Raine was initially stunned by the bewildered expression and strange words of the sword and shield knight before him, but suddenly, a flash of insight struck him.
Like lightning piercing through the dark fog, Raine immediately understood some things.
The opponent just said, "How is it you?", implying he must have just seen the Hernet familyās guard captain.
And itās certain that this encounter must have happened just before Raine killed the Black Dragon.
After all, even if it was a few hours before, seeing Raine again wouldnāt warrant such an expression and tone.
This fits perfectly!
No wonder Black Dragon Soron Nairtus didnāt have the Urein Empireās elite chasing him afterwards!
Thereās a reason for that, itās very likely that the pursuit led by the Hernet familyās guard captain by the Drow Elf somehow went ahead and happened to meet the Urein Empire squad hunting the Black Dragon, and thus a battle ensued.
Although the details might differ, this is the general situation!
And because of this, Raine had the opportunity to strike down the Black Dragon.
Thinking of this, Raine couldnāt help but laugh wryly.
Unexpectedly, the pursuit by the Hernet family turned out to be his blessing, allowing him to obtain the Black Dragonās bloodline.
Otherwise, facing nearly two digits of Transcendents, plus tens or even hundreds of Advanced Classes from the Urein Empire legion chasing the Black Dragon, he would probably choose not to expose himself and naturally wouldnāt have had the chance to pick up any spoils.
Raineās thoughts were swirling, but the motion of his Warhammer didnāt slow down a bit.
"Clang!!"
Hammer and Shield clashed!
As sparks flew, the mid-level Transcendent legion adjutant was forcibly pushed back by Raineās full-force blow.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
The entire figure retreated three steps, barely steadying themselves.
"Wait, somethingās wrong, your weapon!"
The deputyās gaze suddenly fixed on Raineās weapon, as if realizing something, and thinking of the hammer-sized hole in the Black Dragonās head, an almost factual truth emerged.
"Youāre not that Drow! Who exactly are you?"
Given that the opponent had seven people, even though Raine had incapacitated one at the start, there were still six opponents.
So when Raine repelled the legion deputy, two black streaks shot toward Raine like lightning, accompanied by sharp āwhizzā sounds.
Raineās steel boots struck the ground, his waist exerted force, his figure flashed, and a serrated arrow brushed past his waist, nearly fully embedding into the ground, leaving only a small portion of the tail quivering;
While the other arrow was deflected with a āclangā by the protector in Raineās hand.
At this moment, the protectorās special effect activatedāRaine became surrounded by a circle of milky white light.
The Urein Empireās elite cooperated very smoothly, Raine took only two steps before feeling wind at the back of his head!
A quick glance.
The Empire elite holding a dagger was launching an attack from behind, leaping forward with a poisoned dagger stabbing toward Raineās back.
Meanwhile, the only Empire elite wearing a white robe with a scepter was enveloped in a dense sphere of milky white energy, muttering chants that were nearing completion.
Though not everyone was a Transcendent, the combined combat power in Raineās eyes was no less than a five-person silver-level adventurer squad.
Suddenly, the priestās chanting stopped abruptly.
This unexpected change naturally attracted the attention of the other Urein Empire members, and they saw a sword tip protruding from the priestās throat, with a slender figure unexpectedly standing behind, holding a special Drow Elf curved sword.
"Damn it! Nathan!!"
"Damn it, heās not alone!"
The Urein Empire elite on site now had chills up their spine.
It wasnāt merely Meredithās appearance that directly crushed their fighting spirit, but her presence raised the concernāāIf thereās a second person, could there be a third?ā
Meredithās timing was excellently grasped, while Raine praised internally and seized the opportunity, sidestepping deftly, and with a mighty swing of the protector!
"Boom!!"
With the reinforcement of Second-stage Gigantification, the heavy blow unleashed invisible shockwaves that enveloped the remaining five from the Urein Empire.
Though for the mid-level Transcendent deputy and the sword and shield knight, this shockwave could only cause brief delays, it was enough for Raine to unleash further magic attacks!
Raine seized the moment, swinging his right hand with the Warhammer, and suddenly dozens of thick, meter-long giant arrows made of dark green liquid appeared before him.
Seeing this familiar magic, which not long ago the Black Dragon used during the siege, the legion deputy cried out: "Mass Acid Arrows!"
"Impossible, how could the spellcasting speed be so fast?"
Other Empire elites also had their pupils shrink, their figures dodging to the sides!
They were present during the siege of the Black Dragon, clearly aware of the spellās devastating effect on those wielding metal weapons and wearing metal plate armor!
Neither shields nor weapons could block it, the only option was to dodge.
Following Raineās right hand swing, the dense acid arrows surged toward the Empire squad like shrapnel from an exploding bomb.
Yet such distance;
This density;
This speed;
The result was, not a single Empire elite, not even the mid-level Transcendent legion deputy could completely dodge the acid arrows!
"Bang! Bang!"
