The sound of battle in the courtyard attracted the remaining abandoned dragons one after another, and many of them joined the fray without hesitation.
Compared to the boldness of the first three companions, these nine were clearly more cautious, not rushing forward in humanoid form. Instead, they reached an unspoken agreement and formed a hand-in-hand formation.
At the moment when the plural dragon chants echoed, the forms of these nine individuals changed in an instant - grotesque dragon heads emerged, and their nine figures started to merge gradually.
Driven by instinct, Wang Xiaole was ready to interrupt the opponent's actions; however, the leader of the abandoned dragons, along with two other companions, wouldn't let him off that easily.
The three of them closed in together, with the intention not to strike but to delay. Even though Wang Xiaole was more concerned about the other side, he couldn't ignore the entanglement in front of him.
Wang Xiaole adopted an aggressive stance, not waiting for the opponents to attack first, but instead aimed straight for the vital points of the three.
He was also very cunning, not just launching attacks but aiming to get closer to the nine opponents positioned behind. This kept the three on alert, causing flaws in their own offense and defense.
Seizing the opportunity of his opponents' vulnerabilities, Wang Xiaole decisively took action, killing one target first, one of the two who confronted him initially.
It should be noted that the nine individuals at the rear acted quite swiftly; before Wang Xiaole could deal with another, they had already achieved their objective.
With the swift expansion of the dark shadow in that area, a large ferocious beast with nine ugly heads, a dragon body, and sharp claws appeared in front of Wang Xiaole.
This ferocious beast was the result of the combination of those nine individuals, tentatively called the "Nine-Headed Savage Dragon."
For the Nine-Headed Savage Dragon, if it couldn't deal with this insignificant human or let him escape from under its nose, it would lose face.
Hence, for the Nine-Headed Savage Dragon, this audacious ant that dared to strike at it must die!
Suddenly, all nine mouths of the Nine-Headed Savage Dragon opened wide, blasting nine beams of light towards Wang Xiaole at a rapid pace.
The previous battles had already destroyed most of the courtyard; now, with this new attack, the courtyard along with its connected buildings turned into complete ruins, with a plethora of debris flying high.
In the affected nearby space, some elements were trembling, as if on the verge of collapsing at any moment. If there were people relying on these elements for combat within this area, they would already be in a passive situation.
Amidst the environment's disturbance, Wang Xiaole himself was not unaffected. Indeed, he felt a surge of energy within his body, almost as if it wanted to break free from his control.
Fortunately, the majestic holy power emanating from him rushed out like a tide, stabilizing his footing as he concentrated some of it to form a protective barrier in front of him.
At the same time, a dazzling light rose once more, and a pure wave of energy condensed beyond the edge of his sword in an instant.
*Swish!*
Wang Xiaole controlled the energy wave to strike out swiftly, not giving the Nine-Headed Savage Dragon a chance to dodge, as it headed straight towards the creature.
In the aftermath of the energy wave's release, the leader who served as cover, lifted the body of the companion beside him in a defensive posture, shielding himself when the energy struck. The companion was split in half, but the leader remained relatively unscathed due to the effective use of the shield.
Roaring in pain, the Nine-Headed Savage Dragon, with a fierce expression, launched into the air and swung its tail towards Wang Xiaole. Reacting in time, Wang Xiaole conjured a barrier of holy power to withstand the blow.
The heavy strike of the dragon's tail hit the barrier but failed to harm Wang Xiaole or shatter the barrier, leaving visible cracks on its surface.
As the tail recoiled from the impact, the Nine-Headed Savage Dragon uncontrollably began to retreat, but simultaneously, it opened its massive jaws and unleashed nine sharp beams of light once again.
The beams struck the barrier, causing it to shatter with a *crack*, yet the Dragon's attacks failed to harm Wang Xiaole.
At that moment, the leader moved closer, raising its dragon claw with a red mark aimed straight ahead. Wang Xiaole blocked the attack with his sword, and as they both retreated a few steps, he pondered:
Rather than focusing on the opponent's numerical advantage, one could say the real threat lay in finding a suitable partner for combat. Dependent on coordinated strikes, the opponents could keep him engaged...
