Chapter 392: Summoning

At this moment, the 【Chain of Far Speech】 brought a report from the Spider Elf Yuna.

The ritual at the Argyle Estate has been dismantled.

The station in Shi Ying Town and the northeastern city gate were separately attacked by a group of Dark Elves.

Shi Ying Town does have city gates, though nothing compared to the grandeur of major cities.

The adventurers, led by Zombie Selena, Rat Girl Thirteen, and Tiefling Saixier, moved to meet the threat on one side.

Witch Dimia, Yuna, and the female orc Amy formed a squad to lead the constables to the other side.

Pony-girl Bond climbed to the rooftop of Shi Ying Town's tallest city hall and unleashed a relentless barrage of arrows, providing maximum long-range support to both fronts.

Oona the Rabbitkin was not in the forest—she had returned days ago, as the Magic Control League had important work for her.

The Mind Flayer Hart's eighth-rank psychic abilities are one of his hidden cards; for now, he should stay hidden and strike only if necessary.

Luo De nodded, then suddenly realized someone was missing.

Where was Tally?

When he was dragging Tobeka away, the succubus had shouted through the 【Chain of Far Speech】: "Master, I haven't boarded yet!"

Presumably, she's chasing after us now?

Fighting is raging elsewhere—I can't afford to waste any more time here.

Luo De tossed the Slime Black Sword into his right hand.

He pointed it straight at the towering Dark Elf across from him and declared:

"One strike."

The Dark Elf merely glanced at the gruesome corpse of the caster on the ground and smiled calmly.

"I cannot match you—but someone else can."

He discarded his black-gold warhammer, spread his arms toward the sky, and crimson and pallid spiritual energy interwove across his jet-black skin.

And in the next instant:

His muscular body swelled rapidly into a fleshy balloon, shattered past its limit, and exploded—flesh and blood sprayed everywhere!

Self-detonation?

Luo De didn't understand what he was doing.

Even if he could revive, why destroy himself like this?

While he was puzzled, a black spatial void tore open at the site of his explosion.

"ROOOOAR!!!"

Suddenly, a deafening roar erupted like ten thousand thunderclaps colliding at once, carrying a foul, furious, majestic, and inviolable wind of stench from the black void.

A dragon's roar!

A thick, black-scaled dragon claw emerged first from the void and crashed onto the ground with a thunderous boom.

It clawed at the soil with savage, cruel green eyes, and then the dragon's head followed—its skull-like face emerging.

Sunken eye sockets, prominent open nostrils.

The bases of its curved, segmented horns glowed bone-white like dead flesh; its cheekbones' skin had been corroded by strong acid, shriveled down to a thin membrane.

All of this made the dragon's face appear terrifyingly skeletal.

The dragon's death-black, skull-like face fixed its gaze on Luo De, revealing contempt and cruelty.

"Mortal! I am Mihael, the Acid Mist Demon Lord! Kneel before me!"

Most dragons speak Common; speaking human language is nothing unusual.

Mihael the Black Dragon had only half his body emerge from the void, looking rather comical.

Mid-eighth rank, perhaps.

From spiritual accumulation, yes—but he possesses dragon scales, dragon magic, a dragon heart, dragon blood—all innate traits, plus his massive body granting immense spiritual capacity.

With all these natural advantages stacked together, he is far stronger than a typical eighth-rank mid-tier humanoid.

"Kneel your mother's ass."

"Audacious! How dare you speak so boldly before a dragon!!"

The black dragon instantly flew into rage.

Luo De, watching his 【Rage Points】 skyrocket, paused in surprise.

He looked again at the black dragon.

Its chest heaved violently; it opened its massive, tooth-filled maw—and a thick, acrid cloud of acid mist erupted, radiating linearly outward.

The dragon's breath!

Green spiritual energy laced with strong acid slammed into the ground, blasting a small hill into rubble, while the mist spread and filled the air.

It instantly engulfed a vast area.

Under its reputation, Luo De had no desire to take the blow head-on.

A 【Swift Shadow】—the ground exploded—and he vanished from his spot.

The edge of the acid mist brushed him, corroding most of his clothing.

The 【Dragon Scale Technique】 hissed and crackled—but held.

After all, it was enhanced by the 【Defensive Domain】.

He estimated briefly.

If he stood directly in this acid breath for about twenty minutes, the 【Dragon Scale Technique】 would likely break.

Of course, assuming he didn't actively repair the scales.

But he certainly wouldn't stand there and let the dragon breathe on him.

Luo De had decent acid resistance, but the substance being sprayed was too high a rank—he had no confidence he could survive without the 【Dragon Scale Technique】.

Mihael, seeing him land unharmed, blinked in surprise.

"A mere seventh-rank human warrior survives this blow? You may write it in your family chronicle and boast for life—assuming you live."

It opened its maw again; green luminescence glowed in its throat.

Luo De wouldn't let it fire again.

He stomped hard—seven or eight steel vines, as thick as a waist, erupted from the ground beneath the dragon's chin.

Though they couldn't pierce the dragon scales, their force was enough to slam the dragon's jaw shut.

"Hnngh!!"

The dragon grunted—the steel vines' force was immense, exceeding normal seventh-rank strength; not only did it shut its mouth, but its head's angle shifted.

Luo De ignited a pink-purple wrathful fire in his palm, and it rapidly spread over his entire body.

When the flames died down, a brutal, monstrous full-body armor covered him, and the Slime Sword in his hand transformed into a monstrous greatsword of purple-black exoskeleton.

【Lamenting Thunder】 mode.

Boom!

He vanished again from his spot.

Instantly appeared above the dragon's head in midair.

He raised the purple-black exoskeleton greatsword high; blue spiritual energy surged wildly, forming a spiraling vortex upward.

Mihael's emerald-green eyes rolled, locking onto the human above.

Ridiculous.

A seventh-rank human dares to harm an eighth-rank dragon.

Even if I lie still and let you chop at me, you'd need seven or eight days to draw blood.

Consider your strike a lullaby to send me to sleep.

Light flashed.

A colossal sword of spiritual energy formed instantly.

The dragon had high fire resistance.

But the wrathful fire was not mere flame—it was Naulin's curse of hatred against all resentment.

Added to the +5 【Dragon-Specific Offense】 from 【Paradise Party】.

Next instant:

Pink-purple wrathful fire spread from Luo De's hand like a torch igniting fuel, instantly engulfing the entire greatsword!

"Huh?"

Mihael stared at the furious pink flame sword before him, momentarily stunned.

If he had sweat glands, he'd be sweating now.

"Die!"

【Giant Slash】!!

The slash struck straight down onto Mihael's skull-like dragon face!

Scales and flesh flipped and tore.

Then came the sizzling sound of the wrathful fire burning.

The explosive shockwave ripped a massive fissure through the surrounding earth!

Dust rolled, exploding violently!

"ROOOOAR!!!!"

The dragon screamed in agony.

Its exposed claws thrashed wildly, frantically shoving dirt aside, then it rapidly retreated back through the spatial void, which snapped shut with a tearing sound.

(End of chapter)