Chapter 344: Continuous HP Loss Anomaly, Greater Healing
So weak.
No matter how she looked at her, the village girl named Enri before her couldn't compare to an elite soldier of the Theocracy.
Clementine lifted her chin, her golden bangs covering half of her narrow eyes. Her desire for "romance" had fizzled out.
She herself had feigned being knocked away by the Alliance Leader to escape the battlefield, so she hadn't seen it with her own eyes. She could only learn the full story from others.
"Terrifying," "Miraculous."
Thinking of these two words used to describe her opponent, the corners of Clementine's mouth turned up as she offered a greeting, "Hi, little Enri."
It wasn't a magic item.
It was likely some powerful innate ability. Could it be used normally?
Or was it only triggered when in a perilous situation?
The smile on Clementine's fair face grew wider. She knew that some special innate abilities had restrictions on their use, which even the user might not be aware of.
Historically, there was once a holder of a special innate ability in the Theocracy, a rare case where it only triggered after death.
"Lady Clementine."
Faced with Clementine's smiling greeting, Enri felt an inexplicable chill run down her back and responded with a tense expression.
Captain Ian took a step forward, blocking their line of sight, and coughed lightly. "Ahem, we're troubling you, Enri."
Along the way.
Enri rode an Evil Spirit Hound, leading the way.
The ten-person squad from the Slane Theocracy followed behind. Captain Ian silently observed the environment they passed through, growing more alarmed the more he saw.
They encountered quite a few demi-humans along the way.
According to the previous situation in the hills, the various demi-human tribes were in a chaotic state of hostility or mutual non-interference.
But now, one could see patrol teams composed of multiple types of demi-humans. The chaos caused by the undead had inflicted heavy losses on the demi-humans of the hills.
Yet it had also forged the different races together.
Captain Ian's heart grew heavy. He felt he needed to report these observations to the Cardinal upon returning to the Theocracy.
What shocked him the most was Enri up ahead!
No matter what demi-human race they encountered, all the demi-humans' attitudes towards the human… no, towards Enri, were extremely friendly, even respectful.
If not for the fact that he could still clearly sense the demi-humans' obvious hostility towards his group—a hostility not directed at Enri—he would have suspected they had come to the wrong place.
"How long has it been?"
"Has the fame and power of the Free Will Adventurer Team in the Abelion Hills already reached such a level?"
"How did this adventurer team manage it?"
From this one detail, he could grasp the bigger picture.
Captain Ian's brow furrowed deeply. No matter how incredible it seemed, he could sense the position of "Free Will" in these hills from the way the demi-humans treated Enri.
Deep in the Southern Mountain Range.
The golden giant dragon twisted its long, golden-scaled neck strangely, its sky-piercing wings beating in a highly uncoordinated manner.
The thick tree trunks and shrubs in the surrounding valley were easily bent and broken by the gales produced by the careless flaps of its wings.
Rumble—
A terrifying shockwave swept out, battering the forests in all directions. A sea of leaves churned up and down, and the canopies were constantly torn and smashed together!
A sky full of shattered green leaves fluttered about, striking the valley and creating muffled echoes!
Boom!
The golden giant dragon suddenly flipped in mid-air, crashing sideways into the ground with a roar, then immediately soared up again, only to plummet once more.
Boom!
Crash!
After a series of seemingly out-of-control movements, the golden giant dragon finally seemed to regain control of its body and stabilize.
"Roar—Gack..."
The golden giant dragon suddenly stretched its neck, opened its mouth full of cold, sharp teeth, and its abdomen and throat convulsed as it made a retching sound.
*Splat.*
The dragon-man Ladon was spat out from the golden giant dragon's mouth. He fell heavily to the ground, unconscious and weak.
On his chest.
Blood continuously seeped from a gaping wound. The [Heart of the True Dragon Lord] emitted a dark golden light.
The silver, spider-like pattern and magic script on the heart's surface had grown much dimmer with its beating.
At this moment.
The golden giant dragon suspended in mid-air also began to shrink, though not in the same way as when it would cancel its transformation.
It was more like a punctured balloon.
The sharp, golden scales became brittle, the membranes of its wings crumpled like paper, and its massive body rapidly shriveled.
In just a moment.
Thump!
The golden giant dragon had already shrunk by half. Its body could no longer maintain flight, and it crashed to the ground, continuing to shrink.
