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Chapter 100: A Hard-Fought Draw
Chapter 100: A Hard-Fought Draw
Despite Bonnie and the others' unwavering confidence in Jeremy, even Jeremy himself began to doubt his chances of defeating the Shadow Dragon during their battle.
Jeremy had used three consecutive speed-boosting skills to elevate his movement speed to an astonishing level.
Yet he still couldn't evade the Shadow Dragon.
In fact, the distance between them was steadily closing.
At the same time, Jeremy could feel the surrounding shadow energy intensifying to a suffocating degree.
Even without the presence of the Shadow Dragon, such concentrated shadow energy would be enough to trap a powerful player.
Behind the thick veil of shadow energy, one shadow storm after another began to form.
Although Jeremy's perception was severely disrupted by the shadow energy, with the help of The Eye of Omniscience, he could still detect these emerging shadow storms.
"The Shadow Dragon is using its skills! My time is running out!"
Jeremy quickly realized that the Shadow Dragon was about to launch a full-scale attack.
Before the attack could land, Jeremy equipped every piece of defensive gear he had in his storage space.
"Judgement Sword!"
After fortifying his defenses to their maximum, Jeremy preemptively unleashed the Judgement Sword skill.
Beyond inflicting a certain amount of physical damage on the target, Judgement Sword also has the capability to disrupt the opponent's subsequent actions.
While Judgement Sword interfered with the Shadow Dragon's movements, Jeremy immediately activated the active skill of his Tyrant Armor.
This armor significantly boosts Jeremy's health regeneration.
Jeremy hoped to restore his health to its maximum before the Shadow Dragon's next assault.
As he watched his health rapidly regenerate, some of Jeremy's internal apprehensions began to dissipate.
However, at that very moment, the Shadow Dragon's golden eyes suddenly materialized before him. Instantly, Jeremy was besieged by a multitude of shadow storms.
Despite his health having been restored to its peak, the sheer number of shadow storms inflicted severe damage on Jeremy.
Not only was the passive skill of the Tyrant Armor destroyed, but the passive skill of his Soul Necklace, Spiritual Guardian, was also triggered.
Jeremy found himself enveloped in a layer of silvery barrier.
However, the silvery barrier stood no chance against the Shadow Dragon's onslaught. In what seemed like the blink of an eye, the shimmering shield was utterly obliterated, dissolving into nothingness.
Nevertheless, the passive effect of the Soul Necklace afforded Jeremy a crucial window of reaction time, proving to be an invaluable asset in the heat of the moment.
Seizing the brief respite granted by the Soul Necklace's passive skill, Jeremy opted to use his blink ability once more. This time, he resolved to chain his blinks together, aiming to put as much distance as possible between himself and the Shadow Dragon with utmost speed.
Thanks to the synergy between his passive equipment effects and active skills, Jeremy narrowly evaded the Shadow Dragon's attack.
After barely managing to steady his nerves, Jeremy immediately retrieved every light-based artifact from his storage space.
"You are the first creature to push me to such a desperate brink! Truly worthy of being called the Dragon King born of shadows!"
Jeremy acknowledged the Shadow Dragon's formidable power, but that didn't mean he believed it was insurmountable.
"But today, I will show you that I, Jeremy, am the one who cannot be defeated!"
With these words, Jeremy hurled countless Light's Tear items toward the Shadow Dragon.
The clash between the forces of shadow and holy light resulted in a cataclysmic explosion, a thunderous roar erupting at the point of their convergence.
Despite Jeremy's quick reflexes to blink away and create some distance, the sheer force of the collision sent a shockwave that knocked him off his feet, slamming him to the ground.
Along with the deafening roar of the explosion, the bone-chilling sound of the Shadow Dragon's roar followed immediately.
The roar wreaked havoc on Jeremy, inducing an excruciating headache as if countless tormented souls were screaming inside his mind.
Simultaneously, his health points began to plummet rapidly.
[Notification: Shadow Dragon has just used the Dragon King's Storm skill.]
The effect of the Eye of Omniscience was triggered instantaneously. Until that moment, Jeremy had received no indication of the Shadow Dragon's skill usage, signifying that Dragon King's Storm was the first skill the Shadow Dragon had employed.
"I can't continue this fight any longer, even a draw seems beyond my reach." Jeremy conceded.
The battle with the Shadow Dragon had shown him that victory was nearly impossible, dispelling his last vestige of hope.
Realizing that defeating the Shadow Dragon was out of the question, Jeremy decided there was no point in holding back his remaining skills and items.
