Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 237 Creatures at the Top of the Food Chain
It's hard to describe Xia Nan's feelings at this moment.

A gentle breeze rustled through the treetops, the branches whispered softly, teammates called out and gave warnings, and unknown insects chirped from deep within the grass…

With a heart pounding so hard it felt like it was about to burst out of my chest, all that remained was a deathly silence.

The world before my eyes seemed to freeze in that instant.

On a certain branch, a squirrel that is usually cautious and will dart into its tree hole at the slightest rustling of the wind is now trembling and lying on the spot. The force of its movement is so great that the skin and flesh on its chest are being squeezed and deformed by the bark, as if it wants to merge its small body into the tree.

Its buttocks were raised high, but its fluffy tail was used to cover its head, like someone trying to hide their ears while stealing a bell, which was both laughable and pathetic.

Xia Nan's current position is with his back to the direction from which the roaring sound came, and his face towards the team.

Therefore, he was able to clearly see the reactions of each member of the team at that moment.

The half-elf Hai'an maintained the instinctive alertness that followed his teammates' warning.

The wooden longbow that was originally carried on his back was now tightly gripped in his hand, and the arrow with white feathers on his right fingertips was even nocked on the bowstring.

With a single pull, this dangerously sharp object, capable of piercing thick, tough leather, will be launched into the air with a whooshing sound.

Strangely, Hai'an had already completed the pre-battle preparations at top speed.

But his silver-gray eyes, inherited from his elven mother, should have been sharp and keen, alert to the dangers around him.

At this moment, however, he just stared blankly at the sky behind Xia Nan.

His stiff, blank, pale face, and his pupils that showed signs of confusion as they contracted, contrasted sharply with his body, which was now drawing his bow in alertness.

It was as if my brain had gone completely off track at that moment.

Wood hovered in mid-air, lunging towards the half-elf lord he needed to protect.

The short dagger that he had been tightly clutching in his palm had fallen back into its leather sheath at his waist, but a cut had appeared on the side of his black-clad figure—it seemed that he had been too hasty in putting the dagger back into its sheath and had accidentally left it there.

This is a mistake that would be almost impossible for a seasoned rogue to make throughout his entire career.

But given the resolute expression Wood now displayed, a result of the powerful internal shock he was experiencing, it was clear that he no longer cared about so much.

Sava reacted quickly, noticing something was wrong even earlier than Xia Nan.

This was certainly not because her perception was stronger than Xia Nan's, but because of the surging, boiling blood within her body.

Unlike Wood and Haian, Sava, being a dragon descendant, did not react violently.

However, it wasn't like Luca beside her, who was in a dazed state, tense up and looking up at the sky searching for the enemy because he hadn't yet discovered the source of the danger.

She simply stood there, her vertical pupils gazing at the sky.

Fear, hatred, anger, panic... The tragic history of the Dragonborn race caused a multitude of emotions to entangle and accumulate in his eyes, forming an indescribable complex expression.

Only the trembling, dark yellow scales at the back of her head revealed the turbulent emotions she was experiencing.

Somewhat surprisingly, it was the most frail mage girl, Violet, in the entire group.

He displayed a calmness far exceeding his outward appearance at that moment.

As the semi-transparent light shield, symbolizing an alarm spell and enveloping everyone, shattered.

As the one who cast the spell, she should have already known the approximate source of the roar and realized what kind of being the group might be about to face.

Before she could even stand up, she was still sitting against the tree trunk, raising her staff high with both hands.

An inconspicuous burst of magical light suddenly erupted, causing the air around her body to become faintly blurred and distorted.

Throughout the entire ordeal, even though she appeared visibly tense, her movements were remarkably fluid, showing no sign of panic despite the sudden attack.

As for Xia Nan himself...

Like those human investigators in an indescribable worldview where looking at them too much would cause them to explode.

An overly keen sense of perception may help him detect danger earlier, but it also allows him to experience danger in a more nuanced way than the average person.

The air suddenly became still, and the world seemed to stand still; it was merely his body's instinctive response to the sudden, immense pressure.

It is essentially no different from the flashbacks before death or the protective syncope during intense pain.

