Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 101 The Duel of Two Dragons

The underground journey has been anything but smooth from the moment we entered this area.

The "seal" has clearly gone terribly wrong. Now, this underground world is teeming with all sorts of monsters, and they are attacking everything in their path with their ravenous hunger.

"The area outside the underground ruins is now piled high with these things; it's impossible to see anything inside now."

Monsters will not let each other go; the strong naturally prey on the weak.

Rean couldn't even imagine what might be inside the underground ruins that could drive the winter wolf pack to such a remote corner.

"Not necessarily. It's also possible that the winter wolf pack has a very wide range of activity." This explanation does seem to offer some reassurance.

The overwhelming pressure left the travelers with no time for idle chatter.

The frequent surprise attacks kept the soldiers on high alert at all times.
"Oh, this card game is interesting. Can you teach me how to play?" Rean was probably the only exception; he was very interested in the exquisite card game that Purple Rose had brought out.

"Of course, I'll teach you step by step!" The magical girl leading the group, Purple Rose, also looked relaxed, except that her "mascot" was still lying on the carriage.

Rean's relaxation was justified; he was indeed the only person in the team unrelated to this mission!
Even a paladin doesn't need to constantly create opportunities for themselves or save the world all the time.

His arrival was ultimately at Miss Purple Rose's invitation, who said she could bring him and Sallyman to grind some monsters and gain some experience.

The so-called training is actually aimed at obtaining monster materials.

At that time, Purple Rose saw that Rean was on the verge of evolution and kindly offered to train him.

So since Rean was already here, ordering food was not a problem at all.

"Dragons, the stronger the better, preferably five-colored evil dragons, not red dragons."

Purple Rose smiled and agreed, as this was exactly what she had expected.

If it weren't for the unexpected delay in the journey, they might have already finished hunting and started their return trip. But from her perspective, this doesn't seem like a bad thing.

She held Rean in even higher regard. Even without direct responsibility, Rean's ability to relax and adjust his state at this time proved his extensive experience in battle.

But Rean's words inadvertently revealed something.

"Any kind of dragon? You must have a very powerful alchemist behind you." Purple Rose always felt that Rean was a bit contradictory. He clearly had the smell of gunpowder on him, but sometimes he acted extremely immaturely.

Purple Rose's words startled Rean.

When did I leak Kuku's information?

Little did he know that a normal potion master would start by specifying particular ingredients when concocting an evolution potion.

Those recipes are relatively fixed. Not to mention different species, there are also specific requirements for the subspecies, sex, degree of mutation, and age of the same magical beast.

Being able to process whatever materials are available is definitely a master's standard self-awareness. It may also be the fearless courage of a kobold, capable of handling any unexpected situations when things go wrong.

Seeing Li En's bewildered expression, Purple Rose covered her mouth and chuckled, but didn't press him for details.

She was actually reminding Rean that there are some things you shouldn't say casually when you're out and about.

Generally speaking, the evolution of a species is not something that can be accomplished overnight. Relying solely on magic potions is not very realistic; it often requires multiple surgeries to implant special magic potions and materials.

Afterwards, depending on the physical condition, the potion may need to be adjusted several or even dozens of times.

The time required for evolution depends on the quality of the evolved individual and the abilities of the potion master (coordinator), but it is generally not too short.

Of course, where there are high-end products, there are also cheap ones. Those "common products" are not only technologically advanced, but also have low costs, and the materials they use may be much cheaper.

Many powerful forces, especially the Church of the True God, have their own complete evolutionary systems and formulas, and even corresponding extraordinary professions, truly covering everything from entry to burial.

However, mass-produced products have some issues. It's not that they're weak or unusable, otherwise there would be no need for their widespread use; rather, their price-performance ratio may not be suitable for you.

Many powerful individuals initially follow a common path, but later embark on their own evolutionary journey.

However, this was a wrong turn, which can be said to have wasted some of life and potential, and lowered the upper limit. It would be a good thing to avoid it.

The Larry and Talia that Rean knew were both unique evolutionary paths best suited to their race and traits.

The former is Labor's family lineage, while the latter is a high-quality prerequisite for a certain killing organization. What they have in common is that they are both very expensive. Expensive materials are not necessarily the strongest, but they are definitely not weak.

"You trust him a lot?" Purple Rose couldn't help but be a little curious.

To have someone else tailor an evolutionary path for you is not just about having the ability, but also about entrusting your destiny to them.

"Uh," Rean couldn't respond, turning his gaze to the darkness outside, but his silence was his response.

For some reason, Purple Rose was a little annoyed and didn't want to play anymore.

"Ah, there's an attacker." Sure enough, upon closer inspection, they actually saw something.

"Oh, there. Oh, already dead."

Although they were playing cards in the carriage, Rean was actually contributing all along.

His Holy Flame Aura can occasionally scald an unlucky soul. The low-cost Holy Flame Aura ability is really useful for catching thieves and for vigilance.

No wonder paladins refer to it as an anti-thief aura.

Once the assassin is burned out, it's practically a death sentence; the archers and hunters in the caravan will finish him off immediately.

Along the way, Rean had encountered far too many stalkers: Terrorclaws, Shadowcats, Grey Dwarves, and so on, each one more adept at "hide-and-seek" than the last. After being attacked all the way, it seemed as if one was unworthy of living in the Underworld if they couldn't become invisible and stealthy.

