Chapter 101: Dual Dragon Meeting

The journey underground had been anything but smooth from the moment they entered this area.

The "seal" had clearly suffered a major failure; now, all kinds of monsters roamed this underground world, starving and attacking everything in sight.

"The outside of this underground ruin is already piled high with these things; there's no way to see anything inside."

The monsters did not spare each other; the strong naturally preyed on the weak.

Having driven the Winter Wolf pack to such a remote corner, Li En dared not even imagine what lay within the underground ruin.

"Not necessarily; it could also be that the Winter Wolf pack has a very large range of activity." It seemed this explanation did indeed bring some peace of mind.

The excessive pressure left the travelers with no heart for idle chatter.

The surprise attacks that came at intervals kept the warriors on high alert at all times.

"Oh, this card game is interesting; can you teach me how to play?" Li En was probably the only exception; he was very interested in the exquisite card game Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei had brought out.

"Of course, I'll teach you Shoubashou Sect style!" The team-leading magical girl, Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei, also wore a relaxed expression on her surface, though her "mascot" had been lying on the carriage the whole time.

Li En's relaxation had its reason: he was, indeed, the only person in the party unrelated to this mission!

Even a Paladin had no need to seek trouble for no reason, constantly saving the world.

He had come, ultimately, due to Miss Shaliman's invitation, saying she could take him and Miss Shaliman to grind some monsters and accumulate some experience.

And this so-called experience was also aimed at monster materials.

At that time, Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei had seen that Li En was on the edge of evolution and had kindly proposed a training invitation.

So, since Li En had already arrived, he ordered directly without a moment's hesitation.

"Dragonkind, the stronger the dragonkind the better; preferably Five-Color Evil Dragons, not Red Dragons."

Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei smiled and agreed; this was exactly what she had expected.

If not for the unexpected extension of this journey, they might have already finished the hunt and begun the return trip; but from her perspective, this did not seem like a bad thing.

She valued Li En a bit more; even without direct responsibility, the ability to relax and adjust one's state at this moment proved Li En's substance as a seasoned veteran.

But Li En's words had also unintentionally revealed something.

"Any dragon will do? You have a very powerful Alchemist behind you, right?" Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei always felt Li En was somewhat contradictory; he clearly carried the scent of gunpowder, yet sometimes behaved extremely immaturely.

Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei's single sentence had Li En stunned.

When had he leaked information about Kuk?

How would he know that a normal Alchemist configuring an evolution potion starts by specifying particular materials?

Those formulas were relatively fixed; let alone different species, even subspecies, gender, mutation degree, and age of the same magical beast had explicit requirements.

The ability to "use whatever is available" for on-demand processing was certainly the self-perception of a master standard; it might also be the fearless courage of a Kobold, capable of resolving all accidents when acting recklessly.

Seeing the bewildered Li En, Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei, covering her mouth with a light laugh, did not press further.

She was actually reminding Li En that when traveling, some things cannot be spoken casually.

Generally, a species evolution is not something achieved in one stroke; relying purely on potions is unrealistic; often, multiple surgeries are needed to implant special potions and materials.

Afterwards, depending on the physical condition, several or even dozens of potion adjustments might be required.

The time for evolution is determined by the evolver's quality and the Alchemist's (adjuster's) ability, but it is basically never too short.

Of course, where there are high-end goods, there are cheap ones; those "common goods" not only have mature technology but also low costs, and the materials used might be much cheaper.

Even many great powers, especially the True God Church, have their own complete evolution systems and formulas, and even supporting transcendent professions, truly capable of covering everything from hiring to burial.

It's just that mass-produced goods have some issues; it's not that they are not strong or usable, otherwise there would be no need for their widespread use, but rather that this cost-performance ratio may not suit you.

Many strong ones followed the common goods path in the early stages, only to start walking their own evolution routes midway.

But this is also a wrong path; it can be said to waste a portion of life and potential, lowering the ceiling; avoiding this is naturally a good thing.

Larry and Talia, whom Li En knew, both followed unique evolution routes best suited to their own race and characteristics.

The former was Labol's family inheritance route; the latter was a high-quality prerequisite from a certain assassination organization; their common point was that they were very, very expensive; precious materials are not necessarily the strongest, but they are absolutely not weak.

"You trust him that much?" Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei still found it hard to avoid a bit of curiosity.

Letting someone else customize an evolution path for oneself; this trust is not merely about ability, but is equivalent to handing one's fate over to the other party.

"Uh..." Li En could not respond; he turned his gaze toward the pitch-black outside, but this silence was already his response.

For some reason, Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei felt a bit annoyed; she did not want to play anymore.

"Ah, there's an attacker." To be honest, looking, she actually saw something.

"Heh, over there. Oh, it's already dead."

Although playing cards on the carriage, Li En had actually been contributing the whole time.

His Holy Light Halo occasionally scorched a unlucky soul; the low-consumption Holy Light Halo ability was truly useful for catching thieves and maintaining vigilance.

No wonder, within the Paladin ranks, it was called the Thief-Repelling Halo.

And once an assassin was scorched out, it was equivalent to declaring their Death phase; the archers and hunters in the caravan would finish him off immediately.

Along this journey, Li En had seen too much: Stalkers, Clawed Monsters, Shadow Cats, Gray Dwarves, and so on; each one better at "playing hide-and-seek" than the last.

After being attacked all the way, it was as if one could not be fit to live in the underground world without being able to hide or stalk.

