Chapter 494: Crimson Dragon
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The journey was a long and arduous one. After approximately an hour, and a few turns, Lin Li spotted ahead of him a glow that seemed like the end of the secret passageway. However, Lin Li did not dash towards it immediately. He felt that it would be too reckless to do that. Indeed, as he moved closer to the end, Lin Li was met with more and more traps that grew increasingly complicated. Hence, it took him more than half an hour to finish the last part of his journey.
When Lin Li reached the end of the passageway, he was really jubilant… until the smell of something hot and pungent rushed up his nostrils. Lin Li saw bright and yellow lava bubbling underneath his feet. He was standing in the tunnel of a spacious underground cave.
This was a world of fire. There was a huge concentration of fire element, and it was as though he had stepped into a natural magical domain filled with flames. The fire element here was so strong that it suppressed the other elements. Lin Li even had difficulty activating his mental strength in that environment.
Wait a minute. This is not a place that the Amethyst Turtles could live in. Could it be that Osric had other magical beasts more suitable than the Amethyst Turtles to act as the energy source for the magic gears? Lin Li could not help but feel that he was in a strange place.
While the lifespan of the Amethyst Turtles was extremely long, they needed a particular environment as well. Being magical beasts with the water attribute, the Amethyst Turtles should be placed in an underground river where they could live for more than 100,000 years. In such an environment that was suffused with fire element, however, Amethyst Turtles would not be able to survive.
It was impossible for Osric to commit such a mistake or fail to capture a Legendary-level Amethyst Turtle. There had to have been a more suitable choice for Osric. However, as Lin Li went through his entire memory bank, he could not think of any magical beast with fire attribute that had a longer life than the Amethyst Turtle.
Among the seven major elements, the fire element was the most vigorous one. Hence, fire attacks were always the strongest among other types of attack at the same level. Their violent nature caused the magical beasts with the fire attribute to have a shorter lifespan as compared to those with the water attribute.
Under most circumstances, magic gears would be used to protect places for a prolonged period of time. Therefore, it was more important for one to find a magical beast that had a long lifespan rather than one that was the most powerful. If not, the magic gears would be wasted with the death of any beast.
What magical beast could it be? Lin Li thought as he flew out of the passageway with the Power of Flight. Lin Li was shocked by Osric’s fortune after he scrutinized the surroundings carefully. The energy source chosen by the High Lord indeed had great powers and a long lifespan.
Osric’s choice was not something normal people would dare to think of. A Crimson Dragon that had its wings penetrated by 18 chains was growling and struggling on a platform at the center of the lava river. It was trapped on a black platform 1,000 meters square in size. From its craftsmanship, Lin Li could tell that the stone platform was made artificially. Despite being only as thin as a human wrist, the chains seemed relatively thick against the thin body of the Crimson Dragon. Although the dragon’s struggle resulted in loud noises from the chains, they showed no signs of loosening up.
Deafening noises also came from the black platform following the dragon’s movements. Although it sounded like the platform could shatter anytime, Lin Li knew that it was not because it was weak. The gears within it were converting the force of the Crimson Dragon into energy.
How did Osric think of letting such a Crimson Dragon become the energy source for his magic gears? While Lin Li was stunned by what he saw, he could not help but gasp at Osric’s wealth again. For the gears to function for a thousand or a million years, the dragon with a great lifespan would be a very good choice. While the dragons had similar lifespan as compared to the Amethyst Turtles, dragons were much more powerful.
Furthermore, there was another advantage to that Crimson Dragon acting as the energy source for the magic gears. It helped to delay intruders who were here to destroy the mechanism. Not to mention, the power of an adult dragon in such an environment was not what an Amethyst Turtle could compare to.
The lava cave was an optimal place for Crimson Dragons to live in. The high concentration of fire element not only acted as an immediate and unlimited source of energy for the dragon to replenish what it lost, but it was also a great help in extending its lifespan. If not for the 18 chains that penetrated its wings, the Crimson Dragon might really love to live in such an environment.
No one knew if Osric’s intention behind the construction of the magic gears was to make use of the Crimson Dragon, or if Osric captured a Crimson Dragon just to build those magic gears. This question was akin to the philosophical debate about whether eggs came before chickens. Lin Li, however, was not interested in mulling over this question. However, since it was a Crimson Dragon used as the source of energy, Lin Li believed that it wouldn’t supply only the magic gears in the wall. He knew that the energy of the dragon was more than sufficient to support an entire underground palace filled with magic gears.
When he thought of that, Lin Li was stunned. He realized that although he had met many Undead creatures on his way, their abilities were way too lousy to be the guards of the palace. This meant that it was not only possible that the palace would be filled with magic gears, but rather that it had to be so.
Lin Li was secretly glad that he actually used the Warlock’s Eyes to survey the place before he laid his hands on those treasures. If not, he would have activated those magic gears unknowingly. He felt that it was really insidious for Osric to use the unpopular magic gears to defend the underground palace. If it were other people, they wouldn’t have thought of the magic gears. Even if they did, who would have the confidence to deactivate them? After all, there was still a Crimson Dragon that acted as their energy source.
In fact, Lin Li knew that he had made a mistake. He did not expect Osric to use magic gears in that underground palace. Although he was at the Master-level when it came to magic gears, it was such an unfamiliar and unpopular study that he had no confidence in finding anyone in Anril who was proficient in it.
The current situation exceeded Lin Li’s expectation. He did not expect to see a Crimson Dragon. Being the direct descendant of the four Dragon Aspects, the Crimson Dragon was born with a fire attribute, and had an ability above level-21. This would make deactivating the mechanism really challenging if Lin Li wanted to deal with it starting from the energy source.
