Chapter 160: The Cowardly Red Dragon

The Red Dragon lazily sprawled on the crater's edge, grabbed a freshly roasted, fully cooked Niksalan and shoved it into its mouth, crunch—crunch, chewing.

"Take them down. That Juan Ce Long will take quite a while to fly here. Lick Dog No. 2, you arrange people to get weapons and set up an ambush."

The Red Dragon called a man in black robes forward and, with a sly grin, ordered him to produce his treasured weapon.

Long ago, Di Luo Naou had a contingency plan for robbing his own kind; he ordered the Niksalan to forge massive bow‑crossbows, attempting to imitate the dragon‑heritage human‑made dragon‑slaying crossbows.

Unfortunately, the Maztec people's craftsmanship was poor; they could only produce shoddy knock‑offs, like a clumsy imitation, which could at most harass the powerful True Dragon.

Di Luo Naou is a Red Dragon who is extremely prepared; like his kin, he never fights an unprepared battle. Even if that Juan Ce Long appears and turns out to be a weaker dragon, he still makes thorough preparations.

Unfortunately, his preparations were doomed to fail, because the Juan Ce Long arrived far faster than he had imagined.

A black silhouette descended from the sky, landing on the volcano's summit with unmatched force; the colossal impact instantly pierced the ground, sending shards of rock scattering and leaving a huge fissure that exposed the searing magma below.

In the volcano's centre, Di Luo Naou was first startled, then gloomily stared at the spot where the black silhouette fell; his keen dragon eyesight saw through the swirling dust and discerned the presence within.

A massive silver giant dragon!

"Damn it, this is a Juan Ce Long? So big? How is that possible?! It must be at least an Ancient Dragon‑level Juan Ce Long, right?"

Di Luo Naou thought inwardly that this was bad; the oddly‑shaped Juan Ce Long opposite him was about the same size as himself, which in Juan Ce Long terms is a colossal behemoth—only an Ancient Dragon‑level specimen could grow that large!

This is not something he can handle.

The two colossal beings stared at each other from the summit; fortunately, the platform atop Di Long Volcano was spacious, otherwise Wa Luo Sang and the Rain Dragon beside them might have been crushed by the descending Naimi Xisi.

"Master, you have arrived."

The Rain Dragon hung his head in dejection; after completing the short‑message technique, he broke free from the Suggestion Technique's control, knowing his actions were a betrayal.

Naimi Xisi didn't mind; he knew the Rain Dragon was likely under some control, and divine oaths, unlike the Mind Gem, are not that binding and always have loopholes.

He stared quietly at the Red Dragon, his tone laced with amusement: "Is it you who wants a face‑to‑face? Red Dragon? How could I not know that even Red Dragons are now doing respectable business?"

Di Luo Naou gave an awkward smile, not getting angry; in his view, the Juan Ce Long before him was undeniably at least Ancient Dragon level. For these book‑obsessed dragons, if their size matches yours, it proves their Arcane Power can far crush you!

"Of course, of course, mighty White Mystery, this mine is my own enterprise; for all guests who travel from afar, I am most respectful and friendly!" the Red Dragon sneered.

His scalp tingled, his scales practically bristling, fearing the opponent might hurl a Legendary Spell that would annihilate him from the inside out.

"Oh? Really? Are you sure you didn't summon me just to rob me?" Naimi Xisi let out a light snort.

He knew perfectly why the Red Dragon was being so courteous—it was his own size that frightened him.

The Juan Ce Long is a type of True Dragon with an extremely frail body, so they are normally tiny; a typical adult Juan Ce Long is only about 40 meters tall, yet this one now measured a full 80 meters!

This is almost the size of an Ancient Dragon‑level Juan Ce Long.

A Juan Ce Long of the Extremely Old Dragon tier is already a Legendary Level Spellcaster, let alone an Ancient Dragon; crushing this Red Dragon would be a breeze.

Confronted by Naimi Xisi's questioning, the Red Dragon's heart leapt; he shook his head wildly and shouted, "Impossible! How could I be that kind of dragon? I despise dragons who loot others' wealth! Esteemed White Mystery, I swear by my living mother that if I entertain such a thought, she will instantly step out and encounter the Primordial Golden Dragon!" Naimi Xisi narrowed his eyes, skeptical—was the Red Dragon shameless, or had he truly misread him?

Never mind, they're already here.

The Juan Ce Long was silent for a moment, then said coldly, "I don't care about that. You made me travel a great distance, so you must compensate me—this is an equal exchange! My time is extremely precious; for the time I've wasted on you, what do you propose?"

Red Dragon choked, its brain racing into action—give money? No way, that's absolutely unacceptable! Offer granite? That also won't do, that would cut into my income!

After pondering, the domineering Red Dragon curled his claws, a lecherous grin on his face, and said, "How about I give you all my Dependents? They're excellent workers, guaranteed useful!"

The black‑robed men beside him immediately knelt, crying out loudly, "No! Master! Don't abandon us! We'll serve you for life!"

Naimi Xisi gave them a disdainful glance; a bunch of masochists who can tolerate a Red Dragon yet refuse to leave—he didn't need those.

Seeing the other side refuse, Di Luo Naou snorted coldly and stepped on a Niksalan who was clutching his own toe, believing that the slaves' behavior made the opponent uneasy.

"I think this granite transaction should be free for me, to compensate my loss," the Juan Ce Long said leisurely.

Di Luo Naou's pupils widened in shock, his face pained: "Isn't that too much? You were supposed to give me 500,000 gold coins! Make it cheaper—490,000 will do!"

Naimi Xisi narrowed his eyes, his violet pupils brimming with threat: "You mean my time isn't worthy of such compensation? Red Dragon, are you insulting me? Insulting a Juan Ce Long?"

!

The Juan Ce Long uttered a venom‑snake‑like dangerous incantation, and a pale green glow emanated from his claws.

【40】 A profoundly dangerous sensation surged in his chest; Di Luo Naou's heart thumped loudly. The great dragon's instinct warned him that whatever spell the Juan Ce Long wielded posed an immense threat.

The Red Dragon choked, his mind racing: Money? No, I'll never accept! Granite? That's also no good; that would cut into my earnings!

Indeed, it was true: the spell Naimi Xisi had gathered was the highest‑damage single‑target Six Ring Spell—Disjunction Technique—enhanced twentyfold, so even an Extremely Old Red Dragon hit by it would be severely wounded, barely clinging to life.

"Wait, wait, wait!" the Red Dragon hurriedly shouted, halting the opponent's casting.

He gritted his teeth, abandoning his greed: "I am willing, esteemed White Mystery. It is my honor that you may use the rocks of Di Long Volcano; I will give you all the granite, no— even if you later need more granite, I will give it to you for free!"

Di Luo Naou's prudence made Naimi Xisi very satisfied; this trip saved him five thousand gold coins, and he was still very willing.

"Very well, then cooperate with that Rain Dragon and haul the granite back for me. Remember, don't try to run away—you should know that even if you flee to the ends of the earth, to a Juan Ce Long skilled in prophetic spells you'll be as good as invisible," Naimi Xisi said cryptically.

"Understood."

Di Luo Naou replied begrudgingly; he didn't want to, but had no choice—just as that detestable Juan Ce Long had said, he couldn't escape.

An Ancient Dragon‑level Juan Ce Long has countless ways to locate itself, even capable of killing itself from a thousand miles away with a prophetic spell.

At this moment, the Red Dragon deeply regretted his greed, having summoned a formidable elder.

He sensed this would not be the Juan Ce Long's last time summoning him.

(End of Chapter)