Lilith and Long Yixiang attacked simultaneously. Lilith employed the same freezing spell she had used earlier against the goblins.
It was an exceptionally versatile magic—inflicting progressive damage that intensified over time. It began by slowing the target's movements, then the deepening cold would seep into their blood, muscles, and even bones, until the combined internal and external freezing turned the foe into an ice statue.
Compared to direct-damage spells, the freezing spell had two key advantages. First, it was an area-of-effect attack, guaranteeing impact on any target within a certain range of the caster, making it impossible to evade. Second, beyond dealing damage, it significantly hindered the opponent's actions, drastically reducing both their physical movement speed and spellcasting chant speed.
In combat, this kind of control was often fatal, almost inevitably preventing the enemy from mounting a timely defense or counterattack against your next move. In most situations, unless there was an overwhelming power disparity, the freezing spell proved highly effective.
The temperature in the space plummeted abruptly. Water vapor in the air condensed in the cold, a layer of frost forming even on the dragon's scales. Simultaneously, the liquid blood within its body would also be affected by the severe drop in temperature.
The ferocity in the dragon's eyes only intensified. The two lantern-like orbs blazed with a crimson light, bloody and brimming with savagery.
"Lili! Cancel the spell!" Long Yixiang shouted.
Lilith swiftly cut off the mana supply to the freezing spell. The moment the spell dissipated, a wave of violent, tyrannical aura rushed toward them from the dragon's direction like a hurricane.
Long Yixiang hit the button. The base's automated defense system activated. Infrared rays enveloped the dragon from all directions, followed immediately by a hailstorm of brass bullets raining down on it from every corner.
"Rat-a-tat-tat-tat..."
The space echoed with the roar of machine guns and the enraged bellow of the colossal beast. A massive volume of bullets was unleashed in a relentless, saturation bombardment, the muzzle flashes nearly illuminating the area like daylight.
"I wonder if they considered monster attacks when designing this..."
Long Yixiang still didn't dare relax. This firepower was indeed impressive, but that was by conventional standards. A dragon clearly fell outside conventional standards.
The machine guns' fury lasted several minutes before finally ceasing as ammunition was exhausted. The entire space was now shrouded in smoke.
"Is it dead?"
Long Yixiang frowned slightly. He didn't believe their attack had killed the behemoth. Unobtrusively, he took Lilith's hand beside him.
"If things look bad, grab me and run."
Lilith had no mind for quips now. Her eyes were fixed intently ahead, mana swirling around her, ready to react at any moment.
As the smoke cleared, the two blood-red lanterns flickered again, their brightness undiminished, even intensified.
"Crap, this dragon is seriously no ordinary strong... I'm done for!" Long Yixiang sighed despairingly at the sky.
Meanwhile, Lilith, quick as lightning, had already scooped him up. Then, as if supported from below, her feet left the ground lightly, and in the next instant, her body had already appeared several dozen meters away.
This time, Lilith was truly using every ounce of her strength. There was no choice; their combined attack moments ago was nearly the strongest they could muster. Yet the giant beast seemed to have suffered little effective damage. Their assault had only fueled its rage. Now they were truly living on borrowed time; if caught, death was almost certain.
The roar of the colossal beast echoed through the passage behind them, closing in with a force that seemed capable of destroying everything. Its size was somewhat cramped within the underground base, but it showed no restraint, ruthlessly demolishing everything in its path. Many of the modern devices Long Yixiang treasured became mere fragments under its furious rampage.
"Dammit! I wanna hit you with a rocket launcher!" Long Yixiang cursed angrily.
"Stop cursing."
"Hey, why are we stopping—"
Long Yixiang fell silent, turning his head within Lilith's arms to look. Ahead was a massive net, incredibly sturdy, constructed of steel, with occasional electric sparks dancing across it.
"Can't I just blast through this door with magic?"
"That's high-voltage electricity. Your magic won't break it."
Long Yixiang wordlessly got down from Lilith's embrace. Turning to look back, the beast's roar was slowly approaching.
Long Yixiang could feel an intense killing intent assaulting him. What a terrifying monster! Its mere aura made all the pores on his body contract in stress. It seemed their previous attack had thoroughly enraged it; it was no longer holding back its presence at all. Long Yixiang suddenly felt his own insignificance. The disparity in power between them was too vast, so vast that the weaker party could barely muster the will to resist. Compared to the beast before him, he was like a blade of grass swaying violently in a hurricane, liable to be shattered at any moment.
"Nice to have met you," Lilith said.
Long Yixiang tilted his head back and slowly exhaled.
Another restart? I didn't get far in either try. This one's even worse than the last. The goal of "defeating the Demon King" feels more distant than ever...
Or maybe in the third playthrough, I should just find a quiet place in this world to live out my life. That wouldn't be so bad.
The killing intent was now right upon them, but he found he was no longer afraid. The difficulty of this world was just too high, and his luck was terrible, always running into these situations. Life was a grind in his previous world, and even in this isekai, it's still a grind. He was truly tired of struggling.
But if I settled for a peaceful life farming in the countryside, would Lilith still follow me?
She's an outstanding Truth Church priestess, young and beautiful, with a bright future ahead. She really has no reason to dig in the dirt with me. If I chose to enjoy a pastoral life, the two of us probably wouldn't even have a chance to meet again. We'd live out our lives as strangers, never knowing each other in the end.