Chapter 481: False Dragon

Seo-ah led the way with the girls, entering the cave.

They walked through a long, wide corridor, the highest parts of which reached over ten meters. Their footsteps echoed off the stone, and the air grew cooler the deeper they went.

Soon, they reached the little paradise that the assassin had spoken of, and everyone’s footsteps came to a halt at the same time.

It was beautiful, without a doubt.

The ceiling soared more than five hundred meters high, supported by sturdy, powerful walls reinforced by an extremely high magical density.

At the top of that ceiling, a circular opening—so perfect it seemed to have been made by human hands—let the strong moonlight stream in.

The silver beam fell straight down, illuminating everything below and making the dust particles in the air sparkle like tiny sparks.

The entire area covered perhaps two or three square kilometers, with green lawns, beautiful trees, fields of flowers, and even a small stream that flowed into a crystal-clear lake teeming with fish.

Now Seo-ah understood why her husband wanted to build a palace here in the future.

It was a wonderful place to relax during summer vacation. The weather was perfect, the air was fresh and sweet, and its beauty was incomparable.

She exchanged glances with the players accompanying her. Soon, they resumed their walk.

They passed through the woods, the leaves crunching softly under their feet, and before long they reached the entrance leading to the underground chamber where the beast was kept.

A dark hole in the rock, from which rose a hot, heavy breath.

At that moment, TinyPinkThorn took the lead, her shield—disproportionate to her small frame—held firmly in her hands.

It was a blend of silver and pink, a creation Garrick himself had made for her and an S-Rank item of which she was very proud.

"Come on, girls! Let’s kill that pig, scatter its guts throughout this cave, and receive the exact measurements of our Lord and reason for living, Ethan the hottie NPC!" TinyPinkThorn declared in that high-pitched, adorable voice as she led the way, raising her shield above her head.

Seo-ah blushed all the way to her ears. BustyViper let out a little squeal of support, and the other girls laughed, some also declaring their support for TinyPinkThorn.

After a few more minutes of descending, the atmosphere changed, and the laughter gradually died down. The heat pressed in, the stench grew thicker, and the only sound left was the scrape of boots on stone.

Finally, they reached the chamber.

It was much more cramped than the one they had just passed through.

There was no life, nothing.

Only endless darkness, were it not for a few fluorescent crystals in the corners of the walls, casting a faint, bluish glow over the stone floor and stretching the girls’ shadows into twisted shapes.

The place was also extremely hot, both because of how deep underground they were and because of the creature at its center.

It was a false dragon.

Well, it was more like a large lizard, since its lineage was so far removed from that of a real dragon.

Black scales covered its enormous body, coiled upon itself in the center of the chamber, and with every breath it exhaled hot, foul-smelling air, like rotting flesh. Several of the girls wrinkled their noses, a few covering their mouths with the backs of their hands.

In any case, it was a powerful creature, at the fourth stage—a spirit beast capable of easily killing those five hundred women if they weren’t careful.

TinyPinkThorn didn’t hesitate for long, advancing with firm steps, her small boots striking the stone in a steady rhythm.

The five hundred women, meanwhile, took their positions in silence.

Warriors moved to the creature’s rear and flanks; mages and archers climbed to small elevated vantage points; while the assassins, led by BustyViper, vanished into the shadows as if they had never been there.

This was a relatively dumb type of beast, known precisely for lacking any kind of mental development, even as it grew more powerful.

Because of this, the girls could afford to be more relaxed in their strategy.

Not that it would make much difference in any other case. If it were an intelligent fourth-stage beast, they’d be finished anyway.

The fake dragon’s eyes suddenly opened, red as blood, the whites as black as its scales.

The beast roared, the sound making the ground shake and small stones fall from the ceiling, cracking as they hit the floor. Its eyes fell on TinyPinkThorn, who activated a skill to draw the creature’s aggro.

It worked only on non-intelligent beasts, and it worked very well.

The creature roared again at TinyPinkThorn, its body—as heavy as that of an African elephant in its prime—moving forward, powerful claws tearing into the stone floor beneath it and sending shards flying in all directions.

TinyPinkThorn stopped, closing her eyes and activating her powerful tank abilities at full strength. A faint, pink aura enveloped her small body, causing the air around her to shimmer.

Her shield doubled in size as the fake dragon lunged at her, its mouth wide open, revealing rows of yellowed teeth and a tongue slick with foul saliva.

A loud explosion echoed, the impact kicking up dust and making everyone’s ears ring.

Some of the girls even staggered from the wave of hot air that came with it.

The fake dragon’s jaw snapped shut around the shield, biting down hard, its teeth grinding against the metal with a high-pitched screech—but without even leaving a mark.

The beast planted its paws, trying to step back to find another angle, but soon realized something.

Its jaw was stuck.

"Now!" TinyPinkThorn roared, gripping the shield tightly, her arms trembling and her feet sinking into the stone floor, cracking the surface around her boots.

She drank a healing potion with her free hand, the liquid dripping down her chin, before focusing once more on the shield, groaning in pain as the beast’s weight pushed her backward, centimeter by centimeter.

The girls didn’t hesitate.

A relentless barrage of attacks erupted, raining down on the beast from all sides.

Swords plunged into its belly, tearing through the scales—barely causing any damage to them, but still making the beast feel pain. Dark blood oozed from the gaps, hissing where it hit the hot stone.

Assassins dropped from the ceiling onto its head, plunging daggers into its eyes with a wet crunch, and as they retreated, spells and arrows began to rain down, each impact wrenching a new shriek from the creature.

The beast thrashed desperately, its tail sweeping the floor and knocking down two warriors who weren’t quick enough.

The two rolled across the stone floor—one of them losing her helmet—but were soon pulled back by nearby comrades.

Finally, it managed to lift TinyPinkThorn off the ground, hurling her against the wall.

Her small body struck the stone with a dull thud and slid to the floor, but the girl was already getting back to her feet, spitting out a little blood and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, her shield still firmly in her arm.

With its eyes blinded and a few teeth broken, the creature could only attack randomly, its claws tearing through the air and the stone without hitting anything, its head swiveling from side to side in search of any sound.

"The battle is far from over! Aim for the belly, mouth, and eyes—let’s go!" Seo-ah roared, her voice cutting through the chaos, her sword already raised as she charged forward.

And so, the slaughter of the beast continued—a slow and painful process, especially for the beast, of course.