Chapter 384: Cross‑Dressing Overlord

Upon discovering Hei Jiao fleeing, Ai Mi Li Si let out an anxious scream, her magical power boiling, countless flames erupted from her body, sweeping the surroundings; the terrifying high‑temperature fire resembled magma, instantly turning all the black‑water forest boas into ash, the moisture evaporated, and the swamp turned into a dry riverbed.

She had only just advanced to the Legendary Mid‑stage, could wield the Seven‑Ring Spell, but had not fully mastered it, so her casting was still unskilled.

The flames even burned Lei En and the two giant dragons, but fortunately their resistances were high, so they were not injured.

She raised the Dragon Summon to sound it, forcing Hei Jiao to return.

"Wait," Lei En hurriedly shouted to stop.

Ai Mi Li Si hurriedly said, "The Wind Roc is one of the fastest birds; it won't be long before it flies out of the Dragon Summon's detection range."

"Don't worry, it can't escape."

Lei En glanced at his palm, where some metallic fluid lingered; after the giant bear's strike, he seized the chance to leave a mark on the opponent.

The marked metallic fluid seeped into the giant bear's fur; even a tiny amount, perhaps less than a hair's weight, was enough to be sensed.

Hei Jiao's Transformation Art couldn't shake off the mark; it transferred onto the Wind Roc.

Now there are too many outsiders in the swamp; if he can avoid sounding the Dragon Summon, he should. Lei En is confident enough to locate the target and find a way to subdue this possibly‑giant‑dragon Legendary Druid.

Ai Mi Li Si had great confidence in Lei En and immediately let out a sigh of relief.

But she was still uneasy; Hei Jiao's Transformation Art was too skillful, far surpassing that of ordinary Legendary Druids, with top‑tier escape ability, and without the Dragon Summon's rule constraints, subduing him would be difficult.

At that moment, Jia La De Luo Si and Xin Da La also came over.

The two giant dragons were coated in a layer of sludge, scorched by fire, emitting a foul stench. They were careful not to reveal their true forms; in human shape they could not exploit a dragon's combat advantage, so they appeared rather clumsy.

The fastidious Xin Da La grimaced and cast a Cleansing Art on herself.

"This fellow is truly cunning; I wonder what kind of true dragon he is," Jia La De Luo Si said curiously.

Ai Mi Li Si speculated, "A Druid this powerful, attuned to nature's force, must be a follower of the Earth Mother, and worshiping two deities; he is likely a Jade Dragon or a Golden Dragon."

Jade Dragons belong to the exotic dragon class; all exotic dragons have unstable worship, so being a generic follower is not uncommon, whereas the Golden Dragon possibility is lower. It is well known that Golden Dragons are the most devout of all dragons toward the good‑dragon god Bahamut, rarely worshiping other deities; only Golden Dragons skilled in spellcasting could possibly master Druidic arts.

There are precedents: Ai Lun E Si once recorded an ancient Golden Dragon who also served as a senior Druid.

Lei En suddenly said, "He is neither a Golden Dragon nor a Jade Dragon."

"What kind of dragon then?" Ai Mi Li Si was taken aback.

"Which dragon stands out most in the deep‑mud swamp now?" Lei En's face showed a hint of amusement as he asked back. Though he couldn't directly see through Hei Jiao's soul—there was a barrier, only a vague silhouette—he could still make a preliminary judgment, noting a similarity to the Black Dragon Soul of the three‑headed dragon Borchi he had seen before.

"Black Dragon!" Jia La De Luo Si exclaimed, pale with surprise, "How could that be?"

Ai Mi Li Si and Xin Da La both wore expressions of disbelief.

Black Dragons, even among chromatic dragons, are the most evil true dragons, perhaps unrivaled; besides themselves, they harbor extreme malice toward all living beings in the world, including other Black Dragons, being naturally sly, vile, and cruel.

How could a Black Dragon become a Druid and worship the good‑dragon god Bahamut?

"I'm only speculating," Lei En said, not closing the matter.

The copper dragon's eyes lit up, as if seeing countless gold coins, and he eagerly asked, "If he truly is a Black Dragon, could he be the one the Bu Lan Ta Ni Ya people are searching for everywhere?"

"The Black Dragon they're after is female," Xin Da La said coldly.

When a giant dragon reaches its youth stage, it gains shapeshifting ability, allowing it to transform into a humanoid; most giant dragons choose to become human or elf, fitting their aesthetics. This transformation is a natural process, cannot change gender, and after the first change even the appearance cannot be altered unless other transformation arts are mastered.

Jia La De Luo Si's gaze was somewhat odd, "Master Hei Jiao's Transformation Art is so skillful; turning into a human female shouldn't stump him."

Everyone stared at each other.

If that were true, many details would seem odd in hindsight.

The Black Dragon disguised as a female countess deceived Bu Lan Ta Ni Ya for over twenty years before being exposed; during that long span, he maintained the aristocratic lady's appearance, clothing, speech, manners, and social etiquette flawlessly, without any flaw.

