"Such arrogance! Do you think relying on a few thousand rabble is enough to contend with a mighty dragon?" Grutar roared, venting all his bottled-up fury upon the enemies before him.
Sweeping his massive dragon claws, he stirred up a howling, blood-soaked gale. Severed limbs and broken bodies flew in all directions, leaving scores of civilians dying gruesome deaths.
Fresh blood dyed his scales red. With a grotesque countenance and gleaming eyes, Grutar let out a raspy, low growl, reveling in the pleasure of slaughter.
Tormenting frail lives always brought Grutar immense delight—such was the nature of green dragons. Unlike red dragons, who relished battling formidable foes, green dragons invariably sought out the weakest adversaries.
The humans fired in a panic, but the bullets striking the green dragon either ricocheted straight off his tough scales or deflected wildly, even accidentally hitting surrounding humans.
"Help!"
"Don't kill me!"
"Th-this evil dragon can't be killed! He can't be fought! You brought this upon us! How could we ever defeat a monster like this with just our strength?"
Wails and cries of blame arose everywhere in the crowd. Meanwhile, the green dragon fought with mounting frenzy, tearing the humans before him apart with razor-sharp claws and teeth, dissolving their bodies with acidic spray.
In mere breaths, over a hundred had perished beneath his claws.
Yet right then, conspicuous golden figures emerged from the crowd. The eighteen "Arhats" stepped forward with furious roars, barring the green dragon's path.
"Halt, monster! The Eighteen Arhats are here—cease your rampage!"
"What in the world are these?"
Even Grutar was taken aback by this bunch smeared head to toe in gold dust. Hesitating for a brief second, he opened his gaping, bloody maw and snapped at them.
"Form formation!"
Several monks coordinated smoothly, stacking together with practiced ease. Channeling their ki, they hardened their muscles like steel.
Clang!
The sound of clashing metal rang out. Amazingly, one of the green dragon's teeth was chipped right off! Howling, he recoiled backward, while the monks holding the formation remained completely unscathed.
"Did you skip breakfast?" Dawei Tianlong jeered sharply, though he could see the monks were already spent, their bodies trembling faintly.
From just that single clash, the eighteen monks had burned through most of their ki, making it impossible to endure another head-on blow.
Taking advantage of the green dragon reeling back, one of the monks shouted, "Wizards, crowd control now!"
"On it!"
Several wizard players revealed themselves. Raising their staves and chanting incantations, the tips of their staves gleamed with magical radiance.
"Hold Monster!"
"Bind Dragon!"
"Slow!"
"Imprison Magical Creature!"
In an instant, a dark red cube materialized in midair, trapping the massive green dragon inside, while countless chains surged up from the ground, binding his talons, wrists, and torso.
The mature adult green dragon struggled relentlessly, trying to break free with his formidable raw strength.
Yet there were simply too many wizards present. Under the stacked layers of multiple mid- and high-tier spells, even Grutar found his strength failing. Unable to break out immediately, he was pinned in place, venting muffled, suppressed growls.
"Despicable spellcasters!"
"Release me! You will pay dearly for this!"
Just then, several cyborg players appeared, red light flickering in their cybernetic eyes as rocket launchers extended from their backs.
A cool, flat synthesized voice rang out: "Targeting enemy vital areas. Preparing precision strike—"
Whoosh!
Rockets trailing thick plumes of smoke shot forth, twisting and veering in midair as if guided by sight. They converged squarely on the green dragon's chest and detonated violently.
Amid flashes of fire and billowing smoke, the scales on the dragon's chest were blasted pitch-black, fine hairline cracks spidering across them.
From a distance, Singo drew a dragonslaying longbow crafted of dragon bone from his back, pulled an Arrow of Dragon Slaying tipped with a cross-shaped arrowhead, and drew the bowstring taut, aiming straight for the scales on the dragon's chest.
Instantly, an array of magical buffs—Dispel Magic, Gale, Piercing Damage, Radiant Infusion, and Dragon Slayer—flared to life across his body, intertwining in brilliant radiance around the Arrow of Dragon Slaying.
Singo held his breath, closed one eye, and released his grip.
Now!
The resilient dragon-sinew bowstring imparted immense kinetic force, launching the arrow in an explosive burst that instantly tore through the air, stirring a swirling vortex in its wake.
Whoosh!
Accompanied by an ear-splitting crack and howling winds, the Arrow of Dragon Slaying cleaved through the air toward the green dragon's chest.
