"A scorpion dragon? Are you serious?" Carlos asked before Zachary could.
"Yeah, I'm serious. I lost four summons to that beast. And I almost died. I'm pretty fucking sure." Heather said.
Carlos cursed. He quickly took several large steps away from the cave entrance, as if the scorpion dragon was about to leap out of the ground and charge at them. Shuhua looked around nervously before moving to hide behind Heather. Zachary didn't react so strongly but he was also worried even if he didn't show it. A scorpion dragon was the last thing he expected.
"Eh? What's a scorpion dragon? Is it scary?" Wander asked.
Zachary paused to gather his thoughts before explaining, "A scorpion dragon is a powerful and infamous Ensouled. It is not a true dragon like the Sky Dragon of the Eight Saint Emperors. It's actually an insect. Its front half looks like a centipede while its back half is like a scorpion. It not only has deadly poison, it is also attuned to the attributes of earth and night. It's an incredibly rare triple element Ensouled with an epic grade talent, meaning it has the potential of reaching the noble rank at least."
"I see. But why is it infamous?" Wander asked.
"According to rumors, scorpion dragons are popular summons of the blood church," Zachary said.
"Wow! The blood church! Amazing!"
Zachary had told Wander various tales about the Old World and that had included the beast cults, the blood church, and the nations that he knew about. The turtle was interested in all of it, often asking complex questions that he knew nothing about.
"Ooohh! Big Bro Zach, do you think there is a secret blood church base somewhere in this jungle? Wait! What if... the republic military is working together with the church? That would be awesome!"
Zachary rubbed his head and tried to ignore the Wander's excited shouting. But he couldn't completely block out his crazy theories and he even felt some of them were possible.
The blood church was here. He had encountered a few blood church members at the start. Running into a scorpion dragon now... felt like it might not be a coincidence.
"Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?" Heather asked.
He frowned, "I'm thinking... why is there such an Ensouled here? It doesn't make sense. It's not native to this land."
She nodded, "Exactly."
A silence fell over the group as each person had their thoughts but didn't dare to voice them. How did a scorpion dragon end up here? Was it placed here intentionally to cultivate using the quintessence spring? Could the blood church have an outpost here already? There were too many questions and even scarier answers.
Heather sighed, "It doesn't matter. I didn't bring you all here to fight the scorpion dragon. We're just here for the quintessences. Zach, what do you think? Can Doro do it?"
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
This was the critical question and why they had trekked across half the jungle to this place. If there was no way to obtain the quintessences safely, then it was better to give up and look for other ways to get stronger. After surviving for so many months in the New World, each person had gone through countless hardships and cherished their life.
Heather continued and explained her idea, "This cave is probably not a natural one but one dug by the scorpion dragon. Based on the rich aura of the surrounding soil, there are plenty of quintessences left in this spring. The beast is content protecting its nest and its riches. It doesn't even need to come out and hunt for food. So..."
"So," Zachary cut in, "You want to let Doro sneak over, grab a few, and hope for the best."
She looked at him and shrugged, "Yeah, do you have a better idea?"
He paused for a moment but then shook his head helplessly, "I don't. But you could have told me beforehand. Damn it!"
He felt like he had been played. He knew a treasure like a quintessence spring would be guarded by wild Ensouled. It was the case for the pinecitta tree as well, it would be the case for the spring as well. He just didn't expect such a ferocious creature. He should have known. It was like he was falling for the same trick all over again.
"Don't be like that," She said imploringly, "Doro is the only one that can do it. I wouldn't have told you about the spring if I didn't think there was a chance and I wouldn't have wasted everyone's time coming here. I'm not trying to trick you."
"Fine, fine. Just let me think about it." He replied in frustration.
He understood the situation but he was still reluctant. It was true that Doro was probably the only Ensouled that could do this, steal quintessences for under a scorpion dragon's big, ugly nose if it even had one. As an earth elemental, Doro could underground without the noise of digging or even disturbing the earth. It would be able to approach the cave without alerting the scorpion dragon.
However, the question remained whether Doro could find a quintessence, grab it, and make a timely escape before the scorpion dragon realized what was happening. And it would have to do that more than once, more than a few times in order for the trip to be worthwhile. There was risk but also reward. If it worked, he could rapidly increase Doro's soul cultivation to the Two Paths Adept Rank and then the Three Paths Adept Rank. He would then be able to improve his soul cultivation at the same time. The earth quintessences would also help Wander and Onkie, drastically improving the overall strength of his summon lineup. But if he gave up without trying, he would have to find other ways to get stronger and lose precious time. He might also lose the support of Heather and her gang which would mean additional losses in time and efficiency.
He had to make a decision. It was a decision he had already made once before.
"We won't know unless we try," Zachary said finally.
His words brought obvious relief to Heather's face and she gave him a genuine smile.
He ignored it and continued, "We will have to make some preparations, for Doro's safety and our own. First of all, we should establish two clear paths of retreat. If the scorpion dragon comes out of the cave and comes charging at us, I don't want to trip over tree roots or have to fight through thorny vines to escape. I need the paths to be cleared of all vegetation and flattened so we can flee at full speed if needed."
"We can do that," Heather said.
"Next, I'll need a perimeter cleared out around the quintessence spring. I want to probe the spring from multiple directions and I need to be in a position to cast rapid recall on Doro."
"Got it."
"Lastly, we passed by a stream not too far away. I'll dig a canal from it to the cave as close as possible. That way, I can use Dream in an emergency."
Zachary couldn't think of anything else and looked at the other three. Heather gave him a thumbs-up and a smile. Carlos was nodding his head in agreement while Shuhua still looked worried.
"I like it," Heather said, "Carlos, Shuhua, you two deal with one escape path each, make sure they aren't too close to each other. I will handle the perimeter. Sound good?"
"Yes, boss!"
"Alright!"