by Zhuang Bifan
However, among these three parties, Lin Li was the most worried about the two mysterious Legendary leaders of the Dark Blade because he had no idea what their abilities were. Why did Stephen join the expedition this time? Although Borg was constantly smiling, it was uncertain if he could put the feud between Lin Li and Stephen aside after the alliance was broken.
After shifting his attention back onto the battlefield, Lin Li shook his head when he saw the Dark Blade, for he felt that it would be impossible for them to go all out, just because of the giant scorpions.
Suddenly, Lin Li's pupils constricted a little. Baldela, the blond-haired leader of the Dark Blade, whipped his sword out to fight them. He cut off the pair of giant pliers belonging to the level-19 giant scorpion. He then stabbed the scorpion again to cut it in half. The giant scorpion whose strength was close to Legendary-realm was killed by Baldela's sword.
It seemed as easy as a pie, but Lin Li knew that the shells of the giant scorpions were not just meant for decorative purposes. Coupled with strength that was almost at Legendary-realm, even a Sword Sage might only be able to attack it by finding its weakness. However, Baldela did live up to his strong and powerful image, and managed to destroy it using brute force. There were plenty of Sword Sages who could do that, but it was not that easy to do it so silently.
However, Lin Li knew that Baldela's attack was definitely not as effortless as it seemed. That reminded him of a word he had heard before traveling to the world of Anril: effortless. It did not just express one's strength, but also the mage's comprehension of the nomological power.
The founder of the legendary Dark Blade, the mysterious Legendary bandit, Lansdale, was terrifying enough to send chills down the spines of others even though he was not that outstanding.
As elegant as an ancient, classic aristocrat, the Bandit was naturally poised. Even though he wasn't comparable to the elves, he was definitely not pretentious, and his elegant mannerisms were often impressive. However, behind the elegant man stood a giant scorpion that instantly disintegrated and crumbled like a toy that was assembled at the last minute before it could even do anything to obstruct them.
Lin Li knew that this was not all of their power, but he could tell how strong they were just from this. As for Stephen who Borg had intentionally brought along, Lin Li noticed that just like himself, Stephen had yet to take any action right from the beginning.
He then turned to look at the elves. Although they were also fighting the giant scorpions, there were not too many of the giant scorpions attacking them—only five level-17 or level-18 ones. The elven elder waved his staff, and a light was cast onto a giant scorpion, after which it maniacally began attacking its peers.
Gildor held up a carved longbow, and as the bowstring was pulled slowly, there seemed to be a stream of light surrounding the arrow. With a loud explosive sound, the arrow vanished instantly, while the giant scorpion that was darting towards him began bleeding from its head all of a sudden. An arrow then pierced through its body.
Lin Li stroked his chin and thought to himself that none of his partners were easy to deal with. Although they were of different professions, they were still Legendary figures, after all. Since they could make it on this journey, they were obviously not useless.
The giant scorpions were soon annihilated, and the team continued to advance into the poisonous fog. The deeper they delved, the thicker the fog became, thus hampering their vision even further.
Although the fog was becoming thicker and thicker, the environment was still a background for the strong magical beasts, and to the team, the giant scorpions were just appetizers. As they continued to go deeper, the magical beasts that they met became harder and harder to deal with. They had to contribute more power in order to continue.
Most terrifyingly, the magical beasts that thrived in the poisonous fog were more or less mutated compared to the outside world's versions. The toxins in their attacks were rampant and even more concentrated than the poison around them because of the acc.u.mulation of toxic properties in their bodies. Even the Legendary powerhouses had no choice but to be extremely careful. A misstep would cause them to be in danger.
As more and more powerful magical beasts appeared, Lin Li began to get a clearer idea of his peers' abilities and strengths. Apart from the elves and the Dark Blade, Cheyenne of the Malfa Family was hard to deal with too. The fact that he could work against the Dark Blade which had three Legendary leaders for so many years meant that he was rather capable himself.
