Chapter 347
Chapter 347: Difference
Translator: imperfectluck Editor: Pranav
“Little Red, no matter what, she’s still your mother. How about giving her a little face?”
Alright then. The enraged Little Red glared at me. I should have known better. No matter what an outsider did or said, it would never end well to get involved in someone else’s family affairs. I really should have not said anything.
“…I feel that she’s glaring at you more because you’re currently withdrawing her mother’s blood. Also, how did you randomly pull out this super-thick syringe? Just what were you intending, carrying such a thing with you?”
“I crafted it using parts from my Frigidwinter Earth. It only took three minutes, instant and convenient! Would you like to buy one? Relax, I have no interest in giving an injection to a cat.”
Harloys was commenting on my giant needle—or perhaps I should call it a needle-shaped giant electric drill? Anyways, I was currently drilling the pitiful Molly, while the dragon blood that poured out of her was directly frozen by me into blood cake—er, blocks of frozen blood—and then stored in my Frigidwinter Earth.
“Hey—hey—Little Red, I’m simply taking out some of her blood to make her weaker so that she won’t cause any trouble.”
Giant restraints of ice tightly tied Molly down. I suddenly noticed that many people seemed to be staring at me, which me feel quite awkward. So, I directly opened up my Frigidwinter Earth and tossed Molly inside. I still had troublesome enemies to deal with, and this would be fine for the time being—it would be impossible for her to exit my Frigidwinter Earth unless I wanted her to.
“…The Goddess says that—”
“Tell her that I won’t take all the dragon blood for myself.”
I understood what this Goddess of Wealth priest Anlan had to tell me before he even finished half of his sentence. Just what was with Beyana, already thinking about the loot before we even won… Silly cat, don’t laugh—I’m not locking Molly up for the combat loot! I’m doing this so that we have one less thing to worry about! You’re still laughing? Stop laughing! There’s a battle right now, be more serious!
Little Red transformed back into her human form and was still in good shape. Since the current Molly was far too much of a pushover, that so-called fight with her was only a somewhat vigorous warmup for Little Red.
Currently, Little Red’s long black hair was dyed pure red by the fire element, while her white skin was similarly flushed red. This appropriate amount of exercise filled her with energy, while the weakened Molly had been unable to even injure her.
“Roland?”
“Relax. It’ll be impossible for her to escape from my prison. We’ll deal with her when this is all over.”
Little Red nodded without asking anything more. Being able to meet Molly in such a situation was a good thing for Little Red. After delivering a brutal beatdown to the ‘shame of all dragons,’ Little Red felt much better as well. However, she started frowning when she looked at the battle raging on not far from us.
“Roland. Are we taking action?”
Although her question came with no clarification as to what she was referring to, I understood what she meant. She was asking if we should interfere with the battle between the True Gods and the Titan Giants. And the fact that she asked such a question was in a way evidence of her lack of confidence in doing so.
Little Red was a SemiGod, but part of it was an artificial boost from her Immemorial Dragon bloodline. Her true understanding wasn’t quite at that level. To be honest, SemiGod dragons were typically ancient dragons that had lived for countless eons, on par with the Dragon Gods. Little Red was still far from such a level.
From a certain standpoint, dragons and Titan Giants were ancient foes. The dragons probably possessed various records about the Titan Giants. When faced with all the myths about Titan Giants passed down in her tribe, Little Red had no assurance that she could win at all, especially after watching these Titan Giant incarnations in action.
In fact, as I watched them, the Titan Giants were actually getting stronger and stronger as they fought.
The thunder that rampaged at a tremendous speed had transformed into a physical weapon. The Thunder Titan Giant Hatley wielded a classic great sword in one hand while his other hand tossed thunder javelins at the True Gods opposing him. This caused them to be too busy defending to even know which way was north.
The energy attacks of thunder exquisitely complemented the beautiful sword techniques. Every attack was filled with the Titan Giant’s heart and soul. Compared to him, the True Gods were nothing more than oversized existences that he saw through every move of. Every Divine Art they used was directly countered, and from the very start, the two True Gods had inflicted zero damage upon the Titan Giant. They were nothing more than toys in the palm of his hand.
Perhaps both sides technically had power levels on the same level, but it was evident for anyone to see who was better at martial techniques and combat.
“They’re going to be forced to self-destruct.”
If energy and power level represented true combat strength, then there would be no more need for fights. Simply compare who had the higher level, and the lower one could commit suicide. Due to the mortal plane’s natural laws limiting top-level strength, both sides were pretty much at the same power level. But since combat experience, techniques, and other such factors were also at play, the outcome of this battle was evident despite the True Gods’ advantage in numbers.
