Who taught him to restore the country like this

Chapter 218 So young, yet so cunning.

Kertia made her move.

Her attack was precise and deadly, forcing Gratoni to turn and defend himself.

In an instant, the red light emanating from Gratoni surged behind him, condensing into a pair of two-meter-long red giant wings.

Its wings folded together in front of it, forming a barrier.

laugh--

The light spear collided with the dragon's wings, producing a corrosive sound.

The light spear pierced the dragon's wing a few inches, and Gratoni groaned as he was thrown back a few steps by the impact.

His brow furrowed unconsciously.

How could this woman's attack penetrate his defenses?
Although the defense is greatly reduced in human form, it is still sufficient to withstand multiple attacks from magic below the eighth rank.

But now his defenses have been breached by a single-target, seventh-tier spell.

Is it an illusion?

Just a moment ago, the woman's aura seemed to have reached the eighth level.

"O courage and brilliance that dispels confusion and darkness, let me praise you..."

Without giving him any extra time to think, Karina chanted a blessing, applying a buff to everyone present, and then inflicting a damage reduction debuff on Gratoni.

With one increase and one decrease, the gap in strength between the two sides has narrowed once again.

Bang!
Steely's iron fist followed.

This time, Gratoni did not choose to exchange punches. Instead, he flapped his energy-form wings and flew into the air, then unleashed countless wind blades that were difficult to see with the naked eye.

Gonji ventured deep into Gratoni's attack range. With nowhere to hide, he could only protect his head with his arms.

Puff!

Dense wind blades cut bloody gashes all over his body.

Although the cuts are not deep, the repeated overlapping can still be fatal.

Whoosh!
Another beam of light forcefully interrupted Gratoni's continuous output, relieving Gangji from the predicament.

Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Without pausing, Kertia fired a series of light spears, launching a ranged attack on Gratoni.

Gratoni slid through the air, dodging the light spear.

"paralysis!"

Just as he was thinking to himself, "It seems that only these three people really came," he was suddenly struck by magic from behind.

The mental interference magic didn't cause much damage, but it did make his body stiffen for a moment.

Whoosh!
The spear swiftly pierced his right shoulder, splattering blood.

correct!
That's not an illusion.

Gratoni staggered and steadied himself in mid-air. This time he saw clearly that the silver-haired girl's aura had risen to the eighth level the moment she hit him, along with the increased power of the light spear.

What's happening here?
He was puzzled.

Is it an effect from a buff spell?

He turned to look at Karina, but quickly looked away.

The buffs from buff magic don't fluctuate, so the silver-haired girl's condition couldn't be due to buff magic.

Could it be the effect of the Hero's Sword?

He looked at the hero who held the hero's sword but was not participating in the battle.

He recalled what the old dragon of his clan had once said: The Sword of the Hero is incredibly powerful; it can gather the strength of everyone in the hero's party into one person. If the hero encounters an enemy he simply cannot defeat, it can even gather the strength of those who fought alongside him from hundreds of miles around.

In short, it's extremely shameless.

Gratoni stared at Kertia.

Is that right?

Still not right.

The power gathered by the Sword of the Warrior is concentrated on the Warrior, and the gathered power will not dissipate so quickly.

After much thought, the only possibility is that "the silver-haired girl has an item similar to the hero's sword."

No wonder they dared to barge in despite knowing the disparity in strength between themselves and the enemy; they must have had the confidence to do so.

This tactic can indeed pose a significant threat to him.

But it's nothing special.

As the wound on his right shoulder healed rapidly, Gratoni headed straight for Kertia.

"Face me!"

Gangji leaped up and stood in front of Gratoni.

Despite his enormous size, when he uses his movement techniques, his agility is in no way inferior to those of smaller people.

"Tangled!"

Karina seized the opportunity again, using vines to entangle Gratoni at his footing.

boom!
"Kaishan Fist!"

Gangji used his martial arts skills and sent Gratoni flying with a single punch.

Keltia's light spear followed closely behind.

