Pursuit
Under the bright, flickering torchlight, there were traces of the chaos that had occurred, such as blood and remnant flesh.
It was obvious that before having its meal, the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon had toyed with its food.
At this sight, the faces of the adventurers around darkened.
Outside of this site, there was a long line of bloodstains, causing it to appear as a bloody trail.
“Follow it!”
With Jenny’s command, the group lifted their torches and did as asked.
Twilight Zone was underground and was shrouded in darkness all year around. However, the surviving humans had yet to evolve and have night vision, thus, torches were one of the essential items when exploring in the Twilight Zone.
“The footprints are more concentrated here!”
Baelin lifted his torch with one hand, the other tightly grasping the handle of his steel sword. His joints had turned a little white from using too much strength.
A piercing stench was beginning to pervade the air, to the point that Baelin associated it with the time he had worked at a horse stable when he was younger.
Next, with the illumination by everyone, a small hill made of black rocks appeared. At the foot of the hill was a large cave that extended deeply into the side, hollowing it out.
“We can’t fight it in its lair. We need to lure it out!”
Jenny decided after looking.
With this dim lighting, it was bound to affect the Dragon-Blooded Flower Bud if they were to fight in the small lair. If the bud was damaged, there would be no point even if Jenny and the rest killed the dragon.
“Don’t worry, the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon has very low intelligence and is very sensitive to the smell of blood. We can use that and set up a trap.”
James stood out at this moment and under his command, the adventurers set up a simple trap outside the cave.
As resources were limited and they couldn’t alert the Earth Dragon inside, James chose the simplest trap — poison!
A black being that looked like a goat was forced to drink an entire bottle of a red potion, and was laid across the cave. Its four legs were tied together, and its main artery was slashed open causing fresh blood to spurt out. A small puddle of blood was quickly formed on the ground.
The adventurers beside it had long since put out their torches and patiently waited aside, not even daring to breathe loudly at this point.
Baelin’s hands were on his sword, glancing at Jenny, who was extremely nervous, and James, who looked grim. He himself looked determined.
*Thud thud! Thud thud!*
Only ten or so minutes passed, but in the hearts of everyone present, it felt like centuries had passed. Finally, just when the adventurers were beginning to get impatient, dull footsteps and slight tremors of the ground could be felt.
“It’s here! Get ready!”
The adventurers who were lying in wait outside ducked their heads, retrieving their weapons and bow and arrows, aiming them at the mouth of the cave.
“Hah...”
The sounds of heavy breathing resounded, followed by an increase of the concentration of the strange smell by more than ten times! The goat that was bait could only give a miserable shriek.
*Crunch! Crunch!*
Along with the sounds of chewing, the bleating of the goat stopped.
“Is this the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon?” As he was now a Knight, Baelin’s eyesight was very good. With just the faint light, he could somewhat see the figure of this monster.
This monster was about fifteen to sixteen metres long, and its four thick limbs supported its large body, its sharp claws scratching out a long straight line on the ground.
Above its yellow eyes, two curved black horns were grown, like the symbol of a demon.
With the opening and closing of its mouth, sharp teeth constantly meshed together and chewed the goat into bits, flesh and blood flying.
“On my command. Go!”
James swung his arm, and a rock the size of a fist was thrown to the side of the dragon.
*Rumble!*
Next, large amounts of light and warmth were produced from the stone, like a sun that had fallen to the earth.
Radiance dispelled the darkness and descended upon this piece of land.
“Roar... roar...”
Under the intense glare of the sunlight, the adventurers present closed their eyes, tears on the verge of falling.
The Goat-Horned Earth Dragon that was used to a life in darkness roared instantly became enraged.
“Quick! It has now been temporarily blinded. Move!”
Baelin was clear that when these beings used to the darkness suddenly came into contact with light, they would definitely be blinded for a period of time due to not being used to it, and this was the best time for them to make their move!
Besides, the function of the sun stone was to fill the area with light, which made it more helpful in allowing the group of them to exhibit their abilities!
“To create this chance, Potter Town gave out a year’s supply of sun stones. What a waste!”
There were definitely many adventurers who thought the same way as Baelin, but this thought passed through their minds for a brief moment. Then they roared, brandishing the weapons in their hands and charged towards the huge monster in the middle of the site.
