151:
On a corner of the Smia Desert.
A man with slightly curly black hair and green eyes was walking silently. Even in the hot desert, he was wearing a long, black leather coat. Surprisingly, the wind and sand hitting the leather coat did not leave a single mark. His face was unusually pale, not the withered pale of a corpse, but like mutton-fat jade.
“Rice, Rice! How much longer do we have to walk?”
“Sister, don’t rush.”
“Rice, Rice! Say something!”
“Sister, don’t rush.”
Behind Rice were two small figures in brown-yellow hoods, with scarves wrapped around their faces. The slightly taller one was chattering nonstop, as if the heat didn’t affect her at all. The shorter one was dragging her feet, as if she wanted to just fall to the ground, a look of lifeless pain on her face.
Rice’s expression changed slightly when he heard the sister’s noisy voice, and then it became calm again. He didn’t turn his head and said coldly, “I told you, don’t follow me.”
“Although I saved you, you don’t have to follow me to repay me.”
“I don’t need it.”
Hearing this, the taller sister was silent for a moment. Just as Rice thought she was finally going to be quiet… she directly took off her hood and pounced on him.
“Rice, Rice, Rice!”
“Sister.”
Faced with the sneak attack from behind, Rice thought for a moment and still didn’t dodge… If he was pounced on now, it would only be for a little while. If he dodged now, he probably wouldn’t have a moment’s peace for the rest of the day… This was the conclusion Rice had come to in the past three days.
“Wulululululu…”
Listening to the sound of the girl biting his collar in his ear, Rice sighed silently.
“Just like a cat…”
“Rui should make a move.”
Rui rubbed her temples with a headache, walked up, and grabbed her sister’s tail.
“Sister! Get down!”
“Eek!”
Perhaps it was because it happened too suddenly, or perhaps that part was just too sensitive. Megan let out a tragic cry, jumped off Rice, and clutched her butt with teary eyes.
“Rui~i! It hurts!”
Faced with her sister’s impotent rage, Rui said nothing, just… silently raised her right hand.
“Eek! I was wrong!”
“Rice! Save me!”
Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Megan directly ran behind Rice, peeking her head out to denounce her sister’s atrocity.
“…Just like a cat.”
Rice looked at the small head peeking out from behind him and had the urge to pinch it. After all, the fluffy ears that were moving around on her head were really eye-catching.
Rui took off her hood, bowed to Rice, and then went up and pulled her sister back.
“…Traitor!”
“Rice! You traitor!”
Ignoring the wails from behind him, Rice started walking again.
“I can’t take them down there…”
“That place is too dangerous.”
His eyes firm, Rice slightly deviated from his direction. In that direction was a market formed by a desert oasis.
“After all, that place is… the Temple of Death.”
…
“Roar!”
In the huge underground palace, the white dragon, awakened by the sense of crisis, let out an angry roar, “Who dares to disturb my great sleep!” (in Draconic)
“Ah!”
The moment it opened its eyes, it felt two foreign objects pierce its dragon wings.
“Roar!”
The intense pain almost drove it mad. It violently flapped its wings, trying to shake off the foreign objects on them.
Clang.
“Roar!”
But the chains behind the javelins were actually wrapped around two huge stone pillars. They were its collection, but he hadn’t expected them to become a threat to him at this moment.
The dragon wings were almost torn apart in this struggle. Although it wasn’t seriously injured, it couldn’t fly anymore.
“Now.”
Having created this opportunity with great difficulty, Shelley would naturally not let it go.
“Demon Form.”
While the white dragon was roaring in pain, he snuck into its blind spot. Shelley swung the greatsword in his hand with all his might.
“Get… down… here!”
He didn’t try to cut the white dragon’s neck. It wasn’t that he couldn’t. He could, and it would at least seriously injure it. But he chose to cut its dragon wings, to completely sever one of them.
“Mortal!” (in Draconic)
“I will kill you!” (in Draconic)
The white dragon opened its mouth and breathed a cone of cold at Shelley.
“Freezing Breath.”
A cone-shaped, cold breath sprayed toward Shelley.
As a fellow ice-type legendary dragon, the white dragon’s breath was a bit pitiful compared to a silver dragon’s… The range was small, the power was weak, and the duration was short. The only advantage was the number of times it could be used.
White dragons were the smallest, least intelligent, and most bestial of the pure-blooded dragons. But of course, even the white dragon, known as the shame of the dragons, their breath was not to be underestimated by mortals. It could deal more than 40 points of area damage.
“Then you can try, Mr. Shame of the Dragons.” (in Draconic)
With a mocking smile, the wings on Shelley’s back moved, and he disappeared into the dragon’s treasure hoard.
“Roar, roar, roar!”
Returning to his human form, Shelley knocked on the entrance of the cave a few times and continued to charge up.
…
“Hmm?”
In a deeper part of the underground, a pair of huge, crystal-like eyes opened. As if thinking for a moment, it came back to its senses.
“The aura of a demon!?”
…
The four of them, who had received the signal, quickly walked in and saw an unexpected scene. Shelley was not being chased around by the dragon… instead, he was teasing the dragon, making it run around. In the process of the dragon’s pursuit, it also kept knocking over various works of art.
“Morgan! Curse it!”
“Miss Erica! Bless me!”
“White Shark! Black Wolf! Protect them!”
Hearing Shelley only call her name, Morgan proudly raised her head. Then she seriously chanted a spell at the blood-covered white dragon, “Fear! Misfortune will be with you!”
Erica looked at the smug Morgan and smiled cunningly. She shouted to Shelley, “Mr. Shelley has to call me Erica, then I’ll give you my blessing.”
What! Don’t you dare.
Morgan glared at Erica, but Erica ignored her and just looked at Shelley.
“Fighting for favor?”
“No, probably just bullying a child…”
The running Shelley was far from as relaxed as he appeared on the surface. After all, his human body was only at the third rank. He was no match for an adult dragon.
He didn’t hesitate in the slightest and shouted to that side, “Please, Erica!”
Revealing a smug smile, Erica glanced at Morgan and chanted happily, “Rejoice! Luck will always be by your side!”
One increase, one decrease. The effect far exceeded Shelley’s expectations.
The running white dragon… actually fell.
As if by divine help, Shelley immediately turned and stabbed at the white dragon’s eye.
“Roar, roar, roar!”
