It was unclear whether these fish simply thought Cecilia looked too unique, or if they wanted to observe species diversity up close...
In any case, with this group of local fish leading the way, their travel speed increased significantly.
Cecilia was even having a blast.
"Listen up, little ones! Watch closely! This Lord True Dragon is going to perform a special trick for you!"
She was dog-paddling in the water while spitting those small, colorful fireworks from her mouth into the sky.
For a moment, colorful lights flickered over the stream. Where had a bunch of bumpkin river fish ever seen such a scene? They instantly boiled with excitement, leaping out of the water one by one.
To an outsider, it might have looked like a circus visiting the countryside for a charity performance.
"..."
Caesar watched this scene from the shore, feeling only a headache.
Did this stupid dragon put her talent points into the wrong things?
How does she manage to end up as a Druid wherever she goes?
Just as Cecilia was losing herself in the vanity of being worshiped by the fish, the river ahead suddenly widened, forming a pebble-strewn shallow.
The Silver fish drifted over like a queen inspecting her territory—
Suddenly.
The originally calm silt at the bottom of the water suddenly exploded!
Dozens of basin-sized shadows emerged from the silt.
It was a swarm of crabs.
But they weren't ordinary crabs; they carried heavy rock shells on their backs, and their two pincers were enormous, gleaming with a hard luster.
[Rock Shell Crab]!
These things usually Sleep buried in the sand and hate it most when people make a racket over their heads.
The commotion caused by Cecilia's fan club was too loud, waking them up.
Snap!
A Rock Shell Crab that had just emerged raised its pincers without a word and clamped down on the weird fish in front of it that looked the plumpest and had a tail still wagging around—
Its goal was clear: to snap off that delicious-looking tail.
"Ow!!!"
A shrill scream echoed through the river valley.
A cloud of white mist exploded on the water's surface.
Cecilia instantly cancelled her Transformation and reverted to her Silver Dragon form.
She lunged out of the water, clutching the tip of her tail, tears welling up from the pain.
Although that pincer strike didn't snap her dragon scales, it definitely left a bruise.
"Ow, ow, ow, it hurts!"
Cecilia hopped around on the shore, roaring at the water as she jumped, "Who? Which bastard ambushed This Miss!"
On the water's surface, dozens of Rock Shell Crabs waved their large pincers, making "clack-clack" sounds triumphantly, as if mocking this prey that had fled in panic.
Cecilia was furious.
Not just because of the pain, but even more because of the loss of face.
She had just been enjoying her fans' worship, and in the next second, her tail was pinched—this was a sheer humiliation!
"I'm going to kill them! Caesar! I'm going to kill them!"
Cecilia flailed her claws and teeth, about to rush into the water, "I'm going to smash all their shells!"
Caesar grabbed her tail.
"Don't rush."
The Earth Dragon stared at the crabs in the water, his expression a bit strange.
He opened the System panel.
[Rock Shell Crab (LV.12)]
[Attribute: Bug/Rock]
[Trait: Shell Armor (Cannot be hit by critical strikes; when taking physical damage, reduces it by a fixed value equal to its own level)]
[Trait: Aquatic (Lives in water for long periods, has high resistance to Water-attribute attacks)]
This Demonic Beast has extremely high defense, and those two pincers have incredible biting force; ordinary attacks hitting them are like scratching an itch.
But that wasn't what Caesar was focused on.
What he noticed was that these things... really looked like Hairy Crabs.
And they were the kind of Hairy Crabs carrying stone pots on their backs.
Caesar swallowed hard.
That pork meal earlier had only left him about seventy percent full.
"Cecilia, remember to use your Paralysis Breath to freeze them all!"
"Tonight, we're having a seafood buffet."
Cecilia was originally going to fight for her life, but as soon as she heard the word "eat," her dragon head snapped upright.
"Edible?"
"Not only edible, but ten times tastier than that pig earlier," Caesar said persuasively.
The next second.
The Silver Dragon, who had been flailing about just a moment ago, instantly changed her expression.
She leapt up from the ground, a crooked smile appearing on her face that was exactly like Caesar's.
"Very well... you have already found your path to death!"
"Whoosh—!"
A massive mouthful of Silver-gray Paralysis gas gushed out of her mouth as if it cost nothing, instantly enveloping the entire shallow.
Those originally aggressive Rock Shell Crabs' movements immediately became stiff and sluggish the moment they came into contact with the gas...!
That was enough.
Caesar moved as swift as a rabbit.
He didn't use [Heavy Stomp], nor did he use [Quicksand Abyss].
