Chapter 367 – The Battlefield Returning to Silence

The Splendor of Netheril

“You have won this battle!”

Ovakain spat out the words in a hoarse voice, his lifeless eyes locked onto Punk. As the dragon’s jaw moved, drops of scorching dragon blood trickled from his chin to the ground.

“But this is far from over. You have brought disaster upon my precious Kingdom. This grudge has been forged. Although I will temporarily withdraw for now…”

At this, Ovakain used all his strength to prop his body up once more. His tattered wings, still boundlessly majestic, once again blocked the gloomy sunlight.

“Punk Cyan! Benlajie Nokani! Remember this! Remember this forever! Once I have recovered from my injuries, I—Ovakain Acidmaw—will immediately begin my advancement to the Legendary realm. If I fail, then all will be for naught. But if I succeed…”

At that moment, the immeasurably powerful Ovakain Acidmaw seemed to transform back into that Dragon Emperor who looked down upon the world. Bathed in the faint rays of the sun, the terrifying black dragon was even more awe-inspiring than the distant mountains!

“…When I return as a Legendary, I swear, all of you presumptuous worms will meet your eternal doom!”

Having said his piece, Ovakain did not linger. Mustering the last of his strength, the dying dragon soared into the sky once more. Accompanied by the boundless torrent of air stirred up by his pitch-black wings, Ovakain’s massive form soon vanished from Punk and Benlajie’s sight.

On the silent ground, both Punk and Benlajie could only watch helplessly as Ovakain departed in a grand fashion—both of them had barely any mana left. Chase a dragon in the sky? Even if this dragon was so grievously injured that its flight was unstable, it was still an impossible task.

“Now… we’re in big trouble.”

Stiffly sitting up from the ground, Benlajie’s face was uglier than if he had just eaten a bitter melon.

“This is more than just trouble, Nokani. I can even feel the aura of despair. It has never been so thick in my perception!”

Gazing at the black dot that was about to disappear into the Qikasa Radiance, the magical glow in Punk’s pupils was colder than ten-thousand-year-old glacial ice. Perhaps it was common to exchange threats after a fight, but Punk knew that Ovakain’s threat was not merely a threat. Dragons were creatures that advanced to the Legendary realm more easily than other beings, not to mention Ovakain had a genuine piece of Legendary Equipment in his possession to learn from… As a nineteenth-level spellcaster, strictly speaking, Ovakain’s chances of successfully advancing to the Legendary realm were even greater than Punk’s!

Just as the furious black dragon had said, the day he advanced would be the day of Punk’s destruction. If he didn’t succeed, then all would be for naught, but if he did… neither Benlajie nor Punk could bear such consequences. One had to know, not even the Thought of Truth would offend a Legendary powerhouse for the sake of two mere Master-Level “ants”!

If it were only that, Punk wouldn’t be too worried. After all, he had caused his fair share of trouble, and with the Haitzita’s Magic Box’s ability to block Divination Spells, he could always “brush his sleeves and walk away, hiding his deeds and name.”

But this time, feeling the Soul Mark hidden deep within his soul, a trace of bitterness couldn’t help but rise in Punk’s heart.

Soul Mark!

This obscure spell could neither harm the target nor affect their actions. Its only effect was to leave a small, extremely difficult-to-remove mark on the target’s soul. With this mark, as long as the caster and the target were not too far apart, and as long as no Legendary means intervened, the caster could always faintly sense the target’s general location.

What chilled Punk’s heart the most was that Soul Mark was purely an Advent Magic spell. This meant that the “Prophecy Silence,” a Luminary Moon-Level Legendary spell solidified on the Haitzita Magic Box, would have no shielding effect against Soul Mark!

Finally, there was one more fact that made Punk completely give up the idea of turning tail and running—Soul Mark was simply too difficult to remove. With Punk’s abilities, it would take at least thirty to fifty years to remove a Soul Mark cast with the full power of a peak nineteenth-level Archmage. As for Ovakain, the superficial wounds he had sustained, which hadn’t harmed his soul, would take at most three to five months to heal. Once Ovakain returned to his peak state…

Considering the black dragon’s insane combat power, Punk felt that even if it didn’t advance to the Legendary realm, dealing with him and Benlajie wouldn’t be much of an effort. After all, his strongest trump card—Walker’s Improved Ruby Shield—had already been exposed!

“Walk by the river often, and your shoes are bound to get wet. The ancients on Earth were not wrong. This time, there’s truly no escape.”

Helplessly rubbing the bridge of his nose, Punk felt utterly exasperated.

However, unlike Punk’s vexation, Benlajie’s reaction was much more optimistic (or foolishly bold):

“Er, it’s not like there’s no way to hide… Even if we can’t beat that black dragon, we can run back to the Thought of Truth…”

“What about when he’s Legendary? What do you plan to do if that monster Ovakain advances to the Legendary realm? Believe it or not, the Thought of Truth will be the first to grab you and me, slather us in sweet and sour sauce, and serve us to the black dragon. Are you, you Fatty, going to go back and put on more fat to make it a more pleasant chew for Ovakain?”

Seeing this guy Benlajie immediately resort to a passive approach, Punk, who was already in a foul mood, couldn’t hold back any longer.

Seeing Punk lose his temper, Benlajie grew awkward. In truth, Benlajie had completely failed to fulfill his initially promised role of providing “intelligence” for this mission. A great deal of responsibility for the current crisis lay with him. The old fatty felt a bit of shame that the situation had developed to this point because of his own unreliability, but… this still didn’t change his passive way of thinking.

“Advancing to Legendary isn’t that easy. No matter how you look at it, Ovakain’s chances of failure are much greater than his chances of success, right? We can run back to the Thought of Truth and wait. Maybe in a few days, we’ll hear news of his failed breakthrough and demise, you never know…”

“…Forget it. I shouldn’t have expected anything from an idiot like you.”

Silently watching the carefree old fatty actually start to pull out a chicken leg to eat, Punk unhesitatingly gave up on the idea of continuing the conversation with this guy.

Although it seemed Benlajie planned to run, Punk would not just leave like that. In the face of a great crisis, he had never been a spellcaster who liked to respond passively.

In fact, when he had unintentionally noticed the “Sleeping Dragon” volcano in the distance, an even more vicious scheme had already been silently born in Punk’s mind.

“Thinking about it carefully… since your recovery heralds the coming of my doom, then… please die before you fully heal, Ovakain Acidmaw!”

Gazing at the super-volcano that resembled a slumbering behemoth, Punk stood in the increasingly biting cold wind and silently began his cold and rational contemplation.

(End of Chapter)