Chapter 42: Unimportant Work

Including the flagship Fengshan Maru, all the Sand Ships were being pulled by Binding Bomb ropes, slowly approaching the Fengshan Dragon.

The pilots focused intently on controlling the rudders, carefully managing the distance between their vessels and the Fengshan Dragon.

They had to keep the ropes taut—making it easier for the Hunters to climb while applying reverse drag on the Fengshan Dragon to slow it down and further drain its stamina—yet also avoid provoking it by pulling too hard.

If this thing decided to do a death roll right now, the fleet would suffer heavy losses.

When the distance between the small Sand Ship and the Fengshan Dragon was down to the last ten-odd meters, Asa stopped advancing and focused entirely on stabilizing the hull.

"Go! If it's dangerous, jump into the Sand Sea right away—cutting the safety rope is fine too, just don't die, I'll come pick you up!"

Asa was playing the jinx as always, but Aolang and the others had no time to argue with him about it.

He tightened his weapon straps, and Sai'er, as the senior, took the lead in climbing onto the rope, scrambling up with both hands and feet.

Aolang followed close behind. Thanks to repeated practice over this period, his climbing speed had improved considerably, and his movements could be called nimble, but he still couldn't compare with Sai'er.

He had only climbed halfway when Sai'er's hand had already grabbed the end of the Binding Bomb's arrow shaft.

He stepped into a gap in the Rock Armor nearby, leaped up, and reached out to grab another crossbow bolt nearby that could serve as a foothold.

Then, like a nimble monkey, he bounded between the protrusions and cracks of the Fengshan Dragon's Rock Armor and the footholds formed by the bolts, climbing upward swiftly.

Aolang carefully memorized Sai'er's climbing route.

When it comes to rock climbing, beyond the necessary physical strength, the most important thing is experience—let him find his own route and he could still climb up slowly.

But the route Senior Sai'er chose was clearly better; following behind wasn't shameful either.

On the twelve Sand Ships plus the flagship Fengshan Maru Ship, a total of over twenty Hunters were climbing.

Apart from two unlucky fellows who fell accidentally because the bolts they used for footholds came loose, the vast majority of Hunters successfully climbed onto the Fengshan Dragon's back.

Without needing much communication, everyone spread out, each looking for a wound to attack.

Aolang also saw a few fellows who hadn't even brought weapons, each carrying a giant Explosive Bomb nearly as tall as a person on their back.

Those were "Anti-Dragon Bombs" specially prepared for super-giant Ancient Dragons like the Fengshan Dragon. The explosives packed inside differed from ordinary Explosive Bomb barrels—more powerful, and seemingly capable of inflicting certain special energy damage as well.

These giant Explosive Bombs were carefully placed aside by the Hunters.

They would use weapons to widen the gaps in the shell on the Fengshan Dragon's back, as well as the wounds cracked open by Cannon bombardment, then stuff the Explosive Bombs into those spots to inflict maximum damage.

A burly bald man who looked a bit fierce seemed to want to stuff the giant Explosive Bomb he was holding into one of the Fengshan Dragon's blowholes, and his companion beside him hurriedly stopped him.

That hole could only be stuffed before retreating—otherwise, if it sensed its "nostril" being blocked, who knew how the Fengshan Dragon would react?

Aolang found a protrusion wrapped in Ore Crystal, swung his One-Handed Sword, and began smashing away with a clanging din.

These metal crystals were the Special Minerals highly favored by Merchants—knock off a few pieces and bring them back, and you could earn quite a bit of money.

But this kind of behavior would earn contempt from your companions—everyone else is fighting for their lives, and you're secretly making money?

So Aolang didn't pick up the minerals he'd knocked loose, letting them fall into the Sand Sea instead. After the battle, the Guild would send people specifically to recover them.

The reason he wasn't attacking the wounds blasted open by Cannons like the other Hunters was mainly because his Weapon wasn't quite "up to standard."

The Hunters participating in the Celong Operation were mainly heavy-weapon Swordsmen, mostly using Great Swords, Great Hammers, or Shield Axes—Weapons of enormous size and terrifying destructive power.

As for the minority using light weapons, they too chose Weapons focused on "attribute" effects.

