Book 4, The Dragonblood Warrior – Chapter 18, The Armored Razorback Wyrm
Within the underground cave, Linley laid down and rested for a while. After feeling that he had recovered, he stood up. That situation just now, where he had been attacked by over a hundred flying dragons, was the most dangerous which Linley had ever been in. Virtually every second, he was in fear for his life. After escaping from that calamity with his life, Linley had finally managed to take a breather, but in his heart, he also had an ardent desire – the desire to increase his power!
In front of those giant dragons, he was nothing more than a toy. He had no ability to resist at all.
“Boss, there’s no way out from above. The only option we have is to keep going down. Next to us, there’s a very wide path.” Bebe mentally transmitted to Linley while jumping on Linley’s shoulders.
Off to the side of Linley, there was a very wide, crooked road, several dozen meters wide and almost ten meters tall. But this road was curved and crooked, heading off into an unknown location in the east. After silently pondering for a while, Linley decided to venture forth with Bebe into that gloomy darkness.
The cave tunnel grew darker, the further in they went. After a while, nothing could be seen but darkness. Linley couldn’t even see the tunnel, and so he had to carefully make his way in by feeling his way through the wall.
“Boss, where the heck are we. Why was this tunnel covered up by that hill?” Bebe asked Linley.
Linley shook his head.
“There’s over a hundred flying dragons overhead. If we go up, we’re just committing suicide. We can only keep going down.” Linley also didn’t have the ability to tunnel his way to escape through this maze-like rocky tunnel. His only choice was to follow it to whatever unknown destination it led to.
Following Linley, Bebe was also on maximum alert, inspecting his surroundings out of fear that a magical beast might pop up out of nowhere.
“There’s light up ahead.” Within the darkness, Linley saw a dim glow coming from up front. He unconsciously sped up his pace to head towards it. Slowly, Linley discovered the exit to this tunnel, and that it was the exit which was glowing with a dim red light.
Suddenly…
“Haha, Sartius [Sa’di’e’si], weren’t you very arrogant? Those things you did to me three hundred years ago, I will repay you manifold today.” An extremely deep voice rang out from the exit, sounding as deep and powerful as a peal of thunder.
Linley couldn’t help but feel shocked. “A person!”
“No matter what, it’ll be easier negotiating with a person than with a magical beast. And I have no other path I can take. But this fellow’s voice is really loud.” Sticking next to the tunnel walls, Linley walked towards the exit. But when he got within 20 meters of the exit, he could already see what was going on at the other side through the exit hole.
This was the end of the tunnel. There was an extremely large cave here.
This cave was at least several kilometers wide, and at least several dozen meters high. But what shocked Linley was….
From his current vantage point, Linley could clearly tell that there was a huge black bear standing in mid-air, at least ten meters high, with all the fur on his body appearing as though it were made from steel. This black bear was covered with countless violet tattoo-like paterns, making him look very bizarre.
This black bear that was standing in mid-air was the source of the ‘human’ words Linley had heard.
“This…this…” Linley couldn’t breathe.
It was as though his consciousness was being repeatedly struck by lightning.
“A Saint-level magical beast!” Linley instantly understood.
Upon reaching the Saint-level, magical beasts would usually be able to fly, and also be able to speak using human languages. These were the defining characteristics of Saint-level magical beasts. Saint-level magical beasts were extremely terrifying creatures. Most human Saint-level combatants were not capable of defeating a Saint-level magical beast. Only the strongest Saint-level human combatants had enough power to kill a Saint-level magical beast.
A Saint-level magical beast was capable of shrinking his physical size; a hundred meter large Saint-level magical beast could shrink himself to the size of a small snake.
Naturally, though…there was no way for a Saint-level magical beast to a.s.sume the form of a human being.
Perhaps only a magical beast which possessed the power of a deity would be able to able to a.s.sume human form.
“A Saint-level magical beast. I’ve actually encountered a Saint-level magical beast.” Linley didn’t even dare to breathe loudly. He carefully watched the cave opening. “This is a Violet Tattooed Bear. Violet Tattooed Bears are magical beasts of the ninth rank.”
Violet Tattooed Bears were considered a very powerful race of magical beasts. Naturally, they were capable of reaching the Saint-level in some cases.
“But this Violet Tattooed Bear is blind in one eye.” Linley suddenly noticed the terrifying injury that was over the left eye of the Violet Tattooed Bear that was standing in mid-air. Clearly, this bear was half-blind.
“Sartius, all these years, I’ve been waiting for my chance to get revenge. Haha, so what if you ended up seizing this place for your own? Although the elemental essence density here is a hundred times higher than that of the outside world, I was still the first to reach the Saint-level. Haha.”
