San Tian Liang Jiao

Chapter 1026 Dragon Knight

Chapter 34 The Devil King

The system voice hadn't even finished those eight short words when a series of thoughts flashed through Greed Wolf's mind.

He knew very well that the update of a mission inevitably had a "trigger condition." Generally speaking... this "condition" was either arriving at a certain location, obtaining a certain item, encountering a certain character, or possibly, arriving at a specific point in time.

Right now, Blade's mission prompt naturally followed the aforementioned pattern.

Therefore, Greed Wolf quickly used the process of elimination to filter out the possibilities…

First, they didn't hear a voice prompt when they entered the Throne Room, so "change of location" was not the trigger condition. Second, they hadn't obtained any items related to the plot currently, so "obtaining an item" wasn't the trigger condition either. Third, from a temporal perspective, at least according to Greed Wolf's estimation... this wasn't any specific point in time. Therefore, "arrival at a point in time" also wasn't the trigger condition.

In conclusion, the answer was self-evident—they encountered a certain "character" that caused the mission to update.

And from the content of the mission—[Kill Dracula, the Devil King]—it was very obvious who they encountered…

"Attention!" Greed Wolf, who was just roaring about chasing after the Hell's Frontline members, suddenly changed his tune within two seconds. He stopped in his tracks, turned his head, and shouted at his teammates, "The Devil King is possessing—"

Whoosh—

A gust of black wind struck, abruptly stopping his words.

By the time Long Ge and Seven Kills reacted, Greed Wolf was already being choked by Dracula and lifted into the air.

"The three of you…" The Count steadily strangled Greed Wolf with one hand, ignoring the latter's desperate struggles. "…Were using Athena_exclamation (a technique where three Gold Saints elevate their Cosmo to the limit and concentrate it at one point to attack) earlier, right?"

As expected of the script's final Boss, Count Dracula was indeed knowledgeable. He could not only recognize Feng Bujue's Yi Da, but also identify the trio's combination skill.

"To be honest, I'm surprised…" Dracula didn't wait for a response before continuing, "I originally thought that you interdimensional travelers only knew how to use some strange props, but I didn't expect… you to possess this level of power."

As he spoke, he increased the strength in his hand.

Greed Wolf's slender neck couldn't withstand this kind of pressure. In a few seconds, his face turned from red to purple, entering a state of oxygen deprivation.

"Even I probably couldn't take that kind of move head-on." Dracula said, exerting even more force, preparing to end Greed Wolf's life. "But… as long as I prevent you from gathering 'three people,' I should be able to directly shut down that move…"

Boom—

Before Dracula finished speaking, a loud bang suddenly erupted.

Long Aotian's entire body erupted with battle qi, and he charged forward with his shield, a [Savage Collision] whistling toward him.

"With a technique of this level…" Dracula said calmly, raising his other arm and blocking with his palm. "…You think you can save your companion?"

In the next second, a "thump" was heard as the shield collided with Dracula's palm.

Long Ge also expected that the Boss wouldn't suffer any serious damage, but what he didn't expect was… that the Count, after receiving the blow, stood firmly in place, unmoving, as if he had caught a speeding cardboard box with his bare hands.

"Looks like you're a lot stronger than I imagined…" Long Ge said, looking up from behind his shield.

"What does your imagination have to do with me?" Dracula's attitude was as cold as ever.

"Hmph…" Long Ge snorted coldly. "Good thing… we have a backup plan."

"Hmm?" Hearing this, Dracula suddenly realized something, but it was too late…

In that instant, Seven Kills had already used his classic combo—[Shadow Step] plus [Heaven-Piercing Bone-Penetrating Punch].

The shockingly penetrating fist struck Dracula's lower back, directly hitting the spine (generally, Seven Kills would aim for the back of the heart, but attacking like that with his current height would affect the power). Even though the skill's destructive power was affected by the child's physique, it was still incredibly fierce.

"Ugh—" Dracula grunted, and the hand strangling Greed Wolf involuntarily loosened.