After years of annual clashes, humanity's understanding of the Fengshan Dragon species had become quite thorough—they knew it wasn't used to dealing with extreme cold frost, and as an Ancient Dragon Species, Dragon Attribute energy was also notably effective against it.

Therefore, for the other Dual Blade Users and One-Handed Sword users, Ice Attribute and Dragon Attribute Weapons were also quite good choices.

Like Senior Sai'er, who used a pair of "Shark Breaker" blades forged from mutated ice shark material.

And he himself, having just been promoted to two-star, only had a pair of Hunter Daggers.....

Wielding this thing, even slashing at the Fengshan Dragon's wounds, it was hard to cause any effective damage. From this angle, the battle really would be the same with or without him.

Not long after joining the Ship Fleet, the Ship Group Leader had been quite blunt in explaining this to him.

Aolang, who found it hard to accept that he could only be a dispensable accessory, specifically went to ask Ms. Marydan for advice on the matter, and she offered him two suggestions.

First, carry Back Bombs—that's physical labor, you don't even need to bring a Weapon, so it doesn't matter.

Aolang was willing to be this "porter," but the Ship Group Leader bluntly rejected him.

Not just anyone is qualified to carry Explosive Bombs—one Anti-Dragon Bomb weighs more than a fully armed Hunter.

Those chosen to carry Back Bombs had to be strong-bodied Hunters with plenty of climbing experience, right? Otherwise, if their hand slipped halfway up and they fell with the Anti-Dragon Bomb, that would be no joke.

"Strong-bodied" Aolang barely qualified, but "plenty of climbing experience" he clearly didn't meet the standard—the Ship Group Leader wouldn't agree to entrust him with this important task.

So all that was left for him to do was the last thing Ms. Marydan had suggested.

The minerals the Fengshan Dragon couldn't digest would precipitate out from its back, forming Special Minerals, and the organ that precipitated the minerals was a kind of gland similar to human sweat glands.

If you attacked there, it might make the Fengshan Dragon feel itchy—maybe it would have a miraculous effect, and at the very least, you could knock down a few more Special Minerals, which would count as generating revenue for the Sand Ship Fleet.

It still didn't sound like any critical work, but being able to genuinely help out already made him quite happy.

Aolang diligently hacked at the gland wrapped in Ore Crystal, regretting a little that he hadn't brought an iron pick.

Using that thing to smash minerals should be more efficient than chopping with a Hunter Knife.

Fortunately, these cluster-shaped crystals weren't as solid as the ore in mineral veins. Under his persistent hammering, they peeled off layer by layer, gradually revealing the gland hidden beneath.

Aolang shook his aching, numb wrist, then gripped the hilt again, aimed at the middle of the gland not covered by hard skin, and experimentally thrust out a slash.

Honestly, he was quite worried that with one stab, the Fengshan Dragon would react violently and give a shudder that sent all the Hunters tumbling off.

But facts proved he was overthinking it.

The central part of the gland wasn't covered by hard skin or Rock Armor, and was indeed relatively soft, but in the end it was just a slightly larger sweat gland.

Years of swimming along the bottom of the Sand Sea had long made the Fengshan Dragon's surface senses very dull. Those heavy-weapon Hunters hacking away at bleeding wounds didn't cause much reaction, so naturally there wouldn't be much problem on his end either.

He suddenly figured it out—what "would make the Fengshan Dragon itchy," what "might have a miraculous effect"—it was all Ms. Marydan fooling him.

If it really had a miraculous effect, the Ship Group Leader would have long arranged other Hunters to specifically watch these spots.

No wonder after hearing Ms. Marydan's suggestion, the Ship Group Leader agreed so readily—turns out they just wanted him to mine.

Those two old folks......

Thinking of this, Aolang couldn't help but purse his lips.

It was natural to feel disappointed, but he did not stop attacking because of it; instead, he increased the force of his sword swings even more.

If one's strength is insufficient, it is only reasonable for others not to hold expectations; rather than complain, it is better to handle matters brilliantly.

"Opportunities to use Ancient Dragon as a target are rare," Aolang comforted himself.

"Sigh—"