Free Web NovelChapter 194: Chapter 109: The Saintess Shocked by the Half-Dragon Transformation ~ Our Compatibility is Amazing!~
"A Vampire?"
’Just one portrait isn’t enough to get the keyword,’ a flicker of surprise crossing Su Xuan’s face. ’I’ll need at least three...’
"Why would a portrait be inside a coffin?" Shen Jun was completely bewildered, scratching his head.
"The woman in the painting is quite beautiful," the Centaur Female Warrior, Azkman, said in a low voice, gazing at the portrait.
Everyone else, however, was puzzled by the woman’s identity. The Adventurers and Players knew nothing about her, and even using their Authority to inspect the portrait revealed it to be a common, worthless item. Su Xuan was the only exception.
"I’ll take this painting, then." Su Xuan carefully lifted the portrait from the coffin.
To others, the painting might have been worthless, but in Su Xuan’s eyes, it was a priceless treasure.
"What do you want with that painting?"
Shen Siqi asked Su Xuan curiously.
"I’m passionate about collecting all things related to ’beauty’," Su Xuan explained nonchalantly, stowing the portrait in his backpack.
Hearing his explanation, Shen Siqi nodded in understanding, seeming to agree with his aesthetic sense. The woman in the portrait was, after all, stunningly beautiful.
"So, why was there a painting in the coffin?" Shen Jun was still stuck on the question, completely unable to make sense of it. No matter how he thought about it, a portrait didn’t belong in a coffin. The whole thing was baffling.
"Who knows? But within my range of Perception, I don’t sense any Demons," Azkman said, carefully scanning the surroundings. She found nothing out of the ordinary. Besides the coffin, there seemed to be no other noteworthy decorations in the room.
"Let’s keep moving. We can’t let other Adventurers get to the Vampire in this castle first." Hong Lian pushed open the door from the dining room to the grand hall, and the pungent smell of blood assaulted them once again.
Just as everyone was about to move on, Su Xuan spotted a medal lying next to the coffin.
"Hm?"
Confused, Su Xuan picked it up and examined it in his hand.
"That’s a medal for a Royal Knight of the Star Kingdom, awarded for meritorious service."
The Royal Knight in Shen Siqi’s party explained to Su Xuan.
"A medal for a Royal Knight of the Star Kingdom... Why is it here?" Su Xuan frowned slightly, a trace of confusion on his face.
"Maybe some other Adventurers have been here before," Shen Jun offered his guess.
Su Xuan narrowed his eyes. He knew that other Adventurers had indeed explored this Demon Cave before, but he had a feeling it wasn’t that simple. After turning it over in his mind to no avail, he had no choice but to press deeper into the castle.
The moment they passed through the dining hall corridor and stepped into the grand hall, a bizarre sound suddenly echoed in their ears. It was the creepy, chattering clack of teeth grinding against each other.
"They’re finally here!" Hong Lian shouted excitedly, gripping her massive sword as Flames danced around her. "I’ve been waiting for this!"
At the same time, everyone else gripped their weapons, tensing up and preparing for the enemies about to emerge from the darkness.
The center of the grand hall connected to a staircase leading to the second floor, and the ground was covered by a red carpet.
As the group scanned their surroundings for the enemy, dozens of pairs of dark red eyes suddenly began to glitter on the ceiling of the second-floor corridor, staring intently at them below.
"Found you!"
A slight smile touched Hong Lian’s lips. Her figure shot up in an instant, leaping to the second-floor corridor and plunging into the darkness.
BOOM!
Flames instantly ignited the area, accompanied by the piercing shrieks of bats that echoed through the castle.
The next moment, the surrounding bats were stirred into a frenzy, flying about chaotically and attacking the group.
"There are so many of them!"
A Centaur Warrior swiftly drew her long spear and precisely stabbed a leopard-sized bat, piercing it straight through the heart.
She then reminded the group, "Mages, please try to avoid using large-scale destructive Magic. We don’t want to damage the castle’s structure and alter the terrain."
"Understood," everyone replied in unison.
