Chapter 342: The Ancient Lizard King
The yin demon circled around the enormous ancient octagonal formation, taking note of every detail. Through the yin demon, Han Shuo saw chunks of large, clear magic crystal ores piled on the surface of the formation, obscuring the intricate details of the formation. These miniature hills obviously provided an endless source of energy for the formation.
As the earth elite zombie and the yin demon drew near the large creature, they saw that the large creature’s lower body, as well as the base of its tail, were sunk into the center of the formation. The creature seemed to sense the two as it snapped the end of its ten meter long tail in the air. The dark red tail whipped through the air like a giant metal chain as it sought to smash the earth elite zombie into the ground.
Half the earth elite zombie’s body was still underground. When he saw the python-like tail slapping down, he quickly dove into the depths of the earth. He could hear an enormous crash as the ground started shaking above his head.
A strange force shot out from the tail, shooting directly at the earth elite zombie as it dove into the ground. The earth elite zombie was given a huge fright when he sensed this force following him, and quickly tried to flee back to Han Shuo. He was only halfway there when the strange force caught up and surged into his body!.
The earth elite zombie began to thrash as the strange energy passed through his body. When the wave of force completely passed through him, he came to, utterly disoriented. Fortunately, Han Shuo had refined him using magical yuan as well the energy from the place of extreme earth. He was also surrounded by his natural habitat of earth as well, so the strange energy didn’t leave any damage behind as it passed through him.
When the strange creature sensed that the earth elite zombie was alive and well even after the force wave had hit him, it flew into a rage. It furiously slammed its tail into the ground several times, sending a multitude of force waves at the earth elite zombie.
Even though the earth elite zombie was still dazed from earlier, his perception was heightened beneath the earth. When he felt more waves of force coming his way, he instinctively drew on the power of the earth to defend himself. Using himself as the epicenter, he started to vibrate the earth around him.
As they broke their way through the vibrating earth, the force waves were gradually weakened. The attrition of their energy meant that when they finally surged through the earth elite zombie, he didn’t show the slightest reaction.
The earth elite zombie had been disoriented by the blast of strange energy because he hadn’t managed to use his natural talents in time. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have ended up in such an embarrassing predicament straight off the bat.
“Eh?!” Han Shuo was astonished, then muttered thoughtfully, “It seems the five divine element zombies need to face dangers more often, otherwise they won’t even know how to use their own natural powers. The earth elite zombie most definitely didn’t know that this earthquake type ability could withstand the energy attacks, but magically mastered this ability when faced with danger.”
As Han Shuo pondered silently, the strange creature restrained by the formation was being driven mad by the repeated failure of its attacks. However, as restricted as it was, there was nothing more it could do to the safely ensconced earth elite zombie at the moment.
Instead, it switched its attention to the Redbud Knights and dark elves, seemingly venting its frustration with the earth elite zombie on them. The entire mountain trembled as it howled. The piercing howl was accompanied by force waves like those aimed at the earth zombie, except this time aimed at those petty ants who dared to step foot into its domain.
The Redbud Knights and dark elves were completely caught off guard by the bizarre force waves. The Redbud Knights fared better than the dark elves, since they battled while enclosed by their fighting aura. They only bled from their noses and mouths when they were hit, slowing down as they fought through the effects. However, the dark elves didn’t fight under any such protection, and their weak fighters died or were severely injured by the dozen when the force waves hit them out of the blue.
However, their total force numbered at least a thousand. The powerful creature was restrained by the ancient confining formation, and even its force wave attacks couldn’t keep the invaders from swarming the mountain, eventually invading the entrance caves.
Even as the dark elves died in droves, they still managed to place a large amount of goblin missiles in various key regions of the mountain. On the other hand, Kassel led the Redbud Knights in teams to flush the dusky narrow caves, slaughtering every lizardman they could find.
The lizardmen possessed strong bodies, but wielded crude weapons. They were no match for the highly trained Knights, not to mention the existence of a powerful shapeshifting druid like Kassel. As they retreated further into the caves, the lizardmen left a trail of corpses behind.
The dark elves followed closely behind the Redbud Knights, busily burying goblin missiles in every corner of the caves. The running battle drew closer and closer to the ancient creature as the Redbud Knights and dark elves trailed the lizardmen to the location of their “true God”.
The terrific casualties that the lizardmen fielded caught the eye of the powerful creature. At the bottom of the gourd mountain, the strange creature howled in fury as it completely lost interest in the earth elite zombie. It roared as it mobilized several force waves to simultaneously smash into the Redbud Knights.
