allendalepharm Page 322
Page 322
The jackals carried a jumble of weapons they had stolen from the plunderers. But when they saw Qin Lan's beautiful dragon form, the jackals couldn't help but feel an urge to kneel in worship.
At this moment, the gnoll chieftain and another "Iron Dragon" finally appeared on the other side of the canyon.
"Um……?"
Yeno was stunned, for standing opposite its tribe was also an iron dragon! Not only that, but that iron dragon was even more magnificent and beautiful, its iron scales, like works of art, reflecting a chilling light.
With a body over ten meters long, this is a level that few young dragons can achieve.
At least, the "young iron dragon" behind it is only six meters long. Its physical strength is also far inferior to that of Qin Lan.
After the two iron dragons, similar in appearance but vastly different in power, exchanged glances, a mocking smile appeared on Qin Lan's face—
"Hmph... They've actually stooped so low as to be kept as livestock by gnolls? Inferior scum."
Inferior breed.
Most of the world's iron dragons are powerful individuals like Qin Lan, unlike silver dragons, which only reach full combat strength comparable to red dragons after reaching adulthood.
A true Iron Dragon is born on the same starting line as a Red Dragon.
However, there is a group of Iron Dragons whose difference from the original Iron Dragon species is like that between Deep Dragon and Purple Dragon.
While the original Iron Dragons were still locked in fierce battles with the Red Dragons, they were no match for the White Dragons, and had even lost their most important asset: intelligence.
Once captured and driven by goblins, this degraded iron dragon was nailed to the pillar of shame.
Some say this is the inevitable result of the Iron Dragons' decline. But the Iron Dragon clan doesn't believe it; they won't acknowledge those degraded individuals.
Once encountered, the Iron Dragons will not hesitate to exterminate inferior species to avoid disgracing the Iron Dragon name.
Fear arose spontaneously; compared to Qin Lan, the degraded and weak Iron Dragon was shockingly thin.
The white dragon still had a short, thick, and sturdy build, but the degraded iron dragon in front of them was thin and weak.
—Like a deep dragon, weak and powerless.
Even so, the bloodline of the degraded Iron Dragon is still the same as that of the original Iron Dragon. The Deep Dragon, on the other hand, only retains some of the features of the Purple Dragon.
Having obtained the blood of the corrupted Iron Dragon and been blessed to become a half-dragon, Yeno possessed power far greater than that of the corrupted Iron Dragon.
The gnolls still have a fighting chance—as long as Zhuang Daihua doesn't intervene.
On the other side, Qin He smiled knowingly upon seeing this scene. A new, combat-capable familiar had arrived!
[New Familiar]: Subdue the Gnoll tribe as a new familiar (0/1).
Mission reward: 100 War Wolves (absolutely loyal to your side).
[Survival of the fittest]: Defeat the degraded Iron Dragon and capture it (0/1).
Quest Reward: 1 copy of the "Skin Carving Dragon" advanced class training manual.
Zhuang Daihua raised an eyebrow slightly after looking at the reward. One hundred dire wolves were indeed a formidable fighting force, and they could quickly breed a new generation of dire wolves.
Having gnolls and kobolds ride dire wolves when necessary can significantly increase their combat strength.
As for the method of cultivating the skin-carving dragon, it would be of great benefit to Qin Lan.
They hit them!
……
"Roar! You are the inferior one, I am the Iron Dragon, the supreme Iron Dragon!"
Since being brought back by the gnolls in its youth, this iron dragon has been meticulously cared for and enjoys life under the gnolls' reverent gaze.
It's an Iron Dragon, a sub-Iron Dragon as powerful as the Red Dragon, not some inferior breed...
No... absolutely not!
Fire and lightning gradually surged from the furious iron dragon's mouth, a sign that it was about to unleash its breath.
Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse; though it's a degraded iron dragon, it still retains its breath.
It can use both electric spark breath and hypnotic breath with ease.
Spreading its wings, the Iron Dragon pounced on Qin Lan, who was much stronger and more powerful than it.
This offensive move should have been an encouragement to the gnolls. But the gnoll warriors did not advance, for the outcome was obvious.
With a casual swipe of her claw, Qin Lan knocked the degraded iron dragon off its balance. The staggering dragon nearly tumbled to the ground, then was attacked by wings, claws, and bites…
But all of these were resolved; in front of Qin Lan, he was simply being toyed with like a fledgling dragon.
"You despicable bastard, daring to taint the noble bloodline of the Iron Dragon. Gnoll... watch out, lest I have the chance to skin you alive and tear your bones apart!"
The jackals had already lost all will to fight. But Qin Lan's angry declaration of slaughter once again stirred their already tense nerves.
