The Might of the Spined Iron-Armored Dragon

Hillman suppressed his aura completely. His feet landed on the soft humus without making the slightest sound. He gripped the Mist Pearl tightly, its pale gray glow swirling in his palm, clearing the churning mist within a three-foot radius and keeping his sense of direction firmly fixed on the canyon's outskirts. The Battle Qi within him still churned violently. His desperate battle with the Winged Bird Dragons had nearly exhausted his reserves, and now every breath burned, a faint taste of blood lingering in his throat.

The dragon's roars behind him drew ever closer. Its imperious pressure bore down like a tangible mountain, sending his blood surging and weighing down his steps. The cries of the Winged Bird Dragon flock had long since vanished without a trace. Clearly, they had sensed the overlord's towering fury and cowered in their nests, not daring even to breathe loudly.

[Ding! Warning! The Spined Iron-Armored Dragon is less than 300 meters from the host!]

[The Spined Iron-Armored Dragon is detected to be in an enraged state. Speed increased by 20%. Attacks carry a dark corrosion effect!]

[The host is advised to immediately use Earth Roar to hinder it and exploit the complex terrain to gain distance!]

The system's alerts sounded urgently. Hillman's gaze sharpened, and he was just about to marshal his remaining Battle Qi to activate his newly unlocked skill when a savage gale swept toward him from behind, accompanied by the whistle of flying stones and broken branches. His hair stood on end. Instinct drove him to roll sharply sideways, and a dark golden claw grazed his shoulder, sending blood spraying. Without losing its force, the claw slammed into an ancient tree so thick it would take outstretched arms to encircle it. With a sharp crack, the tree snapped. Faint black smoke rose from the break; the dark energy on the claw had corroded it to charred blackness.

Amid the flying dust, an enormous creature slowly emerged from the mist, its sky-blotting shadow instantly engulfing Hillman.

It was the overlord of Mist Canyon-the Spined Iron-Armored Dragon!

Over twenty meters long, it was covered in dark golden scales. Each resembled painstakingly polished, thousand-year-old refined steel, gleaming coldly through the mist. Sunlight filtered through the fog onto its armor, reflecting a chilling light that made the heart tremble. A row of sharp, half-meter-long spines thrust skyward along its back, radiating dense fluctuations of both dark and earth energy that slightly distorted the surrounding air. Its head resembled an enormous fortress. Lantern-sized, blood-red eyes fixed on Hillman with undisguised killing intent and brutality, while heavy breaths blasted from its enormous nostrils, whipping up gusts of wind. Saliva dripped between its knife-sharp fangs and struck the ground with a sizzle, corroding small pits even into the hard rock.

"Roar!"

The Spined Iron-Armored Dragon let out a deafening roar, its sound spreading outward like a tangible shock wave. The ground beneath them shook violently, great swaths of mist scattered, and several large trees lost all their leaves and branches to the sound waves, their trunks riddled with cracks. It lashed its thick tail. A full ten meters long, it swept toward Hillman like an iron whip, howling as it tore through the air.

Hillman did not dare entertain the slightest thought of taking it head-on. All his remaining Battle Qi erupted, and he kicked hard against the ground, shooting diagonally forward like an arrow loosed from a bow. The tail swept past his heels and smashed into the ground with an earth-shattering crash, gouging a trench several meters deep and over ten meters wide. Shattered stone flew, and dust filled the air.

"Earth Shield!"

Hillman gritted his teeth and cried in a low voice, forcibly drawing out the last thread of his Battle Qi to form a pale earthen-yellow shield before him. Heavy, rocklike patterns flowed across its surface, but the lack of Battle Qi left it somewhat insubstantial. He knew perfectly well that he was nowhere near the level of this draconic magical beast at the half-step Saint-level peak. Confronting it directly meant certain death. Only by using his skills to delay it for a moment could he find a slim chance of survival.

Seeing its attack miss, the Spined Iron-Armored Dragon's blood-red eyes flashed with a brutal crimson light. It drove forward with all four limbs, its enormous body charging at Hillman like a battering ram. Its dark golden armor streaked through the mist, pulverizing every tree and rock in its path with terrifying force.

Bang!

Hillman's Earth Shield collided violently with the Spined Iron-Armored Dragon's head.

