Sanctuary Paradise

Chapter 924 A Group Brawl Ahead
Five minutes later, in the Snow Mountain Tunnel.

"So you mean you were sleeping in the Exile Plains when a dragon grabbed you, carried you all the way to the top of the snow mountain, and then, realizing this wasn't the place you were looking for, you went down the tunnel and ended up trapped here?"

"Haha, that's right! That's exactly it! My dearest friend, do you see it? This is the protection the storm has brought to the Knights of Kallet! Hahaha!"

A hearty laugh filled with exhilaration rang out. In the somewhat dim tunnel, now sealed off, Xin Lailai stared at the Onion Knight before her, reviewing his words in her mind, momentarily at a loss for words.

To be honest, if he wasn't certain that the Onion Knight in front of him wasn't lying, he would have even suspected that the other party was an imposter of the previous Lord of Cinder who had his eye on them.

To reach the top of the snow-capped mountain, they spent months traversing wastelands, braving blizzards, and slaying countless elite and low-level monsters before finally managing to climb halfway up. Meanwhile, the other party simply hitched a ride and strolled up effortlessly. In the end, they even swaggered down from the top with the excuse of 'going to the wrong place,' without encountering any hindrance whatsoever.

"Lai Lai, don't you think this is what they mean by 'fools are lucky'?"

"Maybe so. At least compared to his route, our experience here has been nothing short of torture..."

Exhausted from making any more comments, Xin Lailai gently rubbed her forehead and sighed, as if she had agreed with Ling Yuzi's statement.

At least, judging from the outcome, the Onion Knights' situation can only be explained by luck. As for them, they can just consider it as taking advantage of the other party's good fortune.

"So, you plan to just keep going like this from now on?"

"Hmm! That's right, I've confirmed it. This isn't the place I'm looking for, so there's no need for me to stay here any longer."

"Therefore, my dearest friend, accept this souvenir of our reunion, and meet again another day! May the storm protect our souls, ha ha ha ha!"

As the hearty laughter subsided, the Onion Knight, who had been questioned, recognized an item, crossed his arms, threw his head back and laughed twice, then swayed down the tunnel amidst the creaking of his armor, disappearing from Sin Lai Lai's sight in no time.

"They've left..."

"Ah."

"Although he's adorably silly in other ways, the chubby knight is quite 'stormy' when it comes to action."

"Maybe so, at least this time what he left behind wasn't just scrap metal."

As Xin Lailai spoke, she looked at the object that the Onion Knight had thrown:
……

Ancient Dragon Thunder Amulet

Category: Rare Amulet

Effect: When worn, lightning resistance is greatly increased, and lightning damage received is reduced by 50%.

Description: An ancient amulet bearing the mark of the Ancient Dragon Cult, recording the oath made between the ancient dragon and the descendants of Kingfire.

……

Amulet that can greatly increase lightning resistance.

According to Onion Knight, the other party found this item on their way down and gave it to them as a souvenir. Judging from its effects alone, the significant increase in lightning resistance alone means it will definitely play an important role in the upcoming battle against the Nameless King.

"Let's go."

Finally, Xin Lailai put away the amulet, stood up, and looked towards the end of the tunnel.

Now that the Onion Knights have finished asking their questions, it's time for them to set off.

……

……

So, half an hour later.

"Is this the place?"

The steady footsteps echoed from the slightly spacious cave. In front of a set of steps with obvious signs of artificial carving, Xin Lailai looked up at the light in the distance, her eyes flickering slightly.

Just as the Onion Knight had said, they didn't encounter any enemies along the way. The whole process was completely different from their previous exploration experience, and it would be no exaggeration to describe it as exceptionally smooth.

In contrast—

"Will we encounter the danger the Onion Knight spoke of if we go any further...?"

Xin Lailai gazed at the distant light and murmured softly to herself.

As the Onion Knight warned them, there was something at the exit of the walkway that required those of them, who carried a strong aura of royal fire, to be careful of.

As for the specifics... well, when they asked, the other party replied that it was too dark and they couldn't see clearly, which was a very typical response.

but……

"Given the chubby knight's strength, the danger he mentioned shouldn't pose much of a threat to us, right?"

"Ah."

Inside the soul space, the girl muttered to herself, and Xin Lailai nodded slightly in agreement.

