Chapter 209: Riding the Dragon

Amid the soaring music, Lei En's power surged by half, and he also received the boost of the Dragon Power Technique.

His upper garments were shattered into fragments by that Arcane Blast Technique, leaving only a few strips hanging; his chest caved in, flesh and blood a mess, and the injuries looked rather dreadful.

But that couldn't stop him from giving his all; his war hammer struck Lu Yin's shield.

Bang!

The seemingly lightweight prism‑light shield was many times harder than steel; the war hammer rebounded, jolting Lei En's palm to split and his hands went numb.

However, Lu Yin wasn't fine either; both the person and the shield were slammed into the ground.

Lei En skillfully used the momentum, adjusting his posture midair, raising the war hammer overhead with both hands, and then smashing it down from great height!

Rumble…

The ground trembled as the war hammer drove Lu Yin into a pit; the shield's violent shaking caused his soul energy to surge, rendering him unable to cast spells for a moment.

Bang bang bang!

Lei En kept swinging the hammer three times, blood streaming from his hands, yet he still couldn't break the shield.

Lu Yin, being hammered deeper into the pit, finally caught his breath, seized a moment when his soul energy steadied, activated a Flash, and vanished the instant the war hammer's fourth strike would have hit.

Lei En's senses had already locked onto the legendary Arcane mage, without even turning his head he instantly triggered Electric Flash Teleport, reversing to chase after.

Amid the crack of thunder, Lu Yin just Flash‑ed to a spot by the wall, his front foot steady, when Lei En's rear foot arrived.

The war hammer swept across, blasting Lu Yin away into the cliff face.

Bang bang bang, another barrage of fierce hammer blows.

Although he couldn't shatter the shield, it left Lu Yin in a mess, forcibly cutting off his spells so none could be released.

He finally seized the chance and Flash‑ed away.

But Lei En, like a shadow, immediately followed, impossible to shake off.

The cavern's enclosed space is highly unfavorable to the great dragon, yet it also hampers Lu Yin's use of distance.

He only has a six‑ring Flash, while Lei En's Electric Flash Teleport has just three rings, yet he still can't break free.

After being hammered dozens of times, Lu Yin had to change tactics, rotating his staff, withdrawing control over Ao Xiliya, and using the remaining seven Mirror Images to hold Ao Xiliya.

After another Flash, Lei En just chased over when he heard, "Bind!"

In an instant, Lei En felt as if an invisible giant hand squeezed him tightly, suspended midair like an insect trapped in amber.

Seeing Lei En being restrained, Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief.

In his whole life he had never been forced into such a close‑quarters bind; had his prism‑light shield not been sturdy enough, he would probably have been hammered dead.

"Earl of Glamorgan, you are truly remarkable."

Even though he was an enemy, Lu Yin sincerely praised, and upon seeing Ao Xiliya rise again, spewing dragon breath and wiping out several Mirror Images in one go, he said gravely, "But that's where it ends."

He raised his hand, unleashing a seven‑ring Void Bomb.

This is Lu Yin's most proficient single‑target spell; its power isn't the strongest, nor its range wide, yet it's the most comfortable to wield. After centuries of study, he fully mastered its principle, reducing the casting time to under three seconds.

Three seconds of casting may seem long, but for a seven‑ring spell it's already near the limit of speed.

A light sphere, as if even light itself couldn't escape, formed in Lu Yin's palm.

At the moment of completion, Lu Yin wore a victorious smile, about to hurl the black sphere, but the next second his complexion turned pale and blood welled at the corner of his mouth.

The spell was countered!

It was then he realized that the restrained Lei En, at some unknown moment, had pressed his hand onto the rune tome at his waist; his body couldn't move, yet it didn't prevent him from activating the spell on the tome.

Moreover, the distance between them was very short, only three or four steps.

Lu Yin, eager to kill, hadn't created enough distance; he never imagined his own spell would be countered.