The moment Greed Wolf's neck was released, he had only 2% of his survival value left. When he landed, he almost died from fall damage… Fortunately, he had a skill in his skill bar that could save himself…

[Name: Last Gasp]

[Skill Card Attribute: Passive Skill, Permanently Mastered]

[Skill Category: Medical]

[Effect: When you receive fatal damage, nullifies that damage.]

[Consumption: All current survival value]

[Learning Condition: Medical Specialization A]

[Remarks: Can only be triggered when survival value is less than or equal to 20%, and can only be triggered once every ten hours; the moment Last Gasp takes effect, your survival value loss will be calculated as usual, and the excess damage will be converted into corresponding mental and physical shock; after this calculation, your survival value will return to 21%]

The existence of this skill greatly increased Greed Wolf's survivability.

Anyone who has played a medical class in an online game understands that this type of pure medical build, like Greed Wolf, can restore their health to full as long as they have a breath left… and the passive skill [Last Gasp] guarantees Greed Wolf a chance to resurrect from low health.

In fact, Greed Wolf was only helpless when faced with instant-kill attacks with super speed and strength, like the Blood Zombie God. Dealing with him by "strangling," like Dracula, actually allowed him to survive.

However, this skill… obviously came with a price. It wasn't as simple as casually using your last sliver of health to withstand a nuclear bomb… The part about "receiving corresponding mental and physical shock" was quite deadly.

Some people should still remember Feng Bujue's several experiences of having his stamina value reduced to zero. Even for Jue Ge's endurance, those were very painful experiences.

From this, it's not hard to imagine how intense the pain would be when your "survival value is reduced to zero" and you don't turn into white light and disappear…

For example, if Greed Wolf used 1% of his health to withstand a skill that could deal 2% damage, then he would have to endure the mental shock converted from the excess 1% damage. Basically… it would be to the extent of dizziness and weakness.

And if Greed Wolf used 1% of his health to withstand a skill that could deal 20% damage, then he would have to endure the mental shock converted from the excess 19% damage. That level might result in full-body pain and nerve pain on top of the dizziness and nausea…

By analogy, we can imagine what the result would be if he really used 1% of his health to withstand a nuclear bomb…

Of course, if a situation that could cause a player to mentally collapse actually occurred, the system would definitely forcibly disconnect the nerve connection when the player's mental endurance reached the critical point. The precision of the operation could be accurate to microseconds with many decimal places, and it would never let someone playing a game be turned into a vegetable.

"Ugh…"

Two seconds later, Dracula, whose spine had been broken, let out a low groan and said, "So that's how it is… the one with the shield was just trying to attract my attention…" He slowly turned his head and looked at Seven Kills behind him. "You… did well…"

At this moment, he actually praised the players. This wasn't a good sign… It was similar to hearing the opponent say "Well played" or "Sorry" when playing certain card games. Something terrible was about to happen.

"Hmm?" Sure enough, a second later, Seven Kills looked up at Dracula with a glare. "You!" His expression suddenly changed, because he realized that his arm was stuck inside the Devil King's torso and he couldn't pull it back.

"Tch… what's going on with this guy?" Long Ge also noticed a similar situation—his shield was stuck to the other party's palm.

In the short time since Dracula entered the stage, less than a minute, two of the three players from Blade had their movements restricted by this Boss, and one was barely able to crawl up from the ground (because his body had turned into that of a child, the impact on Greed Wolf was also amplified). He was dizzy and couldn't even stand steadily.

This… was the Devil King's strength, and compared to all the previous mini-Bosses, he was on a completely different level.

"Unfortunately, you are far from my match right now." Dracula was still acting freely and calmly even though his spine had been broken. Those few groans just seemed like a casual hum from the pain. "Feng Bujue used an item called [Vajra Bell] as a sacrifice, completing a sacrificial ritual that no one had ever successfully achieved in a hundred years, and successfully summoned my castle to the present world… Hah…" He sighed. "Right now, I possess both a mortal body and the mental strength of the netherworld… I have never been this powerful."

