All Chapters of Wielder Of The Dragon Flame : Chapter 171
- Chapter 180
451 chapters
Chapter 171
They quickly gathered up the dice and coins, stuffing them into pockets, and arranged themselves in proper guard positions on either side of the dungeon entrance. Backs straight, weapons visible but not drawn, expressions neutral and alert.The flame horse carriage grew larger as it approached, the magnificent beasts that pulled it clearly visible now,their manes of actual fire streaming behind them, their obsidian bodies gleaming in the late afternoon light. The carriage itself was well-maintained, official-looking, bearing markings that suggested it came from the main facility."Reinforcements are here." The scarred guard muttered to his companion, trying to sound certain even though he had no idea if that was actually true.The horses began to descend, spiraling down in a controlled pattern that spoke of expert handling. Their hooves touched the ground about fifty yards from the dungeon entrance, and the carriage settled gently onto the earth with barely a bounce.For a moment,
Chapter 172
Asta and Jabber stood frozen at the entrance, the massive archway looming over them like the mouth of some ancient beast. The heat pouring out of the darkness made the air shimmer and warp, distorting their view of what lay beyond the threshold. Neither of them moved, both caught in whatever sensation had gripped them when they'd first approached.Asta's hands had clenched into fists at his sides, and his jaw was tight with tension. When he finally spoke, his voice carried a strange quality,part confusion, part recognition, part something else he couldn't quite name."Inside of me..." He paused, struggling to articulate what he was experiencing. "It's like something inside me is wanting me to go in there. Wanting me to march straight into that darkness and kill whatever dangerous thing is waiting down there."His eyes remained fixed on the dungeon entrance, and there was something almost hungry in his expression now. Not his own hunger,something borrowed, something that didn't quite
Chapter173
"Uh-huh." Asta said, trying very hard not to laugh. "Very restrained. That's exactly the word I'd use.""It is!" Mira insisted, though she was grinning again. "Flora had to stop me from breaking the shorter one's nose. So see? Restraint."Flora let out a long-suffering sigh, then seemed to shake off the entire incident. She reached into the pack she'd been carrying and pulled out several rolled-up scrolls, each one bound with ribbon in different colors."Alright, before we actually go into the dungeon and probably die, old man Kael wanted me to give you these." She held out the scrolls, sorting through them. "Flame technique scrolls for Jabber and Mira, and a sword technique scroll for Asta."She distributed them accordingly,handing a red-ribboned scroll to Mira, a blue one to Jabber, and a silver one to Asta. Each scroll was made of aged parchment that felt delicate under their fingers, and the ribbon bindings showed signs of having been tied and untied many times over the year
Chapter 174
Mira muttered, but she was already reading through the activation phrases for her techniques, clearly memorizing them."Agreed." Asta said, rolling his scroll back up carefully. "But if that's what it takes to not die in a dungeon, I guess I can deal with saying some fancy words before stabbing things."Mira finished reading her scroll and rolled it up with a satisfied smile. "All done. Can't wait to try these out. Hopefully on something that deserves to be burned rather than on practice dummies.""I'll look into mine as we walk." Asta said, tucking his scroll into his belt. "Figure out which techniques might be most useful for tight corridor fighting."Flora nodded approvingly, then reached into her pack again and pulled out four torches,long wooden handles with oil-soaked wrapping at the ends. She held up one hand, and a small flame sparked to life at her fingertip. One by one, she touched the flame to each torch, lighting them until all four were burning steadily.The torches
Chapter 175
Asta's mind raced as Flora's question hung in the air. He could feel both girls' eyes on him, waiting for an explanation, waiting for reassurance that their fourth team member wasn't about to have a breakdown in the middle of a dangerous dungeon.His thoughts churned rapidly. ‘I can't tell them. Not with Mira here. Flora knows about the dragons,she was there when old man Kael explained some of it. But Mira doesn't know. And if I start talking about dragons sealed inside us and ancient powers calling out to each other, she's going to think we've all lost our minds.’‘Plus, even if I wanted to tell them, what would I say? 'Oh yeah, Jabber and I both felt some massive, terrifying presence deep in this dungeon, and the sealed dragons inside us are having completely different reactions to it'? That'll really inspire confidence in our team's mental stability.’The silence was stretching too long. He needed to say something, give them some explanation that would satisfy their concern withou
