The young dragon tries to conquer the world

　Hahaha, haha~

　The little girl grabbed Lanmei's hand, wanting to do it again. Lanmei had no choice but to hug the little girl and hit her from all directions again. However, even for Lanmei, hitting her straight down like that made her back a little uncomfortable. Lanmei had no choice but to let go and let the little girl play by herself. For Lanmei, this was a good thing about the little girl. She didn't get upset because Lanmei didn't play with her. On the contrary, she would have a lot of fun playing with her.

　Looking at the splashing water, Lanmei noticed that a rainbow had appeared under the sunlight. At this moment, the little girl seemed to have gotten tired of playing and jumped directly onto Lanmei's side. Lanmei was lying on the sea surface looking at the clouds in the sky. After getting tired of playing, Lanmei swam over to Lanmei and straddled her. Because her clothes were all wet, Lanmei could clearly feel the little girl's skin.

　Even a young girl is pretty normally. The girl, who was completely wet, sat on Lanmei's waist. Her white-gold hair with pinkish-red ends was stuck together by the seawater, creating an excellent reflection that split the sunlight into various colors. Although her body was somewhat thin, her clothes clung tightly to her body, making Lanmei embarrassed to look directly at the girl's body.

　Although the young girl and Lanmei were wearing their usual clothes, they didn't wear shoes while playing in the sea. Firstly, they couldn't play properly in the sea if they wore shoes, and secondly, it would be very uncomfortable if their shoes got wet. However, their clothes were barely tolerable, which allowed Lanmei to clearly feel the touch of the young girl's skin.

　The sensation of the little girl's tiny feet rubbing against Lanmei's legs made Lanmei feel itchy, but she managed to control her thoughts. If Lanmei lowered her head slightly, she could see the glistening moisture on the little girl's smooth legs, and if she looked up, she could see Lanmei's slightly upturned lips and cute face.

　The azure water droplets could no longer adhere to the little girl's face due to gravity. The water droplets, with all their might, slid down the little girl's cheeks and finally fell onto Lanmei's lips. Lanmei, as if possessed, stuck out her tongue and licked it. Hmm, a salty taste. This must be the taste of the sea, because seawater is salty too!

　Because Lanmei no longer cared whether it was seawater or a young girl's sweat.

　Just as Lanmei was lost in thought, the little girl took the opportunity to lie directly on top of Lanmei. Lanmei's heart started racing, but she quickly guessed what the little girl meant.

　Tired of playing?

　"Mmm~"

　The little girl answered casually, then continued to lazily lie on Lanmei's body. Lanmei was afraid that the little girl would fall off her, so she hugged her tightly and carefully smelled the little girl's scent. There wasn't much of the salty smell of seawater, but the faint fragrance that she usually had was still there. Lanmei liked this scent very much and gently stroked the little girl's hair.

　“Let’s go back to shore then, and we need to wash our hair too, as seawater can damage it.”

　The little girl shook her head, seemingly agreeing to Lanmei's request. Lanmei then slowly rowed towards the shore, where Yawenglong and Melalu had been waiting for a long time. However, Yawenglong was a little unhappy because all the fish the little girl threw up had hit its head. As the saying goes, the damage was minimal, but the insult was extremely strong.

　However, because she was a young girl, Yaonlong accepted her.

　Because the young girl threw up a lot of ingredients, Melalu started preparing early.

　As schooling fish, the Copper Flame Sushi and the Rhinoceros Fatfish are relatively small, but their flesh is full of oil and they have almost no bones except for the spine. Therefore, the Meralu choose to deep-fry the Rhinoceros Fatfish and the Copper Flame Sushi. No excessive processing is required, and even the internal organs do not need to be removed. Just pour oil into the pot, heat it up, and fry them directly.

　Larger sea pancake fish and zebra smoker fish require a different cooking method. Zebra smoker fish is suitable for steaming. Finally, add shredded ginger and chili, pour on the sauce, and it's ready. Moreover, the Melalus don't cook them one by one. Instead, they arrange the zebra smoker fish in a circle and put them in a copper pot to steam together. This way, the second dish is ready.

　For the sea pancake fish, Melalu chose grilled fish. This type of large, flat fish is best suited for pan-frying and grilling. After making diagonal cuts on both sides of the body, you can start grilling. Because of Yaonlong, Melalu didn't need to worry about seasonings at all, so these dishes were quickly prepared.

