[Teleportation Complete.]
[Current Location: Dragon King’s Nest (Level 1 Secret Realm)]
[Difficulty: Legendary]
[Mission: Defeat the Diamond Dragon.]
The system’s voice echoed as Lu Ran, carrying the Crow Feather Bow and wearing the Divine Deer Pendant, stepped into the familiar cavern with Captain Doofus who was clutching the Longleaf Swordgrass, and the ever-ready Sudden Death King.
The trio took their positions with Sudden Death King at the front, Captain Doofus in the middle, and Lu Ran in the rear.
Once again, the Diamond Dragon made its entrance. Despite being ambushed, tricked, and drained of blood countless times before, it still faithfully roared from its predetermined position and swaggered forward. Its massive tail, covered in dazzling Diamond Scales, swayed with intimidating power.
At this point, Lu Ran was a veteran of this secret realm. It was a pity that the realm would disappear after being cleared. Otherwise, Lu Ran would have happily set up camp here to farm resources.
When enemies met, their eyes burned with rage. Though the Diamond Dragon had no memory of past battles, seeing Lu Ran’s group again filled it with primal fury. With a thunderous roar, it summoned a barrage of diamond-shaped boulders.
The crystals hovered ominously around its massive frame before it launched the artillery shell-like toward Lu Ran’s team!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Faced with this overwhelming barrage, Lu Ran naturally couldn’t let Captain Doofus waste its energy countering. Its power needed to be saved for attacking the Diamond Dragon itself. Hence...
“Sudden Death King, you’re up!”
After multiple experiences, there was no need to wait for Lu Ran's command. Sudden Death King immediately summoned red lightning, and a massive lightning dragon shadow appeared! The shadow instantly materialized, as if it had become a real lightning dragon!
This time, Sudden Death King confidently positioned itself in front of the Diamond Dragon. With a Pang!, each of the attacks was blocked by Sudden Death King.
Although its Lightning Dragon Armor shattered once again, compared to before, it clearly absorbed more of the opponent’s power!
The lightning dragon’s body shattered and chunks of diamond hit Sudden Death King, causing it to stagger backward with each step.
What was encouraging was that Sudden Death King only sustained minor injuries from the blow. After the opponent’s attack broke a few scales, it completely shattered and turned into a shower of crystal light.
It was clear that the armor, which had been reinforced with tenfold compressed energy, had played a crucial role. Sudden Death King was finally able to withstand the opponent’s normal skills.
Lu Ran did not hesitate. Without another word, he activated the Divine Deer Pendant to remotely heal Sudden Death King, fully stepping into the role of a healer. In essence, it was as though Sudden Death King had never been injured.
Meanwhile, while Sudden Death King absorbed the attack on Captain Doofus’ behalf, Captain Doofus executed its attack. Using the Longleaf Swordgrass, it condensed an overwhelming amount of Dragon-Slaying Sword Qi, magnified over twenty times.
The sword qi burst through the air with immense force, creating chaos within the cavern. The atmospheric pressure turned erratic, and the wind howled like ghostly wails.
The strike landed square on the Diamond Dragon, triggering an immense explosion. The blast filled half the cavern with smoke and dust.
From within the dense haze, a blinding diamond energy cannon shot out, tearing through the air and sweeping toward Lu Ran’s team. At that instant, Sudden Death King reacted with incredible speed. Relying on its Energy Flow Technique, it rapidly reshaped its Lightning Dragon Form, bravely stepping up to block the incoming cannon.
The immense energy cannon instantly pierced through Sudden Death King’s Lightning Dragon Form, obliterating it. This attack was the Diamond Dragon’s ultimate move, a technique Lu Ran’s team had previously only observed from a distance but never directly endured.
They were well aware that this move carried a special effect: it could crystallize any area it struck. This crystallization effect severely restricted movement, functioning as a petrification control skill.
While primarily a control move, its sheer destructive force was undeniable. In an instant, Sudden Death King’s body was left with a gaping hole.
Fortunately, Lu Ran’s Divine Deer Pendant activated just in time. Just as it had healed Captain Doofus’ fangs moments earlier, it now worked to treat Sudden Death King’s gaping wound.
