Red Dragon Monster Hunter Template.

On the inside of the nails of the limbs, the already razor-sharp edges are now covered with tiny serrated structures, making it easier to tear flesh.

While all these changes did not significantly alter Thor's physical appearance, they undoubtedly provided another powerful enhancement to his physical attributes and mobility.

However, at this moment, his attention was not on that at all; all his mind was focused on the little bit of new energy in his body.

It is said that when a griffin undergoes a long battle or eats the flesh of a powerful monster, its body will undergo adaptive evolution, becoming an even more terrifying and ferocious griffin.

By then, it will not only inherit all the advantages of Odogaron, but also gain the special ability to manipulate dragon-attribute energy.

Therefore, it can be seen that the Odogaron has organs related to dragon-attribute energy in its body, but they need specific conditions to be activated.

The Dragon Slayer Fruits that Thor had previously consumed contained a concentration of almost liquid dragon-attribute energy. Part of it had been metabolized by his body, while the other part had deeply permeated his entire body.

With the arrival of the Odogaron monster template, the accumulated energy was instantly activated, merging with his life force and spiritual power to form a dragon attribute power that was even purer and more domineering than magic.

Once the black and red light appeared, it took deep root in Thor's basal blood vessels, like a constantly proliferating cancer cell, and began to frantically devour the energy in his body to strengthen itself.

Thor could clearly feel that his life energy and mental strength were being consumed little by little, and the magic flowing in his blood was decreasing rapidly as if it were being swallowed up by a whale.

Fortunately, he had eaten a lot before extracting the template, and the energy crystals in his stomach were now being digested, continuously replenishing his energy consumption.

As a naturally magical creature, the red dragon's elemental affinity began to devour and absorb the fire and earth elements in the surrounding environment, transforming them into new magical power.

This undoubtedly helped Thor a lot; the newly generated dragon-attribute energy was simply too domineering, like a black hole that could never be filled.

Its energy requirements are terrifying. If ordinary organisms do not have a way to directly obtain energy from the external environment, they probably cannot meet their needs by eating alone.

In that case, the creature would not only be in a state of constant hunger, but also have a portion of its life energy consumed by the dragon-attribute energy due to insufficient supply, resulting in a significant reduction in lifespan.

This is probably why the Deviljho was always on its way to eat, and the Sinosaurus always had a piece of meat in its mouth.

With a continuous supply of energy, the newly generated dragon-attribute energy within Thor's body is also growing rapidly.

At first, it was just a few scattered black and red lights, which gradually turned into thin threads, and then into a continuous trickle, extending from all the blood vessels, mixing with the magic and entering the body's circulatory system.

A thin layer of dark red smoke began to rise from the surface of his originally bright red scales, and the muscles below seemed to inflate the scales, revealing a molten lava-like light through the gaps.

Thor could feel a powerful surge of energy flowing through all the muscles through which the dragon-attribute energy passed, and the flames burning incessantly on the surface of his body had become even more viscous.

As one of the ultimate powers in the Monster Hunter world, dragon energy is the life source of Elder Dragons and a superior energy that transcends all other attributes. Enhancing physical attributes is just one of its most basic manifestations.

As the changes within his body gradually came to an end and the newly generated dragon attribute energy stabilized, Thor opened his molten gold-like pupils once more.

As his tangible gaze swept across the surroundings, a dagger in the corner of the cave immediately caught his attention—it appeared to be a low-end magical weapon extorted from a caravan.

With the idea of ​​experimenting with his newly acquired ability, he stepped forward and reached out his claws to grasp the dagger, which was as small as a toothpick to him, in his palm.

A thin wisp of black and red mist flashed by, and when he opened his claws, the magical light flashing on the dagger had completely extinguished, turning it into a piece of scrap metal.

This is another powerful effect of dragon-attribute energy—the power of dragon sealing that suppresses all other attributes, or in other words, the power to break magic.

Chapter 134 Preparation

It possesses immense strength, agile reflexes, boundless magic power, wide-range breath attacks, physical defense formed by the fusion of metal and scales, and the magic-dispelling power and magic resistance granted by dragon-attribute energy.

At this moment, Thor felt a sense of complete fulfillment once again.

Even if no more monster templates are extracted afterward, with the current foundation alone, once it grows up, it will surely be able to occupy a place among all the evil dragons.

He stared at the dagger in his claws, now reduced to ordinary iron, and casually squeezed it. Flames surged forth, melting it into a pool of molten iron, which he carelessly spilled onto the ground.

The awakening of dragon attribute energy caused the challenge level in his personal profile to jump again, reaching 17+.

This is a height that many adult true dragons cannot reach, and it is a realm that weaker white dragons and brass dragons can never reach in their entire lives without the blessing of a fortuitous encounter.

Now, let alone his adoptive mother, Thor is not afraid at all even when facing the blue dragon known as Stormfang.

Perhaps when I become stronger and more confident, I will be able to return to the wilderness, kill that old guy, and take everything from him.

