Copper Dragon
There was a slight tremor within the canyon.
It was like a weak earthquake, not very noticeable, but the tremors were real and emanated from underground at a stable frequency, like a heartbeat, rhythmic and distinct. The remaining Earth Elemental in the canyon seemed to remain motionless, then gathered together after a while, before burrowing underground along the altar, their destination unknown.
Several tens of kilometers from the canyon, on the edge of the Emerald Mountains, lies a dragon's Dragon Lair built into the cliff.
Dragon Nest are mostly located in extremely treacherous locations, forming the Dragon's first line of defense. They are difficult to reach by normal means due to the surrounding cliffs. This is somewhat unrealistic in the tavern stories, where heroes are depicted walking directly to the Dragon Nest. In reality, entering Dragon Nest most often requires climbing cliffs hundreds of meters high, which necessitates a variety of tools. Heavy Armor Warrior are particularly vulnerable here; without the aid of Spellcasting Class's Fly, the ascent can take quite a while.
Geographical factors are only the first problem; there are many traps near the Dragon Nest, including very deadly Spell Trap.
If you're unlucky, you might find that the Dragon Nest is a small Maze guarded by a considerable number of monsters. These are the Dragon's servants, working for them and providing them with food. However, most of the time, only Old Dragon are guarded by monsters; Young Dragon don't yet have the confidence to constantly control their servants.
This is the lair of a Copper Dragon.
The Dragon Lair's lair clearly shows signs of human alteration; the Dragon leveled the rock walls near the mountain peak, turning them into right angles of ninety degrees. It would be very difficult for any flightless creature to climb up. In front of the lair is a large platform, as Dragon need space to take off and land. It's quite difficult for them to take flight simply by flapping their wings; when they hunt, they dive down and then glide in an arc to soar into the sky.
A giant, bronze-colored Dragon lay prostrate inside the lair.
It looked almost identical to the legendary Dragon. The only difference was that its forelimbs were thicker, and its pupils were a pale turquoise color. Dragonkind's physical characteristics are important, as they represent its most ferocious physical attacks. Dragon Breath isn't the most deadly; many Spell can withstand Dragon Breath. Shield blocks are also effective. Experienced high-level Adventurer know that more dangerous than Dragon Breath are the Wing Buffet and the Claw Rake.
This was once a sleeping Dragon, but now it has awakened.
It lay atop a treasure pile nearly half a story high, shimmering with dazzling golden light, its ferocious dragon head gazing towards the canyon. Dragonkind, upon awakening from their slumber, are always incredibly hungry, making them even more aggressive. It extended its long, narrow, crimson tongue, curling up a Metal Ore the size of a washbasin from its side, crunching it down as if it were eating chocolate. Its sharp fangs easily crushed the hard ore; the Copper Dragon devoured a piece in mere seconds, then licked its teeth with its long, narrow tongue, slowly saying, "Which fools have awakened the Spirit of the Earth? Aren't they afraid of incurring the earth's wrath?"
After gnawing off a piece of ore, the Copper Dragon regained some of its energy. It stretched its massive Dragon Wing and emerged from its lair, where a platform tens of meters wide lay before Dragon Nest. Yet, even after stepping out, it still felt the space was too small. Standing atop a steep cliff hundreds of meters high, the Copper Dragon looked down upon the land before it—its territory. Its copper-colored metallic scales shimmered in the sunlight. This ferocious yet elegant creature raised its head, then leaped off the cliff with a sudden burst of speed. After plunging dozens of meters, it flapped its Dragon Wing and soared into the air, instantly reaching a height of over a thousand meters.
An invisible pressure spread out, and the animals that had migrated to the vicinity because the Dragon was asleep fled in panic.
Without even glancing at the pitiful reptiles, it flapped its Dragon Wing and flew towards the plains a hundred kilometers away, where Toughness Clovenhoof Bull lived. They were a variant of the rhinoceros, weighing around three tons, enough for the clefthoof cattle to have a full meal.
A dark Underground World.
Inside a dark red cave, a grotesque creature resembling a ball of flesh slowly opened its eyes.
The walls on all four sides were dark red, seemingly containing some kind of mineral. The awakened creature had numerous eyes; it first opened the enormous single eye in the center of its head, then opened the eyes on the tentacles surrounding its head. Its eye stalks were segmented like earthworms, and its body was about five meters in diameter. No part of its body touched the ground, yet its entire tumor-like head was eerily suspended in the air. Dozens of tentacles were covered with eyeballs, like a dense burst of light, enough to send chills down one's spine.
"The Spirit of the Earth has awakened!"
