Five-Headed Dragon Beast

Singo took out a lantern and continued forward. Cold iron doors appeared before them one after another. From behind some came eerie roars, agonized howls, and even the sound of sharp claws scraping against steel. "There are probably quite a few monsters here," Singo said. "Let’s pick a quieter one and go in for a look." "All right." Tiansheng Zhankuang found the door with the least commotion, carefully drew back the bolt, and pushed it open. Mantou followed closely behind, cold sweat beading on his forehead. This laboratory seemed like a corner forsaken by the world, thick with the stench of blood and the reek of death. There wasn’t much light inside, only the faint flame Mantou carried flickering and illuminating the cramped area around them. The glinting, cold laboratory instruments sent chills down their spines. Mantou held up his torch and said softly, "I think I hear... breathing." Tiansheng Zhankuang tightened his grip on his battleaxe, stepped forward, and tilted his ear to listen. Sure enough, he caught a faint sound of moving air. He gazed into the dark depths of the laboratory, where something seemed to be rising and falling, trembling. "Get ready for battle." Yet the room seemed to sense their arrival. Rows of dragon-headed torches suddenly flared to life. Eerie blue flames illuminated the entire laboratory, revealing the true form of the colossus lurking in the distant shadows. —A body nearly six meters long, with five savage, lizard-like heads stitched onto a carcass patched together from different creatures. The thread and stitching at the seams were still clearly visible. Sparse white scales covered its emaciated body, where skin clung tightly to bone, leaving vast patches of wrinkled flesh exposed. Scattered before it lay bone fragments and chunks of flesh, alongside blood-stained scalpels, silver needles, and saws, all exuding a foul stench. The monster’s limbs were securely shackled to a massive metal table. Rust-mottled iron manacles rendered it completely immobile, unable to break free. Each of its heads had its eyes closed, and its massive body rose and fell—clearly deep in slumber. "What... what the heck is that?" Mantou turned pale with fright. Setting aside the visceral disgust the monster induced, the key issue was that those white scales triggered some rather unpleasant memories. "Look at this." Singo stepped forward and spotted an informational plaque inscribed with small characters in front of the metal table. "Subject 66: Five-Headed Dragon Beast" "Dedicated with this work to the great Queen of Chromatic Dragons." "What a truly failed creation. The filthy bloodlines were never purified by noble dragon blood. It possesses no intellect and does not even deserve to be called a dragon. O Tiamat, forgive my blasphemy in creating such an abysmal imitation. —Vagnerd, December 1, Year 1387 of the Third Age." Mantou patted his chest, lingering terror in his voice. "Another monster made by that old geezer. Good thing it’s locked up and doesn’t have any... illusion abilities or whatever." Singo sneered. "Heh." Tiansheng Zhankuang looked puzzled. Rubbing his bald head, he asked, "Did you guys run into some illusion before? How come I didn’t know about it?" "Well—" Before Singo could speak, Mantou lunged forward in a flash, clapping a hand over Singo’s mouth, and laughed sheepishly. "No, no, nothing happened at all." In his haste, however, he stepped on a scalpel scattered across the floor, producing a sharp clatter. "*Ooo... rrrgh...*" Overlapping, raspy growls arose. Though not loud, the sound was piercing, as if resonating through the air. Mantou went stark white, cold sweat drenching his face as he turned around. All five pairs of the monster’s eyes had snapped open. Its elongated necks writhed restlessly, and greed filled those sunken, skeletal heads as thick fluid dripped from the corners of their mouths. Ever since its creation, it had been discarded by Vagnerd. It had gone without feeding for who knew how many years. To this five-headed dragon beast, the 'humans' before it were undoubtedly a delectable feast, making it drool uncontrollably. Mantou stammered, "It’s fine... it’s trapped here. It definitely can’t reach us." Before his words could settle, however, the manacles let out a grating screech. The metal platform shook violently along with the monster’s thrashing body. *Snap!* A crisp sound rang out. The five-headed dragon beast’s hunger was beyond restraint. As it struggled frantically, unimaginable strength erupted from its emaciated frame, snapping the ancient metal shackles right off. "*Roar!*" Its five heads shook, and the beast reared back, unleashing a furious roar. Immediately after, five pairs of greedy, burning gazes fixed upon Mantou and the others. Corrosive slime dripped from its jaws onto the floor, sizzling and eating craters into the stone. Gazing at the beast, Singo ground his teeth. "Mantou, if I’d known this would happen, I should’ve just let Zhankuang beat you to death!" Mantou backed away, on the verge of tears. "How was I supposed to know it’d wake up like that?! This guy’s sleep quality is just garbage!" "Stand back, let me take it!" Tiansheng Zhankuang stepped forward without hesitation, hefting his battleaxe to confront the monster head-on. But without Xiaye Qiuyu present to bolster him with spells, even he couldn’t solo such a terrifying beast. Five-Headed Dragon Beast Challenge Rating: 8 (3,600 XP) "Damn, what a troublesome bastard," Singo spat. He swiftly unslung the Hunting Longbow from his back, drew it taut, and aimed at the dragon beast. A purple Hunter’s Mark flared to life on the creature’s body. "*Haaah!*" Tiansheng Zhankuang let out a battle cry and stomped hard on the ground. His eyes turned crimson and steam poured from his body as he entered Rage. Gripping his battleaxe, he charged headlong at the five-headed dragon beast. "*Roar!*" The dragon beast let out a raspy howl, delight showing in its eyes at the sight of food delivering itself. It hadn't expected this runt to charge forward fearlessly to die. "Frenzied Strike!" Tiansheng Zhankuang leaped high into the air, battleaxe raised, and chopped violently toward one of the beast's necks. *Clang!* Sparks flew as the axe struck squarely against scales. Even through the scales, the berserker's brute force sent a jolt of agonizing pain through the beast, rattling bone and tearing into flesh beneath. Roaring, the five-headed dragon beast twisted its massive body. Two heads flanking its sides lunged forward, dominating his vision, and snapped down at Tiansheng Zhankuang from above. If those sharp fangs sank into his flesh, even a tough, thick-skinned barbarian like Tiansheng Zhankuang would likely be impaled clean through and killed on the spot. Watching from afar, Singo urgently shouted, "Mantou!" "I’m on it, Brother Zhankuang!" Seizing the moment, Mantou dashed in from the flank and drove his sword into the exposed skin of the five-headed dragon beast. "Action Surge!" Activating his fighter ability, his movements became blindingly fast, his arms blurring as he slashed repeatedly, carving bloody gashes into the beast. "*Howl!*" The beast threw back its heads and howled in pain. Yet it had five heads. Soon, three of them lunged at Mantou in unison, accompanied by the repeated stomping of its massive claws. Even with Action Surge active, Mantou was pushed to his limits, hopping and dodging like a grasshopper, weaving and tumbling frantically with no opening to counterattack. *Boom!* Tiansheng Zhankuang received even harsher treatment. Struck full-on by the thick, heavy tail, he was blasted back several meters, tumbling over ten times across the floor before slamming hard into the wall.