Evil Red Dragon

The battle at the foot of Chifeng Mountain lost its suspense the moment Alector appeared.

With the scouts having lost all their mages, Alekto was no longer a threat.

The remaining people tried to break out in different directions, but faced with an absolute disparity in strength and the disadvantage of playing on home soil, any struggle seemed futile.

The captain, who was at the forefront, was the fastest. He deflected Gru's battle axe with his sword and shot off towards the edge of the forest like an arrow.

He is a level 5 warrior. If he rushes into the forest and takes advantage of the complex terrain, he has a chance to survive.

But Alector had already locked onto him.

"Trying to run away?"

Alecto flapped its wings, displaying an astonishing speed disproportionate to its size, covering dozens of meters in the blink of an eye, and its dragon claws slammed down on the captain's back.

The captain felt a fierce wind coming from behind. At the critical moment, he twisted and spun around, his longsword carrying all his strength, turning into a sword beam that slashed upwards in an attempt to block the powerful blow.

clang--

The longsword shattered the moment it collided with the dragon's claw.

The immense force crushed down, shattering the captain's sword-wielding arm and half of his shoulder. He was sent flying, crashing into a tree as thick as a bowl, collapsing to the ground, spitting out blood.

He struggled to get up, but his vision quickly blurred.

The last thing I saw was a giant dragon claw approaching, followed by endless darkness.

The captain was killed.

On the other side, the vice-captain and archers, who were fighting the dragonborn trolls, saw their captain killed instantly and the entire mage group wiped out. Their morale, which was already on the verge of collapse, completely crumbled.

"Run!"

Someone shouted first, and the remaining eight people disregarded their formation and fled for their lives in different directions.

Alecto's gaze swept across the area and locked onto the vice-captain who was trying to break through.

This person is quick and agile, and their skills are clearly superior to those of the other team members.

Alecto wasn't about to let him go. With a flap of his dragon wings, he pounced straight at the vice-captain.

The vice-captain's face turned deathly pale, and he was utterly horrified.

He knew he was no match for the terrifying red dragon, but his survival instinct drove him to grit his teeth and swing his hammer at the dragon's claws.

The hammerhead flew off the moment it touched the dragon's claw.

Alecto's left claw gripped his breastplate, while his right claw followed closely, piercing through his chest.

Ugh!

The vice-captain's eyes were wide open, and blood kept gushing from the corner of his mouth.

Alecto lifted him up to his eyes, and the dragon's claws suddenly snapped shut.

The vice-captain's body was torn to pieces, with limbs and internal organs scattered all over the ground.

Alecto shook off the blood and turned to the remaining fleeing men.

Gru roared and led the dragonborn and the remaining trolls in a scattered pursuit.

"Chase them! Don't let a single one escape!"

The hunt turned into a chase, and amidst the encirclement of Alector and the trolls, sporadic screams echoed through the forest.

The clamor of battle gradually subsided.

Oliveira finally came to her senses and broke free from the dragon-catching nets and shackles that had lost their magical power and were now much less effective.

"elder brother!"

She scrambled to Alec's side, crying out in relief that she had survived the ordeal:

"They ambushed me! They even grabbed me with a net! I almost... I almost..."

Alecto glanced at the marks on her body; she was unharmed, just a little disheveled.

"If you hadn't been so careless, how could humans have gotten right under your nose? I clearly warned you! Look at yourself now, you don't resemble a red dragon at all!"

"Gru's patrols are more vigilant than you. From now on, you'll go on patrols with them."

"what?"

Oliveira was dumbfounded.

Patrol? She finally had a break, and now she has to go back to that tedious and arduous work?

She replied dejectedly, "...Yes."

She had cursed those humans a thousand times in her heart.

That damn bastard! He made her do hard labor again!

Gru and his warriors returned one after another, dragging the corpses and carrying the abandoned equipment in their hands.

Upon inventory, the entire twelve-man reconnaissance team was found to have been executed.

On the troll side, ten ordinary trolls were killed, five were seriously injured, and twenty-six were slightly injured.

Alekto didn't feel much about these casualties; as long as ordinary trolls weren't wiped out, their numbers could quickly recover if there was enough food.

However, things were painful for Alecto regarding the Dragonborn. One Dragonborn was confirmed dead, another was seriously injured, and four Dragonborn, including Rag, sustained minor injuries of varying degrees.

Each dragonborn is a vital fighting force for him in the future. They were lost before they had fully grown up, and it will take a while to make up for them.

pain!It hurts so much!

Shouldn't we make armor and protective gear to arm them? After all, if they had protection today, they wouldn't have been ambushed and killed.

However, crafting armor requires a large amount of ore to smelt iron, as well as skilled craftsmen. The current small workshops cannot supply enough ore, let alone find skilled craftsmen.

