25: Chapter 25 Rock Armored Earth Dragon

Lin Mo leaped and bounded down the steep cliff face several times before landing steadily on the valley floor.

Yi Xiaoyu followed closely behind. After sliding down in a frantic scramble, she immediately explained in a low voice:

“I won't cause you any trouble. My traits can help you...”

She was afraid Lin Mo would be angry, afraid he would blame her for not following his arrangements.

She hadn't noticed when a single word or look from Lin Mo had started to become so important to her.

By the time she snapped out of it, she already cared immensely.

“Forget it. Just be careful, don't follow too closely, and don't get in my way!”

Without looking back, Lin Mo walked toward the nearby cave.

“Oh...”

Yi Xiaoyu gave a soft response and followed from a distance, maintaining a gap where she could see Lin Mo but wouldn't interfere with him.

The last few Rock Armor Beasts guarding the entrance retreated into the cavern, letting out threatening low growls.

They sensed an aura from this human that was even more terrifying than before.

Lin Mo raised his blade and stepped into the cave.

After walking about ten meters, two smaller Rock Armor Beasts blocked the path. Seeing a human enter the cave, they immediately lunged forward with a roar.

Lin Mo's blade flashed, and he quickly dispatched them.

[Killed Tier 1 Late Stage Vicious Beast: Rock Armor Beast ×2. slaughter value +12]

“Hmm? Wait!”

Lin Mo glanced at the system notification and noticed that the increase in slaughter value seemed wrong.

“What's going on? Shouldn't the slaughter value be 60?”

“System! Come out and explain this!”

Lin Mo would never tolerate such embezzlement of his slaughter value.

He worked hard to earn some slaughter value only to have more than half of it exploited; it was simply unforgivable!

[Ding~ Friendly Reminder: When killing vicious beasts with a cultivation realm lower than the host's, the slaughter value gains will be significantly reduced. The specific reduction ratios are: killing one minor realm lower, gains reduced to 50%; killing two minor realms or one major realm lower, gains reduced to 20%!]

[Detected that the vicious beasts the host just killed were Tier 1 Late Stage Rock Armor Beasts, which are one major realm lower than the host's current cultivation. Gains reduced to 20%!]

Lin Mo raised an eyebrow. He was at Rank Two Stage One, and the Rock Armor Beasts were Tier 1 Late Stage. This could be considered one minor realm lower, or one major realm lower. After all, Rank Two killing Rank One did count as a major realm gap; it just depended on how you calculated it.

“As expected, the system prefers that I challenge stronger opponents!”

Lin Mo smiled, not dwelling on the system's harsh algorithm.

After all, there were extra bonuses for challenging higher ranks, so it was reasonable for there to be penalties for bullying the weak.

Furthermore, Lin Mo himself preferred to challenge stronger enemies.

Because... that was much more interesting!

...

After clearing out these two Rock Armor Beasts that had sought their own deaths, Lin Mo continued deeper into the cave.

The interior was very dark, with glowing moss growing on the rock walls.

The passage sloped downward, becoming more spacious the further he went. The temperature rose noticeably, and the air was thick with the scent of sulfur and a certain fishy sweetness.

Then, Lin Mo saw it.

A creature that made his scalp tingle!

At the deepest part of the cave, on a naturally formed rock platform, a massive creature was lying there, eyes narrowed in a nap.

A Rock-Armored Earth Dragon!

This was a lizard-like vicious beast over eight meters long, its entire body covered in crystalline scale armor!

But it wasn't a lizard; it was a Rock-Armored Earth Dragon with a racial value of rank three peak!

racial value—the minimum realm a vicious beast can reach upon reaching adulthood.

It had a single horn on its forehead, and its nostrils exhaled scorching white steam. Just lying there, it gave Lin Mo an unprecedented sense of crisis!

“I can't beat it! Run!”

The thought of escaping instantly surfaced in Lin Mo's mind.

He had self-awareness; his strength was roughly equivalent to an ordinary late-stage tier two Awakener. At full power, he might be able to contend with a Rank Two Peak vicious beast.

Even with Yi Xiaoyu's support, he most likely couldn't defeat a Rank Three Early-Stage vicious beast.

This was because as realms increased, fighting across ranks became increasingly difficult. From Rank Two to Rank Three, the gap in physical attributes alone could be four or five times; from Rank Three to rank three peak, it was another four or five-fold difference.

In other words, Lin Mo, at Rank Two Stage One, was nearly twenty times weaker in physical attributes than this Rock-Armored Earth Dragon!

With such a massive gap, there was no fight to be had; he wasn't even enough to fill the gaps between this monster's teeth.

Furthermore, the opponent wasn't just an ordinary rank three peak; it was a Rock-Armored Earth Dragon, a vicious beast with 'Dragon' in its name!

In this world, any vicious beast with 'Dragon' in its name was an invincible existence among its peers.

“Damn it! Why would a Rock-Armored Earth Dragon appear in a Rock Armor Beast cave!”

