Chapter 600 - 323: 10-Second Battle! (Part 2)
Great streams of dark red lava slid down from the backward-curving dragon horns and the gaps between the spiky scales on its body.
The completely different head shape and scale color from a Five-Color Dragon marked its identity—a Molten Earth Dragon.
In Smalarg’s huge brown vertical pupils, a hint of unease and doubt flickered.
Just now it had been sleeping soundly, only to be jolted awake by some ominous premonition.
"Could it be that Gray Dwarves Clan trying to launch a sneak attack on me?" Smalarg murmured, looking thoughtful.
After thinking for a moment, Smalarg stretched out a dragon claw and tapped lightly. A Fire Element that had been imbued with "Flame Eye" plunged into the lava and swam toward the lava lake on the other side.
....
A few minutes later.
As they neared the cave, Raine said to the people behind him:
"In a bit, I’ll go in first with Leonore and Meredith to scout. If we all show up together with this many people, I’m pretty sure the Molten Earth Dragon’s first instinct won’t be to fight—it’ll be to run."
"Wait until the fight starts, then everyone else come in."
"Hehe~" Hearing Raine’s comment, Princess Dongni covered her mouth and giggled. "Mr. Rein, don’t be too fast. Otherwise when we come in, all we’ll be able to do is help you clean up the loot."
"It won’t be that extreme."
Everyone burst into laughter.
As the three of them followed Raine into the Lava Cave, the Fire Element among the group that Smalarg had cast Flame Eye on immediately projected the scene before its eyes back to Smalarg on the far side of the connecting lake.
"(Dragon Language) So it’s human Adventurers. Huh, that human Female Mage seems quite strong. But it’s only three of them—that’s way too arrogant!"
Though Smalarg sensed that Leonore was very powerful, it was confident in its own lair. Its whole body plunged sharply into the lava lake, kicking up huge waves of magma, and vanished beneath the surface of the connecting lake.
....
Inside the Lava Cave.
"There are lots of Flame Creatures and lava creatures, but judging from the Energy strength, it seems the Ancient Molten Earth Dragon Smalarg isn’t here."
Raine nodded at Leonore’s assessment.
Just now, he had carefully scanned the surroundings with his Perception; it was indeed like Leonore said—besides the various sizes of Flame Elements, there was basically nothing else.
No, hidden in the lava were some much stronger lava creatures.
But if he remembered correctly, they should be Lava Chargers—a mutated Element creature formed from a Rolling Stone Element and a Flame Element. Their Challenge Level reached Level 8, and some even reached Level 9.
He couldn’t be wrong about that, because their Energy Fluctuation intensity was far weaker than that of a Molten Earth Dragon at around Level 16 or 17.
’So I got up early just to catch the late show?’
Raine couldn’t help feeling a bit disappointed.
He’d Teleported over first thing in the morning, yet the Molten Earth Dragon wasn’t here.
’Wait, Challenge Level 9? Doesn’t that mean there’s a chance to use Fourth Level Earth Magic?’
All of a sudden, Raine’s eyes lit up as if he’d just thought of something.
"Your Highness, I’m going into the lava lake to hunt a few Lava Chargers."
Huh?
Leonore and Meredith exchanged a look, each seeing confusion in the other’s eyes, as if saying, "You’re already this strong—are you sure killing Lava Chargers that aren’t even Transcendent will do anything for your training?"
Raine, of course, couldn’t really explain in detail.
He just gave an awkward little smile, then quickly dashed toward the nearest cluster of Lava Chargers.
"Splash!"
He tore through a huge swathe of lava, sending a seven- or eight-meter-high wave of blazing red magma surging like the sea. This move instantly drew the attention of all the Flame Creatures around.
"Boom!"
The Lava Charger, made up of multiple round, blazing-red stone boulders of different sizes, had barely caught sight of Raine before it took a Warhammer blow straight to the body!
Its five-meter-tall form exploded apart with a crash.
One-shot kill!
Seeing this scene, the Fire Elements who had been getting ready to swarm him all froze, then immediately turned tail and fled back into the lava.
Raine had no time to bother with them. He focused his mind and checked the newly appeared Lava Charger icon in his sixteen-slot pack.
[Lava Charger]
He skimmed quickly past the Bloodline Talents and looked straight at the Spell-like Abilities.
Very soon, a Magic name jumped into Raine’s vision—"Stone Shape."
’Fourth Level, Earth Magic, done!’
A smile tugged at the corner of Raine’s mouth.
Seeing Raine this happy, Leonore and Meredith were both speechless.
"Let’s head back." Raine shook his Warhammer, slid it into his belt, and said with a smile to the two women.
The three of them were just about to leave when suddenly, they all halted and turned to look back at the lava lake behind them.
"Splash!"
A gigantic beast burst out of the lava, revealing a ferocious dragon head and a massive body covered in spiky scales.
"Human Adventurers, who gave you the courage to challenge the dignity of the Dragon Race?"
Molten Earth Dragon?
Raine was a bit speechless. He’d been about to leave, and now the thing finally showed up.
There’s a hidden tunnel in the lava lake?
Yet unlike Raine’s exasperation, in the winding passageway more than a hundred meters away—
The Dwarf Elders who had long been itching to move were delighted. Hearing Smalarg’s thunderous voice, they immediately charged toward the Lava Cave, with Princess Dongni, Harold, and Chandler happily following behind.
Just as the Molten Earth Dragon Smalarg stepped out of the lava one stride at a time, convinced its oppressive presence was overwhelming, it suddenly lifted its gaze toward the cave entrance.