Free Web NovelChapter 195: Chapter 110: So Lucia Prefers...? Ouch! Go Easy With Your Dragon Claw
"How much longer are you going to hold on?"
Just as Su Xuan was lost in thought, Lucia’s cool voice drifted to his ears.
Only then did Su Xuan realize his Dragon Claw was still gripping something soft and snow-white. At the same time, he could see the obvious anger on Lucia’s beautiful face, hidden beneath her white veil.
Clearly, he had squeezed too hard and hurt her.
But it couldn’t be helped. His Half-Dragon Transformation had caused his body to swell and sharp Dragon Claws to sprout, making his palm larger than Lucia’s entire face.
"Sorry." He released his grip and asked, "Does it still hurt? Do you need me to..."
"There’s no need."
Lucia shot Su Xuan a cold glance, then tried to stand up on her own.
But it was still a struggle, and she ended up placing a hand on Su Xuan’s arm for support.
The moment her fingertips brushed against the Dragon Scales on his arm, a searing heat shot through her, making her heart race as if she’d received an electric shock.
Her Sensitive Authority made her body react strangely, but it was more than just that...
’She suddenly found Su Xuan’s current form rather captivating—strong, handsome, and exuding a powerful sense of security. The Dragon Scales were also surprisingly comfortable to the touch. Unlike the cold scales of an ordinary Giant Dragon, his carried a hint of warmth and could be both hard and soft.’
"Lucia?" Su Xuan asked, confused. "Why did you suddenly freeze?"
"It’s nothing."
Lucia quickly masked the infatuated look in her beautiful eyes. A faint, almost imperceptible blush crept onto her cheeks as she turned her cool gaze toward a corner of the room.
She took out the Sun Staff and waved it gently in the air.
The next moment, golden Holy Light spread out, illuminating every corner of the room.
As the Holy Light swept by, the monster hidden in the room had nowhere to hide.
A blood-soaked tooth materialized in the corner, emitting a dark crimson glow.
[Vampire Count’s Tooth (Epic): An evil artifact capable of summoning vampire bats. (Cannot be used.)]
"So this is what’s been creating all the vampire bats?"
Su Xuan reached out and clenched the Vampire Count’s tooth in his palm. ’Since it can’t be used, there’s no reason to keep it around.’
With a slight squeeze of his right claw, he instantly crushed the tooth to dust.
As the tooth shattered, all the vampire bats instantly dissolved into blood, which evaporated before it could even hit the ground.
Simultaneously, the Players present all saw a notification pop up, showing an increase in their Contribution Points.
[Killed 60 Vampire Bats, +120 Contribution Points!]
"Alright, we can keep moving now."
Su Xuan brushed the blood from his hands, ready to press on.
Just then, Lucia walked up to him. She reached out with a slender finger, gently touching the Dragon Scales on his cheek and arm. "Is this Power of yours from that Red Dragon’s soul?" she asked softly.
"Yeah."
Su Xuan nodded and asked with a smile, "What do you think? It looks pretty good, right?"
"Mhm."
Lucia gave a slight nod, her gaze sweeping over Su Xuan’s well-defined muscles. "It’s not bad," she said softly. "Very good, in every respect."
"Come on."
Su Xuan crouched down, getting ready. "I’ll keep carrying you."
"That won’t be necessary."
Lucia shook her head gently and brushed down her skirt. "After you destroyed that tooth, it seems to have affected the Magic Array covering this area," she explained. "The suppressing effect I feel has lessened considerably."
"?"
Su Xuan immediately checked Lucia’s Status bar.
[Blood-colored Withering: This unit is afflicted by the enmity of blood. Power, Physique, and Agility are all reduced to 100.]
’The suppression has weakened?’ Su Xuan mused for a moment. ’If the Vampire Count’s tooth and other unholy artifacts form a huge Magic Array, that would explain the suppression effect on Lucia.’
’This means we stepped into the Magic Array’s range the moment we entered the Demon Cave. The catalyst for the array must have been present then, too.’
’The blood-red sun!’
’As for the Magic Array’s effect, it was probably designed to suppress the strongest Adventurer present.’
’And out of everyone here, Lucia is definitely the strongest.’
"Let’s keep going! There must be more Vampires hiding in this castle, just waiting for us to hunt them down!"
While Su Xuan was lost in thought, Hong Lian had already hoisted her Giant Sword onto her shoulder and was walking toward the large door opposite the staircase to the second floor.
She kicked the large door open, revealing a wide, deep corridor beyond.
The corridor was dimly lit, but they could vaguely make out six coffins lining the sides, standing there silently.
"Looks like the path ahead won’t be so easy," Hong Lian said, scanning the area with a smile playing on her lips.
This Flame Spirit never seemed to feel fear or despair, no matter the obstacle. She always maintained her fiery, passionate demeanor.
"Is there another way?"
As the group gathered around Hong Lian, she directed her question to the Centaur Female Warrior.
"No, this is the only way forward." Azkman shook her head. "I just checked. Besides this corridor and the way we came, every other path is blocked."
