Chapter 87: Being Toyed With

Buzz—buzz—buzz!

A sudden, intense humming erupted, as sacred and untouchable as a heavenly hymn; solemn, awe‑inspiring power gathered above the blue‑footed dragon snake's head, and the overwhelming sense of threat forced the creature to claw at the ground repeatedly, trying to burrow underground.

But it was useless.

Divine golden flames roared forth, coalescing above the blue‑footed dragon snake's head into a massive fiery cross—both a hymn of the gods and a display of divine majesty. The holy cross erupted into a soaring golden pillar of fire, enveloping the blasphemous evil Monster within.

The blue‑footed dragon snake howled wildly within the golden pillar, thrashing its body in a futile attempt to extinguish the flames. Yet the domineering divine fire was no ordinary flame that dies upon contact with water; its cries faded, and it turned to ash within the fire.

Luo Jia felt a chill of dread; he knew the Flame Strike Technique. Many assume priests only possess supportive abilities, but priests inherit divine power, so they surely have potent offensive means. This Divine Spell is one of the priest's offensive hallmarks.

Flames infused with divine power can pierce the magical resistance of almost any creature; the Flame Strike Technique, a single‑target five‑ring Divine Spell, is nearly as powerful as a seven‑ring Evocation spell.

Not to mention Naimi Xisi's prior preparation; he recognized it as the archetypal priestly power—Divine Overmagic—whose exorcism of five Undead supplied enough energy to elevate this Divine Spell.

The largest blue‑footed dragon snake, seeing its kin fall, let out a painful whimper, glared at Naimi Xisi with hatred and shrieked, "Humans!! You're courting death!!"

Two blue‑footed dragon snakes lunged forward, one on each side; from the abyssal maw coalesced a white light of countless currents, and two intense lightning beams shot out, aimed straight at Naimi Xisi.

Naimi Xisi manipulated the Mana within his heart, instantly warping reality; the massive Mana boost raised his lightning resistance to full.

A two‑ring Evocation anomaly—Specific Energy Adaptation.

The lightning struck the Mage a moment later, but his flowing black robe quivered in the air, and a silver Light Screen materialized on its surface, firmly blocking the bolt.

Zirazira

The blue‑footed dragon snake, refusing to yield, kept spewing; the scorching white lightning beams continuously clashed with the Mana‑formed shield, to no avail.

This is the futility of the Evocation against a Spellcaster; one of the blue‑footed dragon snake's two primary attacks was instantly nullified. Yet the pair, whose only thought was avenging their slain offspring, never considered attacking others; seeing their lightning breath fail, they abandoned the spray and rushed straight at the target.

"Tsk." Naimi Xisi clicked his tongue, and Luo Jia, understanding instantly, leapt forward as a flesh shield, trying to block the blue‑footed dragon snake.

The dragon snake swung its massive violet tail, striking hard at the clueless human, but Luo Jia held it firmly. His muscles bulged, iron spikes sprouted along his arms, anchoring securely into the dragon snake's tail.

Naimi Xisi raised an eyebrow—was he a Warform Shifter like General Ke Long?

The blue‑footed dragon snake, wincing, flung him away; Luo Jia spun in the air, landed steadily, and with a flick of his hands, two massive iron claws materialized. He tore off his armor, tossed it aside, and countless iron shards erupted from his body, writhing into a ferocious, spiked black iron armor.

Behind him, countless iron fragments reformed into a pair of black steel wings; he beat the wings and surged toward a blue‑footed dragon snake, engaging it in combat.

Luo Jia's steel exterior was razor‑sharp; though his strength lagged behind the blue‑footed dragon snake's, his winged maneuvering meant any contact would slice a gaping wound into the creature's body.

The blue‑footed dragon snake spewed lightning wildly; Luo Jia was forced to abandon his assault and flee, for any hit from lightning energy in that state would inflict massive extra damage.

Naimi Xisi stopped watching Luo Jia; the Warform Shifter's power is immense—this rare advanced class lets its user freely generate metal weapons on its body, and with Physical Quality comparable to a Warrior, that blue‑footed dragon snake is unlikely to be a match.

He focused on the giant blue‑footed dragon snake charging at him, whispered a few incantations, and the moment the creature drew near, he split into fourteen afterimages.

The Monster, lacking the True Knowledge Technique's enhancement, was bewildered, unable to discern its target. Yet the spell did not cease with its daze; the fourteen figures chanted in unison, unleashing frenzied dark light waves from their hands.

A five‑ring Necromancy spell—Fatigue Wave! The blue‑footed dragon snake struck by the light wave instantly felt weakness surge, becoming drowsy and exhausted, its eyelids battling, yearning to collapse and sleep on the spot.

A surge of alertness struck his mind; he realized he'd been hit. The giant blue‑footed dragon snake snapped its head, clamped its teeth hard onto its own tail, and the intense pain sharpened his senses.

Roar!!

Lightning breath shot out of its mouth at breakneck speed, wildly attacking the surrounding phantoms, but the bolts pierced the phantoms and missed, until all fourteen phantoms had been struck once; it still could not locate the true target.

