"Roar… roar…"
A massive shadow swept across the sky, and then a gargantuan creature — at least several dozen meters long — retracted its horrifying fleshy wings and plunged into the black cavern.
"Mm! It's definitely a red dragon!"
Lei Lin nodded. The dragons of the world of gods resembled enormous winged lizards, but their appearance was far more grotesque, especially that pair of eyes like molten lava orbs, which had left a deep impression on him.
"Y-Yes, my lord!"
"Dragon pressure?" Lei Lin looked at Helen with a hint of understanding, then shook his head with some regret. "Looks like any class below tenth tier need not bother showing up. They won't be able to withstand the dragon pressure's intimidation at all…"
Lei Lin reached his conclusion.
In his eyes, this dragon pressure was essentially a weakened version of a mental domain. For any adventurer whose willpower wasn't resolute enough or whose spirit wasn't sufficiently refined, simply facing a dragon was already an enormous challenge, let alone coordinating an attack of any kind.
"As expected, those ordinary soldiers are only good for helping out on the sidelines!"
Without disturbing the colossal beast, Lei Lin led Helen back to the encampment stealthily.
In the time that followed, the entire company operated according to Lei Lin's orders like a vast and precise mechanism, humming into motion of its own accord.
"My lord! It's done!"
Tifa stood before Lei Lin with a squad of noticeably more elite high-tier professionals.
Every one of them now held a weapon radiating the glow of high-grade enchantments, and it appeared that something else had been applied to the blades as well.
"Mm! The witch-brew specifically designed to deal with dragons that we obtained from the Beastkin tribe last time — I hope it proves useful!"
Lei Lin couldn't help but recall the Beastkin encampment from before. The Beastkin had clearly been preparing to slay the dragon themselves as well; it was just a pity that all their materials had ended up in Lei Lin's hands.
And now, the things they had gathered would serve their purpose after all.
"Mm! Also, hand the Dragon-Daze potion and the rest of the supplies over to the advanced scouts and have them spread it around the dragon's lair. Hopefully the creature will take the bait…"
Although the encampment was still a considerable distance from the dragon's lair, it was by no means safe given the red dragon's patrol range. What's more, this particular red dragon happened to be in its active phase — it hadn't fallen into the deep slumber that plagued most of its kind, which put Lei Lin on his guard.
The camp was simply too conspicuous. If the dragon spotted it during one of its sweeps, the outcome didn't bear thinking about.
So, without placing much hope in the advanced assassins' poison traps doing the job, Lei Lin led fifty men straight to the entrance of the dragon's lair the very next day.
The ground was barren — not a blade of grass grew on it. It looked incredibly solid, and a strange, lingering smell hung in the air.
"This is the scent left behind by a great dragon. Ordinary animals wouldn't dare come anywhere near…"
Lei Lin glanced back at the troops behind him. Every last one of them was an advanced-class professional, and Rafinia and Tifa were very much among their number.
"According to the scout's observations, this is precisely the creature's rest period. And before that, the red dragon ate the specially doctored goat we prepared for it…"
Lei Lin mused over this when a dark figure suddenly emerged from the side, calling out in a hushed voice: "Boss!"
"Mm! What's the situation inside?"
"I can confirm that the red dragon is in there. The route is very straightforward — just a single passage, though there may be other creatures present!"
The army's senior scout relayed every piece of intelligence he had gathered.
"Good! Lead the way!"
Lei Lin had the scout take point. The group gripped their weapons tightly, a buzz of excitement running through them as they stepped into the dragon's lair.
The passage stretched on for a long time, seemingly leading straight into the heart of the mountain. It was vast and cavernous inside, the surrounding walls perfectly dry.
"Right up ahead!"
The scout ran to Lei Lin's side and spoke. Lei Lin nodded and ordered the group to halt.
In that moment, the entire troop fell utterly silent. Not a sound could be heard.
"You — take me in!"
Lei Lin moved forward alongside the scout. After navigating a bend, an even more enormous cavern opened up before his eyes.
At the entrance to the cavern, scorching light flickered ceaselessly. There were even clusters of quartz and other glittering materials scattered about.
At the entrance to the Crimson Dragon Cavern, two strange monsters stood guard like sentries.
"Hmm? Earth Dragons? Draconic subspecies? But they don't quite look like them!"
Lei Lin studied the two creatures — clearly sub-dragons, yet their aura was unmistakably closer to that of true-blooded dragons, and a gleam flickered in his eyes.
"In the legends, once an adult dragon awakens its intelligence, it often enslaves other races to serve its bidding! Ancient dragon species could even command the allegiance of an entire clan! I didn't expect that crimson dragon to have accomplished the same…"
After passing the two earth dragons, Lei Lin could sense a tremendous life force pulsing deep within the cavern, its rhythm rising and falling with each breath — it had clearly fallen into a deep slumber.