It wasn't until he observed the reactions of the people around him and mentally prepared himself for what the group might be going through that he realized what was likely to happen to them.

The stimulation, several times stronger than that of an ordinary person, penetrated the body's protective mechanisms and acted on his body under the immense pressure that almost crushed his shoulders.

boom--

The piercing tinnitus, accompanied by his teammates' shouts, almost pierced his skull.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end instantly, and his heart felt as if it were being gripped tightly by an icy hand, rising sharply to his throat, the surging blood seeming to break his ribs.

Even though they hadn't encountered any real attack, their keen senses told them that there were no enemies around who were obviously hostile to them.

But that invisible pressure, which seemed to solidify into a tangible form, instantly put Xia Nan into a critical battle state that felt like a matter of life and death.

hum-

His jet-black, tousled hair shook violently, and the iron-gray sword light flashed fleetingly.

He drew his sword, turned around, and vague wolf heads materialized around his body.

And it wasn't until then.

The dazzling sunlight filters through the gaps in the oak branches above, reflecting off the leaves.

Xia Nan finally saw the aura that had been unintentionally emitted, which had caused the entire escort team to collapse and made professional-level adventurers as insignificant as ordinary villagers in front of a goblin.

It's there.

The enormous shadow resembled a moving mountain range in the sky, and the scales covering its entire body reflected a deep, solidified red light under the sunlight, as if it were covered with a layer of slowly flowing, scorching lava.

Its neck, as strong as a mountain ridge, supports the ferocious and enormous head in front, with thick, dark horns like giant spears extending backward, twisting and coiling into a crown of flames and rage.

Thick, tough wing membranes are taut between what appear to be steel-cast skeletons, their dark red color resembling the blood of prey and enemies. Each slow, powerful flap is like death beckoning you from the sky.

A huge, angry, and perfectly healthy one—

A fully grown red dragon!

A deadly and intense sense of crisis welled up in my heart.

Although Xia Nan still tightly gripped his decapitation sword, he had already begun to consider the possibility of using his relationship with the halfling Alton to gain entry into the goddess of fortune after death.

It wasn't because he was too pessimistic and lost his fighting spirit.

However, the overwhelming disparity in combat strength between the two sides has allowed him to calmly accept all possible outcomes, including death.

The goblin's challenge level is 1/4, and it has become his stress-relieving toy;

The bear goblin's challenge level is 1, which used to require a special power boost to barely defeat, but now that he has advanced, he is hardly a match for anyone.
The Owl Bear and the Petrified Lizard have a challenge level of 3. If a person encounters them head-on in the forest, unless there are special circumstances, they will most likely have no choice but to run away in a sorry state.

This serves as the basis for comparison.

The challenge level for a fully grown red dragon of average strength and in perfect condition is... 17.

This also means that a team of at least four professional level 17, which is high-level extraordinary and close to legendary, would be needed to defeat it without casualties, provided they have the right equipment, sufficient supplies, and adequate rest.

It's worth mentioning that Xia Nan's current professional level is "1".

All I can say is that at this moment, for some reason, he had lost the fear and tension he felt towards a powerful enemy.

Unusually calm.

I even felt a little tense, so calm that I almost wanted to laugh.

And perhaps it was precisely because of his incredibly strange state of mind at that moment.

This allowed Xia Nan to observe the enormous creature flying over the forest from the perspective of a zoo visitor in his previous life, carefully and comprehensively.

Amidst the thick stench of sulfur and the warm flames, the dragon flapped its enormous wings, large enough to engulf a house.

Beneath the dark red scales, the muscles rippled, their lines brimming with a powerful beauty, while the snorting, raised, ferocious dragon head embodied the arrogance and indifference unique to creatures at the top of the food chain in a fantasy world…

It also seemed to carry a hint of anger?
His gaze swept over the other's thick dragon tail, which swung from side to side from time to time, and the short bursts of light shooting out from its nostrils.

Xia Nan calmly and composedly recalled the thunderous dragon roar that had come from the sky behind him, sensing the emotions within it.

In addition, there are details of the red dragon's movements and body posture as it flies through the sky.

It is clear that the red dragon's emotions are unstable, and it is in a state of mania and rage.

It seems like they're searching for something?

