Xenk's swordsmanship was undoubtedly superb, but his opponent knew him very well, which made it hard for Xenk to execute many of his moves—or rather, even when he did, he couldn't achieve the expected effect.
Aoko narrowed her eyes, carefully observing Dralas's condition, and soon noticed something was off.
Although Dralas looked alive, as the fight between the two dragged on, subtle differences began to emerge.
Xenk's attack rhythm had undeniably slowed compared to when he was fighting four opponents at once earlier—an inevitable result of his stamina dropping. However, Dralas showed no change at all.
No matter how wide or fierce Dralas's attacks were, his speed and power didn't waver, which meant his stamina was locked.
Xenk's raw strength was undoubtedly superior to Dralas's, and Dralas didn't dare let Xenk's Holy Smite touch his body—if that sword struck solidly, he'd likely die on the spot.
But Aoko's prophecy expertise still sensed something wrong—this Dralas was waiting for some opportunity to finish off his old rival, Xenk, once and for all...
At this point, the battle had reached its most intense stage. They weren't just exchanging weapon blows; their fists and feet clashed as well, both sides seeking a decisive opening.
And Xenk found that opening.
Xenk gritted his teeth, relying on his equipment's advantage, and took a blow from his opponent head-on. Although the strike didn't pierce Xenk's armor, its magical effect still inflicted real harm.
With a furious roar, Xenk seized the moment when Dralas's old strength was spent and new hadn't yet surged, gripped his sword with both hands and stabbed it into Dralas's heart.
Blazing holy power surged through the evil, pus-filled organ with the Holy Smite's purifying blow, blasting a bloody hole through Dralas's chest. Dark red, nearly black blood gushed from the wound as Dralas fell on his back, eyes wide open in disbelief.
Panting, Xenk burned the blood off his sword with radiant energy, sheathed his blade, and turned to walk toward Aoko and the others.
Everything looked perfect: a skilled, resolute paladin had defeated his evil nemesis and was about to return to his companions—
"We—" Xenk started to say something, but suddenly noticed Aoko's attention wasn't on him. She raised her hand, casting a spell.
Dralas, who had been a corpse, suddenly sat up stiffly, somehow producing a wand made of human bone, and fired a bolt of crimson lightning at Xenk's back!
Finger of Death!
Everyone's hearts leaped into their throats. They hadn't expected a paladin as mighty as Xenk, after winning a five-on-one fight, to be killed by a cowardly sneak attack—
But this didn't come to pass. The Finger of Death stored in Delas's wand didn't hit Xenk's back but instead struck a semi-transparent force field hand.
Everyone knows force damage is real damage, and force field shields are the strongest defense—so it wasn't surprising that Bigby's Grasping Hand could block Finger of Death.
Xenk recovered instantly and spun around to see Dralas, revived and launching a sneak attack, but failing. He couldn't help but feel a little regret for his carelessness.
But Aoko had no intention of giving the bald villain another chance. Bigby's Grasping Hand grabbed Dralas's body, the immense pressure crushing the decayed skeleton, and the bone wand fell to the ground.
"Dead men aren't that easy to kill," Xenk said grimly. "We've got the helmet—let's leave quickly, or we'll never be rid of them."
"No," Aoko shook her head, maintaining the spell, "Nothing is truly immortal. If I put them in a continuously damaging environment, like..."
Aoko made a classic throwing gesture, and Bigby's Grasping Hand did the same, tossing Dralas's body in a beautiful arc into the river of lava with a splash.
"...like this. Will they keep coming back?" Aoko said with a smile, picking up the other soon-to-revive assassins' bodies with Bigby's Hand, watching them struggle helplessly.
"Useless," Aoko said with a slightly wicked smile, "This is an empowered, maximized spell. How could you trash break free? Rest in peace..."
She then tossed the remaining four into the lava before dismissing the spell, clapping her hands as if she'd just finished some tiring chore.
"Thank you," Xenk said seriously to Aoko. "You really opened my mind. To deal with these unkillable types, nature's help is a perfect solution."
"Environmental use is a must for casters," Simon suddenly chimed in. "I heard someone once killed an enemy with a teleportation portal..."
"All right, magic masters," Edgin urged, "save your knowledge sharing for later. We're running out of time—let's get moving!"
"Right," Aoko nodded. "Xenk, do you know the way from here to the Gray Dwarves' Vengeance Forge? That place was built by gnomes too. We can take a boat from the port there—"
Halfway through, a rumbling sound interrupted her, the ground beneath their feet trembling.
"An earthquake?" Holga asked nervously. "That's bad news in the Underdark!"
"No, it's not an earthquake!" Doric crouched down, feeling the ground. "Something huge is approaching us!"
As everyone grew alert, searching for the source of the quake, a massive figure appeared in the distant cave mouth.
It was a giant red dragon, eyes greedy and malicious, its yellow slit pupils sizing up the mortals as if pondering how to strip them and roast them for dinner.
The red dragon was extremely obese—so fat it couldn't fly properly, with layers upon layers of chins. How was this possible?
"Themberchaud!" The paladin's face darkened. "He must have found a new lair nearby!"
"Isn't this big guy the Wyrmsmith of Gracklstugh?" Aoko frowned. "Why isn't he in Bladeward breathing fire? What's he doing here? And why is he so fat...?"
"Who cares why he's here? Let's run!" Edgin urged frantically. "While he's still far, let's lose him! Go!"