Chapter 26: The Mature Swamp Dragon

In the pure white woodlands, numerous herb fields lay scattered.

On the return journey, taking a slight detour, we passed a plot of land where scallions grew alongside a mystical crop known as "Eight-Wilds." Also simply called "hemostatic grass," Eight-Wilds is a crop that, when ground into powder, repels insects and attracts self-healing magic factors. It resembles a scallion in appearance, though it is entirely blue.

As for the taste?
It is absolutely delicious!

Inside the herb field, over sixty or seventy clockwork cat-balls were busily crunching away at the Eight-Wilds as if they were sugar cane. While gnawing, they used their tails to pull the plants from the soil, looking every bit like a troupe of field-destroying, mischievous cats.

Clockwork cats are magical, cat-shaped creatures that possess intelligence and a social, pack-based nature. Most are about half the size of a human—roughly 60% of a Mei, or 75% of a Georgia. They possess a clear ability to glide and hover, and they are true gourmands; the more delicious the food, the more likely you are to see them.

"Ahhh, they’re ruining everything!" Sonya shrieked.

To a clockwork cat, mystical crops are nothing more than snacks. Perhaps, in their view as carnivorous creatures, eating such plants is already a great sign of respect. Fortunately, the herb fields of this world are vast and grow quickly, so even after a visit from the cat-balls, more than fifty percent of the field remained intact.

Just as this thought crossed my mind, a low growl, like that of a hound, echoed through the air. Suddenly, the atmosphere was thick with a musty odor, and a dampness permeated both the ground and the air.

The clockwork cat-balls let out cries and, unhurried, floated away behind Melina, heading in the direction of Brightfall Town.

In front of us appeared a swamp dragon with deep yellow dragon scales and dark red skin. It was significantly larger than the one the Echo Squad had hunted. It was at least eight meters long, perhaps even nine! The bulging muscles on its forelimbs, combined with those deep yellow scales, made it look almost like a giant pineapple.

"Roar..." After appearing, it did not launch an attack. Instead, it slowly paced into the herb field, harvesting large swaths of Eight-Wilds with its razor-sharp claws.

A swamp dragon is considered a "sensible and well-behaved" dragon when it is not hungry. As long as one does not harvest herbs or minerals right in front of them, this species of black dragon is almost entirely harmless.

But unfortunately, just because it is harmless, does that mean we should leave it be?
Certainly not!
As a part of nature, humans must contribute their own unique strength to the warm family of "survival of the fittest."

"Ready?" Melina opened her umbrella.
She noticed her seniors had already moved away, opening up a distance of three or four meters. Such behavior clearly served one purpose: to make room for Melina’s deployment.

If their positioning as marksmen had been unclear before, their tactical roles and firing positions were now firmly established. In combat, while a marksman might seem to have plenty of space to fire at will, that space is often quite narrow due to the concepts of optimal firing angles, fields of fire, and safe zones. Some marksmen must reposition after every two shots—a sign of a "suboptimal output position"—whereas others can enjoy the team’s support and unleash their full damage output in peace. That is the true "optimal output position."

Especially when multiple squads are cooperating, the more people involved, the more precious these positions become.

To put it simply: the best way for the two deadweights, Maria and Sonya, to fight is to draw enemy fire for their big sister while wagging their tails. They had better wag them with enthusiasm, otherwise, Mel-Mel wouldn't even be in the mood to deal damage.

That is status. There must always be role players...

The flintlock pistols around Melina spun rapidly, shifting into combat mode. The three of them had never hunted together before; in fact, Maria and Sonya had rarely hunted together either. There was no synergy to speak of.

Sonya unleashed a wide-range scatter shot without hesitation, pouring a multitude of crossbow bolts onto the swamp dragon. Simultaneously, a flash of magical light erupted.

*BOOM.*

A sound like a collapsing mountain accompanied a pillar of pure white light. It was the special magic of Maria’s sword-gun armament, "Judgment Shot." By pouring all her magic factors into the ammunition, it shattered the moment it left the barrel, condensing the vast magical energy into an endless radiance. Its power was such that it could send a small dragon flying with a single shot!

And then, she missed.
Maria missed her shot.

It wasn't because her aim was poor. It was because Sonya’s scatter shot was so terrifying that the swamp dragon, still busy digging for mystical crops, was startled and jumped aside reflexively. For a creature over eight meters long, that jump might have been a small step, but for a human, it required a ninety-degree flick of the aim. Consequently, Maria missed her shot entirely.

If she had taken the first shot, perhaps the result would have been different. She knew it, Melina knew it, and Sonya knew it even better!

So, Sonya seized the initiative without hesitation: "Oh, Maria, Maria! That was fatal—a complete miss!"

"What are you yapping about!" Maria, for once, broke her composure.

*Bang! Bang-bang-bang!*

Melina fired continuously; the weaknesses of the flintlock pistols simply didn't exist for her. Her successive shots landed perfectly on the swamp dragon’s left hind leg as it leaped, her precision as locked-on as a machine. It was as if someone had leaped up to scout, only to be instantly locked onto and headshot by her.

