Chapter 129
Pride — Part 1
Editors: Sebas Tian, Speedphoenix, Joker
I flew, jumped, rolled, and crawled around in order to evade the stupid dragon"s attacks . Each dodge was accompanied by the crumbling of earth and rending of stone . Destruction followed in the wake of the a.s.shole"s attacks . Every single strike would alter the terrain in some way .
There wasn"t even a moment to spare . The attacks followed one after another; I had no time to rest or room to breathe . His strikes were so fast that I couldn"t even afford to blink . But I could track them . The s.h.i.+tlord was not nearly as cunning as his usurper t.i.tle implied . His actions were simple, straightforward, and easy to read . The muscle-brained r.e.t.a.r.d didn"t even seem to know how to throw a feint . His lack of finesse was a result of his overinflated stats . He had likely always been so much stronger than everything he"d fought that he had never felt the need to do anything crafty .
I was only managing to hold on because I was a demon lord and I had the specs to match my t.i.tle . I know I"ve probably said this like a dozen times already, but G.o.d d.a.m.n, my eyes are good at keeping track of things . It"s probably "cause of that Magic Eye skill . G.o.d d.a.m.n, that thing is the only thing keeping me alive right now . It"s letting me just barely keep track of him . Er, actually, I"m willing to bet that his usurper t.i.tle is playing a part in it too . It"s probably proccing my One Who Judges t.i.tle and boosting all my stats .
Despite everything I had going for me, I couldn"t afford to lose focus . The moment I stopped paying attention was the moment I would reincarnate into a bunch of scattered lumps of ground meat .
"Where has that high and mighty att.i.tude of yours gone now, insect?"
s.h.i.+t for brains sneered as he mocked me, so I put as much power as I could into my next dodge and managed to give myself just enough s.p.a.ce to swing Zaien at his arm . The blade landed on its target, and though it was met with scale, it didn"t fail to leave its mark . Unlike Lefi"s scales, which were far too tough for Zaien, the stupid black dragon"s weren"t . The blade made her way through a thinner part of his natural armour and drew blood as she carved through his flesh .
"Sorry, what was that?" I smirked . "I can"t hear you over the sound of your blood gus.h.i.+ng out of this bug bite you"ve got here . "
I suddenly felt a rush of magical energy from right underneath me . I tried to backstep in order to avoid the r.e.t.a.r.d"s spell, but I wasn"t fast enough . The ground beneath me burst with an explosion and launched me through the air . A powerful shockwave coursed through my body and knocked all the air out of my lungs . I wasn"t able to right myself and didn"t stop until I hit a large rock .
I spent a few moments taking deep breaths in order to replenish my supply of oxygen before forcing myself back to my feet . I raised my weapon, only to see the dragon"s fangs right before my eyes .
There was little time to evade, but I managed to throw myself into a roll, then correct my posture and swing Zaien at the back of his neck . But this time, he was actually on guard . He immediately reared his head to avoid the blow before spinning around and striking with his tail .
Despite being as thick as the trunk of an ancient tree, the lizard"s scaly appendage whistled through the air like a whip and cleaved right into the side of my body . It was a direct hit . I was sent flying yet again and skidded off the ground a few times before finally losing momentum .
The scenery faded in and out over and over as my body throbbed with an intense, dull pain . I had to concentrate to keep myself conscious . I knew I would pa.s.s out the moment I lost focus .
"Behold, Leficios," said the autistic lizard . "This insect buzzes about, but he has not the power to back his irksome claims . Only I am worthy of your companions.h.i.+p . "
Lefi didn"t bother responding to the s.h.i.+tlord . She simply continued staring right at me with arms folded . She didn"t step forward or shout my name . All she did was continue to sit where she was with her arms and legs folded . And in doing so, she demonstrated that she trusted me, that she believed that I would be able to figure something out .
"Shut… the f.u.c.k up… you oversized lizard . " I was only barely able to squeeze out my words between deep breaths . "You think… that a brain-damaged narcissist… like you suits her?Just how f.u.c.king… stuck up… can you be…?"
I had already used up all the potions I had stored in my thigh pouch, so I grabbed another out of my inventory and downed it .
The only reason I was still alive was because the autofellating freak kept allowing me to recover . It seemed he wanted to keep kicking me around in order to show Lefi my bad side and make an appeal with his strength . It was clear that he thought absolutely nothing of me . He didn"t see me as a threat, but rather a tool he could use to earn Lefi"s favour . Hah . Give it up, Moron . That ain"t going to get you nowhere . Lefi knows me . She knows every side of me . We spend the better part of every single day together . Do you seriously think something like this would make either of us flinch? Unlike you, we don"t spend our lives acting all self-righteous and pretending we"re more than who we really are .
"Your words mean little if you speak them whilst grovelling about," said the dragon . "Truly, your behaviour is appropriate for that of an insect . "
"Oh, shut… up already…" I rolled my eyes as I continued to groan . "And for your… information… there are some…strong a.s.s bugs… out there…"
Especially ants and bees . Those two are definitely some of this forest"s stronger monsters .
I used both arms to push myself off the ground before readying Zaien in order to confront s.h.i.+t for brains yet again . This time, however, it seemed he wasn"t going to be as patient as usual . I sensed an attack the moment I began getting to my feet .
There was no point raising my head just to take a look at the incoming strike . I didn"t bother . I simply dove forward and heard a loud roar as a jet black spear pa.s.sed through the s.p.a.ce my body had occupied only moments earlier . It was the dragon"s magic .
