novelhk Page 256
Page 256
"Join forces to subdue her, and I'll let you go. You won't get a single Thunder Marrow Golden Rat!"
Qin He also noticed Deng Liu's unusual behavior. Comparing it with the situation mentioned in Shuang Yin's research notes, he quickly identified the reason for Deng Liu's berserk state.
"Yanliu, let's cooperate for now. Dengliu is currently in the stage of absorbing and transforming the energy in her body. She needs to go through a powerful battle to calm the restless dragon attribute energy in her body."
Chidian and Yanliu had previously received orders from Qin He to take Dengliu out to fight. If Dengliu went berserk, it meant she was absorbing and converting energy within her body.
At times like this, she needs two equally matched young dragons to fight alongside her. Now, with the Golden Dragon Royal Oriole by her side, the process of Deng Liu expending her stamina and absorbing energy is even more secure.
"Let's get this straight, Huang Ying. Save your weakened breath attack for last! Don't diminish the fun of my battle with Deng Liu."
In just a short time, Yanliu has transformed into a true red dragon. Full of fighting spirit, she decided to be the first to go up and have a glorious one-on-one duel with Dengliu.
"Go away, you weakling silver dragon who can't even beat a white dragon, go home and get some sleep! Get ready to watch Lord Flame Ryu's performance!"
Faced with Deng Liu's current lithe figure, Yan Liu dared not let her guard down.
After all, she had personally witnessed Deng Liu's incredibly fierce and rapid attack. If she were to find a weakness, it would be no laughing matter.
Soon, Lantern, berserk under the influence of dragon-attribute energy, charged towards the giant red shadow before it. This mine, located at the border between the two tribes, was deliberately left for the young dragons of both sides to explore.
Some sparrowstone and other metal ores were deliberately left inside the cave for the young dragons to harvest.
As the lantern soared into the air, its graceful form filled most of the cave's space. This meant it would have little room to hide.
"First is... the tail sting!"
Flames were attached between her sharp teeth, and frost began to form on the places where she had been stabbed by the lamp. She didn't want to experience that icy, bone-chilling feeling.
Yanliu's current reaction speed was only enough to barely dodge Dengliu's first flying stab. She had to seize control of the slender dragon tail before Dengliu could retract its tail spikes.
With a clench of its claws, Yan Liu restrained Deng Liu's icy tail spear and flung her slender dragon body to the ground.
But the ice-crystal-covered wings had feather scales that deflected the impact. Just as it was thrown to the ground by the powerful force of the reverted red dragon, the frenzied Lantern kicked its hind claws, sending sharp ice blades from its joints slashing towards Flame.
"Tsk——!"
Flame Glaze is no pushover either. Although she doesn't have the advantages of an Ice Dragon, she is a powerful young dragon born with ancestral red dragon blood.
She leaped back to dodge Deng Liu's kick, and then swung her much thicker dragon tail toward her target.
The result was a clash between the two dragon tails. The white dragon's tail spear, which was covered by the ice spell, first clashed with the red dragon's tail, and in terms of power, it was in no way inferior to Yanliu.
Not only that, but its cunning tail spear was also as agile as a venomous snake. After a fierce exchange of tail strikes, it even curved and pierced into Flame Glaze's tail scales—
It wasn't until the two dragons faced off again that Yan Liu noticed a bloody hole on his dragon tail, frozen by the ice spear.
"Phew... Tengliu, you're amazing. Once you master this power, there will be young dragons crying in the Hundred Dragons Battle!"
Despite her injuries, Yan Liu was not discouraged. The surging red dragon blood, radiating a molten lava-like heat, thawed her frozen wounds—
Immediately, the flesh and blood healed themselves under the regenerative power of atavism, and in just a few seconds, brand new pink dragon meat and bright red dragon skin were reconstituted.
With another flick of its tail, new scales covered the wound on Yanliu's dragon tail.
Its regenerative abilities are enough to make ordinary young dragons gasp in astonishment; this is a bloodline that has gone a step further after reverting to its ancestral form.
In contrast, Deng Liu's ice-cursed scales, forged from magma, remained as radiant as ever.
"Yan Liu, now is not the time for you to fight one-on-one. Let's finish this quickly."
The goal is to wear down Lantern's stamina, not to fight to the death. In this situation, the best option is for all three strongest baby dragons to attack together.
"Ok."
Although both are on the same level in terms of physique and strength, Tōryū's scales, which are not of the white dragon type, and her ability to control ice are still terrifying.
"Lightning Bolt will hold them off, Little Yellow Bird will stay behind and unleash her weakening breath, and I'll fight Lantern. Who among you agrees, and who disagrees?"
Just as Yan Liu was about to attack again, the magnificent golden figure swept past her, leaving behind a sentence:
"I'm not a little yellow bird!"