After absorbing the King's Soul, their abilities in all aspects were greatly enhanced, and their perception of strength became much clearer than before.

For example, the Onion Knights, thanks to the enhanced perception brought by their improved soul and intelligence attributes, are now able to clearly determine the range of their opponents' strength.

He's much stronger than the Big Hat Youth, but still falls short of a true hero-level Ashbringer. That's the level of Onion Knight.

Even considering the element of luck involved, the Onion Knights could theoretically easily overcome any danger they faced with their current strength.

therefore……

"Let's go, time is limited, let's just go straight through."

As Xin Lailai spoke, she cast a deep prayer spell on herself and then walked straight toward the cave entrance.

With their current strength, unless the one standing in their way is the Nameless King or the original Ancient Dragon, other so-called crises are probably just appetizers for them.

So, Xin Lailai took three steps at a time, arriving at the cave entrance in a few breaths. Looking at the brightly lit entrance, without any hesitation, she strode out, and then—

After seeing the scene before him clearly, he stopped abruptly.

The first thing that catches the eye is an altar, and an even more intense blizzard than that at the mountainside.

On the altar still covered in ice and snow, what stood out even more were the figures kneeling in prayer.

One after another, figures knelt on the altar, raising their arms in a gesture of worship, like ice sculptures carved into the altar, sitting there motionless, giving the impression that they had been dead for a long time.

Of course, Xin Lailai knew very well that the idea of ​​"dead for a long time" was definitely inaccurate here, and even the adjective "figure" was not particularly appropriate.

Because of these guys in front of me...

They are all 'human dragons'.

Boom, boom boom, boom boom boom—!!

In an instant, the sound of ice shattering filled the air. As Xin Lailai stepped in, the 'ice sculptures' on the altar seemed to be stimulated, turning around in unison and staring intently at Xin Lailai with their fleshy, tumor-covered heads tilted severely to the right. The next second…

"Roar!!!" "Roar—!!" "Roar roar roar roar...!!"

Demons... no, it should be said that dragons were dancing wildly.

In an instant, more than thirty dragon heads made of flesh and blood grew out of the fleshy tumors on the necks of those figures, roaring and charging towards Xin Lailai like sharks that had smelled blood, their eyes gleaming with excitement.

"..."

Looking at the massive human-dragon army before her, which was comparable to an army of 10, Xin Lailai did not hesitate at all. She turned around decisively, activated the Elf Assimilation without hesitation, and ran away as fast as she could.

—Good, now we know exactly what the Onion Knight meant by the dangerous thing.

—It is indeed a small dish, the only problem is that the amount of this dish is... a little too much.

Rumble——! ! !
Suddenly, a violent tremor resounded throughout the tunnel. A black-haired youth with a black and white crown on his head ran wildly with an expressionless face. Behind him, a line of people charged wildly like bulls in heat.

His aura, his expression, his calm gaze—he didn't look like someone being chased away at all; instead, it gave the impression that he was leading a charge of more than thirty people.

……

So, five minutes later.

"Huff...huff...how's it going, Zero? Those things didn't catch up, did they?"

"No...no, it seems...it looks like I'm temporarily free."

Rapid breathing echoed from the tunnel. In the dim tunnel, the black-haired youth leaned against the wall, panting heavily, looking completely exhausted. Meanwhile, the white-haired girl in the soul space also lay there listlessly, looking utterly weak.

"Yeah, that's good."

Upon hearing this, Xin Lailai let out a long sigh of relief and slid down the rock face to the ground with a thud.

We finally got rid of them.

"Who the hell is the bastard to cram so many people into a place like this?"

After a while, Xin Lailai, who had just escaped with her life, looked back at the tunnel behind her, the exit of which was no longer visible, and her expression twitched slightly.

Human dragon.

They had already fully experienced the power of this thing on their way here.

If it were just one, with their current strength and equipment, they could take it down in three rounds at most.

However, when the number rises to three or more, due to the opponent's varied attack methods, its healing ability that is comparable to breathing and regenerating health, and its various enhanced Ancient Dragon Prayers that come without any warning or pre-cast animation, even those who have already absorbed the King's Soul must deal with it with caution.

As for getting more than thirty at once?
Go ahead and hit them; I guarantee they won't make a sound.

