It is difficult to distinguish day from night in the volcanic zone.

Heavy volcanic ash obscured the skylight, and the high temperature brought by the geothermal heat made the temperature change during the day and night not noticeable.

Only with a mechanical timer, such as a pocket watch, can the time be accurately determined.

Camping on the shores of a huge lava lake has little to do with the word "comfort".

The ground is so hot that it can burn the flesh and skin, and the scorching heat and glare radiating from the lava lake, as well as the "pop" sound of boiling magma tumbling

Only hunters who are accustomed to various extreme environments and whose nerves are not as thick as humans can fall asleep in such a harsh environment.

Alva took out his pocket watch and looked at it, it was already three o'clock in the morning, and it was time for the shift change.

He nodded to Ted, who was keeping vigil at the same time, and woke up Hayatta and Apo.

They will be in charge of the vigil next.

Aibo rubbed his eyes and tried to wash his face, but it was not easy to find a clean water source in the volcanic area, so he had to pat his cheek vigorously and finally came to his senses.

Hayatta whispered to her, "I'm staring at the sky, just pay attention to the movement around you." ”

Eppo nodded.

At the end of this sentence, Ted was already snoring loudly.

The two of them looked at each other and smiled, not caring that people who could sleep by the boiling lava lake would not be upset by the noise.

Taking out a piece of food to carry and chewing slowly with a cold drink, Hayatta raised her eyes from time to time to survey the dark sky with no stars.

No one knows for sure when the Ice Dragon will come, or if it will come.

This uncertainty is unsettling for them.

However, this kind of uneasiness is a luxury for ordinary people, at least they feel only "uneasiness", not "fear" or "powerlessness".

Ted's snoring mingled with the sound of magma boiling and tumbling, creating a wonderful white noise.

Aibo stared around, wary of possible danger.

Hayatta reminded with a smile, "Relax, don't be too nervous, it's easy to get tired."

Also, it's enough to bring food and eat two pieces, don't eat too much, you will be sleepy. ”

"Oooh." Somewhat embarrassed, Aibo withdrew his hand as he prepared to pull out another piece of food.

The two of them have a match or not, chatting quietly, which makes it easier to stay awake and easier to stay up.

Apo told Hayatta the story of the mysterious stone that her grandfather had given her, and Hayatta told her something about the past, and before she knew it, the gray clouds that had blocked the sky were a little brighter.

"What kind of person is Blaze?" Faced with Apo's question, Hayatta thought for a moment, "That's a lively child, but I don't know why, I don't like to speak.

Well, I can't say that I am a child, she is the same age as Feng Ying, and she is in her twenties.

It's an amazingly talented and very hard-working guy, and considering the dragon fighting technique, the overall may even be stronger than Feng Ying.

And a little bit that is. She never spares her hands in the face of monsters, and her murderous intent is heavier, but this can't be considered her problem.

The land of fire is rich in resources, there are a lot of monsters, and there was the trouble of a hundred dragons walking at night back then, and the hunters over there seem to be like this, and they are more decisive in hunting. ”

"Huh-"

Hayatta glanced at the northern sky and was about to continue saying something when her gaze suddenly narrowed and she stood up.

Noticing the former's strangeness, Ebo followed the direction of her gaze as well.

In the early hours of the night, a blue figure was wearing the sky light that faintly penetrated the gray clouds, and the stars were coming.

Ai Bo hurriedly pulled down the multi-function eyepiece above his head and adjusted the lower focal length.

Exclaimed: "That's it!" Ice Dragon! It's coming! ”

Ted, who was snoring a second ago, and Aiden, who was sleeping on all fours, opened their eyes almost at the same time.

In order to deal with the emergency that may arise at any time, they did not remove their armor, and their weapons were all kept by their side.

Before the brain was fully awake, the body moved first, put on the helmet, checked the armor, and picked up the weapon.

Almost in the blink of an eye, he was ready for battle.

And the ice dragon from the north also broke through the sky at this time and came to the sky above the great lava lake.

It spread its wings in the air, and with a clear whistle, large expanses of ice and frost appeared on its surface, forming a gorgeous set of ice armor in an instant.

This is clearly some kind of special combat posture.

"Ready for battle!"

Hayatta shouted vigorously and pulled out the Flying Dragon Sword [Black Yao], his eyes locked on to the blue ancient dragon flying high in the air.

Ted strode to the front of the formation, set up his gun and shield, and Aiden pulled the bolt hard to load the crossbow.

The Ice Dragon swooped down.

But it wasn't targeting the hunters on the shores of the lava lake, and it didn't even look at the hunters, and plunged straight into the middle of the lava lake.

The magma here is almost blazing white, making it the hottest area of the entire lava lake.

The hunters froze.

This kind of behavior seems to be no different from suicide.

Only a handful of organisms have evolved a carapace with a special structure over countless years that can adapt to the high temperatures and pressures inside the magma.

But they are all native to the volcanic zone, like the Agosaurus, Lavasaurus, Armorysaurus, and Tyrannosaurus

But the Ice Dragon was clearly not among them.

Past sightings of this ancient dragon have invariably been in extreme cold regions.

There is no reason for a monster born in the cold zone to ignore the thousands of degrees of heat in the core area of the lava lake.

"Boom!"

As the ice dragon rushed into the magma, the originally calm lava lake seemed to be thrown into a giant bomb, and the boiling magma exploded like a volcanic eruption, rushing hundreds of meters into the air.

"Stand behind Uncle Ben!" Ted yelled, raising his shield.

Thick, searing clumps of magma fell like a torrential rain, but fortunately there weren't too many of them, smashing into the area where the hunters were.

With the big shield in Ted's hand, everyone escaped.

The magma rain stopped, and Alva rushed out of Ted's back, staring in the direction of the center of the lava lake, roaring in exuberance.

"Steam explosion! A creature of the size of the Ice Dragon, it can't make such a big 'splash', it's a steam explosion!

Just like a water-stained finger that sticks into the molten iron for a moment and doesn't burn, it can move in the magma for a short time thanks to the protection of the ice armor covered on its body, but the question is what does it do?! ”

Ai Bo stared at the glazed stone flakes that smashed to the ground and shattered, but still exuded brilliant brilliance.

She hurried over and picked up a small piece.

The stone flakes formed by the rapid freezing of magma were not as hot as she had imagined, but rather had a chill in them.

What's more, the texture of the stone shards was almost identical to the mysterious stone she was carrying, only more fine, rough, and unshaped.

In the next second, their question was answered.

Diving into the bottom of the lava lake, the Ice Dragon, which had disappeared for several breaths, rushed out of the lake and returned to the air.

The ice armor on its body was gone, replaced by a dazzling blue scale armor.

Alva quickly adjusted the focus of the eyepiece and shouted, "Oooo So that's it! I see, the so-called mysterious stone is actually the scale armor of the Ice Dragon!

It creates a layer of hard glazed scales by freezing the magma! ”

Aibo, who is usually babbling, just held the "mysterious stone" in his hand tightly at this time, and his eyes were full of incomprehensible emotion.

She had been looking forward to this moment for too long, and this was the answer that Grandpa had been seeking!

The hunters didn't have time to pay attention to the two men's enthusiasm for knowledge, and before the ice dragon could attack them, Hayatta pulled out a flare and shot it into the air.

(End of chapter)