[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces":3,"chapter-the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-345":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Dragon of a Thousand Faces",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2269991,4431,"Chapter 345: Outsiders","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-345",345,"\u003Cp>“Boom!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The terrifying tyrannosaur had barely appeared when it triggered an earthquake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its appearance resembled the T-Rex in Li En’s memory, yet it bore massive colorful feathers; no magical fluctuations radiated around it, but merely its size and physical strength made it a true killing machine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It sniffed the air, caught the scent of outsiders, then spotted a group of tin cans being chased by a giant spider.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Aoooo (meat!)”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instantly, saliva poured down in torrents as the ten-meter-tall tyrannosaur lunged forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though it might not be able to hunt down the Spider Mother, snatching away a few prey items posed no challenge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Crash!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But at that moment, more hunters could no longer tolerate the theft of their prey and sprang out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flyers from the sky, burrowers from underground, runners across the ground—all these hunters had been waiting long enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among them were a family of velociraptors, a family of giant rats and ratmen, and a family of black dragons; any creature surviving in this “light zone” was naturally no weakling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Run!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Damn it, we can’t kill them all!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tragically, the once-mighty knights of the Sindak Empire now cursed their short legs and heavy armor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This hunt would end soon, and the outcome lay plainly before the decision-makers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Six total; three escaped in the end, all above Grand Knight rank, well-equipped—I saw one guy tank a black dragon’s breath with his armor alone. The Arcane Knight unrolled scrolls without hesitation.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dainya’s tone carried envy; these fellows’ gear was several tiers superior to the Radiant Guard’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The \"elite standard issue\" gear designed for the strong was, in fact, the truest reflection of a nation’s alchemy, metallurgy, and military industry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These golden-armored men were most likely the Young Master’s personal guards; although they were the Duke’s private troops, they could not acquire the kingdom’s top-tier equipment, whereas the Radiant Guard represented the absolute peak of the kingdom’s arsenal, indirectly revealing a military industry gap so vast as to be incomparable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...But they still failed—the Heroine left immediately.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Duke’s son, the leader, didn’t participate in the subsequent exploration; after smashing the wall and posing for propaganda, he simply turned around and left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was precisely what Dainya envied most: these mighty warriors willingly and earnestly carried out such high-risk exploration, even willing to sacrifice themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Can they detect your surveillance?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Probably not. My Little Mirror Sprite has been following them in the Shadow Plane.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They thought killing the Little Mirror Sprite would prevent anyone from seeing their true situation—but in reality, Little Mirror Sprites are cheap, mass-produced items; extra ones always accompany the main one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, to keep the participating factions at ease, Dainya’s side naturally wouldn’t release these scenes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the kingdom’s standpoint, as long as exploration and the sealing of the Beasts progressed faster, let them create gods, create heroes—let them try.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the frontline intelligence they paid for with their lives? Here, it’s shared only with those we trust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To continue exploring, we must eliminate those powerful monsters. Each one is hard to handle.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Closed underground zones easily become breeding pots for monsters; to proceed further, we must clear out this tyrannosaur, the giant spider, and the ratman tribe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Pity—only black dragons, no sapphire dragons or fallen violet dragons.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The juvenile black dragon seen earlier wasn’t an anomaly; the screen showed three black dragons—a large one and two small ones—forming a family. Given their habits, encountering four or five wouldn’t be surprising.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Most likely two young dragons, the rest juveniles.” Li En estimated, with high probability a mother dragon was guarding the nest—or even incubating eggs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Can we bypass them?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Difficult. If we’re to advance steadily, we can’t abandon this light zone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, you’re planning to build a fortress city here.” Li En caught the implication.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Mirror Maiden wants that giant spider—she intends to tame the spider colony and even establish a dark elf frontline base here to raise them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In response to Li En’s question, Dainya directly revealed a deity’s secret.\u003C\u002Fp>",664,"2026-06-19T21:45:42.084Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","37cc7f69450c81c346323bb263e8fac64fd27c1675ec8a672ae80018c323df90","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-346","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-344",362,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-cover.jpg"]