A group of twenty people moved together. Among the group, there were three mortals, while the rest were Transcendence Realm Cultivators. The strong people fought a group of ten Endless Mud Beasts, slowly weakening them until they could barely regenerate or move a single part of their bodies.
Then, the three mortals would join hands and attack the beasts, giving them the final blows. This method guaranteed around 0.1 points per beast for the mortals.
"Haha! I am twenty-three right now. You two are really pathetic."
"Boasting about not even being in the top ten… How far have you fallen?"
"Shameless. Did that dragon woman's rejection hurt your self-esteem that much?"
The man's face stiffened and then crumpled. "That dragon woman…!" However, when he wanted to flare up, the shadow of two cold yet seductive golden slit eyes flashed in his mind, and his anger twisted into fear, making his body tremble slightly.
Seeing him trembling, the woman's lips arched mockingly. "Truly pathetic. A single glare and you are already growing heart demons."
"Young Master!" A shadowy figure appeared by their side, kneeling by the man's side.
The man snapped out of his daze and asked, his eyes shining with a bright light. "Did you find her?"
"Yes, Young Master. It was difficult to follow the trail. Thankfully, I was able to detect a powerful presence for a fraction of a second. After trying to search for two weeks, I managed to encounter the dragon woman."
"Hahaha! Great!" His lips arched widely, and he looked at the other two mortals. "If you come, I'll share the dragon with you two."
The other man showed a tempted expression. "Hm… I'd rather wait to see her strength first. She was able to blast one of your bodyguards flying with a single blow, so she is not simple."
The woman snorted. "Why would I help you? I am not interested."
The man sneered. "You are not interested? Hahaha. Dragons of her caliber have great regeneration. With the right drugs, we can make her our puppet and farm her until her vitality is exhausted. Not to mention… Wouldn't you love to make that proud dragon grovel under your feet?"
The woman got thoughtful for a moment, probably imagining that situation. As she did, her cheeks flushed slightly as a grin formed on her lips. "...Alright. You've convinced me. I'll give you a hand. There is no way that she and that divine will defeat seventeen Transcendence Realm Cultivators."
The man grinned wickedly. 'You slut… Not daring to accept my offer? I'll take you by force now and make you understand who your master is!'
***
Far from that location, Yasenia and Lataria continued hunting for endless beasts. Their points were constantly kept within the top five. Sadly, Yasenia was not the only monster participating in the trial.
Lataria glared at the flame that constantly kept the first place. "Ugh… To think that the perverted dragon is first."
Yasenia punched an Endless Mud Beast into nothingness and looked up. "Are you sure that the first flame is that dragon man? We are currently second and third… Although the distance from the fourth and fifth positions isn't even four points."
"Yeah. I am certain." Lataria sighed. "Now that I think about it… I have not explained why I am hostile to him, right?"
Yasenia smiled faintly. "I am not that meddlesome. If you want to tell me, I will hear about it…" She stopped speaking and glanced to the side. There, she saw the pieces of the Endless Mud Beast gather together in an instant, reforming the monster.
"GROAHH!"
"Oh. It wasn't dead. [Celestial Dragon Breath]."
ROAR!
A celestial blue beam swallowed the Endless Mud Beast, and Yasenia's score increased a second later. The breath flew into the distance, colliding against a distant mountain and exploding.
Lataria noticed that Yasenia's score went up by two additional points after the explosion. "Oh! You got two extra beasts with that shot. Lucky." Then, she smiled and flew down. "We've been hunting non-stop. So it is a good way to rest for a moment. That annoying dragon is only seventeen beasts ahead of us."
Looking at Yasenia, Lataria felt a bit sorry. "Honestly… If I were not by your side, you would've been able to gather points quicker, right?"
Yasenia smiled faintly. "Perhaps. But being together has deterred a few annoying people. So, I am not in a disadvantageous position."
"Now that you say it…"
During the last weeks, Yasenia and Lataria encountered other people. Some of them were from demonic sects and tried to approach. Naturally, Yasenia and Lataria shooed everyone away. What Yasenia noticed is that the reason they gave up so quickly was Lataria's presence. 'I don't know who she is exactly. But she is quite a big shot for how silly she looks.'
Lataria, unaware of Yasenia's rude thoughts, explained what happened with the dragon. "You know Astarea, right? That woman is actually my grandmother. She is a powerful Divine and has a lot of influence. However, this influence is more inherited than earned."
Lataria sighed. "My grandmother is powerful, and she can easily hold the position she holds. But it previously belonged to my grandaunt, grandma's sister." Lataria frowned and said hatefully. "My grandaunt was deceived by that stupid dragon's words and left our power to be with him! Of course, I wouldn't have said anything if that was all. But that stupid dragon is now aiming for my grandmother as well!"
Lataria clawed the air with a nasty expression. "If I get my hands on that lecherous lizard… Ughhh!!!"
