Chapter 78: The Dragon’s Greed

“Hand over your armor, and I’ll leave your corpse intact!” The moment it saw the armor on Rod’s body, excitement flashed in the black dragon’s eyes! If observed closely, one could see the fervent glow within them—as it stared at the Black Flame Armor, it almost drooled.
“Heh, I never thought humans would have fallen this low. I, Sognar, have slept for a thousand years—have you truly declined so much? After thousands of years, the only one who comes is just a mere beginner at the Saint level? Where are those godly elders? Are they all dead? What do they think they can achieve by sending such a lowly scoundrel?” Looking down at Rod as if he were an ant, the dragon named Sognar spoke with disdain and contempt.
“Oh? There’s another kid with you? It carries the scent of our great dragon race—despicable wretch! It’s pure dragon energy! How dare you degrade the souls of our dragon clan! Unforgivable!” Then, the black dragon noticed Fen Tian standing by Rod. Sensing Fen Tian’s pure dragon energy, its expression darkened as it roared in anger.
Yet upon closer inspection, a hint of greed, strangeness, and excitement could be seen in the black dragon’s eyes.
Frowning, Rod was annoyed by the dragon’s tone—he hated such arrogance. But given the situation, he had no choice but to act, as his strength was utterly outmatched. Taking a deep breath to suppress his anger, he glanced at the black dragon and the cave it guarded fiercely. Suddenly, a cold smirk appeared on his lips, and then Rod did something astonishing!
Under the dragon’s incredulous gaze, Rod turned and swiftly fled into the distance. Using the dense forest as cover, he moved nimbly, sparing no effort and unleashing his combat energy without hesitation.
It was only when Rod was about to vanish from sight that the black dragon finally reacted. Its eyes turned icy, and all traces of disdain vanished, replaced by intense fury. It felt deceived, tricked by a smiling human! This was absolutely unforgivable.

A giant dragon, especially a high-ranking one, would never allow anyone to treat it in such a manner. Anyone who dared to challenge the might of the dragons was unforgivable! Death was inevitable.

A roar echoed, spreading out like a wave of air. Immediately afterward, the dragon’s massive body became surprisingly agile. In a flash, it vanished from its original spot, turning into a wisp of smoke, and chased after Rod at a speed beyond human sight.

“Damn you, bastard!” Feeling the dragon’s pursuit behind him and sensing that powerful energy closing in, Rod grew anxious and cursed inwardly. If caught by this creature, he would surely die! He had to get away if he wanted to survive.

Yet, the dragon’s speed was beyond Rod’s imagination. In less than a moment, it was already less than a hundred meters away! The pure darkness surged toward him, and an icy cold instantly invaded his body, causing Rod to shiver uncontrollably.

Following closely behind Rod, Fen Tian also sensed the grave danger. It had never faced such a crisis before and was somewhat panicked. From time to time, it threw fireballs or fire-based spells behind it, but they were completely ineffective!

“Wretched human, stop!” The dragon roared, its loud sound waves making Rod’s blood surge, nearly forcing him to spit out blood. Gritting his teeth, he swallowed the blood and took a deep breath. “Damn it! Do you think I’m stupid? Waiting to die? That’s something only fools would do. I’d rather fight!”

Dismissing the dragon’s intelligence, he spat out his combat energy and fled at full speed. Using the dense forest as cover, he moved swiftly, causing the dragon significant trouble. Its massive body was hindered by the trees, preventing it from accelerating.

Seeing the human so close yet unable to catch him, the dragon roared in anger, firing dark magic spells at Rod. Yet, they were all dodged or blocked by Fen Tian. The dragon grew frustrated.

With reckless charges, the roar continued nonstop, turning the once quiet forest into a chaotic scene. Relying on its brute force, the dragon broke trees in its path, leaving countless trunks lying scattered and leaves flying everywhere.

After charging for a full thousand meters, he had unknowingly entered an area with a gravity of 1,500. The increased gravity significantly slowed down Rod’s speed, while the dragon behind him, though blocked by the trees, was steadily closing in! In the blink of an eye, it was already less than thirty meters away from Rod.