Even the uncommonly strong Redbud Knights couldn’t withstand the impact of multiple force waves hitting them simultaneously. They died as they fought, the strange energy savaging their bodies. The weaker dark elves endured worse casualties, with several hundred dying before they reached the innermost area.
By this point, Han Shuo could determine that whatever the Redbud Knights and dark elves alliance planned to do, it was a risky and daring plan .He was sure that the powerful creature was currently being restrained by the formation. In fact, it was restrained to the point where it could only reveal half its body.
The Redbud Knights could only see the upper half of the great lizard’s body and the chunks of accumulated magic crystal ores scattered around it. They simply couldn’t see the buried lower half of its body or the ancient magic formation.
It was one thing if the goblin missiles blasted the mountain apart and killed the strange creature. However, if the creature managed to survive the blast, then the destroyed mountain would no longer able to contain it. Han Shuo was sure that once it was released from the magic formation that had imprisoned it for aeons, the Redbud Knights and dark elves were bound to bear the brunt of its horrifying rage. However, this wasn’t something Han Shuo needed to worry about.
For Han Shuo, his only purpose was to kill Celt, as well as to obtain as many magic crystal ores as possible. For the strange creature to survive would be the most ideal outcome.
He mused for a bit, but was immediately struck with a wonderful idea.
Calling the earth elite zombie to him, the two headed for the strange creature, tunneling into the depths of the earth. Yet when Han Shuo emerged from the tunnels right outside the ancient magic formation, he was greeted by the ten meter long python-like tail.
It was certainly impressive that the creature could accurate locate Han Shuo while its head was up above. Han Shuo swiftly dashed to a remote corner. The tail chased him until it stopped seven meters from him, thrashing furiously but unable to reach Han Shuo at all.
“Hey, I mean no harm, I just want to offer some help.” Han Shuo shouted up to the ten meter long tail, disregarding whether it could understand him or not.
“Tiny feeble presence, you will pay the price!” A message sent purely via consciousness shook the space around Han Shuo, seemingly issued by the strange creature.
Normally, the higher ranked a creature, the more intelligence they possessed. The dark dragon Gilbert or the gold dragon could both speak human tongue, and even the Lord of the Flames had the ability to directly communicate with its mind. Being able to communicate with humans meant that this creature was no less powerful than the Lord of the Flames.
This was indeed within Han Shuo’s expectations. The creature had immediately responded as soon as Han Shuo shouted. Communicating directly with one’s mind was even clearer than using spoken language.
“Powerful being, I’m not with those people above, I’ve come to help you! I can use their power to break the formation while not harming you in the slightest. I only want the magic crystal ores at the bottom of the gourd mountain. What do you think?” Han Shuo immediately put forth his proposal after learning they could communicate.
“Pathetic creature, those stupid fellows would still help me blast open this gourd mountain even without your help. I fed them false information that I’m afraid of fire and missiles. Now they are acting right in accordance with my plan, helping me destroy the mountain! No one can stop this anymore. Even if you are not with them, they won’t believe you if you inform them either. Your proposal holds no value!” The creature laughed proudly, completely out of Han Shuo’s expectations.
Han Shuo expression changed slightly as he heard the ancient creature boast. Who would have imagined that this creature was actually so cunning? It didn’t appear to fear flame and missiles like Celt speculated. It had faked disadvantages in the previous battle just to create this situation.
Han Shuo suddenly looked befuddled and responded, “If that’s the case, why didn’t you ask the lizardmen to get you out? It wouldn’t be difficult for them to gather goblin missiles. Since they believe you to be their ‘true God’, they would help you even more willingly. Why use enemies to help you?”
“I would have long since left this damned place already if they could communicate with me! They are cursed by the gods to forever be bound in their body, unable to break through their shackles. They can’t use anything else other than the power of the flesh to communicate. They simply don’t understand me.”
“Those poor creatures only know the crudest of methods, and that is to remove all magical crystal ores around me. They thought it was the only way for me to leave this damned cage.” The creature seemed to have been imprisoned for far too long, talking nonstop with Han Shuo.
When he heard this, Han Shuo suddenly remembered that the lizardmen indeed only knew how to use their bodily strength. The power of their souls and depths of their wisdom were pathetically shallow. Maybe this was the reason why they were unable to obtain information from the enormous creature in this space, and could only call upon their determination to surmount every obstacle and remove the last bit of each magic crystal ore from the mountain.
End of Part 1 of the chapter.
