Chapter 426: Thunderous One (2/2)
”What is this place?”
”Just five kilometers away from here, there is a place called the Land of Dragon Bones. It is there we discovered the footprints of some lower species of dragons. Those one-horned land dragons are absolutely monstrous, and that one battle alone reduced our numbers from 100 to 23, and took all our horses… that wasn't the end of our misfortunes either. When we evacuated to this location, the h.e.l.lhounds started attacking us from every direction. These terrifying creatures are everywhere on this land…”
Captain Budo's eyes were filled with despair. ”I doubt we'll be able to make it back to Sky City and our homes…”
I broke into a smile and rubbed my palms together. ”Worry not, my lord, for I am here. I will do my utmost to help you, so speak. What can I do to help you out of your predicament?”
”You? Are you sure you can help us?” The NPC seemed to be doubting my strength.
I pointed at a dead h.e.l.lhound on the ground and asked, ”Do you really think that these beasts can stop me?”
A bit of hope entered Captain Budo's pupils as he exclaimed with joy, ”No, I do not! It's like this, we lost our magic scroll in the Land of Dragon Bones, and it is the only thing that can open a teleportation formation and take us away from this G.o.d-forsaken place! Please, find it and bring it back to us!”
”A magic scroll?”
”Yes, we lost it along with most of our supplies. But be careful, there's most likely more than one low-rank dragon in that place, and we won't be able to hold out for long. You must find the scroll and return as soon as possible!”
”Got it!”
……
The second I took a step toward the Land of Dragon Bones, a timer appeared in my field of vision—”04:59:59”. So it was a timed quest, with a limit of 5 hours. Well, it was probably enough time, and even if it wasn't, I hadn't forgotten that I was really here to gather some Dragon Meat. This quest was an extra at best.
I brought up the map. A quest marker had already appeared on it. The Land of Dragon Bones was straight ahead, but I had to pa.s.s through h.e.l.lhounds' territory first before I could make it there. Some consideration later, I ultimately decided not to take a circuitous path. I could just Charge a h.e.l.lhound, take off, wait until my cooldown was ready before charging another h.e.l.lhound. It should not be too much trouble to shake them off because my movement speed was the same as theirs.
I ran into the h.e.l.lhound's territory, and a second later, an entire horde of h.e.l.lhounds was chasing after me. Since I couldn't be bothered to kill them, I locked onto a h.e.l.lhound directly ahead of me, activated Charge, covered 40 yards of distance in an instant before taking off again. The sight would've been quite humorous had anyone been around to see it: a well-equipped warrior calmly charging and running away from a sea of snarling h.e.l.lhounds. The second I left h.e.l.lhounds' territory, I activated Earth Escape and shook off all the aggro I had accrued in one go. Piece of cake!
……
I continued forward until a huge valley appeared in front of me. Unlike most parts of the plains, the valley had patches of greenery here and there and wild animals such as rabbits, hyenas, boars and so on. No wonder the low-rank dragons were spotted here of all places. It was basically br.i.m.m.i.n.g with food necessary to sustain their growth and keep their big bodies alive.
Swhoos.h.!.+
I summoned the Sky Obsidian Greedy Wolf and continued forward in my best form; I had a feeling that the upcoming battles would turn out to be pretty difficult. Low-rank dragons were still dragons, so there was no way they would be easy to kill.
……
Rustle rustle...
My war boots made a scratchy noise as I trekked deeper into the valley. As expected, not long after I entered a ravine, a gigantic creature suddenly emerged from a foggy area, and it was making a low, guttural growl. It was as Budo described, a one-horned land dragon. Judging from its size, the monster probably weighed about seven to eight tons at least. It was covered in dark, matte scales, and it looked a bit like a rhino. The horn on its head was glowing a little, courtesy of little zaps of lightning swirling around it.
Thunderous One-horned Dragon (Shadow)
Level: 150
Attack: 2100~2350
Defense: 3100
HP: 250000
Skills: Stomp, Thrust, Thunder Strike
Introduction: The Thunderous One-horned Dragons used to be Thunderous Lizards. After devouring the bones of One-horned Land Dragons in this place, their species evolved into lowly subspecies of dragons. Although they can't be considered real dragons, it doesn't change the fact that blood of dragons is pumped through their veins. Moreover, they are slowly but surely growing stronger and more violent with each pa.s.sing day. They are a huge threat to humanity.
……
I hid a gasp. Holy s.h.i.+t, a Level 150 shadow-rank mob? It's 35 levels above me, and it's a dragon! It looks like I'm the one who bit off more than I could chew this time!
But the thought of retreating never crossed my mind. The moment I was 40 yards away from the Thunderous One-horned Dragon, I activated Thunderous Charge and hit it like a lightning bolt. Go, for my Rank 10 Magic Consumables!
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