Exquisite, precision hits.
Melina’s blood was boiling. She felt her skills, her techniques, improving with every passing second. Time and space seemed to stand still. Her body felt impossibly light. Combat was a violent affair, and perhaps her nature truly loved that violence. Was this moment of bliss what she had been searching for?

When Melina’s mind detached from this frozen domain, and the sensation of the wind, the metallic tang of gunpowder, and the fragrance of the earth after a lightning strike returned to her mortal flesh, she finally perceived her hit rate: nine out of ten. The missing shot had landed in the crevice of the swamp dragon's left claw scales.

The swamp dragon’s reaction surpassed human mechanics. In the pain of suffering so many hits within half a second, it used its left claw to shield the left hind leg that was on the verge of being shattered. Melina noticed this reaction and, playing along, threw her final shot into the gap in the scales on the dragon's left wrist.

The swamp dragon landed, letting out the roar of a wounded beast. Its left hind leg was nearly broken. Although the "Flintlock Maiden - Alpha Type" was beginner equipment, the high-level "Shooting Firepower" generated by the magic factors, combined with the quality bonus of the "Rifling," made for a lethal single shot!

Melina lowered her body, a silent, faint smile touching her lips. She shielded her face with her black parasol and charged forward, defying gravity and wind resistance. She stretched her right hand out to the side and clenched her fist.

*Bang!*

A sound like an explosion erupted from her own flesh and blood. A massive amount of steam, composed of magic factors, spewed from the brass-colored limb guards. Beneath her jade-white skin, dark, gloomy veins surfaced.

Magic: [Beastly Impatience].
The primary tenet is "The Mad," and the secondary tenets are "Combination" and "Yearning." By converting magic factors through these tenets, the resulting power is a magic that "harms oneself to harm the enemy, destroying the enemy by destroying oneself."

Back when she could not become an explorer, Melina had envisioned scenes where she would have to duel monsters. She was already incredibly proficient in this method of self-destruction to destroy the enemy. Those guns were not just her weapons; they were her eyes. Through these "eyes," she locked onto the swamp dragon.

Fire.
Fire!

Melina felt the pain in her body, yet her heart was filled with joy. If she was in pain, it meant the swamp dragon was nearly defeated by its own suffering. She had suppressed the beast. She only needed to reach it, fire at point-blank range, and channel her own pain into another magic, [Infused Agony], to crush it in a single strike!

A mere scratch... Melina’s golden eyes glowed with an eerie, demonic red.

"Dodge!" Sonya’s energetic voice came from behind.

Surprised, she looked back. A flash-bolt flew from behind her. Her charge was interrupted by her "own teammate," and with no other choice, she closed her eyes to avoid the flash.

When the flash faded, only a pool of blood remained where the swamp dragon had been. The trail of blood spots pointed toward the thick jungle.

It had escaped.
This monster, stronger than an average adult swamp dragon—estimated at a challenge rating of 3, requiring three well-coordinated level-1 hunters to take down—had run away.

Had I been sabotaged?
Melina stood straight, silently spinning her umbrella, staring at the fishy-smelling magic factors. The red in her eyes faded slightly.

"Ah, it got away," Sonya’s cheerful voice drifted over.
Then Maria followed: "It wouldn't have escaped if you hadn't thrown that flash."

"Haha." Sonya gave an awkward laugh.

Her expression was calm, even a little gentle. She looked at Melina, as if curiosity had suddenly surged within her: "You’re really good at using magic. [Beastly Impatience]... I didn't expect you to be skilled in the 'Mad' magic among the Seven Arcana. Were you planning to finish it off with magic when you rushed in?"

Melina calmed down and said placidly, "Yes. A follow-up [Infused Agony] would have killed it."
She added with a hint of regret, "It’s a pity our coordination wasn't quite in sync..."

"..."
She noticed the look her senior was giving her; it was a gaze that was hard to describe.
Her senior suddenly let out a small laugh and shook her head slowly: "You almost broke its leg already; there was no need to be in such a hurry to kill it, right?"

"..." Melina pressed her lips, which were coated in black lipstick.

Sonya gently placed both hands on her shoulders. She was smiling, but there was no warmth in her eyes. "Don't use the 'Mad' arcana magic in the future."
Her gaze lingered on the black veins that had yet to fade from Melina’s face. "Please, grant me this small request."

Melina subconsciously turned her head away.
Sonya pulled it back firmly. The exterior of her gauntlets was cold, but the fabric inside was soft and warm.
"Please," she said with a wry smile, though her eyes remained cold.

"..."
Melina gave a tiny nod. Feeling the slight pressure of the movement, her senior let go of her shoulders. She put her hands on her hips with an "ooh" and turned to look at the herb field: "Oh, Maria, Maria! Why were you so careless? You ruined my herb field!"

Maria stood with her hands on her hips: "What are you yapping about?"