The whole scene felt strangely familiar yet peculiar to Ethan, as usually he was the one towering over others.
"Hello, I..."
Ethan was about to introduce himself, after all, his objective wasn't to engage this Black Dragon in a life-or-death battle.
However, before he could finish his sentence, the hind part of the Black Dragon started flashing red, firing a terrifying dragon flame directly at Ethan's head.
Boom!
The scorching heat instantly engulfed Ethan as the Black Dragon continued to spew dragon flame.
The heatwave expanded outward from Ethan, rapidly raising the temperature of the pond.
A thick layer of white mist began to fill the entire underground cavern.
After a tirade of dragon flame attacks, the Black Dragon's mouth slowly emitted smoke, its eyes gleaming with mockery.
It was uncertain how this little pest had sneaked into its nest, but a blast of dragon flame was more than enough to reduce such a creature to ashes.
But the next moment, the Black Dragon was left stupefied, its eyes widening in shock at an unbelievable sight.
The spot that had just been engulfed by its dragon flame was now completely empty.
Not a single trace or scent of the intruder remained in its line of sight.
The Black Dragon double-checked incredulously, but the result remained the same.
There was no sign of the enemy.
"Damn it! Show yourself, you cowardly rodent!"
The Black Dragon roared angrily, its huge tail smashing the surface of the water, creating waves that reached several dozen feet high.
Just as the waves began to ripple, a blazing fireball shot out without warning, striking the Black Dragon's abdomen at an incredible speed, then exploded with a loud bang.
The resulting high temperature caused a section of the Black Dragon's scales to burn and char.
It roared in pain as a wave of savage and frantic anger surged within it.
"Roar—"
The Black Dragon let out an agonizing roar, spewing a wave of scorching dragon flame in all directions.
Wherever the dragon flame passed, rocks flew and debris scattered.
Even the hard rock walls were scorched and melted, creating small holes.
But what was bizarre was that, except for the area first hit by the dragon flame, nothing nearby was damaged.
It was as if an invisible shield was blocking everything in front of the dragon, even the mighty dragon flame couldn't destroy them.
"Damn you, show yourself!"
The Black Dragon screamed, wildly swiping its massive claws, trying to drag out the enemy hidden in the shadows.
However, no matter how much it raged, the enemy seemed to have evaporated, leaving no trace to be found.
"Ah! Damn pest!"
The Black Dragon was instantly furious.
Its enormous body slowly emerged from the pond, its large dragon wings spread out, stirring up a strong wind.
Behind the Black Dragon, a slender figure quietly appeared, silently observing the Black Dragon's every move.
Ethan, looking at the easily-angered creature before him, felt somewhat helpless.
If it wouldn't communicate peacefully, then he would have to subdue it first.
"Scumbag, show yourself!"
The Black Dragon continued to roar, and Ethan, who had been quietly observing, finally made his move.
A cold light flashed in Ethan's golden vertical pupils, a golden glow wrapped around his body.
Like an arrow shot from a bow, Ethan charged.
"Roar!"
The Black Dragon roared and with a powerful thrust of its sturdy forelimbs, its entire body leaped into the air.
Simultaneously, it opened its large mouth full of sharp teeth, attempting to tear into the attacking Ethan.
Ethan moved with lightning speed, closing the gap to the Black Dragon in a blink of an eye.
He then pivoted his body and delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to the neck of the Black Dragon.
The impact resonated through the dragon's scales and landed directly on its throat.
The hit left it momentarily stunned before it fell to the ground with a heavy thud.
Ethan seized the opportunity to land another solid sidekick.
Smack!
A crisp and thunderous blow echoed as the massive dragon was once again knocked down by Ethan.
A large footprint was etched onto its face, leaving a deep imprint.
"Cursed vermin!" the Black Dragon roared in pain.
Its large, reptilian eyes were filled with a bloodthirsty intention to kill.
It abruptly flipped back onto its feet and lunged its massive jaws towards Ethan.
Ethan was well-prepared.
He deftly dodged the dragon's attack, then retaliated with a slap.
Wrapping his hand with an electric aura, he sent the monstrous body of the Black Dragon flying.
