Legendary Beast Master: Starting with Contracting SSS Rank Dragon

Chapter 49: Entering the Nether Fortress

Kael’s next target was the Nether Fortress, which he considered to be the main base of the first floor, and usually, the main bases had the spawners. It was his target and the reason he was searching the fortress.

There would also be a lot of monsters there, so he had hopes that he could reach D-Rank within this week. His Evolution stage really did him dirty in this aspect, as he needed to hunt down more monsters for ranking up.

Following the map Alpha made, they returned to the hill from where he could see the Nether Fortress in the distance. But he didn’t stop there and instead went to the closest hill from where he could see it more clearly.

He stood silently at the edge of the hill, his eyes squinting slightly as the crimson winds blew past him. The heat was dry and scorching, but that couldn’t disturb him.

He was excited because of what stood ahead.

A massive structure made of dark bricks towered across the lava fields, casting long, menacing shadows over the glowing lake.

It was clearly old—ancient, even—but it hadn’t crumbled. It stood strong like a relic that refused to fall, its spires pointing towards the sky like spears aimed at the heavens.

The bridges looked fragile from afar, but Kael could tell they were anything but that. They were different from the stone bridge he had used previously. Thick and unnaturally long, they hung over lava rivers like stretched-out limbs waiting to grab something. Or someone.

Kiona stood beside him, her arms folded as her sharp eyes scanned the massive structure.

"That’s the Fortress?" she asked.

"Awesome, right?" Kael smiled. "It’s really a sight to behold."

Fortunately, Tharnyx had not made the world square like he did with the creatures here. That would have certainly been very weird.

"There’s danger and also many enemies right at the doorstep," Kiona said. "I don’t think it’s a good idea to directly march in. What do we do then?"

The bridges were long, and they were guarded by the Skeleton cohort. They also had a few Ghasts floating around, showing how troublesome entering would be for them.

"We can only enter through the main entrance," Kael sighed. "While the Nether Fortress is connected to the ground, there’s only lava around it, so there is no other way."

He turned toward her and grinned, "Are you scared of them?"

"Scared?" Kiona’s lips twitched as she smiled as well. "I will blast through all of them with my fire. After ranking up, my Flame Manipulation has gotten better."

"How about we test it?" Kael asked. "I’ll use my winds to hide your spear, so let’s first take out the Ghasts. They are more troublesome. Then, we can handle the Skeletons."

Kael’s provocation seemed to have ignited a fire inside her as she pumped her fists in excitement, "I won’t disappoint you."

The two of them walked out, bringing along a large boulder with them that covered both of them. Its movements were barely noticeable because of the sheer numbers of Blackstones.

They moved closer to one of the bridges, and Kael quickly identified and counted their target.

"One Ghast and two dozens of those Skeleton monsters. Damnation! They have a lot of archers and mages," Kael cursed. "There’s also the fact that other teams could come here quickly, so we need to be quick."

"I’m ready, Master," Kiona said.

"Good, then let’s test it first," Kael said and stretched his hands forward. Wind was one of the elements he could manipulate to a high degree because of his connection with the Stormbearer.

As the Flame Spear began to take shape in her hand, he willed the winds to wrap around it and hide its traces. It was easier, but he discovered that the spear would quickly dissipate if kept isolated.

Seeing that, Kiona nodded as she understood what he wanted to do without even talking to him.

They let the spear dissipate and went out of the cover. Then, Kiona quickly formed another flame spear, and after Kael’s augmentation, she strained her muscles and threw the spear with all her force.

The spear shot through the crimson winds without any obstruction, and it didn’t even make a sound. The Ghast was slightly late in detecting it and couldn’t move away with its slow speed. The Skeletons also tried to intercept the spear, but nothing worked because of its speed.

It hit the Ghast right in its eyes and blasted it into ashes that were scattered away. Kael knew they didn’t have a lot of time, so he quickly activated [Lightning Mantel] and ran on the stone bridge.

Kiona also ran behind him and then jumped, directly landing on his back as he caught her. Then, he increased his speed even more while saying, "Deal with them."

She was more than ready to deal with them, as she had already formed another flame spear by then. She whispered in a low voice, "[Solburn Execution]"

The spear was once again released from her hand, but this time its target was the skeleton groups. They were getting ready to bombard the duo with fireball arrows, but the spear landed right between them, producing a huge explosion that threw them to the sides, and one of them even died in that attack.

But that wasn’t the end, as there were two groups, and by the time Kiona made another Flame Spear, they had already loaded their shots and fired them.

So, instead of throwing the spear at the Skeletons, she jerked her hand and threw the spear in a straight line parallel to the bridge.

It deflected many of the arrows coming at them, clearing a way for Kael, who used the opportunity well and led the two of them across the bridge in seconds.

The casters summoned another Ghast, but Kiona had already expected that, so she had formed the flaming spear ahead of time.

With one single shot, the Ghast died as its Soul Power slipped into Kiona, but she could feel it was very minuscule, like dropping a water droplet in a big river.

As the Archers got ready again, Kael descended upon them like a herald of destruction. Lightning zipped around him as he threw a pulsating [Storm Pulse] at the Skeleton warriors, disrupting their attacks and paralyzing them.

Lightning was among the few elements that worked best against the undead monsters, after all.

Then, he brandished his claws, and with a smile on his handsome face, he began slaughtering the two cohorts of Skeletons as if they were just helpless trees against a forest fire.

He danced from one end to another, releasing his skills as if they didn’t cost him any mana at all. His Draconic physique gave him an immense boost too, so he didn’t even slow down for a second.

He was like a perfect angel of destruction, the being who brought doom to everything he set his eyes on.

Around two dozens of Skeletons were slaughtered in just over two minutes, leaving just a whirlpool of ashes as they drifted along the crimson winds, with Kael standing there at the center with a cold satisfaction in his eyes.