“Oh, it’s the Crimson Dragon. I’m really fearful of your luck. We have met a Retribution Knight outside, and now, it’s a pure-blooded Crimson Dragon.” Connoris’ snicker sounded in Lin Li’s mind. He had always been jealous of Lin Li’s luck. After all, Connoris had experienced a terrible time in the past. The comparison between himself and Lin Li made him really frustrated.
Should I retreat? If I chose not to deal with this Crimson Dragon, I would be wasting the time I’ve spent dealing with all the magic gears outside! Lin Li thought as he dispersed the glowing Solar Spheres. He took out his magic staff from the Ring of Endless Storm, and flew towards the Crimson Dragon.
“Hey, what are you trying to do? That is an adult dragon! Are you out of your mind?” Connoris shrieked on the sight of Lin Li’s apparent intention to challenge the Crimson Dragon. He was shocked. How would he be able to get a new body when Lin Li always risked his life for such matters? “I say, please do not dig your own grave! Why would you want to provoke that dude? I’m pitiful enough to be trapped like a coolie here!”Read more chapter on ReadNovelFull
While the Crimson Dragon might not be stronger than the Lin Li in Tharlen, Connoris had no confidence that Lin Li could battle the Crimson Dragon himself. After all, they were out in the Endless Abyss. Connoris could not make use of the laws of the Abyss and his ancient demonic runes to help Lin Li anymore.
However, Lin Li had set his mind on the matter, ignoring Connoris’s warnings. He waved his magic staff as he flew to give himself an Elemental Protection. Colorful Solar Spheres revolved around his body like lively pixies.
Lin Li did not choose to challenge the Crimson Dragon because he thought it was a pushover. It was not that he was a lunatic, either. While the solving of the magic gears took the trap master some time, it was not a bit dangerous, and he gained nothing out of it.
While it was indeed dangerous for him to challenge the Crimson Dragon, there were also massive potential benefits that enticed Lin Li. The first would be combat experience. Although Lin Li had managed to enter the Legendary-realm, compared to the old-timers like Sendros and Andoine, he was lacking a lot of battling experience. It was too difficult for him to meet suitable opponents or find the old men to practice with him. Hence, the exchange with the Crimson Dragon would be a rare opportunity for Lin Li.
Another reason was less honorable. To Lin Li, the Crimson Dragon was not only a dragon, but also a living treasury from its head to its tail, and from its skin to its bones. Although the Crimson Dragon was more powerful than the Amethyst Turtle, its value was not to be belittled. How could Lin Li give up easily?
Suddenly, the struggling and growling Crimson Dragon fell silent. There was a hint of seriousness reflected in his eyes. It knew that a mage in the Legendary-realm was not an insignificant human. Despite being a proud dragon, it dared not be reckless in front of a Legendary-mage. In the past, Legendary powerhouses treated killing dragons as an honorable deed to be recorded in their life stories. People who were less able would approach the dragons with impure blood. It was akin to how the Immortal King headed for the Dragon of Destruction directly.
The Crimson Dragon could feel that the human who had just flown out of the precipice was an incredibly strong Legendary-mage. Although the scent emitted by that human was less powerful than himself, he knew very well that human beings were the most cunning creatures on earth.
“Are you not going to negotiate with him? It doesn’t look like he hopes to fight with you. Who knows, you might convince him!” Connoris persuaded Lin Li enthusiastically, hoping it would help him understand the situation more clearly, and not attract unnecessary trouble.
However, Connoris’s efforts vanished the moment the dragon breathed out a puff of dragon fire.
“Hey, did you see that? He spat saliva at me! I can’t tolerate this!”
Of course, Lin Li was only joking with Connoris. He dodged the Crimson Dragon’s flames with agility, and waved the magic staff in his hands. A spell was cast instantaneously, aiming for the dragon beneath him.
Actually, Lin Li had another advantage. Unlike Lin Li who had the ability to fly freely in the sky, the poor Crimson Dragon was like a malicious hound chained in the garden. He could only let nasty children outside his reach throw pebbles at him helplessly. Of course, this Crimson Dragon was more capable than unfriendly dogs—he could spit!
Hold on… He also had the Flame Domain!
The Crimson Dragon lifted his head to roar. Powerful magical waves spread all over the place as the dragon unleashed its Flame Domain. The flames spread wildly and engulfed the entire underground cave. As the environment itself was already a natural magical domain of fire, the activation of the dragon’s domain only made the scale and impact of his powers even stronger.
The lava around the black platform bubbled vigorously. Hundreds of flying dragons formed with the red lava flapped their wings and flew towards Lin Li. These lava dragons were at least a thousand degrees in Celsius hot!
Lin Li was reminded of when he used Angels of Light and Dark to surround the Lord of Darkness back in the Throne of Darkness, except he was now the one being surrounded. The only thing that comforted him was the fact that these lava dragons were nowhere as beautiful as the Angels of Light and Dark that he had created.
Lin Li held his magic staff and swept it across in a circle in front of him with the magical crystal on the tip of it facing outwards. A dozen lava dragons that had been charging at him were immediately frozen and fell into the lava river by the side. However, the frozen lava dragons did not even completely submerge in the river before they were thawed by the high temperature and flew up again.
In fact, there was no one element in Anril that could absolutely counter another element directly. However, it was normal for the elements of fire and water to have the ability to overwhelm each other. That being said, the surroundings were heavily concentrated with fire element due to the lava river. It helped to raise the powers of the dragon greatly.