The purple-eyed earth dragon approached the pool, appearing extremely agitated, exhaling several bursts of hot breath, and looking around restlessly.
“Everyone be careful, it might have already spotted us!” Nie Yan urgently warned in the team chat. The purple-eyed earth dragon’s behavior was somewhat abnormal, different from usual.
Everyone held their breath, too afraid to even exhale heavily. If the dragon detected them, there would inevitably be casualties, and today’s mission would be ruined.
The purple-eyed earth dragon sniffed around the edge of the pool. It sensed a faint unfamiliar scent. After a long while without detecting any other creatures, it slowly lowered its head to drink.
“It’s taking the bait,” BadmanwhoCannotDie felt his heart pounding with excitement. As soon as the purple-eyed earth dragon started drinking, he could begin his move.
The dragon drank some water.
“Hold steady! Wait a little longer!” Nie Yan instructed BadmanwhoCannotDie. The dragon had not yet fully let down its guard. If they acted recklessly, they would only scare it off.
Sure enough, after just a few sips, the dragon lifted its head to scan the surroundings. It remained restless, seemingly sensing something, and began walking toward the teleportation array set up by BadmanwhoCannotDie and the others.
“Nieyan Leader, it’s coming toward the teleportation array!”
“What should we do?” the team members asked in the team chat.
“Keep retreating another hundred yards and observe what it intends to do!” Nie Yan said. Indeed, a level 200 mutated boss was not easy to deal with.
Upon receiving Nie Yan’s command, the players hiding near the teleportation array all retreated. Three hundred yards away was already a very safe distance, and five hundred yards even safer. Still, Nie Yan wasn’t at ease and ordered them to retreat another hundred yards.
“Nieyan Leader, the purple-eyed earth dragon has found the teleportation array!”
Nie Yan stealthily advanced a few steps and shifted his perspective, spotting the purple-eyed earth dragon standing beside the array. His heart sank.
“Let’s see what happens first!” Nie Yan said after a moment of silence. Earlier, they had removed the magic crystals from the teleportation array, so it was now just a frame with no magical activity.
The purple-eyed earth dragon sensed the strong human scent near the teleportation array. It opened its mouth and released a stream of dragon breath, which exploded in the center of the array with a loud boom.
“Nieyan Leader, the teleportation array is destroyed!”
Nie Yan frowned slightly. It had taken BadmanwhoCannotDie and the others considerable time to set up the array. Now that it was destroyed, the plan might fail midway. Should they give up and return? Nie Yan felt reluctant. If they retreated now, all their previous preparations would be wasted, and those two potions, worth 600,000 gold coins, would also be lost. Even for the wealthy, such an expense was unreasonable.
The purple-eyed earth dragon showed disdain toward the array. After releasing the dragon breath, it turned and headed back toward the pool.
“Nieyan Leader, what should we do? Should we continue?” BadmanwhoCannotDie asked. They had spent over three hours setting up the array. If they had to rebuild it, by the time they finished, the purple-eyed earth dragon would have already fled.
“What’s the extent of the damage? Can it be repaired?” Nie Yan asked in the team chat. If the damage was severe and rebuilding would take hours, they would have to give up today, abandoning the potions. Once the purple-eyed earth dragon recovered, things would become complicated.
“We can’t see clearly from this distance!”
Nie Yan remained silent for a moment before saying, “Wait here. I’ll check the damage myself.”
“Nieyan Leader, going there will expose you!”
The teleportation array was only thirty yards from where the purple-eyed earth dragon drank. If Nie Yan approached stealthily, he would be exposed. This was a level 200 mutated boss, with perception far beyond normal expectations. Even with Nie Yan’s stealth abilities, approaching within thirty yards would surely be detected.
“I have my methods,” Nie Yan smiled. He stealthily moved a distance toward the teleportation array and placed a Keirg’s Eye on the ground. This item resembled a large eyeball, with a core made from a goblin engineer’s eye and blood vessel-like patterns on the outside, giving it a slightly eerie appearance. He whispered an incantation and focused his attention on the Keirg’s Eye. Its pupil gradually expanded, and as Nie Yan completed the incantation, the Keirg’s Eye emitted a divine glow, scanning the surroundings like a tangible beam.
Everything around became visible to Nie Yan as the Keirg’s Eye slowly moved toward the distant teleportation array.
About two minutes later, the Keirg’s Eye reached the edge of the teleportation array, hidden in the grass, scanning the structure.
The purple-eyed earth dragon, preparing to lower its head to drink, suddenly became alert, glanced around, and then resumed drinking.
“Nieyan Leader, it’s drinking again. Should we act?” BadmanwhoCannotDie anxiously asked.