Take it slow...

Alecto could only silently put the creation of armor on his agenda.

Gru himself was also injured, with a gash on his chest from the captain's sword strike, but the Dragonborn's powerful healing ability had already begun to close the wound.

"Master, all enemies have been eliminated without exception."

Gru knelt down on one knee to report.

"Well done."

Alecto nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the corpses and equipment on the ground.

"Dispose of the body, and collect all the equipment and useful items."

"yes!"

Gru immediately ordered the trolls to begin cleaning up the battlefield.

Alecto then walked over to the three mages.

Although the gray-robed mage's short wooden staff, inlaid with a pale blue gem, was broken, the gem remained intact and still emitted magical fluctuations. It was a fine magical material and quite beautiful.

Received.

Besides the staff, Alecto also found a leather spellbook and a dimensional bag embroidered with silver thread on the grey-robed mage.

The dimensional bag contained all of the gray-robed mage's possessions.

One hundred and thirty-six gold coins, five hundred and eleven silver coins, seventy-eight copper coins, ten magic crystals, five gems of different colors, two low-level magic items, some ink and parchment, various spellcasting tools, three bottles of healing potions, two bottles of berserk potions, and one level-two magic scroll and three level-one magic scrolls.

Oh! This guy's got some skills.

Soothing Bell, Mana Crystal, Level 1 Support Magic Item.

The second-level scroll of Blazing Flame, along with the scrolls of Lesser Healing Wave, Burning Hand, and Magic Shield.

There are also magic crystals, which are a hard currency among mages. They can quickly replenish magic power and can also be used as basic materials for various magic arrays.

Excellent, excellent, your valuation talent has kicked in!

All these things combined barely amount to four hundred gold coins...

As a level four mage, having only four hundred gold coins in total is a bit meager, but even a little is still something, and besides, there's more to it than meets the eye.

Alecto looked at the other two mages with shining eyes.

I hope you won't let me down.

But the two monks were not so lucky.

The dragon's breath was so powerful that most of their robes and bodies were charred, and most of their belongings were destroyed in the breath.

After careful examination, Alector only found two magic material packets containing some powder for casting spells.

And then that was it.

Gone!

Alecto felt as uncomfortable as if he had swallowed a fly.

His money! That's his!

You can breathe fire, you can breathe fire, it's all gone!

He lowered his head and turned to the captain.

The captain's broken sword was of little value, but a small leather pouch at his waist caught Alecto's attention.

He took off the small bag, opened it, and found several gold coins, some silver coins, a swordsmanship manual, and a drawn map inside.

Hmm~ This one is even poorer.

He doesn't need the swordsmanship manual for now, so he'll keep it for later.

The map marked the general route from Graystone Town to Red Peak, with several simple markers along the way. The location of Red Peak was circled, and next to it was written in Common Language: Abnormal Magic Source.

"Greystone Town..."

Alecto wrote down the name.

The border town of humans, located 500 miles to the southeast, appears to be the starting point for this group of humans.

He gathered the map and all the valuables aside.

They also looted some coins, dry food, water bags, weapons, and leather armor from the other humans.

Most of the weapons are made of fine steel, which is excellent equipment for trolls. Although leather armor offers only average defense, it is lightweight and can be worn by trolls to increase their protection.

All the spoils were piled up in a small heap in the open space in front of the cave.

Alecto's gaze fell on the pile of things, and he quickly made calculations in his mind.

These things are treasures to trolls, but they are of limited value to him, except for the coins.

What he truly values ​​is the information revealed behind this incident.

"Gru".

"Yes, Master!"

"Distribute all the weapons, leather armor, and food to the warriors according to their performance in tonight's battle."

Gru's eyes flashed with excitement: "Thank you for your generosity, Master!"

Upon hearing this, the trolls cheered.

These humans were equipped with far superior gear compared to the crude iron tools they themselves had crafted.

"But..." Alecto changed the subject, his dragon might slightly diminished.

"The fact that the enemy was able to infiltrate silently tonight and was only discovered when they launched an attack shows that our defenses still have loopholes."

His gaze swept over Gru and all the dragonborn warriors:

"Starting tomorrow, we will extend the patrol area ten miles outward, set up additional sentries, and strengthen security around the camp. I do not want this kind of attack to happen again."

Gru led the way, shouting:

"We swear to defend our territory to the death, and never again will our master be disturbed!"

"We will defend it to the death!" the trolls roared in unison.

"Very good." Alecto nodded in satisfaction.

"Clean this place up, then everyone go and rest."

He turned and grabbed the most valuable magical items, the map, and the money bag, then headed towards the cave.

After taking a couple of steps, he turned back to look at Oliveira, who was still standing there, staring longingly at the pile of spoils.

