Red Dragon Monster Hunter Template.

Thor swiftly swept past the low hills, then with a fold of his broad wings, he landed on a platform specially dug out at the cave entrance.

He didn't care whether the witch would take the opportunity to escape; it was just a lowly evil creature. His decision to subdue it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing, and it wasn't worth him putting in too much effort.

When he focused his attention on the giant spinning wheel in his mind, he discovered that the balance behind the essence had reached 124 points.

Most of this came from the slaughtered goblins, while the rest came from the excited, bloodthirsty emotions of the gnolls.

This amount was enough to draw a low-level monster template. Thor took out 100 points and saved them, and exchanged the remaining 24 points for various ores and dragon crystals.

The Rock Dragon monster template has extremely high growth potential, and since it is currently in a period of rapid growth, it needs to consume a large amount of energy and substances every day.

One kilogram of Radiant Dragon Stone, one kilogram of Earth Crystal, plus three kilograms of Swallow Stone, three kilograms of Dragon Crystal, and finally one kilogram of Spirit Crane Stone—that's Thor's appetizer for today.

Nine kilograms of ore and energy crystals may sound like a lot, but for a red dragon that is over 10 meters long, it's just a mouthful.

After finishing his meal, Thor licked his lips with lingering satisfaction, feeling increasingly that although he was acquiring more essence as his strength grew, for some reason, it was never enough.

We must find a way to obtain more spiritual essence, preferably a method that can be harvested continuously and for a long time.

Just as he was pondering this, the old hag he had abandoned at the goblin's lair finally came running over, panting heavily, her withered hands supporting her knees.

Thor didn't know whether the ugly, mutated creature was simply putting on an act to gain his trust because it had exhausted itself in its haste to get there.

He didn't care about that either. In his view, his subordinates, whether they worshipped, feared, or hated him, could become a source of spiritual essence as long as they showed obvious emotions.

Before the hag could catch her breath, Thor stepped to the edge of the platform, his golden dragon eyes looking down as he growled condescendingly.

"I've heard that the witch is skilled at manipulating illusions and human nature, and is also good at gathering intelligence. So you must know this mountain range very well, right? I have a few questions for you."

The old hag below cursed the red dragon in her heart, but still wore a fawning expression on her face.

"What does the great red dragon want to know? I will tell you without any concealment."

"You'd better do that. Besides gnolls and goblins, what other races are in this mountain range, and what are their strengths? How often do the caravans that pass through the canyons make their round trip, and what is their size...?"

Clearly, merely subduing a pack of gnolls and a hag is far from enough to satisfy Thor.

In his planned territory, this mountain range stretching for hundreds of kilometers should all be subject to his rule.

Using this as a base, they will expand outwards as their strength grows, until they bring the entire wilderness, neighboring human kingdoms, and even the entire continent into their territory.

To achieve this, the first step is to unify all the surrounding evil creatures, so that this mountain range can only produce one voice.

As the old hag explained, Thor learned that the mountain range was called Greystone Ridge, which stretched 414 kilometers from north to south and was 132 kilometers wide at its widest point. The canyon he was currently in was located in the center of the mountain range.

Almost every hilltop and every cave here is inhabited by all sorts of evil creatures.

Goblins, kobolds, orcs, ogres, harpies—you name it, they had it. The two strongest forces were located at opposite ends of the mountain range: a group of cyclopes and a large orc tribe.

Thor never imagined that such a small, desolate hill could accommodate so many guys.

What do they eat to survive? Are they really like weeds, where water and sunlight are enough?

Thor's eyes flickered. While there were some troublesome creatures among them, none posed a significant threat to him.

After listening to the old hag's story, he spoke again.

"I've heard that you witches often keep in touch and exchange information regularly, is that right? I need more witches to work for me, so you'll have to go and bring them over now. Once it's done, I promise you'll be the leader of the witch society."

The deep, rumbling roar reached the ears of the old hag below, making her heart skip a beat.

Almost all evil creatures are born with an almost pathological desire to dominate other creatures.

However, she is just a newborn witch who is less than 200 years old since birth. Her magical knowledge and awakened spell-like abilities are not strong enough, and she is far from being able to compare with those old demons who have lived for hundreds or thousands of years.

If we could use the power of this red dragon to exploit other witches and obtain various precious magical knowledge and...

Thinking of this, the old hag couldn't help but get excited, and suddenly felt that pledging allegiance to the red dragon in front of her didn't seem so bad.

She immediately adopted the etiquette she had seen in human villages, bowed to Thor, and said excitedly:

"Thank you for your trust, Master, in entrusting me with such an important task. I will certainly not let you down. Just wait and see!"

As soon as she finished speaking, at Thor's signal, her body gradually became blurry and soon disappeared completely.

She might bring back more witches on this trip, or she might never return and simply escape.