“Don’t rush. It drinks for at least ten to fifteen minutes, sometimes even half an hour. It has just started,” Nie Yan calmly replied. Through the Keirg’s Eye, Nie Yan clearly observed the teleportation array and asked in the team chat, “The center has been blown into a large pit, about one-tenth of the entire array. How long will repairs take?”
“If everyone works together, it can be done in two minutes maximum.”
“Do we have enough materials?”
“We have more than enough.”
“I have an auto-repair scroll. If the damage isn’t too severe, placing the scroll on the damaged area should repair it,” Xia Chongyu Bing said. He recalled having obtained this scroll during a previous quest but had kept it unused in his inventory, thinking it would rarely be useful. Unexpectedly, it proved valuable today.
“If we use the auto-repair scroll, how long will repairs take?”
“At most twenty seconds!”
“Badman, move now!” Nie Yan ordered firmly. If there was still a chance, they had to try!
“Got it!” BadmanwhoCannotDie replied. His voice slightly trembled, perhaps from nervousness. He took a deep breath to calm himself.
After confirming the surroundings were safe, the purple-eyed earth dragon lowered its head and drank confidently.
BadmanwhoCannotDie wore an invisibility cloak, which, like a rogue’s stealth ability, could hide him from detection. He gently manipulated his magic, carefully controlling its usage to avoid attracting the dragon’s attention due to excessive magical fluctuations.
“Vision of Insight!”
BadmanwhoCannotDie growled lowly, his temples bulging with veins, his pupils filled with dense blood vessels.
A little higher, just a little more, BadmanwhoCannotDie tensed every nerve.
As the purple-eyed earth dragon drank, the water in the pool violently surged, drawn into its belly by a powerful force. When BadmanwhoCannotDie raised the water sphere to about two yards above the surface, the sphere uncontrollably floated upward.
Under the immense suction, the spherical water violently distorted. Sweat beaded on BadmanwhoCannotDie’s forehead. If the water sphere burst, the poison would dissolve entirely into the pool.
Hold on a little longer! Just a bit more! BadmanwhoCannotDie kept urging himself.
The water sphere floated another yard or so upward before it could no longer maintain its form and exploded with a pop.
BadmanwhoCannotDie’s right hand trembled; he had already lost control of the water sphere.
“Nieyan Leader, the water sphere exploded.”
“At what height above the water surface did it explode?”
“About two yards. The purple-eyed earth dragon should have ingested all the poison into its belly, but I can’t be certain whether it was successful.”
“Stay calm. Wait for the results. Everyone, approach the teleportation array and prepare to repair it.”
The mages swiftly moved toward the teleportation array. Before the purple-eyed earth dragon fell unconscious, they kept their movements minimal to avoid provoking it and risking their lives.
The purple-eyed earth dragon drank a lot of water, stopping after about twenty minutes to rest nearby.
However, the purple-eyed earth dragon showed no sign of falling unconscious for a long time. Nie Yan and the others felt puzzled. Had the dragon not ingested the poison, or was its poison resistance too strong, completely nullifying the poison’s effects?
The mages remained hidden at a distance of about 150 to 160 yards from the dragon, too afraid to move.
“Nieyan Leader, why hasn’t the purple-eyed earth dragon fallen unconscious?”
“Yeah, was the potion ineffective?”
After several setbacks, the team members grew visibly anxious. Even Nie Yan felt a bit impatient. Everyone had high expectations, leaving no room for failure. He could only calm everyone’s emotions and wait for developments.
The purple-eyed earth dragon staggered a few steps and flapped its wings, preparing to leave.
Seeing the dragon’s slightly wobbly movements, Nie Yan’s eyebrows lifted. There was still hope. He gravely said in the team chat, “Immediately go and repair the teleportation array now!”
“But the purple-eyed earth dragon isn’t unconscious yet!”
“Hurry up! Every second counts!” Nie Yan urged.
Upon hearing Nie Yan’s command, BadmanwhoCannotDie and others immediately activated their blink abilities, risking possible attacks from the purple-eyed earth dragon, and rushed toward the teleportation array ahead.
The poison from the paralyzing potion began spreading inside the purple-eyed earth dragon’s belly. As it had just flown up about five or six yards, it wobbled and fell from the sky.
“I don’t know how long the paralyzing potion will last. Everyone, hurry up!” Nie Yan urgently said in the team chat.
The purple-eyed earth dragon spotted the mages and let out a deep growl. It staggered forward a few steps, already struggling to stand steadily under the effects of the paralyzing potion.
Nie Yan chanted several incantations and summoned the golden earth dragon. If the purple-eyed earth dragon attacked BadmanwhoCannotDie and the others, the golden earth dragon would have to be sacrificed.
One second… three seconds… nine seconds… With a loud thud, the purple-eyed earth dragon collapsed.
“It’s unconscious!” The mage team members cheered loudly.
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