Battle

Seeing the aura of the ant before it shift, Plutosas wasted no motion. Employing the most primitive method, it opened its bloody maw and snapped at Xia De.

“Ant, it seems you have deceived me. Very well, then—obediently become my blood food!”

Xia De was slightly startled. The moment Plutosas launched its attack, he had already leaped backward.

Yet even so, he only barely managed to dodge the dragon's bite, his body lightly brushing against its massive head.

Even that slight graze made him feel as though he had been run over by a heavy truck. He was sent flying straight back, embedding deeply into the rock wall.

A massive boom echoed through the subterranean space as a huge cloud of gray dust erupted from the wall not far from the dragon.

Plutosas stared at the dust cloud, its gaze flickering with suspicion and uncertainty. Even while suppressed and severely weakened, it could still exert the power of Tier Eight, Rank Two.

The dragon paused, watchfully waiting as the dust cloud slowly began to disperse.

Then, a provocative voice drifted out from within.

“Is that all the strength you have, you giant lizard?!”

Within the dragon's line of sight, a small figure burst from the mist.

Xia De's figure transformed into a straight streak of lightning. Clenching his fist, he charged toward Plutosas's colossal head with overwhelming momentum.

A dull, heavy explosion rang out in the dim space.

This time, it was Plutosas's head and thick neck that were sent recoiling. Utilizing the recoil, Xia De once again pulled back to create distance, leaving behind only a massive ring of shockwaves where they had collided.

That previous strike was merely to test his opponent's durability, so he hadn't used any magic. But even without relying on magic, Xia De was an absolute monster based on physical strength alone!

“Ant!”

After being knocked back by Xia De, the dragon used the momentum to whip its neck around. Aiming directly at Xia De, it unleashed a torrent of scorching flames from its mouth.

“Earth's Protection!”

Seeing the raging fire sweeping toward him, Xia De hastily cast a spell. A brown earth magic circle materialized, and a barrier of solid rock rose from the ground before him, blocking the flames.

As the intense flames continuously clashed with the thick rock, Xia De felt the temperature in the sealed space skyrocket. Tiny stray sparks crackled along the edges of the stone wall, letting out soft pops.

Sensing that the stone wall was gradually being consumed by the flames, Xia De cursed inwardly. He knew that if he let this drag on, he wouldn't be able to escape.

Applying a layer of defensive magic to his body, Xia De quietly gathered his strength and cut off the mana sustaining the stone wall.

The next second, web-like cracks spread across the stone, and the rock barrier shattered. The raging fire lunged forward like a man-eating beast, seeking to reduce Xia De to ashes.

But Xia De had long been prepared and successfully evaded the scorching flames.

He didn't idle after dodging. Keeping his hands in motion, a dark red magic circle lit up in his palm, and pitch-black flames emerged. Looking at the distant dragon, he hurled the black fire at it.

The flames detonated violently upon striking the dragon.

Xia De kept moving, continuously conjuring flames and hurling them at the dragon, triggering a rapid succession of explosions like firecrackers.

“You like playing with fire? Here is my response!”

Plutosas roared in anger. It felt incredibly disgusted; every time it tried to counterattack, those damn black flames would rain down upon it.

What made it worse was that these flames were actually dealing genuine damage.

A magical beast's defense was exceptionally high. It was no exaggeration to say that even a Tier Nine powerhouse would need three moves to break Plutosas's defense, while ordinary Tier Eight attacks were nothing more than an itch.

Yet its once-mighty defense was as fragile as paper before the pitch-black flames, leaving it feeling as though its body was being gnawed on by wild beasts.

Pain!

A pain that pierced straight to its soul!

Xia De continuously circled Plutosas, keeping his distance while firing off black flames like a machine gun. The shockwaves from the explosions kicked up a massive screen of smoke within the sealed space.

After keeping up the barrage for over ten minutes, Xia De panted slightly as he stared into the smoke, a wicked grin spreading across his face.

“Since you love fire so much, let's see how you handle this. Ever since I mastered this spell, no living creature has been able to withstand these black flames!”

However, the thick smoke suddenly dispersed as if swept away by a gale, revealing the figure hidden within.

“What? Impossible!”

Xia De's brow furrowed deeply, his face filling with shock as he stared at the scene before him.

The usually invincible black flames had not charred the dragon's flesh as Xia De had expected. Instead, they had only left a few minor marks on its body.

At the center of those marks, only tiny, flickering embers remained, like candles in the wind that would go out with a gentle breeze.

“Ant! You actually dare to wound me! You shall pay with your life!”

The dragon roared in fury.

Instead of feeling any fear, Xia De simply raised his fist, slowly rotated it a hundred and eighty degrees under Plutosas's ferocious gaze, and extended his middle finger.

He mocked the dragon with extreme arrogance:

“Hey, you four-horned giant lizard, you keep repeating the same few lines: ‘Ant, ant, you shall pay with your life, become my blood food.’ I'm sick of hearing it! After all that talk, I'm still standing here completely fine. You're nothing but a clown. What else can you do besides throw a useless tantrum? Want my life? Then come and take it! Stop barking already! If you ask me, you shouldn't call yourself some Space Demon Dragon anymore. You might as well rename yourself the Incompetent Demon Dog! You can't do anything but bark!”

Instantly, the entire subterranean space fell into a deathly silence. The atmosphere became as stagnant as ten-thousand-year-old pool water, devoid of any vitality, with only Xia De's voice echoing through the cavern.

Then, the mountain moved.

Plutosas slowly reared up its mountain-like body. Thump, thump. Its intense heartbeat reverberated throughout the space. At this moment, it was like a volcano gradually waking from its slumber, with dark, ominous magic pouring from its body.

A purple curtain of light seemed to drape behind it. The immense, ominous magical pressure suddenly tightened the air in the cavern, forcing anyone present to hold their breath.

“Ant!!!”

A white light flashed in Xia De's eyes. The spell he had been quietly charging for a long time was unleashed. Flames dyed the wind black, carrying sharp rock spikes as they surged toward the dragon, aiming straight for its eyes.

The eyes were a weakness for any living creature. Xia De had targeted them from the very beginning, but the demon dragon had kept its eyes heavily guarded, leaving him with no opening.

Therefore, he had deliberately provoked it, waiting for the split second it lost its composure and let its guard down to strike directly at its face!

Xia De didn't understand why no one in the battles he had read about ever did this. It was clearly a highly effective method, targeting an obvious weakness.

The combined magical attack swept toward the dragon's eyes with terrifying power. If it connected, the force of the strike would be enough to pierce straight through its entire skull!