Chapter 50

Chapter 50: Misunderstanding

"Please calm down, old sir!" Mo Tan could almost feel the bone-chilling murderous intent behind him, and quickly turned around to try to appease him. "There must be a misunderstanding here. I'll help you..."

Vroom!!

The sound of something cutting through the air interrupted the second half of his sentence. The old orc, clearly out of his mind, yanked the starter cord violently, leaped into the air, and brought the chainsaw down with a spine-tingling aura, roaring vaguely, "Words are useless!"

Although Mo Tan managed to dodge the strike with a sudden dive, a deep gash was carved into the ground behind him. The screeching of the chainsaw was like a death knell, sending chills down both their spines. Even Cordova, who was far superior in all attributes, lacked the courage to turn and fight.

After all, they were the ones in the wrong!

"This orc..." Femigel the Azure Dragon's draconic eyes studied the old orc, now a chainsaw-wielding maniac, with interest. She remarked, "His physical condition seemed quite ordinary just a moment ago, but now he suddenly possesses such formidable combat power? Neither his strength nor speed should be achievable at his physical level."

Cordova dragged Mo Tan, scrambling and stumbling, to the dragon's side. He grabbed hold of Femigel's claw and roared hoarsely, "Let's go! Now!!"

Mo Tan didn't want to run, but Cordova had a firm grip on him and added seriously, "We can feel guilty later. If you stay now, you're dead no matter what!"

"Hold on!" Femigel muttered, "But I'm really exhausted, you know..."

Vroom vroom vroom!!

"Kill you... kill you..." Glittering drool dripped from the old orc's mouth. His eyes had lost focus, and he mindlessly yanked the chainsaw's cord, his entire demeanor sick and eerie. "Kill you... kill you!!!"

Femigel's expression suddenly shifted to shock. Her enormous eyes widened as she roared, "What kind of combat power is this?!"

Then she slammed her feet against the ground, flapped her wings wildly, and took to the skies in an instant.

Two minutes later...

"Kill you! Kill, kill, kill!!"

The old orc, standing frozen on the ground, muttered a few more words before his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed. After a moment, he began to snore contentedly. The engineering tool still clutched in his hand gradually stopped spinning and fell silent.

The surrounding area was a miserable ruin. The farm, destroyed three times in such a short span, looked like a war zone, steeped in indescribable desolation and sorrow.

...

High in the sky

"Ugh... ooh..." Femigel panted heavily, flapping her wings desperately. She looked utterly exhausted, and Mo Tan, hanging from her left claw, could even see her tongue lolling out.

Cordova, who was tightly clutching the other claw, let out a long sigh of relief and said with lingering fear, "We finally got away. Who exactly was that old man? Even you, Femigel, were panicked."

"It's actually not very strong—in fact, it could even be called harmless..." The dragon's voice trembled slightly. "But that guy's aura was just terrifying. Ugh, let's not talk about that for now. I'm really exhausted!"

Cordova curled his lip. "You're a dragon, aren't you? How can you get tired so easily?"

"I brought you, kid, all the way from Celestial Pillar Mountain here, then teleported myself back and flew back here in the shortest time possible!" The dragon panted heavily, completely undignified. "To go faster, I used five Gust Runes at once! And after landing, before I could even catch my breath, I had to take you two back up into the sky. Now I'm pretty much completely spent..."

As it spoke, its body suddenly tilted, and the entire dragon dangerously listed in midair before barely managing to regain its balance.

"Are you okay?!" Cordova was terrified, his face turning pale as he said, "Don't you dare pull some midair disaster on us out of whim! If we fall from this height, even if you and I are fine, my friend here will be smashed into a box!"

Mo Tan was also startled and quickly said, "Brother Dragon, hang in there!"

"I can't hold on much longer!" Femigel gritted its teeth as it flapped its wings desperately. "There's no way I'm making it back to Celestial Pillar Mountain today. Is there somewhere nearby where I can land and rest!?"

The dragon was indeed in bad shape. Mo Tan had previously seen records of Celestial Pillar Mountain in Meg's journal. Although that place was also on the Northwest Continent, it was quite far from Anka Market. On foot, it would take at least ten days to half a month to get there. Yet this giant dragon named Femigel had managed to make almost a round trip in just a few hours, and the second time seemed to be at full throttle. No wonder it was now practically panting with its tongue out!

He briefly recalled the simple map from the journal and suddenly said softly, "Underhill Ruins!"

