The Legendary Dragon-Slaying Sword, Galapeya

Not far from the inn lay a stretch of marshland. Beyond it stood a mangrove forest, its branches lush and dense, wreathed in curling mist. Fang Heng climbed up from the ground and, without stopping to think, followed the others into the water.

The night was pitch-black, with only faint starlight filtering through the trees. The figures ahead were almost invisible now; only the distant splashing of water could be heard. Hong Ye was not far to his left, trudging forward through the water. To keep up with the others, she had already put away the Annihilators—besides, they could never pose any threat to that dragon anyway.

Etila was ahead and to his right. The elven girl carried a bow on her back and held a spear in hand, turning back from time to time to check whether Fang Heng was in trouble.

Fang Heng felt slightly flattered by her concern.

Farther ahead, the vague figures should have been Luo Yu and the Paparal. The latter was struggling through chest-deep water—at least, chest-deep for him. The tall trainee walked over, crouched down, and gestured for him to climb onto his back.

Parker complained once or twice that Paparal had dignity too, but he still obediently climbed on.

As for Tianlan, Jita, Hudi, and the others who had entered the water first, they had likely already gone into the mangrove forest. Their figures were completely gone from sight, leaving only a haze of mist in that direction.

Sylvid and her maid Shesta had long since vanished to who knew where. Fang Heng could not help grumbling to himself that the mistress and maid ran faster than rabbits.

Bringing up the rear were Wu Di and Liuli Yue. The latter was still complaining loudly, mostly about that "dragon that ought to go to hell." He kept rambling until Hong Ye finally could not stand it anymore. "Enough. Are you done yet—?"

Liuli Yue moved his lips, wanting to argue, but Wu Di added, "Stop talking." That made him shut up unwillingly, though he continued glaring at Hong Ye irritably.

Fang Heng looked back toward the mound. It seemed the people from the Scarlet Fire Guild were not all dead yet. A sudden flash lit up the darkness as the dragon breathed golden flames in the distance. The fire swept across the entire mound, reflecting brilliantly on the water like a blazing island.

The dragon paced through the flames as if searching for survivors. Then it suddenly raised its head and looked in this direction. Even from over a hundred meters away, Fang Heng could see that golden-red eye fixed on him.

Then it spread its wings and flew into the sky.

Fang Heng knew it was coming.

He immediately turned around and involuntarily quickened his pace. But moving through deep water was not easy. Mud clung to his feet, and water soaked the alchemist's robe, as though several hands were dragging him down.

Fang Heng struggled forward through the water, pushing aside reeds and mangrove roots. Countless water insects scattered in every direction. Most of them glowed faintly, like scattered stars in the dark, beautiful to behold—but he had no mood to appreciate them.

He knew there might be muddy pits lurking beneath the water. Some had formed naturally, but others had different "owners." Fang Heng could not help imagining horrifying scenes: sinking into quicksand the next moment, while rotting weeds underwater wrapped around his ankles and dragged him down.

Beneath the dark water lay heaps of white bones and pale, swollen faces, like corpses soaked in formaldehyde. One of those faces even opened its eyes, its ghastly white eyeballs resembling translucent insect eggs, with something inside breaking free from its shell.

Several fish brushed past his feet, startling Fang Heng into a cold sweat and snapping him awake. He realized he had fallen for the dragon's trick again. The Dark Dragon possessed an aura of fear that could endlessly magnify the darkness in people's hearts. So long as there was the slightest weakness, it would exploit it. It was especially effective against low-level characters like them.

The sound of rushing wind was already coming from behind. Ripples gradually spread across the water.

"Split up and run," Wu Di suddenly said in a low voice.

It was undoubtedly the best option.

The trainees were already at the front and had basically escaped danger. It was clearly impossible for all of them to survive. Splitting up and leaving it to fate was the best choice, at least ensuring they would not all be wiped out at once.

Everyone nodded and looked at one another. They had not known each other for long, but they had fought side by side.

"Take care, little brother. Remember to come to our guild," Hong Ye said, glancing at Fang Heng. With no time to say more, she sent him a communication code. "This is my communication ID. Good luck—"

With that, she turned and disappeared into the darkness, leaving only the sound of splashing water behind.

"Remember, we haven't finished our fight," Liuli Yue told him. "Don't think I'm afraid of you just because you can control Fairies. I'll be waiting for you at Silverwood Spear."

Fang Heng mulled over those words carefully before realizing this guy was pretty crafty too. But just as Tianlan had said, he was not going to Silverwood Spear. Not even if it killed him. He refused.