“Well, your idea is actually quite right. The chances of surviving by stealth here are much higher. The most dangerous stalker in the underworld is the Shadow Dragon. You wouldn't want to be ambushed by a giant dragon hanging upside down from the cave ceiling.” Rean sensed that she was implying something, but he had no evidence.

"Black dragons like to do that too. But their scent is stronger, especially near their lair, and there are traces of their corrosive effects in many places. Clumsy as they are, they always charge in halfway through an ambush, which isn't a big problem. What's most troublesome about black dragons is that they like to stick together and often have contact with lower planes (demons/vengeful spirits). You have to be prepared for continuous battles against them." While explaining to Rean the dragons he was most likely to encounter in the underworld, she seemed to be implying something.

"For a first-tier paladin, your holy power is too abundant, and your flames are too strong. Dragonfire is good, but it's not very useful here. It's better to keep your ordinary aura. The red dragon's flames will enrage other dragons." Purple Rose had the demeanor of a senior, not only teaching Rean and Suliman adventure experience, but also teaching them how to conceal their information and special abilities.

Rean was in a calm mood and very interested in this kind of knowledge, so he listened to his seniors tell stories along the way.

But Suliman was a little different. Even after waking up, she was still under immense pressure. In a sense, her special status made her the true diplomatic envoy on this mission.

The merchant groups had a clear objective: to reconnect with their past trading partners, gather intelligence for Radiant City, and see if they could buy a batch of grain.

The news that Suliman brought back would determine whether a deadly battle would break out between the two cities. At this point, if war were to truly break out, this would be the worst possible news.

To Rean's surprise, Purple Rose did not provide Suliman with an evolution path, nor did it allow Suliman to keep any of the materials it had obtained.

"Uh, magical girls don't have an evolution path, nor do they need to evolve." Okay, they're completely different systems. They don't need medicine or surgery, yet they have these absurd physical attributes.

But after thinking about it, magical girls do cheat a lot. Others' hardware needs to be constantly upgraded, and there's even a deadly threat like degenerative diseases.

And they can grow infinitely without doing anything.

Of course, Rean didn't think they would come without a price; the power of the "beast" seemed extremely dangerous no matter how you looked at it.

"Your Excellency." At that moment, someone knocked on the door.

"We arrived at the transfer station, but there was no one there."

Rean also got out of the car, only to find a scene of devastation. There used to be a village here, but now there were only broken bricks and tiles.

"There was no blood or bones. Although there were traces of wild animals, there were no signs of a battle, so they must have retreated beforehand."

This transit point is a village of underground dwarfs, a relatively friendly group in the underground world.

They live here probably because they don't want to be enslaved by the dark elves, who are a true slave race.

This small village, hidden behind an underground waterfall, should have been quite secluded, but it is now completely abandoned.

"...It's been at least a month since you left. Haven't you come over recently?" As the leader, Suliman had confirmed that there was no life in the surrounding area.

Snakes' thermal vision is quite useful in this underground world.

"No. The last time we came was more than two months ago. Looking back now, there were fewer people then, so they probably started migrating around that time."

Sallyman nodded; it was something she had expected.

After losing a trading partner, the convoy could only move on to the next one.

But by this time, no one had any hope left. These former trading routes had been destroyed along the way.

The tribe is gone, the village is destroyed, and not a single living person can be seen.

Faced with the surge in monsters, they will likely have to migrate or perish here.

As for the places they can migrate to, it's quite clear: either they risk going to the Radiant City on the surface, or the Dark Elf city that their group is targeting.

But at this moment, the brigade hesitated. Without any intelligence support, plunging into the enemy camp seemed like courting death.

It seemed like we had no choice but to grit our teeth and move forward, but then a turning point came.

"Sir, it seems that some spider-men have not migrated. We have found traces of them, but it will take a longer route." It should be noted that spider-men are a species that can live on cliffs and precipices, and in the underground world they prefer to live in upside-down stone pillars.

Some of them chose to hollow out the stone pillars and transform them into hollow, inverted tower-like structures.
They can also weave nets within individual towers, and even build structures on top of these nets.

If it were them, they wouldn't be too worried about the monsters on the ground. Considering the delicate relationship between the beastmen and the dark elves, they probably wouldn't be willing to move there either.

In a sense, Labour also had his own ulterior motives.

This time, they probably intend to use this crisis to directly relocate the other party into Radiant City.

How did Rean know? Larry had never hidden anything from him.

Those underground spider-men seemed like a potential source of intelligence, and there was no reason not to check them out, but at this moment, Purple Rose seemed to have other ideas.

"Everyone, I also have some good news. I found some local residents before, maybe we can go and ask them. They probably won't move away, and they shouldn't be far away."

As she said this, Purple Rose glanced at Rean.

Instantly, Rean sensed something was wrong.

"It's definitely a dragon, and there's more than one. The good news is that I've also discovered traces of both a shadow dragon and a black dragon."

Is this good news?! Two kinds of evil dragons have teamed up together!
Are they capable of communication? They'd probably start a war the moment they met by exhaling their breath.

"Only one is bad news. If the two are together, well, they'll learn to communicate and trade." Purple Rose covered her mouth and chuckled. She was quite experienced with dragons.

Dragons are creatures with a strong sense of territory, and it's unlikely that the Shadow Dragon and the Black Dragon won't fight if they're next to each other; they'll basically become mortal enemies.

“Rean, come with me to see Shadow Dragon. It seems to be injured, so it will be easier to deal with.”

(End of this chapter)