Because that would ruin the integrity of the ingredients.
The blue Earth Dragon simply rushed in, his claws imbued with dark energy, transforming into a ruthless crab-shucking machine.
[Shadow Claw]!
This move has an extremely high critical hit rate, meaning it easily strikes vitals.
Although Rock Shell Crabs have the [Shell Armor] trait to prevent critical hits, even a trait's defense has its limits in the face of absolute power.
Especially since Caesar specifically targeted the soft meat at their joint connections.
Snap!
A Rock Shell Crab's pincer was ripped off.
Squish!
Another one had the rock on its back flipped right off.
Caesar didn't kill them outright, but instead tossed the processed crabs one by one onto the shore.
"Fire! I need fire over here!"
He shouted while catching them.
Cecilia understood immediately.
While spraying Paralysis gas to control the field, she took the time to spit a few flames onto the shore.
Soon, an incredibly domineering fresh fragrance wafted across the riverbank.
It was the smell of crab meat quickly cooking through under the high-heat Dragon Breath.
Cecilia couldn't help herself.
She grabbed a freshly grilled crab pincer and, without caring if it was hot, stuffed it into her mouth and bit down.
A crisp "crack" sounded.
The hard crab shell shattered.
The snowy white, plump crab meat inside slid into her mouth.
In that instant.
Cecilia felt like her tongue was about to melt.
Fresh!
So fresh!
No seasoning was needed at all; that pure, natural sweetness from nature, mixed with a faint mineral scent, instantly exploded on her taste buds.
What tail pain? What sheer humiliation?
Non-existent.
Cecilia swallowed the crab meat in a few bites, then looked at the remaining twitching Rock Shell Crabs on the riverbank with a predatory green glint in her eyes.
The original battle for revenge instantly evolved into a one-sided gourmet plundering war.
The two dragons had a clear division of labor.
One controlled the field, grilled, and captured.
One was responsible for physical de-shelling and taste-testing.
In just a few minutes, a layer of bright red crab shells piled up on the riverbank—
Just then.
The water in the middle of the river suddenly surged violently!
A massive shadow slowly rose.
It was a giant Rock Shell Crab, about half the size of a small car.
On its back was no longer ordinary rock, but a crystal-clear Ore that reflected brilliant colors in the sunlight.
[Crystalline Rock Shell Crab (LV.18)].
This was the leader of the crabs and the Overlord of this riverbank.
Seeing its descendants being eaten like snacks by these two evil dragons, it went completely berserk.
It waved its giant pincers, which could practically snap steel bars, and let out an angry hiss at Caesar!
However, this was of no damn use.
Before it could even launch an attack, Caesar had already jumped onto its head—
"I've been waiting for you!"
Caesar's right foot stomped down heavily.
[Heavy Stomp]!
Boom!
The ground shook, and the sandy beach beneath the Crystalline Rock Shell Crab instantly collapsed.
The defense it was so proud of was a joke in the face of absolute power.
With a crisp crack, fissures appeared directly on that beautiful crystal back shell.
Immediately after, two Shadow Claws flashed across in a cross pattern—
Battle over.
[Experience Points +200]
Caesar landed and prepared to drag this big guy, which his sonar had detected long ago, onto the shore.
When his Shadow Claw touched the giant crystal on the other's back, the System's notification made him pause—
[Obtained Materials: Inferior energy storage crystal (Quality: Bronze)]
[Material Description: An elemental crystal condensed within Rock-type Demonic Beasts. Can be used as a base material for crafting certain Move Tutors.]
energy storage crystal?!
The blueprint for [Weather Ball] instantly flashed in Caesar's mind.
Wasn't this the core material?
So this stuff can actually be farmed!
Although the quality wasn't high, Caesar's blue Dragons Kiss curled slightly... He glanced back at the depths of the river, then at the mediocre Bronze crystal in his hand.
What if there are... more of these big crabs in there?
What if there is... a higher-Rank crab Demonic Beast in there?
Could it drop Silver-grade or even Gold-grade crystals?
The smile at the corner of Caesar's mouth gradually turned perverse.
He turned his head and looked at Cecilia, who was still on the shore frantically stuffing her face, her mouth covered in grease, and spoke in a tone as gentle as a demon tempting a child.
"Are you full?"
"Mmph... not yet!" Cecilia replied indistinctly, her mouth full of crab meat. "I could eat twenty more of these delicious things!"
"Very well."
Caesar revealed a satisfied smile.
"Come on, let's go raid these crabs' home base!"