Slaying the Dragon

Things did not go as he wished. Bai Mo failed to find the blade blank. Perhaps the poisonous smoke was affecting him by then, too. Constantly driving his power to resist the smoke was nothing short of slow suicide. Bai Mo would rather let his mind be affected than give up the power he could use to fight back. He would not stake his life on the venomous dragon being fooled into doing nothing until he escaped this sea of fire.

Besides, he needed time. His body needed time.

Bai Mo said to Atalanta, "We have no choice. We can only take a gamble, Atalanta."

Atalanta nodded, then quickly ran off with the Golden Fleece, leaving Bai Mo standing alone.

The venomous dragon saw Atalanta run away. It knew perfectly well that this might be a human trap, but it did not want to give up this chance. If it could reclaim the Golden Fleece, victory would be assured.

Bai Mo pressed his palms together and closed his eyes, gathering strength while constantly working his body.

Atalanta ran through the raging fire. Fierce pain burned across her skin, her eyes could barely stay open, and her head swam, as though she might fall asleep the very next second.

Yet she kept running without hesitation, step after step. Watching Bai Mo grow farther and farther away, the venomous dragon suddenly focused its gaze, beat its wings, and displayed a giant dragon's absolute strength and speed as it lunged to bite Atalanta.

Almost simultaneously, Bai Mo began to move. His eyes had regained their clarity.

The human body had always been constantly adapting to its environment. After encountering bacteria and viruses, it would begin producing antibodies, and the bodies of magnetic field experts were even more formidable. As long as a virus did not kill them outright, their bodies would produce antibodies in a very short time.

Bai Mo only had Electric Current Push, but fortunately, this dragon's deadly poison was unlike Hydra's venom. This dragon's poison was slow-acting.

So he had time. Once his body had adapted to the poison, Bai Mo began gathering his power again. In an instant, he shot forward like a cannonball, but how could he possibly make it across that distance in time?

Yes, Bai Mo could not make it in time, but he still chose this method.

Because at that moment, he was not fighting alone.

A twang rang out amid the raging flames, followed by a sonic boom tearing through the air. A huge arrow shot straight at the venomous dragon's head! Its tip gleamed coldly, coated in equally lethal venom. The dragon reacted extremely quickly, narrowly dodging the strike.

Amid the flames, Heracles stood proud, his muscles like solid rock. He drew his massive bow, then took his stance again.

This was Bai Mo's original plan. When he threw out the blade blank, Jason and the others could not possibly have missed it. But they needed time too. Medea needed time to cure everyone's poisoning. Heracles, the strongest among them, recovered first. Though he could not see where Bai Mo and Atalanta were, the blade blank's flight had already marked the direction for him.

Heracles quickly circled around, arrived here ahead of time, and nocked an arrow on his bow.

They had not communicated, yet they understood one another, staking victory on each other. If Bai Mo had tried to break out with Atalanta, the venomous dragon would have remained in the air, guarding against arrows. In the end, they could only take a dangerous approach.

Of course, Bai Mo would not put all his eggs in one basket, so he gave the Golden Fleece to Atalanta. She could use it to defend herself, and the venomous dragon would not subdue her so easily.

Though this risked the creature seeing through the plan-if it did and turned to attack Bai Mo, he would be in danger-what battle came without risks? These stakes and returns were enough for Bai Mo to gamble on.

The venomous dragon was horrified. It immediately prepared to rise into the air while spewing poisonous smoke, not daring to breathe fire for fear of harming the Golden Fleece.

And by then, Bai Mo had arrived.

"It's too late to leave now!" Bai Mo stepped onto its back once more. This time, he wrapped his arms around the dragon's neck and held it in a crushing choke. The dragon felt the agony of suffocation, unable to keep spraying poisonous mist. Then Heracles drew his bow into a full moon once again.

One arrow! Two arrows! Three arrows!

One to the head, one to the heart, one to the wing.

The venomous dragon was like a falling leaf. No matter how it beat its wings, it could not stop its descent. It fell to the ground.

Bai Mo fell with the dragon. As luck would have it, the blade blank was nearby. As he dropped, he guided himself to land near it and picked it up again.

The next instant, something changed abruptly. The venomous dragon let out a fierce roar. It was life's final cry, a roar filled with venomous hatred, a declaration that it was ready to disregard its life and stake everything on one last fight.

Raging flames surrounded the place like an arena. The warrior raised his weapon, the beast bared its claws, and within this cage, they began their final desperate struggle.

"Now, let's start fighting to the death again," Bai Mo said calmly, raising the blade blank as fire burned in his eyes.

In an instant, the venomous dragon breathed fire while scuttling forward like a lizard. The raging flames burned everything. Bai Mo did not retreat in the slightest. He summoned a whirlwind to protect himself and charged straight into the fire.

