Chapter 49: Slaying the Dragon

Wow, what formidable strength!

Wu Tie stood on a small hill, vigorously kneading the flesh of his left hand while gazing at the large force over ten li away.

After treatment with the crystal ball, his left hand has fully recovered.

However, Wu Tie finds it hard to accept psychologically.

That day, under Old Iron's coercion, he devoured both dragon horns completely.

Watching helplessly as the flesh of his entire palm was burned away, leaving only the palm bones emitting a faint black light, and he also smelled the scorched, pungent aroma of roasted meat in the air……

I just feel… this isn't my hand……

Wu Tie furrowed his brows, grabbed a nearby stone with his hand.

Soundlessly, the grayish-brown stone, like tofu, was dug into deep by his five fingers. Crushed stone turned to powder, broken stone made no sound—Wu Tie's left hand had practically become a terrifying weapon.

He planted the spear in the ground, then Wu Tie extended both hands and gripped firmly.

His right hand screamed in pain, as if it were about to be crushed. Just as in his attempt at the Ancient Divine Arms Camp, his left hand's strength far surpassed his right, and was much tougher. Gripping each other's hands, his right hand was no match.

"A whole flood dragon skeleton?" Wu Tie recalled the agony of swallowing the two dragon horns, and a shudder ran through him.

But upon close inspection, his left hand was nearly identical to his right, except the skin was slightly darkened.

Wu Tie blinked, feeling that this deal was still worthwhile.

Strength, this is strength. If his entire skeleton could be like his left palm, tempered to be harder than stone……

"I hope you can handle that big guy… uh, Old Iron, but the question is, even if they win, how do we seize that big fellow for ourselves?" Wu Tie asked Old Iron humbly.

"The snipe and clam grapple, the fisherman profits!" Old Iron threw out the eight words bluntly.

Wu Tie nodded, half-understanding, then looked toward the distant troop.

Twelve stone giants, each ten meters tall, led the vanguard, clad in specially forged heavy iron armor and wielding specially made two-handed heavy swords, like ten moving bronze walls, striding forward with thunderous steps.

Behind the ten stone giants were two hundred ox-tribe warriors wearing fully enclosed iron armor.

They wore distinctive ox-horn helmets and held uniformly poisoned wolf-tooth clubs.

Behind the ox-tribe warriors were lizardfolk archers in soft armor, wielding longbows, marching with agile, silent steps.

On both flanks of the troop, large numbers of wolf-tribe warriors and Mist Blade assassins patrolled.

Wolf-tribe warriors wore light mail, wielding poisoned curved blades and longswords, darting about like a gust of wind.

Mist Blade assassins' movements were far more furtive, using mushroom thickets and fern groves for cover, taking advantage of the surrounding mist to leave flickering afterimages, appearing and disappearing like phantoms.

In the rear of this massive, mighty force, a group of elite Mist Blade assassins escorted over a dozen black-cloaked Mist Blade senior members.

These Mist Blade assassins were clearly far stronger than their wandering comrades; even from over ten li away, Wu Tie could sense their icy, killing aura, like solidified frost.

His gaze swept over the rearguard; suddenly, the central figures whose heads and faces were wholly concealed by cloaks halted. A tall, burly man in the center lifted his head and gazed far toward Wu Tie.

Wu Tie seized his spear and stared straight at that man.

Old Iron stood beside Wu Tie, opened his mouth, and with a hint of arrogant bravado, barked twice toward the sky.

No one knows why, but after gaining the body of the Howling Celestial Dog and merging his head with it, Old Iron often likes to bark a few times for no reason.

"I am… the Chief Steward of Mist Blade." The man's voice carried over ten li with ease: "You lot are… the 'masters' of this secret realm?"

Upon uttering the word "master," Mist Blade's tone turned flippant, with a hint of dismissive provocation.

Evidently, he did not acknowledge Wu Tie and Old Iron's ownership of this auspicious land.

Wu Tie raised his spear high, traced a circle in the air, then brought it down heavily.

Mist Blade chuckled "heh," then said in a low voice: "Two days ago, that beast attacked; regardless of your motives, you saved my people… so I'll give you a chance: join Mist Blade, and I'll reserve a place for you as an inner disciple."

Mist Blade extended his right hand; a cloaked man handed him the White Tiger Blood Flag.

