This Lich is a Better Landlord

Chapter 136: Crazy Devouring, Crazy Evolution

Hoffman Ironfist paced anxiously back and forth within the castle.

Ever since he sent the Captain of the Royal Guard to deliver the gold coins, he had begun to feel a bit uneasy. This feeling was absurd and irrational.

First of all, the followers of Hell had no reason to move against the dwarves. Hell cultists weren't suicidal; they only caused trouble when they knew they could survive it.

They had already offended the elves. Offending the dwarves on top of that would not only unite the two nations against them, accelerating the end of the war, but it would also cut off their own retreat.

Logically speaking, this group of Hell cultists wouldn't start trouble. They should have just taken the money and run.

To be safe, Hoffman Ironfist had sent his own Captain of the Royal Guard. Even if they encountered an ambush, a Legendary Eldritch Knight should have no problem escaping.

Moreover, with so many Dwarven Iron Guards, even if they ran into a Hellgate, they shouldn't...

Hoffman Ironfist kept consoling himself. If he were still a general leading troops, he would have rejected this deal without hesitation. In war, sometimes you have to trust your gut; surprise attacks often relied on defying logic.

But after becoming the Hand of the King, Hoffman Ironfist had turned into a politician. Politicians could only think logically because they often dealt with games of interest. You couldn't just think about how to win a battle; you had to consider the consequences of winning or losing.

And this time, Hoffman Ironfist miscalculated.

When the roar of a dragon came from the horizon, Hoffman Ironfist walked to the top floor of the palace in astonishment, wanting to confirm if he had heard correctly.

Then, a pile of dwarf heads, dripping with filthy blood, fell from the sky, staining the palace roof red.

Hoffman Ironfist found his Captain's head among them. The wide, staring eyes seemed filled with unwillingness and terror. He didn't know what exactly the man had encountered to preserve such an expression in death.

A Legendary Eldritch Knight, dead just like that, along with dozens of Dwarven Iron Guards.

The massive shadow circling in the sky seemed ready to pounce on Hoffman Ironfist at any moment.

Logic, interests, political maneuvering—at this moment, they all became a joke. These Hell cultists had actually gone mad. Without any rhyme or reason, they had killed the envoy Hoffman Ironfist sent to deliver money.

Not only that, but they had also chopped off the dwarves' heads and thrown them here as a provocation. This behavior was pure madness, senseless slaughter.

From the sky came a mocking roar: "Hoffman Ironfist... you might as well change your name to Hoffman the Useless! You don't even dare to appear before me, sending this trash to die instead. Hahaha, no wonder the dwarf kingdom is doomed!"

Hoffman Ironfist clenched his one remaining fist in fury. He could no longer play it "safe."

"Foolish creature, you will die by my hand!"

A current of air circulated around Hoffman Ironfist, and his body rapidly ascended, rushing into the sky like a falcon.

This wasn't the effect of a normal Fly spell, but Fly combined with a Monk's "Ki."

Before becoming the Hand of the King, Hoffman Ironfist was the dwarves' greatest warrior. He was the only general who could stand toe-to-toe with the Ryan Empire's army.

Many years ago, he was already a powerhouse at the Legendary rank, and his class was—Monk.

A Legendary Monk could run up vertical castle walls faster than others could run on flat ground, and could even step on the air to jump into the sky.

With Agility at this level, a standard Fly spell was no different from free flight for a Legendary Monk.

Hoffman Ironfist transformed into a bird of prey, piercing through the clouds. Only then did he discover that he wasn't facing a half-dragon, but a true dragon.

The dragon was a bit small, only five or six meters from head to tail, with a pair of wings that were disproportionately large.

But it was indeed a dragon; no human characteristics remained.

*This monster... it has evolved again since we last communicated?*

Hoffman Ironfist didn't think too much about it. Stepping on the air, he flew toward the young dragon like a cannonball.

Just as he got close, two blasts of energy flew from his fists, transforming into serpentine flames.

*Fire Snake Fang!*

A Monk's formless Ki could manifest as elemental forms, dealing damage similar to magical effects.