Thus, with the three working in perfect harmony, they managed to suppress Gratoni in a short period of time.

Ron stood at the rear observing, not rushing to join the battle.

He needs to stay in the rear and look for an opportunity to strike decisively.

Okay, actually it's just a lack of ability.

Although they had defeated many monsters on their way from Orantia, his level had not increased much.

[Name: Beretta]

[Race: Human Race]

【Age: 18】

[Level: LV.37]

……

Level 37 is a bit low?

Not low anymore.

The "leveling up by defeating monsters" buff of the Hero's Sword takes effect only if the enemy's strength is similar to or greater than your own.

The courage to fight against the enemy is an important condition for gaining experience.

You can't gain experience from crushing battles.

The method of having Keltia and Karina find a monster around level 70, weaken it to low health, and then have him finish it off also won't work.

Without the demonstration of courage, the buff from the Sword of Heroes will not take effect.

Therefore, reaching level 37 in just over half a month without any territory benefits is already incredibly fast.

However, Ron wanted it to be even faster.

He observed the battle before him, pondering how, after successfully defeating the dragon, he could reasonably request a territory from the king, preferably a count's domain.

As time passed, the battle gradually intensified.

Under Master Horn's tutelage, Gangji has honed his defense and strength to the extreme. His fighting style is: I can withstand your attacks, but you probably can't withstand mine.

In his human form, Gratoni gained no advantage in close-quarters combat.

As time went on, they even gradually fell into a disadvantageous position.

Gratoni's stats panel was undoubtedly the highest among those present; even in human form, his overall stats far surpassed everyone else's.

If Ron were in charge, he would have already taken down everyone present.

Gratoni's disadvantage lay in his extreme lack of combat experience in human form.

He has always fought in the form of a dragon, rarely transforming into human form.

When it occasionally transforms into human form, it is always to create life.

It's already quite an achievement to have reached this point.

In fact, Gratoni did have a way to break the deadlock at this point.

If he can shake off the reckless and aggressive Gangji and quickly eliminate the slow-moving Karina, he can turn the tide of the game.

Without Karina's buffs and debuffs, Keltia and Gangji would be no match for him.

During the battle, Gratoni had several opportunities to kill Karina.

But he didn't do it for a long time.

That does fit his gentlemanly dragon persona. However, the main reason he doesn't do that is... he can immediately revert to his dragon form.

Once he reverts to his dragon form, he can manipulate the people inside this cave at will.

All he needs to do now is defend and stall for time.

If he can drag it out until the cooldown period is over, then he wins.

Ron understood Gratoni's mindset perfectly, so he wasn't in a hurry.

You wait, and I'll wait too.

All he needs to do now is wait patiently for an opportunity to make his move.

Time passed by minute by minute.

He silently counted down Gratoni's cooldown time.

Finally, with the cooldown timer about to expire, Ron got his chance.

Perhaps due to a relaxed mindset, Gratoni gradually lowered his guard against Ron in the rear as he faced simultaneous attacks from Gangji and Kertia.

They probably thought that Ron's strength posed no threat to them.

That's exactly the effect Ron wanted.

The moment Gratoni dodged Kertia's light spear and parried Gangji's fists with his dragon claws, his weak spot under his ribs was completely exposed.

"It's now!"

A glint flashed in Ron's eyes, and the aura he had been suppressing suddenly erupted.

Sensing his intense courage at that moment, the Sword of the Hero forcibly absorbed the power of the Hero's teammate and gathered it into Ron.

This instantly boosted his speed and power to a level far exceeding his current level.

He used a fourth-tier movement technique, his figure like an arrow released from a bow, his sword drawing a pure arc of light, accurately, swiftly, and silently stabbing at the opening exposed by Gratoni.

This sword strike had no unnecessary frills, only the precision honed through countless trials and tribulations, as if he had rehearsed it countless times before.

Gratoni sensed the danger the moment Ron's aura erupted, but subconsciously he thought Ganggi and Kertia were more dangerous.

