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The guard inscription had completed its rune explosion, but Bennett noticed a chain-triggered rune in the corner of the rock—it was an alarm spell.

"It’s an alarm spell!"

"Damn it, this is a dragon’s lair. How can it be littered with spells like a mage tower?"

"Could it have foreseen we would hide here?"

"That’s simply impossible."

Bennett’s face darkened at the thought.

His breathing quickened, his heart pounding, as a terrifying possibility dawned on him—

This was a spell-loving dragon.

It had likely anticipated that his team would hide here, preparing in advance, like a meticulous wizard.

This was no place of fame and fortune—this was a death trap laid by an evil dragon mage!

And they were the prey stepping right into it!

Thunder rumbled in the distance, mirroring Bennett’s current dread.

"Retreat…"

"Quickly, everyone, retreat."

"The red dragon is coming!"

Bennett swung his staff, shouting, unwilling to die in this wilderness as food for monsters.

Yet he found his teammates standing still, staring up at the sky, and felt a surge of anxiety.

"Why are you frozen? Run!"

Ivan looked up, his voice trembling.

"I think…"

"It’s… it’s already here."

Bennett felt a vast shadow engulf him, cold sweat dripping down his face.

He stiffly turned his head.

"Dear god…"

What a red dragon it was—a massive creature, fifteen meters long, nearly the size of an adult red dragon.

It was covered in golden-red scales, energy fragments orbiting its body like thousands of tiny stardust particles, surrounded by blinding flashes of lightning.

Behind it, rolling storm clouds and a fierce gale approached, the brilliantly radiant red dragon hovering within, wings beating as if it were the master of the storm.

"Damn Northerners…

"The intelligence they provided…"

"They dared to call this… a young dragon?"

Bennett barely wiped the cold sweat from his brow, muttering to himself.

He recognized the spell in the sky—it was the eighth-circle spell, control weather. His mentor had shown it to him before; it was definitely beyond his own half-baked skills.

The red dragon in the sky wore a hint of mockery on its face.

"Humans, how dare you…"

"Intrude upon my territory!"

The voice boomed like thunder, leaving their ears ringing.

Then the red dragon dove down, slowly opening its mouth, light gathering at its throat.

"Oh no!"

"It’s dragon breath! Prepare yourselves!"

The team snapped back to reality, quickly adopting battle stances.

They were seasoned adventurers; although awed by the sight, they swiftly regained composure and readied for battle.

The paladin Tristan raised his dragon-scale shield, standing at the front, activating the spell 【Dragon Light Shield】 from his equipment, casting a gentle glow around them.

"Wall of Force!"

Bennett chanted, conjuring a massive, invisible barrier in front of them to withstand the incoming breath—a solid defensive spell.

Vincent silently unslung his black longbow, retrieving a dragon-slaying arrow from his cloak and notching it on the string.

Ivan gripped his longsword, muscles taut, fingers tracing the green scale on his sword, muttering a prayer.

"Boom!"

Blazing white-hot flames spewed from the red dragon’s mouth, the intense heat distorting the air, a tide of flames crashing towards them, briefly held back by the combined spells of Wall of Force and Dragon Light Shield.

It seemed to be just a probe.

But sweat again dotted Bennett’s brow; he felt his spell almost breaking.

"Such terrifying flames…"

He thought to himself.

Ivan shouted, "If this keeps up, we’ll be ash! Attack! Follow my lead!"

The seasoned warrior sidestepped to avoid the flames, watching the approaching red dragon closely, then leaping several meters high.

Yet before he could touch the dragon’s scales, he was struck by the surrounding lightning.

Stormbound Body!

And it didn’t end there; the red dragon’s claw struck him.

The crackling lightning surged through the warrior’s body, while a bolt as thick as a bowl shot down from the clouds, striking him directly. Ivan’s form glowed almost translucent, his bones visible.

He fell to the ground, charred.

Ivan died that way, but he had bought his teammates precious moments for an attack.

"Whoosh—"

Vincent released the bowstring, the black dragon-slaying arrow aimed straight for the red dragon’s heart.

The arrow was etched with magic runes to harm dragons, soaked in dragon blood, crafted for dragon-slaying.

Blaze Through!

As the last bit of energy left its mouth, the red dragon’s huge body transformed into a burning inferno.

The black arrow flew through the flames, dropping feebly to the ground without inflicting any damage on the red dragon.

"Where…"

Vincent muttered in frustration, seeing nothing but roaring flames before him.

Even his rogue’s sharp instincts couldn’t pinpoint the enemy.

"Alert!"

"Damn, what’s that?"

The flames before the adventurers shifted, rapidly gathering and taking shape, forming a massive dragon.

Thunderous roars emanated from the fire.

"How dare you challenge me!"

The red dragon surged forward from the flames!

Its lightning-enveloped form shattered the Wall of Force, leaving Bennett trembling.

The adventurers fired a barrage of arrows, but the red dragon’s surrounding energy fragments deflected them effortlessly.

Thunderclouds blanketed the land as lightning bolts rained down, precisely striking the panicking adventurers.

"Scatter, scatter!"

Tristan, the paladin, urgently raised his dragon-scale shield, standing firm, shouting commands.

His teammates scrambled in different directions.

Yet the red dragon gathered power, unleashing multiple short bursts of flame that struck the rogue, Vincent.

"Bang!"

The fragile rogue fell, his charred body blending into his black cloak, clearly lifeless.

The next moment, a bolt as thick as a bowl descended, striking the paladin atop his head. His dragon-scale shield could block dragon attacks, but not lightning.

"Ah—"

Tristan screamed in agony.

Thunderclouds covered the sky, lightning flashing, flames and thunder ravaging the ground. The red dragon rampaged, ruthlessly destroying the adventurer party.

Bennett stared at the devastating scene, hands trembling as he raised his staff, casting a long-prepared spell with all his might.

"Hold Monster!"

A red magical light shot forward.

This was supposed to be their trump card for dragon-slaying, but now it was their desperate lifeline.

Yet, to his shock, a shimmering barrier appeared around the red dragon. The surrounding magic web was forcibly smoothed, making spellcasting impossible.

"Magic Negation Field…"

Bennett felt despair wash over him, his suspicions solidifying.

This was a damned spell-loving dragon!

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