You're All Too Slick

The two monks who escaped quickly made contact with Kang De.

After being rescued, the two spellcasters from the reconnaissance team were thrown by Lily to a temporary camp more than ten kilometers away—in a physical sense, of course.

They were first thrown into the hastily constructed Holy Word Shelter, where they underwent a comprehensive baptism of holy light, disinfection, and healing from top to bottom. After confirming that they were not infected with any unknown mysterious energy or parasites, the two received comprehensive treatment and examination. However, due to excessive Magic Power consumption and shock, they were somewhat exhausted. After eating a little something, they began to undergo comprehensive questioning.

After contacting Kang De, they expressed their gratitude with great excitement, and even subtly hinted at the idea that "they have to repay the life-saving grace, so they want to follow you"—but very tactfully.

The mage with burgundy hair is named Kro Steman, and his partner is named Ricky Ovik.

They accurately described the location of the attack to Kang De. Although the dense forest had been destroyed by artillery fire, the surrounding mountains still provided a relatively precise location.

"On foot, Your Highness."

The heavily armored men of the biochemical investigation team are advancing cautiously.

This place is now a wasteland, ravaged by heavy artillery fire that has destroyed everything. The ground is littered with ruins that are no longer recognizable. They tread on the soft, decaying soil, and through their fully enclosed helmets, they can clearly hear strange breathing sounds. They walk through this hellish landscape.

"The Book of the Holy Word is on guard; this place is an evil land."

"The corrosion counter has turned blue."

"The detector didn't detect any echo... I've switched to the crypt probe."

Flames roared as Kang De descended from the sky. The investigation team only saw the humanoid figure protected by the silver steel suit, the most beautiful armor they had ever seen.

Silver gauntlets, helmet, breastplate, leg guards, and even boots, while the abdomen, arms, and thighs are covered in black protective armor. The gleaming metal and black fabric complement each other, and icy blue light flows in the grooves of the arm guards, greaves, and shoulder armor. Never before has any armor among the continent's races been designed in this style—elegant, noble, and powerful, forged from the sparks of wisdom and the unyielding steel.

"Gentlemen, have you found any problems?"

"No, Your Highness, we are preparing for further exploration."

The investigators turned their attention away from the alluring battle suit and went about their tasks. The alchemist's task required less concentration; he was responsible for explanation and communication. Besides, he and Prince Kang De were colleagues, both alchemists, making it easier for them to talk.

--It's just that the skill level difference is a bit ridiculous.

He explained, "Our initial guess was that an underground nest existed, but the ground probes of the detectors didn't detect any echoes, which is very strange..."

Kang De asked, "Perhaps not here?"

"Perhaps that's the case... but there might be other reasons we don't know about."

The alchemist controlled the mechanical dog to sniff around, digging through piles of ashes, trying to find a relatively complete corpse sample, but he knew in his heart that this effort was probably in vain.

Walking through this devastated land, one can truly grasp the terror of His Highness Kang De's attack. It is certain that no living thing exists within the spell's range; all the mutated birds are dead, killed by the extremely powerful shockwave. This shockwave swept through the dense forest, shattering everything within them, followed by the scorching Flame... a terrifying power.

Is this what a Forbidden Spell spellcaster is like?

It's certain that replacing the dense forest and mutated birds with an entire legion would likely yield little difference in outcome—unless it's a top-tier magical force, well-prepared and with full support from the mage corps, could perhaps withstand this terrifying attack.

But witnesses said that in the short span of time between the reconnaissance team's withdrawal and His Highness Kang De taking over, destruction came from the sky; he blasted the dense forest into the air.

--Damn, even Forbidden Spell have high-speed chanting techniques?

"Strangeness..."

It took them about an hour to scout the area along the route between where the two glider scout mages were attacked and where they were rescued. They even used the two points to determine their positions, drew a fan-shaped area to confirm the center, and then searched the entire area from the fan-shaped area to the center. After two hours, they found nothing.