After walking for about half a day, they finally saw a decrease in the incline of the slope. Everyone deduced that they were likely to be approaching the bottom of the cliff after some calculation. However, at this juncture, all of the Legendary powerhouses of the team, including Lin Li who seemed to be idling around all the time, appeared to be rather heavy-hearted. They could sense the strong Menace of the Dragon that was much more intense than on top of the cliff.
Wyrms could be considered the strongest magical beasts in Anril, even though they were a lot weaker than the prehistoric dragons. However, a.d.u.l.t wyrms were at least level-20. Coupled with high magical resistance and defensive abilities and the Dragon language magic they also inherited, they were still powerful and strong existences to the humans and the elves.
As the team continued to go deeper, the oppressive pressure of the Menace of the Dragon began to increase, and there were no longer any magical beasts to stop the team from advancing. On both sides of the road, there were more and more tall cliffs, and everyone seemed to have reached a spacious canyon.
All of a sudden, Elder Randy stopped in his tracks and looked up in the sky. Before the rest could look up, the sounds of a wyrm howling filled the air, causing everyone's expression to change.
The roar of the wyrm echoed in the canyon, destroying the peace and silence within it. Next, more erratic and chaotic roars of wyrms began to rise, and the air seemed to be shaking together with the sounds. The poisonous fog seemed to begin spreading too.
Although everyone knew that encountering wyrms was inevitable before they arrived, they obviously could not help but be shaken when it was really time to face the wyrms.
Everyone turned to look up at the sky and began to catch sight of the poisonous fog that made their vision rather blurry. They were greeted with a terrifying sight that brought fear to their souls.
Grim-looking dragons roared from the depths of the canyon, each appearing domineering and daunting. All of their formidable auras combined together were enough to bring about a major change that made the world shudder. The entire huge canyon seemed to be unable to withstand the destructive auras of the dragons as it shook slightly.
At this moment, the spacious canyon seemed to have become cramped and crowded, while the gigantic figures covered the sky and filled the canyon like air fortresses that would crush and destroy everything in their path. They weaved through the canyon and caused all the rocks and boulders to crumble, making sounds that seemed to be a prelude to death and destruction when combined with the roaring of the wyrms.
Chapter 626 - Wild Druid
When faced with the mighty wyrms, even a Legendary powerhouse would feel small and insignificant. At this point, the people standing on the ground could not even be bothered to count the number of dragons that were present, for they were already overwhelmed with fear and terror. Lin Li had dealt with the projected avatar of an Elemental Wyrm before as well as the unparalleled Titan Spirit. However, he could not help but feel on edge now that he was dealing with a flight of wyrms.
It was unlike the Menace of the Dragon of the projected avatar of the Elemental Wyrm and the Mental Blast of the Titan Spirit. It was now just a visual attack that was enough to make people feel weak. In this world, a wyrm was already formidable and terrifying enough, for it was a menacing presence that could destroy heaven and earth. The domineering dozens of dragons were shocking and induced despair in them, making them feel as if they would be destroyed together with the world
.
Could there be a wyrm cave in this canyon!?!
Actually, there was no need for doubts, because the answer was right before them.
The Haiga Mountain Range was termed as the area where life was forbidden. Although everyone knew that the adventure this time came with risks, no one expected to encounter a flight of wyrms. None of them expected to lead themselves to a dragon's cave after following the map.
The wyrms clearly did not plan to give the intruders time to keep calm, because to them, any intruder could only end up being destroyed and ripped into pieces by them.
In no time, the wyrms had already approached the sky above the adventurer team, and it was not until now that the Legendary powerhouses finally recovered from the shock and realized what opponents they were facing. The sky above was almost completely obscured, and there were more than 20 a.d.u.l.t green dragons, all of which exuded a formidable aura that would exist only on the Legendary-level.
The adventurers no longer had the choice to leave or fight, for the flying wyrms did not give them any at all. The leading wyrms opened their bloodied mouths and spat out emerald dragon's breath that contained the power to destroy everything, covering the intruders below with it.
