While the death of the flood dragon seriously altered his original plans, it also proved to be a fortunate encounter. The flood dragon’s at was a significant addition, and with it, he could now actively hunt for the mythical creature, greatly improving his chances of capturing it. Overall, it had been a dangerous yet beneficial experience.
As Oliver remained lost in thought, the boat—or as he called it, the car—descended from the sky and landed beside him. The rear entrance opened, revealing Root, marker and paper in hand, his eyes sparkling as he surveyed their surroundings. Oliver noticed this and sighed. He took a deep breath, anticipating what was to co.
’Young Root is a... little.’
’...a little shit.’
Oliver thought to himself. Sadly, this assessnt was accurate. As a devoted fanboy, Root seed to care deeply about his idols, and even more sadly, Lin Yue appeared to be one of the well-liked ones.
’Anyway, he is a dependable little shit.’
Oliver shifted and walked toward the boat.
His imdiate priority was to secure the creature’s flesh. He entered the boat, retrieving an alloy sword and plastic bags from the rear storage area.
However, he then noticed two people lying inside the boat’s d bay: the injured elders from the Lin family. Oliver gave them a cursory glance and exited the boat. He had an idea as to why they were inside the boat.
’When the dragon’s body exploded, the lights montarily flickered off for a few seconds. Root must have picked them up during that ti.’
"This Root guy," Oliver muttered, returning to the dragon’s corpse.
He observed Root attempting to conceal the marker and paper, now standing beside the elder and Lin Yue.
Though Root had enthusiastically approached them, he was clearly too embarrassed to ask for an autograph. He slowly slipped the paper and marker into his back pocket, standing there with a forced smile. Even Oliver could sense the awkwardness radiating from him. He looked at the flustered youth with a smirk.
Then he walked up to them and asked, "Did you take out the dragon core?" His question was directed at both the elder and Lin Yue.
The elder shook his head.
"Then, allow to do so."
Oliver wasted no ti, climbing onto the dragon’s head and driving his alloy sword behind the skull. He then twisted it between the spine and the head, dislodging it entirely.
Pop!
The tough tendons and ligants popped and broke.
Thud!
The dragon’s head fell to the ground. The rest of the body spurted blood and slid down the tree it had been hanging from. Oliver jumped down to the ground to begin his task.
He focused on the skull, slicing away the flesh and scales covering the neck and jaw, separating it into two parts. Then, with practiced ease, he flipped over the skull and plunged his hand into the creature’s two-ter-wide mouth. Blood and charred flesh splashed onto his body as he felt around inside the mouth, searching for the soft spot that connected to the brain.
Those standing nearby looked at him with curiosity. Oliver displayed no emotion as he was bathed in dark blood. Finally, he located the spot above the throat and slashed open the fleshy mbrane. Now, without mana protecting it, Oliver could cut through it with minimal effort.
Once that was done, Oliver touched the blood and connected his senses, pinpointing the exact location of the dragon core. Thereafter, the process was effortless. He squeezed and moved the blood around the core until it shifted through the brain matter and ca within his grasp.
"Got it." Oliver plunged his arm in and grasped the hard object. It was smaller than a ping-pong ball, yet larger than a marble. The next second, he pulled it out.
It resembled a lightly glowing aquamarine crystal. He wiped the blood off and took a closer look. It was as beautiful as a gemstone.
’So this is a flood dragon’s core.’
The core in his hand was a priceless treasure, desired by everyone. If sold, it would fetch him millions of creds. If used, it could save a dying person’s life. It was an incredible elixir and a panacea. Most would never have a chance to see it, much less hold it in their hands. Oliver was excited.
But, as he was admiring the gem-like crystal, he felt a sudden, unmistakable urge to eat it. His eyes glazed over for a second, slowly lifting it toward his face. Lin Yue and the elder tensed, fearing the worst. But before they could react, Oliver shook his head and threw the precious gem toward them. His mind quickly regained clarity.
Oliver was shocked. He reeled from the shock and looked at his hand. He couldn’t understand why a ntal attack or sothing similar had affected him. Usually, he shrugged away ntal attacks as if they were nothing. Those who wished to harm him through ntal attacks never succeeded; it was so kind of inherent ability of his. And yet this attack had gotten through.
