Chapter 367: The Giant Dragon Troll

Entering the water beneath the surface, Lei En instantly sensed a layer of current encircling the dragon, becoming slick and constantly repelling him.

At the same time, the massive water pressure bore down heavily on him, making every movement increasingly difficult.

Bang bang bang!

Lei En forced himself to hammer a few blows, shattering dragon scales but failing to inflict real damage.

The Frost Sea Dragon tucked its head and dove; its swimming speed was extremely fast, wings pressed to its sides, limbs paddling, its head breaking through the water, and within a few breaths it plunged below a hundred meters, the surrounding light dimming and the pressure mounting.

In the seawater, Lei En's spellcasting was also affected.

Fortunately, his vision could still see clearly.

This sea region was extremely deep, containing an enormous trench hundreds of meters wide, its length stretching beyond sight, deep and dark, evoking an inexplicable dread.

The dragon moved in the sea as if in its element, diving deeper while desperately casting spells at Lei En on its back.

Streams of water formed sharp cutting lines, accompanied by countless ice spikes, ice spears, and ice arrows; countless ice spells, under the influence of the Icebound Sea, each instantaneously struck Lei En from every angle, overwhelming him.

Lei En only managed to gulp a bottle of "Underwater Breathing" potion; unable to dodge, he simply let the spells barrage him.

Ice spells differ from others; besides freezing damage, they primarily manifest as solid attacks.

This is exactly what Lei En fears the least.

With a steel body and true dragon flesh, only a few spells can leave shallow wounds, and those heal in an instant.

In less than half a minute, the Frost Sea Dragon swam into the trench.

It adjusted its posture and slammed its back hard against the trench's rock wall, desperately grinding and squeezing.

Amid the rumble, the hard seabed wall cracked open, massive debris sank, and Lei En still clung tightly to the dragon's bony fin on its back, like a stubborn wound, unable to be shaken off no matter how she squeezed.

Instead, her own back was battered into a bloody mess, dragon blood staining the sea red.

Bang bang bang…

Lei En pressed on, swinging his war hammer in a frenzy; lightning erupted, striking from the wound into the dragon's body, producing a paralyzing shock that caused her great pain and slowed her swimming speed.

The water resistance was too great; Lei En couldn't exert full force and deliberately held back.

Otherwise, just two or three hammer blows would have shattered the dragon's spine and ended the fight.

Yet, wounded, the Frost Sea Dragon grew even more ferocious; the dragon race's pride kept her from surrendering, as if she had lost her mind, rolling and thrashing in the water.

Ice and water spells came one after another, attacking Lei En without a single second of pause, even turning to spew dragon breath onto her own back.

For anyone else, they might not last even two minutes.

Lei En was nearly knocked off the dragon's back several times, yet always managed to escape danger.

The rider and dragon tangled for minutes, fighting from the sea up to the sky, raising waves as if a colossal beast battled beneath the water, then descending back into the sea, gradually moving away from the island; Ai Mili Si couldn't catch up in time and could only watch from the island.

"Her stamina is dropping."

Lei En keenly sensed this and reduced the intensity of his own spell attacks.

He used his Soul Eye to look and confirmed it.

He instantly conceived a plan: seizing the dragon's momentary turn, he lunged forward a few steps, moving from the center of its back to near its neck. Simultaneously he stowed the Thunder Hammer, and a massive steel ingot appeared in his hand, activating the metal to reshape it.

The Frost Sea Dragon sensed something amiss and let out a terrified, raging roar.

Lei En ignored her attacks; the steel ingot quickly transformed into a chain as thick as an adult's arm, infused with refined gold and meteorite iron to increase toughness, like a living thing, swiftly coiling twice around the dragon's neck and returning to his hand.

"Ho!"

Lei En grasped each end of the chain with both hands, planted his feet on the dragon's back, his body tensed, pulling with all his might.

The chain contracted, instantly leaving a deep mark on the dragon's neck that tightened further; the power of Level Nine easily crushed the dragon scales into fragments.

"Roa…" the Frost Sea Dragon let out a painful roar.

Like a snake squeezed at seven inches, once her neck was bound her breathing stopped instantly, she could not even exhale dragon breath, and in a hysterical struggle she thrashed, churning countless waters and raising waves on the surface.

In her frenzy, the Frost Sea Dragon cast almost without restraint, countless spells bombarding Lei En head‑on; she could not even attend to herself, as high‑power spells fell on her back as if self‑inflicted.

