Observing her opponent as she retreated while attempting to use her water magic to slow down her opponent in the process, Scaly was shocked to discover that the rage bull wasn’t just far tougher than the magic earth cow lord but also had a terrifying healing ability that allowed it to close up the wounds caused by her water blades and continue charging at her like nothing had happened. Leaving her wondering whether to even use her water blades in the first place.
By far, the strength of this rage bull was on a completely different level compared to the magic earth cow lord and was by no means an opponent she could be careless with. Especially with one of her wings injured and flight being difficult with only a single working wing.
The problem was... her water blade could be considered one of her strongest spells, with only dragon breath and maybe lighting magic being stronger, but both required a great deal of mana to use and were difficult to use while retreating.
Although the rage bull was the only monster chasing after her right now, she couldn’t be certain that there wasn’t another monster lurking nearby waiting to ambush her. After all, that was the method she had used herself when finding herself faced with two powerful monsters fighting.
Now, she had become one of the powerful monsters fighting and those weaker monsters around her would undoubtedly jump at the opportunity if they could kill her themselves. Not just for the increase in strength, but also because she had clearly been marked as an enemy by the monsters of the monster horde, something she distinctly felt from the way the monsters all around her moved and acted.
The only reason why they hadn’t directly attacked her being because of the clear strength she had displayed and the monster targeting her.
Not just would she have to find a way to deal with the rage bull, but she would also have to find a way to deal with the monsters that would potentially ambush her at any second.
Troublesome... Without being able to fly, I really won’t be able to get out of this easily...
Narrowing her eyes ever so slightly as she thought this to herself while glancing towards her limp wing, Scaly felt that she might been a bit too greedy. Neglecting to properly observe her surroundings before she had gone down for the kill, a mistake she silently promised herself to not make again in case she had a chance to recover her injured wing and resume her earlier hunting from above.
But first-
Roooar-!
She had to deal with the rage bull barreling towards her while slamming aside or stomping to death any monster that blocked its path.
...
At the same time Scaly found herself being knocked flying by the rage bull after being ambushed, the group of adventurers in charge of ensuring the stability of the barrier guarding Fish Stone City were happily chatting with each other while observing the massive battle outside the city.
After all, different from the senior mage at the S Rank, these adventurers who were mostly made up of A and B Rank adventures didn’t have the strength to launch attacks all the way from the spiral staircase at the core of Fish Stone City, while at the same time also using their mana to strengthen the barrier.
"Everything is going well so far, as long as we manage to hold the city for another few minutes, the senior busy with the baby kraken should finish it off or force it into retreat."
"Yeah, although that baby kraken is powerful, it’s still only a baby kraken. The only reason it can even contest with someone at the S Rank is because of the favorable environment on the third floor."
"Indeed... This ocean environment is practically made for a monster like the baby kraken. Truly a headache to deal with even for an S Rank Adventurer. Getting it to escape is the most likely scenario, as killing it will be impossible without the right equipment."
The topic of their conversation being none other than the baby kraken Scaly had encountered back on the fourth floor of the dungeon, as it had somehow managed to find a way to the third floor of the dungeon and was now locked in a battle with another S Rank Adventurer. The water covered dungeon floor essentially making it close to impossible to kill even for someone far stronger than itself.
Rumble~
"Huh? What was that?"
"Something powerful attacked the barrier!"
"Damn... That drained close to ten percent of my mana in an instant, has to be a powerful monster!"
Just as the three were happily chatting with each other. Already considering the monster stampede dealt with another S Rank Adventurer about to show up, a loud rumbling sound that caused the entire barrier to start shaking and their mana to drain rapidly, caused all of them to turn towards the direction of the sound.
"Hm?"
Not dissimilar from them, the S Rank Adventurer who had been about to launch a spell towards a powerful monster about to attack the barrier, turned his head. Knowing that whatever threat he had originally been about to deal with had to be put on hold, as something was already seriously impacting the barrier.
The massive drain in mana not just impacting the B and A Rank Adventurers, but also himself. In a way, it also served as a form of warning system that allowed him and the rest to instantly realize when a powerful monster attacks the barrier and respond before any serious damage could be done.
A rage bull and... A winged monster of some kind? Draconic in nature, so it should have a dragon bloodline, but... I don’t recognize it... Perhaps a unique evolution?
Analyzing the monsters behind the sudden impact to the barrier, the S Rank Adventurer could not help frowning visibly, as he clearly recognized one of the two monsters, but was completely helpless when it came to the other monster that seemed to be facing off against the rage bull. Only able to guess that it was draconic in nature and should carry the dragon bloodline, as for how close it was to an actual dragon it was, he had no idea.
The reason why he didn’t immediately respond to deal with the two monsters being because the earlier impact on the barrier had been accidental and not an intentional attack from the rage bull. Having been outsmarted by the other monsters that had used some kind of mist that still lingered around the area to confuse it and slip out of range. Showing mastery of water magic and a level of intelligence beyond that of a normal monster, something normal for monster carrying the dragon bloodline and something that made him more interested in this little monster.
After all, different from the rest of the monsters in the monster horde, it was clear that this one didn’t follow the rest, something that was normally only possible when a monster’s intelligence reached a certain threshold. Indicating that this unknown monster’s dragon bloodline should have evolved beyond what was normal.
Given that he had also learnt about a drake on the fourth floor of the dungeon that also managed to resist the pull of the monster horde and now forming monster stampede and had already encountered several other monsters with a dragon bloodline inside this dungeon, it made him seriously reconsider whether this might be a dragon-related dungeon.
If it really turned out to be a dragon-related dungeon, able to consistently produce monsters with a dragon bloodline, the importance of the Howling Caverns Dungeon would be elevated far beyond what it was now and become one of the more important dungeons under the guild.
In a sense, the dungeon stampede that was in the process of forming could be considered a good thing in some way, as it helped unearth the hidden value of this dungeon that had gone unrecognized in the past due to overall low development of the dungeon and little to no exploration beyond the fourth floor of the dungeon having been done-
RUUUUMBLE~! CRAAAACK-!
"Ah!? What in the... HOW DID THE BARRIER BREAK!?"
Just as the S Rank Adventurer found himself momentarily lost in thought about the potential of this relatively remote dungeon, close to twenty percent of his mana was drained in the span of a few seconds before it abruptly stopped followed by the loud cracking sound of the barrier, as it broke apart before he even had time to react to the situation. Everything happening far too fast for him to even pick up the broken pieces and force them together again, as the monsters had seemingly waited for this opportunity. Rushing forth with great momentum, as several powerful monsters that had remained hidden so far revealed themselves by charging straight through the defense line that had been formed around the city. Stomping any adventurer blocking their path to the death in the process.