Xia Nan wondered in his heart with a sense of ease what could be causing this powerful creature, capable of killing 99% of the adventurers in the world with a single bite, to act so agitated.

Could it be that the treasure in the lair has been stolen?

After all, the impression is that dragons, especially the inherently greedy red dragons, are particularly keen on searching for and hoarding all kinds of treasures.

If anyone were to manage to steal one or two treasures from its lair, the red dragon would certainly be furious.

Or perhaps their dominance within the territory has been offended?
As an arrogant creature that regards itself as a monarch and all other beings as servants, if any being dares to show it contempt and disdain to its face, it will be reduced to ashes on the spot, or even escape.

It's understandable that the red dragon is so angry.

At this moment, facing the red dragon, escape was futile, and a direct attack wouldn't even allow them to touch it.

Xia Nan even had time to think about the immense pressure that had made it difficult for him to breathe and even stand up straight.

"This must be the legendary 'Dragon's Might'?"

It's unclear whether this falls under the category of psychological attacks.

Otherwise, if he accidentally triggered his [Looking into the Abyss] feat and intimidated the red dragon for a few seconds, he might be able to enjoy a free cremation as a "reward".

Perhaps the red dragon didn't notice these tiny, ant-like creatures in the forest, or perhaps it did notice them but didn't bother with them because they weren't its target.

In just over ten seconds, the adult red dragon that had flown over the escort team disappeared without a trace under the cover of the tree canopy amidst the increasingly faint flapping of its wings.

Leaving behind the players who narrowly escaped disaster, but were utterly disheveled.

"Huh...huh..."

Gasping for breath, Luca, whose physique was as robust as a goblin, slumped to the ground in a completely unrefined manner. Sweat had soaked through the shirt beneath his armor, and he muttered some foul language.

"Damn it, how, how did this thing suddenly appear? God help me, damn it, God help me..."

Hai'an still held the longbow in his hand, but his legs suddenly went weak after the impact of the dragon's might, and he was about to fall down with a thud.

It was only thanks to Wood, who rushed to his side and helped him up, that he avoided the same embarrassing situation as Luca.

Driven by his desire to protect his master, Wood may have behaved well just now, but now that the red dragon has flown away, he seems to have aged several years in an instant. His arms tremble as he supports Haian, and he is panting heavily.

Dragonborn Sava remained standing in the same spot, even his lizard head still held its head high, gazing at the sky.

His eyes froze, his expression dazed.

It was as if it had been hit by some kind of control spell, and it remained motionless.

hum-

The magical glow burst forth once more, and the distorted, blurry air returned to normal.

Violet put away the spells she had prepared long ago, specifically for saving her life.

She was relieved that the red dragon hadn't attacked them, otherwise she feared she would have had to use up one of her limited and precious trump cards so soon after starting her plan.

This was absolutely unacceptable to her, given her detailed plans for the future.

His chest heaved as he let out a long breath.

The bangs on his forehead were already frozen with sweat.

With her hands on the ground, Violet slowly got up, looking somewhat disheveled.

But his gaze couldn't help but pass over the people in front and land on Xia Nan at the end of the line.

His expression was complicated.

Although she was focused on preparing to cast a spell to save her life, she still maintained a considerable level of attention to the outside world.

I could also clearly see the reactions of everyone in the team.

Totally understandable.

It's normal to be so scared that you wet your pants when faced with a fully grown red dragon unleashing its full power.

Only Xia Nan...

Violet recalled the fleeting glimpse she had just caught of the other party raising its head with great interest to examine the red dragon.

He kept wondering to himself:
“'Omen of death,' 'Omen of death'…”

"Sure enough, even when these famous figures are still in their growth stage and have not yet reached their peak, they behave differently from ordinary people."

Even someone with memories of the future would feel flustered when faced with this sudden red dragon.

It's just that they had prepared contingency plans in advance, so it didn't seem so awkward.

If you were to erase your own memory and place yourself in Xia Nan's position, you'd probably panic and run away after just one glance.

It's impossible for me to be as calm as the other person.

Then I recalled the infamous reputation this black-haired youth would have in the underworld, which was widely known in my memory.

His body trembled uncontrollably.

(End of this chapter)