Chapter 458 (1/2)
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“What happened to you, sister?” I asked.
Tia let out a bitter laugh. “I had come to Dragonbone Mountain Range in search of a devilish den under Princess Karinshan's orders, but I encountered a rare storm along the way. My green dragon was wounded when we crashed into this Dragonspine Basin. Moreover, an Earth Lizard Dragon had attacked us at the worst possible moment, and I became poisoned by its deadly venom. Neither the green dragon nor I have the strength to fly back to Floating Ice City now.”
Tia shot me a meaningful glance at this moment. “Young warrior, you were once an enemy of Floating Ice City. Will you help me?”
I smiled. “Since Princess Karinshan had pardoned me from all my crimes, I'm still an adventurer of Floating Ice City. What reason do I have not to help you?”
“Hehe…”
Tia chuckled softly, but she quickly shook her head. “It's too bad we're at the peak of Dragonbone Mountain Range; a place where evil beasts roam free. There's no way a normal human adventurer like you can battle against those beasts, let alone kill that d.a.m.nable Earth Lizard Dragon…”
I raised my eyebrows and smiled again. “Don't look down on me that much, Tia. The fact that I am here means that I don't fear any challenge this place might throw at me!”
“Mn!”
A small smile tugged the corner of Tia's lips. “It will be a shame to not reward such precious courage, so I will give you a trial. If you can complete it, then I will entrust my fate in your hands.”
“Tell me!”
“First, I need to make sure that you are indeed powerful enough to help me.”
“No problem, just tell me!”
“Very well!” Tia smiled and pointed at the distant Dragonspine Basin. “This basin contains a huge number of One-horned Rhinos and Fire Lizards, and I want you to kill 1000 of each. They are extremely violent and cruel creatures, so be extra careful when you fight them. Return to me after you've completed your task, and I will grant you a most generous reward!”
Ding~!
System Notice: You have accepted the quest [Tia's Trial]! (Current Quest Rank: S+)
Description: Head to Dragonspine Basin and kill at least 1000 One-horned Rhinos and 1000 Fire Lizards to receive a generous reward. But be careful, an unknown evil power is also hidden in Dragonspine Basin. A moment of carelessness may lead to death!
……
Even the quest description was warning me of danger. Alright then, it looked like today was my lucky day. There was no guarantee that an S+ Rank quest would grant me an equipment reward, but if it did, it would surely be as amazing as always!
After bidding the wounded Green Dragon Knight Tia goodbye, the Sky Obsidian Greedy Wolf and I went back to Dragonspine Basin. Even as we slid down the edge of the basin, we could already see a horde of huge creatures feeding on a messy patch of dark gra.s.s on the ground. It was none other than the One-horned Rhino mentioned in the quest!
The rhino was covered in a thick sh.e.l.l, and it had a glowing red horn above its nose. Its eyes looked like a pair of bronze bells, and the ground thundered every time it took a step. When I got close to the mob, its stats immediately appeared before me—
One-horned Rhino (Shadow)
Level: 140
Attack: 1650~1820
Defense: 1950
HP: 120000
Skills: Thrust, Crush, Horn Strike
Introduction: As the guardians of Dragonspine Basin, these One-horned Rhinos are extremely heat-resistant because their diet consists mainly of fire-attribute vegetation. Over time, the fire energy acc.u.mulating inside their body grew into a thick sh.e.l.l that protects them from any weapon.
……
I couldn't help but gasp in surprise. 1900 Defense was absolutely nothing to scoff at because there were less than 100 fighters in the entire Sky City who had the ability to break through such Defense. Thankfully, I was one of them. With the Heaven-stealing Sword and Martial G.o.d's 94% boost to Attack, my displayed Attack was 2185, but my real Attack was close to 4000 or even 5000. The One-horned Rhino was a shadow-rank mob, and its level was higher than mine, so I estimated that its real Defense was around 3500 or so. 5000 Attack was absolutely enough to beat 3500 Defense!
Anyway, let me bait a One-horned Rhino over and test the waters first!
I swung my arm and hit a One-horned Rhino's head with the Dragon Slaying Slash, dealing 6743 damage. I then backed away and kited it for a moment—firing another three more Dragon Slaying Slashes during this time—before activating Thunderous Charge!
Thud!
I successfully stunned the One-horned Rhino. It was a bit shameful that the Level 140 shadow-rank mob had lost almost 20k HP before it even touched me, to be honest.
While it was stunned, I thrust the Heaven-stealing Sword forward and hit it with a triple-hit combo: Ice Ray + Desperate Gambit + basic attack!
Clang clang clang!
I specifically chose to attack its weakest spot, the neck. My sword successfully tore apart its thick sh.e.l.l and did a ton of damage—
6215!