Among the remaining five monsters that now surrounded her, Scaly noticed that not all of them had realized what had happened yet, as one of them was still looking off in the direction of the battle in the distance. In the process of turning around but hadn’t yet realized that one of its companions had already died.
Swish~
Knowing that this was a perfect opportunity and potentially the only other chance she would have to take out another weakened monster before she would have to fight them in a head on battle, Scaly ignored the now dead fire spewing land squid and jumped towards the desert scorpion lord. Slipping past the claw of the greater crab lord that was already on to her before using her claws to swipe through the already injured stinger.
Ptsh~ Crack!
Making full use of a small section where the tough exterior of the stinger had already been partially broken through to finish the job and directly crack off the stinger before the desert scorpion lord even had the time to respond...
Chiiing~
But this didn’t mean it would go down as easily as the fire spewing land squid. Turning around at the last second before using its claws to block Scaly’s own claws-
Whoosh~ BANG!
Before being sent flying backwards from the impact of their claws colliding. The entire situation ultimately placing the desert scorpion lord in a far away. Making it difficult for her to follow up, as the desert scorpion lord didn’t hesitate for a second before escaping. Understanding that it was absolutely no match for Scaly in its now even worse state that could barely be considered alive.
Seeing this, Scaly wanted to give chase and finish it off, but... The greater crab lord that had attempted to grab her with one of its massive claws earlier, had already caught up with her and was now once again trying to use its massive claw to grab her. Giving her little time to worry about the desert scorpion lord, as she dodged to the side before meeting the greater crab lord head on.
Although she didn’t want to see any of the monsters present escaping, there wasn’t much to do with her mana, almost nonexistent after her dragon breath attack.
Possible as it might have been for her to kill the desert scorpion lord with her magic, she had ultimately decided against it as she wanted to have some mana ready for magic in case, she ended up finding herself in a life and death situation later.
After all, she didn’t forget that there were several adventurers and monsters alike present on the chaotic battlefield that far exceeded her in strength... And if she ended up encountering one of them, she wanted to have the ability to escape...
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Cumulating in her now clashing with the greater crab lord one on one while the remaining injured monsters mostly just observed the situation from afar. Cautious about joining the battle due to the injuries they were suffering from.
Crack~ BANG!
[Gained 18.892 Exp]
[*Ding* Reached level 18]
In the end, it was only after she killed the greater crab lord that the rest of the injured monsters finally worked up the courage to join the battle, as Scaly now found herself fighting three monsters that would have been challenging for her to kill even one on one, let alone three at the same time.
The only positive being that her opponents were already grievously injured and exhausted from fighting with the adventurers earlier and couldn’t exert their full strength. Allowing her to slowly wear them down over time by relying on her endurance alone. Strong as these monsters might be and how much weaker she was without relying on her magic, her physical stats as a dragon was by no means weak and easily outclassed most other monsters even if she didn’t specifically focus on improving herself in close quarters combat as much as she did in magic.
Ptsh~!
[Gained 16.782 Exp]
And because of this, after a little over five minutes, the first of the three remaining monsters finally broke. Allowing her to land a killing blow. Leaving only two extremely exhausted monsters to fight an already losing battle.
Rooar~!
Knowing that there was no way for them to win any longer, one of the two, a monster in the shape of a large lion with a rather unique looking tail that resembled the large stinger of the desert scorpion lord, let out a loud roar before rapidly retreating-
Roar!?
An action that caught its companion completely off guard, as it was left to defend against Scaly on its own-
Ptsh~!
[Gained 15.998 Exp]
A fate that didn’t allow it to remain standing for long, as Scaly took full advantage of the opportunity that had been handed to her to cut it down in its bewildered state. Wasting no time as she chased after the escaping lion monster that had managed to create some distance between itself and Scaly by sacrificing its companion.
Swish-!
Bang~
However, contrary to the confidence the lion monster felt after creating such a large distance between itself and Scaly, it suddenly felt something cutting through one of its back legs, causing it to fall and faceplant the ground.
ROOOAR!?
The entire situation was completely unexpected, and the lion monster hadn’t even realized what had happened, as it tried to stand back up and continue its escape. Only to realize that one of its four legs was now missing... And even worse, Scaly, who had been far behind it, had already caught up, as the last thing it saw before darkness claimed it, was the sharp claws of an ethereal-looking dragon that easily cut through its tough exterior.
[Gained 19.076 Exp]
[*Ding* Reached level 19]
One water blade won’t hurt...
Smiling to herself as she silently muttered this to herself in her mind, Scaly satisfied even if she had ended up using some of her limited mana to kill off the escaping lion monster. Not because she had leveled up after killing the other party, but more so because she felt happy that she hadn’t allowed another one of her targets to escape.
In the end. Looking at the overall situation, she felt like her little ambush of the injured monsters had worked out exactly like she wanted. The only slight problem being that the battle had ended longer than she had expected, as close to six minutes had passed by the time she finally finished the battle.
By now, outside of the Archmage locked in a battle to the death with the living dragon amalgamation that she had no way of approaching with her current strength, the adventurers that had been defending the city around the dungeon entrance had almost completely retreated from the dungeon, as they were now centered around a small area around the dungeon entrance the last time she caught a glimpse of the larger battle from afar.
For all she knew, the adventurers might have already completely retreated from the dungeon. Leaving only the Archmage fighting the living dragon amalgamation behind.
Whoosh~
Wasting no time savoring her victory as she thought about this, Scaly quickly ascended back into the sky with a flap of her wings and the assistance of wind magic to accelerate her ascend and make it difficult for someone like the Archmage to notice her rapid ascension into the sky.
Soon enough, using the opportunity high above to survey the state of the battle in the distance... And to her horror, the adventurers were already completely gone, with a majority of the monsters having already left through the dungeon entrance. Leaving behind only a few stragglers that were hardly worth her attention.
If she wanted to continue taking advantage of the situation to hunt for weakened monsters and adventurers, she would have to pass through the dungeon entrance and officially leave the dungeon for the first time.
But... Even though she knew that this was the best course of action, she still hesitated as she stared down at the swirling mass that was the dungeon entrance. Feeling a sense of fear at what she might encounter after leaving the dungeon and wondering if she would ever get the chance to return to the dungeon after she left.
After all, she had no idea what kind of situation she might encounter once she left the dungeon and for all she knew, the dungeon was located inside a large city that would be difficult for her to step inside under normal circumstances.
However, the temptation of easy experience was too hard for her to resist, as after a few seconds of hesitation, she dived down towards the swirling mass that was the dungeon entrance. Following the weaker monsters who had been left behind by the stronger monsters that had already charged out through the dungeon entrance ahead of them.
The odd feeling of moving through something that was liquid, yet not at the same time. Followed by an extremely nauseating feeling that almost made her throw up soon hitting her, as she traveled through the swirling mass that was the dungeon entrance. The entire experience lasting for a grand total of five seconds before she finally found herself on the other side...