Chapter 58: The Astonishing Wisdom of the Red Dragon

To fight without reviewing is akin to not fighting at all.
To neglect post-battle summaries is to weep through the next war.
Arrogance is not the same as stupidity.
Goehlbert had no intention of making the same mistake twice.

Linde and his companions had undoubtedly analyzed their own attacks and behaviors as well.
More often than not, your opponent is the one who cares about you the most.
They practically commit your every move to memory.
Whether you dodge left or right before an attack—your subconscious reactions will be scrutinized by the enemy as fatal flaws to exploit.

The red dragon began to compile the intelligence he currently possessed regarding Linde:
Capable of generating mist, proficient in specialized spatial magic, possesses a flawless parry, colluding with a silver dragon, maximum provocation levels...

And beyond all that—
Mystery.
This individual was simply far too mysterious.
So mysterious that not a single trace of mana could be sensed.
One must remember that even the lowest-tier spells always produce a momentary ripple of mana upon casting.
Eyes might deceive a dragon, but mana never does.

Whether Linde was altering the size of cubes using spatial magic within the great hall or reflecting his attacks back at him, Goehlbert had not detected the slightest fluctuation of magical energy from the opponent.
This meant that in magical vision, the enemy could discern roughly what spells he was about to cast through shifts in mana, while he himself remained blind, unable to see the adversary, forced to constantly guard against a stealthy blow lurking mere inches away.

Having summarized Linde's profile, Goehlbert muttered to himself:
"In other words, this is what a human is. They have survival skills, can parry, and can completely reflect damage 100% in disregard of magical laws. Their attacks have no wind-up, their spells require no incantation, they consume no mana, and their mana fluctuations are untargetable—aaargh!"
"How am I supposed to fight this?!"
"Why don't you just declare yourself the winner?!"

The red dragon's back teeth itched with fierce resentment.
No matter how shameless one might be, one shouldn't be allowed to resort to such utterly despicable tactics.
Finally, he understood why humans had ever faced extinction.
If the ground was crawling with such beings, there was simply no room left for any other creatures to survive.
How on earth was he supposed to fight this? Here, take my life, brother.

After a thorough venting of his frustration, Goehlbert's mind gradually regained its composure.
Humans must possess weaknesses he hadn't yet considered; this required serious contemplation.
For instance, the opponent's flawless parry surely had limitations and must inflict a certain toll on the user himself.
Furthermore, their aerial capabilities were lacking, or else they wouldn't rely on a silver dragon to carry them through the air.

Linde had yet to display any offensive ranged spells, so their exact potency remained unknown.
However, close combat was most likely the enemy's weak point. Judging purely by physical stature, a single swipe of his claw would likely turn the human into a bloody pulp.
Not to mention physically elbowing him aside, Goehlbert thought.
The advantages of a dragon's bronze head and iron bones were simply incomparable to that frail, scrawny human form.

The only thing that required caution was how the damage would be reflected back onto him should Linde parry his physical attacks...
That detail needed close attention.
He could not go all out; he must constantly harass the enemy with minor spells, engage in brutal physical brawls, and strive at all costs to maintain his aerial advantage.

Among these considerations, air-to-ground combat was paramount.
In air-to-air skirmishes, relying on that young dragon whelp, the enemies might be adept at escaping, but in a direct clash, Linde and his crew were definitely no match for him.
Otherwise, after plundering his treasury, they could easily have circled and bombarded him from the air rather than provoking him into deploying high-tier magic.

The opponent would undoubtedly factor these points into their strategy, likely attempting to lure him down to the ground through various means or continuously taunting him to provoke high-tier spellcasting.
Goehlbert, therefore, intended to adopt a divide-and-conquer tactic: first separating the silver dragon from Linde to consolidate his absolute superiority in the skies.
This would also serve to prevent any unexpected aerial surprise attacks from the enemy.
After all, being unable to sense mana fluctuations during spellcasting was simply too insidious.

It was only after taking a hit that one could finally react.
Having confirmed his operational strategy, Goehlbert instantly felt refreshed, and even the pain from his wounds subsided slightly.
He had been resting for seven days; his external injuries had healed, though the damaged tissues within were still in the recovery phase.
Yet Goehlbert had no intention of dragging things out any longer.

He disliked prolonging conflicts with adversaries; the longer Linde recovered, the greater the likelihood of unforeseen complications.
After absorbing one more Earth Spirit Pearl today and resting for the night, he would set out tomorrow to track down their whereabouts, sworn to exact an eye for an eye.
Though his internal injuries posed some hindrance, as long as he avoided going all out, it would not be a major issue.
And his chosen tactic—the high-frequency, low-tier strategy—involved the rapid, repeated deployment of low-tier spells.

After deep contemplation, Goehlbert cast his gaze upon the greatsword resting beside his bed.
The black power of the End and the white blade were still locked in mutual antagonism.
Strangely enough, ever since that blow, the Ender power within his body seemed to have fallen dormant.
This had kept his mind remarkably clear, preventing any recurrence of those occasional memory lapses.
Had it not been for Linde catching him right in the middle of a memory blackout back in the great hall, the ultimate outcome would still have remained uncertain.

Ultimately, the red dragon abandoned the idea of continuing to absorb the Ender power to accelerate his recovery.
His thirst for power was boundless, but he understood even better what he was fighting for.
The loss of loyalty to his King was something he could not accept.

Goehlbert rolled over, beginning to daydream about tomorrow's duel against the King of Men.
With any luck, Linde would pull out some fresh tricks to catch his eye.
If that truly proved to be the case...
Linde, I suppose I shall never forget an opponent like you for the rest of my days!