Chapter 64: 63. King of the Fire-Feathered Lizards

63. King of the Fire-Feathered Lizards

Seeing the items on this altar, Leon knew from experience that they were monster eggs. Given what he understood of the Linden family history, they were likely the eggs of the so-called fire dragons.

[Salamander Egg]

[The egg of a powerful fire-feathered lizard type monster. Its hatchlings must consume rare minerals from volcanic regions and prey on monsters with fire-igniting spirituality to grow. Adults harbor the power of a volcano in their chests and abdomens; even their breath exhales sparks.]

[Tier: 4 (Max 7)]

[Spirituality: Lost]

[Usage: Summoned beast contract, alchemy, spellcasting material]

So it was a Salamander.

Fire-attribute lizards covered in feathers were classified as fire-feathered lizards, and the Salamander was the strongest among them. They were a type of powerful sub-dragon, known as the King of the Fire-Feathered Lizards.

Salamanders were incredibly troublesome enemies in scorching environments. They were massive, with an average total length exceeding ten meters, and moved with great speed. After reaching Tier 7, they could control flames to provide propulsion for short bursts of flight, making their mobility quite excellent.

They even lived in groups. As long as one excluded the King of the Island, they could be considered regional overlords, which was why they were quite famous.

That giant fire dragon with the title King of Purgatory ruled over the Salamander population, and there were even individuals among them that had crossed the threshold to reach Tier 7.

Leon simulated an air map in his mind. The location of Spark Island was actually quite close to Purgatory Island in terms of straight-line distance, but the latter was located in the Disaster Domain northwest of the Ignis airspace, with an airspace wind wall in between.

Therefore, the actual route required going northeast via the shipping lanes, then north, then circling southwest, passing through the Phlos and Glacies airspaces in succession before one could enter the Disaster Domain.

Among some scholars, there was a hypothesis that "the airspace wind wall did not exist in the past." The evidence cited was that the island environments and species distributions on both sides of the wind wall were very similar.

According to this theory, it was perfectly reasonable for Spark Island to have a Salamander population.

Naturally, different people had tried to tame this type of monster before, but none had ever succeeded.

Those who tried to research domestication starting from the egg also failed. These eggs were buried in lava, and Salamanders had the habit of the entire group guarding the nest during the breeding season, making the acquisition cost very high.

This Linden family also had some ability to be able to contract with Salamanders. However, the Salamanders on Spark Island were not of a high tier; these eggs were all Tier 4, which might have something to do with that.

[Prompt: Tameable monster egg discovered]

[Prompt: The spirituality within the monster egg has been lost; taming cannot begin yet. Injecting volcanic essence can reactivate the spirituality.]

The space at this altar was quite large; there should have been more eggs originally, as there were some broken shells nearby.

The other eggs must have been taken by the Finat family. They surely wanted to try contracting a Salamander, but judging by the results, they did not succeed, and some members were so angry they smashed a portion of them.

As for why they left a few behind until the spirituality was lost, perhaps they thought there was some significance to the Linden family placing the eggs in the tomb and intended to keep them there for observation.

Leon, however, could conclude that the Lindens doing this was purely a matter of custom and belief, letting the "fire dragon" that blessed the family accompany their sleeping ancestors.

"What exactly is this?" Dorothy poked her head out from behind him.

"Monster eggs, the fire dragons written about on their epitaphs. They are actually a type of monster called a Salamander, which is very strong even in the transcendent realm."

Dorothy crossed her arms: "I've read about this monster in books; they say its appearance is very magnificent."

"Yes." Leon didn't just see them; he had personally slaughtered quite a few.

"Why didn't the Finat family hatch these?"

"They probably didn't obtain the Linden family's contracting method, or they couldn't meet the necessary conditions."

"Shall we continue sneaking into the Earl's mansion to look around?"

"Let's see if we can discover anything later."

"Wow, if I could raise one, I'd know what it feels like to ride a dragon." The lady's face showed anticipation.

"It's not that simple. Even if you can contract one, there are other conditions to prepare."

Leon would not reveal the details of domestication to her for now.

