Book 1, Chapter 10 – Dance of the Fire Serpents (part 1)

“ROAR!” The flames erupting from the Velocidragon’s mouth encompassed a diameter of tens of meters of the surrounding area, bathing them in a sea of fire.

“Hiss…..”

The Velocidragon’s fire danced around the bodies of the four warriors, but guarded by the Protective Icy Carapace and their own battle-qi, the four warriors definitely would be able to resist the heat.

As for the archer, by this point, she had already mounted the Griffin and taken to the skies, her bow nocked.

The Vampiric Iron Bull stood there like an iron wall, protecting the two female magi.

“Swish! Swish! Swish!”

Her eyes filled with a fierce cold gleam, and her hands as steady as a rock, the Griffin-mounted archer shot out three arrows in a row. The target – the mysterious magus on the back of the Velocidragon!

“Whoosh!” The Velocidragon’s whip-like tail shot out like lightning, moving even faster than the arrows. In the blink of an eye, it shattered the arrows released from the archer’s triple shot. Immediately afterwards, its tail swept back towards the four charging warriors. The howling sound generated from the tail shattering the air with its movement caused the expressions on the faces of the four warriors to change dramatically. They immediately tried to leap backwards, like agile monkeys.

But the draconic tail didn’t move in a purely straight pattern; it oscillated and curved strangely, with no fixed pattern.

“Crash!”

One of the four warriors didn’t manage to dodge in time, and was directly struck by the draconic tail on the waist. Both the Protective Icy Carapace and his own battle-qi were smashed into nothingness in the blink of an eye. With a slight flick, the tail curled around him and tightly wrapped him up.

“Luke!” (Lu’jia). The red-haired warrior by his side howled angrily, his eyes filled with pain.

“No!” Luke was also screaming in terror.

With but a flick, the draconic tail tossed Luke directly towards the Velocidragon’s mouth. The Velocidragon opened its jaws, revealing its bloody maw, and chomped down. With a terrifying crunching sound, the last thing escaping Luke’s throat was an anguished scream.

Ground beneath the Velocidragon’s saw-like teeth, Luke’s entire body was turned into mincemeat. Half of one bloody leg escaped the Velocidragon’s mouth and fell down to the ground. Gleaming white bone could be seen protruding from the bloody half-leg.

“Don’t look.” Hillman covered Linley’s eyes.

That sudden display was simply too bloody. Even a fully grown adult, when faced with such a terrifying scene for the first time, would be panicked. Linley was just an eight year old child.

But it was too late. Linley had already seen everything.

“Huff. Huff.” Linley felt as though his heart was being compressed by a giant boulder. His breathing was growing labored, and he started to pant. But in his mind’s eye, he replayed the sight of the young man named Luke being eaten, over and over again.

His belly was ripped open, and his intestines had been shattered. His skull had been crushed, and half his leg had dropped to the ground!

All of these things made it hard for Linley to breathe, and he felt dizzy.

This was the first time Linley had seen a fight become so vicious and cruel. It was also the first time Linley had seen someone being eaten alive by a huge Velocidragon. The half-eaten leg, in particular, deeply buried itself in Linley’s mind.

Hillman, Roger, and Lorry exchanged troubled glances as they watched Linley.

What sort of harm to the psyche would this bloody affair cause an eight year old child? Would it serve as a constant psychological trauma? Once a youth becomes traumatized by battle, his future accomplishments would be dramatically impacted.

“Killing someone. No big deal. No big deal.” Linley forced himself to think these words repeatedly. “When I grow up and join the army, I too will have to kill people. Gotta hold on. Gotta hold on.”

Linley really was intelligent. He had read many books, and knew what path he had embarked on for the future.

On the Yulan continent, when a man grew up, it would be very likely that he would experience life-and-death struggles. But since Linley was just a child who had not done so yet, he had to repeatedly tell himself to calm down. And slowly, the terror and horror in his heart really did begin to lessen.

In fact, much the opposite; in just a short period of time, Linley felt as though his blood was beginning to surge.

“That battle really is incredibly fierce. It really is exciting.” For some reason, that bloody battle just then made Linley’s blood boil with excitement, filling his heart with desire – a desire to battle and kill!

“Is it because of the Dragonblood in my veins?” Linley didn’t know.

But Linley suddenly discovered that he was actually very eager to participate in these bloody struggles. Linley immediately stepped to the side, bypassing Hillman’s protective arm, and continued to watch the battle which was still going on a hundred meters away.

“Linley, don’t watch.” Hillman saw that Linley was intending to continue watching, and was shocked.

“Uncle Hillman, I’m not afraid.” Linley turned his head to glance at Hillman.

Hillman suddenly noticed a red gleam of excitement in Linley’s pupils. Surprised, he no longer tried to prevent Linley from watching. As Linley continued to watch the battle from afar, he saw that it was reaching an even bloodier climax.

“ROAR!” With a howl, the Velocidragon turned its head and bit down towards a warrior, while its huge claws swept towards another one. Its lightning-fast, whip-like tail, as well, struck out, aiming at the third warrior.

The warriors were pressed to the point of abandoning their assaults and instead retreating.

The mysterious magus on the back of the Velocidragon still hadn’t moved. He let the Velocidragon deal with the threats as his lips continued to mumble.

“Dance of the Fire Serpents!”

The cold voice of the mysterious magus suddenly rang out, and in the blink of an eye, seven enormous fire serpents, each spanning tens of meters long, appeared. Howling, they erupted away from the magus in all directions. Each fire snake appeared to be a real, living creature, with distinct scales and enormous bodies that inspired fear in all who saw it.

Everyone who was watching was stunned.

A Fire Element spell of the eighth rank – Dance of the Fire Serpent!

It now became clear that this entire time, the mysterious magus was mumbling the words to a magical incantation. He was preparing this terrifying Fire Element spell of the eighth rank – Dance of the Fire Serpent! This spell could unleash seven enormous fire serpents, each of which had a simply astonishing attack power. Even the terrifying defensive ability of the Velocidragon would not be proof against it; if struck, even if it survived, it would be badly injured.

If dealing with a magus of the seventh rank, the small squad might be able to hold on for a while longer, but dealing with a magus of the eighth rank, and a Velocidragon as well? They simply did not have the power to resist.

Only now did they understand that this mysterious magus was a master of the eighth rank!

“It’s the Dance of the Fire Serpents. Quick, run away!” The red-haired warrior’s facial expression changed dramatically, and he shouted in a loud voice.

The six remaining members of the small squad were now all filled with terror.

“Too late. Prepare for the baptism of death!” The mysterious magus said in a cold, cruel voice, which pierced like a cold dagger at the hearts of the members of the small squad.