　The little girl eagerly grabbed a piece of fried fish and put it in her mouth; the crispy fish meat and bones...

　The fried fish ate like pastries in the young girl's mouth without any resistance. If she found it a bit greasy, she could squeeze some lemon juice on it, or sprinkle some chili powder and pepper on it to eat together. Because the ingredients were very fresh, the whole bowl of fried fish disappeared into the young girl's stomach in no time.

　Steamed zebra pufferfish also showcases its advantages. The thin skin loses its original color after being steamed at high temperature, so you can see the tender white fish meat inside without removing the skin. Because zebra pufferfish is very rich in oil, the fish meat is not only chewy, but you can also feel the rich oil in the fish meat with every bite.

　As for the grilled sea pancake fish, it goes without saying that it is called sea pancake fish. After grilling, it looks more like a pancake, especially after Meraluo sprinkles some chopped green onions, garlic and pepper on it. However, the usual topping for pancakes is white sesame seeds, but here it is just green chopped green onions and garlic.

　Yaonlong was also happily chewing on the grilled sea pancake fish, and his dissatisfaction with being hit by the fish thrown up by the little girl earlier had vanished. However, just as they were enjoying their food, a sneaky figure slowly approached them from the shadows.

　"Whoosh!"

　A wooden bucket next to the stove suddenly disappeared. Melalu, who was eating tuna rice, seemed to hear something, but she didn't see anything strange around her. Melalu had no choice but to sit back down. However, the sound of a heavy object falling caught Melalu's attention again, and she looked towards the source of the sound.

　"Meow meow meow, meow, meow, meow." I remember that wooden bucket was the one that contained the boss's favorite seasonings, but where was that bucket originally from?

　"Meow, meow, meow." It probably got blown away by the wind. I'll go get it. The tuna rice is so delicious.

　"Meow, meow." Delicious, delicious!

　However, just as Melalu walked over to the barrel to retrieve it, she suddenly noticed some strange slime on it. Before she could think about it, she saw another barrel flying towards her. Melalu meowed and immediately crouched down. Fortunately, the barrel only flew over Melalu's head and did not hurt her.

　The commotion on Meralu's side quickly caught the attention of Yawonlong. Yawonlong noticed the gloomy fellow almost immediately, but considering that Meralu belonged to the little girl, Yawonlong did not take action without permission. Instead, he flicked his tail to remind the little girl and Lanmei.

　The young girl, her face glistening with oil from eating, noticed Yawon's prompt and looked in Melalu's direction. Then she saw the sneaky fellow, the shady thief, Chameleon.

　Without saying a word, the young girl drew her Berserker Giant Strike and threw it at Lan Mei.

　Volume 1: 473 - Let's try again tomorrow

　The monstrous attack pierced the ground like a hot knife through butter, kicking up a cloud of dust. The sudden attack startled the Chameleon, causing it to tremble involuntarily. Its invisible body gradually came into view as the blood flow accelerated and its scales bent. The enormous body gradually became visible, and the most striking feature was the wooden barrel wrapped around the Chameleon's tongue.

　Even though the young girl, Lanmei, and Yawenglong discovered it, Xialong did not choose to continue running away. Instead, it stood still, seemingly thinking that as long as it remained motionless, it would not attract their attention. However, the young girl did not take any action because she was also observing Xialong. Soon, the young girl noticed the wooden barrel that Xialong had stolen. Except for the one on Xialong's tongue, all the other items in the barrel had now entered Xialong's stomach.

　The atmosphere at the scene was tense. Xialong knew the situation was urgent. Of course, if it could run, it would have run away long ago. Now Xialong could only pray that the young girl and Yawonglong would not hold a grudge against it for such a small matter and would leave on their own initiative. That would be the best for Xialong. But soon Xialong realized that the reality was not so. The young girl and Lanmei were watching them closely.

　Of course, it would be fine if it were standing or in other postures, but right now the Chameleon is sticking its tongue out. As we all know, the Chameleon's tongue has unparalleled elasticity, but that doesn't mean the Chameleon can keep its tongue in this optimal state for a long time. The Chameleon also knows that the moment its tongue returns to its original state is the moment the balance is broken.

　Therefore, despite its extreme reluctance, the dragon could not avoid muscle fatigue.

