Chapter 145 : Chapter 145

Chapter 145. Searching for the Earth Drake

While Fulan was still busy traveling elsewhere to deal with the other two magical creatures, her final target had already been found by another team.

Led by Oliver, that team had searched the deep mountains for three bitter days before finally managing to discover the Earth Drake’s whereabouts.

From across a cliff, they looked at the squirming mass of rock on the mountain opposite them and let out sighs of relief. They had finally found their target.

Even though they were still very far from the Earth Drake, by the time they crossed the cliff and made their way over, the creature would most likely have long since disappeared somewhere else.

But as long as they could find the place where the Earth Drake had stayed, they could use tracking insects to follow it. They were not afraid of failing to find it.

What they feared was the Earth Drake fleeing, and they had made ample preparations for that as well.

“Captain?” one team member asked, wanting to know what they should do next. Because of that, they all turned their eyes toward their captain, Oliver.

Oliver gripped the heavy battle axe in his hand and stared at the Earth Drake, which was still resting on the cliff face, then let out a cold snort.

“Let’s go. First, we confirm the Earth Drake’s current range of activity. Once we have that settled, we’ll begin the hunt.”

The team began moving forward slowly, picking their way with care along the steep cliffside, where there was only a narrow path for them to walk on.

They had no choice but to be cautious. Although they were all professionals, falling from a height of dozens of meters would at best only mean they did not die.

But even if they did not die, they would still be gravely injured and unable to move. Even if their teammates went down to rescue them, they would only have barely escaped with their lives.

After that, they would have to face the risk of the team mission failing, along with the expensive cost of treatment...

For an adventurer, the most unacceptable thing was being injured carelessly. That was practically the same as scattering one’s money into the wind.

After suffering an injury, not only would one have to recuperate at home, but if the treatment costs were too high, one might also be forced to sell off some equipment. And once that equipment was gone, one would discover that hunting magical creatures had become even more difficult.

So it became a vicious cycle. Quite a few adventurers had fallen victim to the burden of treating their injuries, to the point that even during battle, they were unwilling to suffer wounds that were too severe.

After all, not everyone was a master of alchemy who could carry a large pile of Healing Potions in their pockets.

When the group finally reached a somewhat wider section of the road, another First-Tier Professional in the team, the ranger Flynn, moved closer to Oliver and said:

“You really plan to hunt that Earth Drake outright, without going to discuss it with the team that took this Earth Drake from us...?”

Oliver cut him off immediately and said irritably:

“Of course I do. Otherwise, why do you think we brought that thing along? If I were really going to negotiate with them, would it not have been enough to just bring some provisions?”

“But...” Flynn hesitated greatly, yet in the end still forced himself to say it.

“Oliver, this will only make that team hold a grudge against me. It won’t do either side any good...”

“Hmph!” Oliver snorted coldly and continued, “If they truly did not want to make an enemy of me, then they should have made inquiries and found out who already had their eyes on that prey before they took the information on the Earth Drake.”

Flynn’s expression stiffened. He knew that he could not persuade Oliver to change his mind now, but he still had to say what needed to be said.

“Actually, we could find them before the hunt and discuss it with them. Maybe they would be willing to step back...”

“Too late, Flynn. I’m telling you, if they had spoken to us before we bought that thing, then I might have been willing to back down.”

“But when did they choose to do it? Exactly when we had just bought that thing and were about to use it...”

As he spoke, he looked toward the huge scroll being carried by several team members. That was the very item they had purchased specifically to deal with the Earth Drake.

“If we give up on the Earth Drake, this thing has a shelf life. If we don’t use it within three months, then the seller can no longer guarantee that it will still work.”

“In the nearby regions, only this Earth Drake is a suitable enough target. The reason I bought this scroll was precisely because it could properly restrain that Earth Drake.”

“If we head to another region and happen to run into a magical creature against which whatever is inside this scroll doesn’t work well, then everything we invested in it will go straight down the drain.”

After saying that, he walked off to the other side and no longer paid any attention to Flynn’s attempts at persuasion.

Seeing this, Flynn could only sigh. He knew all too well that this was true, but he still did not want to end up in conflict with others just like this.

Even before he became an adventurer, he had heard many stories about adventurers fighting one another.

Those conflicts always ended with both sides suffering. Even the victor often had to pay with several lives before achieving victory.

He looked at the rugged mountain path and could only sigh again before continuing onward with the team.

---

Just as the team was approaching the Earth Drake and preparing to launch a probing attack, a series of heavy footsteps drew their attention.

But when the team members looked around at the surrounding paths, they found no trace of anyone, leaving them thoroughly puzzled as to where the sound was coming from.

The sound grew heavier and heavier. Even Oliver could feel the ground trembling, which meant that whatever was making it was drawing closer and closer.

Yet they still heard it without seeing its source.

Then, at that moment, a figure appeared from the one place they had considered most impossible.

A black horse leapt up from the cliff at their side, landed steadily on the ground, and there was someone riding on its back.

Fulan turned her head to look at those people, somewhat puzzled as to why they were near this Earth Drake.

After obtaining the substance from the woodland spirit, the black horse could now move across mountainous terrain as if it were walking on flat ground, like a mountain goat finding tiny footholds on the rock face and climbing straight upward.

On a cliff face that was nearly seventy degrees steep, the black horse had ascended nearly a hundred meters without the slightest effort, though this had forced Fulan to tilt her body while riding in order to maintain her balance.

Still, considering how quickly the black horse had climbed, Fulan was quite satisfied.

Only after coming up did she look at the adventurer team before her and feel puzzled.

Had she not already paid the information fee? By rights, there should not have been any other adventurer teams near the target.

When it came to magical creature information that had already been withdrawn, many adventurer teams would deliberately avoid suspicion if they encountered the target outside. They would not all rush in to subjugate it.

Filled with confusion, she spoke up.

“Are you here to hunt that Earth Drake? If so, then you can go back. I already registered it with the Adventurers’ Guild...”

Fulan’s words instantly enraged Captain Oliver, who had still been in a state of shock. He glared at her as though he wanted to devour her alive and roared:

“So you’re the one who stole our Earth Drake!”