Chapter 346: The Extinction Dragon’s Assault.
“Judging from the direction of the signal flare, our backup support hasn’t landed on the wasteland yet; they’re still out at sea… Could it be that they’ve run aground like we did back then?”
“That’s a possibility. After all, through the telescope, we can see rain clouds in that area similar to when we first landed. Hmph!”
As the Team Leader spoke, he strained his arms and tore open a gap in the vines blocking their path ahead, continuing his speech while ducking through:
“But the intensity of the rain clouds isn’t as bad as before. This time, the Ancient Dragon crossing might not have encountered the Water Ancient Dragon, or perhaps it just met with the Steel Dragon?”
“It should be the Water Ancient Dragon since we’ve sighted him twice out there in the open sea. Maybe the coastal areas are his hunting grounds, or he’s patrolling the outer seas to intercept migrating Ancient Dragons?”
The Commander proposed a new hypothesis, causing everyone to imagine the scene:
The Water Ancient Dragon clashed with an incoming Ancient Dragon while their reinforcements were washed into a corner by huge waves.
Without exchanging words, the group quickened their pace, leaving no room for conversation. Unseen eyes watched them more intently.
Through exchanged gazes, the four-person squad formed a back-to-back formation, ready to face the Thief Dragon swarm head-on.
The Master Swordsman withdrew his Great Sword and thrust forward, meeting the charging Thief Dragon whose body collided with the blade.
With a powerful swipe of the sword, the Thief Dragon hanging onto the blade was split open, its blood staining the Great Sword. With a twirl of his body, he swung the massive blade around, repelling the Thief Dragons approaching from that side.
He glanced to the side, seeing the Team Leader effortlessly piercing through the eye socket of a Thief Dragon. Grabbing the tail of the dead Thief Dragon, he hurled it away, smashing into another Thief Dragon. The Ailu Cat stepped on the fallen Thief Dragon and delivered the finishing blow.
Just as the Commander had drawn his light crossbow, he noticed the Thief Dragons had already retreated, leaving him awkwardly re-hanging his weapon.
Continuing onward, the medicine made from Heart Acceleration Mushroom fragments increased their speed, while portable rations replenished their energy, allowing them to maintain their pace even under high-intensity travel.
After a day and night, the surrounding forest finally began to thin out—they were nearing the wasteland.
“I thought we’d have to climb over mountains.”
The Master Swordsman, feeling the sudden openness, shrugged.
“Climbing over the mountains between two regions would take too much time. This is a shortcut discovered by the Plains Master—it quickly leads us to the wasteland.”
While moving through the coastal forest, they faced attacks from Thief Dragon swarms, but near the wasteland coast, they only saw some resting Crowned Dragons. As long as they didn’t get too close, these dragons posed no threat.
The wasteland terrain featured many ups and downs, but climbing rocks was easy for them. Most of the time, the terrain was flat, so they advanced quickly. Looking up, they could already see the flooded ground ahead.
“Look at this water! It’s fascinating!”
The Team Leader squatted down in amazement, beckoning his companions closer. In front of him was a pool of water.
A pool of water defying common sense—water that didn’t flow downhill.
“This strange phenomenon must be caused by an Ancient Dragon. Clearly, the Water Ancient Dragon has far greater control over its abilities than we imagined.”
Glancing at the battlefield ravaged by seawater, the Team Leader raised his telescope, sending his line of sight toward the ocean beyond the dark rain curtain where ships could be seen.
“They really are reinforcements!”
Though they knew upon seeing the signal flare, the joy upon truly spotting the reinforcements was undeniable!
A new signal flare shot into the sky.
“We’ve arrived!”
However, Second Division couldn’t respond immediately to the signal flare sent by the Team Leader.
A few minutes ago, after adjusting the positions of the sailing ships, confirming the stability of the ropes, and checking the wind and wave conditions, the sails were raised on two ships, and they began to navigate with the adjusted wind direction.
The stranded ships crushed the sandy seabed beneath shallow waters, gradually returning to the embrace of the sea amidst turbulence.
Everything went smoothly until a pitch-black figure appeared beneath the rainclouds, descending with destruction.
The ship that had just returned to the sea’s embrace violently shook under the impact. Thankfully, heavy cannons and other cargo had been unloaded; otherwise, if internal heavy objects rolled to one side during the impact, the balance would have been disrupted, inevitably leading to capsizing.
The ship, using a monster skeleton as its keel, was sturdy enough, but a large hole was still blasted into its side.
When the creature stood upright on land, whether the ship capsized or the gaping hole mattered little because the monster’s claws had already reached the ship.
The two navigating ships were still pulling the damaged vessel, but the black monster merely staggered slightly before stopping the pull, deeply embedding its claws into the wooden planks and taking a bite.
“Counterattack!”
The Second Division Team Leader shouted from the shore. His voice may not have pierced through the rain curtain, but the nearby flag carrier heard enough.
Flags waved ashore, and the crew members aboard the ship watching closely received the command.
Adjusting the cannon angles takes time, but ballistae don’t.
Upon the order, the ballistae on the ship completed their rotation and fired simultaneously. Sharp bolts flew towards the black monster, shattering the white thorns covering its body, with several embedding themselves in its wings.
The Extinction Dragon spat out the wood in its mouth and pushed the ship away.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
Flames roared as cannonballs exploded with tremendous force. Caught off guard, the Extinction Dragon staggered, half its body sinking underwater.
With a roar, it leaped back onto the shore, locking its gaze on the members still on land.
First to fire was a cannon previously unloaded from the stranded ship to lighten its load!
“Get out of the way!”
The members near the cannon, seeing the monster’s gaze directed their way, wasted no time diving aside. They looked back to see the cannon destroyed by the monster, its gaze now fixed on those who operated it.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
Another series of explosions erupted on the monster’s body. Several cannons, reloaded and calibrated by hunters, fired simultaneously!
The power of the cannons was nothing to scoff at—even Ancient Dragons wouldn’t enjoy it!
But the monster merely staggered and didn’t fall. Regaining its footing, it charged toward the other cannons.
“Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.”
Bolts continued to fly, but the white thorns on the monster’s body kept regenerating!
“Non-combatants retreat! Hunters hold the rear!”
The Team Leader called out, ordering non-combatants to abandon the cannons and hide in the forest.
The hunters stopped caring about the cannons and joined the battle.
Yet the situation didn’t improve. The monster had four legs and two wings, resembling the structure of an Ancient Dragon but without any signs of controlling natural forces. However, its strength was extraordinary—even heavily armored hunters were easily flung away.
Fortunately, it lacked the ability to control natural forces, allowing the hunters to keep fighting despite having heavy firepower. But facing such a powerful monster without preparation, repelling it was difficult.
Should the ships retreat? Or try to drive it away?
Retreating would mean withdrawing the heavy artillery on the ships, making it almost impossible to repel the monster. With wings, avoiding pursuit by the ships would require how much entanglement?!
Those left on the island would also bear significant risks.
But what were the chances of driving it away?
Just then, four new figures emerged from the seawater, joining the battlefield.
The Team Leader locked eyes with the blond man who wasn’t part of his team, understanding the best option.
Chapter 347
