18 The Second One

"Boom!" Darram Longhand triggered the bullet in his firearm. Two bullets left the hole from the gun at supersonic speed and made its way towards the Black Line Drake.

The Black Line Drake, under the constant harassment of the other two Darram brothers, was unable to detect the two bullets heading towards its way, since there were already so many flying bullets hitting it.

It roared a draconic roar and attempted to break through of the hail of bullets. Just when it managed to extend its wings and was about to take flight again, the two bullets from Darram Longhand reached it.

"Pu! Pu!" Sounds of the bullet making contact with the flesh sounded out.

The Drake screamed in agony when the bullets hit both of its eyes. Unlike its steel like defense on its skin and hide, its eyes were naked and exposed. Thus, Darram Longhand aimed for its weakness, as discussed during their tactical meetings in the nights in the Inner Region of the Black Heart Forest.

Due to the pain, the Drake lost its balance and fell onto the ground. It waved its wings in an attempt to reach for its eyes but to no avail. It was now clamoring like a baby child, its screams of agony reminiscent of ghosts wailing in folklore.

Defeated, the Drake eventually stopped struggling in pain. It seemed to resign to its fate as it laid there motionless, awaiting the final blow to end its life.

Excited, Darram Shorthand, the youngest and most inexperienced of the three, shouted in jubilation and wanted to go close to the Drake to take a closer look. Darram Longhand shouted "Don't go near it!". However, it was too late.

When Darram Shorthand was 2 feet away from the Drake, the Drake suddenly moved. It raised its head and chomped towards the direction of the dwarf. Darram Shorthand was shocked momentarily and couldn't move for a split second. However, that second of stalling could prove to be very fatal.

The Drake's jaws was about to bite through Darram Shorthand when there was a blurry image standing between both parties. It then carried the dwarf away from the biting range of the Drake and appeared 20 feet away from the Drake in an instant.

Having bitten on empty air, the Drake roared angrily. However, since it was blind due to the attack from Darram Longhand, it chose not to move recklessly but instead stayed on its spot. This time around, it no longer feigned death nor defeat. Instead its body was perched up straight, vigilant to any incoming attacks.

That blurry figure was actually Kael executing Spirit Step to save Darram Shorthand. The dwarf wiped away the cold sweat and did a dwarven curtsey towards Kael to represent his thanks for saving his life.

Kael responded lightly. The other two dwarves quickly came and grouped up with Kael and Darram Shorthand. Darram Mediumhand said, "So what do we do now?"

"His hide and skin are still immensely tough to break through given our cultivation level. Furthermore, though it is blind, its senses are highly keen. It will surely counter-attack if we do anything to it now. Hence, I think we should leave it alone while we leave quietly to search for the Ice Artifice." Kael analyzed the situation to the three of them.

The brothers nodded in agreement. Though the Drake represented raw materials that could make good items, even upgrading their firepower, they had to be able to defeat the Drake convincingly before that. Now, they merely disabled it, but the Drake was still fully capable of fighting back.

Weighing the pros and cons, the team decided to venture deeper into the bottom of the precipice to search for the nest and the Ice Artifice that they had been looking for.

As the team left, the Drake was aware of it. However, it couldn't blindly navigate due to its impaired vision. The Drake was capable of self-regeneration of its eyes, but it would take weeks before it could restore its vision. During this time, Kael and the rest could do whatever they pleased in its territory. Realizing that, the Drake could only roar angrily.

Kael and the rest wandered past an opening which they found at the place where they had a scuffle with the Drake. The tunnel was spacious enough for one Black Line Drake to meander through, meaning that it wasn't suffocating for the team to travel through.

"Guess what we are going to find there?"

"Will the Ice Artifice really be there? Or are we just going to see the poop and urine of that darned Drake?"

"Who knows. We will find out when we reach its home ground."

After 15 minutes, they finally reached a clearance.

What received them was a grand sight. The clearance was actually a dome-shaped cave. In the middle of the cave, that was about 30 feet in diameter, there was a nest made from various twigs and branches. Two crystal diamonds were hovering in mid-air right above the nest, exuding cold energy that was repeatedly sucked in by the six eggs.

"Holy shit. It's actually the Ice Artifice!"

"Yeah, can't you see it? The eggs are being incubated by the power of those two crystals! It's definitely the Ice Artifices!" Darram Shorthand exclaimed in excitement.

Kael was gladdened that there were two Ice Artifices. That meant one of them was going to him and his effort was not wasted. However, he felt that something was not quite right. He couldn't point it out, however his instincts and gut feelings kicked in to ring alarm bells in his head.

"Guys, be on alert. Something's happening."

Barely had Kael spoke when there was a slight tremor in the cave. The tremor lasted for a few seconds. Suddenly, there was a deep growl emanating from the dark recesses of the cave behind the nest.

In the shadows, a huge figure, spanning the entire width of the cave, crawled out of the darkness.

"It's another Black Line Drake. Looks like the one at the entrance was the one hunting for food, while this one is the protector of the nest."

Kael took out the sword from his item bag and gripped it tightly. He knew that there was going to be an even fiercer battle that would ensue.