The dragon opened its jaws to bite. Bai Mo swung his blade straight at its teeth. Sparks flew as the blade blank struck them, but the next instant, the dragon spat out a mouthful of blood, forcing Bai Mo back.

Once poisoned by Hydra's venom, one's blood would also carry it. In mythology, this very thing had killed Heracles. Bai Mo did not dare be overconfident and pulled back.

The venomous dragon felt its life flickering like a candle in the wind. Having seized the initiative, its attacks became incomparably fierce and vicious. Its sharp claws rained down like a tempest, striking showers of sparks from the blade blank.

This can't go on. I have to find an opening.

With that thought, Bai Mo plunged straight into the sea of fire. Wind protected him, and ice and snow resisted the scorching heat. The next instant, he circled behind the venomous dragon, gathered strength in his legs, and swept past in a single strike. The dragon's scales shattered, leaving a hideous bloody gash across its body.

He was not finished. Like a three-dimensional pinball, Bai Mo desperately squeezed out his power, his figure darting back and forth through the sea of flames as his blade blank fell again and again. The venomous dragon could not locate him or keep up with his speed. It could only take the blows. Soon, the flesh on its back had been shaved away, exposing stark white bones.

It was going to die. Even if it defeated the human before it, its injuries were too severe. There was no way it could survive. By then, pain could no longer affect it. Gradually, it could no longer feel it. What could it feel?

It was sensing Bai Mo. At the end of its life, it entrusted everything to a beast's instincts, trusting its senses to predict Bai Mo's position.

The next instant, the venomous dragon unleashed the last strength in its claws and lunged in one direction, opening its jaws wide. It was ready to bite down on this enemy one final time, then kill him with Hydra's poisonous blood!

Its senses were right. Bai Mo was right before it. His repeated bursts of power had already brought his speed to its limit. At that moment, Bai Mo could play it safe and forcibly change the direction of his charge. The price might be temporarily losing the use of one leg.

The venomous dragon before him was already a spent force. Dodging this strike was the right choice.

Bai Mo's gaze sharpened. Without slowing down, he charged straight toward the dragon's enormous jaws, fearless before a powerful enemy. At that moment, his heart told him to trust his own strength. If he lost the use of this leg now, he would surely become a burden on the retreat out of Colchis.

Besides, why should I fear it? If I fear even this hurdle, if even this thing can take a leg from me, how can I talk about becoming stronger? With that kind of resolve, what right do I have to be strong?

"You beast, your only end is to die by my hand!"

Bai Mo advanced without flinching. His blade blank struck the ground first, letting him flip up into the air and evade those deadly jaws. Then, using the force of his leap, he brought his next slash down hard on the venomous dragon's skull. At that moment, its hard skull shattered like a crushed biscuit. Blood flowed from its seven orifices.

It was dead. In the end, it had exhausted all its strength and burned its life away in that desperate struggle, but it had still died by Bai Mo's hand.

Bai Mo let out a breath. He had never felt so unburdened inside.

"Good thing I read so many comics before and knew a few special tricks. I never expected them to win me the fight at the critical moment. Sure enough, what you do in the past lays the groundwork for the future."

Bai Mo muttered to himself, then, utterly exhausted, prepared to lie down. To hell with the raging fire or being in enemy territory. He needed some rest.

Bai Mo felt himself leaning against something soft. He looked back and saw Atalanta, then said, "Looks like I didn't break my promise. As long as you're alive."

Atalanta said somewhat helplessly, "Stop forcing yourself. Heracles, give me a hand."

Bai Mo smiled wryly. "No need. I can walk."

But after only a few steps, he stumbled over something.

Looking back, he saw an arrowhead. It was from Heracles's first shot, its shaft burned away.

When Heracles saw it, he pulled out the arrowhead, tore off a piece of cloth to wrap it in, and tossed it to Bai Mo.

"That's good luck. It stopped you from continuing to act like a fool. You should keep it safe."

With a helpless expression, Bai Mo caught the arrow and left with Heracles and Atalanta supporting him. Medea had already prepared horses. Now that the dense forest guarding the Golden Fleece had turned into a raging blaze, everyone reapplied the invisibility ointment and galloped toward the Agor.

"You're a grown man, and you can't even ride a horse?"

Atalanta was somewhat speechless, but Bai Mo truly had no riding skills. In the end, she could only share a horse with him. Fortunately, the horses Medea had prepared were all excellent stock, or they really would not have managed the load. The spare horse carried Bai Mo's blade blank.

Bai Mo felt the wind brush his cheeks. He felt the person in front leaning against him.

Atalanta said quietly, "Thank you. If it weren't for you, I probably would've died here."

Bai Mo thought nothing of it and said quite naturally, "We're comrades. We've come all this way together. I won't abandon anyone from the Argo."

Atalanta's eyes seemed to dim a little at that. She answered with a casual "Mm," then focused on driving.