Starting with watering the World Tree for otherworldly survival

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Pink Rathalos is usually accompanied by Azure Rathalos, and the same is true for the original species, Red and Green Rathalos. Their average lifespan is 60-80 years.

Even the Silverfire Dragon City Lord that Qin He encountered possessed the strength of a peak Saint. It took considerable effort for them to extend their lifespan to three to five hundred years.

This is actually the main reason why true dragon species look down on these fire dragons, after all, they have a lifespan of at least one or two thousand years.

Perhaps the weaker true dragon species cannot match the strength of Gold Rathian and Silver Rathian.

After all, these two represent the pinnacle of power among the fire dragon species, and are absolutely powerful and rare. But waiting several decades or even hundreds of years to simply outlive them is not a difficult task for the dragons.

Tiamat estimated that the peak seventh-tier Pink Rathian would live to be around eighty years old. In fact, that's quite long for a Pink Rathian.

Compared to these true dragons, fire dragons can make up for some of their shortcomings in spellcasting ability thanks to their rapid flight and special physical body.

As rare species, Gold Rathian and Silver Rathalos not only possess strength almost comparable to Elder Dragons, but their flight abilities are also exceptional.

Perhaps in a one-on-one fight, Mulberry could fight either of them to a draw if she tried her best. But if they sensed something was wrong and tried to leave, Mulberry wouldn't be able to stop them.

If it weren't for the two Golden Rathalos that came looking for trouble running into the greatly enhanced Flame Ling, and being suppressed by the combined forces of the Cyber ​​End Dragon equipped with the Sadewo enhancement kit, they probably wouldn't have been able to escape.

Among the dragon riders of the human realm, the ancient dragon riders who can cause natural disasters due to the energy within their bodies are the rarest. Those who can ride on the back of an ancient dragon are all among the most powerful warriors.

Another option is to become a true dragon, as long as you gain the dragon's approval, even without great strength.

True dragons are generally easier to communicate with than Elder dragons, which is why dragon riders primarily choose true dragons as their partners. Wyverns are the second choice.

An ancient dragon, if displeased, could potentially annihilate a human kingdom. It's the type that prioritizes people over territory; if a dragon rider it approves of dies of old age, there's a good chance the ancient dragon will simply run away.

True dragons are similar, but if you take good care of them, build them a magnificent dragon castle, and prepare the corresponding treasures, then even if you die, the dragon will still live on and protect the country for ten generations.

Of course, if that dragon is a chromatic dragon, it wouldn't be surprising at all if it actively demanded the title of prince, or even directly took over the entire kingdom as its own servant driven by ambition.

"Hmm... Dungeon No. 13, Dragon Abyss Divine Kingdom, there are quite a few ancient dragons living there."

Tiamat suddenly remembered that Qin He had killed the Deviljho that had inexplicably rushed up to the shallow levels of the dungeon. Then, using Zhong Xiling's extremely rare talent, he had forged it into a weapon.

It's quite possible that Qin He's trip to the dungeon will be incredibly fruitful, yielding a considerable amount of weapons and armor, and perhaps even... Zhong Liuxiu can use her magical regeneration abilities to transform the ancient dragons she hunts into mechanical pseudo-dragons.

By then... Qin He will be able to possess a formidable army of ancient dragons.

……

Late at night, on the first floor of the underground city.

Silver Wolf Plains.

"Roar--!!!"

Also at the mid-level of the eighth tier, a ferocious predator was chasing its enemy, flying up from a hidden passage somewhere in the dungeon.

Upon arriving at the first level of the dungeon, the Bazelgeuse flew around, searching for its enemies. Its entire body was covered in exploding scales, which it would occasionally scatter, bringing destruction to the creatures on the ground.

Each thick, exploding scale created a massive explosion upon impact with the ground. Dire wolves, savages, and the ubiquitous herbivorous dragons... even the adventurers were blasted into screams of agony.

Through its exploding glands that secrete bodily fluids, it can grow exploding scales formed from solidified fluid, which it uses to bombard prey on the ground with a wide coverage area.

Previously, a Deviljho suddenly appeared in its territory, hunting everywhere. As one of the top predators in the dungeon, the Bazelgeuse naturally could not allow this gourd-like creature to roam its territory.

There are only so many prey in the dungeon. If it eats them all, what will I eat?

After a fierce battle, the Deviljho found a mysterious passage, and hunger drove it to wander aimlessly.