’Was it the dragon core?’
’Can it do that?’
He wondered. He had almost been chard into eating it. An uneasy feeling gripped his heart. Soon, he thought about what would have happened if he had eaten it. What would the Lin family and Lin Yue do? Obviously, they would beco his primary enemies. The consequences were dire.
Gulp.
It was a close call.
Though he didn’t fear retaliation, the fact that he was on the cusp of doing sothing he didn’t intend made him angry. His eyes focused and quickly regained clarity.
He turned to face the elder and Lin Yue. "We will discuss compensation and everything related at a later ti," he said slowly, concealing his frustration. Then he observed them.
Lin Yue was the first to react and caught the dragon core. The hood covering her face fluttered, revealing her beautiful, symtrical face and grayish-blue pupils. The breathtakingly beautiful woman held the crystal gently in her hand, wrapping her fingers around it to prevent it from falling. It was the elixir that could save her sister’s life. She couldn’t afford to make a mistake.
Carefully, she brought the dragon core closer to her body, intending to place it within her inner pocket, closest to her for maximum safety. But as she brought it nearer, Oliver noticed a minute change in her expression.
Her brows tightened into a frown. As if resisting sothing, her frown deepened. Just like Oliver, she too began to move the dragon core toward her face... toward her mouth.
’Again.’
Oliver could see everything clearly. But the elder and Root were behind her; they were unaware of what was happening.
Just as he had almost done, Lin Yue was also moving her hand to eat the dragon core. An irresistible will to consu the core seed to have materialized inside her, driving her to do sothing she never wanted. Instinctively, without even understanding what was happening, she was trying to resist this feeling.
As the core ca closer to her face, Lin Yue’s expression darkened. Her brows tightened, and her facial muscles froze. As he observed it, Oliver ca to a sudden realization.
’It’s not the core.’
His eyes focused on her body.
’There is a third party!’
The thought made him extrely cautious. Instantly, his body exploded forward, and he grabbed her hand. He shook her and said, "Don’t."
The sudden movent surprised the elder and Root. Both jumped forward and looked at them. Lin Yue’s graceful hand was caught by Oliver’s muscular, blood-covered hands. The deep red blood adhered to her porcelain-white, smooth skin, staining her body and clothes.
The elder panicked; he sprang into action.
Lin Yue was the pride of their family, their future leader, and one of the country’s best talents. He couldn’t allow her to be disgraced by this random youth. Fury blazed in his mind. Until now, he had been patient and tolerant. But Oliver grabbing her hand seed to have ignited a fuse in the kind old man’s heart.
His hands shot forward and grabbed Oliver’s hand, which was touching Lin Yue. Then he squeezed, sending mana into it. He intended to make Oliver pay for the transgression.
Snap!
A weird snapping sound rang out like a wake-up call.
Lin Yue was startled awake. Her focus returned to her eyes, and she saw what was happening around her. Imdiately, she grasped what had occurred.
"Ah!" she exclaid, gasping.
Root, although a great fan of Lin Yue, this ti stood with Oliver, grabbing the elder’s hand with his own, trying to separate them. But he was not strong enough to do so. His effort felt futile in front of the unshakable power of an A-ranker. His eyes grew dark as he heard more crackling and snapping sounds from Oliver’s hand.
The snap they heard was the sound of bones shattering in Oliver’s forearm. After the intense battle, he had no mana left to defend against the attack. Thus, both the ulna and radius bones of his forearm had shattered when the elder squeezed.
Even the elder seed surprised by how effortlessly he had shattered the young man’s bones. He had thought Oliver was higher ranked since he could fight against the dragon. Still, he remained in shock and wore a grim expression, staring at Oliver while ignoring Root.
anwhile, Oliver paid no attention to his broken bones or Lin Yue. His focus was on what he should do next. There was unmistakably a third party involved in the situation. Thus, he had to be cautious. Should he reveal he knew of their existence, or should he play dumb? Two questions popped into his mind.
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