!

Landfall immediately stopped her forward momentum; with no time to retreat, she channeled mana to increase her altitude, her nimble figure easily bypassing Tang Zheng's giant body and flying upward.

Swish!

"You cannot escape."

Tang Zheng's dragon wings flapped, increasing his altitude as well. His fierce, massive dragon head overtook Landfall first, and a wisp of flame sprayed from his nostrils:

"Obediently crawl on the ground for me!"

This time, both dragon claws swung out simultaneously, the sharp tips piercing the air and creating a piercing hum. "This distance is enough—Teleport!"

Landfall roared suddenly, and her figure vanished into thin air.

At an altitude of over a thousand meters.

Only Tang Zheng remained, his wings pausing, ceasing his ascent.

"Heh, such little schemes are not hard to guess."

Tang Zheng lowered his head, his golden dragon pupils piercing through layers of air, easily capturing the Landfall who had already appeared beneath the jungle, and he made a grasping motion in the void with his dragon claw.

A small scroll appeared within his massive palm.

In his Golden Dragon King form, Tang Zheng could not use tier magic, but using magic scrolls was unaffected.

Applying slight pressure to his palm, he crushed the scroll.

8th-tier magic, "Judgment Lockdown"!

An invisible barrier rapidly expanded to envelop the area below.

And at this moment.

Landfall, who had teleported back into the jungle, had already arrived beside the members of [Blue Rose].

Just a moment ago, during a gap in her battle with the crimson Dragon King.

Lakyus, who was less severely injured, had already pulled Gagaran, Tina, and Tia to her side.

"Captain, we must retreat!"

As soon as Landfall appeared, she quickly grabbed Lakyus, who was already prepared.

"Go!" Lakyus had blood at the corner of her mouth, and her long, golden, spiraling hair was now disheveled, making her look utterly wretched.

The successive abnormal situations had caused this scouting mission to fail.

Lakyus’s heart was filled with regret, but she also understood the current situation; retreating first was the most important thing.

"Teleport."

Landfall chanted, activating the magic.

However!

The expected shift in vision did not occur; the bodies of Landfall and the others flickered, but they actually remained in place.

"What is going on!"

An expression of disbelief appeared on the cheeks behind Landfall's mask, and her eyes rarely betrayed panic.

Although Lakyus did not know what had happened, she realized there was a problem, and her fair cheeks turned grim: "Evileye, it’s that Dragon King’s doing!"

—Whoosh!

A gust of wild wind came from the sky.

Tang Zheng controlled his massive dragon body, descending from mid-air unhurriedly: "Want to run away?"

"I have already said, a group of ants should just crawl on the ground!"

"Damn it!" Seeing that the teleportation magic had completely failed, Landfall felt a chill spread throughout her body; this was a situation beyond her imagination.

"Captain, take them and go."

"I will hold it off!" Like a bristling leopard, Landfall let go of Lakyus’s hand and turned to charge toward Tang Zheng:

"Maximize Magic: Crystal Knight Lance!"

Lakyus’s eyes were filled with grief and indignation; who could have imagined that a single scouting mission could plunge the squad into such a situation.

While feeling regret in her heart, crystal-clear tears welled up in her eyes uncontrollably!

As captain, she would never abandon her companions no matter what, but precisely because of that, Lakyus understood even more that staying here would only drag Landfall down.

Evileye, you must have a way to leave!

In Lakyus’s clear blue pupils, Landfall’s back was reflected; she grabbed Tina and Tia with each hand, hoisted Gagaran up, and turned to flee.

"Hmph!"

Tang Zheng let out a cold snort.

"Shadow Assault"!

A black shadow flashed.

The massive crimson body moved like a ghost, easily dodging the Crystal Knight Lance while appearing directly in front of Landfall.

He raised his dragon claw high and swung it down heavily!

Landfall’s vision was instantly engulfed by the massive dragon claw, and she hurriedly activated magic: "Damage Displacement!"

Boom!

The terrifying force poured down, a half-meter-deep crater appeared out of thin air on the ground, and Landfall was pressed into the ground like flattened paper.

The dragon claw lifted.

Landfall actually climbed up from the ground, wobbling, looking completely unscathed except for the dirt staining her clothes.

"'Damage Displacement,' huh? A decent skill."

Tang Zheng looked at the skill notification appearing on his attribute panel, a faint, imperceptible smile flashing in his eyes.

The reason he was still fighting the opponent was to force them to use the skills and methods he wanted to see.

The dragon claw reached out again to grab Landfall.

"Maximize Magic: Resistance Penetration —!"

Landfall staggered, her body swaying, her eyes behind the mask becoming increasingly crimson; feeling the dwindling mana within her, she activated magic with all her might once more.

I must create more time for my companions to escape!

"Ninjutsu: Shield of the Immovable Vajra!"

"Ninjutsu: Shield of the Immovable Vajra!"

Suddenly.

Two weak, delicate shouts rang out.

Directly in front of the dragon claw, two shields radiating golden light appeared simultaneously.

Crack!

Crack!

After resisting for only a moment, both golden shields shattered at the same time.

"Ah — Dark Blade Super-Siege Shockwave!"

A beautiful blonde figure leaped out from above Landfall, the black magic sword in her hand hacking heavily onto the dragon claw.

Immediately following, pure black energy erupted.

Boom!

The massive shockwave sent Lakyus flying while also blocking the dragon claw's assault.

Everyone!

"Dragon Lightning!"

Seeing that everyone who had fled had actually returned, Landfall shed tears of frustration while chanting angrily.

Boom!

The Dragon Lightning, enhanced by two types of magic, erupted with a dazzling blue light that illuminated the jungle.

"Useless attack!"

An arrogant voice rang out calmly.

The Dragon Lightning struck the crimson giant dragon precisely, yet under everyone's gaze, as the electric light dissipated, the opponent remained unscathed.

Only at the spot where the Dragon Lightning struck were there some charred marks and damaged scales.

Bang!

The dragon claw lifted and grabbed Landfall in its grasp.

"Put the little one down — Super Continuous Attack!" Gagaran rushed out from behind, roaring in weak anger, her swinging mace striking Tang Zheng’s dragon claw like a rainstorm.

Bang — bang —

Dense metallic clashing sounds exploded on the dragon claw.

"Run!"

"Why won't you run!" Landfall’s voice trembled, a wail mixed into her sobbing.

Tang Zheng raised his arm, knocking Gagaran away, and pulled Landfall to his front.

(End of chapter)