Yasenia raised her eyebrow and chuckled. 'It wasn't that big of a deal. Since that dragon is stronger than Lataria, I bet that dragon feels that Lataria's actions are more like the prank of a youngster than anything else.'
While she could feel bad feelings from Lataria, they were closer to annoyance than hatred. 'If I have to give it an equivalent… It feels as if her cool uncle betrayed her expectations, and she wants to give him a beating for it.'
While it was less serious than Yasenia thought, that didn't mean that Yasenia would dismiss it. Instead, she smirked a bit. "If we encounter him, I'll help you a bit. My Dragon Bloodline is pretty strong, so I can probably make him slightly docile for you to give him a good beating."
Lataria's eyes flashed. "Really?" Then, she showed a bit of concern. "Yasenia… That lecherous lizard might target you if you show too much strength."
Yasenia blinked a few times. "I mean… I am quite young in terms of dragon age. Even if he is lecherous, he won't go for a junior my age, right?"
Lataria looked conflicted. She wanted to say that he wouldn't, but the words just wouldn't come out of her mouth.
Yasenia sweated a bit. 'Perhaps helping her is not that great of an idea.'
The last thing she needed was a persistent dragon trying to make her his mate. 'Although… If I show him my soulmate's aura, he should give up… I hope.'
Either way, after that, they resumed their killing of Endless Mud Beasts. Their score slowly caught up to the powerful dragon uncle, and after a total of 24 days, Yasenia and he finally tied in the first position.
Lataria exclaimed happily. "We caught up! Yasenia, you are super strong, waaah!"
They've been fighting together almost daily, and there were times when more than ten mud beasts would appear out of nowhere. If Lataria were alone, she would've probably fled at their sight. However, with the powerful dragoness by her side, the mud beasts felt too weak.
Riding Yasenia's coattail, Lataria was currently firmly placed in fourth position. The reason for the disparity between Yasenia and herself was contribution. On average, Lataria earned 0.3 points per beast, while 0.7 went to Yasenia.
"Alright. That's great." Yasenia chuckled. "However, we can't stop here. We need to slowly push ahead."
"Slowly?" Lataria blinked. "Isn't it better to go all out and leave him in the dust?"
"No." Yasenia rubbed her smooth chin and smiled. "I know what he is thinking. He is probably gauging our clearing speed to compete with us. Regardless of how you think of him, that man is a dragon. He is competitive. So, as long as we show a similar hunting speed to him, he won't use all his power. What we need to do now is maintain his pace and not reveal our true strength."
Lataria's eyes gleamed. "That's a great idea. Then, during the last day, we can give our all and leave him in the dust!"
"Yes." Yasenia smiled. "As long as we conserve enough energy, the last day will determine who gets first position in the race. For now, let's accumulate points steadily."
While they hunted, always keeping their pace with the dragon, Yasenia felt something strange in her heart. As she fought with the mud beast, swinging Draheart powerfully and creating giant gashes on its body, her senses instinctively spread out.
She sensed nothing, though, confusing her. 'Was I overthinking?'
Jumping backward, Yasenia released a barrage of [Celestial Sunder] to take down the mud beast. Then, she looked around. 'Ignoring my instincts is not something I like to do. Even if it is a bit paranoid, I trust myself.'
"Lataria, finish quickly!"
Her tone warned the woman secretly, and Lataria quickly caught on to it. This was the first time Yasenia had rushed her to finish a fight during all their time in the secret realm. "On it!"
Her wings spread, and several blue streaks of water sliced the mud beast into little chunks. Then, Lataria rushed forward and stabbed the core in one of the viable chunks. To do this, Lataria needed to use quite a bit of energy. However, it didn't cause a strain.
After landing in front of Yasenia, she looked up at the serious expression of the dragon woman. "What's wrong, Yasenia? Your whole body is tense."
"Tense?" Yasenia looked at herself and noticed. "...Not good. Come with me, quickly."
Her wings unfurled, and she flew to the sky. Startled, Lataria followed behind her.
While they flew, Yasenia looked at their surroundings with a piercing eye. "There is a danger in this area… Or there is a danger pursuing us."
Lataria's expression turned serious. "Have you noticed something?"
"No." Yasenia shook her head. "It's my instincts. As if something dangerous is coming."
"Dragon instinct…" Lataria didn't dismiss it. Dragons were perceptive of their surroundings. They could tell when hostile beings were nearby, even if they hid their presence. Of course, they were not all-knowing, and people could hide from them. However, it was hard to do so against a dragon with a very high level of bloodline.
While they flew, several shadows followed their tracks behind them, looking up with calm eyes. 'How did they notice? We are using the [All Shadow Talisman]. That should've erased our presence…'
Still, they didn't care. Right now, they were hunting the dragon. So, they would use some patience. 'We have to keep her alive for the Young Master.'