Finally, having gained the upper hand in its initial battle against the Deviljho, the Bazelgeuse couldn't resist the urge to give it another beating. So it followed it into the wide, secret passage.

After wreaking havoc in the Silver Wolf Plains for some time, the Deviljho was finally encountered and killed by Qin He. If it hadn't been unlucky enough to run into Qin He and his group of powerful individuals, it would have been invincible on the first level of this dungeon.

Now, the Bazelgeuse, which is not much luckier than it, is also wreaking havoc on the first underground level.

Thanks to magic, the dungeon boasts a well-preserved natural ecosystem. Under the moonlight, the Bazelgeuse begins its rampage in the darkness.

Fiery red scales scattered, bringing destruction to life along the way.

"It's a Bazelgeuse! Run!"

The adventurers who accepted the commission to hunt silver wolf pelts for some money never expected to encounter such a ferocious creature on the first floor of the dungeon...

Although it's a flying dragon, the Bazelgeuse's massive body, reaching over twenty meters in length, is still quite imposing. For most adventurers, this creature is absolutely terrifying.

Even though the Bazelgeuse's massive jaws, when it opened, didn't look particularly ferocious—it looked like it was smiling—when its terrifying scales rained down from the sky and exploded beside the adventurers, they never wanted to see the Bazelgeuse again.

Like its nemesis, the Deviljho, the Bazelgeuse is one of the most feared and unwanted enemies for adventurers visiting Dungeon 13.

If you were swallowed by a Deviljho, your bones would be almost completely shattered. They would quickly be corroded beyond repair by its terrifying digestive juices.

Unless a high-level resurrection technique is used to retrieve the souls of the deceased adventurers, the only way to bring back those swallowed by a Deviljho is to scavenge the remains from its digestive fluids using conventional methods.

Using identification spells to categorize all the remnants and then resurrecting specific individuals is quite tedious.

As for the Bazelgeuse, it wasn't much better. Humans were caught off guard and hit by a few of its scales. Being torn to pieces was considered lucky; they might just be pulverized.

Even if the Bazelgeuse goes to eat the bigger prey first, the adventurer who is shredded into a pile of minced meat will inevitably be devoured by all sorts of monsters and scavengers.

In dungeons, if death is certain, adventurers would rather be devoured alive by a giant beast than face hordes of monsters.

If it were scattered here and there inside the bellies of various animals and expelled in different places, then there would be no hope of resurrection.

Furthermore, the Bazelgeuse is incredibly elusive in its habitat, constantly patrolling. Adventurers risk being bombed while mining, and they risk being bombed while dealing with monsters…

Almost whenever Bazelgeuse sees it, it's interested in throwing a few Bazelgeuse scales at it.

Because they fear encountering a situation where they die without a complete corpse, adventurers basically go to the next dungeon, collect the materials needed for the quest, and then immediately return.

Suddenly, several beams of light pierced the air, accurately intercepting the descending Bazelgeuse in mid-air, which caught the attention of the Bazelgeuse.

A snow elf, holding a longbow, caused natural energy to instantly transform into a string of light the moment the arrow of light appeared.

Although the Bazelgeuse in the air has a round appearance, any adventurer who sees its terrifying scales should be deeply wary of its appearance.

The sound of the bow being released again shattered the Bazelgeuse's leisurely gliding attack.

With its wing structure more suited to gliding, the Bazelgeuse cannot perform very sophisticated flight maneuvers, and its flight ability is much worse than that of the Gold and Silver Rathalos.

Spinning in the air, the Bazelgeuse dodged two beam arrows by tilting its body. Even so, several beam arrows still struck its neck and torso precisely, exploding into pure natural energy.

Almost triggering the explosion of scales on her body by Mira's light arrow, she immediately realized that she had been attacked by the snow sprite below. Enraged, the Bazelgeuse swooped down towards her, its body turning crimson hot.

Intense state is an excited state that Bazelgeuse can choose to actively enter.

The incandescence energy accelerates blood flow throughout its body, causing a rapid rise in body temperature. Its outer shell emits a scorching red glow, activating the explosive scales on its body.

During Bazelgeuse's dive, its scales explode the instant they touch the ground, making it extremely dangerous.

In this excited state, the speed at which its glands secrete fluid to form scales also increases.

Even Mira broke out in a cold sweat at the sight of that terrifying dive. With her other hand already gripping her staff, Ice Soul Frost Star prepared to instantly cast an ice-based defensive spell.

Eighth-tier ice magic, Snowstorm Icefall.