A dignified Legendary High-rank Arcane mage, who spent a lifetime studying spells for centuries, was countered by a combat Wizard below legendary rank!

The chance of such success is virtually nonexistent, like a child casually shooting an arrow that happens to strike the sole weak spot on a dragon's scale, killing the beast.

Lu Yin found it utterly absurd, yet it happened.

The unfinished Void Bomb detonated in his palm.

The black sphere tore the void, forming a bottomless black hole that devoured all surrounding matter and energy; even the hardest substances could not withstand such destructive force.

Frightened, Lu Yin hurriedly Flash‑ed, but was still half a step too late.

When his figure appeared on the other side of the cavern, his entire hand had vanished, bloodied, and even the prism‑light shield showed cracks.

The excruciating pain from the injury, combined with spell backlash, prevented Lu Yin from recovering immediately.

Lei En was bound in place, watching the opportunity slip away.

The Void Bomb's black hole expanded slowly, drawing nearer, tearing the space into terrifying fissures that spread like a spider's web.

After two or three breaths, a fissure stretched out before Lei En.

Snap!

The fissure spread, grazing Lei En's chest.

A third‑grade steel body only held for half a second; against such spatial fissures, no matter how strong the defense, its effect is limited, and large swaths of flesh were ripped away, exposing bone, with blood gushing out instantly.

With a puff, Lei En was immediately gravely wounded.

He hurriedly expended the newly absorbed electricity wildly to mend his wounds.

But immediately another two or three fissures assaulted.

"WTF, you won't let me………………………………………………………………………………………"

Lei En shouted in his mind, not countering a spell is death, but having the spell countered is also death—this death is just too unfair!

At that moment, a strong wind pressed from behind; Ao Xiliya rushed over.

She sensed Lei En in danger and didn't continue eliminating the remaining two Mirror Images; braving the spell barrage, her dragon claw swooped down, grabbing Lei En and lifting him.

"Run!"

Ao Xiliya warned Yisu in the Shadow Plane, and the rainbow light on her body burst forth, enveloping both herself and Lei En.

Just now, being bound by Lu Yin's spatial restraint and the effect of the Binding Ring, she couldn't use her innate Teleportation to escape.

Now, taking advantage of Lu Yin's injury, she finally has a chance to use it.

The Rainbow Dragon's Teleportation reaches six rings and can be cast instantly; in the blink of an eye, her figure vanished within the rainbow light.

By the time Lu Yin's spiritual power subsides, it's already too late to stop it.

He took out a high-level healing gem, activated it, and his palm quickly regenerated, looking as good as new.

His gaze turned to the shadow plane, where he found that the shadow assassin had long since fled.

Reaching the spot where Ao Xiliya teleported away, Lu Yin extended his staff and tapped it lightly; a scene unfolded like a scroll, showing a Rainbow Dragon soaring at high speed over the sea.

"You can't run away!"

Lu Yin's research into the mysteries of space is extremely deep, and teleportation is his most proficient spell; after sensing, he quickly locked onto the direction in which a person and a dragon fled.

He was about to cast fixed-point teleportation to chase them, but hesitated for a moment.

The cavern still contains a large amount of alchemical materials, the cargo ship at the dock outside hasn't gone far, and that Astral Crystal Pillar—none of these can be discarded.

Also, this rune array must be completely destroyed, or else it will reveal the location of the other side of the teleportation gate.

Compared to pursuing the enemy, erasing the trail is more important.

Lu Yin finally shook his head and muttered softly, "Two outstanding youngsters; killing them would be such a waste. Consider yourselves lucky."

Across the endless sea, a giant dragon shimmering with flowing colors flapped its wings desperately.

"Lei En, how are your injuries?" the dragon's mouth emitted a clear, resonant voice.

The voice was lofty, bearing an inexplicable majesty and power, yet it was still discernible as female, sounding much like Ao Xiliya when she took human form.

"I can't die yet."

