Better Go Home and Grow Mushrooms

Only now did the culprit at the center of the field shake his equally dazed, battered head and climb to his feet. With that movement, countless severed limbs stuck to his body came clattering down, while dark-red, viscous blood poured off him like a waterfall, staining his already lava-red scales even more gruesome and bloody.

It was Li Wei, who had used [True Polymorph] to become a Red Dragon for his first attempt at flying, only to botch the landing.

Fortunately, dragons were naturally thick-skinned and tough. Had any other species taken a hit like that, they would probably have died on the spot. Li Wei merely felt that his chin hurt a little and that his whole body felt off; otherwise, he was fine.

"Ptooey! ROAR!!!"

Annoyed, Li Wei spat out a mouthful of minced flesh mixed with gravel, raised his neck, and let out a venting roar.

For a moment, near-tangible sound waves swept across the entire battlefield along with the Dragon Might he had not bothered to restrain.

It was as though someone had cast a mass fear spell. A third of the Goblins closest to him collapsed unconscious on the spot like cut wheat, while those farther out immediately pissed and shit themselves, fleeing madly in every direction away from Li Wei. They paid no heed to their Fellow Creatures beneath their feet, who were trampled beyond recognition and gradually ground into pulp.

Even the more strong-willed Gnoll riders were stunned rigid by the terrifying sound waves, drooling from the corners of their mouths. Before they could regain their senses, the Underground Giant Lizards beneath them, already driven mad, threw them to the ground.

One particularly unlucky Gnoll had barely fallen from his mount before a giant lizard stomped his head into a smashed watermelon. Even the other Gnolls who escaped being instantly killed by their own mounts suffered injuries when they fell.

These dismounted Gnolls were sensible enough. Seeing that their enemy was a notoriously vicious Red Dragon, they knew that with Dragon Might flooding the area, their few hundred Gnolls could never restrain the Goblins who had been frightened completely out of their minds. They simply let them scatter.

After moving away from the mass of Goblins, they did not immediately regroup. Instead, they formed a ring formation and kept two hundred yards away from the Red Dragon, as though waiting for reinforcements from behind.

That nearly instinctive habit made the surrounding factions, already shocked by the Red Dragon's appearance, grow even more grave.

It meant this Gnoll unit was highly skilled at fighting dragons! Or rather, skilled at dealing with dragons!

"Remember this. If you ever run into something like this, never bunch up! Keep your distance, or one breath attack from a dragon will wipe you all out!"

Salong did not forget to seize the opportunity to educate the half-grown Puppies of his tribe. For some reason, the unease in his heart kept growing stronger. That suddenly appearing Red Dragon gave him an oddly familiar feeling. If he had not been worried that a large-scale retreat would alert the other predators lurking nearby, he would have taken his dogs and run long ago.

"And after keeping our distance?" Doug asked eagerly and bluntly. He seemed rather eager for a fight with a dragon.

Three years ago, when he had still been young, he had nearly cooked a Silver Wyrmling! Because of that, he had even given himself a nickname based on the deed, nearly getting his dog legs broken by Salong in anger.

If word of that reached a dragon, it might not travel all that way just to crush the ant daring to insult dragonkind's dignity. But if they happened to meet, it certainly would not hesitate to casually blast him to death—physically.

Salong's gaze grew somewhat desolate, and his voice sank low. "Of course, you split off a few to draw its attention one at a time. The rest run as far as they can."

Without any powerful being to protect them, how could they possibly be qualified to challenge a dragon? It was already fortunate enough if the dragon could not be bothered to slaughter every last one of them as they fled.

Still unable to understand, Doug had wanted to ask more questions, but another change occurred on the battlefield.

As the once-mighty Goblin army scattered in all directions, the Ogre warband and Dilo Dwarves that had originally brought up the rear were also affected by the Dragon Might. However, due to their distance, the effect was minor. At that moment, though, they were struck by the fleeing Goblins as well.

The Ogres had already been starving after the long journey. Seeing this moving food deliver itself to them, they were naturally delighted. They casually grabbed Goblins and began gnawing on them. Yet these Goblins had been completely driven insane by the Dragon Might. When their path was suddenly blocked, they actually reddened their eyes, grabbed the Ogres' bare calves, and began biting.

The pained Ogres flew into a rage. They threw down the scraps of corpses in their hands and slammed down the Stalagmite Pillars they had been carrying on their shoulders. The Goblins beneath the impact were smashed into meat paste, spraying in every direction together with shattered rocks from the ground. Nearby Goblins caught in the blast were riddled with bloody holes and collapsed one after another.

The enraged Ogre warband became like a boat pushing against the current, breaking through waves of blood as they advanced slowly but resolutely toward Li Wei.

On the other side, the Dilo Dwarves, who were not much larger than the Goblins, were in a far more awkward position. They could only form a cone-shaped defensive formation in place. The instant the Goblin charge hit them, they swung their stone hammers upward in unison. Like a reef standing firm amid a green tide, they endured the crashing waves without falling, sending up futile splashes of Blood Color.

While both sides were tied down, the Gnolls, seeing that they would not receive support anytime soon, seemed to judge from the Red Dragon's size that he was likely somewhere between a juvenile and young adult dragon. After exchanging glances, they began probing attacks. More than a dozen visibly stronger Gnolls pulled long chains woven from animal sinew and iron links from leather pouches on their backs. At the end of each chain hung a rusty three-pronged Iron Hook.

These were weapons specifically used to hunt large creatures! They might even have been weapons specially prepared for dealing with dragons, though the Gnolls clearly had not expected to need them again today.

Standing at the center, Li Wei narrowed his eyes as he examined these wolf-headed creatures. His two vertical pupils were filled with caution. He did not relax in the slightest just because one roar had frightened away Goblins across the ground. At the same time, he mentally cursed Pipim's ancestors for eighteen generations.

Clearly, Pipim's vague way of speaking and that absurd kobold doodle had successfully misled Li Wei into believing that the invaders this time were his old enemies, the Kobold Tribe that had nearly turned him into Hot Pot shortly after he arrived in this world.

Although Li Wei had noticed his mistake while flying overhead, relying on a dragon's innate [Darkvision], and instinctively prepared to turn around and leave, he was like a Newbie driver who had just gotten on the road and immediately driven onto the highway. The moment an emergency arose, he wildly jerked the steering wheel around as if kneading dough. The result was obvious:

The magic sustaining his flight balance suddenly went out of control, and he plunged headfirst down like a crashing aircraft.

However, trapped in danger, he did not immediately choose to retreat. After roughly assessing both sides' strength and the possible backup his opponents might have, and concluding that even if he could not win, he could still escape calmly, Li Wei gladly welcomed his first truly meaningful battle since arriving in this world!

He had been in this world for three years already. While awake, he had personally killed no small number of creatures. Thus, he wanted to see just how much Combat Strength he could unleash in dragon form.

If he did not even dare fight Gnolls that had not reached his knees, he might as well go home and grow mushrooms for the rest of his life!

Seeing that Li Wei, this Red Dragon, had not taken the initiative to attack, one Gnoll saw the signal Warlord gave him and took a deep breath. He removed the wineskin at his waist, took a huge gulp, then poured the rest over his head. After shaking his head and snorting, he reddened his eyes, brandished the flail in his hand, and charged straight at that nearly invincible behemoth in huge strides!

Thanks to Mo Xu Qingnian for the five hundred Hundred Rewards~ Thanks to zhengzerrrr for the five hundred Hundred Rewards~ Also, votes are a good thing. I'm not asking to break into the top three, only to stay on the rankings.