Wu Di remained silent, merely giving him a dead-fish stare. Yet Fang Heng felt there was something deeply meaningful in the way Wu Di looked at him.

As though he were looking at a fish waiting to be butchered on a chopping board—

Their figures gradually grew farther apart as well.

Fang Heng turned to Etila beside him. "Miss Etila, let's split up too."

Etila looked at him without refusing and nodded. Seeing those gentle, understanding eyes in the darkness, Fang Heng let out a huge sigh of relief. If it had been Miss Scarpe, he would probably have taken a chop to the neck just now.

But the elven girl merely put away her spear and headed in another direction. Before leaving, she turned back and said, "Be careful, Ed."

Fang Heng felt that the way Etila looked at him was strangely familiar. It reminded him of his days on Earth—his aunt and uncle, as well as that irritating cousin of his.

Silence returned to the surroundings, leaving only the chirping of insects.

A wave surged across the water toward him. Fang Heng hurriedly grabbed a nearby root and barely managed to steady himself. A black shadow swept overhead, its wind sending the mangrove forest swaying wildly.

The dragon was circling. Fang Heng knew it was confirming its target. He knew that target had to be him, and instinctively covered the back of his hand.

Not far away, several clusters of glowing crystals hung beneath the cage-like roots of a mangrove tree, illuminating the surroundings.

At first glance, they looked like the floating crystals—Gai—found everywhere in Aethelria. But they were actually the first dorsal spines and luminous skin flaps of a Swamp Anglerfish, a rare giant in the lower marshes.

Level twenty-two. Extremely skilled at camouflage, with no other weakness besides its slow movement. Anyone who came within five to seven meters of it was basically guaranteed to die. Fortunately, Fang Heng recognized the creature.

He nervously circled around from the other side.

Even at the outermost edge of Traveler's Marsh, danger was everywhere.

He did not know when the dragon would return, but it definitely would. From the moment Wu Di suggested splitting up, Fang Heng had understood the outcome. For everyone else, this was destined to be an adventure with more fright than danger.

But for him—

It was nine chances of death out of ten, perhaps even certain death.

He carefully made his way deeper into the mangrove forest, hoping to find a slim chance of survival amid the dense woods. Since the dragon had appeared in this region, it might have been a leader, but its level could not be too high.

No matter what, it was only a fragment of a dragon. In fact, it was merely the power of a broken horn.

As Fang Heng's thoughts ran wild, a prompt suddenly appeared faintly in the system window before his eyes:

ID--064212215H has requested to become your contact.

Fang Heng froze slightly.

He hurriedly looked down. Sure enough, there was a verification message beneath it: "I know who you are, Ed—"

Looking further down, he saw the signature: Wu Di. Fang Heng nearly stumbled headfirst into the water. At that moment, he finally understood how reliable that old saying was—dogs that bite do not bark.

No wonder Wu Di had looked at him that way earlier.

Just as he was at a loss, a gunshot rang out in the distance behind him, from the direction Wu Di and the others had gone. Fang Heng turned back and suddenly understood what Wu Di was doing. He was trying to lure the dragon away.

Unfortunately, Fang Heng did not know whether to laugh or cry.

It was useless.

Wu Di lowered the smoking Hand Cannon in his hand, equally surprised. He had clearly hit the dragon's right wing. The lead bullet had carved a long streak of sparks across it, yet the creature had not even glanced at him before flying directly north.

That was the direction Fang Heng had gone—

Fang Heng saw the dragon too. Its massive body and distinctive golden-red eye made it impossible to miss in the night sky. After making a graceful turn above the mangrove forest, it dived straight toward him.

At that moment, Fang Heng felt the mark on the back of his hand grow scorching hot and red. But he had no time to care. He turned and ran.

The dragon spread its wings and drew a straight line across the mangrove forest. Two trails of golden flame streamed behind its wings, and sparks rained from the sky. The moment they landed atop the mangroves, the trees burst into flames.

The entire swamp seemed to have been set ablaze, growing bright as day.

Another long roar rang out.

It felt as though the water itself had begun to boil and shake.

The Fairy Doll controlled by Miss Tata sat on Fang Heng's shoulder, clutching his collar tightly with her small hands. As he ran, her silver hair occasionally brushed against his face. It was then that Tata suddenly cried, "Watch out!"

Through her senses, Fang Heng had also caught a fleeting magical reaction above them. Why was there someone else in the forest? The thought had barely formed when a figure leaped down from a branch and pounced on him.