Thinking of this, Thor couldn't help but grin, revealing a ferocious smile. His white teeth gleamed with a metallic glint in the firelight surrounding him.

But soon, the hunger pangs in his stomach made him frown.

Dragon attribute energy is great in every way, except that it consumes too much. It seems that his daily food expenses will be significantly increased.

Only when one's bloodline is further purified and one's affinity for the elements is further enhanced can the magical elements drawn from the outside world fully meet the body's needs.

In Thor's perception, this moment was not far off; after his next slumber, his bloodline level would enter a new stage.

…………

Thor glanced at his essence balance in his mind and found that he had gained a dozen or so points while loading the Odogaron monster template.

The thousands of evil creatures under his command are like hens laying eggs, and every moment they will have some strong emotions towards him—whether it is worship, fear, or simple hatred, these will become the source of his essence.

However, this income also has a drawback: if one does not show up for a long time, the essence one can obtain will become less and less until it disappears completely.

After all, living things need novelty, and to evoke strong emotions in them, they must be stimulated constantly.

If it weren't for the fact that his current strength doesn't allow it, Thor would have wanted to establish a cult that worships him.

Legend has it that there is an ancient red dragon named Ashadron, who commands a cult called Nightfang Point, whose members madly worship and follow in her footsteps.

However, this guy's fate wasn't too good. After destroying a powerful kingdom, he was pierced through the heart by the Silver Dragon King.

Ultimately, he had to embed a Baloro demon named Amit into his body as a power source, leaving him with a humanoid scar with wings on his chest forever.

…………

Thor exchanged all of his remaining points for Dragon Crystals, an energy crystal formed from the convergence of planetary life force and ancient dragon life force, which is considered the best supplement for dragon-attribute energy.

As he stepped toward the platform at the cave entrance, the bright sunlight streamed down, and wisps of black smoke occasionally drifted from the flames burning around him, making him appear even more sinister and dangerous than before.

Now that everything is ready, it's time to head to the Underdark and collect our due from those black rats.

This trip may take quite a while, and before that, the affairs of the territory need to be arranged properly.

After the crops are harvested, how to store and consume them needs to be carefully planned.

The giant arena, which is not yet completed, must continue to be built. A plan also needs to be devised to deal with those caravans that may return at any time and those that have not yet passed through.

Thinking about this, Thor felt a headache coming on. His men all seemed to be idiots, and he couldn't find a single one who could share the workload with him.

The highest level of education these evil creatures, born in the wilderness, have ever received is probably prenatal education.

Being able to use a common language fluently is already considered intelligent; being able to write one's own name is even more of a sign of exceptional intelligence.

The only two exceptions are probably those beastmen who were originally human, and the long-lived gray dwarves.

They should have a high level of intelligence and have received some systematic education, so they may know how to manage those chaotic creatures.

But the problem that follows is that they lack strength and prestige. Even with Thor's orders, would his evil creatures really obey them willingly?

Thor felt that perhaps it was time to cultivate a true inner circle of his own.

At present, it seems that only those kobolds are worth cultivating. Should we give them a drop of dragon blood before their next slumber?

When the thought crossed his mind, Thor couldn't help but feel a little awkward.

To him, it was an insult to allow the blood of a great dragon to flow within the body of a lowly kobold.

Perhaps I should hold a grand gladiatorial contest, inviting numerous creatures to fight each other, so that the ultimate victor can become my first true companion in this world.

This method was undoubtedly more to Saul's liking. In the end, when it came to how to handle matters in the territory after his departure, he chose the simplest and most brutal approach—issuing warnings to all his men, instructing them to do their jobs properly, and that any disobedience would be dealt with one by one when he returned.

Once he made up his mind, Thor immediately spread his broad wings, leaving a long trail of flame and thin black smoke, and flew towards the camp where the gray dwarves were located.

According to the information from the Dragon's Legacy, the Underdark is like a giant maze, with all sorts of interconnected tunnels that sometimes expand to hundreds or thousands of feet high, and sometimes shrink so much that even a half-human can't pass through.

Without a suitable guide, finding the city of those black rats would be extremely difficult.

Moreover, having already decided to make a trip to the Underdark, he naturally wouldn't just vent his anger on those black rats and capture some slaves; he also planned to build a long-term trade route.

So before that, Saul decided to create a batch of specially made "business cards".

Using a thin sheet of metal as paper, he marked several landmark locations in this dark region beneath his territory, and then used these as references to draw a route leading to the surface fissures.

His widespread dissemination made his existence known throughout the Underdark, and the promise of coveted power and wealth that could be obtained there, thereby attracting a large number of evil creatures.

Gold, silver, energy crystals, rare equipment, and power seeds that can enhance physical abilities—none of these matter to Thor.

What he needs is more passionate emotion and frenzied ambition; he wants to use the blood and souls of those evil creatures to forge his own legendary path.

Chapter 135 The Dark Region

For the gray dwarves, forging a palm-sized metal sheet is not a difficult task; they simply need to repeatedly stretch and pull large blocks of iron ore and then cut them into shape.

