Very weak.
No matter how you looked at her, this village girl named Anri was no match for an elite soldier of Theocracy.
Clementine tilted her chin up, her golden bangs covering half of her narrow eyes. Her desire for "romance" had become hollow.
She had pretended to be knocked away by the Alliance Leader and left the battlefield, so she hadn't seen it with her own eyes. She could only learn the full story from others.
"Terrifying," "Miraculous."
Clementine thought of these two words used to describe the other party. The corners of her mouth curved up on both sides as she greeted, "Hi, little Anri."
It wasn't a Magic Item.
It was probably some kind of powerful "Innate Ability." Could it be used normally?
Or would it only be triggered when she was in a dangerous situation?
The smile on Clementine's fair face deepened. She knew that some special "Innate Abilities" had usage restrictions, and even the user themselves might not be aware of them.
Historically, there was a holder of a special Innate Ability in Theocracy who exhibited the rare situation of it only being triggered after death.
"Your Excellency Clementine."
Anri felt an inexplicable chill down her spine facing Clementine's smiling greeting. She responded with a stiff face.
Captain Ian stepped forward to block their line of sight and coughed lightly, "Ahem, thank you, Anri."
Along the way.
Anri rode the Evil Spirit Dog, leading the way.
The ten-person team from the Slane Theocracy followed behind. Captain Ian silently observed the surrounding environment as they passed, becoming more and more alarmed the more he saw.
They encountered many Demi-humans along the way.
According to the usual situation in the Hills, the various Demi-human Race tribes were in a state of hostility or mutual non-interference.
Now, they could see patrol teams composed of various Demi-humans. The disturbance caused by the Undead had caused heavy losses to the Demi-humans in the Hills.
But it had also united the different races.
Captain Ian's heart was heavy. He felt that he needed to report the conditions he had observed to the High Priest after returning to Theocracy.
What surprised him the most was Anri in front!
No matter what Demi-human Race they encountered, all the Demi-humans showed a very friendly, even respectful, attitude towards humans... No, towards Anri.
If it weren't for the fact that they could still clearly sense that these Demi-humans held obvious hostility towards them, the humans, except for Anri.
Captain Ian would have suspected they had come to the wrong place.
"How long has it been?"
"Has the reputation and prestige of the 'Free Will' Adventurer Team in the Abelion Hills reached this level?"
"How did this Adventurer Team do it?"
Seeing a small part reveals the whole picture.
Captain Ian's brows furrowed deeply. No matter how incredible it was, he could feel the status of "Free Will" in this hilly area from the attitude of these Demi-humans towards Anri.
Deep in the southern mountains.
The Golden Dragon twisted its long neck with golden scales in a strange manner, its towering dragon wings flapping extremely uncoordinatedly from side to side.
The thick tree trunks and bushes in the surrounding valley were easily broken and bent by the strong winds generated by the casual flapping of its dragon wings.
Rumble—
A terrifying wave of air swept through, impacting the forests in all directions. The leaves of the trees rose and fell, and the canopies constantly tore and collided!
Green shattered leaves flew everywhere, impacting the valley and producing a dull echo!
Boom!
The Golden Dragon suddenly flipped in mid-air, hitting the ground sideways with a roar, then soared into the air again, and then fell again.
Boom!
Rumble!
After several consecutive uncontrolled movements, the Golden Dragon seemed to regain control of its body and stabilized.
"Roar—Ugh..."
The Golden Dragon suddenly stretched its neck, opened its mouth full of cold, sharp teeth, and its abdomen and throat churned, making a retching sound.
With a "splat."
Dragonkin Ladon was spat out from the Golden Dragon's mouth, falling heavily to the ground, weak and unconscious.
On his chest.
The torn wound continuously seeped blood. The [True Dragon Lord's Heart] emitted a dark golden light.
The silver spider-like pattern and magic text on the surface of the heart became much dimmer as the heart beat.
And at this moment.
The Golden Giant Dragon suspended in mid-air also began to shrink at the same time, but it wasn't the kind of recovery that happened when canceling a transformation.
Instead, it was like a balloon being pricked?
The sharp golden scales became fragile, the wing membranes of the dragon wings curled up like paper, and the massive body quickly became shriveled.
In just a moment.
Bang!
The Golden Giant Dragon had already shrunk by half, its body completely unable to maintain flight in mid-air, and it crashed to the ground, continuing to shrink.
