Lesser Earth Dragon

In the middle of Death Valley.

As night approached, Princess Sravati's entourage could be seen following a white-haired man in front of them.

The man strolled casually while carrying a large wooden box on his back. The box had been filled by the man, Cien, with various monster materials that he considered valuable.

Aside from small materials like fangs and organs from the wolves that had been placed inside the box, Cien also asked two members of the Sravati group, Jamie and Legia, to carry the bodies of two wolf monsters.

The two people don't have much injury on their bodies. Both of them just run out of mana which makes them unable to fight when threats come.

However, because their lives had been saved by Cien, they didn't dare to refuse the request of the white-haired man. They pushed themselves to carry the corpses that weighed hundreds of kilos.

Princess Sravati, who walked right behind Cien, still couldn't believe the man in front of her.

Not only was he capable of easily killing dozens of wolf monsters, but his identity as the owner of a shop in Death Valley also puzzled Sravati.

Yes, Sravati knew about Cien because when he started gathering materials from wolf monsters, he asked for assistance from the Sravati group to save time.

Sravati naturally asked about Cien's purpose in collecting those materials, to which the man casually replied that he needed them to create weapons or accessories to sell in his shop.

Then, when Legia asked about the whereabouts of his shop, Cien easily replied,

"In Death Valley."

His answer left the four people stunned. They didn't know whether Cien was joking or not. However, witnessing his seriousness as he sliced open the wolf's belly with a knife, the four of them couldn't refute the man's answer.

Now, Sravati and her group followed Cien towards the mentioned shop.

Sravati still had doubts about the existence of the shop because, no matter how she thought about it, establishing a shop in a place rarely visited by people seemed like a foolish act.

Therefore, despite feeling grateful and obediently following Cien's steps, Sravati and her companions increased their vigilance towards the white-haired man.

Princess Sravati's gaze hardly left Cien's back, or more precisely, the coffin he carried. She carefully observed every move he made while occasionally keeping an eye on her surroundings and the other three companions.

Sravati then glanced at Ian, the middle-aged man who stubbornly carried Opey's lifeless body despite the severe injury on his leg.

Ian refused to burn his comrade's body at the previous location and chose to bring it along. He wanted to take Opey's body to Huntara's land if possible.

Sravati could only look at him with sympathetic eyes, slightly teary-eyed at the thought of her personal guard's sacrifice. If Opey hadn't shielded her earlier, it would be her lifeless body that Ian would be carrying now.

Seeing that corpse, Sravati began to regret her decision to return to Huntara and ignore her parents' orders. However, she had already jumped in and literally already halfway to her kingdom. Sravati couldn't turn back anymore.

Not long after, the orange sky turned dark. The condition of the surrounding forest instantly changed drastically. The atmosphere grew more oppressive, and the cold temperature began to pierce their skin.

Cien took out the newly purchased lamp from Wynteria. He lit the lamp and gazed into the eerie darkness of the distant forest.

Cien frowned; his instincts told him that something dangerous was up ahead. He halted his steps and raised his hand, signaling the four people following him to stop.

"What's wrong, Mr. Cien?" asked Sravati whose body seemed to be trembling ever since the forest had turned pitch black.

"There's something up ahead," Cien replied.

He opened his phone and checked the direction indicated by the app to reach their destination. Cien's brows furrowed even deeper. The direction was correct, but his instinct warned him of a great danger ahead.

Cien sighed wearily and finally decided to take a detour, despite having arrows and a Fire Glove that could protect him. He didn't want to rush into danger so easily.

Cien trusted his instincts that had been honed in Death Valley for ten years.

Sravati and the others didn't understand why Cien suddenly veered in another direction. However, having no knowledge of Death Valley, they could only follow along.

Cien, who was in the lead, extinguished his magic lamp again, making it difficult for the other four to walk.

Ian, who worried about his master, wanted to ask Cien to stop and rest for the day. He felt that walking through Death Valley at night was not a good idea.

But before he could voice his opinion, Legia, who was behind him, suddenly stopped and anxiously looked back.

"There is something behind us..."

Legia warned, causing the others to stop in their tracks. Including Cien, who turned around and followed Legia's gaze.

Although Cien's instincts had been honed for ten years, he was still just a Rank 2 individual in terms of strength.

His senses were far inferior to Legia, who was at Rank 4, so he was late in realizing that the figure he had been worried about was actually following them.

"It seems like he's following us," Cien murmured, immediately lowering the coffin he was carrying.

Cien took out a bow and arrow from the coffin, then began instructing the others to prepare for the approaching figure.

"Who is following us?" asked Princess Sravati, growing more anxious. She raised her magic staff and began focusing her mana at the tip of the staff.