Lei En tightened the chain, standing unmoving.

He let those chaotic spells strike him; his hands like massive pliers, never releasing no matter how the dragon struggled, only tightening further.

Time passed minute by minute.

Ai Mili Si on the island only saw the churning sea surface, unable to see below, waiting anxiously.

Rumble!

Suddenly a huge splash; the nearby sea surface split, the Frost Sea Dragon's silhouette shot into the sky, then wobbly descended, apparently lacking the strength to stay aloft, crashing heavily onto the beach, unable to even stand.

At that moment Ai Mili Si noticed her neck was bound by a massive chain, with Lei En standing atop it, pulling the chain like an ice statue, her whole body covered in thick frost, motionless.

The chain was embedded deep into flesh, nearly severing the dragon's neck.

The Frost Sea Dragon's eyes turned white, exhaling far more than inhaling, seeming about to faint the next second; weakly she begged, "Release… let go… I… am willing… to sign the Dragon… Dragon Oath…"

Finishing, she lowered her proud head, lying on the filthy mudflat.

With two crackling sounds, Lei En brushed off the ice shards from his body, revealing his form; the chain in his hand loosened slightly, allowing the dragon to breathe, yet the restraint remained, ready to tighten again at any moment.

"Hoo… hoo…"

The Frost Sea Dragon stuck out its tongue, greedily inhaling air.

Lei En, standing on her back, said, "Ai Mili Si, come over and sign the oath with her."

Ai Mili Si was overjoyed; with a flash she arrived before the dragon, gazing at its head taller than herself, her heart pounding uncontrollably, one hand delicately pressing the icy horn, the other tightly gripping the Dragon Summon.

The oddly shaped horn exuded a majestic aura.

A golden dragon phantasm fell between Ai Mili Si and the Frost Sea Dragon, splitting in two, each sinking into the heads of the rider and the dragon, reaching deep into their souls.

Lei En saw Ai Mili Si's soul tremble.

As a dragon‑born, her soul differed completely from humans, resembling a dragon's; deep within, an Element rune lit up, bearing mysterious intricate draconic script—this is the Divine Technique blessing bestowed by the benevolent dragon god upon dragon‑born.

The Dragon Oath activated this blessing, and massive divine power surged forth.

Ai Mili Si's soul was stimulated by the divine power, her breath rising step by step, from within outward; almost every second her mana surged, and her body continuously strengthened.

Not only Ai Mi Li Si, the Frost Sea Dragon also received some benefits.

Although she did not have Bahamut's blessing, a portion of divine power entered her good soul, imperceptibly boosting her strength.

The god of good dragons is fair; the Dragon Summoning benefits both parties of the contract.

Both rider and dragon kept their eyes closed, enjoying the thrill of power surging rapidly; Lei En, seeing the situation settled, activated Activating Metal, the chains flowed back like water, reverting to steel ingots, the mixed magical metals automatically separated and were collected into the Dimensional Space Ring.

On the Frost Sea Dragon's neck was a horrifying gouge, half a chi deep into flesh, exposing blood vessels in places, where one could see the flowing frost energy within the veins.

However, with divine power's aid, the wound healed at a visibly rapid rate.

A few minutes later, the divine power of the Dragon Summoning dissipated.

Lei En used her Soul Eye and saw that her profession level jumped one rank, now a twelfth‑level Dragon‑Born Apostle.

The Frost Sea Dragon's strength also rose about twenty percent, and its size increased slightly.

Ai Mi Li Si and the Frost Sea Dragon opened their eyes together, a hint of tacit understanding in their gazes, and happily said, "Lady Xin Da La, please look after me from now on."

The Great Dragon was no longer as indifferent and disgusted as before.

She had already accepted reality.

A surge of magical turbulence, the massive Great Dragon body vanished, and a slender human female emerged from the icy mist.

She had short white hair, ice‑blue gem‑like eyes, an elegant appearance, a cold demeanor, yet she was completely naked; a glaring gouge marked her pure white neck, and her back and shoulders were bruised, as if brutally beaten.

Lei En awkwardly turned his head, thinking, "Why is this an airport…"

Ai Mi Li Si quickly took out a piece of her own clothing.

Xin Da La's expression remained unchanged; in front of both, she calmly put on the clothes, like a naïve young girl who does not understand shyness.

