Starting with watering the World Tree for otherworldly survival

Page 298

Regardless of the purpose of the Ring of the Dragon, Zhuang Daihua's only thought right now is to become stronger. Her kill count for advancing to adulthood will also require the lives of bronze dragons.

"Miss Zhuang, may I borrow your magical communication terminal? The video you just recorded may very well be crucial for what's to come."

Knowing the nature of metal dragons, killing a bronze dragon might spawn a gold dragon, and killing a gold dragon might spawn even more and more powerful gold dragons.

What's more despicable than villains in online novels is that older and stronger so-called benevolent dragons will actively come to besiege you. Unless you can stand on the moral high ground and prove that the bronze dragons' behavior is indeed extreme.

—Although he wasn't sure if doing this would actually work on Dragon Island, Qin He still wanted to make preparations...including bringing the two cubs along.

Even if the gold dragons refuse to listen to explanations and directly attack and kill the juvenile crystal dragons with bronze dragons, it should be enough to persuade some silver dragons.

If things go smoothly, Qin He wouldn't even need to fight those gold dragons who were entrapping him. He could simply wipe out this bronze dragon team.

"I understand, Mr. Qin. You must protect Xiuxiu too! Well... I'll be going now..."

She left with Qin Lan, but Zhuang Daihua immediately took a detour after leaving Qin He's sight.

Zhuang Daihua strolled through the forest, encountering several other dragons along the way. They were also individual players not part of a team, and seeing that Zhuang Daihua showed no hostility, they kept their distance from the purple dragon.

As for Qin Lan, she relies on her expertise in burrowing to escape underground. If Zhuang Daihua encounters any trouble, she can emerge immediately to provide support.

"Qin Lan... do you want to wipe out all those damned bronze dragons?"

In Zhuang Daihua's eyes, the age-old feuds and grudges between dragon species had nothing to do with her. This group of bronze dragons was simply there to cause trouble.

"Of course! Only Tungsten Dragon would regard these charlatans as role models... I've wanted to beat them up for a long time."

Qin Lan, now a young dragon, possesses the power of an adult on Dragon Secret Island, and it is time for her to make her mark.

"Then let's go kill them, and find those lone bronze dragons near the castle."

After some thought, Zhuang Daihua realized that she could apply the venom of Nidhogg's Bite to enchanted arrows or even steel balls to poison her enemies.

With the Nidhogg's Bite given to her by Qin He, she could completely kill those members of the Bronze Dragonflight who came out of the castle to hunt without anyone noticing!

Holding Nidhogg's Bite, with Qin He's permission, Zhuang Daihua let out a large amount of terrible venom from the tip of the dagger at his will.

Qin He may want to kill all the bronze dragons honorably, but Zhuang Daihua doesn't care about the means.

Just now, Qin He granted Zhuang Daihua and Qin Lan the ability to resist Nidhogg's poison. This means that the two of them can use Nidhogg's Bite to kill the bronze dragons without them even knowing how they died.

Prepare the steel balls soaked in Nidhogg's poison and the enchanted arrows. The remaining poison can also be used appropriately. The bronze dragon tribe in the castle is about to face a great calamity.

……

Previously, Zhuang Daihua had successfully retrieved the black and green dragons that had died inside the castle using the demiplane ring. With these dragon cores, it would be more than enough to raise some adult dragons again.

She and Qin Lan are now determined to succeed or die trying; either they kill a group of bronze dragons, or they are killed by the bronze dragons.

Anyway, Dragon Island is just a game. At worst, I can just go into the demiplane ring at the respawn point. I can eat my way up to adulthood and become a good dragon again.

While they were at it, they also searched the castle and other places, hoping to encounter the gray dragon and the red dragon that had been reborn as a hatchling…

East gate of the castle —

Five bronze dragons left the castle together, intending to swim down the river and hunt down any evil dragons drinking along the way.

Within the Bronze Dragon team, there are still a number of members in their youth. They have just advanced to youth and are in a period of weakness, which is precisely when they need prey.

"Oh?"

A bronze dragon noticed some strange activity in the bushes. Upon parting the bushes, it found a small deep dragon lying there, surrounded by a feast of seafood and exquisite dishes.

In addition, the carcass of a dead adult black dragon attracted the dragon's attention.

"what--!"

Realizing it had been discovered by a group of bronze dragons, the Deep Dragon instinctively tried to flee. But surrounded by the glaring gazes of the bronze dragons, it could only lie there like a mouse.

This deep dragon was naturally caught by Zhuang Daihua, who ordered it to sit here as bait.

Deep Dragon, a dragon species from the Underdark.

It was once thought to be the Purple Dragon that lived underground, but it actually has no relation to the Purple Dragon. The Deep Dragon's strength is also unremarkable.