In that state, the slightest sound could wake it.
"Tipha!" Lei Lin instantly thought of the legendary powerhouse in his retinue.
"Young Master!" Tipha appeared at Lei Lin's side with a slight bow.
"Can you kill them without disturbing the crimson dragon?"
Lei Lin asked.
"That would be tricky. These draconic creatures have incredibly tenacious life force. I can make one of them vanish silently, but I cannot eliminate both in an instant."
Tipha's brow furrowed slightly.
"No matter — I'll assist you on that end!"
Lei Lin said softly.
"Then there will be no problem…" A few threads of darkness flickered through Tipha's eyes, then vanished just as quickly.
……
Beside the rocky cavern, a red earth dragon faithfully held its post, occasionally glancing at its companion nearby.
And then, without warning, it witnessed a sight that filled it with absolute horror.
A pitch-black figure materialized seemingly from the void itself, arms spreading wide as though tearing open a black hole — and swallowed its companion whole.
—[Shadow Leap]!
——[Black Hole Devour]!
Just as the earth dragon roared its warning, a burst of light had already appeared across its body — and then it found itself completely unable to move. —[Advanced Monster Paralysis Spell]!
The black figure charged straight ahead, and the enormous black hole swallowed its body as well.
Though the entire process was breathtaking, it took place in just a few short seconds, without so much as a single sound.
"That's[Silent Casting]!" Helen, standing behind Raylin, had witnessed the entire sequence, her pupils contracting slightly.
"Move!" Raylin made a hand signal, then entered the cavern along with Tifa.
Whoosh whoosh.
Then, he saw the objective of this trip.
It was indeed a red dragon! Its scales were a deep crimson, covered in smooth, dull patterns that gave off a metallic sheen. Two leathery wings with brownish-gray edges were folded against its back. A snake-like neck curved downward, burying its fearsome snout against its own chest, two long streams of white mist occasionally snorting from its nostrils.
A heavy wave of spiritual pressure radiated ceaselessly from the creature, powerful enough to break the spirit of any coward.
"It truly is a dragon! — and a fully grown one, a species that has completely entered the legendary realm!"
Rafinha's palms trembled slightly, and she couldn't help but tighten her grip on the enormous zhanmadao in her hands.
At this point, only she, Tifa, and Raylin had entered the cavern; the others remained outside. After all, even a slumbering red dragon possessed considerable sensory perception.
"Given its detection range, I'm afraid only Tifa has the ability to land a single strike before it inevitably wakes up..."
Raylin shot Tifa a meaningful glance. The latter immediately understood, creeping slowly toward the dragon while clutching a golden dagger.
Rafinha and Raylin also readied their own means of attack.
"Now!"
Tifa's golden dagger plunged fiercely into the triangular scale patch beneath the red dragon's neck — the location of its reverse scales, its greatest weakness.
ROAR ROAR!!!
In an instant, blood sprayed in all directions as the red dragon let out a thunderous roar — it had awakened!
Crack! Tifa was sent flying by the red dragon's tail, her figure engulfed by a mass of shadows in midair.
"You... these lowly mortals, daring to harm the great Sifalist..."
Though the wound from Tifa's dagger was utterly insignificant compared to the dragon's massive bulk, the red dragon still roared in fury, preparing to teach these little ants a lesson and send them to hell to repent for their sins.
"With such a toy... you actually thought..."
The red dragon roared, its eyes like burning orbs of flame glaring at
"My strength... what's going on? You wretched, lowly insects — what have you done to the great Sifalist?"
The red dragon's voice was laced with shock and rage, while Leylin was quite satisfied with the results of Tifa's attack.
The golden dagger that had been in her hand was actually a dragon-slaying dagger that Leylin had specially prepared for this operation — its potent toxins and curses were something even a dragon could not fully withstand.
"Chip!"
Leylin commanded flatly, and in that moment, the Chip immediately fed back the target's data.
[Name: Sifalist. Race: Red Dragon (Adult). Strength: 21 (25). Agility: 10. Constitution: 19 (21). Spirit: 16. Status: Weakening under curse — strength and constitution reduced. Talents: 1. Dragon Fear. 2. Dragon Scale Defense. 3. Dragon Breath. 4. Suggestion. Description: A creature that has reached the legendary tier, possessing extraordinary supernatural power capable of destroying a small city or army. It possesses the memories and magical heritage of a purebred dragon, with potential for further bloodline advancement!]
"Attack!"
Leylin roared, his assault striking the red dragon almost simultaneously with Lafinia's.
The massive cleaver trailed sharp battle qi and the glow of a magically-enhanced weapon as it tore viciously into the red dragon's enormous membranous wing, followed immediately by Leylin's spell attack.