After dressing, she showed little interest in Ai Mi Li Si, instead scrutinizing Lei En, her eyes full of fear and lingering terror. The recent brutal beating left an indelible mark, hovering on the brink of death, something she had not experienced in over a hundred years and would never forget in this life.

The true dragon's pride prevented her from lowering herself, though she couldn't stop staring.

The Dragon Oath is not as deep as a Soul Contract, so Ai Mi Li Si could not sense Xin Da La's thoughts, but could read her mind, and introduced, "Xin Da La, he is Ryan Augustus, my spouse, he bears no ill will toward you."

"Hmph." Xin Da La exhaled a cold breath through her nostrils.

Her hostility toward Lei En was unmistakable.

Lei En smiled lightly, not taking it to heart; after all, the dragon was not his.

"Human," Xin Da La suddenly recalled the earlier battle, surveyed both up and down, frowned and asked, "Are you a Dragon Knight?"

Actually Ai Mi Li Si also wanted to ask.

In battle, Lei En's skin became as tough as dragon scales, with extremely high resistance; this was clearly the Element of a true dragon body, and he could also use a dragon roar, whose power surpassed Xin Da La's roar, a feat only a Dragon Knight could achieve.

Yet she never knew when Lei En became a Dragon Knight, nor had she ever seen his dragon.

A dragon slayer, yet also a Dragon Knight, which was inevitably surprising.

Lei En nodded.

"Where is your dragon?" Xin Da La looked around, vaguely sensing that the dragon bound to Lei En as a Soul Knight was exceedingly rare, even rarer than herself.

Ai Mi Li Si was also very curious, wondering how many secrets Lei En still held.

"I am a Dragon Knight without a dragon."

Lei En blurted out a lie, naturally not revealing the matter of Ao Xi Li Ya; even Ai Mi Li Si could not tell her.

Xin Da La's eyes cooled, clearly displeased, yet she dared not act against Lei En.

Seeing Lei En unwilling to speak, Ai Mi Li Si did not press further.

"Wait a moment, I need to return to tend the treasure in my nest," Xin Da La whispered, then transformed back into a Great Dragon and dove into the sea.

The Frost Sea Dragon's nest is usually built underground on an island, accessible only from the sea.

Xin Da La was still young, and the Frost Sea Dragon does not excel at hoarding valuables, so her treasure was not abundant; she finished handling it in half an hour, likely sealing the nest with a spell and concealing it.

Lei En opened a portal and returned to the ship far away.

A Si Tan saw Xin Da La, his face unable to hide his joy, happy for Ai Mi Li Si. On the way back to Hai Tuo Ke, everyone experienced Xin Da La's foul temper; she was always icy, aloof, and displeased with everyone except Ai Mi Li Si.

Especially Lei En, who had defeated her, often retorted with cold sarcasm, matching her barbs.

Lei En never dreamed that a Great Dragon could become a troll.

Several times, while he was being intimate with Ai Mi Li Si, the Great Dragon troll suddenly teleported into the room, standing boldly at the bedside watching, leaving him in an awkward dilemma.

Fortunately, he soon returned to Hai Tuo Ke.

Ai Mi Li Si took Xin Da La to tour the city for a few days, giving her some understanding of human etiquette and rules, finally easing the awkwardness.

A few days later, Lei En and they set out again.

The second Dragon Summoning target Ai Mi Li Si found lies west of Hai Tuo Ke, requiring crossing Wan Song Ling, located on the eastern region of the Brantania Knight Nation in the Empire's northern grasslands, atop the Stano Mountains.

There resides a reclusive Copper Dragon.

At the foothills of the Stano Mountains, the vast grassland is inhabited by many centaurs; the Zhuoken Tribe, which cooperated with Ai Mi Li Si, lives not far from the Copper Dragon's nest.

It was the Zhuoken centaurs who provided the clue that allowed Ai Mi Li Si to discover the Copper Dragon's whereabouts.

Xin Da La, in Great Dragon form, flew all day, finally crossing Wan Song Ling; after another half day, an endless chain of mountains appeared on the horizon. The Great Dragon entered the range, and guided by Ai Mi Li Si, settled at the waist of an unremarkable peak.

The Dragon Summoning lit up again.

Ai Mi Li Si sounded the horn; its melodious tone rang through the mountains, a dragon silhouette rose from the summit, found Lei En's party, and swooped down rapidly.

(End of Chapter)