Unwilling to compete with other dragon species, the Deep Dragon is qualified to enter the Secret Dragon Island.

After glancing at the food beside the Deep Dragon, the Bronze Dragons dispelled their doubts. It seemed this lucky young Deep Dragon had found the hideout of the Black Dragon.

To avoid wasting their prey, some dragons would pile it up in places where it was not easily discovered and hide it.

The risk of doing this is right before the eyes of the Bronze Dragons—the hidden prey can be found and stolen by Deepdragons or other dragon species.

In the outside world, Deep Dragon avoids conflict with other dragons and never fights with its own kind or steals treasure from them.

Therefore, even though it was a chaotic, evil dragon with a tendency towards chromatic dragons, the Bronze Dragon did not immediately show any intention of killing it.

Conversely, the deep dragons' favorite foods are clams, fish, Kotō murlocs, and benthic murlocs. These dragon foods happen to perfectly match the Bronze Dragons' preference for seafood.

"Deep dragon of the Underdark, where did you get these things?"

The bronze dragon in the lead looked at the dazzling seafood feast, and with the task of bringing food back to help the young dragons recover from their weakness, it was indeed a tight schedule and a heavy mission.

It decided to do what it had done at sea before: stab through and sink the pirate ships, and bring home the pirates' ill-gotten gains.

This deep dragon is only in its juvenile stage, yet it has so many adult-sized dragon prey around it. The prey certainly wasn't legitimately hunted, so the bronze dragon can certainly confiscate it.

"My lords, please allow me to explain. I was just passing by... and happened to see other dragons storing their prey nearby."

"I did not mean to steal! As you all know, it is extremely difficult for a dragon species like the Deep Dragon to find prey on Dragon Island."

Shenlong wasn't stupid. Zhuang Daihua and Qin Lan were positioned one in the treetop and the other underground.

If it says even the slightest thing wrong, it will be crushed to death by Zhuang Daihua.

“Our team needs prey to help our young members through their vulnerable period. We’re taking the prey you just stole.”

Having calculated that the young Deep Dragon would not dare to object, the Bronze Dragon explained the reason and then used its broad dragon wings to roll up the seafood delicacies.

Even the remaining black dragon corpse that wasn't used for summoning was carried on the back of another bronze dragon.

"No...no! My lords, please at least leave some for me! I'm just a young dragon; without enough prey, I'll die out there!"

Deep Dragon wasn't joking; its overall strength was basically on par with Black Dragon and White Dragon. In some aspects, it was even inferior to White Dragon.

It's certainly not easy for a dragon species that's naturally shorter than itself to survive on Dragon Island.

"Okay, I'll leave you some."

As the bronze dragon in the lead spoke, it brought down a large plate of shark fin from behind its companion.

After placing the items in front of the Deep Dragon, the Bronze Dragons did not linger and headed back home.

After confirming that the bronze dragons had left, the deep dragon turned around and bowed respectfully towards where Zhuang Daihua was sitting.

"Lord Shiryu! I've done everything you asked. That..."

Zhuang Daihua flicked her dragon tail, and Qin Lan dragged out another black dragon that had been prepared in advance from behind the bushes.

"Not bad, Deep Dragon. From now on, you are my slave. Follow me, and I guarantee you'll advance to adulthood. Do you have that confidence?"

In this world, charisma can directly determine the success or failure of something. The more charismatic a person or being is, the more influential they are on others.

Physical beauty, personal attractiveness, and charisma... these factors that influence others' impressions are all considered part of charm.

A person with enough charisma can even inspire a group of people, or even an entire nation, to die for them, just like a leader or emperor.

Qin He, as the Dragon Emperor, was also blessed with talent. His charisma was enough to make enemies believe him and fall into traps, and to make dragons willingly pledge their loyalty.

Zhuang Daihua's own charm was enough to sway most people with her words. Zilong, on the other hand, was a dragon species characterized by extraordinary charm, and with just a few words, she had completely captured the young Shenlong.

"Yes...yes...!"

There was an undisguised smugness in his tone; up to this point, Shenlong could be said to have had nothing but bad luck. His highest advancement record on Secret Dragon Island was merely passing through adulthood once.

Although it's not about joining a tribe, being able to latch onto the powerful figures like the Purple Dragon and the Iron Dragon isn't bad either.

"But... Lord Purple Dragon, Lord Iron Dragon, there's something I don't understand. Since you two want those bronze dragons to die, why leave them food?"

Zhuang Daihua hadn't told Shenlong that she planned to poison the bronze dragon. She left behind only a pile of poisonous dragon food and a small portion of non-poisonous food, ordering Shenlong to eat only the safe parts.