All wyrms had the ability to spit dragon's breath—it was an ability that they were born with. However, out of all the dragon's breaths, the one of the green dragon was not to be resisted. One might be able to resist the hot flames of the red wyrms, or survive the absolute chilly and frozen breaths of the blue wyrms, but no one dared to touch the emerald wyrm's breath.
Facing the almost endless breath of the emerald dragons, the adventurers who had just snapped back to reality had no choice but to dodge in different directions, and the team's formation seemed to have been disintegrated. The dragon's breath in the air would destroy everything in its path, be it a hard and sturdy boulder or a plant that had lived in the poisonous fog for a long time. It would leave nothing behind except a strong and pungent stench.
That was the green dragon's dragon's breath. Apart from being toxic, it could almost eliminate everything because of its corrosiveness. Even the strongest armor couldn't withstand it for a second, and even the body of a Legendary figure would be dissolved into a pool of toxic emerald liquid.
As the endless dragon's breath spread, the adventurers dodged wherever they could. In the blink of an eye, the ground was corroded by the dragon's breath that left holes and marks on the entire ground.
The wyrms covered the ground with dragon's breath, yet discovered that the abominable invaders were still jumping and struggling. The leading wyrm roared loudly, after which the wyrms behind it immediately separated and darted towards the invaders who were running away in different directions.
They decided to fight on. Did they have any alternative? They flew up into the sky and rushed forth. Even though they were tiny in front of the wyrms, they had no other choice. If not for that, even with the Immortal King's treasure or the lost relic at stake, they'd definitely leave already.
When they were outside, Lin Li from the Tower of Dusk was the weakest of the four parties because even the Malfa Family had hundreds of elites above level-15, while Lin Li's side only had three members including his followers. However, after they walked through the path of poisonous mist fog and arrived here in the canyon, Cheyenne seemed to be singled out instead.
Holding the staff tightly in his hand, Cheyenne cast one magic spell after another and withstood the attacks of two a.d.u.l.t green dragons, which were even more difficult than human opponents of the same level. In fact, it might be the toughest battle Cheyenne had ever faced since he'd become a Legendary powerhouse.
When Cheyenne faced the three Legendary figures of the Dark Blade, he still had the fixed defenses in Aminya City to help balance the power. However, he was now facing two Legendary a.d.u.l.t wyrms and only had himself to rely on.
Chanting a spell and wielding a staff, Cheyenne continued casting magic spells, but he could barely protect himself. He pathetically dodged the surging dragon's breath and escaped the attacks the instant that the defensive magic shattered. Despite being a Legendary-mage, it was already difficult for him to maintain his poise. Still, he had no choice but to press on.
Staring at the situation around him, Cheyenne began to feel increasingly miserable. It would be impossible to get some help in a short period of time, because both the elves and the Dark Blade were dealing with wyrms that were twice their power. On the elves' side, four Legendary elves dealt with the onslaught of seven wyrms, while the Dark Blade was the same. Even Lin Li, the young President who'd never worked hard along the way, seemed to be having it tougher than Cheyenne while facing seven wyrms—despite having the help of his Undead creatures.
Cheyenne's heart sank to rock bottom. He let down his guard, and a wyrm brushed past him and slit his magic robe into two pieces. Cheyenne broke out in a cold sweat, and could not be bothered to rely on others. Fully concentrated, he employed all his strength and pathetically struggled as he fought the wyrms.
Just like what Cheyenne had seen, the adventurer team formed by the Legendary powerhouses was divided by the overwhelming dragon's breath, while the wyrms launched maniacal attacks on them, the invaders. None of them could relax at all, and they had no choice but to give it their all. Even Lin Li had to go all out in order to support his teammates and survive the attacks.
They wyrms roared continuously in the valley, and the sounds of the magic spells exploding continuously filled the air, clashing with the destructive dragon's breath. The canyon cliffs on both sides crumbled, while rocks collapsed and eroded, leaving deep black holes.
