Flood Dragon

On the pale white flagpole, the White Tiger Blood Banner fluttered fiercely.

The great banner was planted on the riverbank outside the Mist Blades' stronghold, its blood-red color a stark, piercing sight under the red glow of the 'Void Sun'.

Neither the Mist Blades nor the Longevity Cult dared to touch this banner, leaving it planted there. Old Tie's previous strike had been too powerful, too terrifying.

Sometimes, with enough strength, your mere power could form an invisible deterrent, even without your physical presence.

The Mist Blades' patrols had passed the White Tiger Blood Banner many times, yet they hadn't even glanced at it.

Let alone anyone daring to do anything to it.

"Strength."

Wu Tie stood on a small hill several kilometers away, squinting at the White Tiger Blood Banner dancing madly in the strong river wind.

"Master Hui... your understanding of strength is different from mine," Wu Tie murmured softly. "Perhaps you are right; wisdom is also an extremely powerful force."

"But, for me, right now. Strength is violence. Wisdom is too far from me."

Clenching his spear, Origin Force continuously flowed into his close-fitting armor. Filaments of light shimmered on the pale white armor, forming intricate, ancient patterns that gave the armor a majestic and solemn air.

With a long roar, Wu Tie leaped into the air. An invisible force field lifted him hundreds of meters high, and he soared in an arc towards the distance.

He deliberately approached the Mist Blades' stronghold, gliding past at an aerial distance of over a thousand meters.

Sharp, piercing alarm sirens sounded from within the stronghold. Large numbers of Mist Blades assassins and servant warriors swarmed onto the city walls, watching Wu Tie with extreme vigilance.

Wu Tie didn't press too close. He turned and glided downstream along the great river.

A herd of Giant Hippos was leisurely eating and drinking in a river bend. A group of Iron-skinned Monoceros Crocodiles, over ten meters long and previously unseen by Wu Tie, was stealthily moving upstream from the lower reaches, approaching the Giant Hippos like submerged logs.

Wu Tie landed on the riverbank, casting a wary glance at the group of Iron-skinned Monoceros Crocodiles.

Old Tie's lessons included information on these large creatures. For Wu Tie at his current level, these amphibious beasts with extremely thick scales, astonishing bite force, powerful limbs, and the ability to control water into turbulent jets were completely invincible.

Perhaps the blood flowing down the great river in the past few days had attracted these creatures.

Regardless, their arrival... had little impact on Wu Tie.

"Old Tie was right. The closer we get to that lava fissure, the more abundant the heat, the more lush the vegetation, and the more powerful these creatures become, posing a greater danger to me," Wu Tie said, glancing at the crocodile group that had stopped moving on the river surface. He flicked his toe, sending a stone flying.

The fist-sized rock flew dozens of meters, hitting a Giant Hippo squarely on the head.

Suddenly struck and seeing stars while enjoying its meal, the enraged Giant Hippo charged out of the water bend and onto the riverbank, roaring and charging towards Wu Tie.

Wu Tie let out a long cry. He swung his spear with both hands, creating a fierce wind as he charged directly at the Giant Hippo.

His right shoulder slammed heavily into the Giant Hippo's head, bringing the massive creature to an abrupt halt. The spear pierced the Giant Hippo's skull in a clean, decisive kill.

The Giant Hippo's charge was incredibly fierce. Wu Tie retreated rapidly, using the recoil, and casually pulled out his spear.

A group of Metal Spiders quickly hopped over. One Metal Spider's plump abdomen opened, and metallic fluid rapidly solidified into a long blade.

Wu Tie skillfully dismembered the Giant Hippo, allowing the Metal Spiders to transport it back to the Ancient Divine Weapon camp.

Then, he began hunting the second, third, and fourth...

Metal Spiders scurried back and forth continuously. Wu Tie busied himself, hunting a total of twenty Giant Hippos.

The scent of blood filled the air. The slow-witted Giant Hippos finally sensed the dangerous aura in the air, growling uneasily and slowly moving towards the deep waters of the great river.

On the river's surface, the Iron-skinned Monoceros Crocodiles moved, slowly approaching the Giant Hippo herd.

With a rumbling roar, white water columns as thick as water vats erupted from the river's surface. These columns struck the Giant Hippos with terrifying speed. The water columns, almost solid, easily tore through the Giant Hippos' thick hides, cut through their muscles, and pierced their massive bodies.

Large amounts of blood gushed out like fountains, quickly dyeing the river surface within a radius of several kilometers red.

