“This isn’t my first time meeting an elf as haughty as you,” the Martial Lord said as he turned around and narrowed his eyes at Lindyss. He punched his right fist into his left palm. “Do you know what happened to them? They were crushed by my fists.”
“Oh, no, I’m so scared,” Lindyss said, her voice and expression completely flat. “Whatever shall I do.” She uncrossed her arms and placed her elbow down on the rocking chair’s armrest. She opened her hand and rested her cheek against her palm, leaning over to one side. “So, are you going to stand there posturing all day?”
Ouyang Feng glared at Lindyss and lowered his arms. Even though his gaze was focused on Lindyss, it was hard to ignore the dragon sleeping in the background since the elf was sitting right in front of it. “All the elves I’ve met were sore losers,” the Martial Lord said. “The instant I beat you, you’ll wake the dragon behind you and have him attack me. I’m not falling for that.”
“Wow, what an amazing plan,” Lindyss said, her voice flat enough to support a pyramid. “Your brain must be a few sizes larger than the average human’s. Perhaps it’s swollen with water?”
“Vur Besteck might’ve defeated us, but that gives you no right to treat me like this,” Ouyang Feng said. “I challenge you to a duel.”
“That’s not very fair,” Lindyss said, a small smile appearing on her lips.
“After speaking so big, you’re worried?” the Martial Lord asked. “I’ll handicap myself by keeping my left hand behind my back.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Lindyss said, her gaze traveling over all the lords beside Ouyang Feng. “If you do that, you’ll lose even quicker. If every one of you lords work together, then, maybe, just maybe, I’ll feel a bit of a challenge.” The cursed elf leaned back in her rocking chair, folding her hands on her lap as she looked at Ashley and Jasmine. “I don’t mind if the two of you want to help them as well.”
Ouyang Feng tilted his head, cracking his neck. He tilted his head to the other side, causing another series of cracks to ring out. He fixed his posture and took a step forward. “All of you, back off.” He glared at the lords behind him. “If you’re not going to fight seriously, you’ll only end up getting in my way.”
Jasmine and Ashley exchanged glances with each other before retreating from the front of Lindyss’ rocking chair. Even if they teamed up with the other lords and won against the elf, what would they have achieved? They’d have defeated one of Vur’s subordinates for no reason, and it’d give him a righteous reason to beat them—not like dragon’s needed a reason in the first place, but still.
Ouyang Feng narrowed his eyes as all the lords other than himself distanced themselves from him, evidently thinking the same thoughts as Ashley and Jasmine. “I’ll warn you once,” the Martial Lord said to Lindyss, extending his hands out in front of himself in a combat stance. “Fists and feet have no eyes; they do not discriminate. I might strike something vital on accident.”
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“Don’t worry,” Lindyss said as she picked up her rocking chair by the end of its armrest. The lords’ eyes widened when the cursed elf stuffed the whole thing into her dress’ pocket. “You can’t kill me.” She held her arms out to the side, and the lords gasped as Lindyss’ shadow elongated and expanded, blanketing the forest behind herself in a layer of pitch black. Even Vur had been covered, only his massive outline discernible as if he were a silhouette.
“What the…?” Ouyang Feng asked, his brow furrowing. He glanced at the Shadow Lord. “Darkie, do you know what she’s doing?”
“It, it looks like she’s opening a storage space,” the Shadow Lord said. “But that’s impossible. A shadow storage can’t be that large.”
“No, I think you’re right,” Jasmine said as she retreated while walking backwards towards the other lords. “Something’s coming out of it.”
A white figure gradually appeared within Lindyss’ giant shadow, revealing a massive dragon’s claw. The skeletal dragon’s leg came after, quickly followed by the dragon’s skull. Shadows slid down its teeth like blood, dripping back into the darkness.
“Well,” Ouyang Feng said. “Since this dragon’s already dead, it must be easier to kill again, right?”
“You’re not fighting the dragon,” Lindyss said, causing the Martial Lord’s brow to furrow. “You’re fighting the skeleton.” On top of the bone dragon’s head, there was a skeleton wearing dozens upon dozens of pieces of jewelry: rings, bracelets, necklaces. Rings and bracelets were worn around every individual bone in its body, from its arms to its legs as if someone had meticulously taken the whole skeleton apart and weaved jewelry through its bones before putting the whole thing back together. It looked more like it was made of metal and precious jewels than it did bones. In the skeleton’s right hand, it was holding a wooden staff made of dozens of little wands grafted together.
The bejeweled skeleton leapt off the bone dragon’s head and landed on the ground in front of Lindyss. The cursed elf’s shadow retreated, causing the bony dragon to disappear from view as the darkness washed over it and returned to its rightful size.
“What is the meaning of this?” Ouyang Feng asked. “Can you not control the bone dragon? Why isn’t it fighting?”
Lindyss raised an eyebrow. “Why would I use a bone dragon to defeat you? That’s like using a cannon to kill a fly.”
Ouyang Feng’s narrowed. “Is that so?” he asked and took a step forward. His right leg pushed hard against the ground as he dashed ahead, practically disappearing from view before reappearing in front of the bejeweled skeleton. The Martial Lord drew his right fist back and stomped forward with his left leg. He launched a punch at the skeleton, but it suddenly surged upwards in a blur. Ouyang Feng adjusted his form, changing the direction of his punch to aim higher, but even still, he was too slow. The skeleton flew towards the sky, and a massive, circular wall of earth rose up all around the clearing save for Vur. The ground shook as the lords were trapped together with Lindyss, the walls climbing higher with every passing moment.
“If you don’t escape soon, it’ll be too late,” Lindyss said to the lords behind Ouyang Feng. She grinned as lightning danced along her fingertips. “Don’t blame me for not warning you.”