Chapter 61

South of Jade Giant City, thousands of li.

Six black dragons, in the jungle like agile big cats, can leap tens of meters in a single bound.

Steep mountain paths, muddy grounds, deadly poisonous vines— to them it's like walking on flat ground, easy and relaxed.

Just like returning home.

"Freedom, so comfortable." The beast, nearly eight meters tall, second only to the leading black dragon, took a satisfied breath.

Beside its foot, a cave rabbit trembled, too scared to move.

Pop—

The cave rabbit was crushed into bloody mud by the dragon's claw.

"Sai Jia, how many times have you felt like this? Also, your behavior really wastes food."

Ai Di, whose build was noticeably smaller than Sai Jia's, seeing his muscle‑only stupid brother doing this stupid thing again, couldn't help but say:

"What's it to you? Besides, we're giant dragons—taking lives isn't wasting food; that's a question only the weak would ponder!"

"For us, plundering and killing is just instinct!" Sai Jia snorted coldly from his nostrils, a large puff of white air blowing out, clearly annoyed by his second brother's lecture.

Since becoming an alchemist, this guy's personality seems to have undergone some indescribable subtle change.

But Sai Jia couldn't describe this change, while Lai Ang could sense it.

Ai Di, its second brother, seemed to start viewing things with a more rational perspective.

It had gradually begun to deviate from the nature of a normal black dragon.

Beside them, Ma Er, Fu Lan Qi, and Da Gen—three black dragons—had long grown accustomed to the squabbling between Ai Di and Sai Jia.

Ma Er is a female black dragon, Fu Lan Qi and Da Gen are male. Nearly three years ago, Lai Ang led them to Fish Spirit Marsh, and afterward they all went together to the academy to mooch food and drink.

Coincidentally, they three were also born of the same dragon mother, and their dragon ages are even close to those of the three brothers Lai Ang, Ai Di, and Sai Jia.

Well, actually it's not that coincidental—after all, it's normal for giant dragons to lay several dragon eggs in one clutch.

The six black dragons walked, stopped, walked; the atmosphere was much more relaxed than during their trip three years ago.

Last time, although their troop had more dragons, most were juveniles; only two adolescent dragons, 'Pa Na' and 'Ai Er Duo', the former a white dragon, the latter not particularly strong, provided little sense of security to the group.

It was only thanks to Lai Ang's leadership as chief that they made it through safely all the way.

This time, returning to Fish Spirit Marsh, the six black dragons that were originally juveniles have all entered the adolescent dragon stage.

Moreover, the troop now boasted a second fourth‑rank giant dragon—Sai Jia.

Lai Ang's words as chief, the female dragon Ma Er secretly glanced at the sturdy, strong‑built black dragon ahead, her heart filled with a sense of security.

Leaving Jade Giant City, traveling by flight and running, over the thousands‑li journey they also encountered many dangerous obstacles.

But all were resolved one by one by Chief Lai Ang.

"Stop."

The guide Lai Ang gave a low shout; the five black dragons closely following immediately stopped, they all understood that likely another danger lay ahead.

But this time they guessed wrong——

"My mage's eye saw something interesting." A flicker of surprise flashed in Lai Ang's dragon eyes.

About five kilometers away from the six black dragons, beneath a rock wall.

Hundreds of spiders the size of a round table, black-bottomed with white patterns, clustered the two much larger spiders in the middle.

The two larger spiders were locked in a fierce battle.

A very familiar scene—this is how the former Lai Ang became the leader of Black Dragon Fortress.

The spiders were engaged in a battle for leadership.

But this was not what surprised Lai Ang; the reason he felt astonished was that these black-bottomed white-patterned large spiders closely resembled a very rare and uncommon monster.

Cave Monster Spider

Although they appear beast-like, they are in fact neither magical beasts nor wild beasts, but belong to the monster race.

A monster race akin to hyena-men and trolls.

The distinctions between magical beasts, wild beasts, and monsters are actually quite clear.

Magical beasts innately can grasp spell-like abilities from their bloodline, and as their strength grows, their intelligence increases; low-rank magical beasts may have intelligence only slightly above that of wild beasts, but mid-rank magical beasts can attain intelligence comparable to that of ordinary humans.

