novelraw Chapter 242
Chapter 242
Chapter 242: Xia Li Is Charmed? A Dragon’s Fist of Correction!
Xia Li avoided the gazes of the patrolling knights, taking a slightly longer route.
He found a small path leading to the bottom of the cliff. Following this path forward, he could smoothly reach the forest below the cliff.
Perhaps these elite knights hadn’t expected that ordinary people would appear in such a remote and dangerous area.
So when Xia Li bypassed the cordon and arrived at the so-called ‘hunting ground’, the knights in red and white armor all showed expressions of astonishment.
“A lost merchant?”
The elite knight wore a metal helmet, adorned with a string of bright red bird feathers at the back of his head. This color was particularly conspicuous amidst the greenery of the forest.
His surprised gaze peered out from the helmet’s slits. After a brief hesitation, he chose to grip the weapon in his hand.
The other party didn’t seem like a lost ordinary person.
Firstly, no one would get lost in the most dangerous central area of the Osiris Forest. Secondly, the other party’s gaze was sharp, with no sense of bewilderment or being lost.
On the contrary, in the other party’s indifferent expression, they saw a calmness as still as water.
“I advise you not to act rashly.”
The elite knight at the front held a greatsword. He pulled the heavy sword, almost as wide as his head, from the dirt and casually rested it on his shoulder.
The heavy greatsword scraped against his metal armor, producing a sharp sound. He snorted coldly, as if warning Xia Li.
“It’s not wise to be nosy. Be careful, or you might lose your life in the next second.”
The elite knight automatically categorized Xia Li as a bounty hunter who wanted to join the hunting team and get a share of the spoils, since he appeared at such a critical moment.
There were many bounty hunters in Azure Continent who specialized in slaying dragons for money… The world also called them ‘Dragon Slayers’.
These people knew the habits of dragons like the back of their hands: what kind of dragon would appear in what environment, the food preferences of different dragons, where the dragon bloodlines were purer… They had even written genealogies of dragon bloodlines. If you mentioned any pureblood giant dragon, they could trace its lineage back several generations.
Taking these Dragon Slayers on missions often made things twice as effective.
The knights were also very willing to cooperate with these professionals.
But today’s situation was very different.
“You can’t share in this bounty today. This is a direct order from His Majesty… And we’re already halfway to success.”
The knights’ sharp gazes peered out from the gaps in their helmets. Their cold, snake-like eyes were hidden in the shadows, as if ready to strike at any moment.
“What have you done?”
Xia Li completely disregarded the knights’ hostile attitude.
He seemed oblivious to the tense atmosphere, completely immersed in his own thoughts.
If he guessed correctly…
‘Lucia’ from this time period was very likely to appear nearby.
They had traveled to the wrong time, arriving in the past.
This also meant…
There was a high possibility of two ‘Lucias’ appearing in this space-time.
If the two Lucias were to meet… Space-time might collapse.
But if Xia Li didn’t choose to go to the past, he was worried that the Lucia who should exist in this space-time would be harmed.
Xia Li had once asked Lucia to tell him many childhood stories under the pretense of ‘gathering material’.
She had been ‘tormented’ by humans quite a bit when she was young.
Bounty hunters, imperial knights, noble dukes…
Almost every human who had seen her had been shocked by her scales, which were without a single speck of mixed color. They would then try every means to hunt her, even hanging her dragon head portrait on bounty walls with a sky-high price of tens of thousands of gold coins.
It could be said that Lucia’s childhood was spent under constant threat.
So, after hearing these knights say ‘halfway to success’, Xia Li wanted to take a look no matter what.
He could just have Lucia use invisibility magic to avoid them when the time came.
“Xia Li, I sense magic.”
Behind Xia Li, Lucia carried a hiking backpack, draped in a pure white cloak, her hands tucked into the pockets beneath the cloak.
She had a carefree dragon-like demeanor, sniffing the air with her nose, further confirming the presence of magical fluctuations nearby.
“It’s illusion magic!”
“Illusion magic?”
Xia Li looked back at Lucia, frowning.
Illusion magic…
This type of magic wasn’t a single spell, but rather a combination of multiple spells.
In order to create more realistic illusions for the target, in addition to visual illusions, there was also sensory misdirection.
Snowfields, deserts, deep seas…
To realistically simulate these sensations, large-scale illusion magic contained the four elements of wind, wood, water, and fire, making it a very complex multi-element fusion magic.
