Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon’s Might
Chapter 147 - 146 Life is Full of Ups and Downs

Chapter 147: Chapter 146 Life is Full of Ups and Downs

The Elf Ranger fired the first shot.

Seeing this scene, the Barbarians, who had been impatient, let out a roar and entered the Frenzy State.

He followed the path of the Berserker, trembling in the chaotic pleasure of battle, abandoning all regard for his own safety, pursuing a path of blood and unrestrained fury, fearlessly jumping in front of the Fire Melt Salamander obstructing his attack on the Dragon Vein Mage, lifting his huge axe and launching a reckless attack—a fierce assault that cast aside all defense.

Offense is the best defense, the Barbarian’s fierce attacks caused the Molten Salamander Contract Mage to flee in panic and the Molten Salamander Knights riding Striders to be somewhat at a loss, but fortunately, they quickly reacted, pulling the reins to urge the Striders to launch a lethal Bite while simultaneously lifting their curved sabers high.

One of the Molten Salamander Knights, standing a bit far away from the Barbarian, on the outskirts, even stuffed a spherical object made of sulfur, ore, salt, and paste into his mouth, then chewed frantically until his mouth generated a huge amount of heat, and spit out a small fireball.

The Barbarian was simply dressed in cloth without any Armor, which did not mean his defense was weak. Decades of hardening had made his skin exceptionally tough, tougher and more resilient than any cowhide. Most of the Molten Salamander Knights’ attacks hit, but the majority only left white marks on his skin. Although the Barbarian was surrounded, he did not fall behind.

A Molten Salamander Knight’s arm was chopped off by the Barbarian.

Another Molten Salamander Knight was pulled down from the Strider by the Barbarian, who then stomped on his chest, smashing it, and even causing the Strider’s head to be smashed askew.

The air began to fill with the salty scent of seawater and the stench of blood.

The Molten Salamander Knights finally stopped the Barbarian, allowing the Molten Salamander Contract Mage to escape to a distance, where he first cast Mage Armor on himself, and then lifted his hand, preparing to throw a Fireball Technique. Just as he raised his hand, an arrow flew towards him, he quickly dodged to the side, avoiding one but not the other. Struck in the chest by an arrow, he no longer cared about anything else and quickly jumped into the sea, disappearing into the foaming waters.

Bards are not just eloquent; they often excel in close combat, ranged attacks, and magic, as versatile as they are in their music-making - truly a jack of all trades.

Meanwhile, Leon certainly was not indifferent; he lifted his empty hand, aiming at the approaching female Knight, preparing to release the Hand Palm Bomb. Just as the lightning began to flash, he felt a strange force disrupting it, though it was not a significant problem, and the lightning still formed.

What’s going on!?

Facing a Dragon Vein Mage, a Mage dared not take things lightly; he had been calculating how to counter the Spell, waiting to interrupt the opponent’s magic. But the Spell used by the opposition was one he had never seen before; unable to dismantle it on the fly, even after being well-prepared, he was met with a critical failure, his face turning pale.

The female Knight saw the meandering lightning coming towards her. Besides slightly frowning, her steps did not stop at all, letting the lightning strike her body. She merely trembled and then was unharmed, whether she used some kind of countermeasure against lightning, had equipment that protected against it, or simply relied on willpower.

The Wanderer hidden in the shadows did not attack, not because he was afraid; although the opponent had just defended against the Ranger’s arrows with tough Dragon Scales, he did not believe that she was without flaws. He was just waiting for her to use the Mysterious Steps before attacking. Who knew that as the female Knight got closer, the Wanderer still made no moves.

Could it be the Dragon Vein Mage did not know Mysterious Steps?

This was not impossible.

Compared to Mages whose magic was mainly learned through study and could learn any desired Spell as long as it was understood, a Contract Master could gain Spells through contracts, and a Magician’s Spells depended almost entirely on awakening, difficult to acquire through cultivation. If luck was poor and key Spells never appeared, that could be problematic.

The Wanderer made up his mind and quietly approached the Dragon Vein Mage, just as he lifted his dagger, he suddenly realized the Dragon Vein Mage sharply turned back to look at him, startling him stiff, his heart skipping a beat, and in the blink of an eye, the Dragon Vein Mage disappeared from his sight.

Could it be that the Dragon Vein Mage had already noticed his footsteps, and although not able to perform Mysterious Steps, he was skilled in Invisibility Technique? There were no footsteps to be seen on the sandy beach.

Firstly, due to the heightened senses after Dan Formation, and secondly due to the Heavenly Eye Technique, Leon had long noticed that Wanderer but simply didn’t bother with him. Seeing the female Knight charging over and the Wanderer sneaking up, being outnumbered in human form, he didn’t have much confidence and decisively activated Gathering Form and Scattering Energy to exit the battlefield.

Flash Technique, Mysterious Steps... Mages always have an endless array of methods; Leon disliked troublesome enemies. Then, there were the Ranger’s agile movements and keen perception, which were also disagreeable. Indeed, it was easier to bully a bard, just as well that there were no Priests or Druids on the opposing side. Let that guy act as the healer.

First, kill the healer.