Thump!
The Black Dragon was once again toppled over, this time more violently than before, leaving a massive crater on the ground and dust filling the air.
The dragon slowly lifted its massive head, panting heavily as it glared at Ethan.
Its cold, vertical-slit eyes were filled with hatred and ruthlessness.
"Roar!"
"How dare you provoke the mighty Black Dragon!"
With a thunderous roar, the Black Dragon shot upwards, its powerful hind legs kicking off the ground as its colossal body lunged at Ethan like a dark shadow.
"Hmph."
Facing the charging Black Dragon, Ethan let out a dismissive cold snort.
A terrifying aura of Holy Light swirled around him.
With a casual swing of his right hand, a pillar of light fell from the sky, smashing the Black Dragon back into the lake.
Boom!
The dragon's massive body crashed into the lake, causing a huge splash.
The Black Dragon thrashed about in the water in pain.
Its bloodshot eyes glared fiercely at Ethan, seething with indomitable rage.
But this time, it didn't act recklessly...
As a dragon, it was not a fool.
It had already felt a considerable threat from the opponent in front of it.
Ethan slowly walked to the water's edge, overlooking the Black Dragon's enormous head.
A faint smile appeared on his face as intricate scales began to emerge on his body, and a terrifying aura radiated out.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Ethan."
The Black Dragon's pupils shrunk suddenly, retreating a safe distance from Ethan.
"So, you are of the same kind... I was wondering when there was such an anomaly among humans, who could fight me to a standstill with sheer physical strength," the Black Dragon snorted, as if seeking justification, "Well, if it weren't for that despicable human who injured me with a Dragon Crossbow, you definitely wouldn't have gained the upper hand!"
Ethan followed the Black Dragon's gaze to notice two gruesome penetrating wounds on its abdomen, tearing apart a large area of its dragon scales.
Due to the intense battle with Ethan just now, the wound had reopened, and hot, fresh blood kept pouring out.
Slowly lifting its massive head, the Black Dragon regained its previous arrogance and spoke slowly, "You may call me Komait, my fellow. Why have you come to visit the great Komait?"
Seeing Black Dragon's obnoxious demeanor, Ethan itched to leap up and punch him again.
However, the purpose of this trip wasn't to pick a fight.
This dragon still had a lot of use for him.
"I'm here to form an alliance with you."
"An alliance?"
Black Dragon instinctively wanted to scoff, but a pang of fear caused him to swallow the derisive words he was about to utter.
He spoke solemnly instead, "I am the mighty Black Dragon Lord Komait, the King of Mist Forest, the ruler of hundreds of thousands of monsters..."
"Ethan, my kin, I admit you are strong, but do you dare dream of forming an alliance with me with your solitary strength?"
"But… I do have another proposal. My kin, you can choose to join the Great Black Dragon Lord's forces. I am willing to make you the second-in-command of my Black Dragon Army!"
Again, Ethan suppressed the urge to slap this creature.
He snapped his fingers, and a Holy Light descended from the sky!
Black Dragon Komait initially thought Ethan was about to engage in combat again, and murderous intent once more flared in his eyes.
However, when the Holy Light made contact with his dragon body, his eyes widened in surprise.
The Holy Light did not harm him.
On the contrary, his wounds began to heal rapidly.
Within moments, not a trace of his injuries could be seen.
"How... is this possible?"
Komait was bewildered and shocked.
He couldn't understand it.
The Dragon Crossbow was a special weapon developed by those damnable dwarves specifically to combat dragons.
The arrows were imbued with numerous destructive spells and curses targeted at the dragon species, which was why his long healing time in the pool had not resolved his injuries.
And now, this mysterious kin of his had healed him with such ease...
He immediately reassessed Ethan's capabilities and value.
Ethan, noticing the wavering in Komait's eyes, spoke with a smile, "Now, perhaps you might reconsider my previous proposition."
"First of all, I am not alone. I too have an army under my command... Secondly, I equally detest those humans from Riverside."
"On my way here, I noticed those humans have begun preparing for war. They're likely to launch a full-scale assault on you soon, pouring all their resources into this attack. Do you think you can survive their next onslaught?"