Hoffman Ironfist's attack was too fast and came without warning. Geronimo, now transformed into a dragon, couldn't dodge at all and was bitten on the neck by the fire snakes.

Intense pain shot through him, causing Geronimo's body to convulse.

The searing heat of the fire snakes couldn't damage his dragon scales, but the Ki attached to them felt like a heavy hammer blow.

But this was just the appetizer. After the hit landed, the wind flowing around Hoffman Ironfist became more intense, causing his speed to surge again as he flew directly onto Geronimo's back.

The dwarf's short legs locked around Geronimo's dragon horns, and his fists turned into a storm, ruthlessly pummeling Geronimo's head.

A Monk's fists were faster than an Elven Ranger's arrows.

A qualified Monk could throw six full-power punches in a second, and a Legendary Monk could explode a dragon's head in that same second.

Unfortunately, Hoffman Ironfist only had half a second.

Twenty-six punches infused with Ki landed on Geronimo's head, shattering his scales and cracking his skull. The brain inside was about to be shaken into paste.

Suffering such heavy damage, the young dragon rolled frantically as if in a seizure. At the same time, his body rapidly shrank, unexpectedly turning back into a human form. Geronimo's body shrunk while spinning; Hoffman Ironfist hadn't anticipated this move. His legs, originally clamped tight around the dragon horns, slipped, and he was flung away by Geronimo.

Geronimo's transformation lasted only an instant; after throwing off the enemy, he turned back into dragon form.

This was Polymorph, originally just for changing shape to deceive others.

But Geronimo used the shift from dragon to human as a clever way to escape the grapple.

Not only that, but the wounds on Geronimo's head were healing rapidly. This self-healing ability made Hoffman Ironfist frown deeply.

This dragon was strange. Although dragons had disappeared for many years, he had never heard of dragons possessing such powerful regeneration.

Hoffman Ironfist didn't attack rashly. Instead, he carefully observed Geronimo's condition and noticed that after the wounds healed, the dragon's bloated belly had visibly shrunk.

Hoffman Ironfist thought to himself, *Did he stuff his stomach full of healing potions?*

Healing potions could indeed cure external injuries quickly, but Hoffman Ironfist felt something was wrong. Those things had diminishing returns; pouring in massive amounts of healing potions in a short time would only make them less effective.

Hoffman Ironfist didn't know that what was in Geronimo's stomach wasn't healing potions, but flesh and blood.

Those Dwarven Iron Guards were left as only heads; the rest of their bodies had been swallowed into his stomach. The Eldritch Knight had tried to escape, but was beaten back by Geronimo time and again, blocked by hellfire, drained of mana by countless demons, and finally eaten.

But it wasn't just dwarves. Geronimo had also devoured the demons summoned from the Hellgate. After eating the Legendary Eldritch Knight, Geronimo's body underwent another metamorphosis, completely turning into a dragon shape.

Then, he felt an even more intense hunger.

Whether it was dwarf flesh or demon flesh, to a dragon, the only difference was the texture. The number of demons in front of him was far greater than the dwarves.

Geronimo began an indiscriminate massacre. He even devoured two Balors, along with countless smaller demons. The demons probably never expected to encounter such a crazy monster; they weren't routed by the enemy, but eaten by their summoner until they scattered in panic.

Some of this flesh became nutrients for his body, and the rest was stored in his stomach, to be digested for rapid recovery when injured.

"Hmph, let's see how long you can keep healing!"

Hoffman Ironfist stomped the air several times in mid-flight, turning the air into a wall. Using the rebound force, he charged at Geronimo again.

The Monk looked more agile in the air than the dragon, forcing Geronimo to turn and run.

In terms of agility and maneuvering, Geronimo was no match for Hoffman Ironfist. Once closed in on, the Monk's fists would beat him to death.

But in straight-line flight, Geronimo was slightly faster than Hoffman Ironfist.

The two chased and fled, quickly widening the distance.

Hoffman Ironfist suddenly felt a wave of heat, as if the air itself was burning, causing his breath to hitch.

"Fire Aura? Isn't this a Balor's ability?!"

Hoffman Ironfist felt it was very strange; this dragon didn't look normal no matter how you looked at it.

