Leonel and Aina sped into the dungeon.
Dark cave walls loomed over them and an almost suffocating stench of earth filled their nostrils. The dampness and humidity made it difficult to breathe, the ventilation of the dungeon not seeming great at all.
Leonel could immediately tell that their target weren't humans, however he didn't seem capable of pinpointing the exact race either, something that made him narrow his eyes. It seemed that Ancestor Hito had gone out of his way to pick more obscure targets just for the sake of maintaining the usual randomness associated with Zones.
First there were the trolls they had faced earlier while claiming the village, now this.
"Thick earthy smell, high humidity, low visibility..." Leonel thought of several possibilities before he narrowed it down to one. ".. 76% possibility this is an Earth Dragon den..."
Earth Dragon, while was the official name of this species, wasn't to be taken literally.
Most accurately, they were a type of earth affinity centipede with the legendary ferociousness of dragons, and they were notoriously difficult to handle.
They were adept at causing land fissures and earthquakes, they could easily collapse a cave of this caliber, and they could chew through most metals as though they were nothing but thin films of paper. In addition to this, they could hold their breath for weeks at a time even as newborns, and their body temperatures ran so hot that their roars gave off the illusion of fire breath.
In reality, though, it was just that their digestive system was so powerful after countless evolution cycles of burrowing through the earth that if they opened their mouths up to the world, everything in their path would be scorched.
The good news was that Leonel had an excellent Earth Force affinity that could somewhat counter these beasts. The bad news, however, was that their breath had nothing to do with Fire Force despite the heat, making it difficult for him to counter unless he had some sort of cooling measure.
Of course, Leonel would still be resistant to the heat itself, but there was little he could do from an actual preventative standpoint.
In addition, even his Earth Force affinity might not prove to be as beneficial as one might hope because the Earth Dragons were less focused on manipulating earth as opposed to devouring it.
"Earth Dragons," Leonel said lightly.
Aina didn't need any more explanations after this. While it had seemed that the two had been in here for a long while already, the reality was that they had only taken a single step. Before their second steps even landed, Leonel had already spoken his conclusion. His mind was simply that fast.
In response, their rolls shifted. Rather than taking the vanguard, Aina fell back and allowed Leonel to cross in front of her. She strapped her battle ax to her back and took out a twin pair of silk cloths that danced up her wrists and forearms as though they had minds of their own. At the same time, two gourds she had had by her waist opened up and large amounts of blood began to pool out from her sides.
At the same time, Leonel's body glowed with an earthly, menacing air. A three meter tall panda construct took form around him, but just as quickly as it appeared, a Divine Armor appeared and slid into place. By the time Leonel had taken his fifth step into the cave, an enormous three-headed, six armed, armor covered behemoth had begun to stomp forward.
Leonel's new comprehensions in Earth Force hadn't just come with mental changes, they also manifested physically.
For example... He could now use his dark gold Panda construct and his Divine Armors at the same time.
Earth Force was an extension of his life. His Panda construct was just as much a part of his as his Divine Armors were. Why did they have to be used separately?
Leonel unleashed a roar as his three Vital Stars appeared to his back. Aina was completely obscured, but that was exactly the point.
He stomped down on the ground once and the earth trembled. The Earth Dragons had yet to be alerted as they had hardly moved very far into the cave. In fact, it was only now that the entrance vanished behind them, locking them into seeing this dungeon all the way through. But before that, the two took the initiative.
Leonel's six arms punched into the ground beneath him, roaring as he lifted as though he wouldn't be satisfied until the whole world was above his head. However, it very quickly became obvious that this wasn't a piece of earth at all and what Leonel had grabbed was actually the head of an enormous beast that must have been at least 20 meters long.
Even so, Aina didn't seem surprised. She reacted just as quickly, the twin silk cloths on her wrists suddenly becoming coated by blood as she launched them both forward.
The head of the Earth Dragon was pierced through and its blood was quickly drained.
Leonel tossed it to the side and charged forward.
He punched walls, ceiling, and the ground.
Every time he did, he ripped out another Earth Dragon, stunning them into place while Aina finished the job.
Despite the fact that this wasn't the normal mode of their team work, their efficiency was no less great. With a combination of his Earth Force affinity and sensory abilities, Leonel was able to find the Earth Dragon before they could launch their usual sneak attacks. At the same time, he clamped their mouths shut, stopping them from using their strongest ability while also crushing the antennas that worked as their sensory organs.
When that was done, it was child's play for Aina to sever their lives, and it only got easier and easier as she accumulated more and more of their powerful blood.
They tore through the levels of the dungeon and eventually reached the final ground floor.
Steam billowed toward their faces, the sheer heat making what should have been the hard ground around them feeling gooey and soft to the touch.
Every step they took left another sizzle as an Earth Dragon that must have been at least 50 meters tall snaked into the air, its hundreds of legs shimmering like steel blades.
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