Chapter 23: Thunder and Fire
The monster moved slowly, its body writhing.
The barbarian trapped within its coils had blood-filled limbs, bulging veins, and an agowisted expression, but had already lost all signs of life.
"How b."
The raspy voice sounded again.
It coiled up, opening its massive maw, preparing to swallow its "meal" ie.
Seeing a living person swallowed whole, the crowd erupted in shoce more, yet they had no escape, and their minds were nearly numb.
"Rest in peace, Scar."
"But a painful death suits the deeds you've done."
Hart watched helplessly as his subordinate of over ten years died humiliated, gritting his teeth silently, praying he might escape this pce.
He felt droplets on his head and instinctively wiped them off, but strangely, it didn’t seem like cold sweat, nor were they tears; it felt like warm sweat.
"But… why is it so hot in this cave?"
A slight fusion arose in his mind; he hadn’t noticed this earlier, overwhelmed by the fight to survive.
Naining his senses, he realized the cave felt like a massive steamer, with waves of heat ing from above.
Hart instinctively looked up—
And his mouth dropped open in shock.
An enormous creature, ht meters long, suddenly appeared atop the rock wall.
It was a dragon!
Even more shog, terrifying white-yellow fmes were brewing in its mouth, like a miniature sun, illuminating the entire cave as if it were daylight.
Both humans and the monster looked up in astonishment—
And were left utterly speechless.
"Got you."
A strange voice echoed from above the cave.
Cassius released the accumuted fme breath in an instant, draining a signifit portion of his energy.
"Maximized Fme Breath!"
A n of intense fmes desded from above, with an inner core of blinding white and an outer fme of vivid e.
"Boom!"
With a deafening roar, the coiled monster let out a painful shriek.
The scorg fmes distorted the air, and it writhed within the bzing fire, trying to escape.
The tough scales it had prided itself on were instantly ied, turning into charred bess.
"Despicable dragon!"
"You are a shameless ambusher!"
It struggled in the fmes, r hoarsely.
The terrifying breath sted several breaths' time before the monster slithered into the darkness, and the fmes gradually subsided.
"To withstand that hit directly, truly terrifying," Cassius muttered, looking into the shadows of the cave.
"Twin Light Dance!"
Several beams of light shot from the red dragon’s cws, illuminating different parts of the cave.
The entire cave lit up, leaving the monster o hide.
For the first time, its full form was revealed.
The creature was an enormous, seveo eighteeer-long hybrid of tipede and crocodile.
It had twelve pairs of legs densely packed on each side of its body, intimidating to behold.
But now, the monster was in a pitiful state, with rge patches of scales burned off and huge areas of flesh seared bck.
The red dragon fixed its gaze on the monster, a hint of excitement on its face at entering a formidable enemy.
[Based on your power, you observe the following information]
【Bluefoot Drakesnake - Man’a】
Type: Giant Monster, ral Evil
AC: 18 (Natural Armor)
Speed: 50 feet, Climb 40 feet
Strength — 23
Dexterity — 16
stitution — 18
Intelligence — 7
Wisdom — 14
Charisma — 12
Skills Proficies: Perception +6, Stealth +7, Hunting +4
Senses: Darkvision 90 feet, Passive Perception 16
Damage Immunity: Lightning
Languages: on, Draic
As: Lightning Breath, Multiattack, stri, Bite, Swallow
Traits: Cave Predator, Enemy ons
Challeing: 11 (7,200 XP)
Evaluation: "The Bluefoot Drakesnake slithers across ground and walls, hunting its prey. Its lightning breath ie most creatures, and even stronger ones be stricted and swallowed whole by the Drakesnake."
"A formidable oppo."
This was Cassius's assessment of it.
The monster, or rather, the Bluefoot Drakesnake, realizing it was fully exposed, stopped hiding.
"A young dragon sorcerer?"
"How… peculiar."
Those snake-like eyes stared directly at the red dragon, not only with the anger of an ambush but also with a deep-seated hatred from its very bloodline.
In a, long-fotten times, giants and dragons waged near-endless wars.
It is said that the Stiants created the first Bluefoot Drakesnake as a on against dragons.
Thus, Bluefoot Drakesnakes retain a natural hatred fons, with ied methods to bat them.
Seeing its enemy severely wouhe red dragon decided to pursue it relentlessly.
"Scorg Ray!"
Several fiery beams shot from the red dragon’s mouth.
Though ihe Bluefoot Drakesnake swiftly climbed with its twelve legs, its massive body moving nimbly along the rock walls.
With sheer speed, it dodged two of the secutive fme beams.
But it was hit by the third, the scorg ray splitting its flesh and making it howl in pain.
Ehe Bluefoot Drakesnake raised its head, and dazzling lightning gathered in its mouth.
"Lightning Breath!"
In an instant, bolts of lightning spewed from its mouth.
Each bolt was as thick as a bowl, capable of iing most creatures in an instant, far more powerful than the red dragon’s level-one spell, Magic Missile.
Knowing he couldn’t fully evade the lightning breath, Cassius leaped to the side, relying on his metamagic expertise to cast spells instantly.
"Quied Shield!"
An invisible shield appeared in front of the red dragon, blog part of the lightning.
But soon, the invisible shield shattered uhe onsught of lightning, and several bolts struck the red dragon directly.
Cassius felt a stroric current ducted through his scales, peing his skin and flowing through his body.
Pain shot through his body, muscles spasmed, and several scales were scorched bck.
Thankfully, the red dragon’s natural resilience allowed him to withstand it. A human might have sustained internal injuries or even been buro a crisp.
"Such a terrifying breath—taking it fully would’ve caused serious injuries."
Feeling the lingering pain and slight muscle twitg, Cassius licked his lips.
There was a faiement in his tone.
"It’s been a while since I felt the taste of injury."
Since arriving in this world, apart from the initial desperate escape, he had rarely entered an evenly matched oppo; after all, a red dragon’s starting point exceeded the endpoint of most creatures.
This was the first oppo in a long time that truly excited him—an exceedingly rare occurrence.
