At Charles's shout, Anno leapt out of bed, scrambling to dress herself. She was completely caught off guard by the sudden danger—after all, Rockseeker's Outpost had existed for more than a century, and aside from wild beasts, had hardly ever been attacked. Who would expect such a crisis to erupt overnight?
But there was no use complaining. All that mattered now was to get up, grab her weapon, and respond.
She reached for her bedside chair, then suddenly remembered she had nothing on underneath, flushing bright red. "Get out, quick."
Charles sighed and backed out of the room. Thankfully, the hostel was Dwarf-built, and say what you will about dwarves being as stubborn as stone—no one could deny the superb quality of their construction.
Despite all the shaking, there was no sign the building would collapse. It was, undeniably, sturdy and reliable.
He stepped into the corridor, just as Hattie, Theresa, and Nidalee exited their rooms, too. Unlike the panicked adventurers, the spellcasters were calm—brows furrowed, quietly observing everything around them.
Charles wasted no time, gesturing to Hattie, "Hattie, go to Anno's room and help her into her plate armor. Nidalee, Theresa, with me—let's get downstairs and see what's happening."
Plate armor, to guarantee its defensive capabilities, is mostly a single interlocking piece. Donning it alone, even for the practiced, takes over ten minutes. With someone's help, the job is far easier.
Hattie nodded, turned, and entered Anno's now-broken door, entering to the flustered but relieved greeting from inside. Charles led the other two girls swiftly down the stairs; by now, the hostel's first floor was deserted—even the Dwarven proprietress had taken refuge outside.
But was it really safer out there?
"ROAR—!"
A bestial roar echoed from outside. A huge shadow swept across the sky, diving down. Fire rained from above, igniting buildings, woodpiles, stables, and fences—the night exploded with flames, the whole town lit up in a searing orange glow!
The crackle of burning wood, bursts of new fires, and distant shouts from would-be defenders blended together in the chaos as pandemonium seized the small town.
Charles's expression darkened as he rushed outside—only to find flying overhead, breathing fire on the buildings, a flock of three-headed Chimera!
And not just one—a whole group!
Chimeras were not a social species, yet these ones operated in flawless coordination, targeting inhabited houses and spewing jets of flame!
Fwoosh—
Just then, a Chimera swooped over their hostel's roof, dropping a massive fireball that set the very building ablaze!
Charles hastily chanted, casting Create Water/Destroy Water, summoning torrents of icy water on the roof, extinguishing the flames. The Chimera's goat head fixed him with an evil glare—holding its temper, it turned and flew off, showing none of a typical Chimera's infamous rage.
These Chimeras are well-trained—clearly organized!
He felt a cold foreboding, a premonition that was soon confirmed as a new cry rang out from the distance: "It's the Mountain People! The Mountain People are attacking!"
"Defend the camp, damn it! Drive those dog-born Mountain People back!"
"Hey, watch your mouth, I'm one of those damn Mountain People!"
"I didn't mean you! Hurry up and get over here!"
...
Mountain People!
Charles's heart clenched, Danche's brown face immediately coming to mind. With Chimeras so well-trained, they had to be Chimera tribe war-beasts—this was surely a premeditated assault by the Alliance of the Mountain Purifiers!
Damn it, Willo and Danche ought to have returned to the alliance by now—why is the battle starting anyway?
Is Willo really not to be trusted?
His expression was grim. At that moment, he heard rapid footsteps behind him—Anno and Hattie, the former now fully armored, arrived at his side.
Seeing the fire-breathing Chimeras, Anno came to the same conclusion: "The Alliance of the Mountain Purifiers started an assault?"
She shot a glance at Nidalee, whose heart seemed to leap into her throat. "That… shouldn't be. My father, he wouldn't start an assault so rashly…"
Her voice faltered—she didn't sound confident: "Unless…"
She cast an anxious glance at Anno, wondering if the paladin might—out of resentment that Nidalee was the enemy leader's daughter and had been flirting with her boyfriend—decide to kill her on the spot.
Fortunately, even if she didn't like her, Anno wasn't so shortsighted. "We save people first!"
She didn't care what Nidalee's "unless" meant—at this moment, she still viewed this Mountain People druid as an ally.
Charles's expression grew even darker. He already knew what Nidalee's unfinished "unless" meant.
Unless the Earth Dragon had completely gone out of control, forcing Ilarode to squeeze out its last value—unleashing it on Rockseeker Camp in exchange for radical support within the alliance.
As he thought this, the ground began to shake anew. The party staggered out of the hostel, struggling to stay upright. Anno gritted her teeth, "Is it Chthonian? Are they working together?"
"No," Hattie said, her eyes sharp. "This isn't a Chthonian—it's an Earth elemental causing this!"
Chthonians emit intense heat—they love dry places. If burrowing, their burning hides parch the earth above. But now, the ground didn't feel dry—only teeming with intense elemental power, reforming in the distance.
"It's the Earth Dragon!"
Nidalee screamed. As the Mountaineer tribe's heir, she recognized her people's elemental beast: "Keep away from the open ground where the tremors are strongest!"
It was obvious, even without her warning, to any experienced adventurer that something terrible was about to happen in the central town square—the usual place for the market. They cried out and fled for safer ground—
BOOM—!
The next instant, a colossal beast burst out from underground, shaking the earth and spewing clouds of dust and stone. Adventurers caught too close were thrown off their feet or struck by flying debris—many were badly injured.
At their distance, Charles and the others experienced only the outer edges of the shockwave. He steadied himself and squinted through the airborne dust.
That… is that the Earth Dragon?
Through the haze, he could just make out the massive creature behind it. It was less like a dragon than a monstrously enlarged primeval crocodile—with massive horns crowning its head.
Even lying flat on the ground, it stood more than five meters tall—almost as high as their hostel itself—and its full length exceeded twenty meters. Its hide was covered in earthy yellow scales, and there were no wings on its back: clearly, it could not fly.
Trailing behind was a tail as long as its body, thick with blunt protrusions—a deadly weapon in its own right.
It opened its jaws wide, emitting a terrifying ululating roar from the depths of its throat. Its eyes glowed blood-red. Earth elementals were typically steady and gentle—unwilling to fight. This Earth Dragon, however, was in a frenzy—its urge to kill burning out of control!
There was no question—its mind was clouded by demonic pollution. Now, in its madness, it had only one goal: to unleash destruction!
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