Although the castle walls were protected by a faint layer of Magic Power, allowing them to withstand a certain degree of Magic Attack, excessive use of large-scale destructive Magic could still cause the castle to collapse.
This would make the battlefield even more chaotic and could lead to unnecessary trouble. After all, no one knew what truly lay hidden within the castle.
Of course, Azkman had mainly directed that warning toward her companions, Hong Lian and Kaelin.
Soon, the group was locked in a fierce battle with hundreds of giant bats.
These bats were the size of leopards, their combat strength was extraordinary, and every single one was Level 20 or higher.
Furthermore, as soon as these bats were killed, they would instantly dissolve into a drop of blood and vanish without a trace.
Of course, with three Level 50+ Adventurers like Hong Lian and her companions present, it was difficult for the bats to inflict any casualties on them.
But strangely, despite the intense fighting, the number of bats didn’t seem to decrease, and the system gave no notifications about increased Contribution Points, which was very confusing.
"Damn it, why can’t we kill all these bats?" Shen Jun complained, looking at the swarm flying everywhere.
"These bats are all summons. Something nearby must be constantly calling them..."
Su Xuan’s eyes narrowed as he began to scan the area, trying to find the source of the summons. However, he couldn’t sense any unusual aura. Hong Lian and the others had naturally noticed the situation as well, but they couldn’t find any clues either.
They had even searched all the rooms on the second floor, but they were all empty, with nothing out of the ordinary.
"Over there!"
Lucia suddenly pointed to a room at the end of the corridor. Su Xuan followed her finger. The room was empty, with no people or objects inside, which was precisely why they hadn’t noticed the hidden target before.
Only Lucia had detected a trace of something.
"Rosaline, clear a path!"
Su Xuan commanded Rosaline. At the same time, his body rapidly expanded. Bright red Dragon Scales sprouted on his limbs and cheeks, and his clothes were torn apart by his bulging muscles, leaving only his pants intact.
His sudden transformation startled Lucia, who was on his back. After all, this was the first time Su Xuan had revealed his Half-Dragon-man form in front of his Guild members.
No, that’s not right. It was the first time in front of any Guild member *besides* Ivsha. He had, in fact, battled that Little Succubus all night to test the majestic power of his Half-Dragon Transformation!
"Let’s go!"
Su Xuan swept Lucia from his back and into his arms, shielding her from the flying bats.
Held in Su Xuan’s embrace, Lucia’s beautiful eyes widened slightly, stunned by his powerful muscles! Although she was tall, in front of the transformed Su Xuan, she seemed small and delicate, like a little loli...
Furthermore, Su Xuan didn’t seem to have full control of his newfound Power after transforming. He held Lucia with astonishing force, as if trying to merge her into his own body.
’He’s... holding me so tight!’ It made Lucia a little uncomfortable.
CRACK! With a loud bang, Su Xuan shattered the floorboards and leaped to the room at the end of the second-floor corridor.
Rosaline followed close behind, clearing obstacles for him and repelling the bats that tried to get near them.
However, even with Rosaline’s help, bats continued to swarm toward Su Xuan.
"Get lost!"
Su Xuan roared, holding Lucia tightly with his left arm while his right hand, now a sharp Dragon Claw, swiped and tore apart the incoming bats.
However, he didn’t realize that his rough movements had caused a flicker of pain to cross Lucia’s face.
Su Xuan’s hand was sinking into...
’Honestly!’
A look of slight anger on her face, Lucia unleashed a burst of Golden Holy Light from her body!
In that instant, the Golden light radiated outward, instantly obliterating the approaching bats into a mist of blood and purifying the area.
"?"
Su Xuan faltered for a moment. ’Lucia’s Magic is as powerful as ever!’ he thought. What confused him, though, was why that beam of holy light seemed to be tinged with a hint of... anger?
But he had to admit, he and Lucia had excellent synergy!
Normally, Mages can’t move quickly while chanting spells.
’But if I were to carry Lucia...’ he thought, ’wouldn’t we be invincible?’
