Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 606 - 559 Teaching Time (5/6)

The pressure from the Dragon Priest had shifted momentarily, and with the time bought by Zhiyan, Lyle had moved a constant distance toward the target grove. Having entered Ashpurin at dusk, it was now a lightless night. The dim starlight above was no match for the bright breath of the Giant Gemstone Dragon behind him, nor could it compare to the increasingly dazzling Gemstone Dragon Crown in Lyle’s hands.

The dragon’s power ceaselessly scorched the incarnation of bad omens, finally depleting the warped divine power. The withered limbs snapped into nothingness as they ran, and Nia’s tentacles immediately took over, leaving only Nia and Lyle running under a defenseless night sky.

The hooks at the tip of the tentacles pierced the ground, using the stretch of flesh and blood to catapult the body forward. When the main body surpassed the tentacles exerting the force, the frontal structure degraded into soft flesh, minimizing the drag resistance. Lyle had to squeeze out every ounce of his strength, for the Giant Gemstone Dragon had already let out a deafening roar, and its glowing body dove straight down towards him.

Only a third of the distance remained, but even this last bit seemed just out of reach for Lyle.

The beam of breath had already thundered down. Nia, anticipating it, shifted her position slightly; the exploding earth shards stopped just two meters from Lyle. The flying crystals shot towards Lyle’s face like bullets, but Nia was one step ahead, shielding him.

"Guh!" Pain erupted simultaneously in both their hearts as Lyle strained, adjusting his body’s angle to use the impact as a boost. Nia curled her body around the crystals embedded in her flesh, swiftly chewing and digesting them and leaving no reflective surface for the crystal transmission.

But it was all in vain. Nia’s speed at digesting the crystals could never match the pace of the Dragon’s Breath bombings.

"I said I’d make you pay!!!" Kolosis, driven to madness, roared, and the body of the Giant Gemstone Dragon disappeared once more, only to reappear directly behind Lyle the next instant.

The dragon’s skull grew from the crystal, facing the slender thief in front of it, opening its gaping maw.

Lyle’s shadow appeared in front of him, cast by the nearness of the Giant Gemstone Dragon’s brilliant light on his body.

Clenching his teeth, Lyle didn’t look back. The dragon’s jaw was closing, its hard teeth already piercing the resisting tentacles, and in the next moment, they would pierce into Lyle’s abdomen and rip him in two.

Snap, the dragon’s jaws shut, but between the sharp fangs were only twitching, severed tentacle limbs.

Impossible! I was certain I moved to the correct distance. Kolosis was baffled, but soon he found the reason. Alongside the splendid light of the Giant Gemstone Dragon, a faint glimmer, an unremarkable yet truly existing presence, was striving to shine its firefly light.

There stood a Gemmatus Manu with a slender and tall figure, insignificant against the dragon, but in his hands, the dazzling aura of magic power drew all the crystals to converge around him.

"You shall not approach our guest, mad King Kolosis."

"You took our hope once, there won’t be a second time."

A roar of Dragon’s Breath turned the Gemmatus Manu into crystal scraps, and Kolosis screamed furiously.

"Shameful traitor! How dare you defy me!!!"

"Not I, but we!" From below the ground, several Gemmatus Manu crawled out; in the night, they formed a starry sky, their faint light like a galaxy, illuminating the path ahead for Lyle.

Kate and Marcelo supported the crystallized Destan, facing their mad King with the fragile bodies of the Manu clan.

"We’ll be your stumbling block, Kolosis!"

The fury of the Dragon Priest nearly set the night ablaze.

"Destan! You pitiful traitors blind to the future!!!"

Destan gave no response; the bright purple light covered every Gemmatus Manu, enhancing them into the most efficient crystal absorbers. Every crystal created by the Gemstone Dragon’s Breath was drawn by the Gemmatus Manu. They disrupted the crystal transmission, causing Kolosis’s pursuit to always lag a step behind Lyle. And when Kolosis abandoned transmission to chase by flight, the Gemmatus Manu would create a barrier of crystals shattering upon touch, layer upon layer, blocking the Dragon Priest’s path. When the enraged Dragon Priest destroyed them, the despicable thief had again moved a little farther away.

The Dragon Crown was of utmost importance. Kolosis braced himself and shattered every barrier the Manu clan created, doggedly following behind Lyle.

"Flee, coward! I will find you! When I catch you, I will turn you into a crystal, grind you into crystal powder, and sprinkle it upon my Dragon Crown!!!"

The Manu clan’s survivors were few, and Kolosis ultimately broke through their defenses, closely pursuing Lyle from behind.

A dragon’s breath that had been gathering strength for a long time suddenly erupted, sending earth and stone flying and causing a weary Lyle to stagger. He lost his balance and, with Nia, rolled a few times before crashing headfirst into the stump of a broken, redwood tree.

Kolosis let out a triumphant roar.

"Why don’t you keep running, thief! Face me, face your failure!!!"

Lyle turned over, leaning against the tree stump. He first reached up to touch the top of his head where, due to the collision, a large bump had swelled up. A careless touch made it so painful that Lyle grimaced.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch!"

"Nia, touch!" The considerate Nia wrapped her tentacles around Lyle’s head, and the anesthetic mucus dribbled onto his head.

The disregarding look on his face infuriated the Dragon Priest. The Giant Gemstone Dragon extended its front claw, piercing the sandy soil. Lyle placed the Dragon Crown on his lap and even took care to blow the sand sticking to it away.

"Ready to meet your death with resignation, thief. I must say, you’re the only low-tier spellcaster who has managed to last this long under my pursuit. Heh, to have stolen my Dragon Crown, you’re quite remarkable... but a piece of uncut jade is still uncut jade."

Lyle smiled awkwardly, as if the Dragon Priest standing before him were an old friend.

"Coincidentally, my teacher often said the same thing."

"Hmph, I will be sure to convey to your teacher what an overconfident student you are. When my reign is supreme."

The Giant Gemstone Dragon opened its great maw, preparing to deliver the finishing blow.

Lyle squinted his eyes, a complacent smirk appearing on his face.

"Why not tell them face to face, my teachers have some questions they’d like to discuss with you as well."

"What?"

"Anchor of the Earth, Gravity Suppression." The forest erupted in bright light, and a surge of magic power condensed into a solid mass in the sky. The crushing force, far beyond its own, made Kolosis tumble down clumsily.

The Giant Gemstone Dragon just managed to catch Kolosis as he fell.

"Six Locks, Antlion."

Unbeknownst to anyone, the soil of the forest had turned into sand. Sand and gravel exploded, revealing the terrifying construct hidden underground. It was a countless number of sinister white bones that had gathered together to form a massive, gruesome maw, which viciously bit into the body of the Giant Gemstone Dragon, dragging it down into the sandpit.

Kolosis narrowly escaped the bite of the bone construct, lying on the edge of the sandpit.

Two figures appeared, their silhouettes cast upon his face by the light of the Dragon Crown.

"My student, thank you for your care."

"Long time no see, Kolosis. It’s regrettable to meet this way."

"Hmm, it’s your regret."