At this point, the Count's tone changed slightly. "And you… I can see that you, as well as Feng Bujue and the others… are restricted by some strange power and are not in your best condition."

As he spoke, he used the hand he freed up after releasing Greed Wolf to cover the top of Seven Kills' head from above.

"Although you can still use Athena_exclamation, a technique strong enough to destroy my body…" Dracula sighed softly. "But I won't give you the same opportunity as the werewolves…"

Crack—Crack-crack—

Immediately after, the sound of cracking bones echoed in the spacious environment.

This undoubtedly fatal injury instantly sent Seven Kills back to the login space. Greed Wolf didn't even have a chance to heal his teammate.

"Ah—" When the teammate's death notification sounded, Long Aotian's blood surged, and he roared out loud.

Long Ge was a relatively straightforward person. He was magnanimous, open-minded, valued relationships, and didn't care about gains or losses. He was the kind of person who would take a bullet for someone he didn't know. That's why he was injured when he was a police officer, why he was recruited by the special department of the Ninth Division, and why… he was here today.

The weapon he chose was a shield, which couldn't even be called a "weapon"—weapons often meant offense, but his philosophy was "defense," was "guarding." Because, the thing he couldn't stand the most… was his companions dying in front of him.

But, at this place, at this time. Greed Wolf, fell. Seven Kills, died in battle.

Long Aotian watched all of this happen, but couldn't stop anything. He suddenly felt that the shield held in front of him, unable to move, was so heavy, so heavy that he wanted to let go. At the same time, he felt that the shield was so fragile, so weak that it was just a formality…

Hiss—Hiss-hiss—

"Hmm?" Just as Dracula raised his hand to lick the blood on his fingers, he seemed to hear a burst of energy surging from behind the shield in front of him.

"This is…" Soon, the Count's palm felt a shocking amount of heat. Startled, he suddenly stopped adhering to the shield.

"You…" Dracula's expression changed. The composure on his face disappeared, replaced by solemnity. "…You were actually hiding this kind of power…"

At this moment, Long Ge's entire body was burning with a blazing, orange dragon battle qi, and a new power had awakened.

Soul Intent—[Dragon Knight].

"Heh… I don't really know what this is…" Long Aotian moved the shield away from his front and looked up at Dracula. At this time, Long Ge's body had become about 30% larger than before, and a layer of amber scales had appeared on the surface of his muscles, while his eyes had become a pair of crimson gemstones, with integrated pupils, "…I only know… I'm going to kill you!"

The killing cry rose suddenly, and the figure moved.

With each step, Long Aotian seemed like a giant dragon trampling the ground, unleashing a shocking force that made the entire hall tremble.

Duang…

A second later, Long Ge raised his shield and struck the staggering Dracula.

This was one of the [Dragon Knight] form's skills—[Divine Dragon Tail Swing]: A melee strike with the shield, dealing massive damage and stunning the enemy.

"Ugh—" The Count's composure was truly commendable. Half of his torso had been smashed into mincemeat, yet he only let out a muffled groan.

"Hmph…" In that flash of lightning, Dracula thought to himself, "Although Feng Bujue told me to delay as much as possible and not kill all of them, in this situation… if I don't use some means, I'm afraid I'll be in danger…"

With that thought, Dracula immediately transformed. A cloud of green smoke rose rapidly, and his incomplete form quickly turned into a bat, flying upwards.

"Want to run?" Seeing this, Long Aotian immediately retrieved his shield, crouched forward, and raised his head to shout.

A dragon's roar burst out, unleashing a cone-shaped spreading of giant flames. In less than a second, the flames had scorched half of the hall's ceiling.

This was the second skill of the [Dragon Knight] form—[Dragon Breath Roar]: A dragon breath flame emitted from the mouth, burning all targets within the cone-shaped range in front (including friendly fire).

"Foolish Dragon Descendant…" The bat Dracula transformed into wasn't charred after being burned by the fire, but there were still embers of dragon breath on his body. He replied in the air, "…I advise you not to anger me!"