Who Rang the Bell?!

What does "the final trial" mean?

Fingel and his group followed Hawkwood down the mountain and onto a path they had never taken before.

However, judging from the various details of this road, and with a bit of the intuition of a seasoned adventurer, they could vaguely sense that this road should be the so-called main road.

Even the monsters along the way are getting stronger.

"That is the ultimate power that everyone who embarks on the Way of the Ancient Dragon yearns for: to transform themselves into a dragon."

Hawkwood raised his sword to deflect an arrow shot by a snake-man, then pointed at the Dragon Man sitting like a statue by the roadside, meditating.

"They used the Dragon Head Stone and Dragon Body Stone to transform themselves into dragons. For ordinary people, being able to do this is already the pinnacle."

Fingel, having repelled the snake-man attacking from the side, asked:

"Then what other unusual things do?"

"That's right, that's what we're going to do now."

Hawkwood crouched low, and with a few quick twists and turns, he flashed behind a giant snake-man, severing its slender ankle with one sword strike, and then piercing its head with another.

The moment the giant snake-man fell, the road suddenly became clear, and blinding sunlight streamed down from the sky ahead, causing people to squint. When they opened their eyes, they could finally see what lay at the end of the road.

That was the road leading to the higher reaches of Archdragon Peak. Sunlight streamed down every step, and standing on those steps were countless snake-men.

Both in terms of numbers and strength, this group of snake-men looked different from the scattered snake-men before; they were clearly several levels stronger.

Even Fingel was amazed by the sheer number of monsters. Compared to them, his pitiful five people were like a few grains of sand in front of a giant wave. No, they should be called four and a half people. The Princess was too weak to be counted as half a person. They couldn't be relied on in battle. They could only hope that she would occasionally pull out some useful rare items.

Their gaze swept past the snake-man Legion, upwards, and into the dazzling light, they saw it.

Cliff?

But upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an altar built on the edge of a cliff!

Hawkwood said with fervent eyes:

"In ancient times, those who sought the power of the ancient dragons had to undergo arduous trials to transform into dragons. But now it is different. The flickering of the First Flame has caused all things to decay. The Twinkling Dragon Stone that dragon seekers once struggled to obtain can now be obtained at the altar by simply passing through the final trial composed of these snake-men!"

With his explanation, people understood what the reward for the so-called final test really was.

That's an upgraded version of the Dragon Head Stone and Dragon Body Stone, the Glorious Dragon Head/Dragon Body Stone!

It can grant people even greater ancient dragon power!

Thinking about it that way, they actually made a good deal, being able to easily obtain Twinkling Dragon Stone.

However, some people have also pointed out the problem.

"Now that the difficulty of passing the trial has decreased, what about the power of the Twinkling Dragon Stone? Has the power we can obtain also decreased?"

Hawkwood shook his head, and people thought he was going to say something negative, but instead he said:

"I don't know, maybe."

"."

Fingel paused for a moment, then turned his gaze to the snake-man Legion, taking a deep breath, because he felt that he might not be able to defeat them with his small force.

Besides the road leading to the altar, which is crowded with snake people, there is actually another road to take.

Those are the steps leading to the highest peak, and on that highest peak...

It's a giant bell!

Serena stared at the bell, her heart pounding. According to Hawkwood, ringing this bell would allow her to meet the Nameless King, or rather, the Sun's Eldest Son.

What kind of feeling will Ornstein's friend give people? I can't wait to find out!

In contrast, she showed no interest in the Twinkling Dragon Stone or anything like that; while the others discussed tactics, her gaze remained fixed on the path leading to the giant bell.

Is it because the snake people have all gathered at the altar that this road seems to have no enemies?

There are still a few giant snake-men patrolling, which is very dangerous.

But I feel like I'm not incapable of getting through it.

While she was lost in thought, Fingel and his men had already devised their tactics and turned back to her, instructing, "Hide here and wait for us to come back."

"Mmm!" Serena nodded obediently.

The tactics that Fingel and his team devised were complex, but they could also be summarized in simple terms, namely—

Head-on confrontation!

They charged toward the group of snake-men!

The moment they approached, the mages of the snake-man Legion unleashed a barrage of fireballs of varying sizes into the sky. These fireballs moved at different speeds, and the rain of fire blocked out almost every possible place to dodge, making it impossible to escape by simply dodging.

However, instead of dodging or defending, the group charged forward relentlessly. Were they about to launch a suicide attack?

"Click-clack—"

Suddenly, the ground cracked open, and a large number of vines as thick as water tanks burst forth, wildly asserting their presence on the ground. The moment they appeared, they grabbed the nearest snake-men and smashed them in all directions, while most of them shot into the sky.

Using these vines as a base, mushrooms taller and larger than an adult suddenly grow out of them. Their surfaces are covered with a hard shell, which can barely hold together even when hit by a fireball. Only after being hit by three or four fireballs in a row will they shatter, but new mushrooms will continue to grow.