"This is the influence of the [Heart of the True Dragon Lord]!"
"Dammit—Cough, cough!"
The shriveled dragon's body opened its mouth and let out a weak voice.
The next moment.
The draconic body uncontrollably collapsed.
Tang Zheng's figure was revealed. He coughed up blood ceaselessly, and the vigorous aura around his body began to weaken at an astonishing rate.
[HP: 621]
[HP: 603]
[HP: 587]
[...]
[HP: 321]
In just a few moments, his HP had dropped to less than half.
"Sixth-Tier Magic: Greater Healing!"
Tang Zheng's face was pale. He could clearly feel his life force draining away rapidly, as if vanishing into thin air.
His HP was immediately restored by 100 points!
The third-tier spell, "Major Wound Healing," could restore 50 HP, and while "Greater Healing" was sixth-tier, it only restored 100 points. This was already the highest tier of restorative magic.
Positive energy could restore the stamina of the living, while negative energy could restore the stamina of the undead. This was the same level of magic as "Greater Lethal," which the Bone King and Shalltear had used to restore their HP during their battle.
A holy white light enveloped his entire body.
Tang Zheng's body relaxed, and a bit of color returned to his pale face. However, he could still feel that his continuously falling HP showed no sign of stopping.
"Greater Healing!"
"Greater Healing!"
"Greater Healing!"
As he cast the healing spell, the amount of healing gradually surpassed the amount of continuous HP loss.
"What in the world is going on?"
Tang Zheng reached up to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, his pale face extremely grim. While keeping an eye on his status panel, he continued to cast healing spells.
"After I fed the 'Blend Potion' to Ladon, it seems I accidentally triggered the [Heart of the True Dragon Lord], and we transformed into the golden giant dragon together."
Tang Zheng's eyes flickered as he recalled the entire process.
The moment he became a giant dragon, he felt an intense rejection, even stronger than the repulsion he felt when controlling the Dominion Authority.
But in the end, it was Ladon who was rejected, not him. He himself had actually maintained the form of the golden giant dragon.
"For this to happen, it can only be the effect of the [Heart of the True Dragon Lord]."
"However, after rejecting Ladon, I was still able to briefly maintain the form of the golden giant dragon. My own power must have been what sustained that change..."
As Tang Zheng gradually sorted through the entire process, his eyes suddenly widened in shock.
"—This is!"
During the process of continuously losing HP and casting "Greater Healing" to restore it, Tang Zheng gradually felt a subtle change in his own aura. It was a state of instability in his life level.
This feeling was both familiar and strange!
He had only felt it from two other people: one was Leinas before she truly took the job class of [Cursed Knight], and the other was Enri, before she took the job class of [Hero·Follower].
Tang Zheng closed his eyes, carefully trying to perceive it.
What a pity!
Before he could grasp that feeling, the state of continuous HP loss disappeared.
"What was the cause of the continuous HP loss?"
Tang Zheng reopened his eyes, not at all disappointed, but rather pondering the reason for that state's appearance.
"Let's experiment one more time!"
Tang Zheng had no immediate answer. He glanced at the unconscious Ladon not far away and silently cast a spell:
"Greater Healing!"
He'd better get his HP back to full first.
It was a good thing his HP was high enough; otherwise, with that terrifying rate of HP loss, he might have bottomed out in an instant.
A few moments later.
The ruddy color returned to Tang Zheng's pale face. He shook his head. "I never thought the first time I'd use 'Greater Healing' would be here."
In combat, restorative magic wasn't actually very suitable for use because magic requires casting time.
Unless both sides pulled away from each other at the same time to use healing spells.
Otherwise, if one person used restorative magic while the other used attack magic, the spellcaster using the restorative magic would inevitably be at a disadvantage.
This reminded Tang Zheng of playing turn-based games in the past, that kind of behavior that wasted potions. For every bit you healed, the enemy would just knock off the HP you recovered...
Crack—Rumble!
The sound of a thunderclap suddenly came from above.
Tang Zheng turned his head and looked at the sky in the distance, where a patch of dark clouds had gathered in a short amount of time.
"Hm? Did something happen?"
Pausing his thoughts of further experimentation, Tang Zheng remembered that he had previously instructed the lizardman, Crusch Lulu, to use "Cloud Manipulation" to notify him if anything unmanageable occurred.
