29: Bloodbath

Chapter 30: Bloodbath

At Mordas's roar, the ready Meat-toothed Beasts let out one suppressed battle cry after another—

After crossing mountains and ridges all the way from the outskirts of Shurima to the forests of Ixialia, these young hunters from the tribes had long since become close friends.

Even when they clashed, they could set aside their differences and march forward side by side for the sake of their shared ideals and their common oppression.

By now, under Mordas's leadership, every Meat-toothed Beast trusted their companions and believed even more strongly that everything they were doing was not in vain.

And now, as they watched five of their companions get burned by dragonfire while drawing the dragon's attention, all their pent-up emotions burst forth along with their roars!

The Meat-toothed Beasts wielded sharp knives and axes. On the plain, they moved like agile leopards, charging at the Flame Drake from every direction.

"Fire!!!"

After reloading, the Heavy Crossbows unleashed another volley. Suppressed by Heavenly Power, the Flame Drake was forced to lie prone with nowhere to dodge. Massive bolts sank into its scorching Hard Scale, and blood as red as lava poured out in an instant.

"Roar!!!"

The dragon let out an enraged roar. It might not have been very intelligent, but even a beast could tell that this was a plot against it.

The sky had already been sealed off. Though it couldn't fly, even the Gravity Spell maintained by a mage like Lupe with all her strength proved inadequate against the dragon's almost absurd magic resistance.

It was already in its mating season and prone to aggression. Now, pain and exposure to danger sent suppressed magic surging around its body—

Even under the suppression of Heavenly Power, a dragon was still a dragon!

The Gravity Spell that had nearly pinned it to the ground was greatly weakened. Before, it had kept the dragon pressed down and unable to move. Now, the dragon raised its massive forelimb without hesitation!

It slammed the ground in front of itself. A powerful tremor spread in every direction, and cracks like a spiderweb appeared where its arm struck. The heavy shockwave sent several Fleshfang Hunters flying.

They tumbled into a heap, covered in dust. Before the Meat-toothed Beasts could resume fighting, the dragon abruptly raised its neck.

In an instant, intense red light welled up in its chest. It drew in magic from the air at an astonishing speed, building up a fiery breath in the Flame Sac in its throat. A moment later—RUMBLE!!!

Its enormous head swept across the area, and scorching flames melted the rocks in an instant.

Seeing this, Lupe raised her palm without hesitation. Magical light shone in her aged eyes, and the Solidified Magic Power in her Vydalian Robe once more came alive as boiling magic. She clapped her hands together, and the six Skarner's Wheels at the array's Mana Nodes shot out like streaks of light, instantly forming a massive wall as sturdy as a mountain!

"What are you waiting for?! Get the fire resistance up!"

Yuan Chen barked at the young Apprentice who stood stunned by the sight. Then he spread his arms. The buckets of water prepared behind him exploded, sending columns of water surging into the air.

With countless blades caught in the water, Yuan Chen swept his arms outward. His Spiritwood Bracer rang out sharply—not in harmony, but like crashing waves, strengthening his connection to the natural elements.

He swung both hands, and the next moment the water columns surged like giant serpents obeying his command, hurtling toward the head of the Elemental Drake as it breathed fire!

BANG!!!

The concentrated water column struck the Dragon Head head-on. The sharp nails and axes it carried only left mottled scratches on the dragon's Hard Scale. Though the blow caused no obvious injury, the force of the water column still knocked its head aside.

But before Yuan Chen and the others could breathe a sigh of relief, the dragon let out a furious roar. Its backward-jointed hind legs, like those of a feline, suddenly sprang loose like tightly wound springs. The explosive force sent its enormous body hurtling forward.

After resisting the scorching dragonfire, the already fragile, semi-transparent image of the mountain wall shattered on impact. The heavy blow sent all six Skarner's Wheels flying!

Lupe was an Elemental Mage in her own right. The moment she was thrown back, she used her powerful magic to reconnect with the out-of-control wheels. Otherwise, anyone else would have had to cast spells with their bare hands!

Along with the shattered image of the mountain wall, the dragon's body barreled forward like a heavy Siege Chariot, crushing two hunters into bloody pulp on the spot!

