Chapter 84: Am I Dying?

"Well, then I will tell you!" Chu Tian sighed and leaned toward Mofitte, while NMD stayed pressed tightly against him. "Mackenzie is in... go to hell!"

A flash of red light appeared as Dracula's Fury materialized in Chu Tian's hand, descending fiercely onto Mofitte's head! "Heh! You can ask Death that question yourself in hell..." Before he could finish his smug remark, Chu Tian trailed off; the scene before him defied all comprehension.

The blade was embedded in Mofitte's skull, yet not a single drop of blood flowed from the gaping wound. Mofitte pulled the long blade out, inspected Dracula's Fury, and flashed a bizarre, wicked grin. "Dracula's Fury? Ha, no wonder I smelled that old bat on you."

He tossed Dracula's Fury to the ground and, pressing his hand through the body of the hybrid dragon NMD, placed it firmly against Chu Tian's chest. With a light push, Chu Tian and NMD were sent flying. Fortunately, Barbossa reacted quickly, catching his boss. "How truly pathetic! Heh, if Dracula knew you were using his blade like this, he would likely drain you until you were nothing but dried meat!"

*Cough, cough!* Chu Tian coughed violently before standing up with Barbossa's help. "NMD, thanks." Although Mofitte hadn't intended to kill him, had NMD not absorbed the brunt of the force, Chu Tian would likely have been left with only half a life.

"Haha, interesting!" Mofitte walked over, though his target now was not Chu Tian, but the hybrid dragon NMD. "This strange little lizard of yours can actually block my attack?! Then try this!" Under the irradiation of the red moon, thick red clouds gathered in the sky, and a rain of fire descended upon NMD—an eighth-tier spell: Meteor Shower!

"Hmph! So what if I try it again!" NMD let out a cold snort, lowering its wings to shield Chu Tian. It then pivoted rapidly, using its wings as an axis. Amidst the clanging sounds, all the meteors were deflected; not only was Chu Tian unharmed, but NMD remained unscathed!

"Oh! Yeah!" Mofitte let out an excited shriek, hopping about to express his delight. He clenched his fists and swung them downward sharply. "Fantastic! Now for a ninth-tier spell: Tornado Blades!"

As NMD circled Chu Tian, it naturally stirred up gusts of wind, but these winds intensified, gradually forming a tornado column that reached from the heavens to the earth. The column roared, enveloping NMD and Chu Tian within it, while stray, razor-sharp breezes whipped out, slicing through the very air.

Barbossa and the dark mages exchanged glances, shivering. It was one thing for Mofitte to cast high-level magic from two different schools—even a healthy Barbossa could do that—and it was common knowledge that wind blades could tear through space. But the most shocking part was that under a ninth-tier spell, those of them standing nearby hadn't been affected in the slightest! To what degree must one control magic to achieve that? For over a millennium, since the end of the Magic Era on the Continent of Magical Beasts, no mage had ever accomplished such a feat!

NMD flew faster and faster until its form became a blur. Only a golden ball of light could be seen struggling up and down within the tornado, with Chu Tian swaying inside the sphere.

"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" Mofitte's eyes glowed, one a cyan-red and the other a brilliant nine-colored hue. "Little lizard, keep it up! Don't let me down!"

After a long while, the wind died down, and NMD stopped. This time, it was not unscathed; several bloody gashes marred its body, and dozens of crystalline scales drifted to the ground with the breeze. "Boss, are you alright?"

Chu Tian had been spun until he was dizzy, but his body, transformed by the blood of the Dragon Emperor, helped him regain his senses quickly. "I'm fine. How are you?"

"Haha, I could do that again!" The hybrid dragon NMD still floated above Chu Tian, proving that the previous attack hadn't caused it fatal damage. Chu Tian was satisfied with this result; he had always known NMD’s defense was strong, but he hadn't realized it was to this extent! If ninth-tier magic meant nothing to it, how would it fare against a tenth-tier forbidden spell?

As Chu Tian pondered whether NMD could withstand a forbidden spell, Mofitte immediately fulfilled his wish. "Hahahaha! If ninth-tier magic can't finish off a little lizard like you, oh! This is too interesting—then let's try a forbidden spell!"

Mofitte’s body began to hover. The surrounding temperature plummeted to freezing, and the moisture in the air condensed into solid ice, clattering to the ground. "Ice-series forbidden spell: The Coldness of the Ice Goddess!" In the blink of an eye, it was as if the entire city of Pompeii had plummeted into a frozen wasteland.

Boundless ice and snow blanketed the land, but they quickly receded, gathering into Mofitte’s hand to form a translucent snowball. Once all the frost had concentrated in his palm, Mofitte took a few steps back, pulled his hand behind him, and charged forward. Like a child in a snowball fight, he hurled the ice toward NMD. "Yeah! Take this!"

"Boss, get out of the way!" NMD lashed its tail, throwing Chu Tian to a distance before meeting the snowball head-on.