And it is essential to highlight that the power of the acid arrow, after being enhanced by the Black Dragonās Bloodline Talent āAcid Monarch Lv3ā, far surpasses that of a normal acid arrow spell.
Any acid arrow, upon hitting its target, will explode instantly, forming a mist of tiny acid droplets, which means the impact range is further expanded.
Although not every acid arrow hit the target, among the five present, four of them got hit by at least three acid arrows each.
Moreover, the exploded acid is a toxic liquid comparable to aqua regia in corrosiveness.
"Ah! Ah!"
Two unlucky ones got acid in their eyes, and screamed miserably while covering them, and the Imperial elite holding a dagger had his facial skin corroded, emitting sizzling white smoke, and screamed loudly!
The only ones lightly injured were the adjutant and another Sword and Shield Knight.
Although their shields were corroded and full of pits, and their plate armor was melted into honeycomb-like holes, they were overall unharmed.
"Retreat quickly!!"
"Signal flare!" the adjutant shouted.
The Sword and Shield Knight immediately turned around, swiftly threw away his shield, and took out something from his pocket. However, beside him, gray sword light flashed ā it was Meredithās lunge with the thrusting sword.
The adjutant who intended to stay a moment to resist had his pupils constrict instantly and his face changed dramatically, seeing a large area of freezing frost mist rushing towards them reflected in his eyes.
"Frost Magic!!"
Raine was casting the āFreezing Windā from the White Dragon, and this battle was his first attempt at alternating the monster skills of the White Dragon and the Black Dragon.
Masses of white ice crystals rapidly condensed and crawled on the steel boots of every Urein Empire elite, as if white vines were growing crazily.
And so, the subsequent battle was without suspense!
"Ice Blade Strike!"
The adjutant unwillingly widened his eyes, stared at Raine, with his forehead pierced by a sharp ice spike as thick as his arm!
Although he exerted all his strength, gripping his one-handed sword tightly, and blocked Raineās warhammer, he completely didnāt expect an ice spike to shoot out from the head of the hammer.
Raine maintained the hammer swinging posture for several seconds without moving, as his mind was flooded with insights into āIce Blade Strikeā.
Then, a refined aura spread from his body to the surrounding.
"Level 7 Classes?!"
Raine showed a smile of surprise, simultaneously diverting some attention to the attribute panel:
....
[Power: 17 (+16)]
[agility: 12 (+12)]
[Constitution: 16 (+16)]
[Intelligence: 24 (+6)]
[Perception: 11 (+1)]
[Charm: 10]
...
As before, Power and Constitution increased by one point, Intelligence increased by two points.
Additionally, with the āAdult Black Dragon Bloodlineā enhancement, Raineās Intelligence attribute surpassed 30 for the first time!
āIt seems using Sixth Level Spells twice in battle will not be a big problem afterward, and handling Fifth Level Spells will be even more at ease.ā
Previously, Raine rarely used Sixth Level Spells, even if he did, he would use them at the decisive moment, as earlier he could only use Sixth Level Spells once given his spiritual power.
But now, with Intelligence breaking through 30, the entire situation has significantly improved.
Suddenly, just as Raine advanced to Level 7, a bright red signal flare with a long tail flame was fired into the sky and exploded, from the hand of an Empire elite who was already dying and nearly frozen into an ice statue!
A cluster of clear red fireworks instantly illuminated the dark surroundings.
"Iām sorry." At this moment, Meredith, who had just finished off the injured Sword and Shield Knight, said apologetically to Raine, arriving by his side.
"Itās not your fault, their fighting spirit is strong." Raine glanced at the signal flare in the sky, still emitting dazzling red light as it slowly descended, and waved his hand.
It was his first confrontation with the humanās first powerful nation, the Urein Empire, and their fighting spirit, tactical skills, and the coordination left a profound impression on him.
"The signal flare will immediately attract the Empireās people. Should we retreat towards Eres City direction or take the secret path?" Meredith similarly glanced at the signal flare in the sky and then turned to Raine to seek his opinion.
"The secret path!"
With a quick thought, Raine made a decision.
He made this decision because he already knew that the Hernet Family had somehow gotten ahead of them and arrived in front of them; if there were no conflict with the Urein Empire, they might have collided head-on.
Therefore, from this perspective, returning to Eres might not be a good idea, as he didnāt know whether the opposite side had only one team of pursuers or two teams attacking from both front and rear, nor did he know the pursuersā strength level.
Moreover, since the area below was forbidden ground occupied by eye demons of near-legendary level, in the eyes of these creatures, Raineās āsmall squadā of only two people evidently lacked the numerical allure compared to the numerous pursuers from the Hernet Family or the Empireās elite.
Although it sounds like āescaping the wolfās mouth only to enter the tigerās denā, honestly, Raineās current strength has greatly enhanced compared to before coming to the Underdark.
Strangely, hearing the opposite side is not legendary, Raine felt little tension.
"Hmm! Iāll lead the way, shall we go?" Meredith nodded, without raising any objection.
"Alright!"
...