Rody had not yet breathed a sigh of relief when the battered black dragon suddenly flung itself onto the cliff's edge, dangling its huge dragon head and staring at him with wide eyes.

"Speaking of which, we should thank you," the black dragon suddenly spoke in human language, its voice booming like thunder. "Had we not become suspicious upon discovering you and cast our magical perception around, we would not have known that a human great swordsman and a human Sword Emperor were lurking around us."

"No, no need to thank me…" Rody swallowed hard, struggling to remain calm in the face of the dragon.

"Human, help me pull out the 'Dragon Slaying Dagger' from my forehead. Not only will I give it to you, but I'll also give you the left hand and right leg of that Sword Emperor." The black dragon's voice thundered, and with a flash in its enormous dragon eyes, two objects fell from the sky, landing in front of Rody – the Sword Emperor's left hand and right leg. The black dragon glanced at Rody and added, "You are a human necromancer, aren't you? Strange, I just examined your Dark Servant and found you a puzzling child. Why would you use a rabbit as your Dark Servant? Young human, let me tell you some basics about necromancy. Unless you reach the level of a Law Saint, you can at most sign ten Dark Servants. Choosing a rabbit as a Dark Servant is a wasteful and unwise decision."

"Is that so? Only a Law Saint can sign more than ten Dark Servants?" Rody exclaimed in surprise, having always thought he could sign an unlimited number.

"A Law Saint can sign many Dark Servants, but there are almost no necromancer Law Saints. Even if there were, no one would be foolish enough to sign more than ten Dark Servants, nor would anyone choose a rabbit like you did. Training a Dark Servant to grow is a very slow process." The black dragon laughed heartily as if hearing the funniest thing in the world.

"How many Dark Servants can a five-star senior necromancer sign?" Rody blurted out, asking.

"Three, but special individuals can sign four," the black dragon responded, its voice rumbling. "A six-pointed star magic master can sign five, a Big Dipper seven-star magic grandmaster six to eight, and a Moon Halo Law King or Moonlight Gold Robe Great Law King eight to ten. Young man, that's all I can tell you about Dark Servants. If you help me remove the Dragon Slaying Dagger and relieve my pain, I can help you. I'll refine the Sword Emperor's hand and leg into undead limbs for you to merge into your human Dark Servant."

"You won't kill me?" Rody asked softly. "Perhaps the moment I pull out the Dragon Slaying Dagger, your dragon breath will be upon me."

"I, Alfred, swear by the name of the Dragon God, I will neither kill nor harm the human in front of me. On the contrary, I will reward him equally for his help." The black dragon exhaled a breath of dragon flame, igniting the severed hand and leg of the Sword Emperor on the ground. As the flames died down, only the blackened bones and twisted dark gold bracers remained.

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The black dragon's eyes flashed with light, and the dark gold bracelet reignited with black flames, eventually merging perfectly with the skeleton. The other broken leg also fused with the dark gold boots.

"This is a gift I present to you, representing my sincerity," the black dragon rumbled. "You can install this dark gold bone hand and the foot of dark gold onto the bodies of your human slaves of darkness, enhancing their combat ability. I have preserved the original power of the Sword Emperor for you. If your slaves of darkness are strong enough, they can unleash tremendous power."

Rody's heart pounded at this moment, facing two difficult choices. One was to assist the black dragon Alfred in removing the dragon-slaying dagger from his forehead, alleviating the threat to its life. The other was to refuse, to stall for time, waiting for the now articulate black dragon to succumb to its own limitations and fall dead.

Both choices were equally arduous and perilous. Removing the dragon-slaying dagger posed a significant risk of Alfred the black dragon turning hostile. Once the fatal weapon constraining it was gone, that would be its cue to attack. On the other hand, refusing to remove the dagger could lead the black dragon to immediately devour him. Delaying was not a feasible option either, as provoking the black dragon was not a pleasant matter, especially with the painful dragon-slaying dagger still embedded in its forehead.

"You swear, not to kill me by any means, whether it be today, tomorrow, or in the future," Rody thought swiftly. The black dragon currently posed no immediate threat to life, and it seemed that waiting for it to collapse and die would be a suicidal act.

Alfred the black dragon solemnly swore again and carried Rody to the cliff's edge. He bent his massive head down, showing the dragon-slaying dagger, which glowed golden and was deeply embedded in his forehead, asking Rody to help him pull it out and relieve his pain. Seeing that the black dragon could still move freely and control the dragon flame to forge the dark gold bone hand and foot for him, Rody hesitated slightly. In the end, he decided to help and pull out the dagger, rather than resort to petty tricks.

The black dragon seemed confident in letting him remove the dagger, believing in its ability to handle any tricks he might play.

Moreover, Rody was just a slightly stronger-than-average necromancer who couldn't cast necromancy spells himself. And most importantly, the black dragon was immune to all magic. This realization made Rody stop overthinking and abandon any crooked ideas.

Rody felt his hands trembling. If the black dragon kept its promise, then having the Sword Emperor-level dark yellow bone hand and the foot of dark gold would surely bring an unprecedented leap in strength to his slaves of darkness. But if it broke its promise, his life would be in danger. With his life hanging by a thread, Rody, in extreme nervousness, closed his eyes, grabbed the dagger that felt both scorching hot and ice cold, and pulled with all his might.

Surprisingly, the dragon-slaying dagger came out effortlessly. Countless streams of dragon blood spattered out, drenching Rody's head, face, and body...

"It's so hot!" Rody felt as if his entire body was on fire at that moment. The black dragon's blood spattered on him, igniting purple-black hellfire, turning him into a fire man. The immense pain knocked Rody down, and he rolled on the ground, howling in agony.

"Pitiful human, I said I would not kill you and would give you a fitting reward," the black dragon roared triumphantly. "Now I give you my dragon blood as your reward for saving me. I keep my promise not to kill you by any means, whether today, tomorrow, or ever. But if your body can't withstand the dousing of dragon blood and burns to ashes, that's not my concern."

"Ah..." Rody felt his hair, skin, muscles, and even bones burning and blazing. He wanted to curse loudly, but when he opened his mouth, he spat out flames.

"Farewell, ignorant human," the black dragon spread its wings, its broken wing rapidly healing, and soared into the sky.