At this juncture, the Crimson Flame Dragon found itself in an unexpected dilemma.
If it shut its eyes, it would hurtle blindly into the veil of smoke;
If it kept them open, it risked being struck by the human’s treacherous arrows.
However, the Crimson Flame Dragon did not waver, for contemplation was not its forte.
It adhered to its instincts, closing its eyes and diving into the smoke while simultaneously flapping its wings to gain altitude, intending to retreat to the sky.
For it, the situation was, at worst, a matter of commencing another dive.
However, something unforeseen transpired.
Just as the Crimson Flame Dragon began to ascend, having just emerged from the smoke, it collided with something enormous and unyielding, causing it so much pain that it temporarily lost its ability to act and fell to the ground in a freefall.
.
Watching the Crimson Flame Dragon plummet from the sky, Tyler sprang into action, charging after it.
Seizing the opportunity while the beast was yet to regain its footing, Tyler swiftly clambered onto its belly, unleashing a flurry of wild stabs and chops with the Venomous Blade, each blow drawing blood, all successful in penetrating its hide!
(Success!)
Tyler was exceedingly cautious, knowing when to quit while he was ahead.
He quickly disengaged before the dragon could rise, slowing his pace only after putting some forty meters between them, then turned around to observe the status information of the Crimson Flame Dragon.
.
During the previous round of combat, Tyler had intentionally positioned himself so that the dragon and he were aligned with the stone pillar.
He then cleverly used smoke bombs and arrows to create a dilemma for the Crimson Flame Dragon, successfully causing it to collide with the stone pillar at high speed, shattering the pillar and inflicting 476 points of collision damage!
Subsequently, the dragon fell from the sky, hitting the ground and suffering an additional 133 points of impact damage!
After that, each of Tyler’s attacks with the Venomous Blade inflicted approximately 2 to 3 points of damage, collectively reducing the dragon’s life energy by 42 points.
But this was just an added bonus; Tyler’s real goal was to poison the dragon.
With more than ten attacks, each with a 30% chance of poisoning the enemy, according to mathematical expectancy, Tyler expected to stack at least two to three layers of poison buffs.
However, after observing for a few seconds, Tyler was disappointed to discover that he hadn’t been able to stack even a single layer of poison.
(Can’t believe it… Do dragons really have such high resistance to poison?)
Tyler found it hard to accept, but the only reasonable explanation was just that.
It’s truly strong, worthy of being a dragon.
It’s truly tough, a cross-tier single-handed battle spanning 30 levels, proving to be so difficult.
The only geographical advantage he could exploit is now gone;
All the strategies he had racked his brains for have failed one by one;
Even his own physical state is down to half a life;
And that Crimson Flame Dragon, which had suffered a heavy blow, is standing up again as if nothing had happened.
The situation is becoming increasingly unfavorable, death is inching closer, but far from despairing, Tyler is becoming more excited.
He now understands why this trial requires him to “Face fear”.
Facing fear means accepting one’s own cowardice. Cowardice is not terrible; one should admit their cowardice, and then let cowardice guide them, to find a glimmer of hope in a desperate situation.
Indeed, Tyler is still terrified of the Crimson Flame Dragon. If he were to confront it head-on, he probably wouldn’t last 10 seconds.
However, Tyler’s gaze at the Crimson Flame Dragon has changed; the dragon is no longer a ferocious predator, but a dangerous prey.
Tyler is pleased that he can encounter such a powerful enemy, this heaven-soaring and earth-scuttling Crimson Flame Dragon, which is leading him towards a stronger realm!
(Come on, Crimson Flame Dragon, I will surpass you!)
.
In the boundless barren land, the Crimson Flame Dragon rose again from the rubble. It finally understood that it had underestimated this human. From this moment on, it would bring its full force to bear in defeating this adversary.
As for Tyler, he gulped down an antidote. He discarded the remaining nine bottles and left only one of the two quivers hanging on his waist.
In the ensuing battle, Tyler intended to elevate his dexterity to the next level.
The Crimson Flame Dragon once again assumed a preparatory posture Tyler was familiar with, raising its head in arrogance. However, this time, the red light warning was not radiating outward from the Crimson Flame Dragon. Instead, it was a single straight line lunging directly at Tyler.
Tyler immediately broke into a diagonal run, with the red light warning persistently chasing his position, following closely.
Three seconds passed. Tyler abruptly changed direction, diving out of the way. Subsequently, a fireball of extreme speed flew past where he had just been standing.
As expected, an attack flying in a straight line must be a fireball.
Tyler had yet to rise when the red light warning appeared again. The Crimson Flame Dragon’s desire to attack had escalated.
High-speed fireballs assailed him one after another. With the aid of the red light warning, Tyler continually evaded these by zigzagging unpredictably.
After thirteen consecutive fireballs, the Crimson Flame Dragon eventually paused, allowing Tyler an opportunity. He threw three smoke bombs at it, then, as the smoke bombs took effect, he fired ten arrows in quick succession from outside the smoke, aiming roughly at the dragon’s eyes!
Immediately, a furious roar from the dragon echoed. The Crimson Flame Dragon flapped its wings and instantly dispersed the smoke. However, by then, two arrows were already lodged in its left eye.
The enraged Crimson Flame Dragon charged straight at Tyler, who stood his ground and, timing it perfectly, performed a sidestep roll, evading the dragon’s pounce. He then rose while simultaneously drawing the Shadow Sword Blaze Steed, striking with a single sword slash!
The searing blade successfully sliced through the scales on the dragon’s leg. This strike inflicted 19 points of damage on the dragon. However, Tyler was not greedy. He immediately retreated and saw the dragon sweep its tail across the spot he had just vacated. The thick tail practically grazed Tyler’s nose as it swung past!
In the midst of moving, Tyler was unable to maintain his balance and was blown over by the wind stirred up by the dragon’s tail sweep.
Upon seeing this, the Crimson Flame Dragon quickly rose and pounced. Tyler rolled on the ground following the momentum of his fall, successfully circumventing to the left side of the dragon — precisely the blind spot of the dragon’s now blind left eye.
Amidst the lightning-fast movements, Tyler thrust his sword into the dragon’s abdomen. As the dragon reared its head in intense pain, a large amount of magic energy gathered in its throat…!
At this life-or-death moment, Tyler didn’t retreat, but instead staked his life!
(Calculation Boost – Overclock!)
“BLUE BLAZE STEED!”
Relying on the slow-motion effect brought about by Overclock, Tyler, with a sweeping motion, withdrew the Shadow Sword Blaze Steed from the dragon’s abdomen and in the same motion unleashed a Blue Blaze Steed, maximizing the use of time!
Then, just in the nick of time, at the last 0.1 second of the three-second countdown of the red light warning, Tyler pushed his limit and used Shadow Step, escaping to the shadow of a shattered pillar nine meters away.
As soon as Tyler’s feet hit the ground, the deafening roar of the Crimson Flame Dragon echoed through the trial space, shaking him so much that he could only kneel on the ground, unable to move.
However, although his body was temporarily unable to move, Tyler’s will was still aflame.
Through sheer willpower, Tyler saw a horse enveloped in blue flames charge out from the dragon’s body.
This “Blue Blaze Steed” that had penetrated the body inflicted a whopping 1987 points of damage on the Crimson Flame Dragon! (4086-1987/4791)𝗈𝐕𝗅xt.𝔠𝐎𝕞