Two full moons, one blue and one white, hung high in the sky, illuminating the Forest as if it were daytime. The shadow of the giant dragon moved swiftly across the continuous canopy of trees. The Little Red Dragon was leading everyone to Fairy Lake.
Two Druids transformed into Thunder Ravens and separated from the group. One was sent back to deliver a message—most of the spiders that obeyed the Shadra's kill order had headed west, towards the Canyon, because Gunsel was likely among the spider swarm besieging Blue Rock Pass.
In that case, the Mutant Spider swarm is likely to engage in civil war, at which point the Blue Rock Pass army can seize the opportunity to launch a counterattack and surely defeat the enemy.
Although the Night Elves longed to save their brethren themselves, they knew the situation was urgent and that only Druids could fly, so they granted Unas's request and sent Druid messenger.
The other Druid was sent to the Swamp to deliver a message. Unas had previously arranged for a hundred-man team to collect Crude Oil from the open-air oil fields in the Swamp, and this team would come in handy now.
A mother's unwavering love for her child is the most undeniable force in the world. Although the Little Red Dragon had a wicked personality and had exhausted a lot of energy in the battle at the Mage Tower, it still carried everyone at full speed and arrived at Fairy Lake in just over an hour.
The tranquil lake surface is like a mirror, reflecting the shadows of tall trees and the two full moons with exquisite detail. The beautiful night view is like a dream, making it hard to imagine the evil hidden beneath the lake.
Although Natasha knew the approximate location of the underwater entrance, the Seven-Headed Lizard was recuperating in the lake, and the Swamp Lord's strength in the water was incomparable to that on land, so the group dared not venture into the water rashly.
Unas gave the order, "Everyone, take a break and wait for Marcus's hundred-man squad to arrive."
"What's the point of having so many useless people? Get in the water already, stop dawdling!" The Little Red Dragon protested again. In her eyes, the human army was made up of weak and useless people.
Unas had to patiently explain the tactics, "The Seven-Headed Lizard is in the lake. Going down there would be suicide. We need to force it out and take care of it first."
"I don't need so many villains; I can force it out!"
You're more likely to scare it into hiding deeper inside.
The Little Red Dragon ignored all advice, spread its wings and flew to the lake, roared a few times in provocation, and then spewed out a large amount of dragon breath.
The calm lake surface was shattered as the scorching dragon's breath struck the water, sending plumes of white steam billowing up.
But that's all. Even if the Little Red Dragon used up all its dragon breath, it might not be able to lower the water level of Fairy Lake by half a foot.
She continued to roar and unleashed two more rounds of dragon breath, but her strength gave out and she had to stop. The lake surface immediately returned to calm, and after a short while, the Seven-Headed Lizard showed no sign of coming out to fight.
The Little Red Dragon finally realized that its provocation was futile, but it was unwilling to return to the shore to face the human's mocking gaze, so it just circled on the lake.
Unas witnessed the entire process, shook his head and sighed. This willful mother dragon would have to suffer a few more heavy losses before she would understand that reality was not the simple world she imagined.
But this time he seemed to be wrong. Just then, the water surface suddenly began to tremble. Amidst the huge roar of the waves, seven or eight water cannons shot out of the lake like fountains, blocking all of the Little Red Dragon's paths and slamming hard into her abdomen.
The Little Red Dragon let out a miserable cry, coughing up a mouthful of dragon blood. She swayed precariously in the air, barely managing to flap her wings to balance herself. Then, four or five more water cannons came, but they were much weaker than the first wave of attacks. She endured them, and this time she didn't cough up blood again.
The people on the shore stared intently at the lake, trying to spot the Seven-Headed Lizard. The two Dragon-Slaying Crossbows, captured in the battle of the Evil Woodland, were already firing their Armor-Piercing Dragonbane Arrows, with long Blacksteel tied to their fletchings—these were specially purchased by Unas from Shadowforge City at a high price, all for the purpose of "fishing out" the Seven-Headed Lizard.
However, even with the Night Elf's Night Vision and Perella's Eagle Eye, they couldn't find any trace of the Seven-Headed Lizard after searching for a long time. It must still be deep underwater.
After the second round of water cannons, the lake returned to calm. The Seven-Headed Lizard seemed to have hidden away again, but the Little Red Dragon was enraged. Having suffered such a great loss, she immediately wanted revenge and actually lowered her head to try to dive into the water to chase after the enemy.
Upon seeing this, Unas immediately pulled out his Double-Barreled Shotgun, fired two shots at the Little Red Dragon, and then shouted, "Don't go into the water!"
The musket bullets weren't enough to pierce the Dragon Scales; they only pricked the Little Red Dragon twice, like being stung by needles. She glared angrily at the shore. Why would she listen to humans' orders?