But so what? Evil creatures are like that; they appear compliant on the surface, but always harbor their own schemes and plots in secret.

Once I am stronger, I will begin to cultivate my own core retinue. These characters I recruit from the outside are ultimately just for transition.

Chapter 84 Cyclops

Some energy crystals and metal ores were not enough to fill Thor's stomach. After getting rid of the hag, he was soon plagued by hunger again.

People say that red dragons have a preference for delicate human girls and elves, but how many of those dozens of kilograms of meat would a red dragon need to eat every day to satisfy its appetite?

Alternatively, as a magical creature, a true dragon can directly absorb magical elements to obtain energy. When its physical growth stagnates and it no longer needs a large amount of resources to fill its body, its appetite will also decrease.

Thor circled above the hills and mountains, his mind racing with these thoughts, and suddenly he began to miss the taste of the giant horned bull.

This place was so desolate that he couldn't even find a large animal. He flew for more than ten minutes without finding any suitable prey.

Should we hunt down an evil creature to try? Like an ogre, an orc, or a harpy?

Damn it! These guys never seem to take a bath, they all stink worse than wild animals, just thinking about them makes me want to vomit.

Thor now strongly suspects that these wicked creatures have made themselves so filthy in order to avoid becoming food for some top hunters.

After a brief moment of thought, he changed direction and flew south towards the mountains and hills.

I learned from the old hag that the south is the territory of the Cyclopes, and if I remember correctly, these tall humanoid creatures are herders.

The mountain ranges rushed past Thor, his broad wings casting large shadows on the ground.

When the evil creatures hiding in caves or corners saw the crimson dragon shadow flying overhead, their entire bodies trembled involuntarily, as if their heartbeats had skipped a few beats.

This is a red dragon! A powerful and tyrannical red dragon!

When did such terrifying creatures appear in Greystone Ridge? It seems this place is not safe to stay any longer; we must leave immediately.

Some of the wary evil creatures immediately began packing their bags, and some even abandoned their own tattered belongings and fled.

Thor had no idea that his simple flight would cause such a small commotion.

When flying at high speed, his speed can reach hundreds of kilometers per hour, and in just over an hour, the end of the southern mountain range appeared in front of him.

The terrain there gradually flattens out, the underground rocks disappear and are replaced by thick soil, thus forming a grassland mixed with shrubs and weeds.

A flock of mountain sheep strolled in small groups on the grassland, occasionally lowering their heads to nibble on grass leaves or tender branches of shrubs.

They are a little over a meter tall at the shoulder and about one and a half meters long. Their bodies are covered with coarse, stiff, grayish-brown fur, their limbs are short and thick, their hooves are hard, and they have a pair of scimitar-like horns on their heads.

These goats in front of us, the adult individuals can weigh more than 100 kilograms, which is undoubtedly a high-quality food in this barren hilly and mountainous region.

But they had an owner. Thor glanced to his left and saw a huge creature, over 4 meters tall, lying on a sunny hillside.

This is a mountain cyclops with rough, grayish-brown skin, messy, dark brown hair, a large sheepskin around its waist, and a huge, yellowish-brown single eye embedded in its ugly face, which provides it with 360-degree vision.

Without a doubt, this is an extremely powerful creature, said to have the blood of an ancient giant god flowing through its veins, and once created a magnificent civilization.

However, due to arrogance and internal strife, the entire civilization gradually disintegrated, and eventually even its intelligence began to decline. It forgot the skills of its ancestors and became a savage herder in the wilderness.

Thor's ability to see through objects and his wide field of vision, granted by the giant eye on his forehead, allowed him to spot the Cyclops, while the Cyclops also noticed the red dragon in the sky.

The Cyclops rolled over and got up from the ground, grabbed a giant club weighing over a hundred kilograms, and roared angrily at the sky.

"My ranch... Red Dragon... Get out of here!!"

A halting mix of Giant's language and Common Language spewed from its mouth full of yellow teeth, spitting out saliva and carrying a strong stench of bad breath.

Thor looked down at the Cyclops below, ignoring the Cyclops' warnings, and instead began to accelerate his dive.

This made the already irritable Cyclops even angrier. He reached into the sheepskin at his waist with his free hand and pulled out a simply polished stone.

As an intelligent being, the Cyclops would certainly use tools, and its level of intelligence was probably similar to that of primitive humans in the Stone Age.

It gripped the basketball-sized rock tightly with its five fingers, its arm muscles bulging, and threw it forcefully into the sky.

The hard stone ball shot out like a cannonball, cutting through the air with a whistling sound, heading straight for Thor in mid-air.

If hit by this attack, even a young white dragon would probably break several ribs.

However, a hint of mockery flashed in Thor's eyes. It was just a monster of challenge level 8 or so, yet it dared to be so presumptuous in front of him.

