Black Nightmare Fang

Li Ziran calmed himself. Although he could sense the Necromantic Network, the problems involved in a surgery went far beyond that.

Understanding the flow of undead energy was only the first step. To ensure that the Corpse Dragon's teeth retained their combat power without tearing the Crocodile Warriors to pieces, he had to find a suitable replacement.

Finding a tooth among countless living creatures that could perfectly fit the Corpse Dragon would require hundreds, perhaps thousands, of experiments.

Surgery itself was an extremely rigorous matter. A mistake in even one small link could cause the entire operation to fail.

But Karen's expression told him that, during those strange few seconds just now, the slave regiment commander had paid an extraordinary price. Now, he needed returns.

Necromancers were one of the most difficult magic professions. Simply making a corpse move was enough to stump ninety-nine percent of living beings.

Necromancers on the Wasteland were few enough to count on one's fingers. Even the Undead Nest business he had once encountered had consisted of only three necromancers, yet it had already been an extraordinary force on the Wasteland.

He had to give the other side a little taste of sweetness now.

But how?

Without complete surgical data to support him, where should he begin?

"Petrification can coat dragon teeth with tartar. Their sharpness will decrease!"

At that moment, Medusa's voice appeared in Li Ziran's mind again. She seemed to be offering him advice.

It was rather laughable.

Could this silly girl actually be helping him?

"What?" Li Ziran asked. Medusa's marvelous ability filled him with awe, yet at this moment, he trusted this girl, who could completely petrify him at any time, even more.

At the very least, she was simple and had no schemes.

"You only need Petrification Ray to dull the dragon's teeth."

"They will not be completely petrified?" Li Ziran asked carefully.

"No. Dragons possess powerful magic resistance. When Medusa's Petrification Ray hits them, it produces a kind of tartar. This tartar can protect dragon teeth while also absorbing debris around them, reducing the teeth's sharpness. If there is no other way, you can try this," Medusa explained.

Li Ziran thought about it. It seemed he really had no other options.

"Li, what are you still hesitating for?" Karen's gloomy voice drifted over like a wandering spirit, giving Li Ziran such a fright that he jumped.

"No, I need to plan it out!" Li Ziran said quickly. Seeing Karen stare at him with those dead-fish eyes, his heart skipped a beat. Could this fellow be invading his thoughts again? If so, then he should know Medusa existed. "I have a way. Medusas, a large number of Medusas!"

"Medusas?" Karen asked in a low voice. "Are you certain? Li, this request is rather excessive!"

"I am certain!" Li Ziran said with great conviction. "It is absolutely necessary. Dragon teeth contain a certain amount of magical residue, and petrification can solidify that residue. Once it remains on the surface of the dragon teeth, their sharpness will naturally decrease. There will be no need at all to search for replacement teeth. It is simple, convenient, and fast!"

As Li Ziran explained the principle, he watched Karen's expression.

He was confused, but he was also thinking.

Clearly, he did not understand what petrification meant for dragon teeth. Then perhaps he could not steal the Medusa girl's memories.

But why could he control him?

Li Ziran was completely in the dark.

The detailed explanation had worked. Karen turned and climbed down the rope, then went to discuss matters with the giant elephant commander.

Li Ziran watched from afar. Xiang Ben, Hogg, and several Dwarf alchemists seemed to be arguing, yet it looked more like a group meeting.

Heh heh!

It seemed this request had struck their bottom line.

Karen pointed at the Corpse Dragon's teeth one moment, then patted his chest the next, as if making a solemn vow. After nearly half an hour of this, the giant elephant commander finally turned and walked into the distance.

When he returned, an elephant unit followed behind him.

Each giant elephant carried a sack over its shoulder. Once they neared the Corpse Dragon, these enormous creatures opened the sacks, revealing delicate female heads, each crowned with oily green little snakes.

So many!

A careful count put them at more than thirty, and all of them were adult Medusas. Judging from their expressions, they seemed to have been completely tamed.

These people truly were formidable.

The instant these Medusas appeared, the One-eyed Frog on his belt trembled violently. Its single eye stared fixedly at one of the Medusas as it cried in Li Ziran's mind, "That is my aunt!"

She was a slender Medusa with very green hair, like water snakes filled with deadly venom. Yet she was covered in bruises, her leaf-woven clothes were tattered, and her expression was despondent.

Li Ziran did not see a slave mark, but given the slave regiment's style, such a thing would not be absent.

The most likely place was her lower abdomen, hidden by leaves. He would even bet that his aunt was probably no longer so pure.

Abuse was sometimes the most common and practical means of taming.

He gently pressed the One-eyed Frog, trying to keep it quiet. That was the only thing he could do.

