In this battle, Tristan had plenty of advantages.
For speed, with the Ace Pilot manual boost, Shadow Dragon, even at a lower level, could match the speed of the Epic Grade Fire Dragon without any trouble.
For damage, the Sniper God wasn't just for show.
However, the disadvantages were equally clear.
The biggest one was fragility.
Even though Tristan had tens of thousands of health and a range of life-saving abilities like Shadow Prism and Shadow Leap, just a single hit from Fire Dragon would mean certain death.
Fire Dragon's breath had continuous damage effects, and five layers of Shadow Prism simply wouldn't be enough.
Despite the constant danger, Tristan seemed calm, even carefree. After all, he had faced enemies stronger than Fire Dragon before.
But for Shadow Dragon, the shock was continuously building.
What exactly was My Lord Shadow?
It knew that even it, as a Dragon, felt suppressed by the bloodline of Fire Dragon.
If not for being the same species, it might have been frightened away already.
But My Lord Shadow had a low level and was only human. So why, when facing Fire Dragon, was he so calm and composed?
But this wasn't the time to dwell on such things. Shadow Dragon knew its mission: to evade as much as possible and make sure My Lord Shadow was not distracted by anything.
"This is the most important task My Lord Shadow has ever entrusted me with. I cannot disappoint him."
Shadow Dragon could feel its dragon blood boiling, its battle spirit rising.
It wanted to shout "Who else wants to try?" but held back, focusing on the task at hand.
Fire Dragon's health steadily dropped, while Tristan's health also started to plummet faster.
The damage from the "Scorching Domain" accumulated rapidly. Tristan was losing over 200 health per second.
Even with his high health and good gear, a normal person, even a warrior class, wouldn't last long against this kind of attack.
But the longer it went on, the more certain it was that he would be the first to fall.
Fortunately, Shadow Dragon's Shadow Domain could block the effects of the Scorching Domain for two minutes.
Once Fire Dragon's health dropped below 15 million, Tristan made a decisive move.
"Shadow Domain!"
Shadow Dragon had been waiting for the signal. At Tristan's command, it immediately activated its full power.
A thick, pitch-black mist surrounded Shadow Dragon, and the refreshing coolness swept over Tristan.
He was no longer affected by the Scorching Domain, and his health stabilized at just over 6,000.
With the Shadow Domain active for two minutes, Tristan had roughly two and a half minutes of output space.
It wasn't long, but it was more than enough.
As Shadow Dragon activated its domain, Fire Dragon instantly became alert.
It knew its opponent was going all out now.
Fire Dragon roared in fury: "Shadow Dragon, you actually side with a mere human to hunt down your own kind! My kin will strip the flesh from your bones and leave you with no place to rest!"
Shadow Dragon sneered: "Does Lord Seltus fear your threats? You don't even understand My Lord Shadow's true strength!"
The two massive dragons exchanged words in the air while Tristan seized the opportunity to continue his assault.
Fire Dragon's health continued to drop rapidly, soon falling below 10 million.
For other bosses, 10 million health would be considered a high threshold.
"Takhtu, avenge me!"
Fire Dragon let out a final, anguished cry, its life force rapidly dwindling.
Before it died, a ball of light flew from its body, speeding away into the distance.
Tristan knew exactly what it was but couldn't stop it in time.
This was the dragon's vengeance, a message sent by the dragon before it died, containing a wealth of information.
In this case, it was transmitting information about the killer — Tristan.
Takhtu, whether or not it was Fire Dragon's mate, was at least a close ally.
Shadow Dragon tried to intercept the message but was unsuccessful.
With a grave tone, Shadow Dragon said, "My Lord Shadow, I have heard of Takhtu. It's a legendary dragon, renowned for its power three hundred years ago. It disappeared later, and I thought it had fallen... but it seems it's still alive."
Dragons lived for centuries, and a dragon that had survived for several hundred years was a threat not to be underestimated.
For Tristan, Takhtu was a future threat, but right now, the only thing on his mind was the reward for killing the Fire Dragon.
As long as he had a bit of time, even if Takhtu showed up, he would still kill it!
As Tristan was thinking, the Fire Dragon Heloiris' breath completely faded. Its massive corpse plummeted to the ground with a thunderous crash.
The surrounding fire creatures, after a brief moment of confusion, immediately scattered.
With Heloiris' death, the Crimson Mountain Range became leaderless. The creatures that followed would surely try to take Heloiris' place.
With the dragon's death, numerous system notifications flooded the screen.
The first was the massive amount of experience points.
Heloiris, being an Epic Grade boss at level 75, provided an incredible amount of experience, further boosted by the over-level kill bonus. Tristan's level jumped straight from 23 to 30!
"You have reached level 30. Your experience bar is locked. Please complete your second class advancement soon."
"Congratulations on the first kill of the Epic Grade Fire Dragon Heloiris. You have earned 500 free attribute points, 50 skill points, and 100 reputation points."
"You are the first player to kill a dragon, earning the title of [Dragon Slayer], which increases your damage to dragons by 10%."
"Your reputation with the dragon race has dropped by 1000 points. You are now hostile."
"Takhtu has learned of your actions and considers you a sworn enemy."
"The first kill will be announced to the entire server. Do you wish to hide your name?"
"No."
[Player 'Blackshade' has killed the Epic Grade Boss Fire Dragon Heloiris. His glorious achievement will be remembered in ExoGenesis!]
[Player 'Blackshade' has killed the Epic Grade Boss Fire Dragon Heloiris. His glorious achievement will be remembered in ExoGenesis!]
[Player 'Blackshade' has killed the Epic Grade Boss Fire Dragon Heloiris. His glorious achievement will be remembered in ExoGenesis!]
The three notifications echoed throughout the server, and every player instinctively checked their ears, thinking they had misheard.
Epic Grade Boss?
Damn, Blackshade truly wasn't playing around. Just a few days ago, he got the first kill of a Dark Gold Grade boss, and now he's taken down an Epic Grade?
Weren't Epic Grade bosses supposed to be at least level 50?
Were the NPCs pulling their leg?
Before players could figure out what was going on, some quickly noticed that Blackshade's level had shot up from 23 to 30 on the level leaderboard.
What had he done to get so much experience?
When thinking about the previous notifications, players started wondering: What level was the Epic Grade boss Blackshade had just killed?
That much experience? It couldn't just be from a level 50 boss.
Twenty-something levels, killing an Epic Grade boss that was dozens of levels higher.
Was this even possible?
Blackshade... and they still say he's not hacking!