At this moment, a wyrm roared loudly in the midst of the chaotic battle. Its sound was so crisp and clear that the green dragons had no choice but to pause for a while.
In the battle group where the elves were, the eighth elder Randy had already disappeared, and a large silver wyrm took his spot. As soon as the silver wyrm appeared, it immediately rushed towards the green wyrm and bit it. Its stout dragon tail was strong enough to pull the green dragon away. This silver dragon, which used almost the same fighting methods as the green dragons, used its claws and teeth to battle the seven a.d.u.l.t green dragons.
The roar of the silver dragon immediately caught everyone's attention. Although Lin Li was also in a difficult situation, he did not stop observing the strength of others. Seeing that the elven elder had transformed into a silver dragon, he was rather taken aback too. It was no wonder that he was a descendant of Druids1. His ability was probably on par with the power of his brother, Garrincha.
Under the siege of the green dragons, the silver dragon stood out the most, but it no longer seemed as graceful as the elves usually were. Everything about it was crazy and wild. The claws of the dragon exuded explosive power and made a dull sound when colliding with the green dragons. It crushed everything in its way, and its mouth was dripping with dragon saliva while it made a low-pitched roar and bit the green dragons ferociously. If it weren't for the fact that Lin Li had seen it with his own eyes, it would've been hard to imagine that this violent silver dragon was actually the elegant elven elder.
Although the elves had established the Elven Kingdom in the Emerald Forest right after the Dark Age, they had always been very mysterious. However, some time ago, two high-level elves, Culofen and Gildor, visited Lin Li one after another in order to ask him for the antidote for the poisoned elves. During their visits, Lin Li duped them into telling him various stories of the Elven Kingdom.
Although they were just stories, there was plenty of valuable information in them, and Lin Li's understanding of the mysterious Druids was also derived from their stories.
From the perspective of outsiders, a Druid was a member of the profession unique to the elves, and could be considered a mage of Nature Magic. However, from the stories told by the two high-level elves, Lin Li knew that even Druids were actually very different.
Elder Randy, who had transformed into a silver dragon
, was called the Wild Druid, which meant the strongest warriors among Druids. Their power originated from all the beasts in nature, and they gained power far beyond their own through transformation. When a Wild Druid reached the Legendary-realm, he could become a dragon, the being at the pinnacle of the world's power. I'm afraid the "druid" part is ambiguous so far in the novel, sometimes as if a profession and sometimes as if a family clan. Good news, though: it's explained at last at the end of this chapter.
Chapter 627 - Song of Heart
A shapeshifted wyrm was only similar to a true one in terms of appearance. Its dragon's breath brought about by the dragon blood was also good for defense and withstanding magic attacks, thus allowing it to perform perfectly. It was even said the Druids that shapeshifted into wyrms could use the powerful dragon language magic just like true wyrms.
Shapeshifting into wyrms wasn't the peak of the Wild Druids' power. It was said that after reaching level-22, Wild Druids could still shapeshift into every kind of powerful prehistoric magical beasts in a short period of time. Those beasts were formidable creatures that shared this continent with ancient wyrms and the Titans during prehistoric times.
Even Lin Li wondered what the Wild Druids could shapeshift into after reaching Sanctuary-realm. Could it be ancient wyrms?
Whenever the Druid occupation was mentioned, people usually thought of shapeshifting into bears or wolves as if turning themselves into animals was the Druids' only ability. Before talking to the two high-level elves, Lin Li had thought so too. Actually, there was nothing wrong with such a way of thinking, since shapeshifting wasn't a unique skill only Wild Druids possessed.
Other than Wild Druids, Druids comprised two other branches. One of them was similar to the ones people knew—the Nature Druids that made up the majority of the Druid population. The Druids known as nature mages by people originated from among Nature Druids as they were best at nature magic beside shapeshifting into beasts.