Lei En, caught in her dragon claw, replied weakly, "But if you keep holding me like this, death won't be far behind."

"Sorry."

Ao Xiliya hesitated briefly, then finally released Lei En, tossed him into the air, and with superb flying skill caught him, landing him right onto the dragon's back.

Lei En lay on her back, beneath him smooth, delicate dragon scales; a strong wind howled at his ears, and he could only cling to the sturdy dragon neck, staying seated to avoid being thrown off.

"I never thought I'd become a dragon rider!"

Only now does Lei En have time to carefully observe the true appearance of the Rainbow Dragon.

Its posture is elegant, its lines smooth, vastly different from other ferocious-looking dragons; the scales are finer and smaller, forming a sheet like a snake's skin, continuously radiating colored light; the wings resemble those of a bird—broad and long—and the tail bears fins like a fish's; the crown of horns extends backward, forming a splendid triangular winged crown.

According to Lu Yin, Ao Xiliya is just over a hundred years old, having just entered the youthful dragon stage.

However, its size already surpasses that of most adult five-colored dragons and gem dragons, reaching nearly thirty meters from head to tail; as it ages, it will only grow larger and become stronger.

This is the innate advantage of the legendary dragon breed.

Even someone with little knowledge of dragons can instantly sense Ao Xiliya's extraordinary nature at first glance.

What a beautiful and powerful dragon race!

Lei En muttered an approval, withdrew his gaze, and asked aloud, "Did we lose him?"

"I'm not sure," Ao Xiliya replied. "Master Lu Yin is Weizelan's legendary wizard with the deepest mastery of spatial teleportation. My Teleportation can only randomly send us to somewhere within one hundred fifty li, which is not far for him; he can easily catch up."

Lei En felt a tightening in his heart, finding the legendary high-rank wizard even more terrifying.

"I don't know if Yisu escaped..." Facing this formidable enemy, he was willing but powerless; though he felt some guilt toward Yisu, there was no other way.

"That guy probably won't die that easily."

Lei En comforted himself for a moment, covered his mouth and coughed dryly, spitting a large mouthful of blood.

Ao Xiliya noticed warm fresh blood splattering on her back, slowed her flight, turned the dragon's head back, and asked with concern, "Can you hold on?"

"I'm okay, I definitely can't die."

Lei En examined his injuries, mainly his chest, which looked as if large sections of muscle had been torn away, leaving only a layer of blood membrane connecting, with the heart faintly visible beating—truly terrifying.

With such severe wounds, another person would have likely collapsed long ago.

But he, relying on his constant energy to repair the wound, has persisted until now.

Lei En took a healing scroll from his ring, stopped the bleeding, but its effect was limited; the missing chunk of flesh couldn't materialize out of thin air.

Lei En opened his mobile interface, absorbed the soul of that legendary wizard and six transcendents; his energy was already full.

During the battle just now, his soul was constantly ascending, and it also boosted his Thunderclap Technique to three rings.

The remaining spiritual power was all used to heal the wounds, maintaining a balance between conversion and consumption. If uninjured, he could at least raise two or three thunder spells by one to two rings each.

Using energy to heal is, after all, not the same as limb regeneration.

At this rate, even if he were a man of iron, he couldn't hold on, and he'd be wasting energy pointlessly.

Lei En immediately stopped the energy consumption, let out a muffled hum, and his chest hurt even more.

After waiting half a minute, the last bit of spiritual power converted into energy, returning to full capacity, and the soul ascent ended precisely then.

Lei En took out the Soul Stone, looked at the slime demon soul inside, and thought, "To save myself and heal, I can only rely on 'Activated Metal'; hopefully it works on a steel-bodied state as well."

"Even though it's not a good time, I have no choice but to go all out."

He told Ao Xiliya to keep her flight as stable as possible, then pressed the Soul Stone to his forehead.

I'm also going all out; three chapters completed, please vote!

(End of Chapter)