Chapter 138: The Great Battle Against the Dragon

Hearing Ye Dong announce his intention to face the Mud Dragon in single combat, Master Wei and his men were stunned. "Is He Wentian mad?"

Though they struggled to process his words, they could not help but be overwhelmed by his courage and grit. After all, a man who dared to confront a giant dragon face-to-face was worthy of respect.

"Hahaha! Good! I’ll help you!" Lichang roared with laughter. He picked up his machine gun and fired at the creature's lower body. Seeing this, the others followed suit, intentionally or not, pulling their fire back to force the dragon to shift its attention to the man standing closest to it: Ye Dong.

"Roar!"

The Mud Dragon let out another furious howl, swiveled its body, and charged straight at Ye Dong.

"It’s actually coming for me!? Good, I was worried you wouldn't! With the dragon's body as cover, I’ll have to pull out every trick I’ve got!" Ye Dong’s eyes flashed with intensity. He was no longer the nervous rookie who trembled upon entering a police station.

"Awooo!"

Accompanying a soul-shaking dragon roar, the beast lunged.

"Perfect, the position is just right!"

Ye Dong aimed at a protrusion on the dragon's spine and hurled his grenade.

"What is he doing!?" Le Cheng watched in astonishment as Ye Dong moved toward the dragon rather than away from it. "Is he trying to jump onto its back!?"

"Boom!"

The grenade struck the dragon’s spine exactly where it dipped toward the ground.

Master Wei and the others suddenly realized his plan. "Of course! How else could he find the dragon's weak spot? Even if he found it, someone had to charge in to strike it!"

"Awooo!"

With its vital point hit, the dragon grew frantic and enraged. It opened its massive maw, lunging at Ye Dong as if it intended to swallow him whole to satisfy its fury.

"There must be some kind of talisman beneath that layer of mud! Your panic only proves I’m right!" Facing the gaping maw, Ye Dong sneered. He pressed the trigger on his grappling device, and the hook shot out, latching firmly onto the dragon's spine.

Just before the dragon’s teeth could snap shut, the device retracted the line. With a sharp "whiz," Ye Dong was yanked swiftly onto the dragon's back.

"The guy is actually that skilled!" Lichang muttered. "Looks like his daring run through the 'Eight Extremes' wasn't a lie."

The mercenaries watched in awe. "He Wentian was hiding his true colors all along! How much training must he have endured to possess such skills?"

Chen Yong let out a deep breath. "True enough. I never expected his body to hold up this long. I’m incredibly envious!"

Before they could say more, the group began coughing violently, suffering the backlash of the special dog blood they had consumed.

While they marveled, the battle on the dragon's back intensified. The dragon whipped its head around, spitting a torrent of mud directly at Ye Dong.

"Feeling threatened now!? Come on, you foul beast, chase your grandpa!" Ye Dong laughed wildly, sprinting across the dragon's head.

"Crash!!!"

The mud missed, slamming into the wall with a deafening thud that shook the chamber.

The dragon was massive, and its charge was usually unstoppable, but half its body remained pinned by Huang Wuchang. It wasn't as agile as its size suggested, and the split second between the movement of its head and its body was enough for the nimble, superhuman Ye Dong to cover ten meters.

The dragon twisted its body, trying to shake him off.

"In your dreams!"

Ye Dong gritted his teeth. Whenever he was on the verge of falling, he would jam the dagger Lichang had given him—and his own Hell-Flame Dagger—into the dragon's hide to anchor himself.

"Stinking dragon, your massive size is your advantage, but it’s also your weakness!" Ye Dong clearly understood the situation. "I have unfinished business; I’m not letting you eat me here!"

Watching Ye Dong’s ferocity, Huang Wuchang marveled silently. "This kid He Wentian has the skills, the guts, and the talent. If he could apprentice under me, I’d be like a tiger granted wings!"

The dragon thrashed, its roars coming in waves. Unnoticed, the gash in its spine began to slowly heal.

"Not a chance! Trying to buy time for your armor to mend!?"

"Watch me shatter your life force!!!"

Ye Dong grinned, let out a roar, and threw his second grenade at the crack.

"Boom!"

The explosion’s power proved stronger than the dragon’s healing ability; the gash remained clearly visible.

"As long as that crack is open, I have a chance to kill you!" Ye Dong scrambled back and forth on the dragon's head. Several times he nearly slipped, only to recover at the last second, leaving Master Wei and the others watching with bated breath.

"It seems He Wentian is really risking his life," Le Cheng gulped. "No wonder Master Wei said not to provoke a madman like him. When he goes crazy, there’s nothing he won't do!"

Master Wei nodded repeatedly. "I never imagined this madman was the real deal. He says it and he does it—I truly admire his guts!"

"Awooo!"

Seeing Ye Dong’s agility, the dragon grew frantic. With a roar, it spat two more streams of mud.

The mud was swift and fierce. As Ye Dong dodged, a drop of the scalding substance splashed onto his calf.

"Ah!!!"

The mud acted like liquid fire, instantly melting his pants and eating into his muscle.

"Damn it, that burns!"

The agonizing pain forced Ye Dong to scream, and he collapsed onto the dragon’s massive back, struggling.

"Freeze spray, freeze spray!!"

In his agony, a thought flashed through his mind. He grabbed a canister of freeze spray and blasted it onto his wound.