The magic array that suddenly appeared immediately created an icefall curtain wall covering an extremely wide area.

The Bazelgeuse didn't hesitate in the face of this defensive magic. Instead, it unleashed even more Bazelgeuse scales, charging head-on at the icefall wall. It was determined to shatter the snow elf's overconfident defense head-on.

Unsurprisingly, Mira is currently only a peak sixth-tier archmage. Even with the amplification from Ice Soul Star, which allows her to use eighth-tier magic, she cannot withstand the fiery dive of the mid-level eighth-tier Blazing Scale Dragon before her.

The violent explosion blasted a huge hole in the icefall's curtain of ice. But after blasting through the ice wall, Bazelgeuse didn't see the Pokémon that should have been behind it.

"?"

Raising its head, the Bazelgeuse peered through the gaping hole in the ice wall. But instead, a human paladin wielding a greatsword appeared atop the ice wall!

It turns out that with the help of the Emerald Fang, Vild helped Freya and Inanna become invisible, and while Mira attracted the attention of the Bazelgeuse, they took the opportunity to hide behind the ice wall and wait for their chance to strike.

Now, Mira was lifted by Vild using a grappling hook to a high place on the ice wall, where they became invisible together. Enhanced by Freya's multiple blessings and aura, Inanna leaped down and delivered a devastating blow to the Bazelgeuse!

Caught off guard, Bazelgeuse was furious. Inanna's Divine Hymn of Grace... was clearly an extremely powerful greatsword. Bazelgeuse had already taken many heavy blows, but this strike sent it staggering backward.

"Roar-!!!"

The Bazelgeuse immediately let out a loud roar, attempting to intimidate the paladin before it. But the four-person team, having anticipated this, wouldn't let Inanna take the risk.

The blessed Inanna successfully withstood the oncoming, deafening dragon roar. The Bazelgeuse wasn't particularly fast, and with the help of her Divine Grace, Inanna was able to inflict effective damage.

She quickly rolled to close the distance, dodging the Bazelgeuse's oncoming bite. Taking advantage of the moment, Inanna slashed down at the Bazelgeuse's neck, then followed up with an upward slash! The Bazelgeuse was quickly knocked back again.

As it rolled close, the Bazelgeuse quickly raised its massive body and slammed it into the ground. The earth-shattering impact was no small matter, and Inanna quickly rolled away to dodge, disappearing behind the Bazelgeuse.

Chapter 231 You dare to touch Qin He?

Inanna reacted quite quickly, dodging the heavy attack from the Bazelgeuse in front of her.

After Bazelgeuse slammed its head down, many of its scales exploded where she had just been standing. Had Inanna continued attacking, she would now be pinned to the ground, relentlessly bombarded and at its mercy.

Realizing its attack had missed, the Bazelgeuse, having stood up, felt a sharp pain coming from the back of its tail.

Inanna took advantage of its rising and launched a sneak attack from behind, slashing down with her sword before the Bazelgeuse could react, and rolled away. However, the Bazelgeuse's vision allowed it to immediately spot Inanna's movement as she flipped and dodged to its other side.

Turning back to confront Inanna, the Bazelgeuse slammed its fist into the ground once more. But Mira intervened from the side, firing several arrows that struck the Bazelgeuse's neck as it turned, preventing its heavy slam from injuring Inanna.

Inanna seized the opportunity, swinging her Divine Hymn and bringing it down heavily on the Bazelgeuse's tail. Clearly enraged by the repeated blows, the Bazelgeuse reared up its powerful neck, attempting to blast Inanna away.

If Inanna were hit by this head-swinging attack, she would be sent flying by the Bazelgeuse's immense impact. At the same time, the Bazelgeuse's scales would shatter upon contact.

The second wave of exploding scales that followed would cause her additional trouble.

Realizing this, Inanna, who had just struck the Bazelgeuse's tail with her sword, immediately rolled over again.

Taking advantage of the opening, it quickly retreated, narrowly avoiding the Bazelgeuse's hammer-like attack. The violent head-shaking strike also revealed the Bazelgeuse's side...

If Inanna falls for the trap and tries to slash at that moment, she will be struck head-on by Bazelgeuse's already prepared tail whip.

Not wanting to make a mistake, Inanna rolled again towards the base of Bazelgeuse's tail to dodge. The second slash enraged Bazelgeuse, which swung its tail once more towards Inanna, who was still unsteady on her feet.

