Chapter 253: Spiny Dragon Ticket Battle.
Jié Jié’s Horn Strike nailed the Spiny Dragon’s chest, pushing it to crush all trees in its path.
Heart shattered, the Spiny Dragon flipped out, but with one flip of its body, it managed to rise again.
“Grunt!” x2.
Identical actions, two fireballs traced overlapping paths, colliding precisely mid-air and leaving behind a vast expanse of burning poison fire.
The Spiny Dragon flapped its wings and leapt into the air, initiating a stomp attack on the opponent.
Jié Jié briefly gathered power, then unleashed a powerful fiery explosion with an upward tilt, striking the airborne Spiny Dragon and exploding upon contact.
Unlike regular Flying Dragons or even some Ancient Dragons, the Spiny Dragon didn’t plummet directly from the sky. It merely staggered after passing through the fire curtain, slightly stumbling as it landed.
By this time, Jié Jié had already retreated and flown back due to that fiery blast, executing a dive stomp that sent the Spiny Dragon crashing to the ground.
With the Spiny Dragon’s body pinned beneath his feet, surging heat rose from the Flame Bag.
Head lowered, the flame erupted close-range, detonating right on the Spiny Dragon’s head.
“GRUNT!!!”
The Spiny Dragon’s painful roar tore through the fire mist as Jie Jie’s body violently writhed under the desperate strength burst forcing him to flap his wings and jump backward.
He briefly hovered in the air, gazing through the fire mist.
At this moment, the Spiny Dragon’s face was covered in explosion impact scars, its left eyebrow broken, the bloodied eye beneath revealing a terrifying ferocity surpassing any savage monster.
“ROOOAR!”
The Spiny Dragon fluttered its wings and ascended, hovering higher than Jie Jie. In a dive, it raised both claws, aiming to stomp its opponent into submission.
Jie Jie adjusted his wings; despite his bulky appearance, he executed a backflip tail whip similar to the Female Fire Dragon, their heavy tails and iron claws clashing, causing them both to fall from the sky.
But his reaction was faster, preparing for landing mid-air. Upon touching down, he immediately charged forward with a Dragon Charge, thrusting the Spiny Dragon flying off him, crushing it as he passed.
Wing claws scraped the ground, drifting back.
An uninterrupted second Dragon Charge combined with a lowered head horn strike sent the Spiny Dragon soaring away.
However, the fallen Spiny Dragon used its head to brace itself against the ground, rising swiftly with a semi-arched neck, shooting consecutive fireballs which were forcibly dispersed by Jie Jie.
The ground cracked under his stomping force as he noticed the Spiny Dragon also charging forward with its head low.
The two horns swayed with each step; it seemed impossible they’d align perfectly, but the purpose of the horns was to increase pressure through small contact points. The real collision would involve their entire bodies and weights.
Full-force assault from the Spiny Dragon!
Jie Jie pierced through the Spiny Dragon’s shoulder reaching its bones, while the Spiny Dragon’s horn slashed open his eye and pierced his neck.
The sway of the horns depended on luck, but what followed relied on sheer strength.
Neck locked straight, the singular horn piercing the shoulder lifted with the rising body, unleashing explosive force that hurled the Spiny Dragon backward, smashing it onto the ground.
Both monsters emitted heavy panting breaths. The locked necks released, leaving them sore, while the Spiny Dragon groaned in pain from multiple beatings.
Stamina, strength, and the thick shell covering its whole body still allowed it to continue fighting.
As Jie Jie caught his breath to restore stamina, the opposing Spiny Dragon also stood up, its shell re-hardening after softening.
Horn Strikes, fireballs, stomps, Iron Mountain Leans—major attack options were limited, but defense far outweighed offense.
He could suppress it, but unlike Tail Hammer Dragons, he couldn’t outright kill it.
This meant if no transformation occurred, these two Spiny Dragons could fight endlessly.
Jie Jie was happy to engage the Spiny Dragon for a long time—it was like making up for lost progress in his Spiny Dragon form.
…
Near the shallow coastal area, the Compiler extended his vision through binoculars, seeing past the forest to the fierce battle between the two monsters.
“Monsters that usually love sleeping go absolutely wild when they fight! I wish we could collect some materials for research.”
He only spoke these words, never daring to approach their battlefield nor waiting around for the fight to end.
It took them days in the Fenglong region to realize; after all, the east coast of the original continent was separated by a bay, south of Poké Village.
Approaching the Ancient Tower, there were many powerful monsters nearby. Just landing on land within the territories of Tail Hammer Dragons and Spiny Dragons was quite lucky, so staying longer wasn’t an option.
“The Spiny Dragon from the New Continent is winning! It’s consistently overpowering the Tree Sea Spiny Dragon! It must be a special individual.”
As the Compiler admired, the small boat gradually drifted away from the shore, paddled westward by the Hunter.
By now, Jie Jie had completely subdued the exhausted Spiny Dragon, turning his head to glare at it with one eye.
“Do you yield?”
His perception swept over the Spiny Dragon’s body, accurately locking onto the energy-rich area on its shell. With one claw, he split the fractured shell, grabbed the Celestial Scale, and ripped it out.
“SHRED!!”
“GRUNT!”
After a tearing sound of flesh, came the Spiny Dragon’s mournful cry. Sensing its body becoming lighter, it fled without looking back, dragging its battered frame.
Spiny Dragons, known for their cunning, possess a certain level of intelligence. It had wanted to escape long ago, but the relentless pursuit prevented it—its opponent didn’t act like a typical Spiny Dragon.
Too many injuries sustained in this battle meant it wouldn’t sleep peacefully for a long time. It regretted ever returning.
Fine, now being driven out means no need to return.
“HOOOOOWLLLLL~!”
Swallowing the Spiny Dragon’s Celestial Scale, Jie Jie felt his physical abilities improve once more as it merged with him, letting out a satisfied roar.
Ticket redeemed, missing piece recovered—what a rush!
Not bothering to chase the fleeing Spiny Dragon, Jie Jie stepped towards the shore, watching the small boat drift further away.
“He seems to be looking at our boat?”
“That’s bad news!”
Upon hearing this, the Hunter immediately paddled harder, creating splashes around the boat as it quickly distanced itself from the shore.
Using the forest to briefly conceal himself, a Sea Dragon slithered from the woods onto the ground, its snake-like body moving rapidly, soon catching up to the boat.
This time, it simply lay submerged in the ocean floor, offering no assistance to the pair.
Compared to crossing vast oceans, alternating rest periods while rowing, they only took three days to cross the bay, finding a decently accurate landing point.
The tree-filled sea of the eastern coast of the Original Continent—or rather—
The Primeval Forest.
“This position can’t be wrong! But, should we really enter?”
Compared to the giant branches crisscrossing above with relatively open lower levels in the Tree Sea, this forest had lush vegetation both above and below, much damper.
“If my memory serves, this forest’s ecosystem is quite ancient. Back then, areas with overly dense forests lacked proper base establishments, rarely visited by people.”
The Compiler searched through records, confirming their approximate location. Following the original route north to Poké Village would require a long detour.
“To the southwest lies the volcanic zone, where Earth Dragon villages excel in crafting hunting equipment, maintaining ship fleets with Dongduoluma.”
The Compiler recalculated the course, and the two began navigating along the coast.
Chapter 254…
