Blood Explosion Technique!
This was not a spell-like ability of a dragon bloodline user, but rather an obscure technique recorded in the [Dragon King Divine Power]—one that burned the blood within one's body to gain a final burst of power!
For a Dragon Bloodline Sorcerer, this was truly a desperate choice born of last resort.
Although the blood mist's power had pushed aside the cold fog and carved out a path of escape for
Moreover, the places that had once been covered in dragon scales were now riddled with wounds.
Yet a burning desire to survive still drove her forward through the Mist Forest.
"Can't hold on anymore?"
The massive blood loss and her injuries made Isabel's vision increasingly hazy, until it finally dissolved into darkness.
"Huh? Chief!"
Before she collapsed, the last thing Isabel heard was a somewhat surprised voice.
…
"Mmm… I'm not dead yet?"
Isabel raised her right hand and touched the Red Dragon Longsword. The faint warmth emanating from the scabbard immediately settled her heart.
Though her body was still weak, as long as she had her weapon in hand, at least she could die with some dignity.
Isabel thought with a bitter smile as she surveyed her surroundings.
"The space is very cramped—seems like some kind of enclosed environment. And what I heard before I lost consciousness…"
"You're awake!"
A low voice sounded beside Isabel's ear, making her pupils dilate slightly—Kaelen's voice!
"Where… where am I now?" Isabel asked slowly, her eyes struggling to adjust to the darkness until she gradually found a sliver of light.
"Inside a tree hollow. We're still not out of danger!"
Kaelen's condition seemed poor as well, her voice broken and halting: "Heh… heh heh, I suppose you've seen those monsters that look just like us? I once suffered terribly at the hands of someone I knew!"
"Who was the first mate on our ship?"
Isabel was clearly not that easily convinced.
"Three-Ears, but he fed the fish in that last naval battle! After that, they swapped in Cripple!"
Kaelen deliberately brought her lips close to Isabel's ear: "And… I also know more private information—like what's been hidden under your pillow all along…"
"Enough! I believe you're the real Kaelen!" A blush crept across Isabel's face as she hastily cut Kaelen off.
"Why would you still bring that up at a time like this?" Isabel's hushed voice carried a note of irritation.
"Because you need to get into the right mindset!" Kaelen's response was deadly serious. "Have you noticed why those monsters, despite being able to kill us outright, don't do it all at once, but instead keep… uh, toying with us—I think that's the right word!"
"You mean…" Isabel had noticed this too.
"Exactly! I suspect those monsters feed purely on human emotions—things like despair. That's why they keep terrorizing us…"
There was a tremor of excitement in Kaelen's voice: "In the Underdark, there are similar creatures. I've been suppressing my fear and anxiety as much as I can, and I haven't actually encountered any especially powerful monsters—I've managed to hold out until now…"
As a half-drow of the Underdark, Kaelen was clearly more knowledgeable about such sinister creatures.
Unfortunately, her understanding only applied to the world of the gods. Monsters tainted by the power of dreams were not so easily dealt with.
But at this moment, Isabel had no choice but to believe her: "So you're saying that as long as we can suppress our emotions, we can deal with those monsters easily?"
"I can only say it has some effect. After all, completely eradicating all mental emotions—only a Legendary-level Illithid could manage that…"
A bitter smile crossed Kaelen's face.
"Also… be careful not to produce any particularly intense emotional fluctuations. That would attract more—and more powerful—monsters!"
"I understand…" Isabel nodded. "I've also observed that the monsters here only appear at night. So as long as we hold out until sunrise tomorrow, we might be safe…"
The Isabel of now had completely abandoned any thought of coming back with reinforcements for revenge. All she wanted was to get as far away from here as possible.
"Watch out! Something's coming!"
A faint tremor traveled through the ground, accompanied by the monsters' eerie laughter. Isabel tensed up.
Through the gap in the tree, she could faintly make out the enormous human-faced carapaced centipede from before, slowly crawling toward them. Thick saliva dripped from its head as it pushed aside the surrounding trees, revealing countless jointed legs and the horrifying human faces covering its shell.
"Relax. As long as our minds are calm, it won't be able to find us…" Kaelen's voice trembled, showing that even she felt uneasy about this life-or-death gamble.
"Don't think too much—no! Don't think about anything at all, and don't feel any emotions!"
Isabel gripped the scabbard in her hands, silently repeating the words over and over alongside Kaelen.
