“Roar!”
The giant pseudo-dragon let out a fierce roar, its tail whipping sharply toward her.
Fortunately, Xia Li had been on guard and swiftly dodged beyond the attack’s range. The gust it kicked up carried sand and black mud that slammed into her, the stinging pain across her face like a thousand cuts.
“Boom!!!”
The trees behind her were uprooted in a large swath from the impact.
Xia Li scoffed inwardly.
What’s wrong with this monster?!
Out of the three of them here, Verennica posed the greatest threat to it without a doubt—she was the one chanting the forbidden spell—but it completely ignored her and went straight for Xia Li!
“‘If you can’t beat a Saint, how could you beat me?’… You don’t seriously think that, do you?” Xia Li noticed a slight twitch in the pseudo-dragon’s legs and leapt from a tree trunk onto a branch.
“Bang!”
The next moment, the tail slammed down where she had just been standing, punching a massive crater into the earth.
Xia Li hadn’t even managed to relax before the pseudo-dragon’s gaze returned to her. Instinctively, she pushed off with her legs and leapt away as a pillar of fire hissed past behind her.
Tch… magic too!
How could something this massive move so fast?!
Xia Li cursed Verennica in her heart. Just after landing, she ignored the pain in her feet and dashed off. “Verennica, is the magic ready yet?!”
Verennica was still chanting, her magic power visibly manifesting around her as pure white strands forming a magic circuit like protective bonds. She stretched out five fingers toward Xia Li.
Five more seconds?!
Xia Li had half a mind to strangle both Verennica and Furs.
“Roar!”
The giant pseudo-dragon pulled its massive body free from the black mud and took a few steps back. The ground trembled beneath its movements as it lowered its head, casting a shadow that blotted out the sky over Xia Li.
That move was…
Oh hell, the dragon cart!
A nearly thirty-meter-high mountain charging straight at her.
Way more extreme than a mud truck!
If it hit her, she’d probably have to go through another dimensional travel!
I’m not going back to be a wage slave… Xia Li clenched her magic sword with both hands and, regardless of whether it would help, poured her magic into the blade, aiming carefully before leaping up and slashing down.
“Boom!”
Xia Li’s full-strength strike slammed the pseudo-dragon’s head into the mud pit. The mountain-sized body lost balance and toppled sideways under the heavy blow.
Do they even understand how valuable it is to stop a dragon cart with a greatsword?!
“Let me make it clear first—the pseudo-dragon’s crystal core is mine!”
Xia Li knew very well how tough the pseudo-dragon’s hide was; this strike at best made it bleed a little.
While she caught her breath, the pseudo-dragon’s tail stirred again.
Fortunately, the pseudo-dragon at this stage only had a few types of moves.
Xia Li had already adapted to them.
She was about to retreat when suddenly something crawled up her ankle.
Black mud!
The mud seemed alive, gripping her legs tightly so she couldn’t move an inch. Meanwhile, the pseudo-dragon had gotten back to its feet.
“Shadow Bind!”
Furs, barely suppressing her pain, unleashed a high-level spell nearby. From the shadows, hands stretched out and clamped onto the pseudo-dragon’s limbs and tail, trying to drag it back into the darkness.
But even high-level magic lasted less than half a second.
“Roar!”
The pseudo-dragon tore the shadowy hands apart. Magic surged into its bloodied maw. As a monster, it didn’t need to chant spells or form magic circuits; a scorching flame that could roast a person to jerky spewed from its mouth.
“Boom!”
Xia Li finally broke free of the black mud, but the intense heat struck her full on. With no time to dodge, the flames collided against her.
The good news: Verennica had quickly erected a magical barrier around her while chanting.
The bad news: the flames hammered the barrier so hard that within half a second, cracks appeared. The heat was pressing closer.
At this rate, the barrier wouldn’t hold until Verennica finished chanting the forbidden spell. Xia Li would be burnt to a crisp first!
The shield might last another two seconds at most.
Should she call the Demon King over?
With the Demon King’s power, two seconds would be enough to end the pseudo-dragon!
No…
Absolutely not!
If she let the Demon King act, she’d have to silence Verennica and Furs permanently.
This area was still under the Night Goddess’s protective barrier. Even in her Demon King form, she might not defeat a Saint here.
Tch, damn it…
Why was the pseudo-dragon targeting her? This was too abnormal!
It was practically trying to corner her into a desperate situation.
Trying to force her to reveal her Demon King identity!
Could Verennica have done this on purpose?
To test her identity!
Just as the magic barrier was about to shatter, Xia Li’s mind cleared even more. She turned and shouted angrily at Verennica, “Are you *** done yet?!”
She refused to believe that Verennica—the Saint who possessed the “Guardian” power and the Night Goddess’s blessing—couldn’t withstand the breath of a mere super-class monster.
“Bang!”
Just as the flames were about to engulf her, a crimson light bathed her, extinguishing the pseudo-dragon’s fire and dispersing the black mud at her feet.
With the blood light came a thick stench of iron and blood.
“Divine Punishment Sword.”
Verennica finished her chant. Under the waning moonlight, the blood-red light pinned the pseudo-dragon to the spot. She cut her finger, the blood rising and merging with the light to form a colossal sword.
It crashed down on the pseudo-dragon.
“Boom!!”
The great sword shattered the pseudo-dragon’s defenses, piercing through its skull. Terrifying magic erupted inside its body, tearing its bones and flesh to pieces.
“Bang!”
The pseudo-dragon’s body exploded like a ripe watermelon.
Verennica lowered her hands, retracting her wand into her storage magic. She panted as she looked toward Xia Li and Furs. “Are you both alright?”
“Hehe… Lord-class monsters really are stronger than I imagined… cough…”
Furs rubbed her head and spat a mouthful of blood as she spoke.
“Don’t even say that—you almost got us killed!” Xia Li glared at Verennica in irritation.
Yet Verennica showed no emotion beyond concern.
Had Xia Li misjudged her?
After all, even a Saint like Verennica couldn’t control a super-class monster…
Still, Xia Li’s wariness deepened.
No matter how much money Verennica threw at her, she wouldn’t follow her anymore!
“Hehe… Lord-class monsters really are stronger than I imagined… cough…”
Furs rubbed her head as she approached, spitting blood again.
“Don’t die on me now.” Xia Li had lost all goodwill for the reckless troublemaker who’d started the fight.
If not for the expensive spatial magic tool she carried…
“This should be the last of my business. You’d better seal this rift quickly.” Xia Li glanced at the rift in the sky.
Under the waning moon’s glow, the rift no longer leaked black mud but hung there as a pitch-black void, chilling her to the bone.
No, that’s not right!
It’s not a void—there’s something inside!