Chapter 23: The Fire Child and the Mutant Monitor Lizard
Sunan, with an icy expression, continued to unleash Acid Splash after Acid Splash, targeting the knight-level Blackscale Lizards.
In a matter of seconds, he had killed seven of them.
The Blackscale Lizards were already losing ground, and with Sunan's intervention, the situation became even more dire.
The tide of the battle was turning decisively in Blackrock City's favor.
"Roar!"
Suddenly, a furious roar ripped through the air.
The Blackscale Lizard chieftain had noticed the threat Sunan posed and decided to eliminate this human with strange powers.
But before it could act, Kyi intercepted it.
"Lizard-head, your opponent is me!" Kyi sneered, slashing with his sword.
The power of a peak knight, amplified by the Brute Force Potion, produced an ear-splitting sonic boom.
The chieftain's eyes narrowed. It didn't dare to face the attack head-on and hastily dodged, losing its chance to reach Sunan.
"Kee-roo-wa-kee..."
The chieftain let out a strange, shrill cry.
Kyi initially dismissed it as a battle cry and was about to press his attack, but he suddenly sensed something was wrong and abruptly turned towards Sunan.
A massive dark shape had emerged from the rear of the battlefield, charging towards Sunan at an alarming speed.
Bradd was the first to react. He whirled around, roaring as he charged towards the figure with his Blackrock Iron shield raised.
Boom!
A deafening crash echoed as Bradd was sent flying like a kite with its string cut.
The dark figure merely stumbled back a few steps, shook its head, and recovered.
Sunan finally saw the attacker clearly.
It was a massive monitor lizard, seven or eight meters long, covered in tough, black and red scales.
"I didn't expect these lizard-heads to employ diversionary tactics."
Sunan smirked, but his expression remained calm.
He had noticed the creature before Kyi and Bradd and was ready. A Sleep Curse shot out.
This monitor lizard was clearly a mutant with an awakened Dragon Lizard bloodline. It had easily overpowered Bradd, who was empowered by the Brute Force Potion. Its combat strength was likely at the peak knight level. Acid Splash probably wouldn't do much and might only enrage it.
Therefore, Sunan chose Sleep Curse.
The charging monitor lizard suddenly faltered, swaying drunkenly.
"As expected of a mutant, it can even resist Sleep Curse."
Sunan didn't hesitate. He took out the Summon Monster I spell scroll and activated it.
Instantly, a brilliant hexagram appeared on the ground a few meters ahead.
As the light pulsed, a humanoid creature, less than a meter tall and wreathed in flames, appeared. It opened its mouth, letting out a childlike giggle.
"A Fire Child? Lucky me."
Sunan smiled.
Summon Monster, as the name implied, summoned a creature from another realm to assist in battle.
The strength of the summoned creature depended on the spell level, the caster's spiritual power, and luck.
Summon Monster I could summon creatures with strength ranging from mid-level knight to low-level Great Knight.
The Fire Child was a creature from the Plane of Fire, with combat power roughly equivalent to a peak knight.
Although he didn't summon a creature at the upper limit, a peak knight-level creature was still a valuable asset.
Following Sunan's command, the Fire Child cheered and rushed towards the still-groggy monitor lizard, embracing it tightly.
Almost instantly, the lizard's scales where the Fire Child made contact softened, shriveled, and turned to ash.
Flames erupted, burning the flesh beneath with a sizzling sound.
The intense pain instantly brought the monitor lizard out of its stupor. It let out a deafening shriek.
It thrashed its massive body, rolling on the ground to extinguish the flames and dislodge the Fire Child. Then, it opened its maw, filled with sharp teeth, and lunged at the Fire Child.
However, physical attacks had little effect on the elemental Fire Child. The teeth passed right through it, causing minimal damage. Instead, the monitor lizard burned its mouth on the flames, roaring in pain.
The Fire Child giggled and pounced again.
Burning Touch and Aura of Fire!
These were the Fire Child's two abilities.
Burning Touch inflicted severe fire damage to any creature it touched, even melting metal.
Aura of Fire emitted scorching rays in a ten-meter radius, continuously inflicting burn damage to all creatures within range.
Essentially, the Fire Child was a mobile source of intense heat.
Unless one possessed magic items that could isolate heat, getting close meant enduring constant burning.
The monitor lizard clearly had no way to counter the Fire Child.
Its scales couldn't withstand the intense flames.
It could only flee in a panic, a far cry from its initial imposing demeanor.
Bradd, finally recovered, got up and saw this. He stared in disbelief.
What kind of monster was that?
It was actually suppressing that terrifying lizard!
Not far away, Kyi breathed a sigh of relief, marveling inwardly.
As expected of Sunan, he always had unexpected tricks.
The Blackscale Lizards had made a grave mistake in choosing him as a target.
"Hee-hee-hee..."
The Fire Child's cheerful laughter intertwined with the monitor lizard's pained cries, echoing across the battlefield.
Despite its best efforts to evade, the Aura of Fire inflicted constant torment.
In a short time, the monitor lizard's body was covered in burns, not a single scale left intact.
After extinguishing the flames on itself yet again, the monitor lizard finally reached its breaking point. It rushed towards Sunan, collapsing before him and looking up with pleading eyes, seemingly begging for mercy.
"It's quite intelligent."
Sunan was amused.
It was rare to encounter such a unique mutant. He didn't want to kill it, so he halted the Fire Child and cast a Sleep Curse.
Weakened and injured, the monitor lizard couldn't resist. Its eyelids drooped, and it fell into a deep sleep.
As a precaution, Sunan didn't stop there. He patted his Blackrock Panther, instructing it to pin down the monitor lizard. Then, he placed his hand on the creature and cast Touch of Fatigue, draining its energy and ensuring it was completely incapacitated.
Having done all this, he finally turned his attention back to the battlefield.
The remaining Blackscale Lizards felt a chill run down their spines.
To their horror, t
he terrifying creature of flames charged towards them with a gleeful cry.