The rules in the anomaly handling manual didn't apply, leaving the investigators somewhat bewildered. After exchanging a few words, they said helplessly to Kang De, "Your Highness, it seems this matter has exceeded the scope of what battlefield investigation can resolve. We need another plan..."

The alchemist explained, "A direct search won't yield any clues. We must return to camp, begin studying the aberration samples, confirm the nature of the infection, and create a reverse sniffing device to locate the lair..."

Kang De was slightly disappointed, but he knew that this matter couldn't be rushed.

Just like Stella said, leave it to the professionals.

He nodded and said, "Okay... I'll take you back? Flying back would be faster."

Over the communication channel, the group laughed simultaneously, "While His Highness Kang De's invitation is very tempting, let's wait until next time. We've been exposed to too many corrupt environments and need to undergo strict purification procedures before we can return. We'll walk back to Word of Lucius's location, who's responsible for providing backup, and we can also conduct a second investigation while we're at it..."

Kang De didn't need to worry about purification; his mental energy spread and enveloped the outer wall of his battle suit, requiring only one Extraction, which was more effective than any purification technique.

He said, "Then I'll escort you."

"Please allow us to agree to this suggestion," the team leader said with a smile. "It couldn't be better."

They confirmed their location and prepared to set off. Kang De said, "Next time, I'll let you try flying; it's much better than walking..."

Heavy-armored operators should be using helicopters for transportation, hot air balloons are nothing compared to that.

The investigators laughed again, "We don't quite agree with that, Kang De Highness. We're no strangers to flight... to be honest, we'd rather walk forever."

Kang De, curious but before he could ask, heard a spellcaster in the group shout, "That's not right!"

Everyone was startled. Kang De deployed his shoulder cannon, the Defender raised his large shield, and the priest began to pump air into the holy water sprayer. Everyone assumed a defensive stance and then looked at the caster.

The spellcaster operator, holding the detector, paced around a few times, then shook his head and said, "That's not right."

"What's wrong, Scholar?" the alchemist asked. "We haven't found anything wrong."

"But don't you think that's the biggest problem?"

This sentence seemed to have completely cleared the spellcaster's mind of confusion. He turned around abruptly. "His Highness Kang De's magical attack almost completely wiped out this dense forest. The vegetation and creatures on the surface suffered devastating damage. This level of explosion and shockwave will inevitably affect the underground structure as well."

"--At least within a certain depth range, insects and small organisms in the soil would be killed by the shock. Natural loose structures, insect nests, underground waterways, tunnels dug by small organisms, and other underground structures would completely collapse and compact. This impact would be reflected on the surface as a certain degree of subsidence. Yet we have not found any such signs. Don't you think this seemingly harmless problem is extremely problematic?"

The investigators were suddenly moved.

"I propose sending a reinforcement request to command center, requesting the airdrop of tunneling magic devices and related scrolls. Ideally, this should be led by a high-ranking spellcaster from the Earth School. We should attempt to drill..."

The head of the investigation team expressed his opinion.

At the same time, Jarvis's voice rang out from inside the suit. "Don't even think about it!"

Perhaps the memories of struggling to dig in the muddy, damp, dark soil beneath Moyani, where some roots grow, instilled a certain psychological Shadow in the Transformers.

Kang De landed slowly.

"No need for that." He crouched down and pressed his hand to the ground. "Let me try."

Spiritual power permeates and penetrates deep into the soil.

It spreads downwards.

Ten centimeters, fifty centimeters, one meter, one and a half meters, two meters... and then, an obstacle was encountered.

It was soil, but it felt different from before. The composition and nature of that soil were more complex and mysterious, with the Element and structure increasing geometrically.

Kang De said, "Something's not right with this soil."

"Please be careful, Your Highness." The investigators didn't emphasize the importance of safety and protection for Kang De, after all, he was a great alchemist and a Forbidden Spell spellcaster, and there was no need for them, the weak, to remind him.

