A narrow mountain gorge.
Once they passed through this gorge,
they would more or less be entering the true territory of the Black Dragon Fortress.
Along the way here, aside from the very first [Kobold Chieftain],
nothing unexpected had happened again.
Whether it was the monsters that appeared,
or the terrain, or even the shortcuts—
everything matched the guide exactly.
That finally allowed the tension in Lei Shan's heart to ease a little.
"That Kobold Chieftain probably just got lost. Looked dumb as hell anyway…"
Lei Shan muttered to himself.
He raised his head and looked toward the majestic fortress,
half-hidden behind the mist of the secret realm in the distance.
According to the guide,
the Black Dragon BOSS was stationed right atop that fortress…
Just as Lei Shan was lost in thought—
Beside him,
one of the vice guild leaders of Spirit Hunters, Qian Yuan,
suddenly turned his head with a curious expression and asked:
"Guild Leader."
"I heard that this Black Dragon Fortress secret realm has a hidden Easter egg?"
"They say the Black Dragon often raids the elf lands and abducts elven maidens."
"If you manage to rescue an elven girl, you can gain her favor,
and even obtain a pass to the Elven Kingdom—"
"You'll die if you go a single day without thinking about women, won't you?"
Lei Shan curled his lips and rolled his eyes.
Qian Yuan—
Fourth Advancement, Healing Holy Paladin.
Not only was he handsome,
but as a paladin, nearly all of his equipment shimmered with radiant golden light.
Whether inside the guild or out in the world,
he was extremely popular with women.
Who would've thought that even while running a secret realm,
his mind would still wander to this kind of thing.
However—
Lei Shan did remember something.
That hidden Easter egg was indeed mentioned in the guide.
But according to the guide,
it hadn't appeared for several years now.
If possible, Lei Shan really didn't want to trigger it.
All he wanted was to proceed step by step,
clear the dungeon, kill the BOSS,
and get the job-advancement materials.
If a hidden Easter egg got triggered and caused deviations not recorded in the guide,
that would be bad news.
"Qian Yuan, you bastard—didn't you just get a new girlfriend the day before yesterday?
And now you're already setting your sights on elf girls?"
Zhao Ming laughed as he teased him.
Since the journey so far had been smooth,
there was no need for him to take action.
The longbow named [Call of the Storm] rested on his back
as he casually watched Qian Yuan with a grin.
"Tch, we already broke up. Her legs weren't long enough…"
"Speaking of which, elf girls all have insane looks,
and their figures are top-tier—"
"Holy shit, what the hell is that?!"
Before Qian Yuan could finish—
A sudden commotion erupted ahead.
A loud boom echoed out,
followed by something smashing down right in front of the group.
Judging from the trajectory,
it looked like it had been thrown down directly from the air far away…
After snapping back to his senses,
Qian Yuan quickly tossed out an appraisal skill—
[Level 92 ?????????]
[Level 94 ?????????]
[Level 93 ?????????]
...
Five elite-tier Dragonblood Warriors?!
What the hell was going on?
Lei Shan's brows knitted tightly together.
That same uneasiness from before surged back.
If the earlier Kobold Chieftain could be considered an accident—
Then what were these Dragonblood Warriors supposed to be?
Forget it…
Looking at the Dragonblood Warriors roaring as they charged toward them,
Lei Shan stopped thinking about the reason.
With a raise of his hand, lightning crackled.
[Thunderstrike]:
[Deals magic damage equal to 100% of Spirit to the target, with an additional 40% lightning-element damage. Damage is doubled against spirit-type creatures]
As mana surged—
Massive torrents of lightning poured down on the Dragonblood Warriors
as if lightning itself were free…
...
Above the Black Dragon Fortress.
Su Yang watched the distant battle with great interest.
Those five Dragonblood Warriors
were something he had casually tossed down earlier with a flick of his dragon claw.
After all, a single Kobold Chieftain
wasn't enough to properly test their strength.
Using five Dragonblood Warriors
was much more revealing—
But Su Yang had a question.
From the looks of it—
Judging by his own status panel,
this group shouldn't be able to defeat him at all.
So why was it that when he checked the secret realm records earlier—
Before he took over as the Black Dragon BOSS,
this dungeon had already been cleared dozens of times?
No, something was wrong. Definitely wrong.
Even though Su Yang had only just completed his job advancement—
He was a transmigrator!
In his previous life, he had played countless games.
A thought instantly formed in his mind—
Mechanics!
There was absolutely some kind of mechanic hidden within this secret realm!
Either it granted buffs to challengers,
or it slapped a massive weakening debuff on him…
Otherwise, based on the strength these guys were showing,
trying to clash with his mighty Blackflame Wings—
wouldn't they just shatter on contact?
Wait—
Su Yang suddenly noticed something.
Within the secret realm's management system…
There was actually a record replay feature?
It could show previous clear runs?
Holy shit…
Su Yang casually tossed a few more elite monsters down below.
Meanwhile, he himself began watching the earlier replays.
...
"So that's how it is!"
Before long, Su Yang's eyes lit up after finishing the replay.
On the outskirts of the Black Dragon Fortress,
inside a certain cave, there existed a tomb.
This tomb belonged to an unrecorded, nameless Dragon-Slaying Hero!
Inside the burial chamber
rested a necklace called [Dragon-Slaying Heart]!
This was a special piece of equipment that could not be taken out of the secret realm—
However, once a job-advancer followed the realm's guidance and equipped it,
they could ignore all dragon-type racial talents!
That meant the original 80% physical and magical damage immunity,
as well as the attribute-reduction aura,
would all become completely invalid!
No wonder these trash-tier guys
were able to slay a noble Black Dragon…
Su Yang's gaze pierced through the mist of the secret realm
and fell upon the members of the Spirit Hunters guild.
At this very moment,
they had already killed the five Dragonblood Warriors
and were advancing along a route—
Straight toward the cave that housed the nameless hero's tomb!
Good grief!
Such a clear objective!
Did they have a guide in their hands?
But then Su Yang thought again—
If he acted before they did,
and they failed to obtain the [Dragon-Slaying Heart],
wouldn't he be able to wipe them out effortlessly?
Yes! That had to be it!
A glint of excitement and anticipation flashed through
Su Yang's enormous golden dragon pupils.
His massive wings beat powerfully
as he shot straight into the sky!
Terrifying dragon's oppressive aura exploded outward—
the entire secret realm began to tremble!
Those powerful elite monsters
fell into fanatic prostration on the ground!
All of them knelt and worshiped
the Su Yang soaring high above the sky!
...
On the small path leading to the Nameless Cave.
Zhao Ming, who had been vigilantly observing the surroundings, asked cautiously:
"Guild Leader, we're already very close to the Black Dragon Fortress.
If we go this way, will it draw its attention?"
Hearing this, Lei Shan hesitated internally,
but in the end still shook his head.
"It shouldn't. According to the guide,
the Black Dragon BOSS follows fixed behavior patterns."
"Before we enter within a ten-kilometer radius of the Black Dragon Fortress,
it won't initiate any attacks."
"According to the guide, this is called
'The Dragon's Contempt'…"
But before he could finish speaking—
The entire secret realm suddenly began to shake violently.
Immediately after,
a colossal shadow descended.
The sky of the secret realm itself
seemed to be engulfed by an overwhelming, terrifying dragons oppressive aura!