Under the illumination of the light, even the brown scales and veins on the muscles on the back of the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon could be seen very clearly.
*Xiu Xiu!*
The first to attack was a group of mercenaries with bows and arrows. They were obviously a team, wearing a set of uniform with ice-cold glints of their iron arrows being emitted.
The sharp arrowheads brought with them tremendous force as they pierced into the back of the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon.
*Ka-cha!* The Earth Dragon constantly snarled, and most of the arrows were flung away. However, there were a few that obstinately stayed on its back.
“Kill!” By this point, the adventurers had also charged to the front.
“Roar, roar!” The dragon thundered, suddenly turning back and flicking its tail!
The tail was like a large mace sweeping across the area, and the mercenaries that charged up flew away. A few were struck by the tail, and their blood dyed the sky.
“What an astute sense of hearing and smell!” Baelin exclaimed in admiration. The eyes of the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon were very small and had almost completely degenerated. With the sudden piercing bright light, it couldn’t see anything at all, but all beings that lived in the darkness naturally had their unique ways of distinguishing other objects.
Baelin stepped away, dodging the sweeping motion of the steel tail and raised his sword, a thin ring of light produced around him.
“Cross Blade!” In a moment, he used Leylin’s secret killing technique for cross blades.
The immense light formed a cross, slashing towards the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon that was still snarling.
The fierce, immense air pressure attracted the attention of the Earth Dragon and it lifted its right forelimb, mercilessly clawing in Baelin’s direction!
Large black claws clashed with the cross-shaped light, and the sound of glass shattering could be heard in the air.
“Roar...” The Earth Dragon kept snarling, its large black claws disintegrating the move and smacking towards Baelin.
“How powerful and quick!” Baelin exclaimed in admiration and used his sword as a shield in front of him.
*Dang!*
The large claw and steel sword clashed, producing a loud sound and shock wave. Baeflin felt an immense force transmitting from the sword and the sword was almost sent flying.
“Ah!” He gritted his teeth, holding onto the sword for dear life, using the force from the dragon to fall back.
*Roar!* The Earth Dragon was clearly enraged, once again brandishing its steel tail and chopping two mercenaries that had charged forward in two!
The two mercenaries howled, their halved bodies still squirming on the ground, intestines spilling out onto the ground. This gory scene immediately intimidated the rest of the mercenaries and adventurers and they retreated, not daring to take a step forward.
“What should we do? James, that Goat Honed Earth Dragon is almost about to return to its cave. We need to think of a way!”
“Soon! Soon!” James now had his eyes fixed on the dragon, constantly chanting.
“Roar!”
At that moment, the body of the Earth Dragon that had almost halfway returned suddenly changed! Bubbles of pus began to swell and burst, revealing yellow pus.
“Woo woo...” The Earth Dragon’s voice became low and it began to wail in anguish.
“This is a high-energy bacteria solution especially brewed for the Goat-Horned Earth Dragon. It can lower the defence of its epidermis!”
James briefly explained to Jenny, quickly chanting some incantations.
A powerful undulation from energy particles was constantly produced from the old man, who had only seemed to be a butler.
“This is... a mysterious expert! So, Lord James is actually an esteemed Magus!” The adventurers around exclaimed.
In the subterranean world, Magi were widely known and worshipped.
“Mostar Corrosive Ball!” As the incantations ended, James waved his right arm.
A large blue ball arced in the sky, precisely landing on the back of the dragon.
The blue ball spread out, turning into large amounts of sky blue liquid that mixed with the yellow pus. Immediately, it produced a large amount of heat and began to corrode downwards.
“Roar!” The Earth Dragon’s pitiful shrieks increased in pitch, and large amounts of steamed flesh fell from its back.
“What are you waiting for? This is the moment where its defence is at its weakest!”
James placed his hands behind him, looking like an expert. The adventurers seemed to have just awoken from a dream and charged forward once again.
This time, with James’ work, the Earth Dragon’s speed dropped, and the skin and scaly defensive layer had mostly disappeared. The mercenaries could easily slash and create a gaping wound with their weapons.
In just a moment, the entire situation was reversed.