Lost Xingyan and His Fierce Battle with Sulfur Dragon Slayer!

Closing his eyes, Xingyan quietly sensed the changes this Claw Dragon had brought him—not enough.

Instinct told him that eating just one Claw Dragon wasn't enough. The evolutionary traits he'd absorbed were still insufficient, because this one was too weak and wasn't a Tempered Monster. Its essence was far too impure.

Powerful monsters often had better bloodlines than their weaker kin, with clearer and more deeply ingrained evolutionary traits.

If Xingyan wanted to evolve by acquiring a special organ or some other trait from an Elder Dragon, then eating just one would probably be enough. A monster of an Elder Dragon's caliber was powerful simply by virtue of existing.

They were born in Rome; ordinary monsters weren't even worthy of trying to pick a fight with them.

But if the trait Xingyan wanted existed in ordinary dragons, he'd have to eat many of them. That was how he'd evolved his Air Sac Carapace after eating so many Sleepy Floater Dragons—unless the ordinary monsters he ate were strong enough to shorten the process.

One Claw Dragon was nowhere near enough, so Xingyan continued searching through Miasma Valley.

He hadn't felt sunlight on his body for so many days that he was beginning to wonder whether he'd even be able to handle the blazing sun and high temperatures of the Great Sand Sea if he went back outside.

No wonder the Claw Dragons that lived here year-round had lost their eyesight. They hadn't gone as far as Khezu, which had lost its eyes entirely, but a translucent membrane covered each eye, sealed shut and impossible to open. It was like having congenital cataracts; all they could make out was the difference between light and dark.

The real New World was far larger than it was in the game. Xingyan might have become the ruler of one area of the Great Sand Sea, but his territory was only a small part of the Flower Field Marshland Area. Now he'd even made a strategic retreat underground and hardly visited the marshland at all.

Even with Xingyan's stamina and speed, it had taken him months of traveling day and night to get from the southern part of the Great Sand Sea to the entrance of Miasma Valley in the north. Now that he was inside the valley, he was completely lost. The place was vast beyond measure.

At first, he'd marked the route with his Sword Tail to make sure he could find his way back. But after all these days in the crisscrossing, three-dimensional cave system, Xingyan suddenly realized he'd left his marks everywhere.

He couldn't tell them apart. Not at all.

In the end, Xingyan simply gave up on marking his route. He was mentally prepared: if he really couldn't find his way back to the surface, he'd just open his mouth and start chewing through the rock above him. Sooner or later, he'd dig his way out.

Well, a dumb dragon had to do things the dumb-dragon way.

At first, Xingyan had worried about what might happen if he ran into that Steel Dragon nearing the end of its life. But after spending some time in this corner of Miasma Valley, he no longer had any concerns about that. Who knew where that Old Steel Dragon had gone?

There wasn't a single sign of activity, let alone any trace of the dragon itself.

Xingyan had even found the skeleton of a Serpent King Dragon, half exposed from the wall of a cave. He could only see part of it, with no head or tail; the rest was buried in the rock, as if the two had become one.

Its spread-out ribs were large enough for a dragon as big as Xingyan to dance on. He couldn't help but envy it. If he had a monster's body as huge as the Serpent King Dragon's, could he cleave the New World in half with a single strike?

A Glavenus as big as a mountain dragon... Now that would be something.

There wasn't just one Serpent King Dragon that had died here. Xingyan didn't know which one these remains belonged to, but they were certainly ancient; otherwise, they wouldn't have become fused with the rock.

Naturally, Xingyan tried biting the Serpent King Dragon's bones a few times to see if he could absorb any useful evolutionary traits. Unfortunately, he got nothing. The bones had become indistinguishable from stone and offered no nourishment.

He was starting to feel more like a tourist. He'd already hunted three Claw Dragons, and these stubborn territorial rulers were fairly easy to find. As hardheaded as badgers, they never chose to flee or avoid a fight before actually facing one.

But honestly, within the area Xingyan was currently exploring, he couldn't find any more Claw Dragons. An area could only sustain so many predators. He'd have to search farther away, but farther...