The golden dragon's breath ignited once more, and Lantern responded with a freezing breath. Ice and fire clashed again, culminating in the first close-quarters battle between the golden dragon and the ice-cursed white dragon—
The Royal Oriole pounced on her, hoping to take advantage of Deng Liu's berserk state and learn her attack patterns. For a dragon species like the Golden Dragon, whose wing membranes make up a large proportion of its body, the Ice Curse Dragon's tail is definitely a dangerous weapon.
Even with its wings folded, the golden dragon's wing membrane, extending all the way to the tip of its tail, is still enormous. If Deng Liu were to deliberately attack, it would be extremely difficult to avoid being pierced by her tail spear.
Charging ahead, even if it means getting a minor injury, is worthwhile as long as we can figure out the white dragon's attack patterns and then go back to inform the other young dragons.
Chidian immediately flew forward, having already discerned her opponent's intentions. Even without using Hellfire Breath, she wouldn't be too passive against Dengliu.
On the surface, he was protecting Huang Ying, but in reality, Chi Dian was interfering in her battle with Deng Liu.
"Yanliu, come here quickly... help wear down Dengliu's stamina! We can't let Huangying figure out her tail spear attack method."
Although the red dragon is reckless and irritable, it also possesses immense wisdom when it calms down.
Upon hearing Chidian's telepathic message, Yanliu immediately understood Huangying's intention.
Suddenly, flames erupted all over her body, knocking the graceful, outstretched wings of the royal oriole aside—
"You little yellow bird, just stand there and watch how we help Tamaru control her power! You're definitely going to lose this match—!"
Flame Glaze on the left and Blazing Lightning on the right, the two strongest chromatic dragons in their juvenile stage launched a coordinated attack.
Claws tear through the flames, tails slice through the frost; four intertwined dragon shadows fly and fight, their multicolored scales shimmering, weaving together a cacophony of cold calamity and disaster throughout the cave.
Blazing flames, thunderous roars, and frost—the most brilliant young dragons each displayed their unique abilities, and even as young dragons, they had already fought with an aura comparable to that of adult dragons.
The golden wings of the royal nightingale spread out in fury, shattering the frost that met its face. There was no need for probing, nor was there any way to probe under the interference; in the all-out confrontation, it was an ultimate battle of strength and beauty.
She dodged to the side, her tail spear unleashing a fierce barrage, her ice blade sweeping away scales and wings, her dragon-attribute energy flowing endlessly, and her raging fury was on full display.
Above the ice dragon's crown, jade light leaped and drew ice from all directions. Suddenly, the icy mist filling the cave solidified, and a chain of ice walls snaked forth, heading straight for the golden dragon!
With blazing lightning and molten fire in his palm, and stomping on raging thunder, he forcefully shattered the ice wall and entered. A pair of rainbow wings, brimming with demonic energy, clashed head-on with the lamplight.
As the Ice Curse went berserk, the temperature inside the cave pushed it to extreme levels. Left with no other option, Flame Glaze, Blazing Lightning, and Royal Oriole simultaneously unleashed the dragon blood within them—
Instantly, dragon flames and lightning enveloped his body, and the three dragons pounced on him again, trying to suppress him.
Inside the cave, the disguised iron dragons and chrome dragons were all trembling with fear. They hadn't expected... these creatures to be so powerful.
If it were only Yanliu and Chidian, perhaps they could injure one of them in a ten-dragon attack.
But now... the Color Dragon's side has gained an even more terrifying Lantern, so what's the point of fighting?
"In that case, we have no choice but to go back. Let that guy come and play this match..."
One of the iron dragons secretly made a decision, and when the four strongest young dragons finished their battle, the ore containing the swallow-bird stone inside the cave had been stripped away by the violent dragon breath.
"Phew... What... what's wrong with me?"
After releasing enough energy, Tōryū regained consciousness from the battle.
She dispelled the ice-bound armor that had been binding her body, and looked at the three dragons in front of her.
She knew that Qin He had instructed her to release excess energy through combat.
"It's good that you're awake now."
Chidian and Yanliu have many new scales of varying sizes on their bodies, which are wounds that have healed from their battle with Dengliu. Huangying is not much better off.
In contrast, Deng Liu's ice-cursed dragon scales, forged from magma, remained completely unharmed.
After learning the whole story, Tengliu lowered her head in embarrassment.
"It's alright, it's alright now, you've recovered."
As Yanliu spoke, he turned his blazing dragon claws toward Huangying—
"Little Yellow Bird, are you still going to fight? If you don't want to be poked like a hornet's nest, get out of our mine and don't get in our way of catching Thunder Marrow Golden Rats."
Reverting to his arrogant demeanor, Yan Liu raised his chin, intending to make Huang Ying back down.
"Yan Liu... if it's a one-on-one fight, I can make you get out of this mine first."
