Chapter 18: The Thornback Iron-Armored Dragon
In the underground cave, Linley lay down to rest for a while, feeling his condition recover before standing up. The scene of being toyed with by over a hundred dragons was the most dangerous moment in Linley’s life; almost every second, he could have been killed. Surviving the ordeal made Linley heave a long sigh of relief, but a fierce desire burned in his heart—power! True power!
Before those dragons, he was nothing but a plaything, utterly powerless to resist.
“Boss, we can’t go up, so we have to go down. There’s a very wide passage over there,” Bebe transmitted telepathically, hopping onto Linley’s shoulder.
Ahead and to the side was a winding yet extremely spacious passage, more than ten meters wide and nearly ten meters high. This underground tunnel curved, leading into the unknown east. Linley paused for a moment, then resolutely advanced into the deep, dark passage with Bebe.
The deeper the cave, the darker it became. After walking for a while, the underground passage was pitch black. Linley could barely see the path and had to feel his way along the walls, moving cautiously.
“Boss, what is this place? Why was that passage blocked by a small hill?” Bebe asked Linley.
Linley shook his head.
“Up there are over a hundred dragons. Going up would be suicide. We have to go down.” Linley had no ability to dig a tunnel through the rock-filled earth to escape. He could only follow this passage to an unknown destination.
Bebe stayed close to Linley, alert and wary, afraid some magical beast might pop out.
“There’s some light ahead.” In the darkness, Linley noticed a faint glow up ahead and quickly moved toward it. Gradually, he spotted the exit of this underground passage, where a dim red light emanated.
Suddenly—
“Haha! Sadeus, aren’t you arrogant? After three hundred years of what you did to me, today I’ll repay you twofold!” A deep voice came from the exit, as low and powerful as thunder.
Linley was startled: “Someone!”
But humans are at least easier to deal with than magical beasts. Besides, I have no other way to go. Still, this person has a loud voice. Linley pressed himself against the cave wall, slowly approaching. When he was about twenty meters from the entrance, he could already see the scene outside through the ten-meter-wide opening.
The end of this passage led to a massive underground cavern.
The cavern was at least several miles in diameter and dozens of meters high. But Linley suddenly froze—
From this angle, Linley could clearly see a giant black bear, ten meters tall, with fur as hard as steel, floating in midair. Its body was marked with purple streaks, giving it an eerie appearance.
This floating black bear was speaking human language.
“This, this…” Linley held his breath.
A bolt of lightning seemed to strike his mind.
“Saint-level magical beast!” Linley realized instantly.
Once a magical beast reaches the Saint level, it can fly through the air and speak human language. These are the hallmarks of a Saint-level magical beast. Saint-level magical beasts are terrifying. Generally, human Saint-level experts cannot defeat them. Only top-tier Saint-level humans have enough power to kill a Saint-level magical beast.
Saint-level magical beasts can easily shrink in size. A hundred-meter Saint-level magic dragon could turn into a small snake.
Of course… Saint-level magical beasts cannot take human form.
A magical beast that can take human form would likely possess godlike power.
“A Saint-level magical beast—I’m actually seeing one.” Linley didn’t dare breathe loudly. He carefully peeked into the cavern. “This is a Purple-Striped Black Bear. Purple-Striped Black Bears are rank 9 magical beasts.”
After all, within the Purple-Striped Black Bear clan, there are strong individuals who can cultivate to the Saint level.
“This Saint-level Purple-Striped Black Bear has one eye missing.” Linley noticed the horrific scar on its left eye. It was clearly a one-eyed bear.
“Sadeus, I’ve been thinking about revenge all these years. Haha, what’s the use of you occupying this place? Even though the elemental density here is a hundred times that of the outside, you’re still one step behind me. I reached the Saint level first! Haha!”
The Saint-level Purple-Striped Black Bear was clearly very excited.
“Where is this Sadeus that the Saint-level Purple-Striped Black Bear is talking about?” Linley quietly stepped back and moved toward the other wall. Through the opening, he saw another magical beast, and his heart trembled at the sight.
This beast was ten meters long and nearly three meters tall.
Its entire body was covered in pitch-black scales, arranged tightly and orderly. Each scale was only the size of a palm, but the dense clustering gave off an eerie, hair-raising feeling.
Most terrifying were the sharp spines, thirty centimeters long, running from the tip of its tail all the way to its forehead.
But the most chilling were its eyes—
The pupils were a dark gold, and their icy gaze sent a chill down one’s spine.
“Thornback Iron-Armored Dragon, the most terrifying rank 9 dragon clan.” Linley gasped inwardly, recalling information from books about the Thornback Iron-Armored Dragon.
Thornback Iron-Armored Dragon: Rank 9 magical beast, dark attribute, the smallest dragon clan. Among dragons of the same rank, the Thornback Iron-Armored Dragon has the strongest defense and the greatest agility. Its claw attacks are also incredibly deadly.
Among dragons of the same rank, the Thornback Iron-Armored Dragon is undoubtedly the most powerful.
“It’s actually a Thornback Iron-Armored Dragon!” Linley finally understood.
The Purple-Striped Black Bear is a terrifying magical beast. It inherits the common traits of bear-type beasts—immense strength—while also being very agile.
Among rank 9 magical beasts, few surpass the Purple-Striped Black Bear, but the Thornback Iron-Armored Dragon is one of them.