This time, however, Inanna seized the opportunity and struck head-on. The first clash between Divine Grace and Bazelgeuse's tail sweep resulted in a deafening roar, with both sides shaken, and Bazelgeuse's tail was severed.

The shockwave also caused many of the dragon's scales to fall off its tail, creating a violent explosion on the spot.

She couldn't let her guard down; she had just exchanged a powerful tail sweep that left her hands numb. Before she could even launch an attack, Inanna was immediately met with a massive, sweeping tail whip from Bazelgeuse, used to shake off its scales.

Vilder maneuvered throwing knives and continuously hurled darts and other hidden weapons with both hands, but this was not to kill the Bazelgeuse; rather, it was to clear out any Bazelgeuses that might unexpectedly land near Inanna.

Mirana's fairy bow, capable of exploding and spreading natural energy, was simultaneously bombarding the exploding scales atop the Bazelgeuse's head while providing cover fire for Vild's throwing knives and grappling hooks.

The best hiding spot near the Bazelgeuse's body is between its tail and legs. This allows you to dodge its series of tail sweep attacks.

With a fierce tail sweep, Bazelgeuse continuously hurled its scales outwards, while Inanna followed Bazelgeuse's movements forward, trying to shake it off.

Between his legs, there was a place where human adventurers could avoid being attacked.

The Bazelgeuse was well aware of this. So it strode forward, waiting for Inanna to fall behind and expose an opening, which would then be struck by its tail.

But suddenly, Inanna stopped. The Bazelgeuse ran a few steps on its own, only to be struck in the tail by a follow-up slash.

As the Bazelgeuse roared in anger, it also began to panic. The greatsword in that human's hand was indeed powerful… was she planning to cut off its tail?

The pain at the tail end was becoming increasingly intense, making it impossible for Bazelgeuse to ignore the possibility.

Thinking of this, the Bazelgeuse was determined not to let Inanna attack its tail again. So it pushed off the ground with one leg and flapped its wings, charging sideways at Inanna at high speed.

With Vild's throwing knives and Mira's light arrows clearing the area, Inanna lay down with peace of mind. Her full, round breasts, tightly wrapped in a mesh top, overflowed and bulged within the armor on her chest.

Of course, lying down to avoid the side-stepping charge only lasted a moment. Inanna immediately sprang to her feet and found that the Bazelgeuse was already facing her head-on.

Like a cat shaking its head, the Bazelgeuse's seemingly harmless appearance belied the terrifying spray of scales it unleashed. Fortunately, Inanna managed to retreat quickly, and with Vild and Mira intercepting the scales, she escaped being hit.

Its mouth was now gushing with hot fluid from its exploding glands, as if it were about to unleash a powerful breath. Even with its exploding scales beginning to detach and burst forth on their own, Inanna still couldn't confront this monster head-on.

The Bazelgeuse's tail, which had been repeatedly severed earlier, was also covered with dense, exploding scales. The moment its tail was severed, these scales exploded upon impact.

At this distance, neither Mira's explosive light arrow nor Vild's mentally manipulated throwing knife could knock off all the exploding scales on the entire dragon tail.

Even Inanna's other hand, the Page Hammer, which she was ready to unleash at any moment, wouldn't work. The instant Inanna threw the Page Hammer and it struck the severed tail, all the Baku scales on the tail would explode simultaneously.

This means that Inanna's safety must be ensured when the tail is severed. Only Freya can provide her with sufficiently strong protection.

"Freya! Cast a protective spell on me. I'm going to try... to cut off its tail!"

Inanna requested assistance, and Freya, who had been waiting for an opportunity, immediately responded. The pages of the Holy Blessing Tome in her hand turned, and sacred magical symbols instantly gathered, outlining an eighth-tier protective spell—

Eighth-tier Light Magic, Divine Palace Heavenly Might!

Almost the instant the light enveloped Inanna and a magical barrier appeared around her, she immediately leaped forward and struck the dragon's tail. Knowing that this strike required a decisive cut to sever the tail, Inanna had to use all her strength.

She obtained the sword techniques that Youjiu had used from the Divine Grace Hymn—

"Heavenly Ascension God Slash!"

Upon hearing that delicate shout, the scales on the Bazelgeuse's head suddenly lit up. Oh no…

Just as Bazelgeuse had expected, Inanna leaped into the air and slashed down hard at its tail in mid-air! The powerful and sharp strike brought a tearing pain to Bazelgeuse... followed by a feeling of lightness behind its tail.