Seeing that the Little Red Dragon still wanted to enter the water, Unas resolutely ordered, "Stop her! Fire the arrows!"
Perella and Nightmoon, who were in charge of operating the Dragon-Slaying Crossbow, pulled the trigger without hesitation. Two Armor-Piercing Dragonbane Arrows, trailing Blacksteel, shot towards the Little Red Dragon, forcing her to change direction. This completely enraged her, and she roared as she flew towards the shore to confront the humans.
Unas grabbed one Steel Cable, Ashina and Amber grabbed the other. Together, they pulled hard on the Armor-Piercing Dragonbane Arrow and then swiftly retrieved the precious arrow by pulling back the cables.
The Little Red Dragon landed with a "boom" in front of Unas, nearly unleashing a breath of dragon fire. Fortunately, she still had some sense and managed to stop herself, roaring with sparks flying from her mouth, "How dare you attack me? You despicable scoundrels!"
"We didn't attack you, otherwise you would have two bloody holes in your body by now," Unas said calmly as he pulled on the rope. "I just wanted to stop you from going into the water."
"I've already lured that monster up here, why can't we chase after it?"
"What I saw was the opposite: you almost got lured into the water. The Seven-Headed Lizard didn't even show itself; it just used a little trick to provoke you. If you had actually chased after it, it's hard to say what the consequences would have been."
"I'm not afraid of it underwater either. I've hunted whales in the ocean before, so this little lake is no problem!"
"Can an ordinary whale and Seven-Headed Lizard be compared in strength? I've heard that dragons are the rulers of the sky. Your home turf is in the heavens. Don't go down into the water. This is where Gunsel studies biology. Besides the Seven-Headed Lizard, there are likely other unknown Water Monsters. We can't help you in the deep water. If you get entangled underwater, the consequences are truly unpredictable."
Unas didn't say anything harsh. In fact, he thought that the Little Red Dragon might not be able to come back after going into the water, and might become one of the few dragons in history to drown.
Although Alexstrasza rationally felt that the human Paladin's words made sense, she was still impatient with them and was about to refute them when a clear caw came from the sky. The Thunder Raven, who had gone to the Swamp to report the news, had finally returned.
The raven transformed back into human form before landing, settling steadily on the ground. Unas thought to himself, "This is perfect!" He quickly shook off the troublesome Little Red Dragon and headed towards the Druid.
"Husai brothers, you've worked hard. How's it going?"
"The Knight's men are heading here at top speed, but due to the heavy loads they are carrying, the journey is not peaceful. They have only crossed half of the Swamp and are expected to arrive in several more hours."
The Swamp was also threatened by giant crocodiles and lizards, and the paths in the Forest were difficult to traverse. Unas could imagine their predicament. He turned to the Little Red Dragon, "Lady Red Dragon, I need your help."
For some reason, the Little Red Dragon's anger suddenly subsided by more than half; this human finally had a chance to ask her for help.
In fact, the Little Red Dragon herself did not realize that her opposition to the Paladin stemmed from deep jealousy. Unas always fawned over the Blue Dragon, the two of them getting along famously, leaving her aside, which made the Red Dragon, who already disliked the Paladin, even more resentful.
Now that the Paladin had finally bowed down to her for help, her psychological emptiness was satisfied, and her anger dissipated by more than half.
Unas, observing the situation, knew there was hope, so he quickly said a few nice words, presenting facts and reasoning, plus shameless flattery, and finally got the Little Red Dragon to agree to go and protect Marcus's hundred-man team.
Watching the Red Dragon spread its wings and fly towards the Swamp, Unas wiped away his sweat. Trying to please such a female dragon was no human thing to do. If he could fly long distances, he wouldn't have to be so humble.
He already had a plan for flying in his mind, which is why he maxed out the Wings of Vengeance skill.
The earliest gliders were able to fly for long periods of time using wind power and simple propulsion. The Wings of Vengeance provided a good source of power. As long as you wear a suitable pair of wings, you can first use your skills to fly to a high altitude, then turn off the Light Wings and glide for a distance, and then turn on your skills again to propel yourself up once you reach a certain altitude.
The Light Wings open and close instantly, providing only a momentary burst of power, which is entirely affordable. If this plan succeeds, he could fly in the sky for a long time as long as the wind was right.
However, building a lightweight, sturdy, and practical Hang Glider is not easy. Unas knows nothing about aircraft manufacturing and can only rely on his impressions from what he has seen on television to have the craftsmen build it. He doesn't even know if it will work.
Suddenly, the lake stirred again, pulling Unas back from his flight. Bubbles were rising in the center of the lake, and a snake's head with a single horn suddenly emerged from the water.