Wild beasts are creatures lacking intelligence, but their bodies have a high probability of mutation. Take, for example, a Second Rank wild beast called the Frenzied Ox: before mutation it was merely an ordinary ox unranked, but after mutation nourished by the elements, its strength becomes astonishing and its size grows enormously.

Some extremely astonishingly mutated wild beasts are also called Ferocious Species; Ferocious Species are terribly frightening, being organisms whose physique and combat instincts are specialized to the extreme.

On the icy plains, one can even witness the terrifying sight of a ferocious ice tiger tens of meters long successfully hunting and killing an adult white dragon.

Monsters, generally speaking, are creatures with a humanoid form that innately possess intelligence and thought.

But in fact, any exotic creature that innately possesses intelligence and has a civilization can be called a monster.

Cave Monster Spiders, upon reaching adulthood, have only First Rank strength, yet they possess near-human intelligence and also have their own ancient civilization.

They are undoubtedly a monster race.

They possess a highly valuable special ability—Cave Monster Spiders can spit out two kinds of silk: one is a paralyzing deadly poison silk for attack, the other is called Silver Silk.

The Silver Silk they spit out is an excellent material for weaving mage robes; besides mage robes, it also plays an irreplaceable role in many alchemical secret techniques.

After Lai Ang told Ai Di and the others about the Cave Monster Spiders, the five black dragons became quite excited, unable to contain themselves.

"Not one of them will escape!" Sai Jia grinned wickedly.

Although it isn't very interested in many things besides strength, it still knows how valuable the Cave Monster Spiders are; mastering these monster spiders is tantamount to grasping the code to wealth.

As for whom to trade with?

Naturally, it's the Emerald Dream.

The Emerald Dream indeed has many spellcasters.

Ai Di also eagerly looked at his older brother.

Its chosen profession is alchemist, and through continual practice and mastering various alchemical secret techniques, it can also nourish itself.

For example, alchemical magic potions that enhance strength.

Moreover, the dragon clan's inheritance records some relatively common alchemical secret techniques, including how to use the 'silver threads of the subterranean monster spider'.

It is called——'Monster Spider's Magic Potion'.

The effect is that after consumption, it can permanently enhance one's own nervous reaction ability.

However, there is also a drawback: the more perfect the organism's structure, the lower the success probability, and it can only enhance once.

But if one masters this subterranean monster spider tribe, with a continuous supply of silver spider silk, as long as the probability is not zero, success is merely a matter of time.

Lai Ang nodded slightly, and after recognizing the origin of these subterranean monster spiders, the other side could not escape its dragon claws.

"Wenge, admit defeat, you are not my opponent!" The subterranean monster spider nimbly moved to dodge the spider silk coming from the opposite side, its attitude becoming somewhat impatient.

"Luola, I am the king." The subterranean monster spider that Luola calls Wenge, with its ferocious mouthparts, exhaled a puff of white air; although exhausted beyond endurance, it still upheld the dignity of the subterranean monster spider queen.

Wenge Queen's actions also thoroughly enraged Luola.

It emitted a piercing shriek, its figure shooting like lightning toward Wenge Queen; this time, it would hold nothing back.

Two black-and-white striped spiders, each larger than a round table by a full circle, began close combat; their spider claws, sharp as a combination of a sickle and a spear, clattered together, producing a sound like metal striking metal, their speed so fast that afterimages lingered.

However, just as they were fighting fiercely, a dragon's might swept down from above.

Wenge Queen and Luola, engaged in battle, only felt danger approaching; their massive spider bodies flickered and instantly separated.

Boom! The black dragon landed.

But it didn't hit anyone.

Lai Ang watched the halted battle, observing the two large mother spiders with wary, panicked eyes, grinning as he said, "Sorry to interrupt your fight, but I've grown impatient waiting. How about we discuss something?"

"Black Dragon." Luola's six eyes watched Lai Ang warily, her eyeballs rolling.

"Don't even think about running; you can't escape." Lai Ang spoke calmly, with absolute confidence.

Although these two subterranean monster spiders have both reached Fourth Rank, and subterranean monster spiders are already terrifying in reaction speed and power among peers of the same rank, if they tried to flee, few Fourth Rank beings could catch them.