"I don't know. But I know that this one is more dangerous than the wolf leader you faced earlier."

"!!!"

Those who heard it were instantly shocked. Anxiety started to rise within Sravati and her companions.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The heavy footsteps resounded in their ears. The five humans raised their weapons, ready to confront the approaching enemy.

The ground beneath them trembled in sync with the rhythm of the heavy footsteps. Within a minute, the five individuals could see the figure running towards them with a murderous intent.

The figure towering at seven meters tall with sharp fangs and two large legs that sprinted swiftly, along with two small arms on its body.

"What kind of monster is that?!"

"..."

Jamie screamed hysterically upon seeing the creature attacking them. Meanwhile, Cien could only watch with wide-open eyes. As far as he knew, the monster before them was a T-rex.

'Huh? Isn't this a fantasy world? Why is there a prehistoric creature in a place like this?!'

"Roarrrrr!!!"

The T-rex-shaped creature lunged forward quickly. Cien shot an arrow with a Mana Core towards the monster.

The flaming arrow transformed into a bird and soared towards the approaching monster. The monster was instantly engulfed in flames, but a moment later, it effortlessly emerged from the flames.

There were only a few small burn marks on the T-rex's body.

Feeling an incredible heat, the monster grew angrier. It stomped its foot on the ground, creating cracks on the surface that led towards the group of humans.

Cien and the others quickly leaped away to avoid it. However, the T-rex was not about to stay idle. It immediately charged towards Jamie, who had jumped quite far from the others.

Jamie held back the T-rex's head and fangs with his sword. Unfortunately, the monster's strength far exceeded his own, and with one push, Jamie was flung far away, crashing into and toppling six trees.

"Jamie!!"

Legia screamed in dismay, but right now the monster's attention was on her. She couldn't divert her focus at the moment.

Legia swiftly prepared her spear. As the T-rex charged, making a seemingly effortless leap, the woman evaded by leaping away and spun in mid-air, then thrusting her spear directly above the T-rex's head.

Unfortunately, the desired outcome didn't occur. Instead of the spearhead penetrating the monster's skull, the tip of the spear shattered into pieces.

"Goddamnit! How strong is this monster?!"

Legia, now weaponless, landed on the monster's shoulder and then leaped high onto a nearby tree branch.

On the other side, Ian, who could only remain motionless, turned around to where the Princess was.

"Princess! Let's run from here!"

"What?! What about them?"

Ian gritted his teeth and, slightly irritated, replied, "This monster is too strong. Sooner or later, we'll all be done for. It's better if we leave while Legia and Jamie keep the monster busy!"

"Are you insane?! We can't abandon them!"

"Yes, we can! Commander Kataleya ordered them to ensure the Princess's safety!"

Ian reassured his superior, tightening his grip on Sravati's shoulder. Truly, Ian didn't want to lose his life here, in a place where his family wouldn't even remember him.

Not far from them, Cien, who was taking pictures of the T-rex with his phone to gather information about the monster, furrowed his brows upon hearing Ian's words.

'Commander Kataleya...?'

The name Kataleya was not unfamiliar to Cien; upon hearing the name, various questions arose in his mind. However, for now, the monster in front of him was more important than his current inquiries.

Cien observed the data on his phone, which stated that the monster is a Lesser Earth Dragon, a creature with a small amount of dragon blood within it.

Currently, the monster's strength was at Rank 7 Middle-Class.

"Heh, Death Valley never disappoints. Even with just a small amount of blood, a dragon is still a dragon," Cien thought to himself.

He put his phone into his pocket and lowered his bow. The arrows he had wouldn't be enough to kill a Rank 7 monster. Therefore, he only had one option.

Four mana cores on his Fire Glove lit up. Cien focused on the agile Legia, who was busy maneuvering around the Lesser Earth Dragon.

"Hey, you monkey woman! Lead the monster over here!"

Cien commanded, unable to remember the woman's name as she leaped from one tree trunk to another.

Legia instantly became furious upon hearing his words. "Who are you calling a monkey woman?!"

"Quiet! Just lure it over here!"

Cien activated the magic recorded in his Fire Glove. Instantly, a large magic circle appeared in front of him. The magic circle was not as massive as the ones displayed in Wynteria, but its power remained the same, only more concentrated.

Upon seeing the magic circle, Legia, Sravati, and Ian shivered in response. They could sense the extraordinary power that would be unleashed by the magic circle.

Legia used all her strength to quickly leap towards Cien's location. As she passed the white-haired man, she could hear Cien's voice releasing his magic.

"[Ignite]."

Whooosh! BOOOM!