They would even spread special potions with unique scents in the air to further enhance the effect and deceive the target’s senses.
This method was more effective for species with more sensitive senses.
Therefore, it was particularly effective on dragons.
However, illusion magic was generally useless against ordinary dragons.
Those dragons with low intelligence, driven by strong desires, would unleash their destructive urges under any illusion. Illusion magic would only enrage them.
But it was different for intelligent pureblood giant dragons…
This was the optimal solution for hunting pureblood giant dragons.
What’s more, the target was only a young pureblood silver dragon.
All they needed to do was spread the magic and wait for the right moment, and the young silver dragon would have no chance to resist.
No wonder these knights had cordoned off the area, preventing anyone from entering and disturbing them.
“How long has the magic been active?”
Xia Li asked Lucia behind him.
Lucia took a breath and then coughed violently, choked by the peculiar herbal scent permeating the air.
It did make dragons feel a bit dazed after smelling it.
It felt like the smell of a woman wearing strong perfume entering a box elevator.
It smelled good at first, but then it made you nauseous.
Fortunately, Lucia was an adult now, and she didn’t like this smell.
“Probably two or three days…”
As she spoke, Lucia looked up at the towering ancient trees that blocked out the sky.
This was the depths of the Osiris Forest, where not only were there many magical beasts, but even the trees grew in a menacing way.
Every large tree here exceeded fifty meters in height.
Looking up, it was like gazing up at skyscrapers on Earth.
However…
This area looked very familiar to her.
“It’s quite impressive that you can withstand it for two or three days.” Xia Li said thoughtfully.
“Huh? Me?”
Lucia pointed at herself, not understanding what nonsense Xia Li was talking about.
Could he be dazed by the alchemical potion in the air?
He needed to stay alert.
Xia Li had to snap out of it.
“What is he muttering about?”
A knight holding a metal spear finally couldn’t help but interrupt their conversation.
He stared nervously at Xia Li’s eyes, glancing from time to time at the dangerous Demon Repelling Sword behind him.
As for the direction Xia Li had just turned to look at…
The spear-wielding knight swallowed.
That direction was empty. There was nothing there except the screeching of birds.
“I don’t know. Maybe he’s affected by the potion… Or he’s a mentally unstable dark magician.” Another man holding a short staff replied.
Xia Li naturally heard their conversation.
He paused slightly and looked back at Lucia again.
“What’s wrong… Are you charmed?”
Lucia was quite nervous.
She didn’t understand why the alchemical potion that targeted dragons would make Xia Li confused.
Even she, a dragon, was perfectly clear-headed. How could the Brave Hero be the first to be charmed?
“Slap! Slap!”
Reaching out her small hand to pat Xia Li’s face, Lucia tried to wake him up.
Xia Li withdrew his gaze.
He was perfectly clear-headed.
“How could I be charmed by a potion? I’m charmed by you.”
◈◈◈
“Hehe… Oh, you can’t say that now!”
Lucia’s face flushed red, and she tugged at her sleeve in embarrassment.
It wasn’t appropriate to say sweet nothings now!
So many people were watching!
Xia Li glanced up at the dozen or so people in front of him.
If they were to fight…
One sword…
No, in an instant, they would all fall.
Thinking of this, Xia Li wrapped his arm around the waist of the dragon girl behind him, then tilted his head and kissed her on the cheek.
“Hey, hey, no, no!”
Lucia pushed back with her small hands, her face filled with rejection.
No way, Xia Li was poisoned!
It was just a fusion illusion magic, not some charm magic…
Xia Li shouldn’t be acting so… so lovey-dovey for no reason!
Lucia’s cheeks instantly flushed crimson.
She wasn’t dazed before, but after being kissed by Xia Li, her body instantly went soft. She nuzzled her forehead against his chest, acting like a little dragon whining and acting cute.
“What is he doing?”
“…Is he sick?”
The elite knights standing around Xia Li couldn’t wait any longer.
If possible, they also wanted to avoid conflict… After all, any magical fluctuations released now could interfere with the illusion magic set up deep in the forest.
This could potentially release the young silver dragon they had finally trapped.
But they couldn’t just ignore this unstable factor.
The man in front of them definitely wasn’t here with good intentions.
Moreover, he seemed mentally unstable.
Xia Li gently released Lucia’s soft waist, his lips reluctantly separating.
He raised his hand to wipe his mouth. The dragon girl in his arms had already burrowed into his black robe in embarrassment.