"This is the effect of the True Dragon Lord's Heart!"
"Damn it—cough, cough!"
The already shriveled dragon body opened its mouth and let out a weak sound.
The next moment.
The dragon body collapsed uncontrollably.
Tang Zheng's figure was revealed, coughing up blood continuously, and his vigorous aura began to weaken at an alarming speed.
HP:621
HP:603
HP:587
...
HP:321
In just a moment, his HP had dropped below half.
"Sixth Tier Magic, Greater Heal!"
Tang Zheng's face was pale, and he clearly felt his life force rapidly draining away, as if disappearing into thin air.
His HP immediately recovered by 100 points!
Third Tier Serious Injury Healing could restore 50 hp, while Greater Heal, although Sixth Tier, only restored 100 points. This was already the highest tier of healing magic.
Positive energy could restore the stamina of the living, while negative energy could restore the stamina of the Undead. This was the same level of magic as "Greater Death" which the Undead King and Shalltear used to restore hp during their battle.
A sacred "White" light enveloped his entire body.
Tang Zheng's body relaxed, and a hint of color returned to his pale face, but he still felt that his continuously dropping HP showed no sign of stopping.
Greater Heal!
Greater Heal!
Greater Heal!
As the healing magic was cast, the amount of HP gained gradually exceeded the amount of HP being lost.
"What exactly is going on?"
Tang Zheng reached out to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, his pale face extremely solemn. While watching the numbers on his Attribute Panel, he continued to cast healing magic.
"After injecting the Integration Potion into Dragonkin Ladon just now, it seems to have accidentally triggered the True Dragon Lord's Heart, and then we both turned into a Golden Giant Dragon."
Tang Zheng's eyes flickered as he recalled the entire process just now.
When he turned into a giant dragon, he felt a strong sense of rejection, even far exceeding the rejection he felt when controlling the Dominion Authority Angel back then.
The result was that it wasn't him who was rejected, but Dragonkin Ladon, while he himself still maintained the appearance of a Golden Giant Dragon.
"This situation can only be the effect of the True Dragon Lord's Heart."
"However, after rejecting Dragonkin Ladon, I was still able to briefly maintain the form of a Golden Giant Dragon. The power maintaining this transformation should be my own strength..."
Tang Zheng gradually sorted out the entire process, and his eyes suddenly widened.
"—This is!"
During the process of continuously losing HP and continuously recovering HP by casting Greater Heal.
Tang Zheng gradually felt a subtle change in his own aura, a state of unstable life level.
This feeling was both familiar and unfamiliar!
He had only felt it on two people: one was Renners before she truly became a Cursed Knight, and the other was Anri before she became a Hero·Believer.
Tang Zheng closed his eyes and carefully sensed it.
Unfortunately!
Before he could grasp that feeling, the state of continuous HP loss had disappeared.
"What was the reason for the continuous HP loss?"
Tang Zheng reopened his eyes, without any disappointment, but instead thinking about the reason for the continuous HP loss state that had just appeared.
"Then let's experiment again!"
Tang Zheng had no immediate answer. He glanced at the unconscious Dragonkin Ladon not far away and silently cast a spell:
"「Greater Heal」!"
He needed to restore his HP first.
Thanks to his high HP value, otherwise, with that terrifying rate of HP loss just now, he might have been instantly depleted.
After a moment.
Tang Zheng's pale face regained its color. He shook his head, "I didn't expect the first time I used 「Greater Heal」 would be here."
Healing magic is actually not suitable for use during combat because it requires casting time.
Unless both sides simultaneously create distance to use healing magic to recover.
Otherwise, if one uses healing magic and the other uses attack magic, the caster using healing magic will inevitably suffer a disadvantage.
This reminded Tang Zheng of playing turn-based games in the past, the act of wasting potion bottles. Every time you recovered, the enemy would knock off the HP you just recovered...
Crack—Rumble!
A sound like a thunderclap suddenly came from above.
Tang Zheng turned his head and looked at the dark clouds that had gathered in the distant sky in a short period of time.
"Hmm? What happened?"
Stopping his thoughts of continuing the experiment, Tang Zheng remembered that he had previously instructed Lizardman Kuruche to use 「Cloud Manipulation」 to notify him if something unmanageable occurred.