As for the patterns on the metal sheet, there is no need to carve them one by one—use a template made of harder sparrow stone, and it can be printed directly by stamping and hammering.

Dozens of gray dwarves temporarily put aside all their work and focused intently on the task at hand. In less than a day, they produced hundreds and thousands of such metal sheets.

To make these specially made "business cards" more recognizable and attract the attention of subterranean creatures, Thor deliberately mixed in trace amounts of dragon crystals.

Doing this won't give these iron pieces any magical effects; they will simply emit a faint glow and subtle energy fluctuations in the dark.

With everything prepared, Thor officially set off for the Underdark.

Accompanying them were 5 grey dwarf land seekers, 1 insect controller, and 20 kobolds.

The grey dwarf seekers acted as guides and scouts, helping him find suitable paths in the intricate underworld; the insect controller manipulated the giant black foam beetles, making them serve as pack animals; and the 20 kobolds were purely servants.

As soon as Thor gave the order, everyone quickly took their positions; each one was an elite of their respective race.

Tana, with her dragon horns and scales and increasingly prominent bulges on her shoulders, was also in the group, but what attracted Thor's attention the most was still that jet-black, glossy "giant rhinoceros beetle".

What can be seen is that the gray dwarf insect controller wears a headband inlaid with white crystal on his forehead, from which an invisible psychic energy is emanating, controlling the simple-minded black foam beetles.

As children of the earth, dwarves are a race that should not possess psionic talents, but the grey dwarves are an exception.

During the years they were enslaved by mind fiends, their brains underwent certain changes due to constant control and stimulation by psychic energy, and they thus gained some psychic talent.

And so, a strangely shaped group set off. To accommodate his men, Thor had to slow his pace.

Even so, they traveled much faster than ordinary humans on the rugged mountain path. Before long, the fissure at the foot of the low mountain, leading underground, came into view.

The entire massive crack is about 30 meters wide and 10 meters high, looking like a gaping mouth, dark and seemingly capable of swallowing all life.

For ordinary creatures, going to a place like the Underdark is indeed a death sentence; it wouldn't be inaccurate to say that their lives are being devoured.

The gray dwarf seekers, who also serve as wanderers, are the first to enter the rift. They will spread out within a range of about one kilometer ahead to check for possible enemies and traps.

Only then did Thor step into the gaping hole that resembled a crack in the mountain. At nearly 10 meters high, it would be spacious for most creatures, but when he looked up, the flames above him had already touched the cave ceiling, igniting the moss and ash that clung to it and producing a series of crackling sounds.

With a width of about 30 meters, he was unable to spread his wings at all, and could only let his wings fold up like two thick giant shields on both sides of his body.

The oppressive atmosphere made Thor frown, and his tail swished instinctively, leaving a trail of sparks on the ground.

Upon seeing this, the black spittle beetle trailing behind immediately stopped. Its simple mind allowed it to more clearly sense the emotions of the terrifying creature ahead, and driven by instinct, it only wanted to flee as far away as possible.

The gray dwarf insect controller had to increase his psionic output to barely suppress his pet's fear, but he still dared not get too close—because wherever Thor walked, the ground was scorched by the high temperature emanating from his body, a temperature hot enough to cook raw meat.

The narrow terrain, coupled with the need to manage the subordinates he was bringing, meant that the journey ahead would be quite tedious for a long time. Thor decided to rummage through the general information in the Dragon Legacy in his mind.

The Underdark is a collective term used by surface inhabitants to refer to all underground areas, and it is also one of the most dangerous regions in the multiverse.

It consists of a network of underground caves and rivers, and most of the area is pitch black, with only a few glowing mushrooms and molten lava providing light.

Deformed and malevolent creatures thrive on this land, hiding from the sunlight. They are all extremely aggressive in their struggle for limited resources.

As they continued to descend deeper, the faint light filtering through the cracks could no longer be seen when they looked back, but the entire tunnel was not plunged into darkness—the incessant flames burning on Thor's body, like blazing torches, illuminated a large area.

But he soon ran into trouble: after going down about three kilometers, the tunnel ahead began to narrow.

The height that was originally enough for Thor to walk normally soon forced him to lower his head, his wings scraping against the rock wall on both sides, and in the end, even curling up, he could not pass through.

This was the first time he had experienced the inconveniences of being too large.

It is said that gold, silver, and bronze dragons can naturally awaken their shapeshifting abilities upon reaching adulthood, gaining another humanoid form; while brass and copper dragons do so a little later.

As for the five-colored dragon, it will never have the ability to transform into human form without relying on its own learning or external help.

It would be great if I could transform into a smaller humanoid form at this moment.

The oppressive feeling coming from all directions, coupled with the stones that kept scraping against his wings and head, made Thor feel a surge of anger.

As his anger surged, the fire element in his surroundings began to gather, causing the flames burning on his body to swell and wildly radiate light and heat.