It's important to know that these dragons have ridiculously high resistance to prayer and spells. With their current spells and prayers, even if they used up all their mana, they could only kill one or two at most at a time. After that, they would have to wait for the Deepest Prayer spell to restore their mana.

Although the process was short, unfortunately, the few steps they took to restore their mana bars were enough for the remaining dragons to tear them to pieces.

Technique? Numerical value?
No matter how ruthless the technique or the numbers, it's impossible to withstand more than thirty gaping maws that have built-in grab and shield-breaking capabilities!
In particular, although these dragons look like wild beasts, their combat intelligence and discipline are exceptionally high. There is no such thing as friendly fire when they fight; on the contrary, they can form extremely perfect teamwork.

Based on Xin Lailai's previous experience, the best way to deal with these things is not even to kill them, but to briefly subdue them and then throw them off the cliff and leave them alone.

As for why they ignored it instead of letting it fall to its death?
The answer is that the dragon-humans can fly, and not only that, they also have top-notch climbing abilities like Spider-Man, as well as a swarm mentality like the Hive. They are the kind of creatures that, if you move one, will attract all the dragon-humans in the nearby area, giving you no chance to pull monsters and fight them one by one.

Of course, even such a monstrous human-dragon is not without its weaknesses.

According to the books interpreted by the blindfolded nun, the biggest flaw of the dragon-human hybrid is its extreme fear of the dragon thunder series of prayers.

Anyone who comes into contact with dragon lightning, even the weakest LV.1 level ancient dragon's prayer-released dragon lightning, will immediately be paralyzed like someone who has been electrocuted in water, entering a weakened state that lasts from several seconds to more than ten seconds, making them completely vulnerable to attack.

The problem is that--

They have absolutely no use for that so-called Dragon Thunder Prayer!

"Tsk, it feels like something's gone wrong with our exploration route again..."

"Indeed, based on experience from games and novels, at times like this, a cute little girl should appear and throw herself at you, giving you a buff and helping you out, and then she should offer herself up beautifully in the end, right?"

"Hmm, Lai Lai, do you think it's because we didn't take the mountain path before? You see, that dangerous mountain path is easy to trigger a cliff fall event if you take it, right? And once you trigger the cliff fall event, a series of bonus events will follow!"

"...Now that you mention it, I suddenly feel that our exploration route is actually quite normal."

Listening to Ling Yuzi's unusually unreliable ramblings, Xin Lailai's expression stiffened slightly, and she couldn't help but rub her temples and complain.

In fact, what I just said wasn't without reason.

Although they themselves do not possess intuitive abilities, once they reach the level of master craftsmen, they will have a certain intuition that transcends logic regarding some things.

From this perspective, although Lingyuzi's ramblings were quite unreliable, they actually had a certain possibility of being realized.

—Of course, he was referring to the part where things would take a turn for the better after jumping off the cliff, not the so-called delicious pretty girl snack.

The key is……

"We've come this far, there's no way we can run back and jump off a cliff. Besides, jumping off a cliff is just too risky a method..."

Xin Lailai rubbed her temples and complained, while subconsciously looking around, a thoughtful look in her eyes.

Jumping off a cliff is definitely out of the question, at least not now, but the fact that there are already long lines of people ahead of them is undeniable. If they want to continue moving forward, they will inevitably have to face this problem head-on.

"Human dragons... If only there were a way to stop these things."

Inside the tunnel, Xin Lailai murmured to herself, quickly racking her brains for possible solutions.

Given their current capabilities, from any perspective, it is clearly impossible for them to handle more than thirty dragons at the same time.

Since that's the case, we have no choice but to find another way.

"The damage isn't the point; the point is the chance to catch our breath..."

"There must be a way to ensure that I won't be instantly killed by other dragons during melee attacks or when using prayer..."

"Stockpile mana barriers in advance, and stack up defensive prayers to tough it out..."

"No, if it were just a few, it would be one thing, but this number has exceeded the limit of what we can withstand..."

"Delaying, enduring... Huh?!!"

In the darkness, Xin Lailai thought rapidly, quickly constructing one plan after another in her mind, only to reject them one after another. When she was halfway through her idea, she seemed to suddenly realize something, and she was startled, staring sharply at the wall in front of her, her eyes brightening instantly.

He seems to have... figured out a way to deal with that group of dragons.

……

(End of this chapter)