The Iron-skinned Monoceros Crocodiles rapidly closed in on the heavily injured Giant Hippo herd. Behind them, dark shapes flashed beneath the water, and thin ripples constantly appeared on the river's surface.

The fierce aura of top-tier predators emanated from further up the great river. Wu Tie cast a reverent glance at the unusual activity on the river and quickly retreated.

This large-scale hunt was Wu Tie's preparation for an upcoming period of lurking.

Whether it was the Mist Blades or the Longevity Cult, if they re-entered this secret realm, they would undoubtedly send in powerful experts and a sufficient number of subordinates.

Old Tie's current combat strength was not very reliable.

Wu Tie had to lie low for a while, and his cultivation still required Foundation Establishment Potions. That was why he had hunted so many Giant Hippos at once.

"These damned beasts, I hope they don't kill all of these big guys..." Wu Tie said, sprinting away, glancing back regretfully at the chaotic shallow waters by the riverbank.

A full twelve Iron-skinned Monoceros Crocodiles appeared on the water's surface. They greedily bit into the heavily injured Giant Hippos and began to thrash violently. The dull sound of bones cracking was constant as the crocodiles easily snapped the thick necks of the Giant Hippos.

Behind the Iron-skinned Monoceros Crocodiles, seven or eight enormous water pythons, as thick as water vats, quietly appeared.

Behind these water pythons, an exceptionally large water python, about two meters thick at its widest point and nearly a hundred meters long, slowly emerged half its body from the river water.

The exceptionally large water python had two sharp black horns on its forehead. Its eyeballs actually had transparent eyelids that could blink freely. The eyelids, now half an inch thick, blinked rapidly, and its sharp, golden, shuttle-shaped pupils radiated fierce light.

Wu Tie suddenly turned his head and, upon unexpectedly seeing this exceptionally large water python, shivered uncontrollably.

The great battle between the Mist Blades and the Longevity Cult on the river had caused a large amount of blood to flow into the river, finally drawing out all the monsters and demons in this secret realm.

A giant water python with two horns...

According to Old Tie's lessons to Wu Tie in recent days, such snakes were no longer snakes but 'Flood Dragons'!

And Flood Dragons... had long since transcended the category of 'beasts'. You could call them 'demons' or 'monsters', but they were terrifying existences beyond normal creatures, impossible to deal with.

The flood dragon slowly opened its mouth.

Its large maw was filled with sharp teeth. Wu Tie noticed that its forked tongue was gone, replaced by a long, un-forked red tongue!

It truly was no longer a snake.

A metal spider the size of a fist darted over, and with a few hops, landed on Wu Tie's shoulder.

Old Tie's voice came from the metal spider's belly, and he exclaimed in surprise, "A flood dragon? There's actually such a treasure here... If I could turn it into a potion..."

Wu Tie coughed softly.

Old Tie also gave a dry cough. "The two of us together wouldn't be enough for it to swallow... Sigh, just a small, insignificant flood dragon, and clearly a mixed-breed hybrid, not a pure-blooded one... Tsk, back in the day..."

With a long sigh, Old Tie muttered, "Back in the day, this thing wouldn't even qualify to be roasted by Yang Jian and the others... Honestly, Grandpa here would love to taste dragon liver and phoenix gall... But alas... Grandpa doesn't have the function for it..."

Wu Tie patted the metal spider, remaining silent.

Suddenly, the flood dragon on the river emitted a terrifying aura. Visible black mist billowed outwards, its oppressive might, heavy as a mountain and almost solid, stiffened Wu Tie's entire body, nearly causing him to fall.

His pores contracted, his heart tightened, and Wu Tie saw stars flashing before his eyes. The blood flow throughout his body suddenly slowed down.

Fortunately, Wu Tie was far away. If he had been near the flood dragon, he would have lost all ability to move and would have become a mere snack for the creature.

Daring not to look back or respond to Old Tie's complaints, Wu Tie ran on the ground at full speed, doing his best to escape towards the Ancient Divine Weapon camp without making a sound.

A deep, piercing roar came from behind. The flood dragon had clashed with the group of Iron-skinned Monoceros Crocodiles.

The shrieking sound of water columns tearing through the air was clearly audible, along with the sound of breaking bones and other strange noises.

The giant water pythons hissed sharply, and the sound of dense bone fractures erupted like popping beans. Wu Tie didn't need to look back to imagine the terrifying sight of these giant pythons constricting their prey and crushing them.

Fleeing at full speed for dozens of miles, Wu Tie finally could no longer feel the almost tangible pressure emanating from the flood dragon. He finally took a breath and stood on a small mound, gazing intently towards the great river.

