Chapter 57: The Thunder Dragon’s Larder

Eggs!

“Master! What kind of eggs are these?” I quickly asked.

Before us lay a pile of deep purple giant eggs, crackling with electric light.

Each egg was the size of a goose egg; while considerably larger than a chicken egg, they seemed rather small to be dragon eggs.

Su Yingning pulled out one of the eggs and scanned it with her item guide.

[Thunder Dragon Egg: An extremely rare dragon egg, highly prized by various draconic predators for its exceptionally delicious taste. It crackles and pops like Pop Rocks when chewed, offering a particularly invigorating sensation. It is also an essential advancement food for Red Water Dragons, enabling their horns to evolve and manifest lightning abilities.]

[Pregnant Thunder Dragons prefer to hide in caves rich with magic crystals. They use these crystals to incubate their eggs after laying them. However, Thunder Dragons are extremely weak post-laying, making them easy targets for Red Water Dragons to ambush and kill, seizing their nests. The Thunder Dragon eggs, in turn, become reserve snacks for the Red Water Dragons.]

[Consuming a Thunder Dragon Egg temporarily increases lightning resistance. Moreover, its shell is a top-tier crafting material for lightning-resistant equipment.]

Recalling all the previous clues, the truth behind this BOSS battle and the cave instantly surfaced.

The leather I held in my hand was, in all likelihood, either the injured wing of a Red Water Dragon or the remains of a Thunder Dragon that had been slain.

This cave, so vast in scale, had clearly been fashioned into a nest by a Thunder Dragon.

The magic crystals were undoubtedly used to incubate the Thunder Dragon eggs.

The scattered magic crystals on the ground were remnants of a desperate, life-and-death struggle between a Red Water Dragon and a Thunder Dragon, dislodged by their impact against the cave walls.

Furthermore, the reason the Red Water Dragon was named [Injured Wing Red Water Dragon] and couldn’t fly was precisely because it had been wounded in its fight with the Thunder Dragon, leaving it far from its peak condition.

This explained why that purple-named BOSS battle, against a foe 20 levels higher, had been so surprisingly simple; otherwise, a level 30-plus purple-named public world BOSS would effortlessly one-shot players.

This entire area, then, was the Red Water Dragon’s larder.

“Master! Grab the eggs, and let’s retreat quickly!”

Having pieced together the full story, I hastily warned Su Yingning.

She, too, grasped the situation in an instant, swiftly grabbing the Thunder Dragon eggs and tossing them into her backpack one by one.

Since her backpack was a non-collision space, there was no fear of the eggs breaking.

The Thunder Dragon eggs glowed with a faint purple electric light, their shells intricately carved with electro-purple runes that emitted an arcane shimmer.

As Su Yingning picked them up, a weak, tingling current pulsed through her palms, though it wasn’t intense.

Soon, every single Thunder Dragon egg, roughly twenty to thirty of them, was packed into her backpack, not one left behind.

“Magic crystals…” Su Yingning cast a pained glance at the walls adorned with myriad colorful magic crystals.

Fortunately, magic crystals were a special type of ore that didn’t require a high mining level to excavate.

Thus, Su Yingning had already chiseled out all the blue and purple quality crystals.

However, countless green and white quality magic crystals still awaited excavation, representing a considerable fortune.

Yet, there was no time to mine these lower-quality crystals; extracting them all would easily take a dozen hours.

I had already collected the magic crystals scattered on the ground.

With a hint of reluctance, we gazed at the remaining crystal veins, ultimately resolving to leave this perilous place.

Magic crystal ore could be mined anytime, but the Red Water Dragon was due to return imminently.

Even injured, it was beyond our capacity to handle.

With the Thunder Dragon eggs swept clean, the Red Water Dragon would not linger here waiting in vain; it would soon depart, and then it wouldn’t be too late for us to return and mine.

“Run! Master, run!”

I had already detected an abnormal gurgling sound – the unmistakable sign of a colossal creature approaching through the water!

It had to be that Red Water Dragon!

“Roar!”

“Damn it!”

At this moment, Su Yingning and I were still a short distance from the exit passage.

The passage itself was extremely narrow, making movement slow.

If we chose to enter it, we would essentially become lambs to the slaughter.

But we no longer had a choice!

“Run! Master, you go first!” Su Yingning had been moving alongside me, but the passage was so narrow it only allowed one person to proceed sideways at a time; we had to enter single file.

We finally reached the mouth of the passage.

I anxiously waited for Su Yingning to go first, but then a sudden tightening around my waist, and I was forcibly pushed inside by her.

“You go first! Your life is more important!”

I was speechless.

The one who went first would undoubtedly be safer; the one who went last would most likely be gored to death by the Red Water Dragon’s horn.

Even knowing it was just a game, I still felt a profound unease.

There was no time for chatter.

I moved through the passage’s interior at my fastest possible speed.

The walls were slick, and having navigated such confined spaces countless times, I moved swiftly.

Thankfully, I didn’t delay Su Yingning too much, allowing her enough time to squeeze in after me.

“Roar!”

“Roar!”

“ROAR!!!”

The roars outside rose and fell, one after another; it appeared there was far more than just one Red Water Dragon this time!

Calling for help came at a cost, and the price this injured Red Water Dragon paid was its hoarded Thunder Dragon eggs.

Upon seeing the conspicuous empty crystal cavern and the deserted egg bed within, all six Red Water Dragons instantly erupted in furious rage.

The egg thieves, without a doubt, were those two sneaking humans and the demon ahead!

The Red Water Dragon, as the host, thrust its horn through without hesitation.

Though not particularly intelligent, it possessed the primal instinct to protect its food!

[Reinforced Blockade!]

[Dragon’s Moon Slash!]

Su Yingning reacted swiftly, her longsword executing an upward slash to repel the attack, using the dragon’s own force to deflect its sharp horn.

The Red Water Dragon’s neck was slender like a snake; despite being parried, it quickly extended its head further inside!

The horn had been deflected, but what about the lightning?

If the Red Water Dragon’s horn couldn’t discharge lightning, we might have been able to trap it like this, slowly wearing it down to death with repeated strikes.

However, the passage was too narrow; there was no way we could dodge the Red Water Dragon’s lightning attacks!

Compounding our peril, the water beneath our feet was knee-deep, and water conducts electricity, making any attack indiscriminate!

Movement within the passage was exceedingly difficult.

Even if I could escape, Su Yingning would never make it in time!

Even in a game, how could I abandon Su Yingning and flee alone?

[Moon Goddess’s Blessing!]

[Moonlight Enhancement!]

I cast two buffs on Su Yingning in quick succession.

Both skills were influenced by the caster’s magic power, so despite her green-tier gear, Su Yingning instantly gained the overpowered stats of top-tier blue gear!

I snuck a glance at the Red Water Dragon’s health bar—5%!

Only 5%!

It had dropped another five percent since we left!

“Blast it! Master! Cut it down!”

No more running!

Why run? Fight!

If we killed one, it would be like hitting the jackpot.

Even if we failed, a backpack full of magic crystals and dragon eggs wasn’t a loss!

I once again meticulously surveyed the terrain, etching every topographical detail of the passage firmly into my mind.

A flash of inspiration struck, and a desperate, half-mad idea, with only a slim chance of success, surged forth.

“Master! Eat the Thunder Dragon eggs! Then tank the damage and climb onto the BOSS’s head! Watch out for its horn…”