Chapter 361: The Guerrilla Dragon

A peaceful day began with mutual slaughter.

“Aoooo!”

The dragon’s roars still echoed in their ears; the hydrological monitoring station built along the spring’s edge was a ruin.

Shreds of flesh and fur littered the ground; animal companions’ bloodied bones were scattered everywhere, and claw marks from the evil dragon gouged the rock walls—Corol, the high druid’s animal companion, the mutated bear “Bronze Crown,” had been chewed into a pulpy mess, its bloodied remains stuck to the wall.

This was not predation—it was pure rage, or perhaps a warning.

The claw marks on the rock, the undigested flesh fragments—clearly meant to declare: no one escapes; all of you are my prey.

“Waaah, my Bronze Crown… we promised to live well together.”

The Luzu -born high druid wept like a child; for him, this animal companion—his partner for thirty years—was more than a fellow transcendent warrior who grew alongside him; he was a childhood friend, and something deeper, something unspoken.

“Now, in cold nights, your warm fur and embrace will never be there again.”

Druids being strange is normal, especially since they truly turn into bears. After a brief cry, the high druid returned to his usual self.

Because his grief drew too many “animal companions” to hug him, he was crushed beneath them.

Wipe away your tears—life must go on. Losing one family member means many others remain.

“Waaah, Bronze Crown… how could you leave at only thirty?”

And perhaps, from the very start, he had foreseen all of this would happen.

“Should we still assign animal companions to guard outdoor hydrological stations, water sources, and mining zones?” asked the silver-robed druid, approaching the druid leader.

Given that trade plans with other sects have collapsed, perhaps it’s time to cut losses and withdraw the remaining stock.

In stories, druids often wear pelts and own no coins, yet are never poor.

When they truly need to spend, they always produce rare monster materials, gold ore, magical gems—some among them reject currency, a symbol of civilization, even viewing wealth accumulation as foolishness (according to radical druids, anything beyond one’s basic needs is waste).

But nature is the true treasury; high druids who commune with nature can easily obtain treasures inaccessible to other groups.

Yet, by forbidding personal holdings beyond limits, most druids appear remarkably “primitive.”

Doctrine is one thing; even the devout often fall. Druids are not all fanatics—they still have internal mechanisms.

The Verdant Garden, in fact, has amassed considerable treasures over the years in this magical realm: rare monster materials and ores are only part of it; powerful monsters and enchanted animal hatchlings have earned it the reputation of a “taming paradise” among the natural faction.

“Damn. It still didn’t take the bait.”

The forest giant and his team, staring at the ruined hydrological station, reluctantly abandoned another trap site.

Core personnel had already begun retreating, assigning key outposts to “animal companions” for defense.

This was the pre-planned strategy—using animal companions as bait to lure and hunt the evil dragon.

No matter how strong the dragon, it remains alone; it must struggle to survive.

Dragons aren’t weak creatures that hoard food; when harassing the druid sect, its hunting range becomes restricted.

The animal companions and summoned creatures dispatched to guard key “outposts” were a necessary sacrifice to avoid casualties—but they were also dragon bait. Now, it seems the bait was all eaten, and every ambush failed utterly.

This is extremely rare for druids, as mid- to high-level high druids possess a “oneness with nature” ability, allowing them to merge seamlessly with the wild—ambushes are nearly undetectable.

Druids also have life-sensing abilities, yet now, they seem useless.

The chewed remains before them were a clear taunt.

This habit of chewing but not eating declares: “Your poisons mean nothing.” Likely, these past days, the dragon didn’t hunt nearby at all—it simply flew dozens of kilometers to prey in the territories of other powerful beings.

The cunning evil dragon is far more skilled in combat than expected.