Faced with the crystallization spreading from its wound, Sudden Death King acted decisively. It extended its claw, compressing Lightning Energy, and forcibly shattered the crystallized area.
Though the sudden force tore the wound open again, with Lu Ran’s pendant providing constant healing, Sudden Death King gritted its teeth and stood firm.
The dust quickly cleared, revealing the Diamond Dragon once more. This time, its condition was even more miserable. A gruesome, crimson gash could be seen across its abdomen, its diamond scales were shattered beyond repair, and fresh Dragon Blood gushed from the wound.
Clearly, Captain Doofus’ attack this time had inflicted devastating damage. However, Lu Ran’s expression darkened. This time, because they had remained in battle instead of retreating immediately, they finally witnessed one of the Diamond Dragon’s hidden abilities.
At the site of its massive wound, the dragon’s flesh began to crystallize slowly, as if it were regrowing diamond scales to seal the injury and stop the bleeding. Lu Ran immediately realized the danger.
He couldn’t multitask perfectly. Managing the healing of both Captain Doofus and Sudden Death King had prevented him from firing the poison arrow in time. Still, it wasn’t a critical issue. They could repeat the attack.
While the Diamond Dragon’s wounds crystallized and its rage burned even hotter, Captain Doofus had already begun condensing a second sword qi, this time aimed directly at its massive head.
The enormous sword qi tore through the air once more. The Diamond Dragon’s pupils shrank, but its ongoing crystallization process left it unable to react in time.
The alternating strategy of Captain Doofus and Sudden Death King was flawless, giving the dragon no chance to recover or counterattack.
The cavern trembled violently as the sword qi struck with devastating force. From within the rising dust cloud, the Diamond Dragon’s agonized roars rang out, filled with fury and helplessness. Though it tried to move its massive body to avoid further damage, its sluggish movements made it a prime target.
The sword qi carved into its side once more, leaving another deep, gaping wound along its back. Fresh dragon blood spattered across the cavern floor. Seizing the opening, Lu Ran raised his Crow Feather Bow.
Using his memory of the battlefield, he blind-fired an arrow toward the weakened dragon.
The poisoned arrow shot through the air, piercing deep into the Diamond Dragon’s exposed flesh. With its Diamond Scales shattered, the dragon’s flesh was far more vulnerable than before.
Moreover, the Crow Feather Bow’s extraordinary effect which enhanced power and speed ensured the arrow struck with lethal precision. Compared to the excruciating pain of the sword qi, the arrow felt insignificant to the Diamond Dragon, like the bite of a mosquito.
Unbeknownst to the dragon, the poison coating the arrow had already begun to react with its blood, spreading insidiously through its body. Despite its pain and rage, the Diamond Dragon remained unaware of the creeping danger.
Now thoroughly enraged, it roared furiously, its massive frame charging toward Lu Ran and his team. However, Lu Ran was no fool.
He immediately signaled for his team to retreat into a side tunnel, taking advantage of the dragon’s sluggish recovery to reposition. It was as if they were playing hide-and-seek with the Diamond Dragon.
Taunting the Diamond Dragon with a smug grin, Lu Ran led Captain Doofus and Sudden Death King deeper into the cave.
The Diamond Dragon, blinded by fury, roared and gave chase, all while its injuries continued to crystallize. It never realized that the poison was spreading rapidly through its bloodstream.
According to Fang Lan’s instructions, the poison would take one minute to fully react and disrupt the Diamond Dragon’s energy system.
During this window, its energy flow would slow down dramatically, and its ability to release skills would be severely impaired. That moment would be their best chance to overwhelm it with pure damage.
Finally, he skidded to a stop, turning to face the dragon with a gleam in his eye. Captain Doofus and Sudden Death King stood ready, their expressions excited.
The Diamond Dragon, showing no signs of retreat, formed a massive and sharp diamond spike in its mouth and hurled it toward them with earth-shattering force.
Sudden Death King didn’t hesitate. It threw itself in front of the attack, summoning its LIghtning Dragon Armor to shield the team. The diamond spike smashed into the armor, shattering it instantly and sending Sudden Death King crashing into the cavern wall.
This time, the force of the impact was overwhelming. The spike embedded itself into the wall, pinning Sudden Death King in place as crystallization spread rapidly across its body.