Chapter 367 The Small Battles

POV ???:

The clouds of ash and smoke drifted across the sky, powerful winds gashing and stirring them. The trees were blown back and forth, their leaves rustling, and their trunks creaked under the wind threatening to uproot them.

The giant beast, armored from its tail all the way to its horns, flew through the murky, stormy sky, only the glow of its golden eyes and the halo of the magma rivers in its armor visible through the clouds.

The wind strengthened, and an eagle of wind quickly approached from the horizon, each of its feathers looking like a small tornado. The trees beneath it were torn from the soil and raised into the air. The clouds around it spun like rings orbiting a planet.

Its wings of wind are easily big enough to cover an Olympic pool.

The flames ignited in the draconid's throat, and a stream of bright blue fire lit up the sky.

"Giggigi!" The eagle squealed, and a massive spinning vortex shot from its beak.

The fire and wind collided simultaneously, the entire sky flashing as the flames violently spun and danced under the wind. The wind pushed forwards, dissipating the flames like a giant fan.

'Now is my opportunity. It looks distracted.'

The multiple-meters tall black silhouette pierced through the clouds and fire, the runes on his armor flashing as he flapped his fiery wings, his sword orbited by fire, and lightning pointed forwards as if it was a lance of a knight.

The wind flowed and howled in his ears, but he felt nothing as his armors and scales deflected all of the elemental forces away from him.

Johan quickly accelerated, leaving behind a trail of fire and lightning, the distracted eagle in front of him quickly getting closer and closer. The winds strengthened with each passed meter.

He knew he had only a single try, so he stilled his hand and sharpened his mind.

In the blink of an eye, he blasted straight through the windy eagle, the tip of his sword striking a small glass core within its chest. The winds calmed down, and the eagle dissipated into nothingness, only small glass-looking shards falling down, refracting the light of the blue fire.

Ding!

//

You have killed the miniboss: The Greater Wind-Elemental Eagle.

Reward: 1 X Instant Level-up; 100 Gold coins; 1 X Regular Apple

//

Ding!

//

You are now level 46

All stats increased!

+5 stat points

+1 ability point

//

'Soon, I will be level 50. I heard it is an important milestone.'

He braced his wings, stopping mid-air. His eyes swept through the grove, the sounds of swords banging against each other and flashes of light coming from everywhere.

'Until now, I didn't evolve. But with all the wars, I feel like I need to risk it and do it to survive.' He was scared of someone discovering he had access to the mysterious system.

'Would they consider me to be an outsider? Would they still trust me? Especially with these so-called players becoming harder and harder to control.'

His sword lit up in even brighter white flames, and his senses penetrated through the canopies of tries, detecting the enemies and allies.

His eyes lit up in determination, 'Even the dragon evolved after they got access to some mysterious external resources and inheritances. I can fake that too! If I could get the dragon's new and stronger blood again, I could just evolve and blame all the changes on it!'

He waved his swords, and a large fan of magma shot out, rushing toward the enemies beneath him, 'But for that, I need results! Lots of results!'

POV Vesuvius:

The earth-shaking shockwave passed through the dungeon as the clawed hand of the dragon turned into a blur of light. His claws shone brightly, and life force and mana surged and flowed through them, making them sharper.

The colossus of metal couldn't even move, its gemstone eyes desperately flickering as the claws closed toward its head, loud sonic booms constantly echoing between the rough, stone walls of the dungeon.

It could just stand there as if it was just a statue of a human athlete.

The next second, the crystal claws slashed its neck, cutting through the metal like through a thin sheet of paper. Silver, metallic blood gushed, splashing all over the ground and walls.

The dragon's eyes pulsed, and even more mana flowed into his muscles. The claws pressed, cutting deeper and deeper into its neck.

The giant's eyes kept flickering, the madness vanishing from them as its metal heart pounded like a church bell out of sheer terror.

The claws kept digging deeper and deeper, and then a split second later, they fully cleaved through its neck, and the force keeping it in place dissipated.

With bangs and clangs, the mountain of metal collapsed to the ground.

Vesuvius silently stared at it, his eyes burning with greed, 'If you were from gold, then I might even spare you and keep you as a pet. But now you will arm my army and be used to build my empire! Which is also an honor, be grateful! It is better faith than forever being trapped in a crystal. Later I will have my minions harvest you.'

The dragon golden eyes pierced through the veil of the darkness as he looked into the dungeon's depths. The crystals became shinier and large the further he looked.

'If I fight with every mob, it will take too long. I will have to simply smash through them with speed.'

The long, crystal horns on the dragon's head brightly shone, and the entire domain around him moved. The lightning cracked and sparked around him, quickly growing in intensity and brightness.

More and more mana flowed out, the lightning arcs sparking and hitting against the pillars, ground, and ceiling as if the dragon had turned into a giant lightning ball.

'The more current, the more speed.'

The next second all the air before the dragon vanished, creating a vacuum preserved by his domain.

'The higher the speed, the more obstructive the air becomes.'

The dragon's wings crackled with lightning as his electricity-attributed flight skill reacted.

The lightning struck between the dragon and the massive roads of lightning by his sides. Then he shot forwards, the sonic boom echoing through the corridors as he accelerated. Everything became blurred, but the dragon kept accelerating more and more.