He promptly retrieved the Skeletal Staff and the Time Stopwatch from his storage space.
The moment he grasped the Skeletal Staff, Jeremy activated its passive effect, instantly transitioning into a soul state.
This state would temporarily shield Jeremy from the Shadow Dragon's physical skills, but he remained wary of soul attacks, which the Shadow Dragon undoubtedly possessed.
As soon as Jeremy entered the soul state, the Shadow Dragon's figure materialized nearby.
Sensing the change in Jeremy's life form, the Shadow Dragon refrained from launching an immediate attack, opting instead to observe.
After a brief moment, it decided to employ its soul attack skill.
Just as the Shadow Dragon initiated its attack, Jeremy pressed the button on the Time Stopwatch. The stasis skill of the Time Stopwatch could freeze any enemy, regardless of rank, for one second. Though brief, this second was crucial for Jeremy to evade the impending strike.
Simultaneously, the Time Stopwatch's foresight function activated, revealing the Shadow Dragon's actions for the next three seconds in vivid detail.
The Shadow Dragon was on the verge of unleashing its soul-shattering skill, [Soul Assault]. As the skill was about to be activated, the dragon also began channeling an immense concentration of shadow energy, causing it to coalesce ominously around Jeremy.
"I knew the Shadow Dragon's next move would be its ultimate attack!"
Under immense pressure, Jeremy's mind worked with razor-sharp precision.
In that fleeting second of stasis, Jeremy formulated his next course of action. As the stasis ended, the Shadow Dragon's Soul Assault skill activated instantly.
In that moment, Jeremy felt his soul being torn apart by the powerful shadow energy.
However, this sensation lasted only for a fleeting moment, as Jeremy reactivated his blink skill.
This time, rather than distancing himself from the Shadow Dragon, he chose to teleport directly beside it.
"If your power is so formidable, let me see if you can withstand the might of the radiant light!" Jeremy understood that simply running away would never secure his escape.
The Shadow Dragon would relentlessly pursue him, so to have any hope of fleeing successfully, he needed to deliver a debilitating blow first.
Jeremy's earlier deployment of light-based artifacts was a calculated move, setting the stage for his next critical action.
Grasping his skeletal staff firmly, Jeremy directed the energy of all the light artifacts to converge around the Shadow Dragon.
Despite the intense negative effects wracking his body, Jeremy proceeded to unleash the full power of the light from the artifacts in succession.
As the radiant energy burst forth, Jeremy quickly retrieved energy crystals and soul crystals from his storage space.
The energy crystals were used to construct a defensive barrier, while the soul crystals bolstered his mental state, preventing him from succumbing to the overwhelming negative effects and descending into madness.
The surge of powerful light energy instantly dispelled all the shadow energy surrounding Jeremy. The Shadow Dragon found itself engulfed in a zone of absolute radiance.
The intense light ignited the Shadow Dragon's body.
Causing it to emit a pained howl, though this time, its roar lacked the previous imposing force.
There was no doubt that Jeremy had dealt a severe blow to the Shadow Dragon.
Amidst its agonized cries, the dragon fixed its large golden eyes on Jeremy with a burning intensity.
Jeremy, in turn, locked eyes with the Shadow Dragon. He had exhausted his arsenal, if the Shadow Dragon chose to continue the fight, victory was beyond his reach.
Yet, Jeremy maintained a facade of unwavering confidence, aiming to intimidate the Shadow Dragon and force it into making a miscalculated decision.
The radiant energy enveloping the Shadow Dragon gradually dissipated.
Despite being severely wounded by the light's power, the dragon still possessed enough strength to continue the fight.
The tense standoff between man and dragon stretched on in silence.
Eventually, the Shadow Dragon transformed into a wisp of black mist and vanished.
[Congratulations, player! You have successfully repelled the advanced lord boss. The Eye of Omniscience grants you an additional hint.]
[Note: Consuming the heart of the Shadow Dragon after defeating it will trigger a divine-level reward.]
With the appearance of this message, Jeremy could finally confirm that the Shadow Dragon had indeed departed.
The tension that had kept Jeremy's nerves taut finally released, and he collapsed onto the ground.
"It was already so difficult just to hold my ground against the Shadow Dragon, and now The Eye of Omniscience gives me a hint about what to do after defeating it. Who knows if I'll ever get the chance to actually defeat the Shadow Dragon!"
Jeremy exclaimed, unable to suppress his frustration.