Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 113 Underground Journey (3rd Update, 9,000 Views, Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Steel boots trod on the dry mud, and glowing moss overhead vaguely indicated the way. The longan helped Rean gradually adapt to this underground wilderness.

"You might not believe it, but I find this underground wilderness more comfortable than the dark elf cities."

Rean stretched his body and casually swung his longsword, instantly slicing a venomous snake lurking in a tree.

As pieces of bloody, foul-smelling snake meat fell to the ground, Rean frowned as he looked at the withered, tree-like snake skin.

This is indeed not a place where ordinary people can live. Most of the life forms in the underground world are extremely aggressive and have evolved abilities such as "stealth" and "sensory perception".

Judging from the triangular head, this should be a venomous snake. Most of the creatures here also have a way to kill with a single blow. If it weren't for Longyan, I would probably have been ambushed all the way here.

“I also feel much more comfortable than in the hotel. I always feel that those dark elves could come in and launch a sneak attack at any time, which is stressful. What I mean is, they have already arrived, but not on a large scale.”

Larry still agreed with Rean's words, but steadily moved forward to explore the way.

Rean, in position one, is looking to the right, while Larry, in position two, is looking to the left; their positions are a standard diagonal defensive formation.

In adventure teams, it's a traditional rule that melee classes like paladins are always at the forefront, and usually the strongest paladin is ranked first.

Rean didn't want the honor at all. He felt that Larry's armor was much better than his own and that Larry should be the number one tank. But Larry insisted on following his senior as always, and Rean was too embarrassed to say it too clearly.

"Oh well, it's about the same anyway. I can go first and see further with my dragon eyes. Tsk, another Deinonychus lurking in the grass. Hopefully it's smart enough not to jump out."

Larry was three steps behind Rean, a standard following position that also made it easier to provide support when necessary.

Judging from her performance along the way, her basic tactics course was quite successful, and Rean even learned some tactical moves.

Unlike the other surface orc warriors who immediately grabbed their horses upon entering the underground, the two front-line soldiers of this squad had already easily adapted to the environment.

Rean's dragon eyes, which shimmer with a faint spiritual light, and Larry's spider senses, can both easily detect hidden dangers, and the disguises of most local creatures are ineffective against them.

However, those few who managed to fool both people would be warned by the "big shots" behind them.

However, behind him were not only big shots, but also powerful figures.
"Aren't we there yet?" Behind Rean came the "ambassador's" weak, panting breaths and complaints.

"We've only been walking for less than twenty minutes."

Rean also sighed; this was the third time Suliman had complained.

Is this the legendary stamina of a noble lady? But you've at least completed one racial evolution, so your base stats shouldn't be low.

"This place is awful, I don't dare to leave! It's so sticky and tiring."

The snake woman looked down at her tail, her face full of disgust and displeasure.

Snake people do have their own "boots," and they often wear tail guards made of scales when they go out.

It's not as nimble as regular boots, but in some situations it's faster. If Suliman were willing to glide like a snake, she would probably be the fastest.

It had become a bodily instinct; the upright "noble snake woman (catapult start) gait" was the root cause of her extreme exhaustion.

This method of marching, which goes against the physical structure of the race for aesthetics and profit, is something only someone like Suliman would persist in at this time.

"I can't take it anymore. I want a carriage."

Judging from her exhaustion, she had lost all sense of reason. This most dazzling and beautiful pearl of Radiant City was complaining like a child, probably to the point of giving up on herself because she was not used to the wild.

Since teleportation magic was used, not only were there no carriages, but Larry's Greatsword Spider was also left behind; everyone was walking except for him.

"Giddy up!" Here, a Kuku riding a mechanical dragon passed by. Heaven knows how he managed to assemble it in just a few minutes using a bunch of junk parts.

The little dragon was also exquisite, featuring the classic gear design of the mechanical dinosaurs from Rean's memories.

Paired with a knight who is a mechanical Kusla, it resembles a rather comical large-scale combination toy.

But now, this "toy set" is a bit boring.

So he made his mount run around Sallyman again and again, urging her to hurry up with his actions.

"I can't walk anymore." This completely deflated Suliman.

She stopped moving completely.

Rean sighed, realizing that letting Suliman follow along was the worst decision he could have made.

"Never mind, I'll handle it." At this moment, Purple Rose, who had been hopping around, suddenly spoke up.