Clearly, the Violet Tattooed Bear was extremely excited.
“Where is this Sartius that this bear keeps talking about?” Linley stealthily retreated, then crept closer to the other wall of the tunnel. Indeed, from the other side of the tunnel, he was able to see another magical beast. This one was a magical beast that made Linley’s heart shudder yet again.
This magical beast was ten meters long and three meters high.
Its entire body was densely covered with pitch black scales, and all of the scales on its body were patterned in a very orderly, regimented manner. Every single scale was roughly the size of a human palm.
But the densely patterned scales were arranged together in such a way that for some reason, it struck fear into the hearts of whoever saw it.
On its back, there were many sharp spikes that were thirty centimeters long, which spread all the way from its back to its neck.
The most terrifying of all were its eyes….
Its eyes were a dark gold color, so cold that it could cause someone to utterly freeze.
“The Armored Razorback Wyrm, the most terrible dragon-type beast of the ninth rank.” Linley’s heart began to tremble, and within his mind, he naturally began to recollect the information he had previously acquired on Armored Razorback Wyrms.
Armored Razorback Wyrms: Magical beasts of the ninth rank, darkness-type. The smallest dragon-type beast in physical size, amongst dragon-type beasts of the same rank, the Armored Razorback Wyrm possessed the most powerful defense, the highest agility, and also possessed extremely sharp claws with incredible offensive power.
Without question, amongst dragon-type beasts of the same rank, the Armored Razorback Wyrm would definitely be one of the most powerful creatures.
“It’s actually an Armored Razorback Wyrm!” Only now did Linley finally understand everything.
A Violet Tattooed Bear was an extremely terrifying combatant. Not only did it inherit the ma.s.sive strength inherent to all bear-type beasts, it was also extremely nimble.
Amongst magical beasts of the ninth rank, there weren’t many which were more powerful than a Violet Tattooed Bear…but an Armored Razorback Wyrm was, without question, one of them.
The Armored Razorback Wyrm swept its icy gaze across Linley.
Linley felt as though the season had turned to winter, and in the midst of that winter, a bucket of cold water was poured over his head. The fear he now felt far surpa.s.sed the fear he had felt when he was a child at Wushan towns.h.i.+p and saw that Black Dragon of the ninth rank.
Although the Armored Razorback Wyrm had discovered Linley, it didn’t pay him any mind. Because right now, its greatest opponent was this Violet Tattooed Bear in front of it. Although amongst magical beasts of the ninth rank, an Armored Razorback Wyrm was indeed an indomitable tyrant, when faced with a Saint-level magical beast….
“Growl….” The Armored Razorback Wyrm let out a deep growl.
“Sartius, you say that I’m just a new Saint-level beast? That you aren’t afraid of me? Haha, true, I just recently entered the Saint-level. As soon as I entered the Saint-level, I became consumed with the urge to kill you! Hmph, even if I’ve just entered the Saint-level, you still aren’t a match for me.” The Saint-level Violet Tattooed Bear had a look of total confidence on its face.
“Armored Razorback Wyrms. You really are a species of dragons which advance very slowly. You’ve dominated this place for so long, and enjoyed the benefits of a location where the elemental essence density is a hundredfold that of the normal world. But you still remain at the peak of the ninth rank and still haven’t been able to take that final step. But today, I will let you know the power of the Saint-level.” The Violet Tattooed Bear’s aura began to dramatically increase in power…
Although the Violet Tattooed Bear talked a big game, in his heart, he knew very well how terrifying an Armored Razorback Wyrm could be.
The Armored Razorback Wyrm had the strongest defensive abilities amongst dragon-type creatures. What’s more, Sartius was at the peak of the ninth rank, only one step away from becoming a Saint-level Armored Razorback Wyrm. In terms of defensive ability, Sartius definitely could compete with most Saint-level dragons. But aside from his defensive power, there was also his offense to watch out for!
The twin talons of the Armored Razorback Wyrm were incomparably sharp!
“Nonetheless…I have entered the Saint-level, after all.” The Violet Tattooed Bear was very confident in himself.
“Upon reaching the Saint-level, one advantage is the ability to fly, while the second advantage is that I’m able to send the power of my soul outside of my body. Most magical beasts rely upon their vision to do battle, but Saint-level combatants are able to use their soul sense to clearly detect their opponent’s movements in battle. Thus, in combat, they definitely have a big advantage.”
Most importantly, upon reaching the Saint-level, one’s offensive power would also increase.