The Thornback Iron-Armored Dragon’s cold gaze swept over Linley.
Linley felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head in winter. The fear far exceeded what he felt as a child in Wushan Town when he saw the rank 9 magical beast “Black Dragon.”
Although the Thornback Iron-Armored Dragon noticed Linley, it ignored him entirely. Its greatest enemy now was the Saint-level Purple-Striped Black Bear. While the Thornback Iron-Armored Dragon could dominate among rank 9 magical beasts, facing a Saint-level beast was different.
“Roar~~” The Thornback Iron-Armored Dragon let out a low growl.
“Sadeus, you say I’ve just entered the Saint level and am not worth fearing? Haha, yes, I’ve just stepped into the Saint level. As soon as I did, I couldn’t wait to kill you! Hmph, even if I’m newly entered, you’re no match for me.” The Saint-level Purple-Striped Black Bear’s face was full of pride.
“Thornback Iron-Armored Dragon, truly the hardest dragon clan to advance. You’ve occupied this place for so long, with a hundred times the elemental density, yet you’re still at rank 9 peak, unable to take that final step. Today, I’ll show you the power of the Saint level.” The floating Purple-Striped Black Bear’s aura grew fierce.
Though the Saint-level Purple-Striped Black Bear spoke lightly, it knew well how terrifying the Thornback Iron-Armored Dragon was.
The Thornback Iron-Armored Dragon is the dragon clan with the strongest defense. And Sadeus, at rank 9 peak, was only one step away from the Saint level. Sadeus’s defense was comparable to a Saint-level dragon. Besides defense, there was also attack!
The Thornback Iron-Armored Dragon’s claws were terrifyingly sharp!
Even so, since I’ve entered the Saint level, the Saint-level Purple-Striped Black Bear was confident.
Reaching the Saint level had two advantages: first, the ability to fly; second, the ability to release soul force externally. Ordinary people or beasts rely on eyes and instincts in battle, but Saint-level experts can use soul force to clearly observe their opponent’s movements, giving them an absolute advantage in combat.
Most importantly, reaching the Saint level also meant a boost in attack power.
Linley held his breath, watching through the opening as the two terrifying beasts faced off.
A rank 9 peak Thornback Iron-Armored Dragon against a newly entered Saint-level Purple-Striped Black Bear. Linley felt his blood boil. For some reason, after seeing the Thornback Iron-Armored Dragon’s cold, merciless eyes, he feared it even more.
It began… Linley’s eyes widened.
The Saint-level Purple-Striped Black Bear slowly landed on the ground, and its body emitted a crackling sound. Its muscles began to bulge, and its bones popped. The bear, originally ten meters tall, grew two more meters to twelve meters, with its arms and legs thickening accordingly.
“Sadeus, die!”
With a roar, the Purple-Striped Black Bear’s body turned into a blur, appearing directly in front of the Thornback Iron-Armored Dragon. The Thornback Iron-Armored Dragon, which had been waiting, slammed its tail hard against the ground, using the rebound to shift sideways.
A massive paw, a meter wide, smashed into the spot where the Thornback Iron-Armored Dragon had been. “Boom!” Visible spatial ripples spread two to three meters from the paw. Within a three-meter radius, the stone ground turned to powder and sank half a meter deep, while cracks split the ground for dozens of meters around.
“So terrifying.” Linley’s throat went dry.
The Saint-level Purple-Striped Black Bear turned its head sharply, its eerie red eye fixed on the Thornback Iron-Armored Dragon.
The Thornback Iron-Armored Dragon’s cold eyes stared back, refusing to attack first.
“Sadeus, you’re afraid.” The Saint-level Purple-Striped Black Bear grinned smugly, then black light flowed faintly over its body. “Bang!” It stomped the ground, shooting into the air, then arced down in a strange curve, diving headfirst toward the Thornback Iron-Armored Dragon.
The Thornback Iron-Armored Dragon’s cold eyes tracked the bear, and then its tail, like a steel whip, lashed out—
“Whoosh!” The piercing sound of the tail cutting through the air made Linley’s ears ache. “That tail is way more powerful than a Swift Dragon’s. Even I probably couldn’t take it,” Bebe said, his eyes wide.
The Saint-level Purple-Striped Black Bear’s left paw glowed with black light as it grabbed for the tail. The bear’s paw was its most powerful weapon, with formidable defense.
“Crack!”
The tail and the paw collided. With a dull impact, the bear’s paw trembled slightly, and the tail retracted.
In that instant, the Saint-level Purple-Striped Black Bear’s right paw was already at the Thornback Iron-Armored Dragon’s body. The dragon didn’t dodge but arched its back, presenting its row of sharp spines.
The Saint-level Purple-Striped Black Bear and the Thornback Iron-Armored Dragon were old rivals, so it knew the danger of this move.
The Thornback Iron-Armored Dragon not only had strong defense but also excellent body flexibility. When an opponent struck, it could twist its body to disperse the force across its entire frame.
“Sadeus, I’m not the rank 9 beast I used to be.” The Saint-level Purple-Striped Black Bear’s eyes were cold, and its massive paw glowed with a chilling black light. With greater speed and power, it slammed down onto the spines on the dragon’s back.
“Boom!”
The entire Thornback Iron-Armored Dragon was smashed into the ground. The stone floor for a hundred meters around cracked apart, and one of the dense spines on its back snapped off. Blood gushed from the dragon’s mouth.