Chapter 176
The conversation lapsed into comfortable silence as they continued walking deeper into the dungeon. The tunnel they were following was wide enough for them to walk three abreast, with rough stone walls on either side that showed signs of having been carved by something other than human hands. The floor was uneven, requiring them to watch their footing carefully to avoid tripping over protruding rocks or dips in the surface.The temperature continued to rise the deeper they went. What had been merely warm at the entrance was becoming genuinely hot now, and all four of them were sweating despite their light clothing. The air itself seemed thick, harder to breathe, carrying the sulfurous smell that suggested they were getting closer to volcanic activity or flame beast nests.Behind the trio at the front, Jabber walked alone.He'd deliberately hung back, letting a gap of about ten feet open up between himself and the others. Not so far that he couldn't still see their torch light, not so
Chapter 177
Jabber walked behind the others, the gap between them widening with each step he didn't take to catch up. His hand was still wrapped around the talisman, feeling its weight, feeling the strange warmth radiating from the metal and stone.‘Put on the talisman. Put on the talisman. Put on the talisman.’The voice wouldn't stop. It had become background noise now, a constant drone that filled every corner of his mind, leaving no room for his own thoughts, his own decisions. It was like being trapped in a room with someone who kept repeating the same phrase over and over, never stopping, never varying, just driving the words deeper and deeper into his consciousness.Jabber's resistance was crumbling. He was so tired,tired of fighting the voice, tired of carrying this secret, tired of trying to figure out what he was supposed to do with an artifact he'd stolen and didn't understand.His hand lifted the talisman higher, bringing it up to chest level. The circular metal object dangled from it
Chapter 178
From his position behind the left pillar, Asta stared at the creature with wide eyes. "What kind of flame beast is this one?" His voice came out higher than he'd intended, fear and awe mixing together.Flora had recovered enough to access her mental database of beast classifications. Her voice was shaky but informative as she called out the explanation, making sure everyone could hear."There are three categories of flame beasts!" She shouted over the creature's continued growling. "The first category is ordinary flame beasts,the ones we've been training to fight. Those are the weakest and most common. They're dangerous, but manageable for trained warriors!"She paused as the creature took another step forward, its attention swiveling between the pillars as it tried to locate its prey."The second category is higher-ranked flame beasts! They're significantly larger, stronger, and more intelligent than the ordinary ones. They can use advanced flame techniques and coordinate hunting
Chapter 179
Asta's body became a blur of motion.He moved in a zigzag pattern, his feet carrying him forward in sharp, angular cuts that made him impossible to track. Left-right-left-forward-right, each change of direction happening so fast that the beast's eyes,already trying to follow Mira's movements above,couldn't lock onto him.The technique guided his blade, his arms moving with a precision he'd never achieved through normal training. His sword became an extension of his will, striking with surgical accuracy at the exact points where the beast's legs connected to its torso.First strike,the front left leg. His blade sliced through the tendons behind the joint with a sound like tearing fabric, and the beast stumbled.Second strike,the back left leg, same principle. The blade found the weak point between scales and cut deep.Third strike,the front right leg. The beast was roaring now, trying to turn, trying to defend itself, but Asta was too fast, the technique carrying him through the moveme
Chapter 180
Jabber was still crouched behind the rubble pile. He hadn't moved when the fighting started. Hadn't repositioned to get a better angle or find safer cover. He'd just stayed there, frozen, whatever internal conflict he was having taking priority over the very real external danger.And now a massive ball of destructive flame was screaming directly toward him, and he had maybe one second to react before it turned him into ash."JABBER!" Asta's voice ripped out of his throat, raw and desperate. "GET THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY!"Time seemed to slow down, the way it sometimes did in moments of extreme crisis. Asta was too far away to reach him. Mira was on the wrong side of the tunnel. Flora was even further. None of them could do anything except watch and scream warnings that would come too late to matter.The flame ball closed the distance,twenty feet, fifteen feet, ten feet…And Jabber's head snapped up.His face had been pointed down at the ground, hidden in shadow, but now he lifted it.