Barely breathing, Linley continued to watch through the exit hole as the two terrifying magical beasts stared at each other.
An Armored Razorback Wyrm at the peak of the ninth rank, against a Saint-level Violet Tattooed Bear. Linley could feel his blood begin to boil. For some reason, whenever Linley saw those icy, merciless eyes of the Armored Razorback Wyrm, Linley felt that he was more afraid of the Wyrm than of the Bear.
“It’s begun.” Linley’s eyes lit up.
The Saint-level Violet Tattooed Bear landed on the ground, while at the same time, it began to emanate a roaring sound. All of the muscles on the Bear’s body began to swell, while at the same time beginning to emit crackling, popping sounds. The Violet Tattooed Bear, previously around ten meters in height, suddenly increased its height by two meters. Twelve meters tall now, it had the same waist as before, but its legs were a full size larger now.
“Die, Sartius!”
With a mighty growl, the Violet Tattooed Bear swept towards Sartius like a blur, appearing directly in front of the Armored Razorback Wyrm. The Wyrm, which had been a state of readied action this entire time, suddenly, viciously smacked the earth with its tail, sending its entire body flying far away through the tremendous counterforce which had been released.
A gigantic, meter-long paw viciously slammed into the ground where the Armored Razorback Wyrm had been just a heartbeat ago. “Bam!” Linley could clearly see that the ground itself rippled for at least two or three meters in a radius around the Bear’s paw, and within that area, the stone floor itself was partially turned into dust, to a depth of half a meter. And outside of that area, within a radius of several dozen meters, the ground itself split with seven or eight terrifying large cracks appearing.
“How terrifying.” Linley’s heart had gotten stuck in his throat.
The Violet Tattooed Bear suddenly turned around, focusing its bizarre, red gaze upon the Armored Razorback Wyrm.
The Armored Razorback Wyrm just stared back at it with its cold, dark golden eyes, not actively attacking at all.
“Sartius. You are afraid.” The Violet Tattoed Bear laughed delightedly. And then, its entire body began to dimly emanate a dark aura. “Whoos.h.!.+” With a strong kick to the floor, the Bear launched itself into the air, and then began to descend in a bizarre pattern, directly at the Armored Razorback Wyrm.
The Armored Razorback Wyrm stared at the Violet Tattooed Bear with its cold eyes. And then, it’s iron-whip-like dragon tail suddenly swept out…
“Swis.h.!.+” It sliced through the air, causing a screaming sound so high that Linley’s ears were hurting. “This draconic tail is far more powerful than the tails of those Velocidragons. I bet even I, Bebe, couldn’t take a blow from it.” At this time, Bebe’s eyes were as round as round could be.
The Violet Tattooed Bear’s left paw, glowing with that strange dark energy, directly reached out to s.n.a.t.c.h at the dragon’s tail. A Saint-level Violet Tattooed Bear’s paw had incredibly powerful offensive power, and it also was extremely strong defensively as well.
“THUD!”
The dragon’s tail directly collided with that huge paw, with an incredibly deep striking sound. The Violet Tattooed Bear’s giant left paw shuddered slightly, and the dragon’s tail retreated as well.
But when they had exchanged blows just now, the Violet Tattooed Bear’s right paw had already struck out and arrived at the Armored Razorback Wyrm’s body. The Armored Razorback Wyrm did not try to dodge. Instead, it inclined its body and pointed that row of sharp spikes on its back towards the paw.
This Armored Razorback Wyrm and the Violet Tattooed Bear were old foes. Naturally, the Bear knew how fierce this particular tactic by the Wyrm was.
Not only did the Armored Razorback Wyrm possess extremely high defensive power, its body was also designed extremely well. If the opponent smashed down on it with a palm, the Armored Razorback Wyrm could easily move its body and dissipate the strength of the blow across its entire body.
“Sartius. I’m no longer that old magical beast of the ninth rank.” A malicious, cruel look was in the eyes of the Saint-level Violet Tattooed Bear. Suddenly, a freezing black light emanated from the giant paw of the Violet Tattooed Bear, and that extremely fast paw began to move even faster than before, viciously striking down upon the spikes of the Armored Razorback Wyrm with even greater force than before.
“Bang!” The Armored Razorback Wyrm’s entire body was smashed deep into the ground by that blow, and in a radius of a hundred meters around it, the stone floor splintered and shattered. Upon the dense row of sharp spikes on the back of the Armored Razorback Wyrm, a single spike had been shattered by the force of the blow. And from the mouth of the Armored Razorback Wyrm, a mouthful of fresh blood was suddenly spat out.