Badge in Azure Chapter 384

Chapter 384: Rock Dragon (Part 2)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Of course it’s true.” Saleen glanced at Jola. “Even though this Black Metal Grand Swordmaster possessed the lethality of a Silver Grand Swordmaster, he has to ascend systematically if he wants to become a Golden Grand Swordmaster. There are no shortcuts.”
The difficulty of advancing to a Golden Grand Swordmaster was more than that of advancing to a grade-9 sorcerer. Compared to the people learning magic, there were hundreds or even thousands more learning swordsmanship on the mainland. There were many more grade-9 sorcerers than Golden Grand Swordmasters.
“Once you become a Golden Grand Swordmaster, I would have already been a grade-9 sorcerer for a long time.” Saleen secretly thought, “When I give you the sword spirit by then, it will not pose much of a threat to me anymore.” Furthermore, after such a long time, Jola might have abandoned the thought of leaving Saleen.
Jola stood behind Saleen jubilantly, very hopeful of his future. He was clear about how Saleen treated his subordinates. “Besides training, this young mage will help his subordinates refine weapons and seek welfare.” Even though most orthodox mages would do that, Saleen very enthusiastic. After being deeply affected by those unfeeling mages back in the palace, Jola had already subconsciously acknowledged Saleen, and acknowledged his own identity as a follower.
“Aini, do me a favor.” Saleen walked forward slowly. Even though Saleen’s perception had a one-mile range, this island was too big, causing Saleen to feel helpless in his reconnaissance of this island.
Aini sighed in his heart. He did not have a backing like Saleen, it was too difficult for him to recruit sufficiently powerful followers. Aini favored a pugilist like Jola, but he could not bring himself to poach from Saleen’s team. Saleen was a dear friend whom he met in poverty. When a fragile friendship was propagated, it would seem more precious than ever.
The power of a death mage’s perception was slightly stronger than that of an elemental mage. Aini had two ferocious death creatures. Only he could replace Saleen in the investigation of this island.
Aini allowed the flesh spirit to soar into the sky to conduct reconnaissance over a long distance. The five of them then walked across the beach and sat down at a piece of flatland.
Before long, the flesh spirit reported the rough situation of the island. Aini then drew a map on the sandy ground.
“This island has a length of eleven miles and a width of six miles. The southern area is taller while the northern area is lower. There is no discovery of any magic beasts’ lairs, so it is safe…. Wha?!” Aini suddenly shrieked in alarm.
“What is it?”
Aini’s face turned scarlet, then said, “Some magic beasts are discovered.”
“How many of them?”
“Around twenty of them,” Aini replied. That was why his face turned red with embarrassment. Twenty magic beasts was no small number to miss, and Aini still claimed that there were no lairs present.
“Prepare for battle, or we can escape,” Saleen said in one sentence, causing everyone else to burst out in laughter. What Saleen said might be very comical, but it was true. Before these twenty magic beasts got discovered by the flesh spirit, they were definitely adept at concealing themselves. Usually, magic beasts who were good at hiding would prefer executing sneak attacks, and they would not be very powerful. This island was located too near the Frozen Sea, it would be tough for a weak magic beast to survive.
Sika immediately took out her weapon, that massive cudgel, from the Ring of Gifts. Nailisi had spotted the Ring of Gifts on Sika’s finger a long time ago, and felt very sore. She still wielded her dagger and stood in front of Saleen together with Sika.
The breeze on the island was not strong, but it was frosty. Jola took a few steps forward, going past Sika and Nailisi. Aini then decided to summon his Floral Death Creature.
At this moment, the Floral Death Creature was giving off a clear and faint glow. It had a height of more than fifteen meters, as though it was going to evolve already. The leaves on the crown were much denser now. The sagging branches twisted about freely, enveloping Saleen and the rest within. The sagging tree branches had formed a death region. Other than the people Aini wanted to protect, any other creatures would not be able to gain entry or exit.
The Deprivation of Life was not a very powerful death spell, but the duration of sustained damage was protracted. All enemies in the area which was controlled by this Floral Death Creature would receive damage over time.
“All of you, don’t take any action first, allow me to try,” Aini said cautiously. He knew that his offensive ability was inferior to the four of them, but it was more reliable this way. Everyone had a way to escape, if Aini failed, Saleen could use his elemental magic to obstruct the pursuit by the magic beasts. At the same time, Aini wanted to evaluate the progress of his death magic.
“Okay, be careful.” Saleen knew that since more than half of his magic chords were gone, his offensive ability would pale in comparison to that of Aini’s. It would be best to let a death mage make the first move.
The flesh spirit had landed on the ground. Under Aini’s control, it provoked the twenty magic beasts, causing them to sprint towards the beach.
A barrage of thunderous footsteps filled the air, and the ground began trembling as well.
“Damn, they are huge!” Aini immediately altered his combat plan. He began chanting a mantra, and he kept making magic gestures with his hands. In just half a minute, more than forty bone devils had appeared in front of these five people.