Whether or not their prayers actually worked, the giant centipede seemed genuinely unable to detect them, gliding past the massive tree stump without stopping.
"It actually worked!" "We did it!"
Isabel and Kaelen exchanged a glance, both their eyes filled with hope and excitement.
CRACK!
Suddenly, the massive tree stump split open, exposing Isabel and
"Hee hee! Playing hide-and-seek, are we?"
The face on its carapace shifted and writhed, finally settling into what looked like a child's mask, producing a tender, youthful voice.
"Too bad… thinking you could hide from Zoros by suppressing your emotions—how naive!" The face on the carapace then shifted to that of a middle-aged pirate, the voice matching accordingly.
"Heh heh… the game is over! Become part of my body!"
The giant centipede roared as the numerous faces on its body detached from the carapace, transforming into white humanoid figures wearing masks.
The figures moved slowly, their expressions blank, surrounding Isabel and Kaelen completely.
"That's wrong! How can this be? Was everything I guessed before completely wrong?"
"This is a nightmare! This must be a nightmare! Waaah, let me wake up! I want to find my mother…"
Under the overwhelming pressure, Kaelen was the first to break down, her entire body going limp on the ground, her expression caught somewhere between crying and laughing.
"Damn it, I knew this woman would be useless at the critical moment!"
Isabel cursed, thrusting her longsword into one of the white humanoids, but it had no effect—the figures continued closing in at their slow, relentless pace.
"There's nothing left to try… truly nothing… This time, I'm probably going to die here…"
For a moment, Isabel's eyes went distant as every memory from birth to the present flashed through her mind. A trace of tenderness flickered in the depths of her gaze: "What a shame…"
"Dream Arcane—Flying Strike Palm!"
Just as the white humanoids were about to completely close in on Isabel and Kaelen, a dark shadow descended from above. Powerful spell radiance emanated from it, drawing the surrounding dark-red mist together until it condensed into a massive palm.
BAM! The enormous palm slammed down, crushing the white humanoids to dust, then swept sideways, sending the rest flying.
"Made it just in time!"
Leilin turned back, looking at Isabel's face—a mix of surprise and relief: "Are you two alright?"
"Fine! It's in your hands now…" Isabel felt a tightness in her chest, but in the end, those were the only words she could manage before passing out.
"Exhausted, huh? And then there's this one…"
Leilin looked at Kaelen, who appeared to have been frightened witless on the ground: "This one looks like she's been scared out of her mind. Can't blame her—not everyone can withstand the shock of dream power…"
"Hee hee… another one! Another one to become part of my body!"
The massive centipede's head now split open, revealing a wrinkled, aged face.
The other shattered white humanoids were drawn back into the centipede monster's body, manifesting as mask-like carapaces on its surface.
"Such a massive dream-pollution creature… it must be at least Legendary-level, right?"
Leilin looked up, but his eyes were filled with delight: "If mere radiation pollution could create a Legendary existence, then whatever remains here must be truly extraordinary!"
"Boy, how dare you ignore—"
The centipede monster roared furiously, numerous fleshy growths erupting across its back as though they could detonate at any moment.
"I don't have time to play with you right now! Until next time!"
In the dream pollution zone, Leilin was on absolute home ground—not a trace of fear between his brows.
"Dream Arcane—Radiant Moon Phantasm!"
Dark-red ripples spread from his hands, and everything around them fell into an eerie standstill.
"Let's get out of here first!" Seizing the rare opportunity, Leilin grabbed Isabel and Kaelen, spread his wings, and in an instant flew to the edge of the forest, where the dark-red mist had condensed into an enormous cage.
"Open!" Leilin bellowed as he channeled the power of Dream Arcane into the Roaring Red Dragon Staff in his hand. Scorching firelight shattered the blockade in an instant, and then his figure flickered several times before vanishing beyond the horizon.
He couldn't handle this giant centipede yet, so there was no point wasting his energy.
…
The next morning, having regained most of her energy, Isabel stepped out of the tent and spotted Leilin studying the soil at the edge of the forest.
"I'm sorry… this total disaster—I bear a great deal of responsibility…"
Isabel said through gritted teeth.
"This was a genuine accident. Even if it had been anyone else, the outcome would have been the same!"
Leilin focused on collecting soil samples, while Isabel's eyes, fixed on the forest, were filled with terror. The lesson this place had taught her yesterday was far too深刻—she wished she never had to set foot here again for the rest of her life.