Moreover, Salamanders were monsters with specific environmental requirements. The system's summoned beast panel did have a breeding ground construction function, but as air knights were constantly flying about, a suitable breeding ground would have to be built on a ship reinforced with magic.

This again involved having to get a good ship first.

"Let's pack them up first, pack them up~"

Dorothy usually spoke clearly and steadily, but this time her voice rose at the end. Having gained a great harvest just as the adventure began, she was in a pleasant mood.

She wanted to reach out to hold the three eggs, but shrieked when she touched the surface.

"Forgot to tell you, these eggs have mucus on the surface."

Even after a long passage of time, because they were saturated with magic while gestating in the mother, these eggs could still secrete this protective fluid even if their spirituality was lost.

They only needed to be replenished with volcanic essence to revive; that was the resilience of monsters.

"Ugh... I shouldn't have thrown away my handkerchief after wiping off the dust."

Dorothy looked at her hands covered in slimy liquid, not knowing what to do, her expression growing increasingly unpleasant.

"Help me." The lady looked over with a miserable face.

"You just said you were amazing."

"I really made a big resolution. To go on an adventure with you, I was very afraid you would think I was a monster because of the Demon Life Flower, but I still decided to show you. This is already very impressive for me."

"An amazing person who can't even deal with a little dirt."

Leon deliberately didn't help her, hoping she could turn her resolution into substantial change as soon as possible; otherwise, he would be in a difficult position too.

Although he hadn't directly agreed to let her join the team yet, because of the Demon Life Flower, her potential was completely qualified; what she lacked was just the right mindset.

But if she couldn't even adapt to small things, Leon would be even less daring to entrust important battles to her; no matter how great her potential, she wouldn't be suitable as a teammate.

If she really couldn't adjust, Leon would have no choice but to leave her behind. It felt cruel, but he also had to be responsible for himself, Zoe, and his future teammates.

In order not to actually face such a difficult choice, he had to try to force her forward starting now.

Dorothy was silent for a few seconds, then closed her eyes and wiped her hands quickly on her dress, as if trying to make herself forget this memory.

After doing this, she looked Leon straight in the eyes, silently declaring that she was ready.

She didn't dare to touch the monster eggs again, so Leon wrapped them up and put them away.

Dorothy suddenly thought of something: "The Linden family had Salamanders and was still wiped out by the Finat family. The Finat family should be very powerful, so why did they only produce one Wenders?"

Her doubt had some merit. Many people on peaceful islands were weaker than their ancestors, usually due to laziness. As long as the heritage was not broken, the strength of the successors in the family was barely passable.

However, from Leon's knowledge, the Finat family had no strength-related heritage.

Investing money in Wenders was purely because he was talented and could achieve the peak of the transcendent realm in the Dragoon profession, allowing the Earl to see an opportunity to raise a powerhouse. Wenders had said this himself while chatting in the group.

Wenders had already surpassed the vast majority of people in Newbis, and only fell short when compared to a top-tier team where everyone was at the Excellent realm.

After telling Dorothy this information, Leon speculated: "According to the records on these epitaphs, they wanted to attack the fire dragon ranch at the time. Judging by the historical outcome, they succeeded."

"How did they win?"

"I don't think they had enough high-tier powerhouses. They likely had something specifically effective against Salamanders."

Regardless of the truth, Leon became the biggest beneficiary in the face of the monster issues of the two families.

He didn't need to find the Linden family's contracting method and could even try to cultivate a Tier 7 Salamander. This was a wish the Finat family could never reach, and a power the Linden family might not have been destroyed if they possessed.

Volcanic essence was a material for the peak of the transcendent realm, with the finest quality being at the Excellent realm, similar to the tier of a Salamander. Such material was of course expensive, but compared to being able to obtain a summoned beast of this strength, it was nothing at all.

Leaving the tomb and returning to the secret passage, there were still several exits near the Earl's mansion.

"What else will we discover? Looking forward to it~"

Dorothy had her spirit back. It seemed some kind of resentment had been released, and she actively took the lead.