But Lai Ang is no ordinary Fourth Rank.

It is a dragon, indeed a dragon with extraordinary talent.

Not to mention now; even three years ago, it had the confidence to take down these two Fourth Rank mother spiders.

Roar! Roar! Roar! Continuous dragon roars came from all around, accompanying Lai Ang's words as they fell, five black dragons, each smallest over six meters tall, surrounded the area.

Five draconic mights pressed down together.

This caused hundreds of ordinary subterranean monster spiders to panic instantly, continually emitting chirping hisses. Seeing this, Wenge Monster Spider Queen and Luola had grim expressions, some desperate.

"Esteemed Black Dragon Prince, what do you wish to discuss with us?" Wenge Queen submitted, speaking softly.

Although it was confident it could escape, as a queen it could not abandon its subjects.

Just as Lai Ang felt quite satisfied with this mother spider's submissive attitude and was about to speak—whoosh! —the mother spider named Luola moved its eight long legs, darting like a phantom toward where Ai Di was, attempting to break through.

Ai Di saw a huge afterimage rushing at him, his heart startled; this speed he could not intercept.

But Ai Di did not panic; he merely looked pityingly at Luola trying to flee.

In the next moment, two streams of blue light, like meteors, sealed off Luola's escape route.

Feeling the magical undulations from the blue meteors, Luola, unwilling to be hit by the spell, could only dodge to the left.

"Dodged." Luola secretly rejoiced; the excitement of escaping death mixed with guilt over betraying its tribe, making its mood rather complex.

Huh? Luola's extraordinarily keen sensory organs sensed that the danger had not yet dissipated.

Its six eyeballs turned backward, seeing a scene that made its spider hairs stand on end—the two blue meteors it had dodged, after making a turn, actually came chasing after it again.

A spell capable of locking onto pursuit?!

The blue meteors were simply too close; even if Luola reacted, limited by its body's speed limit, it could not possibly dodge.

Bang! Bang! Two heavy blows struck Luola in succession, blue blood spurting from its body.

Subterranean monster spiders are not good at defense; they excel in reaction and speed. In defense, they are not much stronger than third-rank monsters.

Bang! The black dragon's heavy body landed before Luola.

Lai Ang lowered his dragon head, looking down on this brave mother spider, and spoke lightly,

"Give you one more chance—will you submit?"

Luola hesitated a bit, but soon it horrifiedly saw the black dragon raise its claw before it; this mother spider promptly replied,

"Submit, I am willing to submit!"

Lai Ang slowly lowered his claw, not giving it even a glance, slightly raised his dragon head, and looked toward the monster spider queen.

At this moment, the monster spider queen also understood what Lai Ang meant by 'the matter to discuss'.

Sigh.

Wenge sighed inwardly; it actually understood very well.

That is also why it did not immediately resist Lai Ang.

"The Subterranean Cavern Tribe is willing to submit to the esteemed Black Dragon Prince."

Following the queen's statement, the remaining hundreds of ordinary subterranean monster spiders also quieted down, their eight spider legs kneeling, heads slightly bowed, showing a posture of submission.

"Ai Di, come over." Lai Ang looked toward the not-far black dragon, gesturing with his eyes at the injured Luola beneath him.

Ai Di's heart moved, he pitter-pattered over, "Big brother?"

Ai Di looked at Lai Ang with expectant eyes.

He nodded slightly, "You come to contract this subterranean monster spider."

Ai Di nodded vigorously; Luola's performance he had watched the whole time.

Although easily subdued by the big brother, the opponent's strength is undeniable; it's just that the big brother is too versatile, countering Luola.

If it were Sai Jia, who also reached Fourth Rank, he probably could only stare helplessly, watching Luola flee.

But this is all secondary.

What Ai Di values most is still the silver threads spat out by Laura. The silver threads spat out by a Fourth-Rank cave monster spider and a First-Rank cave monster spider naturally differ greatly.

The "Monster Spider's Magic Potion" refined using Fourth-Rank silver threads will surely have a much higher success rate after consumption.

Ai Di began to set up a Dragon Clan Kinship Contract Formation on the spot using his own dragon blood.

With its soul strength, carrying two kin is still barely possible.

