Whoosh!
The yellow-scaled beast sprang, limbs exploding with force, leaping from a branch several meters above.
Life or death, in the blink of anli>
Li Qian's eyes flinching.
Perfect. You beast are testing the power I just gained.
Ha—!
A low growl from the chest, Li Qian did not retreat, inhaling, chest swelling before her eyes.
'Dragon Breath!!!'
Boom—!!!
A scalding, waterbarrel-thick crimson jet erupted from his open mouth.
The pillar of flame ballooned into a meter-wide fireball that searing heat evaporated the fog.
The yellow-scollector monster was completely swallowed before it could utter a sound.
A sharp screech erupted from the inferno as the monster writhed, turning into a rolling fireball.
Leon kept channeling mana to sustain the breath.
He felt the energy known as mana draining steadily.
The crimson flame roared.
The heat distorted the air.
The brittle trees burst into flames, turning the Withered Woods into a roaring inferno.
The monster's shriek finally fell silent after five or six seconds.
Leon closed his mouth, the last ember fading at his lips.
Only smoking remains, a charred corpse frozen in agony, the air rank with scorched flesh.
He waited, but the familiar life-filled dragon spirit did not appear—another disappointment.
The system said magic kills had a chance to yield a dragon spirit; today luck was not on his side.
A high-pitched scream of terror echoed from the hot spring.
Leon spun around and saw the girl, silver hair, startled by the blast and fire.
>She had thrown on a sage robe and was trying to flee but three scaly beasts blocked her path.
All larger and darker than the first one.
Their red eyes fixed on her as if her blood was a delicacy.
She pressed against a boulder, clutching a bone dagger, trembling, her amethyst eye wide with despair.
Leon weighed whether to intervene.
Caution is the rule in Valyria.
Could she be in league with them?
When he saw the beasts baring f*cking fangs at her, he decided.
She might be a Valyrian survivor, a source of information.Let me save her.
He stepped from the flames, sword dripping blood, scanning the three beasts and the girl.
I'm a lost explorer. Are you a Valyrian resident?">Her terror spiked at his appearance.
She shrank back, brushing a curtain of silver hair over the scaled, grotesque half of her face.">She didn't understand me, but showed no threat.
Leon decided to finish these monsters and quiz her later.
The three dark-green beasts, seeing this "prey" not only refuse to flee but actually step forward, were enraged.
Their scale-covered beast-faces twisted even more savagely, fangs bared as low growls rumbled in their throats.
Without any probing, the three monsters lunged at Leon from different directions at once.
Leon's eyes sharpened; instead of retreating he advanced, meeting them just as they were about to reach him.
The stench already washed over him when a searing, even more violent crimson Dragonflame erupted from his mouth.
The flames carried not only terrifying heat but also a powerful impact, sweeping out like an enraged fire dragon.
The two beasts in front were struck head-on, hurled by the fiery torrent and shockwave into burning withered trunks and instantly devoured by flame.
Their shrill, heart-rending howls tore through the air.
The third beast, a step slower, was caught by the flame's edge; half its body ignited and it rolled across the ground shrieking, soon silenced in the blaze, leaving three twisted, charred corpses reeking of scorched flesh.
Thick smoke billowed; firelight reflected off Leon's calm face and the girl's still-terrified violet eyes.
From the three scorched bodies, three cold, pure wisps of life-force quietly rose and instantly merged into Leon.
Delighted, Leon immediately sank his consciousness inward to sense the changes in bloodline and mana.
Dragon bloodline purity: 0.17%.
Mana: 554/1740.
Together with the 800 dragon spirit earned while "fighting side by side" with Gillian and the others, and the 300 just contributed by these three beasts, his bloodline purity had quietly risen to 0.17%.
At the same time his mana cap had reached 1,740.
Yet absorbing ambient mana from the environment was far slower than raising the cap through slaughtering for dragon spirit, leaving his current reserves still low.
Those two Dragon Flame Breaths in human form cost relatively little—only 1 point per second, totaling barely twenty-odd points—well within tolerance.
But his personal mana-regeneration rate was just too poor.
Leon frowned slightly.
The recovery was a mere trickle, nowhere near enough for graver dangers, let alone that costly ultimate skill.
He urgently needed a source that could restore mana quickly and in bulk; otherwise, with only a high cap but no "ammunition", he was little more than a lamb waiting for slaughter in these ruins.
Collecting himself, he turned to the girl.
She had calmed a little, but her crystalline violet left eye still held lingering fear and strong curiosity as she timidly watched him.
Leon softened his expression as much as possible and, speaking the Common Tongue of Westeros, said slowly, "Hello. My name is Leon, from the distant East, Yi Ti. I am... an explorer."
The girl blinked her lovely left eye; long silver-gold lashes fluttered like butterfly wings.
She clearly understood nothing and showed confusion.
She opened her mouth and spoke rapidly in a melodious, complex language, gesturing with both hands to convey her meaning.
It sounded mysterious and profound, utterly unlike the Common Tongue of Westeros or any tongue Leon had heard.
Leon spread his hands helplessly to show he could not understand.
In this danger-filled place, the language barrier became the greatest obstacle.
Seeing this, the girl seemed to make up her mind.
She stepped forward and, to Leon's mild surprise, reached out with her slim, fair yet faintly calloused hand and gently grasped his left hand.
Then, before he could react, she pressed his left hand lightly but firmly against her chest, right over her heart.
His palm met warm, soft smoothness; through the rough robe he could feel her heart beating fast and strong.
Two shy crimson clouds instantly flew to the girl's left cheek, like morning glow on snow.
She lifted her deep violet eyes, gazed at Leon, and parted her cherry lips to speak softly.
Her voice brushed his ear, carrying a strange power.
The moment her words entered his ears, her meaning surfaced in his mind like ripples on water, transcending language and directly imprinting understanding:
Through touch and intent I can speak with you. My name is Janice. Thank you for saving me.