So much so that he didn't immediately return to defense, but only managed to twist his body and try to block with his arm guard.

But that obviously won't work.

puff!

The tip of the Warrior's Sword sliced through the gaps in the dragon scale armor with the precision of a hot knife through butter, piercing Gratoni's ribs.

Grattoni's pupils constricted.

He wasn't born a gentlemanly dragon; rather, he committed evil deeds in his youth and was nearly roasted by dragon slayers, which led to his current status as a principled gentlemanly dragon.

Every time he thought of the red crystal that pierced through his ribs, he felt a sharp pain and wanted to grit his teeth.

The spot where he was pierced became his greatest weakness.

At this moment, the warrior, whose aura had suddenly surged, was striking that very spot.

This wasn't just a lucky break; it was a premeditated and swift strike.

He knew he was going to be defeated by these humans today.

However, he really couldn't understand how this human kid knew where his weakness lay.

This happened hundreds of years ago.

"Hero, please have mercy!"

A startled cry suddenly rang out from the right.

Upon hearing this, Ron stopped the sword he was about to use to pierce Gratoni's ribs.

The sword only penetrated halfway.

Gratoni grunted, trying to take the opportunity to break free from Ron's attack, but a pair of arms thicker than his head grabbed him tightly.

"paralysis!"

"Holy Confinement!"

Karina and Kertia successively imprisoned Gratoni's body and magic.

Gratoni wanted to break free of his restraints, but the Hero's Sword within him was interfering with the flow of his magic, stirring up the energy within him into chaos.

"puff!"

Gratoni coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground, his body limp.

The cooldown period has ended, but in this state, he has no way to transform back into a dragon.

The battle ended abruptly thanks to Ron's seemingly lucky but crucial sneak attack.

The cave fell silent for a moment, with only the heavy breathing of the group and Gratoni's unwilling growl.

After the battle ended, Karina and Kertia both glanced at Ron, who stood there with his sword sheathed and was slightly out of breath, with some surprise.

Just a moment ago, most of the power in their bodies was drained and seemed to have been drawn into Ron.

Is this an advanced way to use the Sword of Heroes?
This new hero mastered it in less than a month.

"Please let him go."

Alicia's voice drew their attention away from Ron.

They looked at Gratoni, who had rushed to the bound man, and stood with his arms outstretched in front of him, pleading earnestly:
"Hero, Gratoni is not a bad dragon. He has never harmed me. I let him capture me. Please do not kill him."

As she spoke, she actually knelt down.

"Princess Alicia, what are you doing?"

Gangji exclaimed in surprise and quickly stepped forward to help Alicia up.

“Karina, Gratoni didn’t hurt us, right?”

Alicia looked at Karina.

"Lord Beretta, he certainly did not show me any malice."

Karina hesitated for a moment, but still spoke up to help.

This red dragon does not deserve to die.

Of course, if the hero insists on slaying this dragon to make a name for himself, then there's nothing she can do.

"Is that right?"

Ron calmed his breathing and looked into Alicia's eyes, which seemed willing to bear all the blame alone; he had already seen through her little scheme.

Her deal with the dragon could no longer be hidden.

Why not use it to demonstrate her "taking responsibility for her own actions" character? Perhaps that will move the hero and make him accept her as a princess who "would be severely punished if she wasn't accepted into the hero's party."

I'll also do Gratoni a favor.

She knew that Gratoni did not deserve to die, and that once the hero learned the truth, he might not kill him, and might even let him go.

This little girl is so young, but she's quite shrewd.

Ron didn't expose her.

He looked at Gratoni, who was lying flat and had given up struggling, and a look of deliberation appeared on his face.

He had no interest in fame, but he was very interested in experience.

He made a significant contribution in this battle; killing Gratoni should have given him a lot of experience.

However, if we can make use of it, the benefits will be even greater.

"Gratoni, you've lost."

"Think it over," Ron said, looking down at Gratoni.

"Hmph! What kind of skill is a sneak attack?"

Gratoni snorted and turned his head away, clearly unconvinced.