In a rigorous assessment, Wang Xiaole's combat abilities equaled the sum of the Savage Dragon and the leader's strengths. However, in the previous clashes, he had not been able to gain an upper hand due to the challenge of countering attacks from multiple directions simultaneously.
Though he had White as a reliable aide, Wang Xiaole instructed her to find a safe place before descending the stairs to ensure her safety amidst the chaos until it subsided. This directive was the main reason why White had not shown herself until now.
Wang Xiaole had such a personality; he preferred to face challenges alone rather than let a girl he cared about be in danger. Unfortunately, he did not fully realize that the girl he had feelings for was someone who was obedient at times and willful at others...
*Crack!*
As the Nine-Headed Savage Dragon reveled in its victory, it suddenly felt a chill at the back of its neck. Shortly afterward, one of its heads lost consciousness and rolled to the ground under the gaze of the other heads.
"Ahhhhhh!"
In excruciating pain, the Savage Dragon let out a mixture of human-like cries. Even the leader nearby couldn't help but be shocked by the development.
Taking advantage of the distracted enemies, White agilely returned to stand beside "Big Brother" and formed a front line together with him. Her proud demeanor suggested that she had thrown the admonishment aside, hoping to receive a praise like "you're amazing."
In reality, the first thing Wang Xiaole blurted out wasn't a statement but a question:
"I told you to stay in a safe place, didn't I? Why didn't you listen?"
"...?"
"Huh? Did you say 'since we've decided to spend fifty years together, if it's time to die, then let's die together'?"
The sentiment of the statement didn't exactly move him, but since it was from White, Wang Xiaole found himself deeply touched.
Of course, it didn't mean he was happy about White helping him. However, since she was already here, it didn't seem realistic to send the little girl back.
Thus, the two ended up fighting side by side as in the past. Another thing was:
"That last strike was pretty powerful. You did great!"
After would-be compliments and head-patting, the person across from him finally snapped out of it, realizing that the opposition had gone from one to two.
White's appearance shifted the situation, making the abandoned dragons unable to use their encirclement strategy and opt to engage individually.
White's subsequent task was to entangle the leader for a few tens of seconds. During this time, Wang Xiaole would swiftly settle the Savage Dragon once and for all.
The reason White's task wasn't to deal with the Savage Dragon lay in Wang Xiaole's consideration:
While White had successfully severed a dragon head with a dagger before, that was a surprise attack. Now that the Savage Dragon was alert, that kind of stealthy tactic wouldn't work.
Compared to a direct confrontation with the Savage Dragon, the task of engaging and delaying the leader was better suited for White's speed and agility.
Accepting her honorable mission, White promptly led the leader away temporarily to a different location.
Meanwhile, Wang Xiaole exerted his full strength, concentrating some of his holy power for a massive strike to be unleashed later on. The energy gathered on his sword was sharper and more potent than ever before.
"You think a bit of power like that can kill me? Impossible!"
The Savage Dragon roared confidently, though a hint of seriousness gleamed in its eyes as it prepared to face the terrifying strike unleashed by Wang Xiaole.
Under the threat of death, the Savage Dragon couldn't afford to hold back anymore. It had to utilize all its remaining strength to withstand the terrifying strike, hoping to counter this looming deathly crisis.
Eight beams of light shot up into the sky, swiftly intertwining and merging into a concentrated beam of colorful light. In an instant, this beam took the shape of a spear, exuding a palpable aura of destruction - the Savage Dragon's killing move.
Unfortunately, due to the previous injury caused by White severing one of its heads, the Savage Dragon had wasted some of its power, resulting in a significant flaw in its formidable "Spear of Destruction."
The "Spear of Destruction" was its most powerful move, requiring the amalgamation of its nine heads' power to reach full potential. Now gathered with only eight heads, even though the difference was just one head, the stark contrast in power rendered the spear in a vastly inferior state. However, the Savage Dragon had no other choice.
