Chapter 68: The Crimson Gold Armored Dragon

Seeing that Lin Huang was about to follow them again, Li Yanxing covertly signaled to several of the youths beside him with a glance.

One of the young men immediately spoke to Leng Yuexin, "Miss Leng, having escorted him here, we've already fulfilled half of our accompanying task. There's no need to bring him further into the forest."

"It's true that passing through the area ruled by the Six-Armed Enchantress is on our way, but with this kid's pace, he'll definitely slow us down. I don't think it's appropriate to take him along."

"I agree, we can't possibly carry him on our backs..." Two other youths chimed in support.

"In any case, we'll probably have to wait three or five days once we get there, so a slower pace doesn't matter much," Leng Yuexin insisted on bringing Lin Huang into the forest.

"If Miss Leng wants to bring Brother Lin along, then let's do so. One more won't make much difference. If we walk a bit slower, we can enjoy the scenery," Li Yanxing unexpectedly sided with Leng Yuexin. "Besides, with Lin following us, it'll be safer for him along the way."

As soon as he spoke, the others fell silent.

Lin Huang glanced at him in surprise. He had expected Li Yanxing to oppose his continued presence, but instead, the man had gone along with Leng Yuexin's wishes. This made Lin Huang even more convinced of Li Yanxing’s deep scheming.

"Then I'll trouble you all a little longer. Sorry for the inconvenience," Lin Huang said with a smile, clasping his hands in polite thanks. He had behaved honestly along the way, speaking little and giving no cause for dislike; at most, people found him a bit thick-skinned.

Li Yanxing and his group paid no mind to a youth who hadn’t even reached the Iron rank, unaware that Lin Huang had already discerned their intentions.

"You can record our route with your Imperial Heart Ring. When you return, just follow the same path back and wait for us here. This mission should take five to seven days, no more than ten at the very longest. Once the task is complete, I'll message you. If we return and you're not here, we'll wait up to three days. After that, we'll leave on our own. If you wish to leave then, you'll have to hire another team," Leng Yuexin instructed Lin Huang before they set off.

"I understand the rules," Lin Huang nodded.

The others said nothing and turned toward the forest, with Lin Huang quickly following.

The six of them strode into the woods. Apart from Lin Huang, the other five acted as if they were on a casual outing, showing no hint of tension.

Lin Huang, however, was anxious. After all, this was a Level Four wild zone, not a park on Earth made for amusement. Any monster above Iron rank was a deadly threat to him.

Before long, they were attacked by monsters. The youths immediately struck, easily slaying them all and leaving a field of corpses. Lin Huang eyed the bodies hungrily but was too embarrassed to pick them up.

Monster corpses could be sold at the Hunter Association. A complete Iron-rank monster corpse could fetch tens of thousands of credits, while Bronze-rank bodies could sell for hundreds of thousands each.

As the group pressed deeper, the monsters attacking them began to increase in rank from Iron to Bronze. After the youths dispatched them without so much as a glance, Lin Huang hurried to scoop up the Bronze-rank corpses.

Fortunately, these monsters weren’t too large. After collecting a dozen or so, his storage space was nearly full. Seeing that a hundred cubic meters wasn’t enough, he spent a million credits to expand his capacity to a thousand cubic meters.

Noticing his eager corpse scavenging, the youths looked at him with disdain but said nothing—clearly, they cared little for such petty profits.

Lin Huang, for his part, paid no attention to their opinions. Once the mission was over, none of them would know each other. How they viewed him was their own concern; getting the money was all that mattered.

Following these aristocratic youths, Lin Huang gathered over a hundred Bronze-rank monster corpses in less than three hours, filling his storage space again. For him, this was worth tens of millions of credits.

He expanded his storage once more, using his remaining two million credits to increase the limit to three thousand cubic meters. Now, his credits were down to just over a hundred thousand.

After more than seven hours of travel, Lin Huang had reaped a bountiful harvest. His only disappointment was not seeing Li Yanxing take action again. All the monsters along the way had been dispatched by the other three youths; Li Yanxing never made a move, nor did Leng Yuexin. Lin Huang didn’t even know what weapon Leng Yuexin used.

Around six in the evening, dusk began to fall in the forest. Lin Huang guessed they were nearly at their destination. Without Leng Yuexin and her team, his cautious journey would have taken at least two or three days, and he couldn't have moved so leisurely, nor would he have collected so many beast corpses.

Just as Lin Huang was lost in thought, a beast’s roar suddenly echoed from nearby, sending birds and animals fleeing in all directions.

Lin Huang immediately sensed that the monster’s strength was formidable—at least Silver rank. Yet Leng Yuexin and her companions paid no mind, continuing straight ahead without the slightest intention of detouring.

Soon, a giant subdragon covered in golden-red scales appeared before them, its back turned as it gnawed on the corpse of a massive beast.

This subdragon was nearly thirty meters long and more than ten meters tall, resembling a Tyrannosaurus magnified by about half.

Lin Huang recognized it as a subdragon, though he didn’t know its exact name. He quietly asked Leng Yuexin, "Miss Leng, what kind of monster is this? It looks a bit like a Golden Armored Dragon, but the color and size of the scales, as well as the sharpness of the claws and teeth, seem different."

"This is what a Golden Armored Dragon looks like after a mutation. It's called a Crimson Gold Armored Dragon. Among monsters of the Gold rank, it's considered a dominant force," Leng Yuexin explained calmly.

"Looks like our luck is good, running into a mutated monster of such fine quality. Too bad we don't have a Beast Master with us—otherwise, we could tame and seal it," a youth wearing a noble’s hat remarked with a smile.

"You call this fine quality? This is a top-tier specimen! Ge Ping, stop pretending. I bet if you faced the Crimson Gold Armored Dragon alone, you’d be running for your life!" a burly youth bluntly exposed the truth.

"A Crimson Gold Armored Dragon at Gold Third Stage has strength comparable to the top hundred ranked hunters on the Gold Hunter List. Not just me—if you two went up against it, you'd be fodder!" Ge Ping, the one in the noble hat, retorted indignantly.

"This kind of monster can only be handled by Miss Leng and Brother Li," a tall, thin youth glanced at Li Yanxing.

"If this monster could be tamed, it would be a powerful asset. Unfortunately, we have urgent matters and can't afford delays. Even with a Beast Master, taming it wouldn't be quick. We'll have to kill it..." Li Yanxing gazed up at the Crimson Gold Armored Dragon.

The dragon had been feasting, aware of other beings nearby but unconcerned. Suddenly, sensing Li Yanxing's killing intent, it swung its head around, its forest-green eyes locking onto Lin Huang's group.

Under its chilling gaze, Lin Huang felt as if he had plunged into an icy abyss—he could sense death approaching with terrifying clarity, his breath growing heavy and labored...