Just as he was preparing to circulate his Ki to negate the Fire Aura's damage, he saw dazzling red light erupt from Geronimo's tail. A whip of flame formed from magic suddenly extended from his tail, lashing out at Hoffman Ironfist.

*What kind of absurd move is this?*

Hoffman Ironfist had fought wars all his life and had never seen anything like it.

The long whip cracked through the air, the tip breaking the sound barrier as it lashed Hoffman Ironfist's body.

It seemed to hit, but the figure shattered like glass—it was just an afterimage.

Hoffman Ironfist used the power of Ki again, bursting with terrifying speed to catch the opponent off guard. Unfortunately, he failed, because following the flame whip came a Thunderwave!

This spell didn't do much damage, but the knockback effect was exceptionally strong. Hoffman Ironfist was kept at bay by the impact, his plan to close the distance failing once more.

"This dragon is too troublesome!"

Hoffman Ironfist clearly felt the dragon's combat skills improving. He seemed to be able to sense the flow of the Monk's Ki now, so when Hoffman Ironfist used an ability, the dragon could immediately detect and react to it.

In that moment of distraction, the flame whip lashed out at Hoffman Ironfist again, nearly binding his body.

Fortunately, dwarves were short, making them easier to dodge with. But while he dodged the whip, he couldn't avoid the subsequent triple blast of Eldritch Blast.

Crimson energy exploded on Hoffman Ironfist's body. Although it didn't cause much damage, the powerful impact force blew him further away, widening the gap between them again.

The ensuing battle seemed to fall completely into the opponent's rhythm. Every time Hoffman Ironfist tried to use Monk skills to close the distance, the dragon discovered it in advance.

As long as there was Ki circulation, the opponent would spam magic without caring about consumption. Eldritch Blast and Thunderwave for knockback; Shield and Armor of Agathys for defense, protecting himself tightly.

Hoffman Ironfist couldn't find any opening.

He possessed iron fists capable of exploding the opponent, yet he couldn't find a second opportunity to attack.

Although the opponent couldn't do much damage to Hoffman Ironfist either, continuing like this was bad news, because the duration of the Fly spell was limited.

Just as he thought this, Hoffman Ironfist suddenly felt his body become heavy. The effect of the Fly spell vanished prematurely.

"Antimagic Field? Since when?!"

Hoffman Ironfist suddenly realized he was enveloped in an Antimagic Field, instantly nullifying the Fly effect.

He immediately understood that this Antimagic Field had been deployed in mid-air long ago. The dragon had guided the battle rhythm to deliver him into this magical barrier.

From the beginning, he had set a trap, waiting for Hoffman Ironfist to walk right into it.

Without the buff of the Fly spell, it was hard for a Legendary Monk to maintain his previous agility. Hoffman Ironfist suddenly felt a bit of panic. Relying on courage to charge out... when faced with danger, Hoffman Ironfist actually felt flustered. When was the last time he faced danger on the battlefield?

It seemed to be the exact moment his hand was severed by the Paladin of the Ryan Empire.

From that day on, he left the front lines, changing from a general to a politician.

It turned out his will had also been severed that day. Like a bone that had been broken once, even if it healed, it became incredibly fragile.

The moment his fighting will collapsed, the Ki flowing around Hoffman Ironfist stagnated.

Geronimo keenly sensed this change and seized the fleeting opening, opening his mouth to clamp down on Hoffman Ironfist's body.

Several automatic defense magic items activated, but none could stop Geronimo's sharp teeth.

The dragon's teeth pierced Hoffman Ironfist's body. A Monk unable to wear heavy armor was just a lump of meat after losing the protection of Ki.

Hoffman Ironfist wanted to struggle, but the dragon's teeth seemed coated with potent venom; the moment they pierced his body, he was paralyzed all over.

Sharp claws tore Hoffman Ironfist's body apart. Blood drifted down from the sky, along with that silver-gray iron fist, falling toward the ground together.

Geronimo frantically devoured the Legendary powerhouse's flesh and blood, not sparing a single bone.

His body grew once again, becoming more and more like a giant dragon, but Geronimo felt an even more intense hunger. "Not enough, still not enough! I need to eat more Legends!"