After a low chuckle, Mist Blade fiercely swung his right hand, hurling the flagpole of the White Tiger Blood Flag with force.

"Screee—!"

A sharp tearing sound rushed close; the flagpole of the White Tiger Blood Flag trailed a long cold gleam, ripping a visible white streak in the air, shattering rings of white explosions, and shot straight to Wu Tie's front.

"Clang!"

The White Tiger Blood Flag's pole pierced precisely into a large stone beneath Wu Tie's feet.

The pole sank six feet into the stone, trembling violently; the White Tiger Blood Flag fluttered wildly with a "clatter," stirring up a gust of chaotic wind.

Wu Tie swallowed hard.

He casually tossed the White Tiger Blood Flag's pole over ten li……

Especially just as he made his move, behind Mist Blade's Chief Steward loomed a vague silhouette of a towering figure several zhang tall.

Though over ten li away, that shadow still exuded a terrifying pressure like a mountain pressing down, weighing heavily on Wu Tie's chest, making him slightly breathless.

"Impressive!" Wu Tie gripped his spear tightly, eyeing Mist Blade's Chief Steward warily.

"Just Great Strength God Magic!" Old Iron snorted: "It's nothing remarkable… Of course, if Great Strength God Magic were cultivated to the extreme, one could pluck stars and seize the moon… but nowadays, where would one find stars and moons to toy with?"

Old Iron chuckled "kakaka," as if he'd just told a hilarious joke.

Wu Tie looked at Old Iron as if he were a fool: "Great Strength God Magic… pluck stars and seize the moon? Have you ever seen… stars, or the moon?"

A glint flickered in Wu Tie's eyes.

He recalled what Grey Master had told him.

Rivers, lakes, seas; flowers, birds, insects, fish… plus the sun, moon, and stars… It is said that on clear nights, a silver river appears in the sky, and that "Milky Way" is composed of countless stars……

"I've never seen stars!" Wu Tie whispered.

"You will see them…" Old Iron raised a claw, gently patting Wu Tie's shoulder; the blood light in his eyes softened: "You will see them… Grandfather I swear to you… well, that truly is something wonderful……

Suddenly, Old Iron felt a bit nagging and exclaimed to the heavens: "Young man, your path is the stars and the sea… so strive… fight… pave a stairway to heaven with your enemies' blood and flesh… oh, oh… woof!"

After Mist Blade's Chief Steward displayed his formidable divine ability, the massive troop continued onward toward the lower reaches of the great river.

Wu Tie and Old Iron watched them depart swiftly, then openly followed behind them.

They proceeded along the great river toward the direction of the magma fissure ahead.

Each time the False Sun is lit, the group can advance over two hundred li.

The riverbank has extremely thick moss, lush vegetation, and various strange biological communities; the road is not easy to travel.

Mist Blade Chief Steward is not eager to achieve results; he steadily ordered the unit to keep formation while moving forward, so the marching speed grew increasingly slow.

After advancing for more than three days, the Mist Blade assassins scouting ahead all rushed back.

As expected of a professional assassin organization, these Mist Blade assassins have already found the flood dragon's nest.

At the Mist Blade Chief Steward's command, the unit increased its speed.

Wu Tie and Lao Tie also sped up accordingly; the Mist Blade people had long known they were following behind, yet no one stayed to stop them.

"We've been looked down upon, little guy."

Lao Tie's tone was very unhappy: "We've been looked down upon... sigh, a tiger fallen to flat ground being bullied by dogs... being bullied by dogs!"

Wu Tie was speechless; he tapped Lao Tie's body with his gun barrel.

Lao Tie opened his mouth, then shut it firmly; his two rows of large teeth clashed heavily together, sending up a large spray of sparks.

After a moment, Lao Tie suddenly laughed: "Not bad, a tiger fallen to flat ground being bullied by dogs... hehe, being bullied by this old man's human-head dog, what a good omen!"

The unit advanced quickly; here it is only three to four hundred li from the magma fissure. The magma waterfall gives off scorching heat, making the surrounding temperature extremely high and humidity extremely great; the ground vegetation is ten times denser than that of the basin where the Ancient Divine Soldier Camp lies.

