The Return of the God Level Assassin

He Zhi Long ignored the announcement in front of him and continued to fly as fast as possible. He had already deduced the location of the final checkpoint and was flying in that direction. He was the only one remaining in his team. He had to arrive there before team Yunyue.

[To reach your final destination, follow the moon's silver light, where the ruler's domain is hidden in plain sight. Seek the grand hall where the monarch resides, a palace named for the goddess who rules the night.]

That was the clue for the final checkpoint. Anyone with half a mind could tell it was pointing to Selene Palace, the residence of the King of Arcadia. It made perfect sense to choose it as the final destination. The palace wasn't just a location; it was the very symbol of Arcadia itself.

Given the details of the clue, it was likely that simply arriving wasn't enough—he'd probably need to enter the palace to officially reach the 'finish line'.

It was a good thing that Zhuo Meimei had the presence of mind to send that message to the team channel before she was eliminated.

Let's go back a couple of minutes to know what had happened;

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He Zhi Long glanced down as he kept unleashing fire below, hoping the distraction would buy enough time for Zhuo Meimei and Wang Bin to figure out if the clue was in the area they had jumped into.

But barely a minute had passed when a message appeared in the team channel:

[Trap. Dragon. Clue.]

Right after that, the notification of Zhuo Meimei's elimination followed. With both the message and her sudden elimination, it didn't take He Zhi Long long to figure out what had just happened.

As they had suspected, White Marsh and the others showing up below had been a trap designed to split them apart. But with no idea where the clue was, they had no choice but to take the bait. Now, with Zhuo Meimei's message, it was clear—the clue was with the dragon.

He Zhi Long gritted his teeth in frustration. Since the clue was with the dragon, there was no point wasting any more time here. He flew directly toward the dragon, moving so fast that when he collided with an invisible barrier, the impact sent him flying backward. He quickly shifted into his humanoid form, skillfully stopping his momentum in midair before regaining control.

The impact still reduced his HP, and he frowned in annoyance. He then shifted his focus to the dragon, realizing it was being shielded by an invisible barrier. That annoyed He Zhi Long even more.

Being repelled so easily made it clear just how high the grade of the invisible shield was. For Team Yunyue to use such a powerful item, it was obvious they intended to finish the match here. If both he and Wang Bin were eliminated, victory would go to Yunyue. Given that they were in Yunyue's territory, it was likely that more high-level traps were waiting for him.

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Trying to push through them would only cost He Zhi Long valuable time.

So, what should he do now?

His gaze shifted to the tree behind the dragon, then to the dragon itself. The dragon stared back at him with disdain, as if he wasn't even worth acknowledging. It made sense—He Zhi Long was regarded as a false dragon in this game, so it was only natural that the dragon NPCs would despise him.

Wait— NPC?

Right. This dragon was not a player, but a pet. That meant there was no human brain behind it that could help it think complicated thoughts. This dragon would simply react according to how it was programmed.

Dragons in this game were naturally arrogant and proud, viewing everything around them as beneath them. That's why He Zhi Long was genuinely amazed that team Yunyue had managed to acquire two of them as pets. But that's currently besides the point.

He knew how the dragons here, whether western or eastern, looked down on false dragons like his kind. To them, it was as if his race was pretending to be dragons when they clearly weren't, which the 'real' dragons considered a grave insult.

He Zhi Long could use that arrogance against the dragon.

"Heh. So, this is a great dragon?" he said in a mocking, sarcastic tone, his voice dripping with contempt. "I've seen lizards more impressive than you. Must be easy hiding behind that barrier, right? Afraid to face a 'false dragon' like me?"

The dragon's eyes narrowed, a low growl rumbling from its throat. He Zhi Long smirked, continuing to taunt.

"Guess I shouldn't expect more from a pet. No real dragon would cower behind a shield like this."

The insult clearly got to the dragon. Its eyes narrowed, lips curling back to reveal razor-sharp teeth as a deep growl rumbled from its throat. The taunt obviously affected its pride, causing its chest to heave and smoke to billow angrily from its nostrils. He Zhi Long could see the tension in the creature's muscles, the way its wings twitched with barely-contained rage.

The dragon took a step forward, its gaze locked onto He Zhi Long with a mixture of fury and contempt. He could sense the dragon's restraint slipping. When he smirked and added, ""So this is what passes for a dragon these days? I've seen pets with more bite. You're not even worth the effort," that was the final push.

As the dragon rushed toward him, He Zhi Long stayed composed, waiting for the exact moment. When it was close enough, he used one of his strongest skills, [Heaven's Cleave]. His weapon glowed with intense energy as he swung it in a single, precise motion aimed at the dragon's chest. The attack struck with overwhelming force, designed to eliminate even the toughest foes in one hit.

The dragon froze for a split second before its massive form shattered into particles of light.

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And that's how he defeated the dragon. He couldn't even celebrate that because just a second before, it was announced that team Yunyue had found the clue to the final checkpoint.