Chapter 333 – After the Confrontation

Punk’s response didn’t weaken due to a single failed exchange. Even though Ovakain was indeed powerful, one must remember the significant advantage of group combat. Facing the simultaneous assault of three Master-Level experts, the outcome remained uncertain despite Ovakain’s extraordinary strength.

But now… Punk had to cease the probing exchanges with Ovakain. Not because he had obtained sufficient intelligence—in this battle primarily fought through mental projections, aside from confirming the already established fact of Ovakain Acidmaw’s extreme power, Punk had gained virtually no useful information. Yet he had no choice but to decisively withdraw from combat because…

Ovakain’s combat capability was simply absurd!

It was evident that neither Punk nor Ovakain specialized in mental magic—both required incantations to ensure spellcasting success. However, Ovakain constructed spell models faster than Punk, his spells carried greater potency, and he could even seamlessly integrate his innate abilities into spells without detection. Most importantly, this black dragon fought with meticulous caution at every step, even feigning weakness to lure opponents into traps.

The result… Throughout the entire confrontation, aside from initially casting one “Mind Blade,” both of Punk’s subsequent spells were perfectly interrupted by Ovakain.

What to do after losing? Only one option remained: retreat! Who’d want to endure three days of headaches from having their mental projection destroyed?

Of course, throwing threats remained necessary. At their Master-Level standing, while pride wasn’t paramount, they couldn’t let Ovakain detect their underlying unease.

With this consideration, Punk deliberately adopted a tone suggesting “this childish skirmish means nothing—wait until we meet in person.” But upon returning to reality, his expression betrayed none of his bold words’ composure.

“What happened? Did Huai’en’s soul contain some hidden trap?”

From Ben Lajie’s perspective, Punk appeared to observe Huai’en briefly before his expression abruptly turned grave. Within seconds, Huai’en’s head inexplicably split open and bled, while Punk’s complexion grew increasingly strained.

Even as an evocation-specialized mage, Ben Lajie detected the magical fluctuations affecting Huai’en, immediately realizing Punk had likely encountered a trap Ovakain left within the soul.

“Nothing. Just minor issues.”

Punk’s reply was terse and casual. Noticing his revealed demeanor, he quickly schooled his expression.

Facing Ben Lajie’s inquiry, Punk nonchalantly tugged his hat brim, allowing the hood’s shadow to conceal his pallid features before responding with affected nonchalance:

“Just a trivial spell Ovakain planted. It’s dealt with.”

Without acknowledging Ben Lajie’s bewildered gaze, Punk summoned flames to reduce Huai’en’s lifeless body to ashes.Punk had no intention of sharing detailed information with Ben Lajie. It was now evident that Ovakain’s strength likely surpassed his own, but Punk believed the three of them—himself, Ben Lajie, and Joni Zordas—could still prevail in a joint assault. With three Master-Level experts ganging up on one opponent, their chances of victory should be at least seventy percent.

However… if Ben Lajie were to retreat at the critical moment, the outcome would become unpredictable.

With this in mind, Punk saw no need to explain things to Ben Lajie. After all, this optimistic old fat man wasn’t the type to insist on getting to the bottom of everything.

Just as Punk expected, though Ben Lajie could tell Punk had learned plenty of new intelligence from Huai’en’s mind, there was nothing he could do when Punk clearly refused to “share.” Watching Punk casually stroll over to a patch of grass and start eating an apple, Ben Lajie could only shake his head helplessly.

“……Fine. The roasted lamb leg will get cold soon—better eat it while it’s hot!”

——————————————

Dragon Roar Kingdom, beneath an inconspicuous small hill.

Within an enormous underground space resembling a subterranean town, countless exquisitely enchanted runes carved profound patterns into the dark rock walls. Layer upon layer of magic arrays intertwined around the portal connecting the cave to the outside world, while countless precise energy nodes dotted the cavern ceiling like stars. The glow from the energy runes illuminated the entire cave as bright as daylight.

Most of the items in the chamber were various “oversized” alchemical apparatuses. Rows of cultivation containers stood neatly arranged along both sides of the cave. An impossibly large experiment table gleamed spotlessly clean, while icy alchemical scalpels—large enough to rival cleavers—soaked quietly in energy sterilization pools.

The vast cave remained utterly silent, broken only by the occasional gurgle of bubbles rising slowly in the cultivation tanks.

In this quiet laboratory, a dark figure slowly rose from a sparse pile of Gold Coins in the space’s Corner.

“Mia, unfortunately, Huai’en has died for the Kingdom. But we have no time for grief. Now we must ensure his younger brother stabilizes the Ting Family while notifying the Hizz Family to immediately prepare backup ‘White Butterfly Wings.’ The invading enemies are insignificant, but the ‘Well of Goodness’ must never be compromised.The low voice echoed through the empty laboratory, its hoarse and authoritative tone carrying a trace of barely perceptible concern.

“As you command, Your Majesty.”

The half-dragon maid called Mia emerged gracefully from the shadows, her form-fitting maid uniform and calm expression projecting remarkable competence.

“By the way—is our reserve of ‘Blood’ still sufficient?”Just as Mia prepared to turn and carry out her orders, the authoritative voice suddenly spoke again.”

“Reporting to Your Majesty, the ‘Blood’ reserves can sustain emergency operations for three months. Given current circumstances, this should be sufficient…”

“No, it’s not enough! The invading enemies are more troublesome than anticipated. Though I doubt they’d dare interfere with the ‘Well of Goodness’… we must still prepare for unforeseen disasters.”

As he spoke, the unconcealed worry in those wide-open golden pupils grew increasingly pronounced:”I encountered quite an unusual individual today… I must admit, that mage… gave me a very dangerous impression.”

“But Your Majesty, the last blood collection already far exceeded normal quantities. If we were to collect again in such a short time…”

“Mia! What are you worrying about? It’s just a little more blood loss – nothing significant for me, Ovakain Acidmaw!”

At that moment, a massive figure pushed aside the sparse gold coins and rose powerfully… simultaneously cutting off the half-dragon maid’s concerned reminder.

Upon that hill-like physique, jet-black scales harder than refined steel, chillingly sharp claws capable of tearing through metal and stone, and suddenly unfurled dragon wings that blotted out half the dome like a dark curtain.

Without doubt, Ovakain was a powerful black dragon and an undisputed king. Whenever he spread his wings, regardless of time or place, he would unquestionably reign over his territory with both majesty and benevolence. No one in the Dragon Roar Kingdom would ever doubt – under the protection of those black dragon wings, every mountain and deep valley was a paradise!

(End of Chapter)