This was akin to how True Gods’ incarnations would typically be able to dominate normal SemiGods, as the True Gods had experienced and accumulated far too much. Even if normal SemiGods were at the same basic power level as a True God, they would lose out in experience, special abilities, and many other factors. Tight now, the exact same was occurring, only with the True Gods’ incarnations for once on the losing end.
When placed alongside the Titan Giants that had who knows how many eons of experience, even the True Gods were merely their juniors. The difference between the ancient Titan Giants and the True Gods was as tremendous as the difference between True Gods and ordinary humans. This wasn’t a gulf that could be covered only with effort.
“If only an incarnation has so much power, just how strong is a Titan Giant’s full potential?”
Perhaps I would sometimes be arrogant and self-confident, or sometimes I would insanely fight back like a wild dog if pushed to the brink. But I was still a normal person—fine—someone who barely counted as a normal person, who didn’t enjoy always being at the brink of life and death… Yep, after saying this much, I simply wanted to say that I… couldn’t win, I definitely couldn’t win!
At the very most, I only had a little under four hundred years of knowledge, and my current physical body’s age was younger than four years old. True Gods would always have ages counting in the thousands as the basic unit, and it was said that the Titan Giants were capable of casually hibernating for tens of thousands of years, waking up afterwards as if only a single night had passed. In that case, a Titan Giant’s theoretical lifespan… just casually trying to calculate it made me think that a new unit of time needed to be invented just for them.
This type of opponent was quite depressing to face. Don’t tell me how hard work would definitely pay off in the end, or how the long-lived were all useless pieces of garbage that only knew how to eat and sleep… Although there were such species like that, most of them had long since gone extinct as the eras passed. The ones that didn’t go extinct had the most ridiculously powerful natural talents of all… Yep, I’m definitely talking about dragons, who love to only sleep all day.
Perhaps the Titan Giants were quite unlucky. Their first appearance in this generation caused the True Gods to band together and hunt them. However, it was precisely the Titan Giants’ opponents’ strength that showed off how powerful the Titan Giants truly were. I tried calculating what would happen if I personally went up to fight them…
“I’d probably be instant one-hit KO’d… System, you really have it in for me.”
By now, cold sweat was dripping down my back. If it weren’t for these “nice Gods” that came out to help me, we would have ended up directly facing against the Titan Giants, who would easily tear us apart.
Even Little Red, who always acted before she thought, was asking me about taking action this time—the best evidence of her own lack of confidence. She was no novice, nor was she some arrogant harem protagonist who always believed in her own victory. Simple observation let her discover the frightening power behind those seemingly simple and clumsy fighting techniques of the Titan Giants.
“He’s seeing through every single one of the True God’s attacks and is dodging each one prematurely. He appears clumsy, but it’s actually total suppression. Even if I reach the next dragon power level, I have no guarantee of winning…”
Not only Little Red, but it would be the same for me, even back in the day when I was Emperor Yongye. Me and my army could indeed scare off some of the weaker Gods, but the Goddess of Wealth and the other Gods here helping me right now were no weak Low Gods and were still being beaten into such a sorry state. Even though their opponents were only the Titan Giants’ incarnations, this was still far beyond what any mortal would be able to deal with. If the Titan Giants managed to revive… No wonder even the prideful dragons were so worried and asking for help everywhere. It was all because the Titan Giants were far too strong.
[…No need to think so much into things. Although Yins ‘The Thinker’ is ranked fourth among the Titan Giants, he’s not actually well known for melee combat skills. Still, he’s one of the most veteran Titan Giants that even the Titan Giant King must respect. ‘Silverbow Wargod’ Hatley may not be ranked in the top ten, but he would actually be ranked fifth if you only look at fighting abilities. Neither of them are easy to deal with, and they don’t actually represent the average combat strength of Titan Giants. You still have a chance against the weakest Titan Giants.]
For once, my System tried consoling me, while simultaneously astonishing me with just how much it knew on the Titan Giants. It also made me not know whether to laugh or cry. Wasn’t what the System told me the best evidence that, right now, I absolutely would be unable to defeat them?
“Little Red, since the True Gods haven’t yet asked us for help, let’s just watch.”
“…Yeah.”
Little Red’s answer contained a rare trace of depression. Red Dragons were famed for their high pride, even among the dragon species. She typically had a great amount of pride in herself, but this time, she didn’t even dare to challenge this opponent, something she found humiliating.
“It would seem that I can only give up on that Quest.”
Of course I wanted to do the third, “SemiGod ranked,” evolution Quest. After all, I even had True God helpers, and my opponents would only be at the SemiGod rank, not to mention not even at their fullest power level. But looking at the current situation, the System would never make it easy for me. Even with True Gods on my side, this would be far more difficult than facing off against any normal SemiGod.