Iron dragons are inherently a compassionate and neutral species among sub-Iron dragons. Although they consider inferior Iron dragons a huge stain on their bloodline, they believe that the struggles between Iron dragons are none of the concern of outsiders.
If a degraded Iron Dragon is captured and used as a means to obtain dragon blood, even a purebred Iron Dragon would not stand idly by.
She was about to snatch the degraded iron dragon from the gnolls.
Yes, Yeno extracted the dragon blood from the Iron Dragon, elevating himself to a half-dragon gnoll. He even gained the same electric spark breath and hypnotic breath.
The Iron Dragon's superior physical attributes, innate abilities, and immunity, combined with the gnoll's inherent strength and the enhancements gained from being a half-dragon...
It will not lose to Qin Lan.
"Charge! Whoever captures this iron dragon will be given priority to be granted dragon blood and dragon veins!"
The allure of the dragon vein goes without saying; Yeno's strength increased dramatically after acquiring dragon blood.
Gnolls in their half-dragon form are even stronger than some dragonborn.
However, most of the jackals chose to attack Zhuang Daihua first. Only the impatient minor characters fell into the trap and became cannon fodder in the entanglement between Qin Lan and Tie Long.
Although lacking in intelligence, the degraded Iron Dragon possesses a savage instinct similar to that of the White Dragon. By surrendering its body to the wildness within its bloodline, the slender Iron Dragon's attacks become ruthless and cunning.
On the other side, Zhuang Daihua waved her staff. The fire elemental aura of the molten embers immediately poured out—a wall of fire spell pushed forward, forcing the already undisciplined gnolls into retreat.
If it were a gnoll leader with resistance, they could pass through this wall of fire.
But the other ordinary gnolls only suffered severe burns.
Then, three fireballs exploded violently in the canyon. The explosions shattered rocks, shook the cliffs, and violently blasted away any gnolls within the blast radius.
Yeno knew that now was the time for it to make a decision. If the gnoll chieftain surrendered, the real iron dragon might kill the degraded iron dragon first, and then kill itself to obtain dragon blood.
At the very least, we must stop the mage from continuing to cast spells! Zhuang Daihua's simple triple fireball already possessed the terrifying destructive power to blast the jackals away.
If she continues casting her spell, even if the swarming gnoll warriors manage to attack her, the tribe will still suffer heavy casualties in the end…
It can win! As a half-dragon jackal, it was even confident of fighting Qin Lan.
"Everyone come out."
Zhuang Daihua flicked her sleeve, and something suddenly flickered at her fingertips.
Immediately afterwards, a group of fully armed kobold warriors filed out of the demiplane ring!
Summoning a horde of kobold warriors out of thin air—what kind of spell is this? Even spells that summon monsters couldn't possibly produce so many at once…
A rough estimate suggests there are at least a hundred of these kobolds. And... they're all carrying strange weapons of a uniform style.
Before coming to the other world, Zhuang Daihua also spent the gold bars that Heraheim had conjured up as her own wealth.
Considering the need to arm her own army, Zhuang Daihua made no hesitation in this regard.
The dog-headed people are now uniformly equipped with titanium alloy spears, police riot shields, and light armor.
Although the riot shield's material wasn't durable enough against the gnolls' brute force, it was still much stronger than their previous door-panel shields.
It's important to understand that most wild tribes in this world don't even have the technology to smelt iron. The city's garrison only wears iron armor, and the iron spears they use are not even as durable as the titanium alloys that are sourced from Earth.
In addition to this, Zhuang Daihua also stockpiled several batches of even higher-quality equipment. Hraheim had solved the sourcing problem for her, ensuring the quality of the equipment she acquired.
In contrast, the gnolls had no decent protection whatsoever. They were either draped in rags or wearing tattered armor salvaged from piles of corpses.
Even their weapons are swords and spears stolen from humans, a motley collection that hardly qualifies as effective combat power.
The kobold warriors, wielding iron spears, formed a line with their shields and advanced. The gnolls tried to charge, but were stopped by the iron spears and could not advance an inch.
The jackals quickly changed tactics, throwing their weapons at the kobolds and their shields.
The result was obvious: the almost rusty knife bounced off the shield immediately upon contact, leaving only a few scratches on the riot shield.
Yeno was now truly anxious; it had never encountered such a predicament before. Seeing that the jackals were unable to break through the lines, it had no choice but to take matters into its own hands.
Possessing the blood of the Iron Dragon, the Gnoll directly activated the dragon veins within his body, allowing glossy iron scales to cover his head and neck.