Lai Ang turned his gaze to Sai Jia, who understood his elder brother's meaning: he wanted it to contract that monster spider queen, but it shook its head, "My kin will be subdued by myself; what you defeat, you contract yourself."

Lai Ang was speechless, but he also did not continue to persuade Sai Jia.

But Lai Ang had no intention of contracting that monster spider queen at all.

The other side's strength is not even comparable to the one Ai Di contracted, and Lai Ang doesn't even look down on that stronger one, let alone the monster spider queen.

Contracting kin is limited; Lai Ang has already contracted the dragon-man "Di Uges" and the black-furred hyena-man "Hoge", and with its current soul strength, it can probably contract only two more.

Although as Lai Ang continues to grow, his soul strength will increase and the number of kin he can contract will also increase, but that is for the future.

For the present, aside from the silver threads it spits out, which are somewhat valuable, Lai Ang looks down on nothing else about the monster spider queen.

"Leader, can you let me contract this monster spider queen?" Ma'er whispered.

The female black dragon's eyes showed some unease, fearing that Lai Ang would refuse.

"Then I'll give it to you, Ma'er." Lai Ang nodded slightly.

The female black dragon cheered, ran to the front of the monster spider queen, began to shed its own dragon blood, and awkwardly drew the Dragon Clan Kinship Formation.

Lai Ang watched Ma'er and Ai Di's operations from the side, feeling a vague sense of familiarity—fighting monsters, subduing them?

A real-life fantasy version of Pokémon?

Dragon trainer? Lai Ang realized it, his expression somewhat strange.

Don't even mention it, it really is somewhat similar.

Because the Dragon Clan Kinship Contract Formation consumes a lot of energy, and Lai Ang and his six companions, being in a hurry to travel, had also gone without rest for a while, they rested here for a night to recover, and only then set out again the next day, heading toward the Fish Spirit Marsh.

However, because they were bringing hundreds of cave monster spiders this time, their speed slowed considerably.

Fortunately, the distance to the outskirts of the Fish Spirit Marsh is not too great.

Five days later.

After losing several ordinary cave monster spiders, Lai Ang and his group finally reached the outskirts of the Fish Spirit Marsh.

It is only about a hundred kilometers from the Black Scale Tribe.

"Strange." A flicker of doubt passed through Lai Ang's dragon eyes.

How could it feel that the dark aura in this area had become a bit thicker? Not only Lai Ang sensed it, but Ai Di, Sai Jia, and Ma'er also sensed it.

Black dragon, a water-attribute true dragon.

But regarding the dark attribute, black dragons are actually quite close to it.

Among black dragons, spellcasters generally take water-element and dark-element spells as their main focus.

Lai Ang quickly realized, narrowing his dragon eyes, 'Could it be that the undead of the Wailing Gray Land have reached here?'

That's not right either.

If the Wailing Gray Land had indeed attacked all the way here, they would certainly have noticed many abnormalities along the way.

Even before setting out for the Fish Spirit Marsh, they would have received a notice from the Emerald Giant City.

Lai Ang had many thoughts in his mind, but he suppressed them all and said in a low voice,

"Let's return to the tribe first; Di Uges and Aierduo and the others surely know something."

Ai Di and the others also felt that the eldest brother's words made sense; at this point, wild guessing would be useless.

Black Scale Tribe.

Over these three years, the Black Scale Tribe has developed smoothly.

The tribe's scale within the valley has expanded five- to sixfold, absorbing many wild monsters from the surroundings.

On the valley's flatlands, one can even see a vast expanse of blue rice paddies stretching as far as the eye can see.

Although it is spring, the blue rice is filled with thumb-sized plump grains; seeing the abundant harvest is quite pleasing.

Lake frog folk wear straw hats to block the sunlight, patrolling the rice fields; at times they shoot out long tongues from their mouths to exterminate pests cleanly.

Big-toothed fish folk carry baskets on their backs, walking lightly through the mud, harvesting the blue rice.

At a glance, it is windless and waveless, distant and tranquil.

But this thread of tranquility vanished instantly as wounded Black Scale warriors, one after another, walked in from the valley entrance.

Some troll warriors, relying on their size, even carried the corpses of their hyena-man comrades on their shoulders back.

First release a chapter of 5k, more tonight.

(End of chapter)