Stepping across rotting flesh, Xingyan spotted a patch of yellow-green crystals on the wall near the top of the cave. They looked like the mark left by a paintbrush dragged across paper, starting thick and heavy before tapering off into a faint line. It was so familiar.

Of course it was familiar. When Xingyan's own Sword Tail scraped against a rock wall, it left a mark just like that—minus the yellow-green crystals.

And Xingyan knew what monster had left it. Who else could it be but the Sulfur Dragon Slayer, the Glavenus subspecies that lived in Miasma Valley?

Xingyan stopped. Across from him, another enormous dragon stood motionless in the darkness. Its orange-red eyes shone in the dim light as it watched him.

A familiar face—one he often saw reflected in the water. It had a pair of short, thick, curved horns, a huge mouth full of sharp teeth, and symmetrical spikes running from its head to the heat-dissipating shell on its back. But unlike the fiery, flaring shell on Xingyan's back, this one's shell looked much more subdued, lying flat against its back.

It looked a full size slimmer than Xingyan, and its carapace wasn't the usual reddish brown of a Glavenus. Instead, it was yellow-green, a better fit for Miasma Valley.

But the most distinctive thing about it was its Sword Tail: it was thinner and longer.

Sulfur Dragon Slayer.

It might sound strange, but from Xingyan's perspective—or, more accurately, by Glavenus standards of beauty—the Sulfur Dragon Slayer facing him was a beautiful female.

A beauty among Glavenus.

Xingyan shook his head, driving the thought from his mind. The Sulfur Dragon Slayer had already taken an aggressive stance, its body curved as it angled its long Sword Tail forward from behind.

This was interesting.

Xingyan suddenly felt like laughing. He always called himself the Long Sword of dragons, but that was only because Glavenus had a move resembling an iai slash, the Tail Bite Great Spin. In truth, Glavenus had been designed around the image of a Great Sword. Aside from the Tail Bite Great Spin, every one of its moves was a broad, powerful slash.

But this one was different.

Sulfur Dragon Slayer was a subspecies designed around the image of a Long Sword. So if you wanted to be precise, it was the true Long Sword of dragons.

It had lost its Flame Sac, so it could no longer spit out molten fireballs.

Instead of biting its enemies, it preferred to slash them with its Sword Tail.

In a way, Xingyan wasn't unusual for a Glavenus that disliked breathing fire or attacking with its mouth. Nature had already produced kin that had evolved in that direction.

Now this was getting interesting.

Unable to contain his excitement, Xingyan curved his body and angled his Sword Tail forward from behind, just like his opponent. He glanced at his own tail: it was nearly twice as thick as the Sulfur Dragon Slayer's. That was the difference between a Great Sword and a Long Sword.

The Long Sword dragon versus the dragon that wielded a Great Sword like a Long Sword—which one had the better swordsmanship?

A wordless understanding passed between them. Neither Xingyan nor the Sulfur Dragon Slayer called out to greet the other.

Clang!!

The only greeting was the sound of their Sword Tails colliding—the sound of them striking at the same time.

The Sulfur Dragon Slayer's Sword Tail was fast. After their initial clash, it turned sideways and slashed upward along Xingyan's blade. Xingyan didn't just stand there and take it. The time he'd spent learning the essence of hunter swordsmanship from the Sword Master hadn't been wasted.

With a deft Foresight Slash, Xingyan dodged the Sword Tail aimed at his body. He immediately seized the brief opening to sweep his blade at the Sulfur Dragon Slayer's exposed back, revealed when it had turned away to deliver that exceptionally long slash.

But the Sulfur Dragon Slayer had plenty of combat experience. As soon as Xingyan dodged its attack, it rolled across the ground, avoiding his counterattack after the Foresight Slash.

What the hell? Xingyan couldn't believe it.

On their very first meeting and their first exchange, neither dragon had gained the upper hand. They were both cautiously testing the other.

For Xingyan, this was the kind of battle that made things interesting.

Slashing at creatures that still relied on their teeth and claws for primitive attacks had never done much for him. It was like driving a tank against Polish cavalry. They weren't even on the same level.