A bone devil was a spirit who was of a much higher grade than a skeleton soldier. Some of them were like giant gorillas, with fangs which were more than a foot long. They had a stature which was more imposing than that of a bear.
Saleen had forgotten that he wanted to be a spectator as he took out the silver magic book and got ready to strike anytime. Now that Saleen was wealthier than before, he actually got stingier. He rarely used a disposable item such a scroll anymore. The silver magic book could be used repeatedly, hence boosting the sustainability of a mage on the battlefield.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As the ground vibrated, more than twenty lizards were pursuing the flesh spirit, as they charged towards the beach. Saleen and Aini actually felt more at ease when they saw these four-meter long magic beasts. They recognized these things.
They were rock dragons, a grade-5 magic beast. Even though they were rarely seen, they did not possess a high offensive power. This magic beast could transform into a rock, it had an inborn spell called the Fossilization Spell. Against creatures who were at grade-4 and below, a rock dragon would have sufficient lethality. Against similar grade creatures, rock dragons would usually prefer to secure victory by outnumbering their enemy. Against higher grade creatures, a rock dragon would utilize its shapeshifting ability to conceal itself.
Basically, these magic beasts who were rumored to contain the bloodline of dragons were simply creatures who bullied the weak and feared the strong.
Saleen and Aini glanced at each other. These two young mages possessed substantial knowledge. At the same time, they noticed a gleam of ecstasy in each other’s eyes.
A rock dragon’s defense was astounding, but it did not contain much magic resistance. This was not the reason why they were happy. A rock dragon was fond of swallowing gravel, in order to absorb the weak metallic elements found inside. To uncover a huge population of rock dragons, one would have to go to a location which had metallic mineral veins.
This island could just be a natural opencast mine. A mine which spanned dozens of square miles might be a little tiny. If it was opencast, it would be worthy of being extracted no matter how far the mainland was. A rock dragon did not adore punching holes. Being able to devour opencast metals was the reason for their convergence.
This island should be a mountain which swelled from the seabed, exposing itself above the water surface. Other than the land portion, the water was considered to be gentle. The area available for extraction would be larger. Underwater extraction required the use of magic puppets, which were not cheap. If the metals were precious, then they were still worthwhile for extraction.
Under Aini’s control, those bone devils which blocked everyone’s path charged at the rock dragons. The tiny eyes of a rock dragon were gray in color, with a tinge of bloodshot they looking extremely hideous. Their difference from a lizard was that they did not produce disgusting saliva. Their teeth were just as razor-sharp, and their speed was higher too.
In an instant, clouds of sand from the beach filled the air. As the bone devils and rock dragons slaughtered one another, an earth-shattering noise was produced.
There were twice as many bone devils than the rock dragons. Though similar in size, dozens of bone devils were torn to shreds by the rock dragons in the blink of an eye. Almost no rock dragons were killed. The rock dragons then lunged at Saleen and the rest in a truculent manner. The rock dragons who got past the line of bone devils behaved more tardily. On the claws of a bone devil, there were three kinds of death poisons. They caused the effects of slowing, debility, and confusion.
Two of the rock dragons had too poor a resistance. They changed their direction abruptly and charged east, crashing into a colossal piece of rock. The rock was smashed into smithereens, while they themselves blacked out.
“This is more ferocious than a siege chariot!” Jola had witnessed those large military machines in action before, and these rock dragons could actually smash a rock. If they were used to crash into a city’s gates, would it not just take one hit?
“It’s useless,” Saleen put away his silver magic book, then said to Jola, “A grade-3 mage is able to flip them already. These guys need to be fed with expensive metals, otherwise their outer shells will deteriorate.
“Do they really feed on rocks?” After witnessing Aini knocking dozens of rock dragons over with just a simple spell, Jola believed Saleen’s explanation. Jola remained vigilant. If this magic beast came anywhere near, it would also be potentially lethal to a mage. Even though Jola’s Sword Aura was powerful, Jola could only deal with one rock dragon at a time.
“Of course not. A rock dragon can catch fish and hunt birds. Occasionally, they will capture some larger prey too. Their consumption of rocks is for maintaining the toughness of their external shells. Aini, keep one alive, let Sika give a shot.”
At this point in time, Saleen had peace of mind. A rock dragon might be a nightmare to a swordsman, but it was a weakling against a mage. One death spell from Aini had extirpated more than half of the rock dragons. The remaining five rock dragons then contemplated fleeing, but the damage by the bone devils started taking effect at that moment. The rock dragons could barely maintain their balance as their limbs began quivering.
“Sure.” Aini casted four more gray rays, leaving only one rock dragon alive.
Sika wielded her weapon and walked out of the area protected by the floral death creature, towards the last rock dragon. This four-meter long magic beast was merely a sandbag in Sika’s eyes.
As the last rock dragon noticed Sika approaching, it opened its bloody mouth wide hissing, trying to frighten this seemingly frail human.
As Sika swung her weapon, she mumbled, “Come on little guy, let me kill you with a single hit, and return into the arms of nature.”