Its gaping maw was filled with sharp fangs. It swept its cold, merciless gaze around before hovering and flying out of the cave. It had been asleep for over a decade. The newly awakened Beholder felt hungry. It had consumed too much energy for further evolution and mutation, even its original servants had become its prey. But that didn't matter; if it so desired, it could soon Charm even more servants in the Underdark.
An invisible network of perception spread out.
Whether it had advanced to the Beholder Elder or Hive Mother was unknown, but it was certainly a Legendary Beholder that flew out of its lair. Soon, a group of Duergar entered its sensing range. It flew over lightly and silently, without making a sound. A beam of light shot out from the eyeball on one of its tentacles, instantly piercing the head of a Duergar. The remaining Duergar let out terrified screams. Those who tried to escape were instantly killed by the beam, while the rest knelt on the ground, trembling.
The enormous Beholder opened its mouth and swallowed half of a Duergar's corpse. As it chewed, drops of blood and flesh spilled out. Its single central eye coldly glanced at the survivors, and with a flash of Spell light, all the surviving Duergar, their expressions blank, knelt before it with utmost respect, saying, "Master."
His dazed gaze gradually returned, and the mental imprint left by the Charm Spell began to take effect.
The Duergar's eyes cleared, and he respectfully lifted his companion's corpse to serve his new master a meal.
Soren and his party returned along the same route.
The Halfling continued their delighted calculations of the gems. Goria gently tossed her long hair and glanced behind her, her expression seemingly strange. Before leaving, she seemed to have sensed something—an energy fluctuation emanating from the earth. Soren carried Vivian behind them. Suddenly, he seemed to realize something; the hairs on his body stood on end, and his hand unconsciously gripped his Scimitar. At the same time, he looked up at the distant sky. The Halfling shared the same feeling. Aladdin dropped the gems in his hands and instantly drew his short sword.
Goria stiffened for a moment, instinctively casting an Energy Shield before gazing into the distance with furrowed brows.
A ferocious and enormous figure swept through the air like a shadow!
Soren's expression changed slightly, and he said in a deep voice, "Copper Dragon!"
It was a fully grown Copper Dragon, completely unaware of the tiny humans below who had been imbued with Invisibility. Newly awakened and ravenously hungry, its only thought was to seize a fully grown male Clovenhoof Bull and feast on it. The entire group was startled by the Dragon's flight. All creatures within Dragon Fear range were affected, except for the little girl on Soren's back. She tilted her head back, looked at the Dragon in the sky, and murmured, "It looks so majestic!"
Vivian's little head was probably filled with some kind of thought, and a look of longing appeared on her cute little face.
But by then, no one was paying attention to her anymore.
Only after the Dragon had flown past did the others breathe a sigh of relief, and Soren quickened his pace. The Halfling also put away the gems and jogged ahead to catch up with them.
This is a fully grown Dragon.
With a Legendary Challenge Rating, they certainly don't want to encounter such a creature now.
Behind them.
The druid, who was in pursuit, suddenly stopped. He plucked a feather from his tangled hair, then rapidly chanted a spell, instantly transforming into an Eagle. The Eagle soared hundreds of meters into the air, glanced in the direction the Dragon had gone, and then turned and flew off in the other direction. A Adult Copper Dragon slumbering near the Emerald Mountains had awakened. This must be told to Earth Walker; even if Metallic Dragon are relatively benevolent, they are still extremely dangerous.
All Dragonkind are somewhat capricious!
Upon witnessing a Dragon soaring overhead, no one lingered. They traveled through the night and finally returned to their original Elf village the next day. The village remained peaceful; no creature dared to attack the Elf, for doing so would invite retaliation from the Forest Patrol Guard.
Deterring enemies requires more than just overwhelming force; it also requires ruthless methods!
Elf are anything but elegant when it comes to revenge; they are equally ruthless when dealing with enemies of other races. Otherwise, the Ogre, Half-Orc, and Wilderness Monster in the vicinity wouldn't have migrated elsewhere. The Elf Patrol Guard are always stained with blood; their hunts are certainly no fewer than Soren's. Every race has a group of cold-blooded Warrior who, unlike ordinary Commoner, are dedicated to fighting and Slaughter!
Soren and his party finally returned to the Inn, Halfling couldn't wait to start distributing the spoils.
Soren received forty percent, Aladdin received thirty percent, Goria, aside from the initial two Crystal, only received three Elemental Core. Even Vivian received about ten gems. The little girl held up the gems to Soren with a satisfied expression; her small hands couldn't hold so many, but her face wore an adorable, treasure-giving look. Soren simply patted her head gently, letting her put the gems away herself. She then happily stuffed the gems into her exquisitely embroidered, silver-edged Bag of Holding, which was already overflowing with other items.
Once the items were distributed, Soren finally had a chance to see the Legendary Item!
...(To be continued~^~)