Freeze spray—a new type of analgesic widely used abroad for immediate first aid after accidents—was designed to reduce inflammation, stop bleeding, and prevent swelling, allowing the injured to receive immediate treatment. It was convenient to carry and simple to use.

"Hiss."

As soon as the wound cooled, the dragon tried to repeat its move, hoping to finish him off.

"Damn you, you think you can kill me like this!? Keep dreaming!"

"Boom! Boom!"

Ye Dong narrowly avoided two more streams of mud, which blasted two massive holes into the stone walls.

"One more hit and I’m done for!"

Enduring the searing pain, he summoned every ounce of his strength to scramble toward the crack. Suddenly, a purple talisman appeared in his vision, tucked deep inside the mud-filled cavity.

"Damn it, it’s this spiritual charm causing all the trouble! I’ll tear you to pieces!"

Ignoring the pain in his leg, he roared and leaped into the mud-hole, driven by sheer desperation.

Seeing Ye Dong dive into its own body, the dragon panicked. It was truly desperate now!

"Awooo!"

The dragon abandoned all pretense of pride, thrashing wildly, trying to buck Ye Dong out.

"Spread out! Spread out! The Mud Dragon is going berserk!" Master Wei knew from experience that the creature had lost its mind.

"Awooo! Pfft!!!"

With every few roars, the dragon spewed plumes of mud. This indiscriminate, dense attack was the most troublesome kind—it didn't distinguish friend from foe; it was attacking for the sake of destruction.

"Rumble!"

The stone corridor, already magnified dozens of times, was instantly turned into a chaotic mess, filled with searing, man-eating mud.

Unlike spirits, the mud was physical. Physical threats couldn't be countered by spells alone; surviving them required speed, agility, and pure stamina. Several of the mercenaries were already exhausted, and in this rampage, two more were lost.

"Damn, is it going nuclear?" Ye Dong reached out to tear the talisman away, but suddenly realized he was about to make a fatal mistake.

"This is a Purple Talisman, a level higher than the Yellow ones. If I tear it with my bare hands, I’ll be hit by the backlash! This is bad!"

"No choice! I have to channel the Samadhi True Fire into the Hell-Flame Dagger! Inside this dragon, they can’t see what I’m doing!"

In the crisis, Ye Dong acted.

"Flame burns the demons, Samadhi slays the evil, thunder hidden within, the Thunder God’s name, obey my command!"

"Boom!"

A dense wave of Samadhi True Fire erupted from his heart and flooded into the Hell-Flame Dagger.

"Boom!"

The dagger transformed from a cold, shimmering blade into a weapon of hellfire. With the Samadhi True Fire engulfing it, both Ye Dong and the blade reached a new level of power.

"Master, you said this was the fire of hell—today, I’ll use it to send this evil dragon back where it belongs!"

"Go to hell, you stinking dragon!!!"

Ye Dong screamed, slashing the Hell-Flame Dagger down onto the purple talisman.

"Awooo!!!"

With its life force struck, the dragon let out a cry of pure agony. Its body slammed against the walls, and the fangs and evil spirits embedded in its form wailed, clawing frantically toward the black energy ripple Huang Wuchang was holding!

"Damn it, a death throe?!" Ye Dong held the blade steady, refusing to be shaken off!

A brownish-yellow energy surged from the purple talisman, wrapping around the dagger and quickly constricting Ye Dong’s body.

"I didn't realize there was a trap here. Damn it, the designer must have a heart as black as coal!!!"

Even with the protection of the Samadhi True Fire and his superhuman constitution, Ye Dong felt the freezing, venomous chill of that energy.

"Ah!!! It hurts and it’s freezing!!!"

The energy swirled, enveloping him in seconds.

"If this keeps up, I’ll go down with this thing! Damn it, I haven’t even married Huiyan yet; I can’t die like this!"

"Ah!!!"

Enduring the endless torment, he roared with blood-stained teeth. Using the crack in the dragon's body as leverage, he swung the Hell-Flame Dagger in a desperate, final strike, carving out the entire dragon’s spine!

"Awooo!!!"

The dragon shrieked, thrashing violently. It slammed against the walls, and the entire stone corridor swayed like a drunkard.

"Did it work!?"

Seeing the dragon enter its final, frantic state, even Huang Wuchang was shocked. He wasn't worried for his own life, but if the dragon kept thrashing, his own men would be buried with it!

"Evil dragon, you still dare to struggle!?"

Huang Wuchang released his "Mount Tai" hold and flew toward the dragon's severed torso.

"Wind and thunder move at my command, earth spirits and demons obey my will, obey my command!"

The incantation poured from his lips like a torrent. An invisible, immense force instantly pinned the thrashing body to the ground.

"Awooo!"

Having taken a fatal blow from Ye Dong and now suppressed by the crushing force of Huang Wuchang’s summoning, the dragon’s body twitched a few times before falling still. It lay there, completely silent, as if it were truly dead.

"A dragon dies the moment its spine is severed."

Chen Yao’s lesson echoed in Ye Dong’s mind. Looking at the massive, scarred carcass, he finally let out a breath and slumped to the ground.

"I wonder if anyone wants to hire me for 'How to Train Your Dragon'?"

Ye Dong lit a large cigar, puffing away, feeling as if he had just lived through another lifetime.

"Stinking dragon, remember—my name is Ye Dong."

Ye Dong sneered internally, clutching his trusty Hell-Flame Dagger, and began to walk toward Huang Wuchang.