Samantha's roar echoed through the Hemlock Hills, causing dust to shake loose from the rock walls.
Including the initial wound on her right wing joint, her body was riddled with Poisoned Crossbow Bolts. The azure poison spread across her form, and combined with the Necromancer's Curse, feelings of weakness, numbness, and sluggishness continuously surfaced.
The Alchemy Workshop had long since been reduced to ruins.
Boiling black oil was splashed across the ground, melting the sand and stone into a glassy, charred crust. The trunks of the hemlock trees were covered in claw marks, and their bark bore scorched shadows from the residual flames of the Dragon Breath.
Samantha's tail swept across the rocky platform, sending stone fragments flying like buckshot that clattered against the warriors' armor.
The Necromancer's Skeletal Ghost Fire struck again, this time aiming for Samantha's eyes.
Samantha tilted her head to dodge, but the Blonde Warrior took the opportunity to charge in. His Slab-like Greatsword hacked fiercely into the old wound on her forelimb, and dragon blood splattered, gleaming with a vibrant red luster under the moonlight.
"You lowly insects!"
Samantha roared.
The intense pain instead ignited the ferocity within her Red Dragon Bloodline. Samantha suddenly reared up, her hind legs kicking off the ground to leap several meters high, crashing toward the Blonde Warrior with her full weight.
Unfortunately, her movements were neither precise nor swift enough.
Her prowess was not even a tenth of Garros's.
With a roll, the Blonde Warrior easily evaded Samantha's impact.
This mistake cost Samantha dearly.
The Caster's binding incantation fell at that moment, imprinting itself onto Samantha's back.
She felt as if she were suddenly carrying a mountain; her sharp claws sank deep into the rock, and for a moment, she could barely support her own body.
Grappling hooks whistled through the air, their tips catching in the gaps between Samantha's dragon scales, while the Rogue wound the other ends around the thick trunks of the hemlock trees.
Divine Retribution!
The White-robed Priest raised his palm and then pressed it down. A bolt of thunder-like holy energy descended from the sky, striking Samantha and tearing her flesh open, sending up plumes of scorched, acrid smoke.
This type of holy-attribute attack dealt double damage to an Evil Dragon.
Samantha bared her teeth in agony, her entire body trembling violently.
The adventurers' attacks were like a torrential storm, coming wave after wave, making it difficult for the Red Young Dragon to withstand them.
The Blonde Warrior raised his heavy sword simultaneously, the runes on the blade shining with a blinding light as he swung toward Samantha's hind leg.
This ferocious strike did not aim for Samantha's neck or any other vital spot. In fact, few of the adventurers' previous attacks had been lethal. The reason was simple: they wanted to capture the Red Young Dragon alive.
A living young dragon.
Its value was several times higher than a dead one.
Thinking of the immense fortune that awaited them, smiles couldn't help but spread across the faces of the five companions.
However.
Just as the blade was about to fall, the sky above suddenly went dark.
It wasn't clouds obscuring the moon, but rather some creature blocking the light of the stars and moon, casting a shadow that enveloped the battling dragon and humans.
The tension on Samantha's dragon face instantly vanished, and she began to laugh.
"Despicable insects, now you are all going to die,"
she said.
The tense expressions shifted to the faces of the adventurers, and their smiles stiffened and vanished at the same time.
Everyone heard that sound.
—It was like a thunderstorm rolling along the ground, or like steel being torn apart by brute force.
It was the sonic boom of dragon wings tearing through the air. As Garros dove at extreme speed, the airflow was ripped apart by the feather-like fine scales on his wing membranes, creating a death knell filled with overwhelming pressure.
"A dragon, there's another dragon! Everyone, be careful! Haven, quickly use the Forbidden Air Spell!"
The Blonde Warrior roared, looking up to meet the dragon pupils of the Red-Iron Young Dragon, which were deeper than the night itself. A gale hit him head-on, blowing his hair into a wild mess.
The Caster skillfully constructed the Forbidden Air Spell.
This incantation directly locked onto the target and was a guaranteed-hit type. With a young dragon's magic resistance, it couldn't be evaded. Once the Demonic Energy on the wings was dispersed, flight would be severely affected, causing a loss of balance.
It was just like how they had dealt with Samantha before.
The complex strokes of the incantation appeared directly upon Garros's wings.
However, to the adventurers' shock, this incomparably powerful young dragon seemed completely unaffected. As his massive, disproportionately large wings flapped, he continued to fly toward them with extreme speed and agility.
The moment the black-Red Dragon shadow swept over the treetops, the dense branches were snapped at the roots, and countless leaves danced wildly.
There was no time to wonder why this was happening.
Facing the Dragonkin falling toward him like a meteor, the Blonde Warrior did as he had before, hurriedly rolling away from his position to dodge the attack from above.
At the same time, the black-Red Dragon shadow tilted its right wing, displaying unparalleled agility.
He veered off course, not pursuing the Blonde Warrior, but instead suddenly appearing directly above the Caster.
The shadow enveloped his body.
The Caster's heart tightened, and under the immense pressure, he almost forgot to breathe.
At the critical moment, the necklace around his neck suddenly lit up, triggering a protective Spell.
Shield!
A layer of translucent yellow Shield enveloped the Caster, protecting him inside.
Crack! With a dull, thunderous sound, the Shield shattered like an eggshell under Garros's claws. The Caster's eyes were filled with despair as his vision was completely filled by the dragon's talons.
The ground then shook violently. Dust was carried by the air current, billowing and spreading outward as stone fragments shot in all directions.
And when the dust was blown away by the dragon's wings, a sunken crater was revealed.
Garros shook his body, shaking off the debris and dust as he leapt out of the pit.
The body embedded in the cracks at the bottom of the pit was already mangled beyond recognition, gender and race indistinguishable, fused into the mud.
Only then.
Looking at the Red-Iron Young Dragon with scales that looked like they were cast from steel, the remaining members of the party finally reacted, their nerves taut.
This young dragon's attack had been too swift and explosive, completely exceeding their expectations, eliminating their team's Caster in an instant.
And thinking back now.
His initial attack aimed at the warrior had actually been a feint. His objective was very clear: he had targeted the core Caster of the team, killing him in one stroke while he was off guard.
The Caster was not as proficient in direct combat as the Blonde Warrior.
But he was more important and critical; Samantha's frustration had mainly been because of him.
On the other side, the Blonde Warrior, who had rolled in vain, stood up, his expression solemn to the extreme.
He tilted his head slightly and took a deep breath. The Demonic Energy Stone embedded in the chest of his armor began to glow, and all the surrounding runes lit up as well.
The Blonde Warrior gained even greater strength, speed, reaction, and defense.
The price, however, was the consumption of a precious Demonic Energy Stone.
"Evil Dragon, die!"
The Blonde Warrior roared and, gripping his Slab-like Greatsword, charged at Garros.
Garros's limbs tensed. He grinned at the Blonde Warrior and then shattered the ground beneath him. Dodging an Alchemy Crossbow Bolt, he pounced toward the White-robed Priest.
In a team fight...
you kill the mage first, then the healer.
As for this brave warrior, let him live a little longer and save him for last.