Chapter 32 The Party's First Big Hunt

"A wyrmling?" the queen growled, taking a step back while keeping her eyes on Arad. "To think a true dragon kin would make his way to my nest, I needed your blood to evolve."

[To evolve, monsters would need to strengthen their blood. Humans who bathed in dragon blood for decades became dragons.]

Arad glared at the queen, his body rumbling.

"Arad!" Aella rushed toward him, "We have a better chance together," She pulled three arrows, aiming at the queen.

When Arad heard her, he relaxed a bit. "You're right. I will take her on. You support me."

[You're listening to her?]

^Why would I have her by my side if I don't listen to her?^

GROWL! Arad growled, shaking his head and wings.

"You understand me?" Aella smiled, "But what do you want me to do?"

[You can talk, but she only hears growls in your draconic form.]

Arad was still a wyrmling, and just like a newborn baby, He couldn't speak impossible. His humanoid form offered flexibility and skills. But it was physically weaker than his draconic form.

The queen opened her jaw, not giving them any time to think. ROAR! And from her maw, a gust of flames rushed out, painting the cave red.

THUD! Arad leaped ahead, flapping wings like a chicken to extend his jump.

ROAR! Arad unleashed his breath again, breaking the flames apart.

"What is your breath made of?" The queen growled, unable to understand what Arad spat out. It wasn't like any other elemental energy, and it felt like nothing.

PEW! PEW! PEW! Aella fired three arrows aiming at the queen's eyes.

The queen whipped her neck, avoiding the arrows while turning around and swinging her tail toward Arad.

GRWAAA! Arad leaped in her tail, dragging his claws from the tip to her back and cutting a large wound. His natural weapons were far sharper than his sword.

The queen growled in pain, releasing a blast of flames from her back. BOOM! Arad got flung to the other side of the room, crashing on the wall and dazed from the impact.

Salamanders swarmed Aella to protect their queen.

"Arad, where is your sword?" Aella screamed, firing arrows at the salamanders swarming. She was about to run out, and her dagger was too small to fight crocodile-sized monsters.

[Arad! Give her the sword!] Mom screamed in Arad's head, forcing him to get a grip on himself.

CLING! The sword emerged from Arad's body, flying toward Aella.

THUD! Aella saw the sword pierce the ground ahead of her, "You can understand me!" She became certain Arad could still understand her in his draconic form. She grabbed the sword and took a deep breath. The faces of the elves who died because of her swarmed her mind.

"Sorry, but I must fulfill my duty." Aella's eyes flashed green, "Sacred wind of the forest, engulf my blade and cut my enemies," [Wind Blade]

A gust of wing covered the sword as she swung at the salamanders.

SLICE! SLASH! The first two strikes hit their mark, cleaving through the salamanders' flesh. But the last swing was strange. Aella swung her sword through the empty air.

SWOSH! A wind blade rushed from her sword, flying across the room and hitting the queen in the face, slicing a chunk from her nose.

GRWAAA! The queen growled, taking a step back. Aella extended her hand toward the queen, "Oh, spirits of the..." CRACK! Her spell failed, causing her a horrible headache as the voice in her head growled.

"I can't concentrate on any 1-tier spell," BANG! She smacked her forehead with the sword's pommel, "FOCUS!" She growled, lifting her hand again.

"Oh, spirits..." CRACK! The spell failed again. In that brief moment, the small salamanders rushed at her while the queen watched from the back, trying to anticipate any other strange attacks while waiting for her breath to recharge.

'I need to kill them from a distance. Getting close is dangerous,' The queen thought, 'My breath should kill her in one hit. That's why he protected her,'

ROAR! Arad rushed in, swinging his claw at one of the salamanders and taking a chunk from its side. He then attacked again, finishing it.

As the salamander changed their attention to him, Arad stood up on his hind legs while balancing with his tail.

CLICK! The staff appeared from nothing into his mouth while he opened his claws.

The queen stared at him, puzzled at what is this wyrmling trying to do. The mere image of a dragon holding a staff was alien to her.

CRACKLE! A lightning arc sparked between his claws.

[Void can make more than just flames,]

"A second element?" The queen roared, leaping back and opening her jaw, attempting to breathe fire at him.

The lightning color changed, flashing from blue to yellow. And then to pale white.

[Lightning Bolt; Level 3; R3] [Lightning Bolt; Level 3; R3] [Lightning Bolt; Level 3; R3] [Lightning Bolt; Level 3; R3] [Lightning Bolt; Level 3; R3] [Lightning Bolt; Level 3; R3] [Lightning Bolt; Level 3; R3] [Lightning Bolt; Level 3; R3] [Lightning Bolt; Level 3; R3]

Arad started blasting without a sign of stopping.

The queen closed her mouth and leaped to the side to dodge the spells, "I see! I know your nature now!" She growled, jamming her front claws behind a massive boulder and pushing it toward Arad with incredible force.

As the boulder approached, a salamander snuck behind Arad and bit his tail, trying to prevent him from dodging. CLANG! Aella rushed in, slicing the monster immediately.

The boulder was already about to hit them, "Arad!" She screamed, and he shook his back. Without thinking, she leaped on his back.

FLAP! FLAP! Arad leaped away with a mighty flap. CLANG! He then grabbed onto the wall with his claws, crawling like a lizard with Aella dangling from his back.

"You're a purple dragon, aren't you?" The queen growled.

[She's completely wrong, but I can see how she made this mistake.]

Mom quickly dumped the information about the purple dragons in Arad's head.

When a red dragon (Fire dragon) mates with a blue dragon (Lightning dragon), the child can have the power of either his parents or, in a rare case, be a purple dragon with two attributes.

Arad's purple glowing eyes. And his utilization of fire and lightning made the queen mistake him for one.

"How about it? Let's make a deal, purple one!" The queen growled, trying to get the best of this encounter. "Lower your claws, and I can share my fire knowledge with you!"

^What should I do?^

[Don't trust a monster. She is trying to make a deal because we're going to win.] Mom stated, [And, he isn't out of the fight yet,]

As the queen growled, she felt a hand on her head.

She tried to move her head, but suddenly, a dagger quickly impaled her right eye.

"I will only die to a woman's thighs. Yours aren't for me!" Jack growled, stabbing her eye again and again.

"JACK!" Aella screamed, aiming with her bow at the queen's second eye.

^He can move?^

[Don't think. Attack her neck!]

Arad dropped Aella, who landed on her legs and fired again at the queen. He rushed ahead as fast as he could, leaping with his jaw at the queen's neck.

Arad's jaw was too small to take the whole neck in one bite, so he started munching on her, using his sharp teeth while holding her with his claws. And digging his way deep into her flesh till she bled to death.