The vines, severed by the fireball, fell to the ground, and colorful plants immediately sprouted—some that exploded, some that parasitized, and some that sprayed poison. The moment these vines appeared, they disrupted the first half of the battlefield, creating chaos.

Without a doubt, these were all Aleya's doing.

Despite creating such a spectacular scene, she felt no joy. Instead, she knelt on the ground, silently channeling magic into the plants, a tearful expression on her face.

This was all she had done, even to the point of exhaustion. The magical plants she carried had erupted in large quantities, enough to cause her heartache for several days.

"Well done, Aleya! When we get back, I'll buy you enough seeds to fill ten carriages!"

Fingel praised her and seized this hard-won opportunity to charge into the battlefield with his companions. Although the magical plants were useful, they all depended on Aleya's magic to maintain, and it was clear that she could not sustain them for long.

Faced with these enormous and terrifying plants, the snake people were not without a way to fight back. The snake-man mages concentrated their firepower and fired a volley that could sever several vines. The giant snake people who were originally guarding the altar also rushed over. With their immense strength, each of their axe blows could cut off a vine.

Fortunately, the vines could sprout other plants with different uses after they fell to the ground, otherwise they would have been easily overrun by the monsters.

These plants look impressive, but unfortunately they can't be used as the main force. They can only be used as surprise attacks to disrupt the battlefield, which is completely different from their spectacular appearance.

Meanwhile, Fingel and his group, who were fighting the snake-men, were also unable to cut them down with ease. Every snake-man here had been enhanced, and even Hawkwood could not kill a snake-man with a single sword strike as before.

"Drink!"

Fingel's blade clashed with the snake-man's weapon, shattering it instantly. He intended to press his advantage and disembowel the snake-man with a single strike, but the power in his blade was exhausted before it even hit the snake-man, indicating that even the snake-man's weapon had improved in quality!

The giant snake-man's axe came down from above, and he had no choice but to dodge. However, he then realized that he was surrounded by snake-men and had nowhere to dodge. He had no choice but to raise his twin swords to defend himself.

The force of the impact left his arm numb, and he struggled to push the axe away, only then having time to check on his companions.

Both Matilda and Hawkwood are mired in the battle.

Sure enough, once the number of monsters increased, the trouble was no less than that caused by the boss, and the adventurers in this area lacked the means to deal with large groups.

Matilda unleashed Hell March, and a large number of red phantoms immediately appeared to fight back, which temporarily relieved the pressure. Only then did she realize that the effect of Hell March was useless against Hawkwood.

Tsk, I was actually quite looking forward to summoning the Farron Undead Legion.

Hawkwood showed unprecedented enthusiasm for the altar, and his fighting spirit became much stronger.

But after analyzing the situation, Fingel felt the odds were 50/50, especially if something unexpected happened along the way.

"Aww!"

A dragon's roar resounded through the sky, and a huge shadow descended from the heavens, landing in front of the altar as a flying dragon!

At that moment, Fingel wanted to slap himself for his jinxed words.

The odds of winning, which were originally 50/50, plummeted after the appearance of the Flying Dragon, to probably only 20-30%.

Then, a sturdy, gaunt figure jumped off the dragon; it turned out to be a Dragon Man that could move.

It was wearing only a loincloth, its large, rock-like body exposed, and it carried a large knife as it walked towards the people.

This guy is really strong!

The win rate of 20-30% has been halved again!

Fingel couldn't help but glance back at Hawkwood. Was this the trial he had called "easier"?

I'd need to call up ten more adventurers to have any chance of winning!

The Dragon Man made his move; the dragon behind him spewed flames, and he, standing in front, raised his long sword.

When the flames died down and people peeked out from the hastily constructed defensive shields, they saw the Dragon Man wielding a long sword wreathed in flames, and a burst of fiery sword energy immediately swept away everything in front of him and attacked the crowd!

"So strong?" Fingel felt quite troubled, not expecting the enemy to have combination skills.

Hawkwood did not back down and charged forward to clash with the fiery blade energy. In an instant, the ground shook and the flames dissipated. He had already rushed over and was fighting the Dragon Man.

Fingel wanted to go and help, at least to help distract the dragons from their attacks, but when the snake people surged in again, he realized that Aleya's plants had wilted in the flames and were no longer able to disrupt the battle.

The phantoms brought by the Hell March were rapidly dissipating, and the snake people turned their spears on them. The situation was so urgent that they didn't even have time to drink a sip of potion.

Meanwhile, the dragon behind them was gathering flames again, about to unleash them!

The probability of victory is now infinitely close to zero!

Forget it, I don't want to fight these bastards anymore!

Fingel had already closed his eyes, and the scorching flames seemed to be right in front of him.

"Knock knock."

Suddenly, a loud bell rang out.

The moment the bell rang, the snake people's movements ceased.

He opened his eyes in astonishment, only to find that the bell on the mountaintop had actually been rung!

Hawkwood, who was engaged in a fierce battle with the Dragon Man, also froze.

He stared at the clock with a look of utter disbelief, then frantically searched his body for the Black Separation Crystal.

Who rang the bell?!

Endless clouds and mist surged toward the crowd.