The spellcaster in the group asked, "Excuse me, what's wrong?"

Kang De's power was activated, and his spiritual energy permeated the soil. The surface soil was broken down by an invisible force, as if it were being swallowed by a giant maw of the void, until it encountered an obstacle at a certain depth, forming a small opening.

He said, "Try again."

The mage operator extended the detector, and the next second, the sensing device on the detector's handle turned golden, vibrated, and emitted a strange sound, like... a dragon's roar.

The investigators exclaimed in disbelief, "A dragon!"

At the same time, a dragon's roar echoed in the sky, and a white dragon swooped down, whipping up a whirlwind. Lily hovered in mid-air, transforming into human form, her pale golden hair swaying and her black dress billowing as the dragon lady landed steadily.

--A Xing was still clinging to her, his arms around her neck.

She casually picked up A Xing and tossed her aside. A Xing leaped up and down a few times and darted behind Kang De, trying to do the same thing again. But after a few flashes of her suit, A Xing stopped and stood aside.

Lily asked, "What's going on? I sensed the aura of Dragon Language Magic."

Kang De pointed to the hole he had dug.

The Dragon Girl stepped forward, stomped her foot on the ground, and the surrounding soil churned up like a tide, with large clods of earth flying out of thin air and scattering in all directions, making the cave appear several times larger.

Then she jumped in, took a few steps, and observed intently.

Then he leaped out, walked around the area, and picked up several clumps of shrubs that had been almost burned to ashes.

He immediately gave a cold laugh.

"There used to be a hole here, a very big hole... I don't know why it was exposed, but it looks like it was hit by some kind of impact... However, a dragon filled it in."

"Not only did you fill it in, you also used magic to force plants to grow and cover up the damage to the surrounding vegetation, making it look the same as usual. If you were to examine the tree rings, you should be able to find traces of forced growth, but they've all been turned to ashes by your magic, so there's no difference now."

Lily scoffed, "It's most likely him."

Kang De asked, "Who?"

"That little idiot [beep--], that scum dragon who has designs on me." Lily frowned, "Forcing plants to grow, healing natural wounds—only their branch can do this kind of delicate work..."

Ah, it's a rival's brother now.

Kang De asked curiously, "What kind of dragon is it?"

Lily glanced at him in surprise, as if Kang De were asking which way the sun rises.

"Didn't you say it's about stimulating plant growth and healing nature's wounds?" she replied. "Green dragons, of course."

"... puff."

"Why are you laughing?"

"I... I don't know either," Kang De said, pursing his lips. "How strange."

I had a lot of fun playing Heroes of Might and Magic 3. The Green Dragon, a level 7 unit of the Bulwark faction, produced in Dragon Cliff, could be upgraded to a Gold Dragon, and was immune to level 1 to 3 magic... I didn't really feel anything about it back then.

Why am I laughing now? What have I been through?

"... Neuropathy."

Lily quickly picked up some of Kang De's vocabulary. She narrowed her eyes and looked down at her feet. "I want to see what this little idiot is trying to hide..."

She lifted her foot and stomped it on the ground.

Kang De and the investigators shouted at the same time, "Wait!"

The next moment, the earth shook violently, and the soil layer reinforced by Dragon Language Magic collapsed instantly. Countless fragments of soil shimmered with the last glimmer of Magic Power as they fell downwards, revealing a deep cave below.

A faint purple light emanated from it.

A certain scent wafted out, and Lily took a sniff, her face showing surprise and intoxication. She instinctively walked down, but the next moment, she snapped back to reality, "Something's not right!"

A divine light, capable of dispelling evil, emerged from her body, dispelling the purple malevolence.

Lily is a silver dragon.

Silver dragons hate evil as if it were their enemy. Born bathed in light, they are sacred and pure, and are inherently opposed to all evil.

A deafening roar came from the depths of the cave, as if something terrifying was rumbling closer.