Looking at the dumbfounded reactions of the surrounding knights…
Xia Li was absolutely certain.
They couldn’t see Lucia at all.
As for why Lucia had suddenly become ‘invisible’…
Xia Li guessed it was likely due to the simultaneous existence of two ‘Lucias’ in the nearby space.
As for why he could still see Lucia, that remained to be investigated.
“Don’t move.”
“Move again, and I’ll slit your throat.”
The next second…
A figure appeared behind Xia Li without warning.
The figure held a sharp dagger, its sharpest point aimed at the major artery in his neck.
The black dagger gleamed coldly in the shade of the trees, its enchanted magical patterns clearly visible under the dappled sunlight.
It was a ‘thief’ who had completely masked their presence.
Xia Li hadn’t expected that there would be a thief among the royal elite knights.
He slowly closed his eyes.
The other knights thought he had given up resistance and couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
In reality, Xia Li was communicating with the Demon Repelling Sword behind him.
The moment he established a connection with the Demon Repelling Sword, a nimble figure moved first.
Lucia emerged from beneath Xia Li’s robe. When she looked up again, her previously shy maidenly eyes had completely changed hue.
Her cold, golden-red pupils, in addition to their usual arrogance, now held a hint of anger and resentment.
“Let him go.”
Lucia’s voice lowered a few octaves.
It was so deep that it seemed to come from her chest, like the final warning in a dragon’s low growl.
However, the people around them couldn’t hear her speak at all.
Lucia also realized this, so she held nothing back.
“Boom!”
The earth shook violently.
The silver dragon spread her hundred-meter-wide wings, creating a tempestuous windstorm in the forest as she flapped them.
The knights were instantly thrown back by an unknown force, their metal armor grinding to dust under the immense tearing force.
The illusion magic that had enveloped a hundred-kilometer radius disintegrated in an instant, and even the several archmages who had been guarding the perimeter and reinforcing the magic array vanished without a trace.
Xia Li felt his body tighten.
He was restrained by something.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw the forest below from high in the air.
And the giant silver dragon claw that was holding him.
“…I want to sit on top.”
Xia Li tried to move, but found that Lucia was gripping him tightly, making it impossible to budge.
“Huff…”
This breath came from the dragon’s nostrils. She seemed to be angry.
It was also like a sigh after failing to let out a breath smoothly.
“You said I could drive…”
Xia Li suddenly remembered what Lucia had promised last night, puffing out her chest in assurance.
The giant dragon’s golden-red eyes flickered, her lantern-sized pupils moving downwards to stare directly at the human in her claw.
Then she released her grip, and Xia Li began to freefall from several hundred meters in the air.
Sigh…
She was really angry.
No, if she was going to be angry, she should be angry at those people!
Why be angry at him!
“Do you know how dangerous that was!”
Before Xia Li’s face could have an intimate encounter with the ground, Lucia transformed into her human form, retaining her massive dragon wings.
She caught Xia Li before he landed, and they touched down smoothly.
“It was indeed dangerous.” Xia Li nodded in agreement.
“And you still let him hold a dagger to your neck!!”
“I was thinking about other things…”
“Hmph!”
Lucia didn’t listen to Xia Li’s explanation at all. She crossed her arms, her massive dragon wings slowly folding behind her, her small face etched with emotion.
It was so close!
She was so close to destroying the world!
Xia Li: “…”
He suddenly thought of a meme he had seen on a short video platform. The picture showed a small goat pouting its pink lips, its mouth puckered up high.
The caption below the picture read, “Your girlfriend when she’s angry.”
It was exactly like Lucia right now.
“Shh…”
“Be quiet.”
Just then, Xia Li seemed to see something.
He raised a finger to Lucia’s small mouth.
Lucia really wanted to just open her mouth and bite him.
But, as her gaze followed Xia Li’s line of sight, her sharp-toothed mouth froze midway.
Wanting to bite, but stopping herself.
Among the towering trees, Lucia saw a silver shadow crawling forward.
As those people had said, it was a pureblood silver dragon.
Her silver scales were as white as the moon, without a single speck of mixed color.
These beautiful scales were exactly the same as Lucia’s own brilliant scales in her dragon form.
The young silver dragon lowered her body and swayed her tail, using the friction from her tail to crawl forward.
Her bizarre posture seemed to be mimicking a deep-sea fish.
It was a bit comical.