Concealed in the sky, Naimi Xisi saw a misty blue‑footed dragon snake, chuckled lightly; he enjoyed fooling these fools.

The boy's black pentagram gem on his chest glowed faintly with dark light, and a sudden cold wind rose. The blue‑footed dragon snake felt its scales brushed by countless chilling serpents. "Hideous monster, you dare challenge the true dragon, a base creature; I curse you, curse you and your close‑bloodline, that you shall fall into weakness. With each passing second, each minute, your flesh will grow frailer; your proud lightning will lose its brilliance. Unless you submit to the great dragon, you will forever drown in this curse!"

No!!!

The giant blue‑footed dragon snake let out a painful wail; it sensed how massive the curse's power was—this was the eight‑ring Necromancy spell Advanced Curse Suppression, which can persist forever in its bloodline unless the arduous conditions set by Advanced Curse Suppression are fulfilled; no Divine Spell can lift such a vile power.

Gray gas drifted down from the sky, inevitably coiling around the giant blue‑footed dragon snake's body.

The boy high above curled his lips; the condition to lift Advanced Curse Suppression was his careful design—the spell's sole restriction is that it must create for the cursed a task they could possibly accomplish with their own power. This is the "curse‑break," a requisite for Advanced Curse Suppression.

Submitting to the great dragon is too easy—so easy they only need to bow their proud heads and swear fealty to the dragon.

But it's also too hard; they would rather be forever tormented by the curse than submit to the great dragon.

If you don't submit, the curse will torment you for a lifetime; if you submit, you'll be disgusted forever—a perfect ploy.

The giant blue‑footed dragon snake's anguish was evident; throughout its long life its close‑bloodline numbers are countless. The curse's power not only entangles its direct descendants but any kin with blood ties to the giant will be cursed.

Luo Jia, fighting another blue‑footed dragon snake, was startled by Naimi Xisi's ferocity; what grudge against the blue‑footed dragon snakes warrants such a vile curse?

The curse's power quickly manifested; the blue‑footed dragon snake battling Luo Jia found its breath growing weak—just a few seconds of spitting left it utterly exhausted, unable to exhale again for minutes.

Luo Jia seized the chance, accelerated his attack rhythm, and soon sent the weakened blue‑footed dragon snake back to hell.

Only the giant blue‑footed dragon snake remained, languidly lying motionless; countless black tentacles covered its body, binding it tightly to the ground.

Luo Jia withdrew his armor, approached, glanced at the dragon snake on the ground, and scratched his head: "Aren't you going to kill this big guy? It's too huge to bring back."

Naimi Xisi shook his head, his deep gaze fixed on the dragon snake's lifeless pupils, and said, "Submit to me, blue‑footed dragon snake. Isn't it better to bow to me than to the great dragon you despise? I can lift the curse from you."

The blue‑footed dragon snake glanced at him, sneered, and said, "Advanced Curse Suppression cannot be lifted by the caster; do you think I'm a fool?"

Naimi Xisi curled his lips; indeed he could not lift it, but once the blue‑footed dragon snake submitted to him, the curse would be broken—though he would then learn the truth, it would be too late, wouldn't it? Juan Ce Long, with malicious intent, coaxed him: "Do you think I'd waste effort raising a cursed, useless pet? Use your brain, blue‑footed dragon snake; since I claim I can lift it, I will, provided you swear a divine oath to me."

The giant blue‑footed dragon snake hesitated; the human's words made sense—its power was already gone, and without a way to lift the curse it would waste away day by day until it lost all combat ability, yet something still felt off.

He guardedly looked at Naimi Xisi and said, "I can submit to you, but the contract must include a clause forbidding you from forcing me to submit to the great dragon!"

The blue‑footed dragon snake's simple mind raced, patching the only loophole it knew—what if the human tried to make it submit, then used the contract's power to coerce it into bowing to the great dragon?!

Naimi Xisi smiled, "Of course, you set the contract's terms, but you must guarantee you will forever submit to me."

The blue‑footed dragon snake sighed; if given a choice, it did not wish to die. It knew the only alternative to refusal was being slain by the human before it, and submitting to a human rather than a great dragon was indeed more palatable.

"I—blue‑footed dragon snake Kanaiski swear to Manuo! From now on I will submit to—" He looked at the human, indicating he still did not know his name.

"Naimi Xisi." the Mage replied eagerly.

"Naimi Xisi, the term is forever! As a condition, Naimi Xisi must lift my curse and may never force me to submit to any great dragon!"

The contract's power manifested; hellfire in the air formed a Scroll, bearing the power of Manuo, the cloud‑giant god dwelling in the scorching inferno.

The Scroll quivered in the air, as if amused by the agreement's terms, and a faint "cackle" echoed through the air.

After Kanaiski finished his oath, the blue‑footed dragon snake was surprised to find the curse on its body slowly fading, yet an uneasy foreboding rose within.

(End of Chapter)