So it seemed that it was not for their self-interest that the lizardmen occupied the gourd-shaped mountain and tirelessly mined the ore, but to help release their “true God” from bondage! Come to think of it, they didn’t even know how to forge complex weapons, how would they possibly understand the true value of magic crystal ore?
From this strange creature’s explanation, Han Shuo knew that it was now impossible to prevent it from escaping the ancient formation. Celt was on the verge of blowing the entire mountain sky high, and all it needed was a single damaged corner to break free from its age old imprisonment.
Thinking quickly, Han Shuo began to think of another way. Looking at the ten meter long, dark red tail, he remembered Arlen’s words of the lizardmen’s true god being just a large lizard. Inspiration struck, could this strange creature be protecting the lizardmen?
“Mighty presence, there are still hundreds of lizardmen who worship you trapped within this mountain. Once the invaders blow up the mountain, a mighty being as you would be able to survive, but the poor lizardmen would be wiped out to the last man.” Han Shuo paused for effect. He could sense the creature;s hesitation clouding the atmosphere. He continued, “However, I can can ensure their survival. As long as you promise me the magic crystal ores in this mine, I will lead them to a safe location before the explosion.”
“Lowly tiny being, I, the great Ancient Lizard King Dagassi, agree to your request. As long as you can ensure their safety, you can take as much of this ore as you can carry.” After a brief silence, the Ancient Lizard King Dagassi gave Han Shuo his promise.
Han Shuo didn’t linger after receiving Dagassi’s promise. He immediately ordered the earth elite zombie to dig a tunnel to the surface. The earth elite zombie complied, earth readily parting for him. However, halfway through, the zombie sent him a message of helplessness. Han Shuo had already guessed the root of the problem and quickly shot towards the half finished tunnel.
Apart from the large space that the ancient magic formation occupied, the earth was just compacted soil from the outskirts of the mountain to Ancient Lizard King Dagassi’s enormous tail. The earth elite zombie discovered that magic crystal ores harder than iron ores stood in his way as he started digging upwards.
Even the earth elite zombie’s natural powers were useless against magic crystal ores. He stopped halfway, at a loss of how to proceed. After all, the earth elite zombie was just an earth elite zombie. He didn’t have the power of the metal elite zombie to level and ravage mountains.
“My poor children are dying in droves. Little human, hurry up and act.” Ancient Lizard King Dagassi sent a surge of urgent messages into Han Shuo’s mind.
Pressed for time, Han Shuo took out the peerless Demonslayer Edge. The weapon spun like a drill in his hand as he thrust it upwards. Large chunks of magic crystal ore vanished into Han Shuo’s space ring before they’d even had time to touch the ground. Although his speed was a bit slower than the earth elite zombie’s use of his natural talents, Han Shuo was still able to drill upwards at the rate of several meters per second with the help of the Demonslayer Edge.
As the Ancient Lizard King hurried him on, each rotation of the Demonslayer Edge brought with it a large chunk of magic crystal ore into Han Shuo’s space ring. Within a few moments, he arrived where the upper body and head of the Lizard King was located, above the magic formation.
Han Shuo looked up and couldn’t help but give a low exclamation. This Ancient Lizard King did indeed look like an enormous lizardman, but for a few differences. A sharp horn grew from the top of his head, and a line of red, sword-like sharp spikes sprouted down its back from the horn.
The Ancient Lizard King was even bigger than the green dragon. He resembled a towering mountain of reddish-brown muscle. At the height of twenty meters, his body seemed to be made of thick, reddish-brown boulders.
His deep red eyes shone like two lanterns high in the air. He stared down at the ant-like Han Shuo beneath him, once again sending out urgent messages.
“Understood, understood. I will help your children survive.” Han Shuo replied to the Lizard King’s impatient nagging. He quickly rushed into the complex network of caves whilst admiring the Ancient Lizard King’s massive form.
“I’m a messenger from your ‘true God’! According to his command, I am here to lead you to a place of safety!” Han Shuo’s shout came right when the lizardmen were desperately engaged in a rearguard action. They were fiercely resisting the Redbud Knights’ onslaught while retreating towards the Ancient Lizard King.
“Despicable human, why are you here?” The leader with the big tail suddenly panicked, crying out in an awkward version of the common tongue as he pointed at Han Shuo as if wanting to initiate attacks.
“I’m helping you as the messenger of your ‘true God’. You’ll know if you come with me!” Han Shuo explained then immediately shouted, “Don’t do anything unnecessary! They have laid explosives over the entire mountain. All you have to do is hurry to your God’s side.”
