Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon’s Might
Chapter 246 - 245: Melee

Chapter 246: Chapter 245: Melee

Undead creatures don’t need to breathe and don’t bleed. Those with no experience often misjudge whether an undead is truly dead, leading to dangerous situations by approaching them recklessly.

Those who know better focus on the eyes of the undead—the malevolent gleam in their eyes reveals whether they are still alive.

Green flames flickered in Castanin’s eyes, shimmering like a dying candle in the wind, seemingly ready to extinguish at any moment. It was evident he was severely wounded.

As an undead, he shouldn’t feel pain, yet Castanin couldn’t understand why his body was overwhelmed by a burning sensation.

Clutching his chest—a subconscious gesture retained from his days as a human—Castanin stared fixedly at the Red Dragon.

He knew the Red Dragon wielded swords, could cast various magical spells, and had heard tales of its ability to use Lightning Magic. Rumor had it the dragon once used Lightning Magic to teach Frost Giants a lesson on the Lost Plateau. But he had never imagined the sheer power of that Lightning Magic, which had nearly obliterated him with just two strikes.

There was no doubt that it wasn’t ordinary Lightning Magic.

Low-level undead creatures, like zombies and skeletons, lack intelligence. If uncontrolled, they act purely on instinct, attacking the living. As a high-level undead creature, Castanin, however, had a mind and desires. He yearned for more wealth, more power, and eternal life, but found himself at a loss for words in the face of the Red Dragon.

He believed that if he dared to utter anything sarcastic, the Red Dragon wouldn’t hesitate to slap him into oblivion.

"Weren’t you quite arrogant just moments ago?" Leon said when Castanin remained silent. "Why have you gone mute all of a sudden?"

Leon preferred not to provoke elves, and for good reason. Many elves, with their long lifespans, were immensely powerful. Danalan, while distant from the Elf Empire and akin to a secluded enclave, had numerous allies. Many Golden Dragons and Silver Dragons lived within elven cities, backed by a host of deities.

In contrast, pirates had nothing: no friends, no background. The so-called God of Pirates was unheard of, and the sheer audacity of any pirate daring to provoke him gave Leon no reason to offer concessions.

"You might be able to kill me, but can you kill all of us?" Castanin had an idea and tried binding the other pirates at the dock into the conflict with him. Even the Red Dragon might hesitate under such circumstances, he thought.

Moon Bay’s Pirate City lacked a Maze Lock, and without the Maze Lock to restrain his ferocity and the Soul Summoning Mantra, Leon was unconcerned, saying, "What makes you think I can’t kill them all? I’ll wipe them out effortlessly."

"If no one steps forward to give me an explanation or an apology, everyone here will perish. And you, you’ll be the first," Leon declared mercilessly. He raised his claw to attack, but a shadow flashed, and Castanin disappeared from his sight.

Batification, a rare humanoid metamorphosis, transforms humanoids into half-bat monsters or gigantic bats. A Batman swooped in, flapping its wings, whisking Castanin away from Leon’s grasp to land atop a warehouse on the dock.

Trying to flee?

Do you think you can escape?

Leon glared at Castanin, his fingers just beginning to stretch open, when his peripheral vision caught sight of a spear hurtling toward him, hitting his chest squarely without even a scratch.

Leon lowered his gaze to the spear, which clattered noisily to the ground, then followed the trajectory back to see a man over three meters tall.

I haven’t even attacked you, and you’ve already taken the initiative to strike me?

How brazenly ignorant.

Leon decided to temporarily let Castanin go and deal with the burly man who had thrown the spear. "You’re bold, aren’t you? What’s your name?"

"Haken, my name is Haken," the man replied, gesturing. Though the spear had done no damage to Leon, it trembled on the ground and returned instantly to Haken’s hand. "Dragon Slayer Haken."

"Dragon Slayer Haken?" Leon murmured. With intelligence from the Gold Shore Chamber of Commerce, Leon knew the captain of the Storm Giant was a half-giant named Haken. "When exactly did you slay a dragon?"

"I’ve never slain one before, but soon I’ll be executing an arrogant Red Dragon," Haken said as he stowed the spear on his back, pulling forth a massive axe. With a roar, he entered Frenzy State, his form growing larger and more imposing, his physical bulk expanding from large to gigantic, with fierce light emanating from his eyes.

"A barbarian following the giant’s path?" Leon assessed Haken, noting the arcs of electricity dancing around the massive axe. He recalled that barbarians on the giant’s path could infuse their weapons with the Primordial Power of giants.

"Scared yet?" Haken tightened his grip on the axe.

According to game mechanics, a giant’s path barbarian at level 14 gains a feature called Creator Giant, enhancing Primordial Power during Frenzy and allowing their size to grow from large to gigantic.

Judging by Haken’s immense form, his level was undoubtedly high. Still, it wasn’t enough to make Leon hesitant.

"Such arrogance. Do you think you’re a Storm Giant? Even Storm Giants wouldn’t dare speak to me like that," Leon sneered. He preferred barbarians to rangers, who behaved like evasive rodents. "Come on, show me your strength."

"Die, beast!" Haken shouted, charging toward Leon. Leaping high, he aimed a powerful axe strike at Leon’s chest, believing Castanin’s claim that the Red Dragon relied solely on its Dragon Armor. The armor protected the dragon’s vulnerable chest, where its heart and the main arteries for its Spit Weapon were located.