"Perfect! We’ll just have to fight our way through!"
A fireball ignited in Hong Lian’s palm. She accurately tossed it at the unlit sconces on the walls, lighting up the dim corridor.
Just then, the six coffins seemed to sense the disturbance and began to stir.
THUMP! THUMP!
The six coffin lids were pushed open simultaneously, and six Vampires with pale, desiccated skin climbed out.
"I smeeell~ the scent of fresh bloood~"
A female Vampire spoke in a low voice, her shriveled nose twitching slightly before her gaze landed on Su Xuan among the group.
A strange smile spread across her pallid face as she said in a low voice, "And it’s exquisite blood, at that!"
"?"
Su Xuan’s eyes narrowed. He could feel the gazes of all six Vampires fixed on him.
’Wait!’
’He suddenly recalled that after being affected by the Filthy Sexual Desire Magic Power, his blood had apparently changed somehow, becoming more alluring to creatures that craved it...’
’Fortunately, there were a lot of them, so they weren’t afraid of a few Vampires.’
’Three Level 45s, two Level 48s, and one Level 50?’ Su Xuan checked the Vampires’ Levels. ’This high-risk Demon Cave really is something else. High Level Demons have been reduced to common mobs. Still, at least there aren’t too many of them.’
’Any other party would have had a hard time against them, but unfortunately for the Vampires, this party was just too strong!’
’Su Xuan also noticed that while Hong Lian and the other two acted independently, they barely communicated with each other.’
’It seemed their Guild President was directing them remotely.’
’This was pretty normal. Not all Guild Presidents were willing to step onto the battlefield themselves. Even with resurrection tokens, the pain was still very real.’
"We’ll take the three High Level ones! The other three are yours!"
Hong Lian charged forward with her sword on her shoulder, her form blurring into a fiery phantom. The Centaur Female Warrior galloped close behind, and together they charged the Vampires.
In an instant, Hong Lian and the Centaur Female Warrior clashed with the Vampires. Despite being outnumbered two to three, they held the absolute upper hand.
Meanwhile, Rosaline used her Soul Light Wings to fly directly in front of the three lower-level Vampires.
"Kite Moon!"
She activated the Sword Technique. A moonlight-like Sword Aura showered down, instantly dicing one of the Vampires to pieces.
"AARGH! Dammit!"
The Vampire roared in fury as its shattered body rapidly re-formed from pools of blood. Although its wounds healed completely, its presence was noticeably weaker.
"You foolish blood-bags! You’ll all die here!"
The Vampires roared in fury and lunged at Rosaline...
Two or three minutes later, the battle was over.
The three High Level Vampires were utterly defeated by Hong Lian and Azkman, collapsing to the ground as dried husks. Unable to regenerate, they succumbed to death.
To be safe, Hong Lian tossed a ball of fire, incinerating their bodies completely.
But when she turned to look at the other side of the fight, both Hong Lian and Azkman were shocked to see that Rosaline had already finished off her three Vampires.
True, her three Vampires were lower-leveled than theirs, but Rosaline’s Level was lower than theirs as well!
What’s more, she had killed all three Vampires by herself, without any help.
She had even used her Moonlight Sword Qi to pulverize their bodies, physically obliterating them to prevent any chance of revival.
"Such a powerful Knight..."
A look of astonishment crossed Azkman’s face. She never would have expected the Female Knight in Platinum Armor to be so strong—not in the least bit inferior to herself or Hong Lian.
Of course, it wasn’t just Hong Lian and Azkman who were surprised. Shen Jun and Shen Siqi, who had just witnessed the fight, were staring with wide, dumbfounded eyes. They had seen Rosaline’s impressive skill before, but in just a few short days, her power had grown by an incredible amount!
’Her combat power had multiplied several times over!’
’Was it because of her new weapon?’
’Her power level is just insane!’
Roxia, standing in the crowd, was equally shocked by her aunt’s combat prowess. She realized her aunt was even stronger now than she had been in life!
And it was all because of...
Roxia’s azure eyes shifted to Su Xuan. ’She knew in her heart that her aunt’s newfound power was inextricably linked to this man!’
"They’re all dealt with. Let’s keep moving." Rosaline sheathed her sword and strode toward the end of the corridor.
The others all followed, with only Hong Lian lagging a step behind. She stared at Rosaline’s back, the corners of her lips curling into a slight smile.
"She’s really strong, isn’t she?" she murmured, as if to herself.
"Yes."
「In a distant plane」
A woman with dark, cyan curls, dressed in a cheongsam patterned like blue-and-white porcelain, gently swayed a round fan. Her amber eyes glimmered as she stared intently at a light screen, watching the group of Adventurers following Su Xuan.
The corners of her lips lifted into an elegant arc. She crossed one long, snow-white leg over the other, causing the cheongsam to cling tightly to her enchanting figure.
"Just as you said, they are indeed quite outstanding," she purred. "And their president... is also worth trying to win over..."
