Chapter 108: The Golden-Haired Lion and the Yellow-Furred Jackal.
“Unidentified large monster. Looks like it might be the leader of those smaller fang dragon monsters.”
“Probably similar to the relationship between Blue Speed Wyverns and regular Speed Wyverns, or Dog Wyverns and their king. Maybe we should call this one Thief Dragon King?”
As the Great Thief Dragon locked onto him as its target, the burly blond man lowered his hand from his chin and grinned easily.
But his companion didn’t relax, maintaining the usual stern demeanor.
“Hah, look at this guy – he’s got golden hair too, though sadly parted down the middle and all messy.”
“A true man’s gold hair should flow freely like a lion’s mane!”
As the Great Thief Dragon trampled through the swamp towards them, the team leader rotated his wrist, flexing muscles that forced the hook claws wrapped around his forearm out into his grip.
His other hand drew the skinning knife from his waist, wielding it as a one-handed sword.
“Hahahaha!”
In the midst of the man’s hearty laughter, his golden mane flowed back in Jié Jié’s line of sight, ripples of water flying from the hot spring-like ground.
The Great Thief Dragon’s attack was avoided with a simple backward leap.
No, it wasn’t avoidance.
Jié Jié, airborne and rotating to maintain perspective, saw the Great Thief Dragon’s lips split open by the not-so-long skinning knife.
He even had time to add a slash across the Great Thief Dragon’s cheek!
During the next retreat, the fist gripping the hook claw spun, building up centrifugal force with an explosive burst of muscle power.
The hook claw plunged directly into the Great Thief Dragon’s scaled hide, pulling with premeditated steps.
Was this a follow-up slash after a single-hand sword retreat?
No, the team leader used the Great Thief Dragon’s side like a parkour wall, leaping gracefully onto its spine as if possessing lightness of being.
There wasn’t even a slash on the Great Thief Dragon yet; it was still stuck in its previous attack!
“True manhood.”
The skinning knife returned to its sheath at his waist.
“Is about raw physical power!”
The lion-man raised his fist, muscles bulging with heat rising like steam.
This heavy punch propelled him forward, smashing into the Great Thief Dragon’s head.
The Great Thief Dragon, shaking itself, let out a cry and trembled in place.
The yellow-furred jackal could only tremble and submit before the golden-haired lion.
And as for the jackal’s pack?
The golden-haired lion wasn’t alone; his second-in-command swung the greatsword with mighty winds, sending the lesser thief dragons flying away in disarray.
The thief dragons fled in disgrace, while Shān Máo watched the golden-haired lion riding atop the yellow-furred jackal. Even without sunlight, that wild golden mane seemed to shimmer with its own light.
He didn’t intervene further; he just needed to clear the field.
Not only could you see sandbag-sized fists pounding the thief dragon’s skull, Jié Jié could even make out the trembling vibrations of rupturing flesh beneath the thief dragon’s hide.
What an exaggerated display of physical strength, such a pleasing-to-the-eye set of muscles.
“Quack, quack, quack!”
The birds in the sky gave their heartfelt praise, joined by the surrounding carrion birds in announcing death.
Death to the Great Thief Dragon.
The Great Thief Dragon shuddered under the thunderous blows, finally collapsing with a thud, twitching helplessly as blood seeped from cracks in its cranial scales.
It hadn’t lasted two minutes against the team leader.
Jié Jié suddenly felt like he’d graduated master class and was now here to casually dispatch another Great Thief Dragon with a few slashes.
The carrion birds descended, ignoring the team leader shaking out his shoulders, pecking at the still-twitching body of the Great Thief Dragon. They couldn’t penetrate it, but these clever birds dove into its relatively weaker mouth.
“Hmph, good thing we didn’t fight these birds yesterday. They’re bound to taste awful.”
Carrion-eating creatures’ meat is often unpleasant.
Next came the material extraction phase. Using sheer muscle power, he flipped the Great Thief Dragon over, drew the skinning knife, and cut open its abdomen, much to the delight of the carrion birds who wouldn’t have to wait for the corpse to rot open.
“Phew! That stinks!”
But as a seasoned hunter, this was nothing. He skillfully selected the materials he wanted to extract and take along.
From inside the Great Thief Dragon, he took the heart, liver, a small section of the stomach pouch, and scraped some gastric acid into a bottle.
Externally, he mainly harvested the Great Thief Dragon’s mane and one claw, along with a few teeth that didn’t take up much space.
These extracted materials were packed into bags, tied to his waist.
These weren’t collected for making equipment but rather to be handed over to ecological researchers for study.
The team leader’s face wore an expression of joy, but his Ailu cat companion remained stern.
“What’s wrong, partner?”
“Uh-huh!”
The mountain cat pointed at the team leader’s hands and the skinning knife.
“Uh-uh!”
Then pointed at a nearby puddle.
“Alright alright, I’ll wash up.”
Seeing the team leader obediently washing his hands, the mountain cat’s stern face finally relaxed.
Hunters often encounter harsh environments and unhygienic monsters. In dire situations with toothed beasts, things can get messy, and sometimes they even need to whip up foul-smelling bombs on the spot to drive away unexpected monster visitors.
But cleanliness is always preferable, and times when it can be maintained are most precious.
Jié Jié didn’t join the other carrion birds in feasting on the remaining carcass of the Great Thief Dragon but instead landed on a tree to preen his feathers.
From this single Great Thief Dragon, he couldn’t gauge the team leader’s true strength.
The Great Thief Dragon was worth ten points, and no matter how the team leader fought, the performance would remain at ten points.
Just a Great Thief Dragon simply wasn’t enough.
Should he lure over that tailless veteran Slaying Dragon?
If the team leader could hear Jié Jié’s thoughts, he’d surely cheer, since aside from exploring the surroundings, he’d also given himself a preliminary task targeting the Slaying Dragon.
Unfortunately, Jié Jié decided not to lure the Slaying Dragon over but instead chose to experience it firsthand.
Why not play the role of a powerful monster in front of the hunter and wait for the hunter’s decision?
This time, the monster he portrayed couldn’t be as ferocious as the Slaying Dragon; it needed to be more neutral to avoid going out of character.
Thus…
The bird took flight from the tree, descending onto the path the hunter must pass.
The black bird expanded, vibrant colors swirling within its dark plumage, a streak of emerald rapidly unfurling as its feathers and flesh flowed together, transforming into deep green shell plating covering its surface.
The Spiny Dragon curled its body, slowly closing its eyes.
Here lies the dragon, awaiting the golden-haired lion to knock upon the door of dreams.
Chapter 109