Bound by myriad spells, Grutar still caught sight of the terrifying arrow. Terror flared across his face, and his struggles grew wilder: "Humans! Let me go—!"
Web-like fractures spread across the dark red cube, and the chains strained to the verge of snapping.
Yet at the final instant before the green dragon could break free, the Arrow of Dragon Slaying struck his chest.
Shhhk!
Howling gales, booming thunder, and dazzling radiance erupted as chaotic magical currents washed over the green dragon's body.
The cross-shaped point punched straight through the resilient scales, sending fragments flying everywhere. His chest was torn wide open, leaving a massive, horrific wound.
Laden with lightning, wind, and radiance, the arrow continued driving through flesh, plunging straight toward the dragon's heart—a lethal blow!
Yet at the very last moment, the green dragon shattered the spell restraints entirely. Throwing his head back in a desperate roar, he awakened the magic item bestowed upon him by the Lord of the Rotting Bog.
In an instant, an endless green tempest poured from his body, corroding and melting everything in its vicinity—even reducing the arrow to brittle residue.
Around him, more than twenty players caught in the acid tempest had their flesh dissolved in an instant, reduced to heaps of bare bones.
Agonized by the mangled wound in his chest, the green dragon's eyes turned bloodshot. Falling completely into madness, he bellowed to the heavens: "Humans! How dare you presume to kill the son of Ulrichia—the great green dragon Grutar!"
Flanked by corrosive acid and lethal venom, the frenzied green dragon plunged into the crowd and slaughtered indiscriminately. In moments, over a hundred more lay dead, their corpses mangled and melted in horrifying ways.
Enemies meeting was a recipe for blinding fury; the wizard players from earlier became the focus of the dragon's relentless pursuit. Before they could ready new spells, they were swatted into paste by his massive talons.
Panting heavily, Grutar looked around, but could not find the culprit behind his torment—Singo. Enraged and frustrated, he roared:
"Human! Come out! Or I'll slaughter every last one of your underlings!"
"Looking for me?"
A mocking voice sounded from behind him.
The green dragon whipped around, glaring venomously toward the source of the sound, only to see a blurred silhouette amidst black mist a hundred meters away.
Blind with bloodlust, Grutar kicked off with his hind legs, beat his wings, and lunged toward the blurred figure with a roar: "Die, human!"
Yet when the dragon tore into the black mist, he found only an illusion—his strike caught nothing but air.
"Roar—you are asking to die!" In an exasperated frenzy, the green dragon howled at the sky again, blood gushing steadily from the wound on his chest.
Just then, a massive figure vaulted out in front of him, accompanied by a thunderous, aggressive shout: "Monster! Today I'll send you straight to meet Tiamat!"
Dawei Tianlong materialized in midair like a wraith. Swinging his right arm, he slammed a fist packed with ki hard toward the green dragon's chest.
Unexpectedly, the green dragon bared his fangs in a sinister grin—he had already anticipated the players focusing their attacks on his wound, and had prepared defensive warding in advance.
Boom!
The fist struck toward the wound, but was stopped by an invisible force, spiderwebbing cracks across the magical shield.
"Foolish human."
Without hesitation, Grutar opened his maw and spewed deadly poison. The cone of corrosive vapor engulfed Dawei Tianlong, turning the daring monk completely purple and killing him on the spot.
Just then, an even louder roar sounded from behind, accompanied by a sweeping heatwave that made the green dragon uncomfortably stifled.
He turned his head in astonishment, only to see a tall, powerful half-dragon roaring as his body violently swelled, morphing into a devilish warrior wreathed in hellfire and wielding a battleaxe—it was none other than Tiansheng Zhankuang.
The green dragon took half a step back, crying out in disbelief: "A pit fiend? How could a mere human mongrel possess the power of the Hells!
"Those arrogant, shameless devils actually bestowed such power upon you!"
"Die, reptile!"
Flapping his bat wings, Tiansheng Zhankuang swung his battleaxe. The fiery blade traced a blazing arc through the air, cleaving straight toward the green dragon's head.
His transformation lasted only five minutes, so every activation demanded his absolute utmost to maximize its impact.
Faced with such an attack, even Grutar dared not be careless. He raised a massive claw and swiped horizontally, seeking to swat the devil-transformed warrior out of the air.
Yet Tiansheng Zhankuang beat his wings in midair, abruptly cutting downward to dodge the claw's swipe, and chopped directly toward the dragon's chest.
