“Let’s go to the small plaza below the Mage Tower. Today, I’ll show you all what magic really means.”
Seeing Li De clearly in high spirits, Emi looked curiously at Harrison and Grote behind him, raising a questioning eyebrow.
Harrison shrugged, he didn’t know either. Grote also shook his head with an expression that said, No clue.
But seeing how enthusiastic Li De was, the three of them cooperated without hesitation.
They exited the Mage Tower and stepped onto the small plaza in front of the main tower, over 200 Blades in both length and width. Li De looked back and forth between Emi and Grote, then motioned for Grote to step forward.
He had originally planned to test on Emi, but now that this more brutally offensive warrior was present, he wasn’t going to hold back.
“Grote, attack me with full strength.”
With a wave of his hand, Li De cast a spell in just 0.3 seconds. A magic shield resembling dragon scales formed around him, layering piece by piece, hovering about half a Blade from his body and completely covering him from head to toe.
At his sudden command, the others wore strange expressions. Attack you?
Your Majesty, you’re our lord and master, do we dare lay a hand on you?
Grote opened his mouth, then shut it. The massive man spoke nervously, “Your Majesty, maybe… someone else should do it?”
He didn’t dare attack Li De. The loyalty embedded in his bloodline and soul made it impossible for him to draw his sword on Li De.
Li De waved impatiently. Finally finding the perfect test subject and now he’s too scared to act?
“Cut the crap. You won’t hurt me. Grote, as a vampire and a former Son of the North, do you lack even the courage to draw your sword against me?”
Grote shook his head furiously, like a rattle drum. He answered simply and firmly, “No.”
Li De’s face twitched. So much for all those compliments...
“Obey my order!”
He was done being polite and issued the command directly.
“As you command, Your Majesty.”
Seeing that Li De wasn’t going to argue and had given a direct order, Grote had no choice but to grit his teeth and pull down the greatsword from his back.
As a warrior of the North, his weapon was as important as his life. Being without a weapon made him feel more exposed than walking outside naked. So no matter where he went, Grote always carried his greatsword and wore armor.
In that sense, he was no different from Betty, the northern valkyrie. That wild northern royal never once let go of her sword. Li De even suspected she bathed and peed with it. The mental image was hard to recover from.
“Let’s begin. Use your full power.”
Li De’s eyes gleamed with anticipation.
Dragonscale Shield, this was a super spell that had been developed with endless effort. Crimson Moon had entire teams working in three shifts around the clock, using supercomputers performing trillions of calculations per second to simulate and analyze countless possibilities. After countless failures in personal trials, he had finally succeeded in improving it.
Even the system had rated it a perfect, high-grade spell.
Now, he wanted to see if the fruit of his blood and sweat would perform as expected against this Level 16 northern warrior.
With the greatsword in hand, Grote’s presence turned icy in an instant.
Northern warriors, fearless, unyielding!
These powerful warriors, brave enough to charge at dragons, never took a step back from any enemy.
After becoming a vampire, Grote’s northern bloodline merged with the vampire bloodline to form the Fearless Bloodline, further boosting his strength. But at the same time, the courage rooted in his heart as a northern warrior had not faded.
This was a pure warrior. A warrior who, despite his fear, now stood ready to challenge Li De.
“Hurry up, stop dawdling,” Li De snapped when he saw Grote still hesitating. “Grote, don’t let the fear in your heart become the demon that stops your charge.
Now, draw your sword!!!!”
Don’t let the fear in your heart become the demon that stops your charge!
Grote’s conflicted face suddenly froze. It was as if something clicked within him. The fog in his mind was swept away. Dormant strength stirred to life as a fierce light surged in his eyes. His aura exploded.
The air around them seemed to solidify into mercury.
His eyes flashed with solemn determination.
“My master… Grote shall face your greatness head-on!”
Fearless. Unyielding!
Once hailed as a potential Legend among the Sons of the North, now a second-generation vampire, Grote drew his sword not only against his master, but against the fear in his own heart.
His body, coiled like a tightly compressed spring, burst forth in a ferocious charge. The 50-Blade distance closed in the blink of an eye.
Li De didn’t move at all. He simply stood there, facing Grote directly as the greatsword came crashing down.
At the exact moment Grote closed in, Li De channeled his mana frantically into the Dragonscale Shield’s magic model.
The once-transparent shield took on a faint holy glow. The dragon-scale-like plates of the shield seemed to become tangible, interlocking tightly with one another.
Anyone witnessing it could feel the unbreakable solidity radiating from it.
Dragonscale Shield (Extreme Enhancement): Summons a shield to block damage. Shield strength is determined by mana input. Casting time is 0.3 seconds. Minimum mana cost: 40. To raise the shield to peak strength, mana is consumed at 50 points per second.
Very simple attributes, but only Li De knew how powerful they truly were. The improved Dragonscale Shield had five times the strength of an ordinary Mage Shield, and when pushed to the extreme, it reached twenty times the strength.
This was a shield that was virtually indestructible.
And at that moment, Grote had already reached him.
The greatsword in his hands, three palms wide and one palm thick, gleamed with a chilling light.
Zzzrra!
The sword slashed down toward Li De’s shoulder with ferocious momentum. Just as Grote thought the shield would be cleaved apart in one blow…
Zzzrra!
Sparks flew.
It was like striking a thick, solid barrier. His greatsword was instantly repelled, the violent recoil throwing his body off balance. If it weren’t for his immense control, the Son of the North might’ve been sent tumbling.
Suppressing his shock, Grote quickly retreated from Li De’s side, disbelief flickering in his eyes.