Depend on.

Kang De raised his arms, his light blades extended, and his shoulder cannons activated. "A Xing, step back! Lily, take these people and leave first. I'll handle this!"

The Book of Holy Word in the investigator's hand flashed rapidly, and the priest shouted, "A formidable enemy!"

This was no longer a battle they could handle. The team leader made a decisive decision, shouting, "We can leave on our own. Your Highness the Dragon, please remain here to assist Prince Kang De —Command Center, please reply: Emergency situation has occurred, requesting air evacuation. The investigation team is about to leave the battlefield!"

Three seconds later, Stella replied personally, "Agreed! Recovery operations have begun."

The investigators immediately unhooked their equipment and fastened it to their heavy armor, especially the samples they were collecting. They looked at Kang De, and the team leader smiled, "Your Highness Kang De, as I said, we don't like flying; we'd rather walk forever... Please be careful."

He lifted the armor plate of his breastplate and slammed his fist on the red button.

The armor on its back suddenly exploded open and it crashed to the ground.

The object covered in armor was revealed.

A crumpled cloth bag, with coils of rope around it.

The mechanism activated, the buckle was pulled open, and the elemental firing pin suddenly struck the gas element crystal inside the sac. The purified gas element crystal, which was strongly compressed by the magnetic constraint model, exploded with a roar. The huge amount of pure gas element contained within it rapidly expanded and quickly filled the balloon woven from the leather of the gas sac beetle.

The inflated balloons unfurled from the rear of each investigator's armor, the lightweight gaseous elements within providing a significant amount of buoyancy and triggering the auxiliary jet array on the balloon's surface.

With a long rope attached, the balloon shot into the sky at an incredible speed, eventually pulling the investigators away from the scene and into the high heavens.

At the same time, the sky was filled with the cries of eagles. Several giant alchemical eagles flew out from the clouds, and the alchemists who controlled them remotely commanded them from a nearby hot air balloon platform. The giant eagles flapped their wings and swooped down. When the survey team's buoyancy balloon rose to a certain height, they opened their sharp talons and accurately grabbed the handle at the top of the balloon, dragging the surveyors who were in mid-air towards the camp.

"Investigators have successfully evacuated; important cargo has been recovered."

Stella's voice came through the communicator channel.

Kang De stared at all in disbelief, muttering, "You guys are really something."

"... Kang De?" the second princess asked, "How is the situation?"

The only sound in the channel was the soaring roar of a dragon. From the hot air balloon, in the broken area below, a silver-white dragon flapped its wings and rose up, then swooped down, its white dragon breath roaring down.

Then I remembered a strange sound—if I had to describe it, it was like a continuous, low-pitched farting sound, though of course that description would be far too unseemly for a noble and elegant girl like Princess Goth.

Kang De, wielding his M134 Vulcan machine gun, fired downwards, hearing only the sounds of limbs shattering and agonizing screams and roars. With no obstruction, Phoenix Vision could clearly see what was below: strange creatures of all sizes, shimmering with the same purple light, surging towards them. He swept his Gatling gun in circles, while Lily finished them off with her dragon breath, but the onslaught seemed endless.

He shouted, "Let's seal this hole again first!"

Lily soared through the sky, speaking in human language, "We'll have to fight sooner or later!"

"You can't say that!" Kang De shouted. "If we fight now, we can fight later; if we fight later, we might not even have to fight!"

As the Dragon Girl exhaled her dragon breath, she asked, "What do you mean? You want the Goth People to do this?"

"Of course not!" Kang De shouted, "Aren't the dragons on Dragon Island down there? This kind of thing, including the mutations, must have been their doing. The dragons will have to clean up their mess and pay compensation!"

"Damn it!" Lily shouted, "What do you mean they caused this? You're going too far..."

"Split the money you extorted!"

"Seal, seal, seal!"

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PS1: Five thousand words... Ah, Ring Fit Adventure is something else...