“Damn it! That persistent bastard!” After charging for so long and suffering continuous magical attacks, and despite having Burn Heaven’s help and constantly dodging, he had still been hit several times. His body was covered in wounds, and the pain was unbearable. Sensing the intrusion of some dark force, his condition was in complete disarray. Rod cursed angrily.

He knew that if things continued like this, he would eventually be caught. Even with Burn Heaven’s help, he would have no chance of resistance and would end up dead. Frustrated, Rod wondered how lucky he was to have slayed such a monster with just one sword strike. Moreover, the appearance of such a monster in this place seemed somewhat strange!

On the other hand, Rod was secretly relieved that he hadn’t seen any magical beasts during his long chase. Otherwise, if even one of them had appeared to stop him, he would have died for sure today!

Unbeknownst to him, the dragon’s anger and pressure had already forced all magical beasts within ten thousand meters to retreat or hide, too afraid to confront it. The dragon’s pressure was beyond what ordinary magical beasts could withstand.

“Wretched human, die!” Suddenly, Rod felt a chill sweep over him, his spine turning icy cold. Then, a terrifying presence appeared behind him, its intense threat making him tremble. His expression changed abruptly as he instinctively turned to confront it with Dark Dragon.

Boom… A deafening roar echoed, followed by a feeling of suffocation. Blood sprayed out, and then he was flung forward like an arrow leaving the bow, at a speed even greater than his own charging speed.

Glancing sideways in horror, he saw that in just that instant, the dragon had somehow reached right behind him! Watching its massive body continue to close in, he endured the unbearable pain, took a deep breath to steady himself, and used the momentum from being flung forward to keep running.

“Kid, provoke him! Hurry up! He cares most about the treasure. We can’t let him keep chasing us, or it’s over!” Xuanyuan’s anxious voice came from within his heart. Clearly, seeing the precarious situation, Xuanyuan was worried and started to offer advice to Rod!

Xuanyuan’s words sparked an idea in Rod’s mind. Seeming to have figured something out, he immediately shouted loudly, “Damn you, black worm! Do you give up on your treasure? Aren’t you afraid it might have been stolen by others after being gone for so long?”
“That treasure is highly coveted. Who knows what’s happening now…”
“Damn you, humans! Shut up!” With a roar, another massive dark magic attack came! Feeling the cold aura, Rod quickly dodged, while Fen Tian hurriedly cast fire spells to resist!
Although the dragon attacked, it was obvious that after hearing Rod’s words, it hesitated slightly and slowed down its pursuit. It even tilted its head slightly and looked back in the direction of its lair.
Clearly, for a dragon that regarded wealth and treasure as its life, nothing could be more worrying than the threat to its hoard—nothing was more important than its treasures. Rod’s words had clearly touched a deep concern within it, making it worried.
Rod saw the dragon’s reaction and a faint smile appeared on his lips. He felt slightly relieved and then, without hesitation, accelerated once more toward the denser woods in the distance. Thanks to the dragon’s hesitation and slowdown, he managed to gain a significant distance in an instant, temporarily escaping the clutches of death.
Watching the human figure recede ahead and glancing back at the woods behind, the dragon hesitated for a moment, its expression changing several times. It spat out several bursts of cold air, its eyes filled with unwillingness and worry.
“Damn you, humans! You’re lucky today, but don’t get too happy. I, Sognar, will still come for you and keep you alive a few more days!” With a loud roar, the dragon did something that shocked and surprised Rod greatly—it turned around and rushed back toward its cave at an even faster speed. Rod could clearly sense its urgency, and even its appearance showed signs of desperation and haste on its way back!
After escaping danger and slowing down, Rod stood still and turned around. He opened his mouth but couldn’t say a word, his face filled with shock and amazement!

“So easy to get rid of?” he muttered in disbelief! Clearly, such an outcome was far too dramatic! It was hard for Rod to accept. The dragon’s greed for money far exceeded his imagination—reaching a terrifying level. A joke was enough to make it give up chasing him. If he had known this earlier, he should have said it sooner, so as not to end up in such a mess now.
Sure that he was out of danger, he didn’t care about anything else. Blood gushed from his mouth as he sat on the ground, gasping for breath. At that moment, Rod’s face was pale as death!