643 Salamander King Dorian

At first, Zi Dan had no idea what kind of monster Dorian was, but when he saw that Valg phantom controlling that body in the shadows, he could only deduce it was a Valg variant.

Although the phantom looked similar to the animal silhouettes they portrayed, Zi Dan had the feeling that it required magic to defeat it. But he figured Jin would not be heartless to demand magic users when they were not the norm in his shop yet. Maybe a burst of chi could defeat him if Zi Dan was able to immobilise the humanoid?

And what he deduced nearly hit the mark.

When the Salamander King Dorian was killed, his soul and parts of his bodies were used as sacrifice pieces for the ritual to call Maeve's beloved Valgs out from the otherworldly dimension.

Although the betrayal was expected, he did not anticipate it to be this soon. Maeve had promised Dorian that he was able to achieve powers that were beyond his limits. The problem was that Maeve did fulfil his wish even though she had twisted the words of their promise to the absolute limit.

With loose wordings from the contract, Dorian had become THE power that was beyond his limits. The Valg portal was made from the fabrics of his soul while his body parts were used as fuel to maintain the portal opening.

However, what Maeve did not know was that her magic was as distorted as her interpretation of the promises she keeps. One of Dorian's soul fragments 'coincidentally' assimilated into a Valg variant parasite, allowing Dorian to 'reincarnate' into a Valg, manifesting physically without Maeve learning of its existence. (In fact, Maeve never knew what kind of Valgs there were, she merely used them to her delight.)

Not to mention, the richness of magical energy from the gigantic surroundings allowed Dorian's Valg form to grow in strength. His anger and hatred harboured within his soul fragment became the very core of the physical shell's existence. It was also the cornerstone that allowed the surrounding energy to supplement and strengthen him, giving Dorian the form he has right now.

Ever since he was transformed into a Salamander to prevent the 'giantism' virus, he dreaded it on a regular basis and always hope to return back to the human form he once had. But time dimmed that desire until the day Dorian incidentally found with Maeve lurking in one of the corners of the castle.

Her boredom reignited Dorian's yearnings and his family eventually became her plaything. Killing the former Salamander King by slowly draining his life away, cultivating Dorian's appetite for the Animal People gave Maeve her daily craving of sadistic joy.

Unfortunately, the prince played along with her, and at some point, learnt to enjoy such cruel sadism. If his people ever looked back and discover his true nature, they would have said that Prince Dorian deserved to die the way those cultivators found him.

Nevertheless, the unexpected outcome allowed him to return and manifest as a humanoid, and to Dorian, it was more than enough he could get from the bargain with the Fey.

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Upon breaking the mind chains, Zi Dan never experienced that very same technique ever again. Maybe the Valg Humanoid could only do it once, but in actual fact, Dorian merely wished to display his overpowering strength to test his abilities out.

Dishing out kinetic blasts at the whims of the former Salamander Prince... (or dead King), Zi Dan was barely able to dodge any of those if not for his cultivation. However, after experiencing a series of attacks, the Bullet Cheetah cultivator finally got a grasp of the blast's speed.

The young elder initially observed that the Valg Humanoid was similar to a psychic user, and his moves were mostly telekinetic energy based. So, it was basically the Bullet Cheetah's nemesis, especially when his enemy's attacks could be as fast as flicking a switch button. (Which wasn't the case in his world since he had fought along with Psychic users before.)

Yet, there might be a chance Zi Dan could catch him unguarded especially now that he had reached Grade 5 Peak.

But even with the improvement of his Grade, Zi Dan also knew that he was engaging in a losing fight and there was no way for him to escape unscathed. He knew that he only had one shot despite the increased chi pool and the Cheetah Cultivator had to time his attack to make the best out of it.

"Don't underestimate the Cheetah Style!" Zi Dan shouted as he unveiled five clearly defined silhouettes of Cheetahs roaring above him. In a split second, Dorian's eyes were unable to catch where Zi Dan was moving to.

Hence, the Valg Humanoid released a burst of kinetic energy around him, hoping to destroy or at least push his prey away from him. Upon injuring him in the process, Dorian would then take the opportunity to steal his enemy's physical body.

Despite his ability to manifest a physical shell, the Valg Humanoid knew that his form was incomplete. The body he created would not last long since it was burdening him with consistent consumption of magical energy. Though Dorian could absorb the energies from his surroundings, it was not efficient in a prolonged fight and might prove to be detrimental when fighting against Maeve.

That was also the very reason he hid himself to this very corner of the castle. He knew the Frog swordsman that crashed through his castle would return, and Dorian was betting that his comrades would search this room to escape from Maeve's overwhelming powers.

However, he did not expect humans to be accompanying him, and this brought his power hungry desires to another level.

With a human shell, Dorian would revert back as what he used to be, right before the terrible transmutation into a Salamander to prevent his head from being blown off by the Giantism Virus.

By being a Valg, Dorian was sure that he did not have to worry about the Giantism Virus (Especially when he's the origin of the said virus!). The former prince could then consume other Valgs or even the rest of the Frog's comrades and ultimately take his revenge against a possibly weakened Maeve from the Frog's return assault.

"Too bad for you. For once, I am faster than your mind tricks." Zi Dan said as he slipped past Dorian's attack. He finally found the right interval between the casting of his Kinetic Wave magic.

With his Bullet Cheetah Cultivation, Zi Dan travelled fast enough that he experienced something similar to a slip shot within the time space continuum. In short, his enhanced burst of speed allowed him to move in subatomic speed, making him seem to temporarily disappear from the world. Sadly, that trick could only be used once due to the limitations of his current cultivation grade, but it was a definite one hit kill technique.

...Or that was what Zi Dan thought when he smashed his ball chain mace with subatomic speeds against the Valg Humanoid.

*Whoosh!*

A pound of flesh flew out of Dorian's chest like a bullet.

Zi Dan did not stop there as he twirled and attempted to destroy his head as well. Regrettably, the concept of pain did not apply to Dorian now as he grabbed onto the ball chain mace with his bare hands and crashed it into dust with his magic.

Zi Dan's eyes went wide as he retreated to the back of the room while the Valg Humanoid raised his hand up to release a focused blast of kinetic energy towards him.

"Shit, I guess that's it for me, huh?" Zi Dan looked at his broken weapon while his fatigued body weighed him down. The feeling of hopelessness seeped in slowly into Zi Dan's mind as his strength wore out of his body.

"Your body is mine to take!" Dorian shouted in glee as he awaited Zi Dan's death to take possession of it.

*Boom!*

"Twin Shields of the Towering Tortoise!" A voice came from the back as a slab of metal smashed right in front of Zi Dan. When the metal perched into the ground, it expanded forward with a blowout of chi that acted as a defensive barrier against the kinetic shockwave.

Zi Dan then noticed a Cat Head Arrow flying towards Dorian as a follow up attack before it was dismantled into various pieces in midair. Yet, the parts were still able to detonate before it was disassembled entirely, causing a pause in Dorian's attacks.

"This is what you get for jumping the gun!" Xia Mao shouted as he panted with an empty crossbow in his hands. In the meantime, Kong Xian who sent his shield ahead of him, charged forward earnestly with his two handed sword, not knowing the dangers of the Sub Boss.