She murmured softly, and the next moment, a large snake appeared in the open space in front of her.

It was a large snake with a seat, a parasol, and even a fishing rack and a barbecue grill.

Purple Rose certainly had a mount; she couldn't possibly walk such a long distance. This scene made Rean a little envious. He'd heard that high-ranking paladins also had divinely granted mount summoning services. But Rean probably didn't have that benefit; he didn't intend to believe in gods.

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Sallyman complained as she struggled to climb up the giant snake, seemingly having become completely childish.

"I," Purple Rose touched her brow and sighed. She just wanted to take this opportunity to train her little niece.

What to do when your child misbehaves? Purple Rose is itching to take action.

But time is tight now, so it wouldn't be worth it to slow down the team's progress.

Purple Rose silently watched her little niece climb onto her chair and start rummaging through her drink bag, adding another note to her mind.

It's normal for kids to be a little naughty and lazy, especially if no one disciplines them. So, when you go back, as elders, please discipline them properly, with the love of a magical girl!

Purple Rose clenched her fists, remembering the "love" her seniors had shown her, and smiled even more happily.

We could let Suliman run wild before because we hadn't discovered her potential, but now, let's go back and train her as a candidate.

Being chosen by Valhalla means her potential is definitely not bad; she should be able to survive the hellish training, right?
Purple Rose smiled, but secretly reserved a magical girl-level hellish training course for her little niece.

With this burden removed, the team's workload was significantly reduced. Meanwhile, Larry's younger sister, Nona, remained silent throughout the entire process, without slowing down the team's progress.

Judging from the fatigue on her face, she probably isn't good at traveling in this kind of area, especially since she needs to be constantly on guard, otherwise...
"They're here again!" The sudden, hurried footsteps heralded the start of yet another encounter.

Rean sighed. This underground area was really insane; they had encountered enemies for the third time in just twenty minutes.

But compared to the monsters before, this opponent is somewhat surprising.

"A bit weak" Before the spellcasters behind him could even make a move, Rean severed the armor of the gray dwarf leading the group with two sword strikes.

With their main tank fallen, defeat was inevitable. The gray dwarf squad was quickly wiped out by the intruder squad.

He had fought the gray dwarves before. Their weapons and equipment were excellent, and most of them were very familiar with the battlefield. There was no reason for them to be so weak.

"You've only fought professionals before, right? This guy is... an unemployed militiaman?"

The gray dwarf warriors who attacked first had all fallen; compared to Rean's previous opponents, they were far too weak.

And this seems to mean
"There should be a village of gray dwarves nearby." Their range of activity is usually not too far.

"We should be getting close to our destination."

It seems like he could borrow some labor? Rean felt no psychological pressure at all about using the evil forces that wanted to kill him to work in the mines for a while.

"No need! We've already booked the workers! They're very reliable."

At this moment, however, Kuku seemed to have a different opinion.

"There's really no need to complicate things, but the gray dwarves are, in a sense, vassals and henchmen of the dark elves. These wild gray dwarf tribes usually guard something. Why don't we go take a look?"

But with just one sentence from Purple Rose, Kuku, whose curiosity was at its peak, changed his mind on the spot.

"Let's go together! Let's go together! Let GuGu wait a moment! It's okay!" KuKu seemed to reveal something.

"Who is Mushroom?" Rean wanted to ask, but Kuku had already rushed out.

Left with no other choice, Rean sighed and followed.

If they really create a street's distance, Kusla will disconnect and fall to the ground. When Kuku reconnects, he will definitely complain again.

Rean didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble, after all, who knew what kind of monsters and demons lurked in this underground area.

But this time, taking an unexpected turn might be the right thing to do.

"Mind flayers?! How could there be mind flayers here? Are these gray dwarves slaves of mind flayers?"

In the middle of an empty village, an octopus-headed mind flayer was talking to some gray dwarves wearing collars.

Rean was still hesitating whether to launch a surprise attack.
"I go!"

He saw Kuku and immediately charged out first.

This is a mind flayer, a mid-level boss in many novels. Can your small frame really handle it?

"Where there are spirit-sucking monsters, there is treasure! They're robbing us! We'll rob them!" Okay, you're in such a hurry to rob the rich to help the poor.

But since mind flayers usually only chase after treasures... cough cough, since evil is right in front of us, what are you, paladin, hesitating for! Charge!

"Break the evil!" Rean's sword was always very fast.

(End of this chapter)