"It's a secret, all you need to know is... those bronze dragons that are about to bite are about to suffer."

Qin Lan, on the other hand, didn't give Shenlong a friendly look. She clung to the city wall like a cat, trying to see exactly how many bronze dragons inside the castle had ingested the poison.

……

"Huh? So fast."

A robust bronze dragon was somewhat surprised to see the hunting party return so quickly.

"We found this in the bushes."

The hunting party leader explained the source of the food to his members, and the bronze dragons laughed when they heard that the food was "seized" from the deep dragon.

The robust bronze dragon, with its sharp eyes, noticed some of the sawa fish-men among the seafood feast. It couldn't help but feel a surge of appetite—

Adult dragons can recover their health by drinking water at watering spots without eating prey. However, they can still actively enjoy food.

The flesh of the Shahua fish-men is basically equivalent to the high-quality shark meat that bronze dragons love to eat.

In addition, since the Sawa fishmen were a vicious and warlike evil race, the bronze dragons expelled them from the list of humanoids and added them to the menu.

"Bring over the meat of the Shahua fishman. I've never tried this kind of dark, regional flavor before. I'll take advantage of being on Secret Dragon Island to give it a try."

Although they didn't understand why a deep dragon's menu included dishes made with the flesh of the Shahua murlocs, the bronze dragons didn't think much of it.

"Using mushrooms from the Darklands to pair with the meat of the Sawa fish-men? What a strange way to eat it~"

The young bronze dragons feasted, and the mature bronze dragon also devoured the food. As these things flowed into the dragons' stomachs, which were said to be able to digest everything, death followed.

"thump--!"

As the young dragons coughed up black blood from their seven orifices and collapsed dead in the open space of the castle, the entire bronze dragon team was plunged into shock and panic.

It's important to know that, apart from a few highly toxic substances used in dragon lich conversion rituals, any toxins that enter a dragon's stomach are simply digested.

The ridiculous thing is, these bronze dragons actually died from being poisoned by the seafood feast!

Not only the young dragons, but even the middle-aged bronze dragon who had greedily eaten the dishes of the Sakawa fishmen collapsed in full view of everyone.

The same seven orifices bled, and not only that, the poisoned bronze dragons were all corroded in flesh and blood, turning into a dry dragon skin on the spot!

"What happened? How could this be?!"

The bronze dragon squad leader, who had brought back its prey, was completely unsettled. It immediately thought of:

"It's a Deep Dragon! That juvenile Deep Dragon poisoned its food!"

But as soon as it uttered its conclusion, it immediately drew the unanimous gaze of all the other bronze dragons—

Those eyes seemed to say:

"Are you an idiot, Bai Lin? How could a young Deep Dragon possibly poison a mature Bronze Dragon?"

……

I defeated a strong adult dragon, but this time there was no achievement reward for overcoming a stronger opponent.

—The Dragon Kings aren't blind. Aside from Tiamat, who was sleeping contentedly after being caressed by Qin He, the other Dragon Kings were all watching everything that was happening here.

Although they didn't get the achievement reward, Zhuang Daihua and her group found another bronze dragon team outside the east gate, which was also a group of five dragons.

"This time...we'll do it like this."

Adult bronze dragons have scales that are far too tough for a mere enchanted crossbow to penetrate. Besides shooting arrows into their eyes, other methods are needed.

……

On the other side, Qin He and Zhong Liuxiu were heading to the mission location together, and the roar of the Thunder Wolf Dragon could still be faintly heard.

"Qin He... I'm not upset. I just have some regrets. If I could have done better, Sister Red Dragon wouldn't have been..."

Zhong Liuxiu is not just upset about losing a game. She's thinking about the future and starting to worry about what's to come.

In the future, Qin He might not be able to be by her side every moment to handle everything. What if he's not capable enough when it's her turn to stand on her own?

The girl, her cheeks puffed out, was sullen, but she never imagined that she would only suffer such setbacks in a game. In reality, Zhong Liuxiu could easily beat these bronze dragons like dogs.

"Sleeve, it's alright... It's just a temporary concession, we'll win it all back~ If a bronze dragon blocks our way, we'll kill all the bronze dragons that block our way. If a gold dragon is too talkative, we'll slaughter all the talkative gold dragons."

"Dragon Island is just a game. Once the Dragon Coin issue is resolved, the Red Dragon can be resurrected."

Currently, the Dragon Scroll has absolutely no Dragon Coins left that can be used for resurrection. Otherwise, it could at least use the resurrection spell to summon the red dragon that was resurrected in its hatchling state.

"Hmm... um~ I'm not angry anymore!"

Zhong Liuxiu remained in human form, her delicate and lovely porcelain-white horns and plump, glass-colored dragon tail nestled against Qin He's chest.