The flying bolt brought with it a fierce wind pressure, its astonishing momentum seeming as though it would tear a city wall to shreds.
Both Zoe and the goblin warrior were instantly pierced; the goblin warrior was cleanly torn into a flurry of fragments and blood mist.
As for Zoe, he too was ripped in two by the impact.
‘That actually hurt.’
With [High-speed Regeneration] activated to its fullest, the bisected Zoe quickly extended gelatinous tentacles to pull his two halves together, returning to his original state.
Locking his sights onto the siege ballista, Zoe rushed forward rapidly.
The goblin crossbowman panicked and tried to reload, but at this distance, it was already too late.
“Acid: Heart-Piercing Bullet!”
Utilizing his exquisite Spray technique, he compressed the Acid to its absolute limit and shot it out.
Its speed surpassed that of an arrow, propelled by self-depressurizing corrosive gas.
Swoosh!
With a sharp sound of breaking air, the goblin crossbowman's chest was instantly pierced.
The acid followed the torn wound and exploded inside the goblin crossbowman's body.
Organs and bones were instantly corroded, exposing a horrifying sight within.
“Gagu!!”
The remaining goblins were now utterly terrified.
This was too terrifying. Was this really the legendary ‘Slaughterer,’ the ‘evil slime’ that left no living thing wherever it went?!
Zoe leaped into the midst of the goblins, and without a moment's pause, he unleashed an Acid Severing Wave!
The pressurized, thin jet of acid drew an arc in the air, slicing several goblins in two before they could even react.
The goblins on the other side shrieked in terror, turning to flee.
Taking the opportunity, Zoe knocked them over, beginning to corrode and digest them to replenish his mana.
Next, the fully gathered corrosive gas accumulated in his mouth.
“Corrosive Gas Slash!”
Consuming mana to extend its reach, the sharp Corrosive Gas Slash cut down a row of goblins like harvesting wheat.
Faced with this one-sided slaughter, none of the goblins had any will to fight left, and they all began to flee.
Zoe's mana was now more than half depleted, and he had no intention of pursuing them.
He had already decided to move anyway, so he wasn't afraid of the goblins seeking revenge.
Besides, the goblins' nest was quite a distance away. Marching all this way to crusade against him was practically an expedition.
“My level has increased, and the mana consumption of my skills has also increased.”
Under the same mana pool, his current skill attacks were naturally far stronger than before.
But the opponents he faced were also stronger; he had to drive his skills with more mana for them to be effective.
Only now did Zoe have the leisure to look at the unlucky white dragon before him.
The white dragon also stared at the legendary “evil slime.”
“D-Don't eat me...”
The white dragon was terrified.
It had initially come out of pure curiosity to see the legendary “evil slime,” but having just witnessed the scene...
Thinking of the rumors surrounding the ‘Slaughterer’ and the ‘evil slime,’ the white dragon was genuinely frightened.
“Squish.”
「What are you doing in my territory?」
The white dragon stared at Zoe in shock.
“The slime spoke!”
“Squish.”
「Dragons can speak, so why can't slimes?」
「Now, answer my question.」
The white dragon stared blankly at the dialogue box popping up above Zoe's head.
“This dragon... I wanted to come and learn how to be an evil slime—bah, an evil dragon.”
“Squish.”
「...」
Zoe stared at the rather unintelligent white dragon in front of him.
‘Maybe I can trick it into becoming my mount or an enforcer.’
The ability to fly was highly convenient. Furthermore, having someone help him hunt would free up more of his time to practice his skills.
“Squish.”
「What's your name? I'm Zoe.」
Seeing this, the white dragon puffed out her chest.
“My name is Olivia Vera Fulg Isabella Sorolyn Efilia...”
“Squish.”
「Too long. I'll just call you Vera.」
The white dragon Vera felt a flash of anger, but then...
“Yes.”
“Squish.”
「Very well.」
Zoe hopped onto the dragon's back, quickly corroding all the arrows, spears, and ropes.
Next, he pulled out the heavy bolt that had pierced the white dragon's body.
In an instant, dragon blood spurted from the wound.
However, the dragon's powerful life force soon stemmed the bleeding, and the wound began to heal bit by bit.
“Squish.”
「Follow me.」
Zoe walked ahead through the forest, his mind racing with ideas on how to hoodwink this white dragon.
White dragons generally possessed low intelligence, and their minds wouldn't fully develop until they reached adulthood.
If this were an adult white dragon, she would probably have roared, “How could I, a proud dragon, learn from a lowly slime!” and swiped at him with her claws by now.
But this white dragon, which had only recently left her hatchling stage, had an intelligence level roughly equivalent to a seven-year-old human child.
Only when they had nearly reached the heart of his territory did Zoe stop.
The powerful monsters in this area had all been cleared out by Zoe, making it a safe zone.
As he stopped, Vera also came to a halt. Folding her wings, her posture carried three parts restraint, three parts anxiety, three parts anticipation, and ninety-one parts innocence.
“Squish.”
「To become an evil white dragon, the most important thing is power.」
「To the strong, even the anger of the weak looks adorable.」
「Therefore, only when you are strong enough can you be evil enough.」
Vera stared intently at the emerging dialogue box, the innocence in her dragon eyes nearly overflowing.
“So as long as I am strong enough, I can become an evil white dragon!”
“So that is the true essence of evil! That is so incredibly evil!”
The way Zoe slaughtered the goblins had deeply shocked Vera.
She had no mother dragon and had been wandering ever since she hatched.
In the past, she had been rooted out of her nest by tusk boars, had her nest invaded by vultures—and got pecked by a flock of them when she tried to share—and had been so hungry that she chewed on tree bark. She had fought with vultures over carcasses, only to get pecked by them again.
Just moments ago, she had almost been enslaved by goblins. She had suffered greatly due to her weakness.
That was why she wanted to earn the respect of all monsters. If she were an evil entity, she would be feared and respected; no monster would dare trespass in her nest, and none would dare root her out of it.
Therefore, she wanted to become the most, most, most evil white dragon!
“Zoe, can you tell me how to become as strong and evil as you?”
“I must become the most evil white dragon!”
The white dragon Vera said.
...
Zoe rode on Vera's back as she soared through the air.
Zoe was moving houses once again.
Under Zoe's direction, Vera was flying toward the southern region of the Great Hera Forest.
Sitting on Vera's back, Zoe looked down at the boundless green below, only now realizing just how vast the Great Hera Forest truly was.
“Squish.”
「Land on that small hill ahead.」
Zoe pointed to a hill in front of them and popped up a dialogue box.
“Okay, Zoe.”
Vera flapped her dragon wings, slowly descending toward the hill Zoe had pointed to.
Once Vera touched down, Zoe hopped off her back and popped up another dialogue box.
“Squish.”
「From now on, I will teach you from scratch right here on how to become an evil white dragon.」
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