Chapter 280: 279 Dragon Chapter 280: 279 Dragon At that moment, Shane was genuinely surprised.
The demon that Shane had just punched to the ground was indeed a dragon.
Its body was pitch-black, its scales pronounced; it was at least a hundred meters long, with extremely thick limbs. A pair of dragon claws sharp enough to seemingly flicker with a cold light made one shudder without even being cold.
Its pair of dragon wings was incredibly wide, seeming as if they could blot out the sun; when spread, they probably could extend over a hundred meters in length.
And its head was as fierce as a crocodile’s, with its dragon eyes exuding such ferocity that no one dared meet its gaze.
Through the feedback of the “Identification” skill, Shane learned its level.
Evidently, it was already above Level ninety.
“Doesn’t its condition seem a bit off?”
Shane furrowed his brows.
Upon closer examination, the black dragon that had been smashed to the ground seemed to be struggling in agony. Its magic power was highly chaotic, and something inside it seemed to be rampaging through, causing its body to continuously undulate and bulge, which looked particularly frightening.
And with each fluctuation of its magic power, with each undulation of its body, its level also fluctuated.
Shane could see that the dragon’s level at times soared several times in one go, while at other times it dropped. Its bottom limit was Level ninety-three, but at its peak, it rose to Level ninety-nine, nearly reaching the maximum level.
Looking at this black dragon, a spark of realization flashed in Shane’s mind and he immediately understood the reason behind this.
“Is it resisting the Demon Refining Ceremony?”
This black dragon was resisting the Demon Refining Ceremony.
Its spirit neared a berserk state, but hadn’t completely lost control; instead, it was barely maintaining a portion of its consciousness.
It seemed to have slain many Refined Demons, absorbing their magic power and flesh, but it didn’t want to transform into a Refined Demon. Therefore, it was continuously resisting the Refined Demon’s magic power and flesh that had entered its body, leading to such chaotic magic power and violent undulations in its body. Even its level was highly unstable, sometimes high and sometimes low.
Presumably, the dragon’s true level should be ninety-three. The reason for the sudden increase was due to the Refined Demon magic power and Refined Demon flesh within it.
If it were to fully absorb those magic powers and flesh, then perhaps it could reach Level ninety-nine, right?
But the cost of that would be to become a disgusting Refined Demon, a monster that lost its reason, and eventually fall prey to a Demon Infant as a sacrificial offering to be devoured.
“If such a sacrificial offering was devoured, then that Demon Infant’s power would become terrifying.”
Shane realized this and his expression became grave.
The black dragon continued to struggle fiercely and howled in agony, fiercely suppressing the magic power and flesh within its body.
Clearly, it didn’t want to become a Refined Demon, and even more so, it didn’t want to become a sacrificial offering.
Most importantly, its own dignity wouldn’t allow it to fall to such a fate.
Shane could hear from its roar a sense of determination, decisiveness, and an unyielding, crazed will.
“Quite impressive. No wonder it has reigned over this Artlu Canyon for four hundred years, it does have the demeanor of a Dragon King.”
Shane began to view the dragon with newfound respect.
Initially, Shane had thought about disposing of it to prevent the Demon Infant from obtaining such a premium sacrificial offering.
Now, Shane decided to save its life.
“Unsealing (Heresu)!”
Immediately, Shane drew the Holy Sword from his waist and unhesitatingly began the unsealing process.
Accompanying the release of the First Layer of the seal, the Holy Sword once again burst into dazzling brilliance, illuminating the heavens and the earth.
The Black Dragon seemed to sense the threat and turned its gaze towards Shane, letting out a thunderous roar.
“What’s all the fuss about?” Shane instantly broke into a grin and said, “I’m here to help you, you big dummy.”
Having said that, Shane shot out like an arrow, diving toward the Black Dragon’s position.
Seeing Shane flying rapidly in its direction, the Black Dragon didn’t hesitate for a moment before opening its wide, ferocious mouth and spouting a scorching flame breath.
That was, of course, Dragon Breath.
Dubbed capable of breaching all defenses, Dragon Breath thus enveloped Shane.
Shane didn’t dare to resist head-on.
The Holy Sword had only its First Layer of sealing undone, which could only halve the damage, and the Resistance Skill was ineffective against Dragon Breath. If Shane had dared to charge into that Dragon Breath, he would have been skinned alive even if he hadn’t died.
Therefore, as Shane continued to dive, he added the Magical Sword skill to the Holy Sword, causing a golden Magic Blade to burst forth from it.
Immediately, Shane raised the Holy Sword high and, against the storm-like Dragon Breath, he brought it down heavily.
The golden Magical Sword neatly cleaved through the Dragon Breath, splitting it into two, which then grazed past Shane on either side, soaring into the sky.
With the Magical Sword-enhanced Holy Sword, Shane cut through the Dragon Breath all the way, like a rock standing against the waves, parting the Dragon Breath while swiftly approaching the Black Dragon.
In the blink of an eye, Shane had fully cleaved through the Dragon Breath and was above the Black Dragon, landing on its back.
Shane cast a Grant Magic on the Black Dragon below him.
As the name suggests, this was a spell specifically aimed at creatures, capable of forcibly plunging them into a fatigued state, depriving them of their Physical Strength and even their Magic Power.
Although it was only an Intermediate Grant Magic, with Shane’s outrageously strong Magic Power, its effect was naturally more terrifying than that of an ordinary Upper-Level Magic.
The Black Dragon could feel its Physical Strength and Magic Power draining at an astonishing rate, causing it to panic and roar continuously.
“Grant*Acceleration.”
To prevent the Black Dragon from struggling and retaliating, Shane released a new Grant Magic, targeting the “Fatigue” trait he had just applied.
If another Mage had seen this action, they would have surely been shocked.
To grant effects to a Grant Magic was simply unheard of.
With his Magic*Grant skill having reached Level 10, he managed even this operation.
Thus, after being “Accelerated,” the “Fatigue” became even more fierce, rapidly sapping the Black Dragon’s Physical Strength and Magic Power at an astonishing rate.
The Black Dragon felt its strength completely drained and eventually collapsed on the ground, no longer able to stand.
This gave the Black Dragon a sense that its end had finally come.
In the end, the Black Dragon let out a roar filled with resentment and bitterness.
Just then, the Magic Power and flesh inside the Black Dragon finally went berserk.
Without the suppression from the Black Dragon itself, this Magic Power and flesh naturally surged, instantly intending to merge into its body and turn it into a Refined Demon.
“There’s been a change, my Lord.”
Shane suddenly smiled, placing a hand quickly on the Black Dragon’s body, and an astonishing Magic Power surged forth.
The vastness of that power even made the Black Dragon widen its eyes.
And at that moment, Shane triggered a Skill he hadn’t used for a long time — Tame.
The overwhelming Magic Power immediately poured into the Black Dragon’s body in a special way.