The flood dragon's body was too enormous. Even from this distance, he could still see its movements.

Wu Tie watched as it raised half its body and swallowed two Iron-skinned Monoceros Crocodiles whole. Then, seemingly still not full, the flood dragon let out a long roar and, accompanied by several giant water pythons, slowly swam upstream along the shallows.

Wu Tie saw several Iron-skinned Monoceros Crocodiles swimming rapidly on the distant river.

On the riverbank, the herd of Giant Hippopotamuses, covered in blood, scattered in all directions, having fled a great distance. Clearly, the battle between the Iron-skinned Monoceros Crocodiles, the flood dragon, and the snakes had given the Giant Hippopotamuses, who were not seriously injured, a chance to escape.

These creatures were lucky to have evaded the pounce of the flood dragon and the snakes, but it was precisely because they fled that the flood dragon remained hungry.

The flood dragon seemed too lazy to pursue the scattered Giant Hippopotamuses, and also too lazy to continue chasing the Iron-skinned Monoceros Crocodiles, which still offered some resistance. It swayed its massive body and slowly headed towards the Mist Blades outpost, seven or eight miles away.

Given the flood dragon's divine nature and its enormous size, a mere seven or eight miles was probably no different than a normal person visiting a neighbor across the street.

In no time, the flood dragon, along with seven or eight giant water pythons, brazenly appeared outside the walls of the Mist Blades outpost.

Sharp alarm bells rang continuously. Large groups of Gray Dwarves and Rock Gnome slaves rushed out, urged on by the Mist Blades killers and servant warriors behind them, charging desperately towards the flood dragon and the snakes.

Several large water pythons whipped their tails, and wherever their long tails passed, large swathes of figures were sent flying.

The flood dragon lowered its head, then inhaled sharply. In that single breath, dozens of figures were lifted off the ground and swallowed into its mouth.

Wu Tie watched, his body growing cold. In that one gulp, at least fifty or sixty Gray Dwarves and Rock Gnomes were swallowed.

Even more alarming was that even after swallowing two Iron-skinned Monoceros Crocodiles and so many slaves, the flood dragon's belly showed no change.

Clearly, it possessed a powerful digestive system that matched its strength and size.

"This thing..." Wu Tie gripped his spear, instinctively taking a few steps towards the Mist Blades outpost.

In a short time, at least several hundred Gray Dwarves and Rock Gnomes were swallowed by the flood dragon and the snakes, but it was obvious that these small-bodied creatures hadn't satisfied the flood dragon's appetite.

"What did this thing eat to grow so big?" Wu Tie's body trembled slightly, a surge of heat rolling within him.

"Don't be foolish... You can't save them right now..." The metal spider jumped around on Wu Tie's shoulder. Old Tie shouted sternly, "If you want to save people, you need enough strength... Don't throw your own life away for nothing..."

Old Tie grumbled in a low voice, "Although Grandpa here admires your sense of justice... you going there would be useless..."

The slaves within the Mist Blades outpost suffered heavy casualties, and finally, elite warriors were dispatched.

Large groups of Ox Tribe warriors and Wolf Tribe warriors let out fierce roars and charged out of the outpost fully armed.

The flood dragon lowered its body and opened its massive mouth wide.

A stream of black water mist spewed from the flood dragon's mouth, extending over a hundred meters. Its body swayed slightly, and the mist swept out in a wide arc in front of it.

Hundreds of Ox Tribe and Wolf Tribe warriors simultaneously dropped their weapons. They cried out in agony, clutching their bloody and mangled faces as they ran about wildly.

Highly toxic, the black water mist contained potent poison that instantly corroded their eyeballs, turning their facial muscles into pus and blood that dripped continuously.

Hundreds of elite warriors were wiped out in an instant. The flood dragon leisurely opened its mouth and, unhurriedly, inhaled again and again, swallowing these Ox Tribe and Wolf Tribe warriors into its maw.

Wu Tie watched, his body growing cold...

Old Tie, however, muttered thoughtfully, "You asked a good question earlier, what did this thing eat to grow so big? With its appetite, it could devour this entire secret realm in a few years..."

"Could it be that there's something good in its lair?" Old Tie suddenly said urgently, "Alright, little one, you can't save them. Instead of watching here and making yourself miserable, why not..."

"I..." Wu Tie looked towards the Mist Blades outpost with a complicated expression.

"Have you heard of 'Besiege Wei to rescue Zhao'?" Old Tie, having discerned Wu Tie's mood, quickly said, "Perhaps, you still have a way to save them..."