That is no easy feat; a Black Dragon fooling Bu Lan Ta Ni Ya's nobility for so many years is truly admirable.

No one knows how he managed to persist.

A thought sprang unbidden in Lei En's mind: "Super senior cross‑dressing boss!"

He wondered whether the Black Dragon‑shapeshifted female countess was a complete transformation, or merely a beautiful noblewoman on the surface, whose clothes, when lifted, revealed something larger than anyone's…

If the transformation were 100%—female inside and out—maintaining ambiguous relations with Bu Lan Ta Ni Ya's elite men for so many years, with countless suitors, did he ever sacrifice his appearance?

If those men learned the truth, what would their expressions be?

A jumble of chaotic thoughts swirled in Lei En's mind, making him shiver, and he stopped digging deeper.

He turned his head and saw Ai Mi Li Si and the other two with equally vivid expressions.

"Er… we should catch up," Lei En cleared his throat, noticing the metallic mark had halted at a certain spot.

Ai Mi Li Si drew the Dragon Summon and found it could no longer detect.

The Wind Roc's speed was indeed astonishing; in just a few minutes it had already flown out of detection range.

She summoned a phantom warhorse again; Lei En mounted it, pointed a direction, and they galloped swiftly through the swamp. After a few minutes, the Dragon Summon responded again, but the mark remained still, clearly the target thought it had escaped far enough and wasn't afraid of being found.

Within less than half an hour of tracking, the mark was hundreds of meters away.

The swamp's mist blocked sight, only a vague expanse of water ahead, likely a deep pond within the marsh.

The metallic mark swam beneath the surface, moving back and forth like a fish.

A smile tugged at Lei En's mouth.

His Soul Eye pierced the pond, locking onto the target; the Legendary Druid had truly become a grass carp hidden among the submerged weeds, indistinguishable from the other fish, unaware that the pursuers had reached the water's edge, leisurely swimming as if relishing its fish form.

"Interesting."

Lei En praised softly, refraining from disturbing the fish, whispered his discovery to the others, and quickly set a simple battle plan.

The two humans and two dragons entered stealth mode, dispersing and silently approaching the pond from different directions.

Lei En stopped a hundred paces away and began casting.

A massive silver electric orb coalesced in his hand; after two breaths, the Electric Blast Orb shot out, landing in the pond.

Boom!

The water's surface exploded, hundreds of lightning bolts raged, the current instantly surged through the entire pond, electrocuting countless fish and aquatic creatures.

The Druid was forced to reveal a Minotaur form; his expression was both shocked and angry, his body numb from the electricity.

He glared at Lei En, whose invisibility was exposed by casting, and called in a deep voice, "How did you find me?"

The answer came from the other three spells.

The pond's surface was frozen by Xindala, turning into solid ice and freezing the minotaur's hooves; Jialadeluos shot a petrify ray from his hand, the minotaur's skin instantly turned gray‑white and its movements slowed; finally came Aimilisi's Six‑Ring Flame Explosion!

A flame‑burst sphere the size of a basket solidly struck the minotaur.

At the critical moment, the minotaur's body swelled, instantly becoming a frost giant over six meters tall, the petrify effect ended, and a thick layer of frost armor covered it, shielding against the flame‑burst barrage.

A thunderous, earth‑shaking roar.

The shattered ice surface was blown apart, the massive frost giant's body was blasted into the air, spitting a gush of fresh blood; its frost armor had collapsed, the skin charred, the chest a mess of flesh, yet not yet fatal. While still mid‑air, a green energy ring surrounded it, rapidly healing the frost giant's wounds.

This is the Druid's Rejuvenation, which can continuously heal injuries and restore stamina.

Lei En had already flashed to the frost giant's front.

He was just about to activate the static field on his Arcane Torrent Staff when the frost giant's silhouette suddenly vanished in mid‑air, leaving no trace.

"Hmm?"

Lei En exclaimed in surprise; this time the druid did not shapeshift to escape, but simply disappeared.

It was like an invisibility effect, yet the Eye of Truth did not locate any trace.

"It's not invisibility."

Lei En made a judgment, his gaze swept the surroundings swiftly, seeing through the flow of time, and immediately perceived a ripple of shadow in his vision.

He instantly realized it was "Shadow Incarnation", the black dragon's supreme Element; he had seen it before in Thus: Thus: Thus: Shengangcheng, on the dragon priest's mask it was attached.

"Sure enough, a black dragon!"

Shadow Incarnation lets the black dragon become shadow energy, merge into the shadow plane, achieving concealment, even the Willpower cannot locate it in time.

As soon as Lei En's thought settled, he sensed a slight disturbance in the shadow plane not far beyond the pond, a faint ripple like water ripples; without the Key of Doors Element, which is extremely sensitive to temporal‑spatial plane changes, others would hardly detect it.

Immediately, the silhouette of a wind roc surged skyward and vanished in an instant.

There will be another chapter later.

(End of chapter)