“Is this fucking reasonable?!”

Just as Lin Mo was about to turn and run, he suddenly noticed the Rock-Armored Earth Dragon's tail, which was disproportionate to its body!

For a normal Rock-Armored Earth Dragon, the tail should be longer than the body.

For a Rock-Armored Earth Dragon like this, with a body length of about five meters, the tail should normally reach around six meters.

Yet the tail of the Rock-Armored Earth Dragon before him was only about three meters long...

The proportions were completely abnormal!

Moreover, the Rock-Armored Earth Dragon's massive body was curled into a semi-circle, shielding three dragon eggs. Its protective posture was obvious.

“A Rock-Armored Earth Dragon in its spawning period?!”

Lin Mo's eyes lit up.

No, dragon-type vicious beasts don't lay that many eggs. Usually, it's one egg per clutch, at most two. After all, since these beasts are so powerful, their reproductive capacity is naturally not very high.

Yet this Rock-Armored Earth Dragon actually laid three eggs at once?

“I see!”

“This fellow just mutated! And the mutation isn't completely finished yet!”

Lin Mo looked at the few Rock Armor Beasts surrounding the Rock-Armored Earth Dragon, then at the weirdly proportioned Earth Dragon, and it clicked instantly.

This was clearly a Rock Armor Beast, and likely the leader of this pack!

However, for some unknown reason, this fellow had undergone a mutation.

Furthermore, this mutation was recent, occurring after it had laid its eggs.

That was why it looked like this and why it could produce three dragon eggs at once.

No, perhaps the things inside these eggs aren't Rock-Armored Earth Dragons at all, but Rock Armor Beasts. They might not even count as dragon eggs!

“After a vicious beast lays eggs, its strength goes through a brief period of decline. The only question now is exactly what realm this incompletely mutated Rock Armor Beast is at!”

Lin Mo secretly observed every detail.

Normally, the period of strength decline after spawning lasts from a week to half a month. The duration varies depending on the beast's size; the larger the body, the longer the decline period and the greater the magnitude of the drop.

“This Rock-Armored Earth Dragon is so massive; even before it mutated, it must have been much larger than an ordinary Rock Armor Beast. The drop in strength should be quite significant!”

Lin Mo saw a glimmer of hope.

“But even with a decline in strength, it's still a Rock-Armored Earth Dragon at rank three peak. After the decline, it probably still has the strength of a Rank Three Late-Stage...”

After calculating, Lin Mo found the risk was too great.

He couldn't get a clear read on this Rock-Armored Earth Dragon's background. He didn't know how far its mutation had progressed. If it had just happened, he might still have a chance.

At that moment, the few Rock Armor Beasts below the platform spotted Lin Mo. One of them raised its head and let out a couple of whimpering cries.

The Rock-Armored Earth Dragon seemed to be disturbed and shifted its massive body.

It was this movement that allowed Lin Mo to see a massive, incompletely healed wound on the Earth Dragon's belly!

The wound was deep and looked like it was caused by a combat blade-type weapon. Pale golden blood was still seeping from it.

“It's injured!”

Lin Mo was suddenly overjoyed.

The mutation wasn't finished, it was in its spawning period, and it was wounded!

The debuffs were fully stacked!

[System, can you measure the realm of this Rock-Armored Earth Dragon?]

Lin Mo had no choice but to ask the system for help.

[Ding~ Detected a mutating Rock-Armored Earth Dragon. Current realm: Rank Three Mid-Stage!]

“Only Rank Three Mid-Stage?!”

“There's a chance!”

Lin Mo's eyes lit up as he quickly made a judgment.

“I can take this gamble!”

At that moment, the Rock-Armored Earth Dragon also seemed to sense the sudden surge of killing intent from Lin Mo and snapped its eyelids open.

Its dark golden vertical pupils locked on instantly. A low roar rumbled from its throat, causing the entire cavern to vibrate.

The remaining Rock Armor Beasts emerged from the shadows, blocking the way in front of the Earth Dragon and baring their teeth at Lin Mo.

But with a flick of its tail, the Earth Dragon swept them aside.

It didn't need these pawns for protection.

It slowly stood up, its eight-meter-long body almost reaching the roof of the cave. Every step it took made the ground shake.

Lin Mo took a deep breath.

This thing's combat power doesn't seem to have declined much!

Retreat, or fight?

If he retreated, he could most likely leave safely, but he would miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He might never encounter a dragon-type vicious beast with fully stacked debuffs a second time in his life.

If he fought...

He might die!

But he remembered Yuan Shoucheng's words: on the front lines, those who don't dare to risk their lives will sooner or later die in an even more pathetic place.

“Then... let's gamble once.”

A fighting spirit burned in Lin Mo's eyes.

He looked at Yi Xiaoyu, who was a dozen meters behind him, and roared loudly:

“Yi Xiaoyu! Give me the BUFFS!!”

...