Crack!
With a sharp snap, the magical shield guarding the green dragon's chest shattered.
But just as Tiansheng Zhankuang moved to drive the axe deeper and gut the beast, Grutar lunged forward with open jaws and clamped down savagely on him.
Dagger-sharp dragon fangs tore through armor and sank deep into Tiansheng Zhankuang's flesh, the crushing bite threatening to rip him to shreds.
Yet Tiansheng Zhankuang swung his battleaxe with one hand, hacking frantically at the green dragon's head and sending blood flying in all directions.
His body writhing and straining, he braced an arm against the dragon's upper palate to hold the beast's jaws apart with brute strength.
Owing to the traits of a pit fiend, hellfire continually erupted from Tiansheng Zhankuang's body, knitting his wounds closed at a visible rate.
The two fell into a momentary stalemate: the green dragon mauled and clawed at the devilish berserker, while Tiansheng Zhankuang, buoyed by his tremendous regenerative power, endured the mauling and struck back with his axe.
Right then, Singo's figure reappeared nearby. With a cold sneer, he drew his dragonslaying longbow, nocked an arrow, and aimed directly for the dragon's chest.
The green dragon's expression warped in alarm. Jerking his head violently, he hurled the battered Tiansheng Zhankuang away, twisting his massive frame in an attempt to dodge.
Yet Singo had been waiting for this moment; how could he let it slip?
Another Arrow of Dragon Slaying screamed through the air riding a tempest, plunging straight into the existing wound, tearing away great chunks of flesh, and stopping just short of the dragon's heart.
"Snap."
Singo casually snapped his fingers.
Beep, beep—Boom!
A sharp electronic alarm was followed by a deafening blast.
The arrow pulsed with flashing light before detonating, charring the flesh of the dragon's chest to ash in an instant and exposing his mangled, frantically beating dragon heart.
The green dragon collapsed heavily onto the cold ground, lying on his side as blood gushed from the wound. Breathing his last ragged gasps, he hissed weakly, "Humans... Her Majesty Tiamat... will not forgive you!"
Suddenly, gathering his final dregs of strength, he pushed himself up from the ground and spewed the long-accumulated venomous gas in his throat toward Singo.
Face contorted in malice, he roared with the last of his breath: "Dragons will forever rule the world!"
Singo, however, dissolved into a plume of silvery-white mist, effortlessly evading the spray, and called out, "Qiuyu, your turn!"
Suspended in midair, the dragonborn sorcerer's golden vertical pupils burned with fire. Bringing his hands together, he gathered a scorching sphere of fire between his fingertips, the blistering heat warping the surrounding air.
Boom!
With a crack of bursting air, a thick column of flame erupted from his fingertips, bridging a hundred meters in an instant to strike the wound on the green dragon's chest.
The terrible power of dragonfire incinerated the dragon's flesh, reducing the pulsing heart to ash.
Then, the pillar of flame punched clean through flesh and scale, erupting out of the green dragon's back and blasting a scorched crater into the cliff wall behind.
The green dragon collapsed for good, kicking up clouds of dust. His pupils dilated into death, eyes fixed open with fury and bitter resentment.
Right then, a blurred figure emerged from the dust, coalescing from ethereal into solid form to reveal a black-robed, dagger-wielding vampire.
Langlibaitiao scratched his head, eyes darting about as he gave an awkward, sheepish laugh. "Why are you looking at me?" he protested.
"I wasn't trying to steal your kill! I just wanted to make a contribution to the team at the critical moment—looks like you didn't need my help after all, huh?"
Before he even finished speaking, Langlibaitiao threw himself onto the dragon's carcass, frantically harvesting crafting materials.
"Stop right there!"
"Lang-beast, you shameless bastard! You didn't lift a finger and you're snatching loot!"
"Finders keepers! Everyone gets a share!"
Seeing this, the other players scrambled forward as well, fighting over the valuable materials on the green dragon's corpse.
"Gods above..."
"In the hands of these lords, a dragon is no different from a brown bear or a wild boar. They're just... prey."
The civilians who had been gathered as sacrifices stared dumbfounded at the dragon carcass being looted with reckless abandon, feeling their entire worldview crumble.
The belief ingrained over years—that dragons were invincible, inherently noble, and all-powerful—shattered completely in this moment.
As it turned out, even these arrogant beings, once dead, were just like ordinary prey: skinned, butchered for meat, and stripped to the bone by mortals.
Chapter 791