Chapter 30

Deep in the underground palace, the dog-headed alchemist paid no mind to the pale palace door that remained motionless for a long time.

“The dragon’s aura still lingers; the master must have entered hibernation. The next meeting will be years away.”

Putting aside his regret, the dog-headed alchemist rallied his spirits.

He swore that in these coming years, he would expand the dog-headed tribe once more, to better serve his master.

“Bring out the wine and drink, let us celebrate properly.”

The dog-headed alchemist instructed a nearby dog-headed knight.

“Yes, leader.”

The lead dog-headed knight replied; he stood one point two meters tall, a virtual giant among his kind.

He was twenty centimeters taller than the three dog-headed knights around him.

His frame was massive and powerful, with 14 points of strength—unquestionably the strongest in the tribe.

He turned and gestured for the other three subordinates to follow him into the side hall.

Those three subordinates then summoned a group of dog-headed worshippers present for the ritual, ordering them to come along.

After a while, the four dog-headed knights emerged from the side hall, leading a group of dog-headed bearers carrying stretchers.

The stretchers were woven from desert-specific vines, laden with various wines and foods, served on porcelain and plates.

These porcelain and plates were exquisitely crafted, matching the architectural style of the underground palace—relics of the same ancient civilization.

The dog-headed worshippers below, seeing the wine and food arrive, all stared with greedy eyes.

Had it not been for the alchemist’s authority and their fear of the towering, fearsome dog-headed knights, they would have rushed forward to snatch the offerings.

The wine and food were first placed before the dog-headed alchemist, who offered a prayer: “Praise the great master, King of Earth and Mountains, who bestows upon the Bak’er clan delicious wine and food.”

Then followed a rapid cascade of praises.

“Under the master’s gaze, the Bak’er clan shall rise to greatness once more.”

Only then did the ritual end, and the wine and food began to be distributed among the dog-headed worshippers below.

The dog-headed creatures devoured meat and drank wine, clinking cups and goblets in wild merriment.

Soon after consuming the food and drink, the dog-headed creatures felt a searing heat spread through their bodies; a strange scent began to permeate the hall.

Gradually, two dog-headed creatures began entwining together; the rest paired off one by one.

Those unable to find partners, two male dog-headed creatures began grappling; the entire hall descended into the domain of the God of Love and Beauty.

The dog-headed alchemist on the dais smiled in satisfaction—within two months, the Bak’er tribe would grow once more.

He glanced at the four dog-headed knights still standing beside him and gave a subtle nod.

Aside from the lead knight, the other three dog-headed knights descended from the dais, each carefully selecting a female dog-headed creature.

They then forcibly yanked off the males clinging to them, thrusting their hips forward and mounting the females themselves.

The dog-headed knight captain, however, knelt respectfully before the alchemist, allowing the alchemist to pounce upon him.

…

Fang Shi arrived at the entrance of the hall and glanced inside; he felt his eyes were about to go blind.

Such behavior nearly rivaled the rites of the God of Love and Beauty.

But this was dog-headed—too obscene to bear. Fang Shi felt his mind had been polluted.

He steadied his composure and muttered: “Heaven’s misdeeds may yet be forgiven; self-inflicted misdeeds cannot. Since you behave so shamelessly, let me rid the world of this scourge, lest you corrupt society’s morals.”

Of course, that was just a joke—but the dog-headed creatures’ actions had indeed given Fang Shi a perfect opening for attack.

If he didn’t strike now, when would he get such an opportunity?

He quickly scanned the hall: over two hundred dog-headed creatures total.

According to the social structure of a dog-headed tribe, roughly half were level-one miners; the rest were combat-capable warriors.

The two battling on the highest dais were likely a level-five dog-headed alchemist named Hui Lin and a level-five dog-headed knight captain.

Below them were probably three or four level-three dog-headed knights, two or three level-three dog-headed swordsmen, and a handful of level-two dog-headed trap alchemists.

Then came twenty to thirty level-one dog-headed warriors, plus four level-three Flamefire Lizard Dragons tied nearby.

This strength was terrifying.

With his own power, a direct confrontation would be like an egg smashing against a stone.

Even just the hundred-plus dog-headed miners charging at once would overwhelm him; if he didn’t flee, he’d be worn down to death.

Not to mention the numerous combat specialists.

Originally, Fang Shi’s strategy had been to lure the dog-headed creatures out one by one, leveraging his superior mobility and individual strength.

He planned to wage guerrilla warfare, slowly bleeding the tribe dry.

As long as they didn’t collapse the underground palace, Fang Shi would eventually kill them all.

But this method was far too slow; if any unforeseen event occurred, the secret realm’s time limit might expire before he eradicated them all.

But now, with this situation, Fang Shi had conceived an excellent strategy.

…

Perhaps due to a trace of dragon blood, dog-headed creatures typically remained in this state for one to two hours.