Mordas's eyes nearly split with rage, but he had no other choice. He turned and roared at Yuan Chen, "Fire resistance! Get the fire resistance up!"

"It won't work!" Lupe shouted before Yuan Chen could answer.

"The dragon's fury has thrown the elements here into chaos! These Element Apprentices can't strengthen everyone's fire resistance on their own!"

At the news that they couldn't get fire resistance, Mordas's expression darkened—

Though suppressed, the dragon's rage had unleashed its power to the fullest. Its hard scales were like red-hot steel.

That did make the scales somewhat more brittle. But this wasn't a game. With the temperature so high, Mordas only had to stand near the dragon to feel his throat grow dry and itchy!

Without the suppression of Heavenly Power, this Flame Drake could have turned every Meat-toothed Beast Hunter present into a dried corpse in no time, even while lying still!

Just then, cold water poured down from above, soaking Mordas from head to toe.

The Flawless Heavy Blade rose into the air. With the War Dance Plume draped over his shoulder, Yuan Chen raced toward the dragon while using Flowing Water to drench every hunter along the way.

"Make do with this!"

At Yuan Chen's words, Mordas spat out a small fish and gritted his teeth. "Where's your Lion Woman? Isn't she supposed to be powerful?"

"Five minutes!!"

From a nearby slope, Nedeli's strained voice reached everyone's ears. "Hang on! I'll be ready soon!!"

She knelt on the ground, her graceful body bent low. The jar containing the Azure Starfire lay on its side, but Nedeli had no intention of putting it away.

Heavenly Power had healed Nedeli's injuries almost instantly. But unlike the brief boost Mordas had received when he used it, as an Apt Candidate, Nedeli's body was being transformed from within by Heavenly Power!

Unless channeled through a medium or a vessel, the bodies of Runeterra's creatures could not withstand the power of the Immortal Heaven. That power belonged to life itself, not to living creatures.

Even if mortals absorbed Heavenly Power, its exalted force would burn their blood vessels and bodies to nothing in an instant!

After using the Scout Skill to confirm Nedeli's current condition, Yuan Chen's expression turned grim—

Their entire battle plan had been built around Nedeli as the main damage dealer. To put it bluntly, in game terms, they were running a pure four-protect-one Jungle Core Big Daddy strategy. And now the Big Daddy who had taken the team's minion waves and kill gold had gone AFK!

It wasn't anyone's fault—

In the lore, when Soraka, the Star Child, descended from the Immortal Heaven in her True Form to create a body in Runeterra, her powerful magic constantly burned her. Now, for Nedeli to wield Heavenly Power, she had to undergo an ascension from creature to life!

This wasn't a game with a profession unlocked by clicking a button on a screen. The path to any profession was full of hardship, let alone that of a Legendary Profession like the Dawn Bringer!

Realizing this, Yuan Chen cursed his own carelessness, but he had no other choice. He growled, "Then we keep going!!"

As he spoke, Yuan Chen rushed past Mordas. The hunters answered with a battle cry, then charged together with their hunting knives gripped tight.

The Flame Drake looked at the insects before it and roared irritably. It raised its head again. Everyone thought it was about to breathe fire as before, but instead it abruptly stopped gathering power. Holding its enormous head high, it opened its jaws and spat out fireballs nearly half a meter across—each as big as a washbasin. They rained down in every direction like a storm.

Yuan Chen pointed two fingers like a sword. The Flawless Heavy Blade flew through the air, slicing several fireballs aimed at him into pieces. His agile body leaped forward, and the War Dance Plume wrapped in Flowing Water spread out in an instant like a peacock's tail, batting away every fragment of flame!

With his mastery of the Water Element, Yuan Chen had no trouble dealing with a large-scale fire attack like this. But the same couldn't be said for the others!

Faced with fire raining down from every direction, the quick-reacting Meat-toothed Beast Hunters immediately dodged, but a few still suffered burns to their arms and bodies! There was neither time nor anyone available to tend to them.

Even they only splashed a bucket of cold water over themselves after escaping the firestorm, then charged right back in!