Giant ferns grow as densely as towering ancient trees; on their thick branches, snakes of various sizes coil, and a hissing sound can be heard from near and far.

On the ground, large numbers of reptiles move slowly, while huge groups of rodents roam.

Wu Tie also saw many winged strange creatures gliding between the giant ferns; Lao Tie's eyes flashed red as he scanned these little fellows, then, somewhat surprised, told Wu Tie that these strange creatures included some birds and some insects…

Birds—this is the first time Wu Tie has seen flying birds.

Insects—this is also the first time Wu Tie has seen flying insects…

Moreover, the insects here are extremely large; for example, Wu Tie speared to death one with his gun that was over two meters long and as thick as an arm—a mutant black centipede.

From ahead in the fern forest came a strange vibration.

After roughly ten or so breaths, the air will lightly tremble once.

It is very strange, very odd vibration, like a heartbeat, carrying an extremely dim, obscure life aura.

The Mist Blade unit formed a skirmish line and advanced to envelop; the Mist Blade Chief Steward and over ten other senior members cloaked in capes also mixed into the unit.

From ahead in the fern forest came a light.

Through the dense fern leaves, one can see that ahead in the fern forest lies a wetland covering several hundred mu.

Inside the wetland grow various luminescent aquatic plants, tangled together densely; from time to time, tiny glowing insects rise from these plants, and a dim phosphorescent light flickers intermittently.

Each tiny insect emits a very dim light, but when hundreds of thousands of them gather together, the brightness here becomes quite considerable.

However, the main light source illuminating this wetland comes from a huge crystal located at its center.

It is a roughly diamond-shaped crystal, askew and inserted in the middle of the wetland. It stands over ten meters high and five to six meters thick, its whole body radiating seven-colored flowing light, crystal clear and splendid.

The flood dragon coils beneath the crystal, occasionally extending its tongue to lick the trickles of viscous fluid flowing down from the crystal.

In just a few days, the flood dragon's shattered scales have fully regrown, its broken skull has completely regenerated, and two half-foot-long dragon horns have sprouted from its newly formed skull.

Its wounds healed so quickly; obviously this is all thanks to that crystal.

Wu Tie and Lao Tie detoured around the Mist Blade unit and approached the wetland from another direction.

Lao Tie suddenly stopped, his eyes wide, staring blankly at that crystal, and in a very strange tone muttered to Wu Tie: "Grandfather my arms… two arms… hehe, I originally thought I would never find them again in this lifetime…"

Wu Tie stared blankly, then hurriedly focused his gaze on it.

Within that crystal over ten meters tall, two pallid metal arms assumed an extremely strange pose: one hand grasped a huge skull, while the other hand reached up from the skull's gaping maw, piercing straight through the skull and emerging from the top of the head…

Wu Tie involuntarily shuddered all over.

What a ferocious killing move… forcing the arm into the enemy's mouth, then piercing the head…

Was this done by Lao Tie?

Lao Tie's skull is three times the size of a normal person's; his arms are naturally much larger than average, especially since his arm proportions are relatively slender, each arm being at least four times the length of a normal person's.

Opening his mouth, Wu Tie muttered: "This guy's head is truly huge; otherwise, how could you fit those two huge arms inside?"

Lao Tie silently chuckled, then murmured in a low voice: "Just a bit short of winning… so I… self-destructed my whole body… looks like the results were not bad…"

Gritting his teeth tightly, Lao Tie's two rows of large teeth ground against each other, continuously spewing fine sparks.

"These are my grandfather's arms… no one dare take them away." Lao Tie snorted coldly, baring his teeth: "Besides, this little grass snake must be killed… I wonder how this place can sustain such a huge flood dragon…"

"It turns out it evolved by swallowing the life essence leaking from that corpse… its life seed has been contaminated and must be killed…" Lao Tie's tone conveyed undeniable firmness and resolve: "Everything that is contaminated… must be exterminated."

Wu Tie remained silent, because the Mist Blade team had already taken action.

Two heavy bed crossbows that Wu Tie had never seen before were pushed out by several ox-clan warriors.

Boom—boom, two specially made pure-steel crossbow bolts shot out with a roar and slammed hard into the flood dragon's body.

The scales shattered; the two bolt heads, flashing with a faint light, penetrated the flood dragon's body to a depth of over one foot.