　As soon as Lao Er retracted his tongue, realizing that it was about to give out, Xia Long quickly flapped his wings and took a step back to leave the place. Before the young girl could make a move, Ya Weng Long rushed in front of Xia Long and rammed into him.

　Compared to Yawon, Chameleon had more to consider, which caused Chameleon to retreat a beat slower. Yawon didn't intend to stop Chameleon with just this one step, so Yawon only bumped into Chameleon's side, which successfully stopped Chameleon's retreat. Chameleon staggered two steps before regaining its balance.

　Chameleon quickly arched its body and spewed a liquid poison ball at Yawon in an attempt to stop Yawon's movement. However, Yawon summoned thick bamboo to block Chameleon's liquid poison ball. Then, it used the bamboo to create a simple pair of bamboo wings on both sides of its body and caught up with Chameleon, who was trying to escape. In desperation, Chameleon flicked its tongue, broke off nearby bamboo, and shot it at Yawon.

　Yawon hadn't expected Chameleon to have this trick up its sleeve. Although the bamboo stalks weren't strong enough to pierce Yawon's skin, they could still damage its eyes. So Yawon instinctively dodged, which gave Chameleon an opportunity. Chameleon quickly ran backward, trying to get away from the place as soon as possible.

　Before Chameleon could run a certain distance, an ancient dragon aura even stronger than that of Yawon instantly enveloped the entire area. Chameleon immediately realized what had happened. An enormous platinum-colored ancient dragon had appeared in front of Chameleon. Its sharp claws, gleaming sword-like scales, and curved reddish-brown horns all indicated that this creature was not to be trifled with.

　The Lord of Reincarnation slowly approached Xialong. The powerful pressure forced Xialong to lie on the ground, unable to muster any will to resist. The Lord of Reincarnation glanced at the empty wooden barrel on the ground. It was filled with leftovers from Melalu's cooking, such as scallions and potatoes. So she wasn't particularly upset that Xialong ate them, but once they were eaten, they were eaten!

　The Reincarnation Lord raised its wing claws and grabbed the Chameleon on the ground. The weak Chameleon could only let out unwilling screams under the Reincarnation Lord's oppression. However, the Reincarnation Lord had no intention of eating the Chameleon. She had eaten a Chameleon before. How to put it, according to Melalu's cooking methods, at least in her opinion, the Chameleon was not a delicious creature.

　While Xialong was screaming in pain, Huishizhu grabbed Xialong's tongue and pulled it outward with force. When Huishizhu felt that he had pulled Xialong's tongue to its maximum distance, he decisively released Xialong's tongue. "Splat!" The tongue, which had almost lost its elasticity, was directly stuck to Xialong's face. However, Xialong obviously did not understand what had happened and its eyes kept rolling.

　After a while, Xialong finally realized what had happened. However, because of the tongue problem, Xialong's cries were not as loud as before. But that was just right, because Huishizhu was now full, so she wouldn't mind Xialong stealing her things. If Huishizhu were hungry now, even though Xialong didn't taste good, Huishizhu wouldn't mind using Xialong to fill her stomach.

　From then on, Xialong had an additional function: to help young girls collect ingredients. Of course, Melalu still did this task, but with Xialong's help, Melalu only needed to give a command and Xialong could use its tongue to collect all the ingredients.

　This collection method is much faster and more efficient than Melalu's own collection. Moreover, this radial collection method also gives Melalu a better field of vision. Soon, the Chameleon showed off its achievements as the chosen working dragon: three buckets of fruit, a small mountain of various ingredients, and Chameleon's tongue, which seemed to never be able to return to its original form.

　However, Xia Long's tongue is not irreversible. The simplest, but somewhat painful, way is for Xia Long to bite off her tongue and wait for it to regenerate. This would restore her tongue to its previous state in the shortest amount of time. Of course, she can also wait for her tongue to recover slowly. However, given the current situation, Xia Long still needs to work for a while, so she can only try to make do for now.

　However, for hunters, choosing to avoid hunting the Chameleon at this time is undoubtedly very lucky. Perhaps only Clement, who has rich hunting experience, could come up with a good idea about this, at least that's what Sereria thinks.

　"Let's go back to the city first."