"I hope it is indeed something unmanageable."
Tang Zheng thought with a slight annoyance, his thoughts interrupted just as he was getting some ideas.
At this moment.
The dim yellow sun was setting, and it was already nearing dusk.
In the peculiar Black Ancient Castle.
The Emerald Witch sat calmly and naturally at the round table in the Great Hall. On the table was Black Tea that was still slightly steaming.
The Demi-humans here did not have the habit of drinking Black Tea like humans.
However, the Emerald Witch really liked the taste of Black Tea. She had tasted Black Tea for the first time in the palace of that very beautiful human Princess in the Kingdom, and she had fallen in love with this deep red human drink.
"The taste will be much worse if the temperature drops."
The Emerald Witch saw that the Black Tea placed in front of several humans had not been drunk, and a hint of dissatisfaction was added to her tone.
"Thank you for the hospitality. May I ask when we can meet Your Excellency Tang?"
Captain Ian spoke gently, maintaining his manners, but he still did not touch the Black Tea on the table.
He didn't think the other party would poison it, but he also wouldn't casually drink things from Demi-humans. After all, this was the heartland of the Hills, and he had to guard against any accidents and dangers.
"Our captain often forgets the time because he is researching potions. I have already sent someone to notify him. As for when our captain will see you?"
The Emerald Witch paused here and shrugged.
Upon hearing this.
The faces of the Slane Theocracy members became somewhat distressed.
"Could you please tell me the location of Team Leader Tang? I would like to visit him personally."
Captain Ian still maintained a smile and spoke solemnly again, "Because there is indeed an important matter that requires a personal meeting with Team Leader Tang."
"Sorry."
The Emerald Witch said lightly.
"Heh." Clementine suddenly sneered and wanted to get up.
This action.
Made Captain Ian's face change, and the Emerald Witch's eyes also became serious.
She was very aware of the strength of this crazy woman.
"Oh?"
"So it's the people from the Slane Theocracy." Just then, a faint voice came from the stairs.
Captain Ian and the others quickly turned around and saw Tang Zheng standing on the stairs.
"This Demi-human woman...!" Captain Ian's mouth twitched fiercely.
Listening to the Emerald Witch's meaning just now, Team Leader Tang wasn't here at all. He didn't expect the other party to be upstairs.
"Captain." The Emerald Witch quickly stood up and spoke respectfully.
"Team Leader Tang, I am Ian, I am..."
Captain Ian also stood up, trying his best to appear friendly, and introduced himself.
"No need for introductions, just state your purpose. I'm quite busy." Tang Zheng stood on the stairs and waved his hand, seemingly having no intention of coming down.
"How rude." A member of the [Sunlight Scripture] who had followed along muttered softly.
"On behalf of the Slane Theocracy, I would like to invite Your Excellency Tang's 'Free Will' team as guests to the God Capital." Captain Ian's expression remained unchanged as he smiled, placed his hand on his chest, and bowed slightly.
Being invited by a nation, even for an Adamantite Rank Adventurer Team, was an honor that any adventurer would feel.
"Purpose." Tang Zheng leaned on the stair railing, his eyes flashing.
Seeing the people from the Slane Theocracy, he had already guessed that they were here because of the Integration Potion. However, he had never given the potion to anyone from the Theocracy back then.
Now that nearly a month had passed, and the people from the Theocracy had just arrived, they must have completed their research on the Integration Potion.
Their speed was quite fast.
As expected of the power of a nation, even as the creator of the Integration Potion, he hadn't fully understood all of its effects.
"It concerns an Alchemy Potion called 'Integration Potion' that Team Leader Tang refined. Perhaps Team Leader Tang is not yet aware of the true value of this potion..."
Captain Ian's voice became excited.
"I don't recall ever giving this potion to the Slane Theocracy."
Captain Ian suddenly choked, the smile on his face stiffening slightly.
"If you want to trade for the Integration Potion, you can discuss it with Cui Ye."
Tang Zheng waved his arm dismissively, then said to the Emerald Witch, "Come up here."
"Yes."
After speaking, Tang Zheng turned and went back upstairs, not giving the people from the Slane Theocracy any chance to speak further.
The Emerald Witch followed him.
For a moment, in the Great Hall,
Only the few people from the Slane Theocracy remained standing stiffly in place.
"He's really an annoying little brother," Clementine sneered.
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