Fang Heng felt a pair of strong hands seize his throat, one hand pressing down his head and violently forcing him beneath the water. The muddy, fishy-smelling water rushed in from every direction. Before he could react, he choked on a mouthful.

Someone was trying to kill him?

His entire body tensed as he desperately struggled to raise his head. At that exact moment, the dragon descended from the sky. Its arrival seemed to activate the Crown Mark on the back of Fang Heng's hand. A brilliant flash burst forth, forming an enormous hemispherical shield. Not only did the dragon slam headfirst into it, but the force field also threw away the person pinning Fang Heng down.

Fang Heng looked at his hand in surprise, then turned back and finally saw what that person looked like.

It was an assassin wearing a mask, with a strange hooded top hat on his head. The force field had hurled him away, and he crashed heavily into a tree.

On the other side, the dragon was badly hurt as well. It was still shaking its enormous head. Diving down from dozens of meters in the air and slamming into a wall could not have felt pleasant. That much was easy enough to imagine.

Fang Heng watched the Crown Mark on his hand dim once more, but at least he now understood that it was not allied with either of those two. He looked once more at the large and small troublemakers, covered the mark with his hand, and ran in another direction.

The assassin recovered first. He grabbed the roots and climbed up, then ran along the sprawling branches of the mangroves, chasing Fang Heng from the canopy. Fang Heng kept looking back to judge the distance between them. The Magic Furnace behind the assassin had clearly activated, and the crystals on his boots and gloves glowed, allowing him to move across the branches as if walking on level ground.

From time to time, he grabbed a vine and swung forward like Tarzan.

Climbing Gloves and Balance Boots—

Not many people could use those two pieces of Battle Gear well. Even among assassins, perhaps one in ten could manage it. But being targeted by such a skilled opponent did not make Fang Heng happy in the slightest.

He suddenly recalled what Tianlan had told him during the day. Among Big Sis's group was an extremely powerful assassin.

That French girl was truly a walking jinx.

He ran for his life. Ahead stood a lone mangrove tree rising from the water. Everything around it had already become a raging sea of fire. Dragonflame even burned directly on the water's surface, refusing to die out.

The firelight overwhelmed everything, stretching the shadow of the cage-like roots long across the water.

Fang Heng calculated the distance.

The assassin finally arrived directly above him and lunged forward. Fang Heng abruptly stopped, causing the man to dive straight into the pool ahead of him.

He watched the man fall into the water with a splash, sending up a column of water.

At most, Fang Heng could give his diving posture three points. No higher.

The assassin struggled to stand again and looked at Fang Heng in confusion—Fang Heng had not run. Instead, he raised a hand and waved at him.

"Farewell!" Fang Heng shouted.

Then he turned and ran.

The assassin froze slightly. He scooped up his top hat, poured out all the water, and put it back on his head. At that moment, an enormous shadow engulfed him from behind.

He turned around and saw only a gigantic open mouth—the Swamp Anglerfish.

And its densely packed, razor-sharp teeth, like a whirlpool.

"Fuck!"

Those were the assassin's final words.

But Fang Heng was not doing much better. He had not run far before discovering another problem—this direction was the path he had come from, closer to the Traveler's Respite inn.

When he turned back, he saw an enormous shadow emerge at the edge of the mangrove forest.

The dragon had caught up.

Fang Heng froze in place.

Nicobolas's remnant soul raised its neck and looked down upon the tiny human. Its split jaws seemed to carry a mocking smile.

Triumphant light gleamed in its only remaining golden-red eye. It raised a claw, and its enormous shadow covered Fang Heng.

"So this is really my last life," Fang Heng could not help thinking as he closed his eyes.

But at that exact moment.

A brilliant beam of light suddenly tore through the darkness and struck the dragon squarely in the chest.

The dragon let out an earth-shaking roar, its entire upper body rearing back before collapsing backward. It crashed into the water with a boom, then rolled and struggled before climbing back up. Panting, it glared furiously ahead with its golden-red eye.

A low growl rumbled from its throat as it spoke for the first time. "You again, Xiuyode!"

The voice was a low, neutral female voice, filled with bone-deep hatred.

Fang Heng turned back in surprise and saw a tall figure emerge from the mist, holding a long sword.

It was the innkeeper—Mazak.

I overslept, haha. Tomorrow I should be able to move the update forward to around two o'clock. Yesterday my head was muddled, and I wrote the sword as an inch wide instead of a palm wide...