After Huang Ying finished speaking, she looked at Deng Liu again:
"I've memorized the ancestral white dragon lantern. Please guide me during the competition!"
Although Huang Ying failed to obtain the magic core of the Thunder Marrow Golden Rat after taking away the ten undiscovered sub-iron dragons, she accidentally learned of Deng Liu's existence.
Huang Ying couldn't even imagine how much of a result such a white dragon could achieve in its first appearance on the field between the two sides.
Those bronze dragons that underestimated her were easily pierced through by her, and her invincible scales allowed her to face hordes of young dragons alone.
In other words, what exactly is inside Tōryū's body? Even as a white dragon that has reverted to its ancestral form, it shouldn't possess such peculiar power.
We must find a way to figure this out.
……
After confirming that Deng Liu was alright, Qin He turned his attention to what Trisna and Trist were talking about: taking a route to the tenth floor... and cooperating with the future queen of the mushroom race.
Qin He and Zhong Liuxiu changed into formal attire, intending to attend the tea party hosted by the queen.
Qin Xinru and Zhong Xiling also chose formal attire and dressed up to attend the event together with him.
……
The meeting to discuss cooperation was held in a mysterious building on the sixth floor.
These mushroom-shaped buildings, found only in the Darklands, serve as the Queen's reception area for guests. Their interiors are incredibly luxurious.
During the gathering, a noblewoman wearing a white top hat was sipping black tea. She was none other than the Mushroom Lady, who was about to ascend to the throne as Queen—
Ordinary mushroom people are physiologically similar to fungi, and their appearance is not much different from tree people. But the most beautiful individuals among them become urban legends like her.
Legend has it that this white-haired woman, who always wears various hats, possesses countless magical powers—powers that do not belong to any known fighting spirit, magic, or natural energy.
What she uses to fight are spores.
"Greetings, Your Highness Qin He. I am the next Queen of the Circle... You may call me Xue Zhi."
Qin He understood that this was the future queen of the mushroom race, his next business partner.
Xuezhi is her true form, corresponding to the white top hat. The white-haired beauty before us can be seen as a giant snow-white Ganoderma lucidum.
The pink and white dress suited her gentle and refined demeanor perfectly. It also added a touch of girlish innocence to the queen's appearance, although the full, snow-white contours of her chest seemed incongruous with her youthful status.
Her breasts were half-exposed, and their size, which was almost comparable to Zhong Liuxiu's, was wrapped in a rather eye-catching curve by the fabric of the front of her Western-style dress.
Beneath the brim of his hat, a pair of sapphire-like eyes held a yearning for adventure.
As a queen, she has the power to control all fungi. Right now she is a Ganoderma lucidum, but who knows what other fungus she might transform into at any moment.
Suddenly, the spores floating in the air began to change in a strange direction—they gradually transformed into points of light with bizarre, colorful hues.
The top hat, which reflected the true form, also underwent the same transformation. The spores spread from there, gaining control of the guards.
Spores covered the heads of the guards outside the door, and then the two mushroom-man guards with unfriendly expressions suddenly became listless and numb... and then closed the door.
"Controlling other people's spores? But using my abilities on my own soldiers... This doesn't seem like a simple matter."
Zhong Liuxiu gently flicked her tail, inwardly criticizing the Queen's abilities—
What kind of enchanting mushroom is this?
Queen Xuezhi noticed Qin He's doubts, sipped her red tea, and transmitted her voice:
"Your Highness Qin He, there's no need to worry. Those two guards were assigned by my mother to watch over me and prevent me from taking any risks..."
"Our next collaboration will be related to adventure!"
After the telepathic transmission ended, Queen Xuezhi took out a parchment scroll. It appeared to have footprints on it, along with some orange-yellow viscous substance.
"Your Highness Qin He, please allow Xuezhi to test you. What creature left these footprints?"
Qin He pondered for a moment, judging from the general shape of the footprints, it should be a beast-dragon. Adding to that the clump of dead, viscous substance…
If we narrow down the scope to dragon species that Xuezhi might be interested in, then there is only one answer.
"A dragon shattering attack, and a powerful, explosive dragon shattering attack."
The Brachydios is a fearsome creature among Brute Wyverns. While not as threatening as the Deviljho, the Brachydios's claws and the hammer-like structure on its head are enough to deliver a devastating blow that can kill an adventurer.
The green slime that coexists with the Shattered Dragon possesses extremely strong explosive power. It will explode after attaching to a target for a period of time.
Xuezhi took off the mesh gloves, then clenched her fist with one hand—
The fluorescent green slime mold seemed to gather light on her fair hands.
The hat on her head, which reflected her physical condition, also emitted a fluorescent green color.
Qin He couldn't help but imagine the scene of the Queen throwing a punch, a terrifying explosion sending enemies flying. And indeed, the mushroom people fought mostly with their fists...