Chapter 44: 44 Ancient Dragon

Lin Jun waited quietly inside the spore-filled cave, expecting unwelcome guests to arrive.

New changes occurred on the fifth layer once again.

The rift from which the dragonmen and giant rats had emerged had not spawned any monsters for quite some time.

Now it had even become unstable.

The space around the rift twisted slightly, seeming to trend toward expansion.

This change made Lin Jun's heart race with fear.

He did not understand knowledge related to space, but this was certainly very dangerous.

He did not want his fifth layer to become a death zone of spatial fragmentation.

Or perhaps have several permanent rifts appear, allowing anyone to drop by and take a look.

Though he did not want it, Lin Jun was helpless against these changes.

Moreover, dealing with the dragonman was the immediate priority.

Here it comes!

Under Lin Jun's mana perception view, the dragonman had already dug to the edge.

Crack—

A section of the rock wall split open slightly...

The next second, a pair of sharp claws burst through the stone.

The dragonman's head followed, drilling out as its blazing golden dragon eyes swept into the cave.

And before it stood the knight Puffeater, who had been waiting for a long time, along with six tentacle-shroom cannons fully charged and teetering on the edge of firing.

Surprise?

Six triple-power shroom cannons all struck the bewildered dragonman directly.

And it was a headshot!

A massive explosion mixed with violent tremors shattered the entire rock wall.

The cave ceiling collapsed amidst the shaking, with large chunks of rubble falling consecutively to bury the dragonman.

The cave only stabilized after collapsing by one-third of its area.

Lin Jun had no choice; facing a dragonman was no time to worry about whether the cave would collapse.

But it was not over yet.

The pile of rubble suddenly exploded, and the dragonman charged out, yet it did not rush straight at the knight Puffeater.

Instead, it darted around the cave at extreme speed before finally stopping in a corner.

At this moment, the dragonman looked utterly wretched.

Covered head to toe in fresh blood, not to mention, most of the scales on its face had shattered, and one of the horns on its head was broken off.

Perhaps struck hard, it now cowered in the corner, growling low and daring not to advance lightly.

The dragonman's current appearance was somewhat surprising to Lin Jun.

Originally, its facial features were hidden beneath thick scales, and with the horns, it looked more like a dragon.

Now that most of the scales had fallen off and its features were exposed, it actually looked more like a human face.

Of course, none of that mattered.

At this moment, maintaining a standoff with the dragonman was exactly what Lin Jun wanted.

The six fungal-tentacle shroom cannons on his body were one-time use; after the previous firing, the recoil had shattered the tentacles.

Even if they could still be used, they likely could not hit a dragonman whose movements were unrestricted.

Lin Jun's trump card had always been the hallucinogenic spores spreading through the air.

Although creatures related to dragons usually possessed high resistances, high resistance did not mean immunity; as long as enough time passed...

Unfortunately, the dragonman moved after all.

Its form turned into a blur as it circled around Lin Jun, inching closer bit by bit.

It was clear it had been hit very hard; it showed none of the reckless, straightforward ferocity it had displayed when fighting the giant rats.

However, Lin Jun liked it this way; if it were straightforward, he might not even be able to react in time.

Seeing the dragonman close enough, the knight trembled slightly.

【Infrasound Attack LV6】

The dragonman's internal organs were attacked; its movement suddenly halted, and before it could turn, it continued along its momentum and crashed headfirst into the rock wall.

Without hesitation, Lin Jun fired another shroom cannon in that direction; the cave collapsed another small half, burying the dragonman.

The power of the Infrasound Attack was far inferior to a shroom cannon of the same level.

But its advantage was that it ignored defense and dealt damage directly to the inside of the body!

Even though Lin Jun's Infrasound Attack was only level 6, within the enclosed space of the cave, amplified by the Symbiotic Crystal, it was enough to inflict some damage on the dragonman and disrupt its rhythm.

The stone pile was pushed aside, and the dragonman that crawled out this time appeared less spirited.

But it did not delay; instead, it charged forward, charging straight forward.

【Infrasound Attack LV6】

【Dodge LV7】

By interrupting its movement, Lin Jun dodged this straight-line attack.

But the dragonman had learned its lesson; this charge did not use its full strength.

