Steel-Spike Dragon

Bai Yang pulled out his tablet and brought up the Steel-Spike Dragon's information.

This creature was a true Dragon Beast monster. Once fully grown, some individuals could even reach the High-Level Lord tier.

It looked like a lizard, but its entire body was covered in a coat of hard, terrifying fur, which was how it got its name.

Its defense was astonishingly high, and it could even counterattack.

It was one of the most troublesome kinds of monsters to deal with. In a real fight, attackers often ended up more badly hurt than the creature itself.

Fortunately, it wasn't very aggressive and mainly ate plants.

When most teams encountered one, they only had to take a detour. It couldn't be bothered to chase them.

This monster really was a loner. Other monsters couldn't get close to it even if they wanted to.

With that coat of fur protecting it, even flying monsters were powerless against it. It was only natural for it to dare drink by the river.

Bai Yang rubbed his chin and thought it over.

This monster would be perfect for him to devour. It was sure to boost his progress in the second stage by quite a bit.

It was rare to come across one, so he had to give it a try.

But it would be far too dangerous for the rest of the team. The information mentioned that the Steel-Spike Dragon had a desperate attack similar to "Ten Thousand Arrows Fired."

If he pushed it too far, he wasn't confident he could protect everyone.

So he said, "You should all head back. There's only one of it anyway, so I'll go after it alone this time.

"We've been out for more than twenty days. You can use this chance to return to Kunshan. Some of your spoils will rot if you don't deal with them soon."

The others naturally followed his orders. Bai Yang escorted them for a while, and after confirming they had reached a safe area, he said goodbye and left.

He took out the Spirit Energy Meter, unscrewed the back again, and put in the Steel-Spike Dragon fur they had collected earlier to begin tracking it.

"Oh? It really isn't far away. It's right at the edge of the Second Circle."

Bai Yang was thrilled. It couldn't get any better than not having to venture deep into the Second Circle.

There were several High-Level Lord monsters in every beast group in that area, along with at least several thousand, or even tens of thousands, of underlings.

He would need to reach at least the Advanced War God level in the third stage before he could hope to come and go freely.

Following the compass's directions, Bai Yang adjusted course after half an hour.

After taking a few detours, he finally found a fresh set of Steel-Spike Dragon tracks. They were very recent!

From here, if he climbed to a high place, he could already see the ruins of Lujiazui's towering skyscrapers in the distance.

This Steel-Spike Dragon seemed to have spent its whole life roaming freely, never having encountered any enemies.

It moved in no particular direction.

Unlike other monsters, it wasn't either hunting for food or being hunted.

It seemed to want to see everything and wander everywhere, looking completely at ease.

Bai Yang hurried along. After pursuing it for another twenty-odd minutes, he finally spotted it in an abandoned fountain plaza.

The Dragon Beast was white all over, with golden fur only at the roots. Its body really was ten meters long.

Its fur could stand on end at any moment, and most of the bristles were about half a meter long.

The plaza had once been paved with concrete, and it was now lying happily on the ground.

Its spiked tail swung up and down carelessly behind it, pounding the concrete until it flew everywhere. Its power was obvious at a glance.

Bai Yang made sure there weren't any other monsters nearby. Even if there had been, they would have been scared off by it.

He took out four Snake Fangs and repeated his earlier trick, sending them flying stealthily toward the creature.

Who would have guessed the Steel-Spike Dragon's fur was so incredibly dense, layered upon layer with no telling how many coats it had?

The moment the Snake Fangs touched its fur, countless needle-sharp bristles bounced them away.

"As expected, it won't be that easy." Bai Yang controlled the Snake Fangs as they flew back, but he wasn't discouraged.

The Steel-Spike Dragon and the Black-Line Snake really were worlds apart in ability.

Even at the same level, the Steel-Spike Dragon could leave the Black-Line Snake in dire straits with a single blow.

And the Black-Line Snake had practically no way to hurt it.

Bai Yang simply gave up on those little tricks and walked toward it.

When the Steel-Spike Dragon noticed him approaching, it didn't get angry. Instead, it widened its blue eyes curiously and stared at him.

It seemed it had never seen a human in a place like this before. Its curiosity outweighed its wariness.

As Bai Yang drew close, he suddenly used Psychokinesis to force its chin upward.

Then he stepped into a bow stance and drove a punch straight into the spot beneath its chin where its fur was thinnest.

The Steel-Spike Dragon's head only swayed slightly, then it immediately recovered.

Creatures above the Primary War God level all possessed powerful mental strength.

Psychokinesis could only control them slightly when they were caught off guard. They could then forcibly break free.

That was why, when he fought the Black-Line Snake, he had only been able to toss it into the air once while it was unprepared.

Bai Yang was secretly shocked. Along with his muscular strength, he had also used a technique to channel hidden force into its brain.

He hadn't expected it to take the blow as if it were nothing.

Its internal defenses were just like its outer defenses. There wasn't a single weak point.

This was bound to be a hard fight.

The Steel-Spike Dragon was a little angry after taking that blow. It raised its right claw and swiped at him.

Bai Yang retreated with the motion, dodging the attack.

Before he had even steadied himself, its tail swept toward him with incredible speed!

It could use feints, too?

Bai Yang lightly tapped the ground with his toes and sprang into the air, dodging that attack as well.

The two pulled some distance apart.

One had strong defenses, the other had great speed. After a round of fighting, neither had gained the upper hand.

Monsters' tough, thick hides were such a nuisance!

Bai Yang clenched his fists, pushed off the ground, and charged again.

This time, the Steel-Spike Dragon began to take the fight seriously.

Its two massive claws and its tail attacked Bai Yang from different directions, striking at him nonstop.

Every blow it landed was astonishingly powerful. The plaza's concrete had endured more than forty years of wind and rain with little damage.

But against the Steel-Spike Dragon, it was nothing. The entire ground was smashed to pieces in an instant.

Some spots were pulverized so thoroughly that not even a decent-sized chunk of concrete remained.

Bai Yang's fists were far smaller than its claws. After dodging its swipes, he managed to land solid punches on its body.

A continuous series of cracks rang out.

The blows didn't feel right. His fists had hit the Steel-Spike Dragon,

but its thick fur absorbed them, as if he were punching through countless layers of cushioning.

His punches had snapped countless long bristles, but the creature itself remained unaffected.

Who knew how long he would have to keep hitting it like this?

Now that he knew its steel-like bristles couldn't pierce his flesh,

Bai Yang steeled himself. "So you've got a lot of fur. Fine, let's see who lasts longer!

"I refuse to believe you can still take my punches once I've shaved you bald!"

Since it was a contest of brute strength, he stopped worrying about technique and used whatever force he could muster.

With strength enough to shatter stone, he unleashed punch after punch at incredible speed.

Bai Yang's punches now packed more than a hundred tons of force.

Thrown at such a high frequency, they were like a super-powered massage gun pressed against the creature's body.

The Steel-Spike Dragon cried out in pain under the relentless blows.