"I hope it really is something you can't handle."
Tang Zheng thought with some annoyance, having just had some ideas interrupted.
At this moment.
The dim yellow sun was setting; it was already approaching dusk.
Inside the strange black castle.
The Green Leaf Witch sat very calmly and naturally at the round table in the great hall. On the table was a pot of black tea, still steaming slightly.
The demi-humans here did not have the human habit of drinking black tea.
But the Green Leaf Witch was very fond of the taste of black tea. The first time she had tasted it was in the palace of that very beautiful human princess in the Kingdom, and she had loved the deep red human beverage ever since.
"The taste will be much worse once it cools down."
The Green Leaf Witch saw that the cups of black tea placed before the several humans had not been touched, and a trace of dissatisfaction entered her tone.
"Thank you for your hospitality. May I ask when we will be able to see Lord Tang?"
Captain Ian spoke gently, maintaining his etiquette, but he never touched the black tea on the table.
He didn't think the other party would use poison, but he wouldn't casually drink something from a demi-human either. This was, after all, the heartland of the hills; he had to be on guard against any accidents or dangers.
"Our captain often forgets the time when he's researching potions. I've already sent someone to inform him. As for when our captain will see you?"
The Green Leaf Witch's voice paused here, and she shrugged.
At these words.
The expressions of the people from the Slane Theocracy turned somewhat sour.
"Could you please inform us of Leader Tang's location? I would like to pay him a personal visit."
Captain Ian maintained his smile and spoke solemnly again, "It's because I have an important matter that requires a personal meeting with Leader Tang."
"My apologies."
The Green Leaf Witch said faintly.
"Heh." Clementine suddenly let out a cold laugh, about to stand up.
This movement.
It made Captain Ian's expression change, and the Green Leaf Witch's eyes grew heavy as well.
She was well aware of this madwoman's strength.
"Oh?"
"So it is the esteemed members of the Slane Theocracy." Just then, a faint voice came from the stairs.
Captain Ian and the others quickly turned their heads and saw Tang Zheng standing on the staircase.
"This demi-human woman...!" Captain Ian's mouth twitched fiercely.
From what the Green Leaf Witch had just said, Leader Tang wasn't here at all, but unexpectedly, he was just upstairs.
"Captain," the Green Leaf Witch quickly stood up and spoke respectfully.
"Leader Tang, I am Ian, and I am..."
Captain Ian also stood up, trying his best to appear friendly as he began to introduce himself.
"No need for introductions. Just state your purpose. I'm rather busy." Tang Zheng waved his hand from the stairs, showing no intention of coming down.
"How rude," one of the accompanying members of the Sunlight Scripture muttered under his breath.
"I am here on behalf of the Slane Theocracy to invite Your Excellency's Free Will Adventurer Team as guests to the Divine Capital." Captain Ian's expression didn't change as he smiled, placed a hand on his chest, and bowed slightly.
For a nation to extend an invitation to an adventurer team, even an adamantite-rank one, was an event that would bring any adventurer great honor.
"Purpose," Tang Zheng said, leaning on the stair railing, a glint in his eyes.
The moment he saw the people from the Slane Theocracy, he had already guessed they had come for the "Blend Potion." However, he didn't recall ever giving the potion to anyone from the Theocracy.
And now, almost a month had passed before the people from the Theocracy arrived. They must have already completed their research on the "Blend Potion."
That was fast.
As expected of the power of a nation. Even he, the creator, had not fully figured out all the effects of the "Blend Potion."
"It concerns an alchemical potion crafted by Leader Tang called the 'Blend Potion.' Perhaps Leader Tang is not yet aware of this potion's true value..."
Captain Ian's voice grew excited.
"I don't recall ever giving this potion to the Slane Theocracy."
Captain Ian was abruptly cut off, the smile on his face stiffening slightly.
"If you want to make a transaction for the 'Blend Potion,' you can discuss it with Cuiye."
Tang Zheng waved his arm nonchalantly, then said to the Green Leaf Witch, "You, come up here."
"Yes."
After speaking, Tang Zheng turned and went back upstairs, giving the members of the Slane Theocracy no opportunity to speak further.
The Green Leaf Witch followed him up.
For a moment in the great hall,
Only the few people from the Slane Theocracy were left, standing rigidly in place.
"What an irritating little boy," Clementine sneered.
(end of chapter)