The Coldness of the Ice Goddess ended as silently as it had begun after its magnificent opening, save for the sound of NMD falling from the sky. *Thud.* The hybrid dragon's golden body was now entirely white, covered in blisters of varying sizes, with frost hanging from its wings. It smiled bitterly, "Heh, boss, it looks like... it looks like I still can't block a forbidden spell! I guess... I guess this is the end for me!"

"Sigh, what a pity. Such a fun toy, and it can only be played with once..." Mofitte shook his head in disappointment and walked past NMD toward Chu Tian. "Vladino, can you tell me now?"

"Mr. Mofitte, can you give me a moment?" Chu Tian squinted coldly at Mofitte. Receiving an indifferent nod, he walked over to NMD. "Damn it, it's not that easy for you to die, kid. Don't forget, your boss is an Ancient Saint Priest!"

"Boss, my whole body is frozen..."

"Don't speak!" Chu Tian knelt down to examine NMD's body. Hmph! Just frostbite? That couldn't stump him! Since NMD could still talk, its internal organs were likely unharmed. Skin frostbite caused by a forbidden spell was considered a terminal condition on the Continent of Magical Beasts, but what was that to a veterinarian? "Breathe deeply! Do not hold your breath!"

NMD swallowed several ninth-tier medicinal potions, and Chu Tian ran to a distance to light several bonfires. One should never roast frostbite directly, yet the temperature couldn't be allowed to drop, so he chose to light the fires far away.

He checked his spatial ring; there was still plenty of high-quality Vost wine intended for Little White. Hmph, this strong liquor would serve as a substitute for alcohol. After using fire-elemental scrolls to warm the wine, Chu Tian poured it all over NMD. "Barbossa, you lot, come over and help! Do exactly as I do!"

Mofitte tilted his head, watching in confusion as Chu Tian and the others rubbed and kneaded NMD. What were they doing? Treating a tenth-tier forbidden spell with alcohol?! Hahahaha, interesting!

"NMD, keep breathing. Barbossa, don't stop!" Chu Tian suddenly paused, drew his surgical scalpel, and sliced open the blisters on the hybrid dragon's body one by one. For frostbite blisters, the fluid had to be drained.

"Done." Chu Tian patted his nearly frozen hands and stood up. "Mofitte, now we can continue our conversation."

"Hahahaha, too interesting!" Mofitte looked at the now-slumbering NMD, sensing the active life force within it. Though weak, the dragon's life had been saved. "Vladino, how did you do that? I recall that ancient priestly arts don't work like that, do they?"

"Hmph, what's a little frostbite? Just maintain body temperature and accelerate blood circulation, that’s all." Chu Tian walked to Mofitte's side, looked down at him, and narrowed his eyes with contempt. "With that pig-like brain of yours, can you even understand what I'm saying?"

"Are you insulting me?" Mofitte’s eyes widened as he stared at Chu Tian. For thousands of years, no one had dared speak to him like this! "You are courting death!"

"I am courting death!" Chu Tian suddenly crouched, picked up Dracula's Fury from the ground, and took the opportunity to hack at Mofitte’s legs. Meanwhile, Barbossa and the dark mages threw their hands up, sending clouds of colored poison mist drifting toward him.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!* These were the sounds of Anna's arrows. In pursuit of maximum attack power, she had abandoned all attempts to hide the sound of the arrows, pouring all her prowess into power and speed!

In the face of absolute power, Chu Tian abandoned all petty tricks. When Little White had been kicked, Chu Tian—protective of his own—had been ready to deploy the Caesar Iron Cavalry for revenge; how much more so now that NMD had been beaten to the brink of death? When two brave warriors meet on a narrow road, the one who is more courageous wins! The title of "Veterinary Butcher," long forgotten, had returned to him in this moment!

"You all deserve to die!" Mofitte was enraged. Ignoring the poison mist and arrows, he let the flaming blade hack into his legs and grabbed Chu Tian. "Go to hell!" With that, he slammed Chu Tian violently into the ground!

"The one going to hell is you!" Chu Tian leaped up immediately, ignoring the golden blood at the corner of his mouth, and raised the long blade again, hacking at Mofitte recklessly! "Damn it! I'm going to finish you off, you bastard!"

Blade wounds appeared on Mofitte, but they healed instantly. Although he suffered no damage, Mofitte would not allow this to continue! His status, his dignity—none of it would permit such insolence! "I'm bored of playing. It's time to end this!" Mofitte grabbed Chu Tian with his left hand and snatched the long blade with his right.

"Ke-ke! Even Dracula didn't dare cut me with this blade back in the day!" Mofitte's tone was ice-cold, his face grotesquely distorted. "You actually dared?!" With a sinister smile, Mofitte swung the flaming blade toward Chu Tian.

"Boss!" Barbossa and Anna felt their hearts freeze, but they could only watch in horror as Chu Tian faced his death...