It suddenly stretched its thick forepaws forward, its five fingers spread wide like a winnowing basket, the cushioning tissue on its palms covered with a layer of tough, dense scales, and its nails gleaming with a bright metallic luster, as it forcefully pulled forward.

The stone thrown by the Cyclops was caught precisely in his claws. A piercing sound rang out, and bright sparks flew everywhere. With a forceful squeeze, the entire stone was instantly crushed into pieces.

"Your strength is not bad, but it's still far inferior to mine."

"Foolish giant, you're quite good at herding sheep. Submit to me, only then can you avoid being burned to ashes!"

Seeing that his attack was so easily blocked by the red dragon in the sky, the Cyclops below immediately widened the huge yellowish-brown eye on his forehead.

Its relatively low intelligence prevented it from understanding overly complex language; it simply repeated what it had said before.

"Leave...leave my pasture, these are my sheep!"

Seeing this, Thor couldn't help but shake his head in disappointment. He thought he would meet a good subordinate, but he didn't expect him to be a brainless idiot.

Let's take it down!

There's definitely more than just this one Cyclops at the southern end of Greystone Ridge; maybe the next one we'll encounter will be a smarter one.

Thor, suspended in mid-air, began to inhale deeply. His chest and abdomen, covered in crimson scales, gradually swelled up, and a molten lava-like light shone through the gaps in the scales.

A large amount of magic flowed into his throat through his basal vessels, and the earth and fire elements mingled and merged, eventually forming five orange-red fireballs that he violently spewed down at the Cyclops below.

Those fireballs, no bigger than a fist, expanded rapidly after leaving Thor's mouth. By the time they reached the Cyclops, they had grown to the size of a wheel, completely sealing off every corner of it.

Chapter 85 Unexpected Discovery

What appeared before Thor was a mountain cyclops.

Standing over four meters tall, its size undoubtedly translates to a weight of tons. Its stone-gray skin possesses a spell-like effect similar to Stone Skin, providing it not only with excellent resilience but also granting it a certain degree of magic resistance.

If placed on the front lines, this single Cyclops would be enough to crush an entire cavalry unit head-on, and a single swing of its club could shatter both men and horses.

However, with the boost from the abundant magic power within him, each of Thor's rockburst projectiles was almost equivalent to an enhanced version of a fireball.

The radius of the explosion is enough to cover an area of ​​nearly ten meters. When five are detonated at the same time, the resulting shock wave and high temperature will increase exponentially.

Based on this principle, some elemental mages with volatile tempers and a pursuit of extreme destructive power even formed a sect called the "Cult of Many Fireballs".

Their principle is simple: as long as there are enough fireballs, big enough, and with powerful enough spells, there is no problem that cannot be solved.

Even if there are problems that can't be solved, they can be used to deal with the person who raised the problem.

Thor's latest barrage of rockbursts was almost as powerful as a coordinated attack by a five-person squad of elemental mages, all of whom were at least level three.

A deafening roar echoed across the sky, and flames, accompanied by thick smoke, shot into the air like a giant mushroom.

The terrifying shockwaves were like invisible giant hands, tearing at the Cyclops's tough skin; they were also like heavy hammers, constantly pounding its bones and internal organs.

The stone skin, which was strong enough to withstand the slashing of ordinary swords, was easily torn apart, the flesh was burned by the high temperature, and a large number of fragile blood vessels in the internal organs were ruptured, which led to severe internal bleeding.

As the smoke gradually dissipated, only five large craters, each nearly two meters in diameter, remained. The Cyclops in the center was now torn to pieces, its remains scattered everywhere.

Thor glanced disdainfully at the charred remains on the ground and exhaled two plumes of hot smoke from his nostrils.

It's just a giant creature with the lowest bloodline, not even accepted by the real giants, and only regarded as an inferior relative, yet it dares to refuse my offer! It would be more like a storm giant would do it.

He stopped paying attention to the wreckage on the ground, flapped his wings, and flew towards the flock of sheep not far away.

The magical elements in the surrounding environment began to gather spontaneously, continuously replenishing the magical power in his body that had just dropped sharply.

The earlier violent explosion had caused the surrounding flock of sheep to scatter and flee, with some of the more timid ones even collapsing to the ground, their limbs stiff, as if they had been frightened out of their wits.

Thor randomly selected a few strong rams, ripped off their heads, then used his knife-like nails to cut open their bellies, removed their internal organs, and then used a faint dragon breath to roast the surface of the ram meat until it was charred before he began to eat it in large mouthfuls.

With each ferocious opening and closing of its jaws, its long fangs, thicker than a child's arm, tore off dozens of kilograms of flesh, truly making it capable of swallowing a sheep in just three bites.

Hundreds of kilograms of meat were gone in the blink of an eye, digested and absorbed by his highly efficient digestive system, and transformed into nutrients needed for his body's growth.

Saul looked up, still somewhat unsatisfied, at the fleeing flock of sheep in the distance, intending to eat as much as possible.