A piercing crack rang out, and the Earth Shield instantly shattered into countless motes of light. A terrifying force surged through the shield, sending Hillman flying backward like a kite with its string cut. He slammed into the nearby cliff face with a heavy crash. Loose stones showered down, and he spat out a great mouthful of blood. An excruciating pain stabbed through his ribs; clearly, more than three had broken.

[Ding! The host has sustained severe injuries. Physical condition has dropped to "near death"! Multiple bone fractures, internal organ damage, Battle Qi reserves below 5%!]

[The Spined Iron-Armored Dragon is detected to possess extremely strong defense and extremely high attack power. The host's chance of victory is below 10%!]

[The host is advised to immediately use Earth Cage to restrict its movements and seize the opportunity to retreat toward the canyon's outskirts at full speed!]

The cold alerts rang through his mind. Hillman struggled up from the rubble, a strong, metallic sweetness rising in his throat. He forced himself not to vomit blood again. His vision had begun to blur, and blood kept flowing from his wounds, staining his robes dark red. Watching the Spined Iron-Armored Dragon approach step by step, its enormous body like a moving fortress, each footfall shaking the earth, a trace of resolve flashed in his eyes.

Run! I have to get out!

He slammed his palm onto the cold ground and, with the last of his strength, summoned every bit of power hidden within him. He roared, "Earth Cage!"

Rumble!

The ground within twenty meters of the Spined Iron-Armored Dragon suddenly heaved violently. Dozens of thick earth spikes rose from the ground, each a full three meters tall, trapping it at their center like a cage cast from iron. Dense earthen-yellow light shimmered over the spikes as they clamped tightly around its limbs and body, attempting to immobilize it completely.

"Roar!"

The Spined Iron-Armored Dragon roared in fury and exerted its limbs, its dark golden scales blazing with brilliant light. Its strength was simply too terrifying. The earth spikes, strong enough to trap an ordinary half-step Saint-level magical beast, snapped apart inch by inch under its brute force, cracking repeatedly as fragments of stone flew.

But that brief obstruction had already given Hillman a slim chance of survival.

He dared not linger for even a moment. Without so much as wiping the blood from his lips, he turned and sprinted toward the canyon's outskirts. His intermediate earth affinity talent worked at full power, enveloping him in a pale earthen-yellow glow. His figure blended into the surrounding terrain, every foot landing precisely where he could push off, bringing his speed to its limit.

Behind him, the Spined Iron-Armored Dragon's furious roar rang out again as it broke free of the Earth Cage. Its heavy footsteps pursued him like pounding drums, making the ground tremble faintly. But Mist Canyon's terrain was far too complex, filled with winding gullies and dense forest. With the Mist Pearl guiding him as well, Hillman's grasp of the route far surpassed that of the enormous dragon.

He deliberately chose narrow, densely wooded areas, weaving between the trees like a nimble cat. The Spined Iron-Armored Dragon was too large to maneuver in such places and could only keep crashing through trees and rocks, roaring furiously. Its enormous body smashed straight through ancient trees, snapping them, but this also slowed it down, gradually widening the distance between it and Hillman.

Time slipped by. Hillman's stamina drained rapidly, his wounds continued bleeding, and his vision grew increasingly blurred. The wind in his ears and the roars behind him gradually sounded farther away. His consciousness began to scatter, and only the instinct to survive kept him going. His legs felt as heavy as lead, and every step seemed to demand all his strength.

He did not know how long he had been fleeing when the mist around him gradually thinned. The strange, metallic-sweet smell in the air also faded considerably, replaced by the familiar fresh scents of humus and vegetation. Sunlight pierced the mist, scattering dappled spots of light across his face and bringing a trace of warmth.

[Ding! The host is detected to have left the bounds of Mist Canyon!]

[Due to its extremely strong territorial instincts, the Spined Iron-Armored Dragon has not continued its pursuit and has returned to the depths of the canyon!]

[The host has successfully escaped!]

The system's alerts sounded like heavenly music, and Hillman's taut nerves suddenly relaxed. He could no longer hold himself up. His vision went black, his legs buckled, and he fell heavily onto the soft grass, losing consciousness completely.

In the final moment before he passed out, he seemed to see that enormous dark golden figure standing at the edge of Mist Canyon, roaring in frustration and making distant leaves rustle. Meanwhile, the Mist Pearl clenched tightly in his palm and the few stalks of blue heart grass in his storage space gave off a faint glow, shining in the sunlight.