Chapter 161 - Drakes' Nest

"Here is good. Let's set up first. Group one will go into the canyon and start preparing traps. The rest, come with me. And keep your presence hidden. We don't want the beasts detecting us prematurely." Lao Huli said.He and the other high Layer Cultivators began setting up some sort of structure near the edge of the cliff. Hundreds of meters below we could see an expansive valley with a thin river running through and some greenery on either side. The rest of the canyon was all red and orange rock, with steep cliffs on either side.I watched for a bit as they began setting up a large weapon and drawing a formation around it. It somehow reminded me of a cannon, just instead of a barrel, it was a large piece of elongated pink crystal."Hey, quit standing around, we are late, let's go!" Yaji pulled me by the sleeve and I ran behind him. We jumped over the edge of the cliff and then made our way down by landing on small golden platforms. They were just enough for one foot to land on, keeping the energy expenditure to a minimum.I noticed the Cultivators almost refused to use their own Qi and instead drained their raw crystals and cut gemstones for everyday use. It made sense. The Base Qi in the air was very thin, and they only had a limited amount of Qi inside them. They couldn't afford to waste it and find themselves empty at a crucial point.Being without Qi meant certain death, especially against such strong opponents. They would be easy pickings for both Cultivators and Drakes.I even saw one guy slowing his fall with very basic Wind Arts, draining a low-grade gem instead of his own power.I could have just dropped down and landed like a meteorite, but we wanted to be stealthy, so I gracefully landed on the bottom of the ravine where a few older guys already started setting up the traps.They found a narrow part where the river cut off any escape on one side and the cliffs on the other. They then cleared out the ground and the Formation guy began carving. I let them work as Yaji and I went up ahead, scouting out the beasts.We walked for quite a while, carefully not to make any noise, with our Auras hidden and Qi signatures concealed. And we soon found the Drakes' nest. It was carved into the solid rock, with a bit of vegetation hiding the entrance, and many broken bones everywhere. We saw the large lizards lying in the sun, their red and orange scales giving them quite a bit of camouflage due to the pigment of the surrounding rock.The lizards, the largest of which was larger than a bus, appeared to be sleeping. At least most of the old ones did. Some of the younger ones, no bigger than a van, played around, biting and grappling with each other.Even considering they were partially Dragons, their sharp teeth and powerful claws did nothing but tickle each other.I noticed they were heavily armored, especially on the belly. There they had large white overlapping scales, making it the most protected part instead of a weak spot as I would have expected.They also had a pair of large horns that grew along the contour of the skull and then bent upward slightly. If anyone got onto a Drake's back, they would get skewered with those horns easily. Not to mention the various spikes they had on the ridges of their spine.The more I looked, the more difficult the battle became in my mind. The beasts were like living tanks, ones that breathed fire and chewed metal.[Wait… Is that... Are they eating gold?] I nudged Yaji beside me. I noticed some of them chewing on rocks of what seemed gold ore."Ha? Oh, you are right! It looks like a gold vein is running through this place. No wonder they settled here."[What?] I looked at him as if he was speaking Chinese. I had no clue what he was saying. [What does gold have to do with it?]"Oh, you know…"[No, no I don't.]Yaji looked at me and frowned. "Seriously? Dragon Blood Metal? Spirit Iron? Err… What is the other name… Mithril?"[Mithril is Dragon's blood?!] I hissed in a whisper. My eyes went wide."Refined, yes. But wait, you really didn't know?"[I had no idea!] I turned to the playing Drakes. [So these things are full of Mithril?]"Only the boss. Others may have a speck, but it's barely worth extracting. Not to mention that their bloodline isn't pure, they aren't even in the Spirit Realm yet. They are not ready. And you joined even though you didn't know why we were hunting them?"[I mean… Aren't the other parts also valuable?]"Of course, but their blood is the most valuable of it all. Just look at that guy, you could fill a pool with his blood. I bet a good blacksmith could make a dozen Spirit Swords from it."I quietly whistled, imagining the walking mountain of Spirit Stones those beasts represented. But then I frowned again. If they were worth so much, it meant that they were even harder to kill than I imagined. Their life force was clearly extremely powerful. I didn't imagine a simple stab wound would do much.Attacking them with our tiny Spirit Swords would also be extremely messed up. We would be basically attacking them with the enchanted blood of their ancestors. That was crazy.However, unless the others had a good way to pierce their defenses, it would be a long fight. The problem were their large bodies. Even the thinnest scales were thicker than my bones. That would prove to be a real challenge for any human-sized weapons."Let's go back before they smell us." Yaji said, and we suck back to the others setting up Formations. The one who knew what he was doing was giving out orders, and the others were helping build it to the blueprint's specifications."How did it go?" One of the men asked.[One peak Golden Core, one Eighth Layer, four Seventh Layer, five Sixth Layer, and eight below Fifth.] I reported our findings."There's an Eight Layer? How could you tell?" Another said.