With such a thought, Leon, turning into a Clean Energy, swiftly moved toward the bard and noticed that the bard had cast a Sword Blade Protection spell; in a game context, that would mean receiving resistance to Blunt Strike, Puncture, and Swing damage from weapon attacks until the end of the next round. He continued to move...

Originally, Leon wanted to pierce the opponent’s heart with a sword, but he had no choice but to switch to a slashing strike.

Breaking Stealth Strike brought down the bard, but Leon did not stop. Seizing the victory, he cast an immobilization spell with a raise of his hand. The immobilization spell can hardly control those powerful monsters, but it works just fine against a bard. He caught up and kicked the bard over, wanting to pierce the bard’s heart, but was interrupted by a Ranger. In the end, Leon could only hit the abdomen, and with a twist and a pull, he drew out the intestines.

The scene shocked everyone beyond measure, revealing that the Dragon Vein Mage had also taken on the role of a warrior, perhaps even surpassing his path as a mage.

However, shock served no purpose; what was crucial now was to stop the enemy to avoid repeating the same mistakes.

The Mage hurriedly used Mysterious Steps to keep a distance, while the Ranger quickly drew several arrows at once, and the Barbarian, facing a pile of Molten Salamander Knights, finally shed blood, but also took down half of them. Unfortunately, he was still unable to escape. The female knight began to sprint, while the Wanderer switched his dagger for a hand crossbow.

Leon, attracting most of the attention, gave the Molten Salamander Contract Mage the chance to emerge from the sea, crawling onto a rock. Finally having the opportunity, he cast a Fireball Technique. A bright flash flew towards the beach from his fingertips and exploded into a fierce flame with a low growl, sweeping over the Elf Ranger and the Mage.

The Elf Ranger, agile in movement, saw the flash out of the corner of his eye and started to dodge. With a touch of his toes, he lunged forward and dodged most of the flames. His agility exemption was a success, suffering only minor damage. The Mage wasn’t as nimble, took the Fireball Technique head-on, but as a high-level mage, this damage wasn’t enough to defeat him.

Seeing the Molten Salamander Contract Mage appear, the quick-thinking Wanderer decisively shifted targets. Instead of clashing with the Dragon Vein Mage, it was better to pick on the weak ones first.

Only the female knight, stubborn in her thoughts, firmly prioritized restraining Leon.

Meanwhile, the Barbarian finally overturned those Molten Salamander Knights and strode toward Leon.

Unable to use Gathering Form and Scattering Energy, Leon chose to evade the brunt for the time being. Finally, it was time to use the Water Walking Technique. With the technique activated, he ran towards the sea, treading the water as though it were flat ground. Holding on to the idea of conserving spells, he threw his sword into the sky, invoked the Sword Control Technique, and raised two fingers to control the Flying Sword.

He had thought about using the Soul Summoning Mantra, but after a brief consideration, he gave up. First, he didn’t want to activate the Vajra Body as it was too easily interrupted; second, he felt the Soul Summoning Mantra, a superb skill for trashing weak opponents, wouldn’t be of much use against these high-level adventurers.

The Mage cast Dispel Magic, knocking down the Flying Sword.

The Elf Ranger finally noticed something unusual about Leon and decided to infuse his ordinary arrows with Magic Power, turning them into Magic Arrows.

He was a Ranger, but that did not impact his use of the warrior-like skills of a Magic Archer; after all, only games differentiate professions so distinctly. Real life allows for greater freedom of choice. Besides, the Elf military tradition has always included the knowledge of magic arrows.

Leon took a Magic Arrow from the Elf Ranger, touched his face, and found blood on his fingers. With a flick, he recalled the Flying Sword, deciding to use Hand Palm Bomb instead. Regardless of how the Elf Ranger dodged, the tracking Lightning threw him off his feet.

Leon, in human form, might have weak physical combat abilities, but his spell damage was not discounted at all. The unfamiliar ways of attacking confused everyone, and soon the adventurers found themselves at a disadvantage.

"Enough!" the female knight suddenly shouted.

Just then, an unexpected transformation occurred.

The female knight turned into a large bronze dragon with a beak-like nose, a crested head with ridges and grooves, curved horns extending from the crown, complementing the spikes protruding from the jaw and chin, and smooth scales with a greenish-yellow hue, along with webbed feet between her forelimbs and toes suitable for swimming.

"I said stop." The bronze dragon roared in front of Leon, blocking his Hand Palm Bomb. The Hand Palm Bomb did have some tracking ability, but it was not that dexterous.

"We’re saved; we are saved," murmured the bard, even though his intestines had spilled out. But that didn’t stop him from shoving them back in and casting a Healing Skill to recover, although his combat ability was practically gone.

"I knew that justice-obsessed female knight was special," the Wanderer said post facto, "Ordinary people with so much sense of justice would have perished long ago."

The Molten Salamander Contract Mage, missing an arm and a tail, despaired at the instant the bronze dragon appeared, praying only that the Efreeti would notice the battle here.

"You are a Dragon Vein Mage, but I am a dragon," the bronze dragon stared at Leon, "You have no chance of winning."

"Surrender now, and you might have a chance to live," the bronze dragon growled, then saw the Dragon Vein Mage on the beach transform into an enormous Red Dragon.