Landing and charging forward, Yuan Chen looked at the Flame Drake just ahead and swept his hand through the air, striking down from a distance!

In an instant, twelve Flawless Heavy Blades lined up. With a rush of wind, their heavy edges struck the scorching Hard Scale one after another.

With master-level skill, the twelve Flawless Heavy Blades were perfect in force, angle, and speed.

They hit the same area repeatedly. The first strike left a shallow mark, and the following slashes carved a huge gash nearly thirty centimeters long!

Flesh split open, and high-temperature blood sprayed out. Saturated with magic, it churned like lava and left mark after mark on the ground.

The pain enraged the dragon. It turned toward Yuan Chen, raised its upper body, and lifted its thick right arm high. But before it could swat Yuan Chen like a fly—

More than a dozen thick, solid Grappling Hooks came flying. The coarse Steel Structure couldn't pierce the dragon's flesh, but the hooks had been specially forged by the Meat-toothed Beasts. They caught easily in the gaps between the dragon's scales and flesh!

"Pull!!!"

The Meat-toothed Beast Hunters turned red in the face as they put all their strength into hauling on the steel cables.

Caught off guard, the dragon's body was dragged several meters to the side. It failed to attack, and Yuan Chen seized the opportunity. A dozen blades flashed like streaks of light, making three passes in the blink of an eye and tearing the thirty-centimeter gash apart!

Before Yuan Chen could inflict deeper wounds, the furious dragon turned and slammed its body toward the hunters nearby.

"Fall back!!"

Mordas roared, but in the heat of battle, his warning came far too late.

A few hunters realized how serious the danger was and dodged without hesitation, but those caught within the dragon's crushing range had nowhere to run!

Lupe spread her hands, and a rich yellow glow took shape between them. The next moment, the earth around the hunters churned violently, and three thick stone pillars burst up from the ground.

Against the dragon's blow, the pillars were painfully weak. They held for only a few seconds before crumbling under the impact and scorching heat.

But those few seconds were enough for the three Meat-toothed Beasts at the center of the attack to escape certain death. One of them had ventured too close and still had a leg crushed, but that was incredibly lucky compared to being killed on the spot!

Then Lupe abruptly swept her palm aside, and the six Skarner's Wheels sank into the earth without resistance.

She raised her clenched hand, and six stone arms, each nearly two meters thick and fitted with a Skarner's Wheel, reached up from deep underground. At Lupe's command, four of them slammed left and right, pinning the dragon in place as it tried to crush the Meat-toothed Beast Hunters!

Already weakened, the Elemental Drake was thrown off balance by the Ley Line's shaking. For a moment, it was truly unable to move!

Then Lupe controlled the remaining two enormous stone arms, which hammered down one after another like construction hammers!

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!!

The heavy fists fell like raindrops. Each strike shattered the dragon's Hard Scale, leaving it covered in countless cracks!

At the same time, the Skarner's Wheel skill activated. Under the continuous hammering, the earth's Heavy Pressure quickly inflicted dizziness, shock, and crushing force!

Scalding blood flowed from the cracks in the scales. Yuan Chen and the others didn't hesitate. Seeing that the Flame Drake couldn't break free, they grabbed their blades and prepared to attack again!

But before they could even reach the dragon, Lupe suddenly spat out—

A mouthful of blood burst out with a sharp "Puh!"

After the large-scale Gravity Spell and repeated empowered attacks, Lupe, already old enough to have one foot in the grave, had finally exhausted her strength—

No, she had run out of strength long ago. She had simply kept fighting and casting spells by forcing her remaining life force to sustain her!

"Fall back!" Ignoring the dark-red blood flowing from her mouth and nostrils, Lupe shouted, "Its resistance is recovering!!"

As its resistance recovered, the dragon forcibly fought off the negative effects of the magic invading its body!

Dragon Might spread out. The pressure of this elemental bloodline affected everyone present, and even Lupe felt her magic flow slow down!

Then the stone arms pinning the dragon to the ground split apart, deep cracks spreading across them—

Using the power of magical resistance, it violently shattered the magical connection between the Skarner's Wheels and the Ley Line Arms!