Clang!!

Their Sword Tails collided again, then bounced apart at once—clang!!

The huge cave echoed with the sound of clanging metal. Having an evenly matched opponent filled Xingyan with energy, and he kept putting the swordsmanship he'd learned from the Sword Master to use throughout the fight.

Fighting the Sulfur Dragon Slayer was like two swordsmen facing off. They weren't competing in size or strength, as they did against other monsters, but in swordsmanship!

This was a completely new experience for Xingyan, unlike anything he'd encountered in all his battles so far. It was even completely different from sparring with the Sword Master. After all, the Sword Master was only human. His strength, size, and weapon were all far smaller than Xingyan's, and his goals in combat were entirely different, too.

The Sword Master couldn't simply take one of Xingyan's slashes and then counterattack. But the Sulfur Dragon Slayer could.

Clang!!

The Sulfur Dragon Slayer hurriedly swept its Sword Tail across the ground to build momentum, then swung it upward to block Xingyan's vicious vertical slash.

But the blow was too heavy.

Xingyan had never intended to make his Sword Tail lighter. The blade he was using now had only been forged as a temporary measure and would be discarded once he finished evolving, but the iron ore and Lapis Lazuli he'd used were real—and heavy.

The Sulfur Dragon Slayer's much thinner Sword Tail couldn't match that weight. This wasn't his imagination: a notch had appeared in its blade!

As for Xingyan... Honestly, with a Sword Tail as thick and heavy as his, it was practically a hammer with an edge.

Their Sword Tails separated after the clash—or did they?!

A sly glint flashed in the Sulfur Dragon Slayer's orange-red eyes. This time, it didn't retreat. Instead, it shifted its legs and turned to the side. Using the force of its already-launched Sword Tail to lift and knock Xingyan's blade aside, it followed through with a downward slash!

This slash was faster and more sudden than any of its previous attacks!

It had held back earlier, adapting to Xingyan's rhythm and strength before seizing an opening for a surprise attack.

No wonder it was the smartest dragon among the Beast Dragon Species. It even knew how to use deceptive tactics.

Without a doubt, the Sulfur Dragon Slayer's sudden slash struck Xingyan hard in the side—BOOM!!!

The Air Sac Carapace that had been hit burst apart in an instant. The sudden explosion even startled the Sulfur Dragon Slayer, and the shock wave knocked its Sword Tail away before it could inflict any more serious damage.

"Roar!!" (Didn't see that coming, did you?!)

This was the first time Xingyan had roared since the fight began, but he wasn't trying to taunt or brag. His voice was loud, and in an enclosed space like a cave, a roar mixed with the echoes and became especially thunderous. It could even shake an enemy's composure.

The instant he roared, Xingyan twisted around and thrust forward!

His enormous, razor-sharp Sword Tail shot forward like a dragon, aiming straight for the Sulfur Dragon Slayer's belly. It realized what he was doing and hurriedly reared up to dodge—

Slash!

But it was still a little too slow. Xingyan's sharp blade cut through the area above its foreleg. If it had been any slower, the slash might have gone straight to its throat.

The Sulfur Dragon Slayer was stunned.

It was completely stunned.

Wait, why can this one explode?!

It could clearly feel that the slash it had plotted and saved up for hadn't made proper contact with flesh. It had felt the carapace break at first, but then came the force of an explosion pushing back against it.

Carapaces can explode?

What kind of dream was that?

—Why doesn't mine explode?!

With its level of intelligence, the Sulfur Dragon Slayer was more than capable of wondering about such things.

Which only left it more confused.

Boom!!

Just as the Sulfur Dragon Slayer hurriedly backed away a few steps, unsure whether it should flee, Xingyan's carapace exploded again.

This time, even Xingyan was bewildered, let alone the Sulfur Dragon Slayer.

Wait, what hit me?

There's nobody here!

Why did my armor explode?!

Both dragons grew tense. Xingyan quickly backed up two steps, then swung his Sword Tail through the empty air around him a few times, trying to find the invisible enemy nearby.

He was whooshing it around so fast that the air was whistling.