Without staying back to see if the lizardmen believed him or not, Han Shuo flew straight back to the Ancient Lizard King. When the retreating lizardmen heard his words, they sped up their retreat to the Ancient Lizard King, possibly because they believed Han Shuo, or possibly because they were worried about the safety of their ‘true God’ and didn’t want to fight with the Redbud Knights.
Only when the remaining lizardmen saw that Han Shuo standing unscathed next to their ‘true God’ did they somewhat believe Han Shuo. They first kowtowed to the Lizard King before the leader looked up at him and asked humbly, “True God, what are we to do? The enemy has already invaded!”
The Ancient Lizard King thrashed a bit and let loose a long howl. Sounds of explosion spread throughout the entire space and the gourd-shaped mountain began to shake violently.
“Human, lead them in, time is running out!” The Lizard King’s consciousness permeated the air, but it was a pity that the lizardmen couldn’t understand the message.
“There is a passage here. All of you can hide inside and be safe from the explosion. Your ‘true God’ said the missiles won’t be able to hurt him. He will handle the rest.” Han Shuo quickly shouted after seeing the Redbud Knights enter to place the explosives in the cave.
The leader glanced at Han Shuo, still safe and sound at the feet of their “true God”, and seemed to believe his words. The leader rapidly fired something off in the lizardmen tongue to his brethren. They stopped hesitating and followed behind their leader to travel further into the ground via Han Shuo’s tunnel.
After all of the lizardmen had safely made their way into the tunnel, Ancient Lizard King once again filled the space with his words, “Human, don’t let those damnable invaders throw explosives in here. Even though I won’t die from the explosion, it will still injure me. Besides, that smell is highly unpleasant.”
There were seven caves leading from the mountain’s depths to this area. The Redbuds Knight and the dark elf invaders also seemed frightened of the mountain-like Lizard King as they hadn’t charged in here. Instead, they stood at the entrance and threw down the explosives.
Han Shuo summoned roughly a hundred dark creatures after hearing the Lizard King. They were everywhere, throwing back every missile that was thrown in. When the Redbud Knights and dark elves outside discovered that their bags of explosives had been thrown back out, they all fumed with rage.
The skeletal warriors naturally couldn’t understand the rage outside the caves. They only knew that they should obey Han Shuo’s every command, and continued to diligently throw out the missiles. The situation of the entire area had turned somewhat comical.
The remaining yin demon had been slowly trailing the Redbud Knights all along. As Han Shuo observed them for a while, he suddenly sneered, “Since you guys have set foot here, don’t dream of escaping. Enjoy the craziness of the goblin missiles together with the mountain!”
Another incantation brought several bulky hate warriors into existence. They too joined the zombies and the skeletal warriors in throwing the missiles out of the cave. The hate warriors and zombies slowly moved forward, creating a blockade at the cave entrances. Once they’d sealed off the cave entrances, Han Shuo shoved some of the remaining goblin missiles into his space ring.
The knights and dark elves furiously attacked the dark creatures that had suddenly appeared. They picked up the goblin missiles on the ground and prepared to throw them back down at the Ancient Lizard King below, while vigorously cursing the dark creatures.
These goblin missiles were intricately made. They wouldn’t explode unless ignited with a fierce flame, but once lit, they turned into a veritable ocean of flame. The invaders had strategically placed explosives so that they could chain the whole explosion. The mountain would be hard pressed to withstand such a large amount of goblin missiles going off all at once and would inevitably collapse.
The Ancient Lizard King was to be the main bearer of the explosion’s brunt this time. Only when the explosives filled the area around him would the destructive effects be maximized. That was why the Redbud Knights were working so tirelessly to penetrate the dark creatures’ blockade.
After all the lizardmen had evacuated through the tunnel and the caves were blocked by the undead creatures, the Ancient Lizard King became even more impatient, sending another message, “That’s enough. Help me ignite a large fire and bury all these knights inside.”
“Pleasure to be of service!” Han Shuo snickered coldly, a red flame shooting out from his hand. A zombie suddenly turned its body sideways, letting the flame pass through the gap.
“Fire, it’s fire! Extinguish it!” The Redbud Knights, still fighting the dark creatures, suddenly lost their wits when they saw the fiery stream. Their loud screams turned into wails as they realized precisely how many goblin missiles had been placed around the mountain. They would be in dire straits if the explosion occurred before they withdrew from the gourd mountain.
A few more flames flew out from Han Shuo’s hand, shooting through the gaps between the zombie warriors like arrows. They landed on the knights and dark elves who had yet to catch on fire.
Han Shuo’s mind suddenly moved with a thought, a flame arcing directly into a goblin missile held by a hate warrior.