Though I had managed to dodge his first strike, I knew that it wasn"t yet over . Crisis detection"s alarm system was still blaring as loudly as it could . And then, a moment later, I found myself surrounded . Countless black spears had sp.a.w.ned around me . There was no escape . They covered literally every angle .
The moment my mind registered them was the moment they began moving . Each and every single one began flying straight at me .
I clicked my tongue as I rolled, twisted, and swung Zaien in order to avoid and parry the attacks . But there were too many . I couldn"t avoid all of them . Several dozen sc.r.a.ped past me and dug away at my flesh . Some hit their marks and found themselves in one end of my body and out the other .
A b.l.o.o.d.y cough escaped my throat . I had managed to avoid fatal damage, but my desperate defence was still far from a success . One of my legs had been struck in a really bad place . All the strength suddenly drained from it and caused me to fall to my knees .
s.h.i.+t-for-brains" tail closed in on me . I had taken too much damage; I couldn"t dodge it . My only choice was to raise Zaien and take the attack head-on . And so, I was once again sent tumbling through the air .
So heavy was the blow that it momentarily deprived me of my consciousness . Upon regaining it, I found myself with my back on the ground with my eyes turned up towards the sky . I realized that I had stopped breathing, so I took a deep breath and forced my lungs to take as much air as they could while my heart desperately pumped oxygen into my bloodstream .
Regaining consciousness meant regaining my sense of pain . There wasn"t a single part of me that didn"t hurt . My body burned . It burned so badly that I wanted to scream like a child as I writhed about on the ground . But I didn"t . I endured it with sheer willpower as I used my shaking hands to wrench the dragon"s spears out of my body . I couldn"t be bothered to drink another potion, so I crushed the one I grabbed out of my inventory and allowed the liquid to flow all over me instead .
"You truly are an insect . I do not see how any other sort of creature would continue to struggle after sustaining so many wounds . " f.u.c.kface sneered at me in a manner that showed just how lightly he was taking me .
It was annoying . And so, I responded .
With a laugh .
It was a deep, hearty laugh, one that seemed to make it appear as if I was enjoying the situation at hand . And as I cackled, I rose to my feet in a manner reminiscent of some sort of revenant .
Because I was finally ready to take him down . My preparations were finally complete .
"So you have finally lost your mind, I see?" Half-d.i.c.k looked at me with a face full of disdain . "So miserable you are that I no longer have any words to describe you . "
"Hey, douchebag . " My face warped into a huge, distorted grin as I spoke . "You might want to watch your feet . "
I raised a finger towards the floating menu panel that I had kept open this whole time and pressed a certain b.u.t.ton .
The moment I did was the moment the ground beneath the dragon vanished . Gravity pulled him downwards the moment he lost his footing; he fell right into the pit that had been dug underneath him . Inside the pit lay a countless number of sharpened stakes . Each was angled upwards, and each had its tip coated in a deadly poison .
"What!?" The a.s.shole shouted in confusion before flapping his wings and taking to the sky in an attempt to escape . Hook, line, and sinker, motherf.u.c.ker . What, you think I"m too blind to see your wings? Too bad, dips.h.i.+t . I"ve got you read like a book .
The sorry excuse for an intelligent lizard came into contact with a series of airborne traps the moment it tried to rise, traps I had spent extra DP on, just for him . They activated one after another and caused a series of explosions . In fact, so many of them had been triggered that the sky was filled with flame and smoke .
Only after the explosions died down did the smoke finally clear . And there, the dragon was, entirely covered from head to toe in soot and blood . Whew . I"m glad that worked . I probably would"ve wanted to cry if all that proved ineffective .
"How dare you!" roared Half-d.i.c.k . "How dare you employ tricks so cowardly in nature!"
"Heh…" I chuckled before twisting my face into a smirk . "I blew most of my DP just to beat your a.s.s . So do me a favour and enjoy the rest of the ride, alright?"
I had converted most of the stuff I got from Lefi"s home to DP and even went out to hunt monsters on a regular basis . I had done all of it in order to earn myself a pretty penny so I could summon all four of my new subordinates at once . But now, most of my cash had gone out the window . The reason? I had filled the entire area with traps whilst tanking the r.e.t.a.r.ded dragon"s attacks . Alright y"little braggart, time for me to learn you a few lessons on why the Geneva Conventions regulate landmines .
The area we were fighting in had basically turned into a giant deathtrap capable of instantly eradicating anything that wasn"t on the tier of a dragon . And that had been my goal this whole time .
I was facing something much stronger than me . I would have to be no different from the heroes of which legends were sung if I wished to win in a head-on confrontation . And while I was indeed the type of character that would show up in legends, I was no hero .
At the end of the day, I was just another ordinary guy . Or rather, an ordinary demon lord . I couldn"t possibly win against something so much more powerful than me without resorting to what others would label unfair . But that was fine . Because it was my dungeon, my world . As long as we fought within my territory, the rules were mine to make . If I wanted to win, then I would have to make use of that power and abuse my right as dungeon master to the fullest extent possible . I"m counting on you, dungeon old pal . I can"t lose here . Lend me every last bit of your power so I can pull all the underhanded bulls.h.i.+t I can possibly think of .
f.u.c.kface didn"t quite seem to enjoy taking a hit from someone he looked down on . His face contorted in rage, so I flashed him a provocative grin .
"Come at me, bro . It"s time for round two . "