"Eh?!"
Due to his enhanced vision, Jose noticed the nest of the petrification lizards. They had taken materials from nearby and made a nest using some hides and dirty cloths from the kobold tents.
Of course, the lizard nest itself was not enough to surprise Jose. What surprised him were the pure-white lizard eggs lying inside.
At this moment, the kobolds were charging forward, and the battle was about to begin. Many thoughts flashed through his mind.
Should he capture the three petrification lizards?
No, their side was not strong enough to crush the three petrification lizards. Capturing the enemy alive would carry an unpredictable risk.
He should just tame the newborn lizards from these eggs after they hatched.
"Stay away from the lizard nest during battle. The petrification lizards have just laid their eggs. Don't break the eggs," Jose shouted as he chanted a magic spell. A magic field invisible to the naked eye enveloped him.
Protection against Hostile Energy!
It could not be helped. Fire magic usually had explosive properties. In order to prevent the cave from collapsing and burying everyone, powerful fire magic could not be used, and the attack magic that could be used was not enough to kill the strong adult petrification lizards in a short period of time. Therefore, the only methods that Jose could use now were his dragon breath, close-combat techniques, and support magic.
After casting Protection against Hostile Energy on Soda who was in close combat, Jose charged forward, and his huge body made a rumbling sound as he stepped on the ground. In an instant, he caught up with the servants who had set off first.
After catching up, Jose advanced together with them, shrinking the distance between them and the petrification lizards.
In a battle where both sides were evenly matched or there was not much difference in strength, brainlessly charging forward would only make one a live target and draw the enemy's firepower. One would die young under concentrated fire, and it was best to fight side by side with teammates.
The eyes of the three petrification lizards lit up. This was a sign that they were accumulating energy to activate their petrification ray.
In fact, the petrification lizard's petrification ray was more suitable to be called a stun ray. The effect of the ray was only to make the prey's body stiff, making it easier to hunt them down. The genuine petrification should be the medusa's innate magic — Medusa's Gaze. It was a powerful talent that even an adult dragon was afraid of.
With the petrification lizards' pupils as the origin, six petrification rays shot out, so fast that even a dragon could not dodge in time.
"What the—?! There are so many enemies. Why are they targeting me alone?!"
Jose cursed these petrification lizards in his heart and was hit by six consecutive petrification rays. Fortunately, Protection against Hostile Energy worked and neutralized four of the rays. The remaining two were countered by the dragon's powerful innate magic resistance.
The part of his body that was hit was slightly numb. He calmly evaluated the power of the petrification ray. If all six petrification rays hit him, his body would be stiff, and he would fall to the ground.
If that was the case, it would be a huge embarrassment. How would he be able to recruit followers in the future?!
He could not let them have the chance to accumulate energy!
With this thought, he quickly chanted an incantation.
Mist Spell!
Thick white fog appeared out of thin air, enveloping the charging kobolds and Jose, causing the petrification lizards to lose their targets.
With the help of the Mist spell, Jose cast Protection against Hostile Energy on himself as he was about to run out of the Mist spell's range.
Illusion Spell!
The illusion of the Red Dragon rushed out of the mist first and was instantly hit by six petrification rays.
The moment the petrification rays passed through the illusion, Jose jumped out of the fog with a strong gust of wind. Taking advantage of the time needed for the petrification lizards to accumulate energy, he closed the distance and finally entered the range of his dragon breath.
He opened his mouth, and flames surged out of his throat. The flames engulfed the petrification lizards and illuminated the entire cave.
The three burning petrification lizards immediately dispersed to avoid the dragon flames. As they ran, they let out hissing cries that were actually full of confidence. Clearly, the dragon flames did not cause any substantial damage to them. Jose stopped breathing fire as the petrification lizards rolled on the ground. The dragon flames on their body were extinguished, revealing grayish-white skin with marble patterns.
This was due to another talent spell of the petrification lizards — Petrified Skin.
According to the historical records, the Stone Skin spell created by mages was inspired by them. When used by them, Petrified Skin was even more powerful. Their bodies had only burned slightly, resisting the dragon breath.
"Dammit! My teenage dragon flames are not powerful enough. They cannot break the defense of Petrified Skin in a short time."
Before the petrification lizards could stand up, Jose rushed forward. His dragon tail swept up a large amount of black ashes from a burning tent and ruthlessly flung them at a female lizard. His dragon mouth turned, and he used his dragon breath to deal with another female lizard. At the same time, his dragon claws attacked the male lizard's head.
The fearless dragon's attacks against three enemies seemed impressive, but only he knew how dangerous it was.
The petrification lizard was six meters long and had strong muscles. The male lizard was larger than the female lizard and was not much weaker than the teenage dragon in terms of physical strength. Moreover, the fire magic that he was most proficient in was restricted by the terrain, which was equivalent to losing his strongest weapon.
As long as his attack slowed down a little, the petrification lizards would be able to find an opportunity to counterattack. Their fangs stained with smelly mucus carried a large number of germs, and the wounds caused by them were difficult to heal. He did not want to be bitten.
While the two sides were engaged in a fierce battle, a ray of bright yellow magic energy shot out from behind Jose. The magic energy entered Jose's body and injected vitality into his taut muscles. He felt his strength increase by a lot.
Strength Enhancement Spell!
"Ergou! Well done!"
Taking advantage of the momentum, Jose exploded with all his strength. With a sweep of his tail, he turned the female lizard into a rolling gourd that was sent flying 30 to 40 meters away, crushing a number of large tents.
The other female lizard was busy extinguishing the dragon flames on her body. The only male lizard, who was still uninjured, opened its mouth and bit him. The stench from its mouth was nauseating, but at this moment, Jose had just swung his tail and could not make another move in time.
He quickly used his hind legs to prop himself up and used his front claws to press on the lizard's head in the air. He used his weight advantage to press it to the ground, causing its upper and lower jaws to collide with each other.
"Bastard! Don't you know how bad your breath is?!"
The dragon wings aimed at the opponent's back and slammed down angrily. It hit the petrification lizard with a thumping sound like a drum.
Dragon Combat Technique, Third Style — Dragon Wing Slash!
"Hiss!"
The power provided by the flapping of the dragon wings was enough to lift the gigantic dragon's body into the sky, so one could imagine their strength. The seemingly weak dragon wings were actually heavier than half a tonne.
They smashed down continuously on the male lizard like hammers.
The petrified skin's defense was still intact, but the fragile internal organs could not withstand such blows. The petrification lizard cried out in pain as its body twisted and struggled violently. Its swaying tail swept up sand and stones.
The two female lizards heard their mate's painful cries and rushed forward to help, but were stopped by the kobolds.
The kobolds took advantage of their short stature to attack their relatively vulnerable stomachs with spears, forcing the two female lizards back.
In a one-on-one battle, Jose could finally do whatever he wanted. He used his weight advantage to press down on the head of the petrification lizard. The dragon wings continued to flap, and at the same time, he released his dragon breath. The scorching dragon flames enveloped the dragon and lizard.
Under the double attack, the petrified skin only lasted for a few seconds before it was broken. The gray layer of magic armor was removed, revealing the original skin of the petrification lizard. The skin of the petrification lizard was instantly burnt by the dragon flames, and the smell of meat filled the air.
Soon, the flesh on its back burned away, and Jose saw his opponent's spine and tibia.
In one go, he leaned his head back and took a deep breath. Then, he leaned forward and opened his mouth to spew out billowing flames. The dragon breath burned through the last membrane protecting the lizard's chest. The scorching dragon flames engulfed the petrification lizard's internal organs and turned them into ashes.