novelraw Chapter 18 – Itt Monster Tribe
Chapter 18 – Itt Monster Tribe
The ancient Dragon Roar echoed throughout the cave, but instead of instilling fear in the kobolds, it only made them more excited.
Some of the kobolds lay on the ground, wagging their lizard-like tails, while others waved metal shields and rusty knives, barking in excitement. Some even danced bizarrely around the bonfire.
The scene was a bit chaotic, but it was clear they felt honored and delighted to be under the rule of a dragon.
Su Nian held Anna in his arms, stunned for a moment, and suddenly imagined if he were a boss in his past life and his employees were as enthusiastic as these kobolds...
Setting aside intelligence, just looking at their enthusiasm, his company would definitely be among the world's top 500.
"Polikri, is this all the kobolds in your tribe?"
Su Nian flew to the center of the hall, observing the kobolds from above.
Most of these kobolds were old or young, and many of the younger ones were wrapped in colorful bandages, some even missing limbs, indicating a recent war.
"Master, you must help us!"
Polikri knelt on the ground, his dog-like face full of sorrow, tears and snot flowing as he recounted their woes:
"Originally, the Fangbreak Tribe was a medium-sized tribe with about four to five hundred kobolds. Back then, I wasn't the chieftain. But then our tribe was attacked by a group of Itt Monsters and their spider swarm. They took our territory and occupied our mine..."
"To ensure the survival of our race, I led the remaining Fangbreak clan to escape and settle in this cave."
At this point, the surrounding kobolds began to cry like their chieftain, their wails resembling those of beaten puppies.
Itt Monsters?
Su Nian searched the dragon's inherited memories and quickly recalled detailed information about this creature.
They are humanoid spiders, generally Tier 2, with some exceptional ones reaching Tier 3.
But they are vastly different from Spider-Man.
They have only four strong limbs, capable of both upright walking and crawling, with heads resembling ordinary spiders, complete with compound eyes and sharp venomous fangs.
Just looking at them would make one's sanity plummet.
Itt Monsters have a flute-like mouthpart, which they use to control spiders, much like those who charm cobras.
Due to their affinity for darkness, they usually dwell in the depths of shadowy forests or caves.
These creatures are violent by nature, particularly fond of consuming brains, and controlling spiders is just one of their attack methods.
In fact, they possess considerable combat abilities themselves.
Although they are humanoid creatures, they can still spit webs from their mouth glands, forming large nets to trap prey.
Additionally, they have venomous stingers on their lower abdomens, which they use to inject dissolving venom into trapped prey.
Previously, Su Nian's lair was on the outskirts of Silvermoon Forest, so he hadn't encountered such magical beasts.
But that's not important. What's important is, what did he just hear?
A mine?!
A mine means wealth, and wealth means he could buy supplies or potions from traveling goblin merchants, or even sleep on a bed of gold coins!
"Polikri, what kind of mine did your tribe occupy before? And how many Itt Monsters are there?"
Polikri blinked twice, overjoyed. The Black Dragon's question indicated interest. If the Black Dragon was willing to help them, they had a chance to drive away or even kill those Itt Monsters and reclaim their old territory.
"Great Master, our former tribe was called the Dogfang Tribe, four to five times larger than this cave. Like the metal shields in that kobold's hand, there were hundreds in the old tribe, and these metal forks, our weapons, over two hundred, and beautiful female kobolds, graceful in figure... ow..."
Su Nian frowned, impatiently blowing a hot breath onto Polikri's face. The strong airflow turned into a white mist in the slightly chilly cave, flipping Polikri over and knocking him to the ground.
"Get to the point!" The Black Dragon's voice boomed like thunder in Polikri's ears.
"Reporting to Master!"
Sensing Su Nian's anger, Polikri quickly got up and reported meticulously:
"We occupied a silver mine, and there are five Itt Monsters, their spiders... countless spiders..."
Su Nian didn't bother to expose whether Polikri couldn't count or just didn't know the numbers. He was contemplating whether the silver mine was worth the risk.
Firstly, there were five Itt Monsters, maybe more now.
These 10-20 level magical beasts weren't the most troublesome; it was mainly their spider swarm and the webs covering the entire lair that were quite disgusting.
Secondly, Itt Monsters are Neutral Evil and not easy to tame. Although there have been Black Dragons in history that tamed Itt Monsters, they are not orderly, and he mainly feared they might harm Anna.
Orderly kobolds are different. Though they are also of an evil alignment, now that Anna is one of them, they would protect her.
After much thought, Su Nian decided it was worth the fight. After all, Anna's illness couldn't be delayed, and who knows when he might need money, or if human mages might come looking for him.
He always liked to prepare for the worst, so he couldn't just eat and sleep like other dragons.
He needed to strive a little!
Currently, the only way to quickly enhance his power was through the transformation system. Su Nian opened the system panel, scanned it for a while, and finally focused on two transformation options.
[Basic Forge] Modifies the poison sac storing acid, adding bio-furnace cells to produce magma, allowing the emission of toxic molten flames. (Cost: 1000 System Points)
[Basic Dragonbreath Accumulation] Modifies the poison sac wall cells that convert acid, enhancing the storage speed of dragonbreath. (Cost: 1000 System Points)
Itt Monsters fear fire, and his acidic dragonbreath has limited effect on their chitinous carapace. In melee, he could easily be surrounded by their spider swarm.
Therefore, only by transforming into a fire-breathing Black Dragon could he inflict maximum damage on these Itt Monsters.
A cold light flashed in Su Nian's dragon eyes. Killing a Blazing Rabbit yields 1-2 System Points, a Mountain Wolf 2-3 points, and a Silver Moon Wolf a bit more at 5-6 points, but it's troublesome and the reward is low.
The greatest benefit comes from humans, who are considered part of the justice faction, with system point rewards doubled. Killing a Tier 2 human yields at least 15 points.
Indeed, he needed to challenge the humans of this world.
However, a lingering trace of humanity in Su Nian prevented him from attacking ordinary villagers, but when it came to mercenary groups or bandits, he wouldn't hold back.
Actually, killing players would be the best choice, but according to the system, players hadn't descended yet.
"Polikri, tell me, are there any human bandit camps or Black Beast Mercenary Groups nearby?"
Polikri was taken aback by Su Nian's sudden question. Weren't they just talking about reclaiming the mine? How did it suddenly shift to humans?
But he dared not ask, and answered honestly:
"Praise the great Master! There are indeed two bandit groups nearby, but only one mercenary group, the Blood Lion Mercenary Group. I've never heard of a Black Beast Mercenary Group."