"Olivera".

"Huh? Yes!"

"come over."

Oliveira quickly jogged to catch up.

Back in the upper part of the cave, Alecto scattered all his treasures on his silver bed.

"Brother, that gem..." Oliveira asked tentatively.

"Want it?" Alecto glanced at her.

Oliveira nodded vigorously, then quickly shook her head: "I just wanted to take a look..."

"Here you go." Alecto picked up the pale blue gem and tossed it to Oliveira.

"Remember this lesson. Lack of strength can be made up for, but a lack of vigilance may mean you won't be so lucky next time."

That's what he said, but actually this was his compensation for using Oliveira as bait.

If Oliveira hadn't lured all the mages to him, this battle wouldn't have been so easy.

There's a world of difference between a mage with protection and one without; the former's firepower is enough to give Alekto a run for his money.

Oliveira hurriedly caught the gem; it was icy cold to the touch, and she could feel the magic it contained.

Although it's not her favorite fire element, it's shiny and quite valuable!

She immediately beamed and hugged the gemstone to her chest.

"Thank you, brother! I promise I'll be more vigilant from now on! I'll definitely not slack off on patrols!"

Alecto, too lazy to expose her unbelievable promise, lay back down on his silver bed and closed his eyes again.

"Okay, then you can start patrolling tomorrow."

Oliveira's smile froze on her face.

But looking at the gem in her arms and thinking about the danger of the night, she finally didn't dare to bargain anymore. She slunk her tail and moved back to her corner, curling up with the gem in her arms.

When will her dormancy period begin? I don't want to be busy anymore...

Outside, the trolls had already cleaned up the battlefield.

The bloodstains were covered with mud, and the body was dragged to a distance and burned.

The captured equipment was distributed systematically by Gru in accordance with Alector's orders.

The troll warriors, wielding their new equipment with excitement, filled the camp with joy.

The night returned to tranquility.

"Greystone Town... what will you do next?"

"This time it was a reconnaissance team, what about next time? A whole adventure team?"

The battle in Chifeng Territory has ended, but in the distant town of Graystone, unease is rising because the reconnaissance team has yet to return.

Graystone Town, located on the southeastern edge of the Endless Mountains, is one of the most remote border outposts of the human kingdom of Calandor.

The town is small, with a permanent population of only two thousand, but due to its special geographical location, it is a gathering place for adventurers, mercenaries and caravans all year round, making it particularly lively.

The Adventurers' Guild branch in the town center is a three-story stone building.

At this moment, the branch president, Ronan, was staring at the crystal ball on the table with a furrowed brow.

Inside the crystal ball, the twelve points of light representing that reconnaissance team went out completely three days ago and have remained silent ever since.

"Twelve people, two level five, ten level four... wiped out."

Ronan rubbed his temples, his white beard trembling slightly.

He was nearly sixty years old and a level six mage. Because he had suffered a serious injury when he was young, his strength had stagnated, so he was sent to this remote branch to retire.

But he was experienced and knew the dangers of the Endless Mountains.

"completely annihilated?"

The vice president, a skilled level-five peak warrior standing to the side, asked in confusion:

"With their equipment, is it really possible that not a single one of them could escape? Unless..."

"Unless the intelligence is wrong, or an unexpected change occurs."

Ronan replied, his gaze sharpening.

"We must prepare for the worst, report the situation to the headquarters, request support and further instructions, and issue a warning, classifying the area as level five dangerous."

"Level 5?"

The vice president hesitated, "Isn't this going too far? What if it was just an accident..."

"The silent disappearance of twelve elite professionals is the biggest anomaly in itself."

Ronan's tone was firm:

"We cannot risk more lives to verify that we should do as I say."

"Yes." The vice president said no more and turned to make the arrangements.

Soon, all the quests in the Crimson Peak area were removed from the quest board in the Adventurers' Guild Hall and replaced with eye-catching Level 5 warning signs.

The news spread like wildfire throughout the town.

Inside the tavern, mercenaries and adventurers were buzzing with discussion.

"Have you heard? The Black Hawk Reconnaissance Team was wiped out; not a single one returned!"

"Really? Black Hawks are Ronan's elite troops. Captain Hank is a mid-level Level 5 Gale Swordsman, and Vice-Captain Brandon is a low-level Level 5 Heavy Hammer Warrior. How could they all be wiped out?"

"The guild has issued a level 5 warning, so it must be something special."

"That's bad. We can't go to the places for professionals below level five anymore, and our income will be reduced even more."

"Is money more important or lives? If they can wipe out Black Hawk, we'd just be cannon fodder if we went."

Anxiety spread.

Some teams that originally planned to head towards Chifeng have cancelled their plans and are beginning to reassess the risks of the route.