　It turned out that returning to Mejpoldan was indeed the most appropriate choice. Perhaps they really only needed to set their goal as extracting the blood of the Chameleon, instead of hunting it down. Standing in front of the somewhat dejected Cerelia, Edlinka smiled encouragingly.

　"Although I can't say for sure yet, there are some things I want to confirm. If my intuition is right, I might really be able to grasp the decisive clues."

　"Will it be the kind of method that decides the outcome?"

　“Yes.” Edlinka nodded.

　Seeing her like this, Sereria could only accept reality. After all, they hadn't managed to obtain the Ancient Dragon Blood from the Rainbow Dragon. Although she didn't know how far Edlinka's plan would go, for Sereria, who had already given up all hope, Edlinka's words always gave her some strength.

　power.

　"Okay, we'll definitely succeed next time!"

　Sereria spoke confidently to the swamp shrouded in a thin mist.

　It was late at night, but the tavern in Mejpoldan was still open.

　A few days after giving up the hunt for Chameleon, Sereria and her two companions finally returned to Mejepoltan. Since the hunting activities were all managed by the Hunter's Guild, they had to complete the relevant procedures at the meeting place counter regardless of success or failure. Although this was not the first time the hunting activity had ended in failure, the hunting grounds were simply too far away.

　Despite their actual encounter with Xia Long and the gathering of some relevant information, the deep-seated sense of futility remained. Besides exhaustion, they felt as if a heavy weight was pressing down on them. However, simply returning safely was enough to bring them joy.

　Most fortunately, Sibert, who was knocked away by Xialong several times, only suffered minor bruises and abrasions. It seems that the extremely sturdy swordsman's armor provided excellent protection. Of course, it was also thanks to their timely decision to retreat and not continue fighting Xialong. At least from the current perspective, his movements are not awkward at all.

　In short, this was a long-awaited, dismal ending.

　After entrusting all the formalities for the end of the hunt to Sibert, Sereria and Edlinka chose an empty table and sat down.

　Both of them felt completely drained, and even the previously energetic Cerelia fell silent. When their eyes met, Edlinka felt she had to say something, but she ultimately looked back at the table. Perhaps even Edlinka felt she wasn't in the mood for conversation, which was why she chose to sit diagonally opposite Cerelia at the four-person table.

　"The formalities are complete!" Sibert came over after completing the formalities.

　As expected of a seasoned veteran, Sibert remained remarkably calm. Compared to novice hunters, he had clearly experienced far more successes and failures, thus mastering the art of remaining composed under pressure.

　"Sorry to trouble you."

　After hearing what her younger sister said, Sibert smiled slightly.

　"It's alright, the capable should do more, and besides, it seems we only need to wait two days." Anyone who has participated in hunting activities could easily understand what he was trying to say from these words.

　"I see. We can get it ready in just two days."

　This is the Hunter's Guild's procedure for Elder Dragons; if the hunt fails, the contract between the hunter and the Gathering Hall becomes temporarily invalid.

　Of course, the hunter can still choose to challenge it again, but this temporarily invalid contract can be entrusted to other hunters during this period. Sereria has been thinking about how to hunt this Chameleon, but the biggest problem at present is how to sign a contract to hunt it again.

　This wasn't an urgent request, and the target was the Elder Dragon Chameleon, shrouded in mystery. No one would accept it easily, so Sereria and her companions could wait until the quest was opened to other hunters.

　Of course, there are exceptions, and it is probably because of the Hunter's Guild's trust in her and her previous achievements that these exceptions were not taken into account.

　In any case, the current situation is that everyone has been unilaterally toyed with by Xialong and has fled back in a sorry state. Therefore, emotionally speaking, they cannot continue to regret it and accept other tasks with a clear conscience.

　“In short, we need to devise a new strategy.” Sibert said as he sat down next to Sereria.

　"You've worked hard. Although all that's left is scraps, I hope you can cheer up after you finish eating," the bartender said as he brought the food over.

　Although it was called a meal, many of the dishes were just appetizers to go with drinks. Even so, the warm steam floating in the air made it seem like the food must be delicious. Feeling this meticulous care, Sereria's mood brightened considerably.

　"As expected of an ancient dragon, a cautious yet powerful monster."

　Because of Chameleon's cautious but suspicious nature, the ordinary traps that Serilia and the others carried were completely ineffective against Chameleon. Moreover, although Chameleon did not seem to have any great strength, her control over poison was incredibly strong.

