At this point in time…
Linley was like an ant, an ant being toyed with by an entire group of giants.
If he made just the slightest mistake, Linley would die. These titanic dragons didn’t care in the slightest about whether Linley lived or died; they only cared about one thing. “How long will this little human creature be able to hold on?”
Five minutes! Linley had managed to survive for five entire minutes as they toyed with him!
Five minutes. Three hundred full seconds. It sounded like a short period of time, but Linley felt as though it had passed extremely slowly. Every single second was a second in which his life was on the line.
“These bastards. If I didn’t dodge fast enough, I would have been killed by them, and then they would have left without caring in the slightest, continuing with their leisurely lives.” Linley knew very well that he was nothing more than a slight diversion for these giant dragons.
In actuality, Bebe possessed even higher speed than those giant dragons. If he were alone, he would definitely be able to escape. Bebe was currently perched on top of Linley’s shoulders, his eyes staring at the fireballs and ice spears falling from the skies, telling Linley where the danger would be.
“Boss, careful! Three fireballs!” Bebe urgently warned.
Linley’s facial expression changed.
“Boom!”
A fireball directly struck Linley on his back, and then exploded. The jadestone armor covering Linley suddenly shone with an earthen light, and then with a crack, shattered into its component elemental essence.
“Hiss!” Linley’s hair was, in the blink of an eye, all burnt, and his face was painfully scorched by the heat.
Without the protection of the jadestone armor, if Linley took another blow, regardless of whether it was a fireball or an icy spear, he would definitely die.
“I won’t be able to hold out much longer.” Linley could feel all his muscles quivering, and even his head was splitting. Linley knew that he had already reached his limit. If he continued under these circumstances, he would definitely collapse.”
“Linley, up ahead, 120 meters, there’s a twenty-meter high hill. Beneath it is a very deep tunnel. The hill doesn’t actually block the tunnel completely; there’s enough space to fit two people in. Hurry and flee there, it could save your life.” Doehring Cowart’s voice rang out.
While he was being pursued by the dragons, Doehring Cowart hadn’t said a single word, but as soon as he did, Linley found new life and new hope.
Somehow, unbelievably, Linley managed to increase his speed even further. The hope of survival brought incredible things out of people.
Those hundred plus Fire Dragons and Emerald Dragons circling above all stared at Linley with rather odd looks.
“Hrm?”
When they realized where Linley was going, those hundred plus dragons, previously amused, all roared with fury. Without any coordination, they simultaneously began to angrily blast out balls of fire and icy spears at the same time, covering an entire area of 20-30 meters.
“Ah!”
At Linley’s current speed, in about two to three seconds, he managed to reach the hill. It was just about at this time that the fireballs and icy spears arrived as well.
“There’s the crack!” Linley instantly saw the two-meter wide cave entrance. Without any hesitation, Linley dove inside.
But before he managed to make it inside, a large ball of fire came blasting down at him. The fireballs travelled at much higher speeds than the icy spears. By the time the fireball came within 20-30 centimeters of Linley, Linley’s clothes began to burn.
“Screech!”
Bebe suddenly enlarged himself, and then used his own body to accept that vicious blow from the fireball. Only then did Linley luckily manage to make it inside the tunnel. But Bebe, in turn, was buried by an avalanche of those fireballs and icy spears.
“Oof!”
Linley fell all the way down, perhaps seventy or eighty meters, before smashing into the tough ground. This place was very gloomy and dark, with the only light coming from that small hole up above. But Linley had excellent vision, and that dim light was enough for him to see his surroundings. And right now…
Linley’s hair had been burnt, and there were two or three spots on his face which had also been burnt black.
His face had been ruined, and he had been scarred!
But right now, Linley couldn’t bother to care about these things. The only thing he was worried about was Bebe.
“Swish!” A black blur fell down, smashing directly in front of Linley. “Yeowch! That was comfortable! First cold, then hot. That felt so incredibly nice.” Bebe’s voice rang out in Linley’s mind.
Linley joyfully embraced Bebe. “Bebe, are you okay?”
Bebe’s face was extremely dirty, but he still wrinkled his nose delightedly. “Of course! I, Bebe, am much stronger than I was a year ago. Even if I were to fight head on with a magical beast of the eighth rank, I wouldn’t be afraid, much less a few fireballs or ice spears.”
Linley laughed. Now that he knew Bebe was fine, Linley was no longer worried.
“Then why didn’t you go out and tussle with those giant dragons a bit?” Linley teased.
Bebe said unhappily, “How could I, Bebe, be afraid of them? But their scales are simply too thick, and my size is too small. My mouth is also small. I can’t bite through those scales. It’s too hard for me to kill them, but they can forget about killing me as well.”
Linley began to chuckle.
“Boss, your face… your face is ruined!” Bebe’s mental shout suddenly reminded Linley.
Stretching out his facial muscles, Linley felt a fiery pain. He had no choice but to sneer at himself, “Bebe, although I’ve trained my physical strength, no matter how much I train, I can’t possibly strengthen my facial muscles. My defensive abilities weren’t strong enough.”
“Oof, Bebe, let me rest for a bit, I’m so tired.”
Linley let go of Bebe, then lay down on the ground.
Just then, Linley had stretched himself to the absolute limit, both in terms of physical energy as well as mental energy. It wasn’t so bad when facing danger, but now that he was safe, Linley felt endless waves of exhaustion crashing upon him. Linley wanted to rest.
Within the valley. Those hundreds of giant, coiling dragons and those two Velocidragons of the eighth rank were all staring at the hill.
“Growl…” Suddenly, a particularly large Fire Dragon let out a roar.
All of the giant dragons and Velocidragons retreated. Only that large Fire Dragon remained, staring at that hill with a mixture of terror and alarm in his eyes.
One of the main entrances to that underground area had previously been extremely large, large enough for even a dragon to go inside. But then, the Fire Dragons and the Emerald Dragons had received an order to move a small hill to block that tunnel off.
To those enormous dragons, that two-meter wide crevice was nothing. Based on their size, there was no way they could get in.
But to Linley, it was very easy to slip inside.
“Having entered the forbidden area, this human will die without question.” That particularly large Fire Dragon rose directly into the air and flew away.
This was the forbidden area of the Foggy Valley. Forget about humans; even Fire Dragons and Emerald Dragons dared not trespass there.
Nothing which went in would come out alive. This was the iron rule of the Foggy Valley.
57
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 situation Linley had ever been in. Virtually every second, he had been 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 i
ncrease 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 Linley’s side, 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 pondering silently 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 forward by feeling his way along 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 through to escape 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 the tunnel, and that it was the exit which was glowing with a dim red light.
Suddenly…
“Haha, Sartius, 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 twenty 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 patterns, 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 assume the form of a human being.
Perhaps only a magical beast which possessed the power of a deity would be able to assume 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 covered 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, they struck fear into the hearts of whoever saw them.
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 they 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, among 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, among 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 massive 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 that in the midst of that winter, a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head. The fear he now felt far surpassed the fear he had felt when he had been a child in the town of Wushan and seen 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 among 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 bec
ame 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 among dragon-type creatures. What was 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.
Coiling Dragon_Book 1 of the Coiling Dragon Saga Page 50