He could not save these Medusas, nor had he ever considered doing so.

"Calm down. We will talk about it later. Tell me what to do now," Li Ziran asked in his mind. He needed to deal with his own trouble first.

"It is very simple. You only need three Medusas to aim their rays at the tooth."

After a brief exchange, Karen had already brought the Medusas back into the Corpse Dragon's mouth. Such a large number of Medusas caused quite a commotion. Even the Dwarves modifying the stomach ran over to watch the spectacle.

"What a grand gesture!"

"I never thought our regiment had caught so many already. We will definitely get a lot of money this year."

"The commander even lied to me and said the situation was tense. He just loves scaring people."

"Go back and report it to the brothers!"

Though they were far away, their voices still carried over. Li Ziran watched Karen, whose expression was extremely ugly.

Apparently, he had not intended to expose these reserves.

Yet it also told Li Ziran that if he was willing to expose even these, then the dragon tooth modification was extremely important to him.

If they truly botched it, misfortune would surely descend upon them.

Time to work!

He hoped the Goddess of Fortune would bless this petrification surgery and let it go smoothly!

Li Ziran stood up from the gums. The suspicion in his eyes had vanished without a trace, replaced by calm composure.

"Give me three Medusas first, the youngest ones!" Li Ziran was issuing orders outright.

The artillery commander frowned, clearly dissatisfied with Li Ziran's tone, but he still had his men deliver the Medusas to the designated spot on the gums. They then used a special medicine to wake the completely unconscious Medusas.

Li Ziran saw everything.

He could have made even more excessive demands, but there was no need.

"Control these Medusas and have their Petrification Rays target this tooth!" Li Ziran pointed at the tooth beneath his feet and spoke quickly.

The newly awakened Medusas had still been dazed, but after the giant elephants struck them with their trunks, they became obedient. These creatures, who had been thoroughly abused, began awkwardly directing their Petrification Rays onto the tooth as instructed.

The bony dragon tooth began petrifying at a visible speed. In the time it took to blink twice, stone-like spots had already appeared.

It really had turned to stone!

Li Ziran stomped hard with his foot. It rang out with bangs, but his expression quickly changed.

This was bad!

They were not petrifying tartar now. They were completely petrifying the Corpse Dragon's teeth instead. They had obviously used too much force.

This Corpse Dragon's magic resistance was insufficient. It simply could not withstand the Petrification Rays of adult Medusas.

"What is wrong?" Karen asked with concern. "Another problem?" His patience seemed to have reached its limit.

Li Ziran did not hide it and told the truth. "There is a problem. I thought Petrification Ray could petrify the grime on the surface of dragon teeth, lowering their sharpness. But I overestimated the Corpse Dragon's magic resistance. Now all its teeth have turned to stone. The result is not ideal."

Karen stared at Li Ziran, as if examining whether he was lying.

It was more as though he was assessing Li Ziran's ability. His eyes were full of disappointment, yet there was also a tiny glimmer of hope.

"Perhaps we can connect the Corpse Dragon's energy network. Necromantic Power itself can neutralize elemental force. Petrification Ray is ultimately part of the elements as well. With your ability, you can absolutely do this," Karen said quickly.

Li Ziran stared at Karen. This was something he had never considered.

But what Karen said made sense, and it even mixed in some principles of energy studies.

He did not waste time. His spiritual power entered the undead meridians. Following Li Ziran's thoughts, these meridians flowed, and strands of Necromantic Power poured into the tooth.

"I will help!"

Without waiting for permission, Karen directly joined in.

His spiritual power was domineering. Upon entering the undead meridians, it forcefully altered the direction of the Undead Force. In an instant, the Undead Force poured into the tooth like a rushing river.

"Tell me which parts to inject it into!"

At first, Li Ziran guided him, but in the end Karen was entirely in control. All Li Ziran could do was point out one or two places in the tooth where the Undead Force needed to seep through.

No one knew what Li Ziran was doing. Even Li Ziran felt that he himself was superfluous at this moment.

The man before him not only understood undead energy exceptionally well, but was even highly proficient in all kinds of nerves.

The tooth was changing. Spiderweb-like points of light continuously spread toward the tooth's root. Once they spread to the limit, cracks appeared across the completely petrified tooth. Black light burst from the fissures, shining into everyone's eyes like black crystal.

Clatter! Clatter!

Fragments kept falling as the entire tooth underwent a complete transformation.

It changed from its sharpest state into an inky black. Wisps of black smoke curled and coiled around the tooth.

"Black Nightmare Fang! Impossible!"

Among the crowd, a tusk appraiser from the Taigo Clan cried out in astonishment.