This time, without the Warden's order, Nightmoon fired the Armor-Piercing Dragonbane Arrow first. The long arrow arrived in an instant, piercing directly into the upper forehead of the snake's head. Everyone cheered and applauded Nightmoon's incredible accuracy.
Perella's attention wasn't entirely drawn to the snake's head; she raised her Dragon-Slaying Crossbow and fired an arrow at an empty spot on the lake.
With a hiss, the sound of an arrow piercing flesh rang out. Perella's crossbow bolt had also hit its target, a Giant Bat that appeared out of nowhere. A purple figure flashed across the bat and then jumped into the lake with a splash.
The Purple-robed Person!
Unas instantly activated his Light Wings, bent his knees and pushed off with his legs, shooting into the water like a rocket. The lake water was blasted apart by the powerful kinetic energy, splashing up several meters high.
But after diving ten meters into the water, he was plunged into complete darkness. He couldn't even see the bubbles left by the Purple-robed Person, and he couldn't detect any red dots in his Sense Undead. The Lich must have used some method to conceal his presence. There were undercurrents all around, and it seemed that some enemy was closing in.
Having exhausted all other options, he quickly surfaced and flew back to shore, deactivated his Light Wings, and looked around, saying, "Did you all see that just now? A figure disappeared into the water; it was very likely Gunsel."
Most people looked bewildered; things had happened too fast. Their attention was focused on the snake's head that had been shot through, and they couldn't notice the fleeting scene in another corner.
Perella, the one who shot the Giant Bat, nodded and said, "I saw it too, the purple shadow. I saw it clearly as he jumped into the water, but I'm not sure if it was Gunsel."
Unas thought for a moment and said, "Let's put the arrows away first."
The two arrows were quickly pulled back, and the prey on them was dragged ashore. The one-horned snake head turned out to be a giant python Barrel-Thick and almost ten zhang long, while the Giant Bat had an exquisite Saddle, which was obviously someone's mount.
Nightmoon asked, "How did you spot this bat? I didn't sense anything."
The Night Elves all looked at the ranger captain; it was unbelievable that their vision, even in the moonlight, was inferior to that of a Sun Elf.
"The water surface... I've been watching the entire lake's surface. The Purple-robed Person must have cast Silence Magic Circle and Invisibility on himself and his mount, but the wind from the bat's wings created unusual ripples on the lake's surface, ripples that are definitely not the same as those made by fish or Water Monsters."
Everyone looked at Perella with admiration. No one present had such a broad vision and keen observation skills. The High Elf rangers truly lived up to their reputation.
Unfortunately, the Purple-robed Person still managed to escape into the lake, and a strong sense of unease suddenly arose in everyone's hearts. If the Purple-robed Person was indeed Gunsel, what was he trying to do here at this time?
After losing the Giant Fir and a Phylactery, Gunsel was consumed by fear and rage. Living in constant anxiety, he took advantage of the dragon's injury to lead a swarm of Mutant Spiders in a fierce attack on the human army. He also used a pawn he had secretly acquired— the Rot Hide Gnoll of Thule Ravenclaw —in an attempt to attack the enemy at Blue Rock Pass from two sides.
The battle was progressing smoothly, with the human and Dwarf armies almost in complete retreat. Once Thule's army arrived, annihilating the enemy would be a certainty.
But one piece of news after another shattered his dream. First, the magical Arcane Artifacts that set up the Maze Spell was destroyed, and that's when he knew the enemy had breached the Mage Tower.
Fearing the dragon, he dared not return alone, so he hurriedly led his elite hundred Mutant Spiders back, but unfortunately the spider swarm could not fly, which delayed them for a long time.
He lost contact with Shadra halfway through his journey. He was secretly glad that he had retrieved the Phylactery in advance. If the second Phylactery had also fallen into enemy hands, he would have had no choice but to flee or surrender.
He then encountered a swarm of spiders that had been sent to the Canyon on Shadra's orders to kill him, and the two sides immediately began to fight.
The hundred elite warriors he brought with him had not directly come into contact with Shadra, so they were all loyal to him. However, the number of Mutant Spiders that "betrayed" him in the Mage Tower was much greater, and the two sides were evenly matched for a time. Anxious and worried, Gunsel had no choice but to ride his bat mount alone to the Mage Tower to check.
The enemy had guarded the Mage Tower very well, and the aura of a dragon could be felt emanating from inside. He wasn't confident he could retake the Mage Tower on his own, so he had to go and call for reinforcements.
The Giant Spiders were no longer reliable; they could be turned into enemies by Shadra at any moment. However, there was still some power in the Biological Research Institute beneath Fairy Lake, so he rushed there desperately.