Had it just been the announcement from the Hunter Association, despite the rewards, most would have hesitated. After all, it would be akin to throwing their lives away.
It was because they assumed the Hunter Association was using such deals to throw all the Hunters at the disaster until it was resolved. This was to protect their self-interests.
But, what the Hunter Association advertised the summons with was Ying's video, of the attack he launched at the Bone Dragon to slightly push it within the crack. Moreover, once the announcement ended, a live telecast from the battle scene was relayed on all devices.
Moreover, a group of helicopters had already reached the place to relay a high-definition video of the battle scene to everyone.
Upon seeing Ying's strength, the A-Rank Hunters of the city were inspired. After all, they weren't about to fight the Bone Dragon and the Lich but were only going to send the Bone Dragon within the crack and prevent it from coming out.
The difficulty level would fall sharply. Hence, everyone felt that it was doable.
Moreover, the Hunter Association had cunningly glossed over the detail that the A-Rank Dungeon—A Lich's Laboratory—had evolved into an S-Rank Dungeon. This way, the Hunters still maintained hope. It was a scummy move on their behalf, but one justified to protect their country.
Moreover, the coverage didn't show the three S-Rank Hunter skeletons that formed the Lich's royal guard. If that was shown, none would turn up. Everyone would make escape their priority.
Bang!
Ying evaded an attack and unleashed a blade beam at the A-Rank Hunter skeleton, shattering it into pieces as he gasped for breath. "Dammit! How long are they going to take?"
He used his Orc-Dragon Soar to glide away from an attack as he slammed into a lizardman, grabbing it by a chokehold as he crushed its neck, watching its body wither in response.
Innate Trait—Devour!
Ying's mana and stamina began to recover in response as he sighed in relief. This was why he caused this C-Rank Dungeon to break. It created enough recovery packs for him to fight with. Normal mana recovery potions and stamina recovery potions needed at least a few minutes to be digested by the body to unleash an effect.
But his innate trait was instantaneous in its effect. So, it was infinitely better in a battle. After killing five lizardmen, his stamina and mana were replenished fully.
Skill—Orc-Dragon Recovery!
Faint bloody mist flowed out of his body, healing the wounds he sustained as Ying took flight and evaded the enemies before bellowing in rage, "Fucking monster! Take this!"
Boom!
The attack from his Orc-Dragon Claw slammed forth towards the Bone Dragon when suddenly, an A-Rank Hunter skeleton arrived before it to tank the attack.
Thump! Thump!
At that moment, time seemed to have slowed down as Ying's senses sharpened, causing the Secondary System to whistle in surprise.
[Orc-Dragon Soul Fusion: 78% --> 84%]
His senses expanded rapidly as at that moment, his Orc-Dragon Sense surpassed its limit, allowing him to do something that he had never thought was possible. Ying raised his hand and focused on the three blade beams he had unleashed, clenching his hand into a fist.
Phew!
The three blade beams merged into a single, stronger beam before transforming into an Orc-Dragon, a creature with a humanoid pig-like body with a neck akin to a dragon.
It had an awkward appearance, but the moment it manifested, its scaly eyes glinted as it opened its mouth to unleash a guttural roar.
Krrrk!
The A-Rank Hunter skeleton became stunned in response as the Orc-Dragon evaded it and headed straight toward the Bone Dragon as it reverted into a single, powerful blade beam that slammed into its target.
Roar!
The Bone Dragon roared in response as parts of the bone surrounding its eyes fell off, now sporting a large gash in its skull face. The impact sent it skidding back by a couple of metres, causing the crack to close further in response.
Guoong!
The Lich observed the situation as it lifted its staff and condensed a swirling mass of deathly energy that it shot at Ying.
"Shit!" Ying's face paled in response as he used Orc-Dragon Soar to glide away, but the attack was faster, possessing enough power to kill him in one hit.
'Hahaha!' Even though the situation was deadly, the Secondary System was rather giddy, for the Orc-Dragon Soul Fusion rate continued to increase. Ying was voluntarily harnessing his utmost potential to grow stronger by fusing with this power.
And unawares, he had already become pretty similar to Compass Carburettor in nature. His expression was pale, but his mind went into overdrive as he activated the Orc-Dragon Skin to the limit, causing his body to morph in shape as the deathly sphere slammed into him.
At the moment of impact, he used Orc-Dragon Soar to slam into a horde of lizardmen, rapidly activating his innate trait of Devour, hollering in pain as his body began to melt, "Graaahhh!"
The deathly energy intended to melt him into a puddle. But at this moment, Ying took advantage of his innate ability to rapidly replenish his mana and stamina reserves by devouring the flesh of the Lizardmen.
He cranked up his Orc-Dragon Recovery to the limit, causing his body to erupt with a bloody vapour. Destruction on one end, recovery on the other.
At first, the recovery was slower as his body began to melt at a faster rate. But with the passage of every second, his recovery abilities continued to spike rapidly. After all…
[Orc-Dragon Soul Fusion: 84.2%]
[Orc-Dragon Soul Fusion: 84.4%]
There was a 0.2% increase in the Soul Fusion every second. Ying leapt and let out a guttural roar as he unleashed an Orc-Dragon Claw, severing the bodies of a dozen Lizardmen into two as he didn't even touch them this time, absorbing their flesh and blood energy.
His Orc-Dragon Sense worked by unleashing tangible threads of mana that probed his surroundings to relay information. But the moment his Orc-Dragon Soul Fusion rate hit 90%, his mind experienced an evolution, allowing him to begin innovating his abilities.
He fused the effects of his innate trait into his Orc-Dragon Sense, allowing the tendrils of mana to transform into tentacles that latched onto the corpses of the Lizardmen and rapidly devoured their flesh.
With that, his recovery speed offset the destruction caused by the deathly energy, transforming it into a tonic that only served to further strengthen his body. Basically, he was like a blade of steel, rebirthed by flame.
[Orc-Dragon Soul Fusion: 96%]