In an attempt to break through the kobolds' lines with brute force, Yeno also condensed dragon scales on his chest and abdomen in an attempt to defend against these sharp spears.
But Zhuang Daihua leaped out from behind the shield soldiers. Even without her Purple Dragon form, her physical body, enhanced by the Claw of Power and the Iron Dragon attribute, was strong enough.
The Fire Dragon Dagger sliced through the iron scales on the gnoll's chest, while Zhuang Daihua's small leather boots unleashed an astonishing stomp, sending the nearly three-meter-tall gnoll flying backward!
Furthermore, the crossbows equipped with knockback-enchanted steel balls are also ready.
The chieftain, blessed by the dragon vein, was so easily kicked down by a human mage! The other gnolls were terrified and ran away in a panic, but Zhuang Daihua's finger did not hesitate at all when pulling the trigger of her crossbow.
The steel ball that was repelled by the enchantment, combined with the crossbow's own burning and strength enchantments, directly dented and flung the dragon scales on Yeno's chest.
On the other side, Qin Lan ended her toying with the degraded Iron Dragon. Her rapidly swinging tail whipped through the air like an iron whip, directly lashing the degraded Iron Dragon until its flesh and blood were torn apart.
Qin Lan controlled the force of her attacks, and she would naturally stop once she had subdued the weak cousin in front of her.
"What, you inferior... you still won't submit? You're unwilling to yield to me and serve me?"
"……May I have your name?"
With her forepaws, which were even stronger than the hind limbs of the degraded iron dragon, Qin Lan easily crushed her opponent's head into the mud.
"My name is... Red Rust."
Subconsciously, this skinny iron dragon had already begun to submit to Qin Lan.
But the battle continued, and Red Rust also used Iron Dragon's Burrowing specialty. As the ground beneath its feet softened completely under the force, it plunged headfirst into the loose soil, breaking free from Qinlan's claws.
"Oh? You've already learned how to fight~ Isn't that smarter than the White Dragon! Follow me, and you'll have the chance to serve the great Dragon Emperor."
On the other side, Yeno actually managed to stand up again despite the suppression of the crossbow.
"Want to keep playing? Hurry up and turn back to 'that form'~"
Qin Lan reminded Zhuang Daihua that it was time to transform into the Purple Dragon and intimidate the entire audience.
Zhuang Daihua also knew that the gnoll chieftain in front of her, as a half-dragon gnoll baptized by the blood of the Iron Dragon, was by no means simple.
To save time, she used her second Purple Dragon Transformation of the day. As the Ring of the Secret Dragon flashed, a long and magnificent violet dragon once again suppressed the raging gnoll.
Upon seeing the girl's current posture, the gnoll's fear immediately soared to its peak!
"What...what kind of dragon is this? It's purple..."
Zhuang Daihua had no interest in explaining the origins of the Purple Dragon to the gnolls; she simply delivered her ultimatum in her native tongue:
"Crawl over here, hyena. Surrender or die! Choose one."
As she spoke, the sharp breath once again coalesced into an energy blade at Zhuang Daihua's claw tip. With a single swing of her claw, she could sever Yeno's dragon-transformed head.
Chapter 388 Kulve Taroth
Qin He knew that this jackal was definitely not ordinary. After tasting the sweetness of being on equal footing with dragons and mutually beneficial, it would be difficult for him to be willing to serve under Zhuang Daihua and Qin Lan.
It knew how to exploit the ignorance of the corrupted iron dragon, obtaining the dragon vein's inheritance from it. The power of the half-dragon still pulsates in the gnoll's veins.
We need to make sure Zhuang Daihua pays more attention to this from now on.
The gnoll tribe was already struggling against a mere juvenile iron dragon. Even if Yeno could win using the half-dragon power enhanced by his dragon veins, the other gnolls would suffer heavy casualties.
Now, Zhuang Daihua has transformed into Zilong. Knowing there was no chance of resistance, Yeno could only lower her head and await her fate.
The purple-scaled dragon, which it had never seen before, spoke up: "Very good, a wise choice."
Upon seeing the appearance of the second young dragon, Red Rust dared not make any further moves. Its mind was consumed with thoughts of how to escape.
Flying, drilling—all the available options are impractical at this distance.
It seems that... the only way out is to bow down to its powerful cousin.
The beautiful girl's true form turned out to be a purple dragon that should have disappeared from the earthly world. This was both good news and bad news for it.
The good news is that the Purple Dragon is a dragon species that prefers to subdue and dominate other dragons through force. The Iron Dragon, as one of the few powerful dragon species that can rival the Purple Dragon, is destined for a fierce battle whenever they meet.
The fact that she can travel with Qin Lan means that her power surpasses Qin Lan's.