A surge of magic power spread from the stomach like magma, burrowing into the blood vessels and then merging into every part of the body.
With the influx of magic power, the Blue Young Dragon seemed to break through a certain boundary, and the aura suddenly swept away, catching the nearby Kobold off guard and knocking them back.
"His Highness Austin!"
All the Kobolds stared wide-eyed at all this, but seeing the electric arc sparks leaping outside his body, none of them dared to approach him.
However, soon Austin's aura calmed down, and the surrounding anomalies vanished as well.
At the same time, whether it was an illusion of the Kobolds or not, the Blue Young Dragon seemed to have become stronger, and the color of his scale armor appeared to have deepened.
Simultaneously, the Blue Young Dragon slowly opened his eyes, a sense of enlightenment surging in his heart.
Just now, he had awakened his second talent magic.
"Thunder Strike Technique, huh..."
Austin focused his mind, and the magic power inside him began to circulate along a fixed circuit, immediately stirring the air in front of him as the magic power moved.
In the next moment,
Boom!!!
A bolt of lightning suddenly descended from a clear sky, as if tearing through the air, striking a large tree in front of him.
In an instant, white light flashed, and the entire tree burned fiercely in a very short time, its branches and leaves turned to ashes, leaving only a few massive charred trunks standing quietly, continuously emitting white smoke.
"Hiss, what power!"
Seeing the scene before him, even Austin couldn't help but gape in shock.
This talent magic was far stronger than the first useless ability he awakened, Electric Shock Paralysis, which couldn't attack at a distance. Just the power produced by Thunder Strike Technique, if Austin were to use it on the previous Ghost-headed Crocodile leader, it would surely be crippled or killed.
"It's a pity that while the Thunder Strike Technique is incredibly powerful, it also consumes a lot of energy, and being able to use it even once in battle is considered good."
Feeling that more than half of the magic power in his body was almost depleted, Austin couldn't help but smile wryly.
Nevertheless, having awakened his second talent magic, Austin's strength significantly increased, at least he now had a very formidable trump card up his sleeve.
"With this, I'm more confident in dealing with that group of beasts."
Recalling the pack of Blood Wolves still lurking nearby, a cold glint flashed in the Blue Young Dragon's eyes.
The Ghost-headed Crocodiles in the lake reservoir have already been cleaned out, and next, it's time to clean up the site, especially the corpses of those slain Ghost-headed Crocodiles, which need to be made into smoked meat before they spoil.
This smoked meat is naturally a product of the knowledge and experience Austin brought from his previous life to this world.
In this otherworld, the Kobolds have no effective means of food preservation, or rather, for these races living at the bottom of the continent, maintaining their own survival is tough enough, and having leftover meat to store is virtually impossible. During the harsh winters, the most they could eat were nuts picked from the forest in the summer, starchy tree roots, fruit seeds, and some wild rice and wheat, but more often they relied on grass roots and bark to barely get through one cold, hungry winter after another.
Lacking the need to store meat naturally means they didn't know how to preserve leftover meat.
If not for Austin's guidance, the Ghost-headed Crocodiles from the past two days probably would have already gone bad.
"You guys go do your own thing, no need to mind me. And, you did well today. Aside from this one Ghost-headed Crocodile leader, the rest are your brave rewards."
Austin pointed to the Ghost-headed Crocodile's corpse on the ground and said to the Kobold leader Vini beside him.
This Ghost-headed Crocodile leader was a Magic Beast; besides the Magic Beast Crystal Core in its head, its body also contained quite a bit of magic power, so Austin certainly couldn't afford to waste it lightly.
"Thank you for your generosity, His Highness Austin!"
The Kobold leader Vini exclaimed gratefully, deeply appreciative of the Blue Young Dragon.
Subsequently, under the leadership of the Kobold leader, the Kobolds skillfully packed the dozen or so Ghost-headed Crocodile corpses into a basket and carried them back.
Next, they would gut the dead Ghost-headed Crocodiles, with their solid muscles being cut into pieces and placed into a furnace for smoking, to be made into smoked meat.
The tough crocodile skin would also be peeled, processed, and dried, made into a dozen sets of armor to protect the Kobolds, with the rest stored in the warehouse. If one day they ran out of food in the harsh winter, they could cut it down and boil it as winter survival food.
As for the innards, the Kobolds didn't let them go to waste either, squeezing out the residues from the intestines and stomach, boiling it into a large pot, and eating it nonetheless. Though it didn't taste as good as meat, to these often-starving Kobolds, it was already a rare delicacy.
Soon, beneath the Blue Young Dragon's lair, in the fledgling village the Kobolds had hastily set up, all the Kobolds were bustling about, with even the Kobold child Nina doing her utmost to help. Everyone was making preparations for the upcoming winter.
Cooking smoke curled upward, and although this so-called village only had one or two simple huts made of straw and thatch, it had a cozy homey feel to it.
...
Meanwhile, while the Kobolds were using their wits and courage to prepare for the winter,
beside the lake reservoir, after determining there were no fierce predators in the lake reservoir that could threaten him, Austin leapt into the water, diving to the lakebed.
Since this reservoir could support a Ghost-headed Crocodile leader, a Magic Beast potent enough to form a Magic Beast Crystal Core, there might be some hidden secrets below.
Austin jumped straight into the water. The underwater was slightly dim, the churning muddy water obscuring his view, but the dragon race's eyesight well compensated for this shortcoming, allowing him to still see the scene ten meters away under such dim conditions.
Under the dim water, a huge shadow slowly submerged, causing the surrounding fish to scatter and flee in all directions.
Seeing the density of fish underwater, Austin estimated in his heart, roughly guessing that even if he did not catch any food throughout the entire winter, the fish resources in this lake reservoir would be enough to support him through the cold winter.
Of course, the Blue Young Dragon wasn't down there looking for fish.
The lake reservoir was very deep, Austin roughly calculated that he had swum at least a hundred meters down, but still couldn't see the lakebed, while the nearby fishes appeared to be getting bigger.
"So deep..."
The Blue Young Dragon's brow furrowed slightly, he wasn't a fish, even with a dragon race's strong body, he couldn't stay underwater indefinitely, especially since the deeper he went, the pressure in the water grew stronger.
"How exactly did this lake form?"
Seeing the astonishing depth of the lake reservoir, and recalling the location of this reservoir on land, Austin suddenly discovered some clues.
The area around this lake was clearly a vast plain, and there was only a tiny river leading into this lake reservoir.
With such a geographical location, such a small river, it was apparent that this lake reservoir couldn't have formed naturally...
Gazing at the profoundly dark lakebed below, Austin pondered for a moment, gritted his teeth, flapped his wings, creating massive splashes of water, and then darted down towards the lakebed like an arrow...