Fang Shi intended to exploit this time window—he would rush to the dog-headed hatching chamber and haul back a pile of dry hay.

The hatching chamber was hidden; only the tribe’s leader and designated guardians knew its location.

Ordinary dog-headed creatures, even their own offspring, had no idea where their eggs were hatched.

Had Fang Shi not understood dog-headed habits and possessed his own methods, he would never have found this tribe’s hatching chamber so easily.

Of course, the chamber was guarded—a level-five dog-headed wanderer.

It had laid numerous traps outside the chamber to protect the tribe’s next generation.

Fang Shi arrived and looked around; visible traps were so numerous his scalp prickled, and he had no idea how many lurked in the shadows.

How severe was this tribe’s paranoia? Why so many traps?

Simple traps weren’t the worst—he could dodge or disarm them.

But Fang Shi knew a guardian existed—and he had surely sensed Fang Shi’s arrival.

Because he had already heard the whistle of an arrow slicing through air.

“Shhh!”

Fang Shi dodged nimbly; just as he prepared to advance, his expression changed—he leapt sideways instantly.

“Boom!”

A pillar of flame erupted in his path, five meters long; had he hesitated a moment, he would have been burned.

Even mid-leap, Fang Shi dared not land directly—he used his steel blade to strike the ground, propelling himself sideways again.

Given the dog-headed’s cunning, traps were certainly not limited to one.

As expected, where his blade touched the ground, a sack of acid fell from above, hissing as it corroded the floor.

What a nuisance—if his specialization hadn’t boosted his reaction speed, this wouldn’t be so easy.

“Shhh!”

Another whistle—this time, Fang Shi didn’t dodge. Since the enemy wanted to force him into traps with arrows,

He’d just slash the arrows apart. Dog-headed creatures had weak strength and used only shortbows—low kinetic energy.

With his reflexes, the incoming arrows were crystal clear; he easily cleaved them with his steel blade.

After firing several arrows with no effect, the dog-headed wanderer began shifting his position, weaving through the traps, and quickly vanished into the hatching chamber.

Seeing this, Fang Shi smirked coldly—the wanderer’s trick was clever; a novice might have fallen for it.

But to a seasoned veteran like him, it was useless.

The dog-headed wanderer feigned flight, appearing to follow a safe path, luring pursuers to follow his route.

In truth, that path was riddled with traps; he passed through untriggered because of delays, incorrect weight triggers, or inactive mechanisms.

Whoever dared follow his path would walk straight into the traps.

Unless he left the pursuer crippled or dead, he wouldn’t deserve his title as Master of Alchemical Traps.

“See how far you run.”

Fang Shi analyzed a safe route himself and advanced slowly; where he couldn’t avoid a trap, he deliberately triggered it.

Seeing Fang Shi’s actions, the dog-headed wanderer grew frantic—the hatching chamber of the Bak’er clan lay just behind him; he couldn’t retreat, wouldn’t retreat.

Though he kept firing shortbows, it had no effect.

The design of shortbows inherently limited their power.

Against powerful opponents who could track arrow trajectories, they were less useful than a dagger.

But then again, any powerful opponent who could intercept arrows would be deadly at close range—how could he defend?

When Fang Shi finally reached him, the dog-headed wanderer roared in Draconic, fired one last arrow, then turned and fled into a tunnel devoid of glowstone.

Fang Shi didn’t pursue—the wanderer had darkvision, and in this palace lit mostly by glowstone, he held a great advantage.

Who knew how many traps lay along the wanderer’s escape route?

Fang Shi had always explored cautiously, adhering to the rule: no light, no entry—afraid of being ambushed by these paranoid dog-headed creatures.

Fang Shi subtly sensed the other three unknown tunnels, then smirked and walked toward the middle one.

The dog-headed wanderer saw that Fang Shi wasn’t provoked, didn’t chase him, and had swiftly pinpointed the hatching chamber’s location.

He panicked instantly, gritted his teeth, drew a finely crafted dagger, activated stealth, and crept behind Fang Shi, aiming for a backstab.

Instantly frantic, he gritted his teeth, drew the finely crafted dagger, and activated Stealth to follow Fang Shi from behind, aiming for a backstab.

“Piercing Attack activated.”

"Piercing attack initiated."

The target has received fatal damage.

The target is dead.

Extracting the target's soul energy, you gain 210 experience points and 21 survival points.

After continuous combat, you have acquired partial knowledge of the longsword weapon mastery.

Ha, still trying to ambush.

Assassins, when facing opponents with superior strength, agility, and perception, dare to stealth and it’s suicide.

This kobold wanderer, specialized in traps, has less agility than a level-3 kobold swordsman.

Every movement of it was crystal clear to Fang Shi’s spiritual sense; he spun around and struck with one sword, ending the kobold wanderer’s life.