“Even if there’s profit to be made, it’s useless if I’m not alive to spend it. Completing two out of three Quests is pretty good, and I should still have a chance in the future…”
I couldn’t help but recall the future of the “game history.” By a certain point, even normal SemiGods became nothing but cannon fodder. If the Titan Giants ever revived, that time would instantly arrive upon us.
When faced with such opponents, it seemed that it would be impossible for me to complete every single one of my evolution Quests. Yet the desire to become stronger still burned within my heart. I didn’t possess any so-called dragon pride. It could even be said that I was willing to stoop to any measures at all for the sake of my goals. But, as someone who took things step-by-step to reach my current power level, how could I possibly not desire to be on the battlefield, standing against such opponents?
“…Next time, I won’t be simply observing on the sidelines. Titan Giants? Even if this time is no good, I’ll make you into my food for evolution, sooner or later.”
I clenched my fists, sinking my nails into my palms. Watching from the sidelines had given me this helpless feeling, making me truly feel tired. Suddenly, I felt a warm feeling in my hand, and I looked in surprise to my side. Little Red’s hand felt slightly hot to the touch, and her face was red, likely due to her passionate emotions about wanting to get stronger.
“Next time, we definitely won’t only be watching. I will help you…”
Little Red’s hoarse voice was filled with unwillingness and somewhat broken pride from discovering the difference in power. But her voice was also filled with ambition to become stronger and a strange passion.
“Yep…”
Her hand’s warmth really did reassure me. From what I could see, the current Little Red’s face was completely red, all the way to her ears. This faint blush made her seem incredibly beautiful, but, at the same time, was a sign that she was filled with immense fervor for battle, just like I was. With such a reliable teammate, what was I still worried and hesitating about?
“No matter how difficult the future is, we shall face it together!”
Yep, we still had plenty of room for growth. Didn’t I start over once again just for the sake of breaking through the bottleneck and growing even more powerful? And even if I met yet another opponent that I wouldn’t be able to defeat in a short period of time, I could just use my same tactic from the past and fight that enemy with all my friends and teammates. Even if, right now, we could only act as observers, there was no need for us to get down on ourselves.
Perhaps I didn’t say my feelings clearly enough, but I trusted that Little Red would definitely believe it, too. At the very least, my hand would transmit my feelings to her.
“Yeah…”
As I energetically stated my combat declaration filled with passion for battle, I heard Little Red replying in only a tiny whisper. When I looked over at her, she lowered her head and her face grew even more flushed. It would seem that she was quite depressed. Well, she was a prideful dragon—this must be the effects of having her pride injured.
“…Roland, it’s truly and completely your fault that you’ve been single for so many years.”
The silly cat always managed to pick the best moments to ruin my mood. But, this time, even the System joined in.
[Right after beating up the mother, you’re requesting to get married to her daughter? Nice. System Notification: Considering that there’s soon a great show for me to watch, I’ll give you this time’s commenting service for free.]
” Ptui , what great show are you talking about? This time, I’m only going to act like a cowardly turtle.”
I had made up my mind that I would put safety first. And of course someone wasn’t going to let me do that.
“Your Highness Roland, the Goddess wishes for your assistance…”
“…Even if I go out there, I’ll be useless. Does she want me to clean up her corpse?”
“Yes, clean up her corpse… Fine then, the Goddess’s original words were ‘It’s whatever if you don’t help me, but you’re even tossing bombs at my heart? Don’t you know that I’ve been single for more than three thousand years? If you keep doing that, I’ll burn you to death. Fine, you’ve reached your goal, and I’m going to self-destruct my incarnation now. Remember to pick up all the God Equipment on my body. I’ll make you pay if you’re missing even a single piece of equipment!'”
“…Can I say that she’s miserly to the point of death? She’s truly miserly to the point of death in the literal sense!”
“My Goddess says ‘Thank you for the compliment…'”
“…Her shamelessness can even compare to mine.”
“My Goddess says ‘Thank you for the compliment again, but I still can’t compare to you in shamelessness.'”
When faced with such a shameless Goddess, I could only laugh and shake my head and prepare myself to “loot the corpse as quickly as possible the moment the boss died.”
“I feel like I’m forgetting something… Forget it, if it’s something I forgot, it probably isn’t important.”
While I was preparing in high spirits, a certain female dragon in an icy world was restrained and suffering from severe blood loss. She was frozen and pale all over, weakened almost to the point of death.
For Red Dragons of the fire element, magma and volcanoes would be the most comfortable home of all, while any place of snow and ice would be like hell. All Red Dragons had negative ice resistance and would even take double the damage when receiving ice attacks. And the current Molly had just been seriously injured and thrown into this freezing world, which made her unable to move apart from breathing.
“…Save me… I’m going to die with all my blood loss and this cold… I surrender… I surrender… let me go, and I’ll listen to anything you say…”