After being interfered with, it adjusted its posture in time, circled around, and charged again during the gap in Lin Jun's Infrasound Attack.

What sharp combat intuition!

Facing the sharp claws swung by the dragonman, at the critical moment, the knight Puffeater's body pressed down slightly... and bounced up!

【Sprint Launch LV5】

The claw and the knight passed each other.

He dodged, but not completely.

A claw mark remained on the knight's shell; it was just a hair's breadth from piercing the interior.

The situation seemed to be turning dire.

Where are the hallucinogenic spores?

After inhaling so much, why haven't they taken effect yet?

The dragon-man also seemed to realize he was gradually gaining the upper hand; excitedly, he bared his mouth, revealing two rows of shark teeth.

He adjusted his posture and lunged again.

However, this time, the dragon-man had only charged halfway before his limbs lost coordination, and he rolled into a ball on the ground.

This time, Lin Jun hadn't done anything; the infrasound attack was still a bit short of being ready.

In fact, Lin Jun himself now felt weak all over, his mycelium turning soft.

A status had even appeared on the panel:

【Dragon Fear (Total Attributes Reduced by 50%)】

!!!

What the hell!?

Lin Jun quickly scanned the Fifth Layer.

That spatially unstable rift had, at some unknown time, actually expanded by a circle!

A giant claw, five meters long, gripped the edge of the rift, causing the surrounding space to trem violently!

"GROOOOARRR—"

The terrifying roar emanating from the rift echoed throughout the entire Fifth Layer.

It was only because Lin Jun's main body was buried underground that he hadn't heard it immediately.

But not hearing it didn't mean he wasn't affected.

That Dragon Fear was the best proof.

In other words, the owner of that claw was a dragon?

Not a dragon-beast or a proto-dragon, but a true dragon!?

Judging by the size of the claw, that dragon absolutely couldn't pass through the rift unless it continued to tear the rift wider...

Don't!

Don't let every piece of bad luck fall on me!

Shivering under the Dragon Fear, the dragon-man opposite looked even more wretched.

He actually dug a hole right where he stood and buried his upper body inside, playing the ostrich...

The dragon claw seemed to want to continue tearing the rift open, but a massive amount of electric arcs suddenly flashed in the space.

The arcs struck the dragon claw consecutively, blasting away a patch of dragon scales.

In pain, the giant dragon actually released its claw.

But at the very end, it let out another angry roar in this direction.

Afterwards, the electric arcs wrapped around the rift, causing it to shrink smaller and smaller until it simply vanished.

After the rift disappeared, this location reverted to the original staircase connecting the Fourth and Fifth Layers.

The staircase was so clean, as if nothing had ever happened...

Long after the rift vanished, the negative status on Lin Jun finally disappeared.

Meanwhile, the dragon-man lay half-buried in the dirt, motionless.

The knight lifted its short little legs and kicked it out with one stomp.

The dragon-man crashed into the rock wall behind and collapsed right there.

The hallucinogenic spores finally took effect.

Who would have thought!

The Dragon Fear actually helped him out!

The knight approached the dragon-man, looked at that small face, and proceeded to stomp furiously.

This wasn't ordinary stomping; this was 【Trample LV3】!

Thirty consecutive death-stomps finally drove the health bar down, after which he elegantly sprinkled parasitic spores on top.

Once the spores had fully merged with the flesh and blood, he would completely transform it into a parasitic puppet, giving himself another trump card!

Finally relaxing, Lin Jun also had time to examine this dragon-man's panel in detail.

Before, he had either been commanding the battle, setting traps, or simply brawling with this dragon-man.

He had only had time to glance at its basic attributes.

Now, pulling it up for a look, a row of LV8s and LV9s made Lin Jun extremely excited.

However, this excitement quickly faded.

Among the multitude of information, Lin Jun picked out three special entries.

【Racial Talent: Ancient Dragon Blood (All Attributes Increased by 20%)】

【Mark of Vengeance (Transfers to the killer upon death; the Seal Casting user can track the killer and inflict extra damage upon them)】

【Title: Scion of the Ancient Dragon (Main Attributes Increased by 50%)】

Recalling that dragon claw just now...

Is there any way to cancel the fusion parasitism?

(End of this chapter)