　"What should we do now? Of course, now that we've actually encountered Xialong, the situation should be different the next time we meet."

　Slight differences won't fundamentally change the outcome; what's needed is a clue that allows someone to say this is the way to decide the outcome. There are too many kinds of monsters in this world.

　While some enemies can be defeated simply by hand-to-hand combat, fighting skills alone are insufficient when facing powerful monsters. It's crucial to carefully consider the target monster's characteristics and choose weapons and armor accordingly, including items.

　The methods used also require detailed research.

　Especially with items, since hunters can only carry a limited number of items, what they carry and when they use them can significantly alter the difficulty of the entire hunt. There are even situations where using certain weapons or armor, or certain items, can easily complete the hunt.

　For example, when facing a large monster, you can use the effect of a flashbang to immobilize it and then launch a relentless attack, which will drastically change the hunting situation.

　"Yes, most monsters will become quite docile if we use flashbangs. And as long as it stays in place, we can launch an attack based on our general deductions. It's relatively easy to attack while dodging its fangs and waving tails."

　"But that guy will run around recklessly."

　"I think it would be better to reorganize the intelligence," Sereria muttered softly.

　"Okay, I'll go and find out more. After actually encountering Xialong, I've also developed some different impressions."

　"Oh, right, there's something I also want to confirm."

　"I see. It seems everyone has something they care about."

　She could never forget what Edlinka said before she left. Sure enough, a hunter like her quickly realized something. Sereria's heart was filled with anticipation.

　"I'm really looking forward to it."

　As if seeing through Sereria's thoughts, Sibert smiled wryly and said: "We can only wait until tomorrow to confirm."

　"Okay, please!"

　Although the objective wasn't yet clear, they had at least determined some strategies and tactics. So, Sereria stood up and said, "We need to rest well, and then set off again starting tomorrow."

　"Alright, first we need to fill our stomachs. Let's start working hard from tomorrow." Sibert nodded vigorously after hearing Sereria's words.

　Volume 1: 474 - Lanmei Can't Accept It

　Compared to Sereria, Sibet has a strict biological clock. After preparing breakfast as usual, Sibet was about to wake his sister up when, considering the failed hunt, Sibet thought it would be good to let Sereria, who likes to sleep in, sleep a little longer.

　After leaving his sister's breakfast, Sibert checked his appearance, then walked out of the house with renewed vigor, heading towards the tavern in Mejepoltan. However, he wasn't choosing to drink heavily in broad daylight out of despair. First of all, as a hunter, Sibert was only nineteen years old, not yet old enough to drink freely.

　As for his purpose, it was naturally because Edlinka and Edward had arranged for him and Cerelia to meet someone together.

　"Hey, sorry to keep you waiting, you two."

　In the tavern with only a few people, Edward and another mysterious old man walked towards them with smiles on their faces and waving. Since the two of them started doing these things as soon as they entered the tavern and saw Sibert and the others, the other hunters present did not know what was going on, so they all turned their attention to these two.

　Sibert felt a little embarrassed. He glanced at Edlinka and saw that she seemed to be hesitating about whether to pretend she didn't know the two people.

　Regardless, they had to meet these two people in the end, because this mysterious old man was the one Edward had mentioned who might be the key to victory, although Sibette didn't yet know what kind of clues this man possessed.

　"I'm so sorry to have made you come all this way."

　Having given up pretending to be a stranger, Edlinka stood up to greet the old man and politely removed her Black Wolf Bird S helmet. Sibert also hurriedly stood up.

　"It's alright, it's alright. I hate all this formality. Just do as you please, hahaha." The old man laughed heartily as he spoke.

　The old man's words immediately dispelled any awkwardness between them. Although his demeanor was far from dignified, he seemed to be a very powerful figure in Mejpoldan.

　In his youth, he traveled extensively as a hunter and amassed a considerable fortune. However, instead of hoarding this wealth, he resonated with the measures implemented by the Hunter's Guild and the Grand Elder, and thus donated a large portion of his wealth to aid villages and towns in need.

　city.

　He would occasionally introduce Sereria to Clement, just like this time, or introduce those with considerable strength to the Hunter's Guild after he had discerned their character.

　"It seems you were really badly hurt by Xialong this time, weren't you? This must have been a very rare experience." The old man smiled.