"Uh, your idea is actually not wrong; the chance of surviving here is much higher if you can stalk. The most dangerous stalkers in the underground world are Shadow Dragons. You wouldn't want a giant dragon hanging upside down from the cave ceiling to launch a stealth ambush." Li En felt she implied something, but had no evidence.

"Black Dragons also like to do this... but their scent is heavier, especially near their lairs; many places still bear traces of their corrosion. Clumsy as they are, they often charge directly halfway through an ambush; not a big problem. What makes Black Dragons most headache-inducing is their love for grouping together, and they frequently have connections with the Lower Planes (Devils/Demons); one must be prepared for continuous battles against them." While helping Li En understand the dragonkind most likely to be encountered in the underground world, it seemed she was implying something again.

"As a first-tier Paladin, your Holy Power is excessively abundant, and your flames are too strong... Dragonfire is good, but its effect here is not great; better to maintain a normal halo. Red Dragon flames will enrage other dragonkind." Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei showed the demeanor of a senior; not only did she teach Li En and Miss Shaliman adventure experience, but she also taught them to hide their information and specialties.

Li En's mood was very calm, and he was very interested in this kind of knowledge; he spent the journey listening to the senior tell stories.

Miss Shaliman, however, was a bit different; after waking up, she was still under immense pressure; in a sense, she, with her special identity, was the diplomatic envoy for this mission.

The goals of those merchant groups were clear: to contact past trading partners, gather intelligence for Radiant City, and see if there was a chance to buy a batch of grain.

But the news Miss Shaliman brought back would decide whether a death match between the two cities would occur; at this moment, if war truly had to break out, this would absolutely be the worst news.

What surprised Li En somewhat was that Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei had not provided Miss Shaliman with an evolution path, nor had she let Miss Shaliman keep the materials they had hunted.

"Uh, magical girls have no evolution path, nor do they need evolution." Well, they were completely two different systems; no need to take medicine or undergo surgery to possess such outrageous physical attributes.

But after thinking it over, magical girls truly cheat outrageously; others' hardware requires constant upgrades, and there is even the fatal threat of degenerative diseases.

Yet they need do nothing to grow infinitely.

Of course, Li En did not think they would have no cost; the power of the "Beast" looked extremely dangerous in every way.

"My Lord." At this moment, someone knocked on the door.

"We arrived at the transit station, but no one..."

Li En also got off the vehicle, only to see a scene of devastation; there should have been a village here before, but now only broken bricks and tiles remained.

"No bloodstains or bones; although there are traces of wild beasts, there are no remnants of battle, so they must have withdrawn in advance."

This transit station was a village of underground dwarves, one of the few relatively friendly races in the underground world.

They lived here, presumably because they did not wish to be enslaved by the Dark Elves, a truly slave-holding race.

This small village hidden behind the Dark River waterfall should have been quite concealed, but now it was completely abandoned.

"... At least they have been gone for over a month. Have you not come here recently?" Miss Shaliman, as the leader, had already confirmed there was no life in the surroundings.

Snake-like thermal vision was quite useful in this underground world as well.

"No. The last time we came was over two months ago... thinking back now, there were fewer people then; perhaps the migration started around that time."

Miss Shaliman nodded, considering this expected.

Having lost a trading partner, the caravan could only proceed to the next one.

But at this moment, no one held any hope anymore; these former trade routes had all been destroyed along the way.

The tribe was gone, the village destroyed, and not a single living person had been seen.

Faced with the exploding number of monsters, they probably had to migrate or die here.

As for their possible destination, it was clear: either risk venturing to the Surface's Radiant City, or head to the Dark Elf city, which was their own group's target.

But at this moment, the caravan hesitated; charging headlong into an enemy camp without any intelligence support looked like suicide no matter how one saw it.

It seemed they could only grit their teeth and press on, but at this moment, a turning point occurred.

"My Lord, it seems some Spider People did not migrate; we found traces they left behind, though it will require a detour..." Indeed, Spider People were a species capable of living on cliffs and precipices, and in the underground world, they even preferred living inside inverted stone pillars.

Some chose to hollow out those stone pillars, transforming them into hollow, inverted tower structures.

They could also weave webs within these towers, and even build structures upon the webs.

If it were them, they would indeed worry less about the monsters on the surface... considering the subtle relationship between Beastmen and Dark Elves now, they probably would not be willing to relocate there either.

In a sense, Labor had his own small agenda.

This time, they probably intended to use this crisis to force the other party to migrate directly into the Radiant City.

How did Li En know? Larry had never hidden anything from him.

Those underground Spider People seemed to be a source of intelligence; there was no reason not to check them out, but at this moment, Violet Miss Zi Qiangwei seemed to have other ideas.

"Everyone, actually I have some good news too. I previously discovered some local residents; perhaps we can go ask them... they probably won't have moved either, and they should be nearby."

While saying this, Violet Miss Zi Qiangwei glanced at Li En.

Instantly, Li En felt something was wrong.

"Yes, they are dragons, and not just one. The good news is that I simultaneously discovered traces of Shadow Dragons and Black Dragons."

This was good news?! Two kinds of Evil Dragons gathering together!

Could they communicate? If they met, they would surely breathe fire and start fighting immediately.

"There is only one scenario that is bad news. If the two are together, heh, they will learn to communicate and trade." Violet Miss Zi Qiangwei covered her mouth and chuckled lightly; she was quite experienced regarding dragons.

Dragons were creatures with a very strong sense of territory; with a Shadow Dragon and a Black Dragon next to each other, it was unlikely they wouldn't fight, and becoming mortal enemies was basic.

"Li En, come with me to meet the Shadow Dragon; it should be injured and easier to deal with."

(End of this chapter)