[I mean, they weren't exactly hiding their Auras...]"N-no… I meant… You are just…"[Yes?] I asked, confused. What was he saying?"Never mind… Good job."[Thanks.] I shrugged my shoulders and jumped higher on a ledge on the cliff, looking along the winding ravine. The nest was separated and hidden from us by many bends of the river, not allowing either sound or smell to travel far. The river ran towards us, so there was no fear of them detecting us that way."Nice view." Yaji said after climbing up as well. He took his sword and then carved out a hole in the wall not far away. "What are you thinking about?"[Hmm… I wonder if we can take them all at once. They are worth quite a lot, huh?]"Yeah… I'm expecting to get around 100 Spirit Stones at least. They are worth a lot more than that, but considering all the resources invested into traps, the old guys will probably want a larger share."[I mean… They are doing most of the work.]"Yeah, I can't complain." Yaji sighed and rested his head on his knees, looking into the distance. "It should keep me going for a few more years. Maybe we'll find some treasures that we can sell for some extra money. Oh, and the meat will be a treat as well."[We aren't selling that?] I asked, slightly surprised. I thought for sure everything would get sold. But then again…"It's not worth it. There's too much of it, and any Sect willing to buy it is too far away. If everyone takes their part, less of it will go to waste. We'll have a feast, that's for sure."[Yeah, if you survive…] I answered absentmindedly."What do you mean, if you survive? Are you trying to bring us bad luck? And what about you? You are the weakest among us."[Oh, I'm definitely going to survive this. Don't you worry about me.]"Well, I like your confidence at least. You are either competent or stupid."[Thanks. I'll take that as a compliment.]***Time passed and it was already afternoon by the time we heard a loud signaling whistle. It was time to go."Get ready!" One of the men shouted. "On your positions!"I jumped down and Yaji was right behind me. Our job was to lure the Drakes into the trap. Sounded easy, but we had to escape from two dozen angry beasts way above our level."Here, take this." We were given two wand-like metal sticks with a Spirit Stone at one end and a thousand runes running all throughout it.We took them and then ran towards the nest. The Drakes were agitated by the sharp whistle and were searching for trouble when we showed up."Oh, shit!" Yaji dove to the ground as a beam of flames shot over his head all of a sudden. We had been spotted.[Do it! Quickly!] I shouted and activated my wand. I felt compelled to pick a target and did so, choosing the medium-sized Drakes in the back. The wand heated up in my hand as energy was extracted from it, and four fast-moving blobs of energy shot into the sky, turned around, and smashed into the chosen targets in an instant.The Drakes roared as the magic missiles exploded on their backs and lurched forward, but then they were hit with another volley of magic, coming from Yaji. That thoroughly enraged every single one of them, especially the boss, who stood up on its four thick, powerful legs, and blew a plum of fire into the sky amid an earth-shattering roar.Stones and rocks began to rain into the canyon from the sheer power of its voice."Run!" Yaji yelled and broke into a sprint.[Oh, shit!]Before I even turned, the giant boss Drake released a sonic boom and was already beside me, claws outstretched, ready to kill. I barely had time to brace myself for the impact when its shadow covered me.But then, instead of striking me, the beast's limbs were wrapped in glowing chains of energy and pulled back. I noticed the machine they were building at the top of the canyon shooting a beam down at it, keeping it from tearing me apart.I wasted no time and put all my effort into escaping. The Drake boss roared and the rest of the beasts rushed after us like a flood. It stayed behind, but I could already see a few of the chains breaking as it thrashed around in rage.I wished my fellow Cultivators good luck and disappeared from its view. There were four of them in the same Realm as the beast itself, so they had a chance. They were also ready to fight, so I didn't think about them anymore. I just focused on escaping.The ground in the canyon was uneven and difficult to traverse, slowing me down somewhat. But it was the same for the beasts on my tail. I didn't use my Qi to build platforms for running since I just didn't have time. I rushed at top speed, bouncing off walls and jumping over large boulders as the enraged Drakes dashed forward to bite me in half.Even though they were comparatively weaker than the Elder I killed, I held no doubt in my heart they would tear me apart. The Elder just wanted to capture me while they wanted nothing more than to devour my guts. I couldn't compromise with them either, so the only option was to escape.Luckily the run was short and I already saw the other Cultivators in the distance, waving at me. I jumped over the minefield which was nicely marked with a few simple flags, and landed on the other side.At that exact moment, one of the older men triggered a Formation, and walls of reinforced rock rose from the ground, funneling the beasts into a tight formation. The beasts crawled over each other mindlessly to be the first to taste blood.And that's when it happened. Darkness covered the land and a grand Formation triggered with all of them in the middle, glowing with such energy I had to avert my eyes. All kinds of blades formed from pure energy and a barrier shot up from the edges, connecting in the sky and forming a dome above the beasts.In a few seconds, the creatures were trapped in a slaughtering formation, inside which energy blades began to spin and grind, wrecking everything.