"Captain, what's going on here?" Lorry whispered to Draven. A thin smile flickered over Draven's face. "Looks like the Dark Magician there is in a bit of a dispute with the group over there. Let's stay and watch. No point for us to get involved." A sixth-rank warrior like Draven knew not to be stupid and fight such an opponent. The Dragon King alone was beyond his ability, let alone this mysterious magus. That seven-man party facing the magus was also very strong. There were five warriors and two magi. Their leader was a red-haired muscular man with flowing, unkempt locks, who rode on top of a grotesque black iron bull. The black horns were sheeny, ominous in glow, and the blood-red eyes that identified it as a "Vampiric Iron Bull," a fifth-ranked magical beast.
The bull snorted, smoke issuing from its nostrils.
There were four men and three women in this party. Among them were magi who happened to be women; one of the women was even an archer. They even had a large griffin, ranked fourth-rank magical beast, floating midair. This griffin had the head of a lion and strong wings, further showing how good these party resources were.
" the magus on the Dragon King said icily. "Lord magus, we do not want to go against you, but we consumed a tremendous amount of our time and effort to obtain this diamond which is worth more than a hundred thousand gold coins. Your offer of seven hundred is too ridiculous to accept, " the red-haired leader spoke seriously.
It wasn't until Renji stood next to Draven that he finally realized the magus was trying to sell well below the price of the Shadowstone Diamond. "The diamond has to be worth a lot if he's this desperate to get it," Renji thought with a shock as he realized how low the price being offered really was against its actual worth in money.
His expression turned colder as the magus replied, "I only have seven hundred gold coins. If you don't accept, then not only will you not get the gold but you'll also lose your lives." The Dragon King growled lightly, causing tremors that made the houses nearby shake a little.
"We gambled our lives for this diamond. We're not about to let it go that easily," the woman in black said with spirit. This party was composed of battle-hardened adventurers. Intimidation wouldn't work on them. Thus, the red-haired leader attempted to use his background to sway the magus. "I hail from the Cayley clan of the Solara Kingdom…"
But strong magi didn't always attach much importance to noble bloodline. "You have chosen death," sneered the magus.
"Be prepared." The party of seven readied themselves. First, the four warriors stepped forward; next, the archer nocked her arrow in her bow; then the two magi began chanting spells. Streamers of flame spewed from the Dragon King's maw to weld and shatter the stone road, leaving it scorched black.
"Be careful," the red-haired leader warned as his body covered in red battle-qi. He turned on the rest of his warriors' battle-qi, drew a huge claymore, and hacked violently into a stone wall nearby, making an uproar that shook rocks and dust loose.
The battle-qi which the four men invested in their defense repelled the flames of the Dragon King. The red-haired leader bent to the ground and grasped a large rock, which he threw at the magus; all the other warriors followed suit. All the rocks moved through the air, impelled with force and might, but the magus himself remained completely unharmed when the Dragon King's tail started destroying everything around, easily crushing buildings with brute force.
The Dragon King swept his tail across stone houses that seemed to be made of clay, with debris flying to cover everything in dust. But through it all, the two magi chanted their spells—the incantations in some language, unfamiliar and intricate. Soon, they completed the spells.
"Icy Shield Barrier!" they cast as one, and the four warriors were clad in shining crystal armor. Bolstered by this, the leader with the red hair ordered, "Attack!" Another shower of stones, and the charging warriors closed the distance to the magus-not deterred one bit as the Dragon King came into view.