"Huh?" Cordova blinked. "What did you say?"

Femigel, however, stuck out its tongue in satisfaction (it was too tired to nod), flapped its wings a bit more vigorously, and said weakly, "Good idea! Underhill Ruins is a great spot. Not only is it in the same direction as Celestial Pillar Mountain, but it's also not far from here. That's the place! You two hold tight!!"

With that, it mustered the strength it had used to break out of its egg back in the day, wobbling as it desperately flapped its nearly cramped wings and flew southwest...

...

At the same time, at Underhill Ruins

Amidst a stretch of broken walls and rubble, four people and one beast were locked in a standoff...

Wan Yang—or now he could be called Blazing Sun—was panting heavily as he stared at the massive beast before him. He was drenched in sweat as if he had just been pulled out of the water. In front of him, two orc warriors stood ready, holding up their enormous Tusked Shields.

Behind the three battered individuals stood a frail old orc, his face lined with wrinkles. He held a bone staff in one hand, carried a massive black totem on his back, and wore a snow-white priestly robe that was clearly too large for him, seemingly dozing off with his eyes half-closed.

"Mentor!" Blazing Sun turned back with a bitter smile to look at his withered mentor, who also bore the title of Great Priest, Mondo Pan, and called out anxiously, "At this rate, no matter how much the Ancestors try to guide us, it's useless! The three of us really can't hold on much longer!"

The latter, however, shook his head slightly, gently stroked the bone staff in his hand, and said softly, "On the journey to the Holy Mountain, every trial has its meaning, child. Remember, you are a War Priest..."

Then he fell silent.

Blazing Sun really wanted to cry. He was indeed a War Priest, and in the eyes of these NPCs, a promising new one at that, but the key issue was that all the skills he currently possessed were support-type, and their usage conditions were absurdly ridiculous...

Even though the two Tribal Warriors beside him were not weak, the Sub-Dragon Species in front of them was not something that could be easily taken down by orc warriors who had only been buffed with Bloodlust!

"Roar!!" The Sub-Dragon Species, which had a trace of Rock Dragon Bloodline, let out a roar, and its body, resembling that of a rhino ancestor, was immediately covered in a layer of earthy yellow film. This was one of the few innate abilities it could use, with a single purpose: to make itself more resistant to attacks!

Fortunately, that was the case, because if this thick-skinned, high-defense, and powerful beast had a couple of offensive skills, Blazing Sun and the two Tribal Warriors would have likely been dead by now.

Its massive head lowered, and the Armored Dragon Beast began to paw the ground with its front limbs—a sign that it was about to charge!

Striking the war drum hanging at his waist twice, Blazing Sun cast Bloodlust on the two in front of him and immediately shouted, "You two, spread out! Try to see if you can flip it over from both sides! I'll hold it off!"

"But, Priest Lord..."

"Just do it! I won't die anytime soon!"

"Yes!!"

After the two in front of him moved aside as instructed, Blazing Sun pulled a bone dagger from the outside of his boot and slashed it fiercely across his arm, sending a spray of hot blood into the air.

The Great Priest behind him revealed a faint, barely noticeable smile...

Skill activated: Bloody Battle Mad Song!

The handsome orc with long red hair seemed to struggle with his expression, but as the enemy began its charge, he let out a hysterical roar:

"The river flows eastward!!!"

A faint red mist continuously seeped out from his pores, then instantly flowed back, coating his exposed skin with a layer of blood-red hue!

"The stars in the sky, All Together Now!!!"

His right arm suddenly swelled a full size as he slammed it forward, his Strength nearly doubling in an instant, allowing Blazing Sun to forcibly halt the Armored Dragon Beast's charge before it could fully build up momentum. Though the impact sent him coughing up blood and knocked nearly half his Health Points away, he still managed to stop the enemy in its tracks!

"Heh heh heh heh!" Blazing Sun's rather handsome face was inexplicably flushed red, and he grabbed on with his bleeding left hand as well, pinning the creature firmly in place: "All Together Now!!!"

The Armored Dragon Beast let out a low, furious roar, and just as it was about to fling off this tiny thing making all that noise, a wooden post slammed into its head, leaving it seeing stars!

"Sworn brothers~~!" Blazing Sun pressed his head low, wielding the Totem Pole he'd just pulled from his back, and swung it wildly at the face (or head?) of this low-level Sub-Dragon Species: "A bowl of wine!!"

The two Orc Warriors beside him were ecstatic, howling as they charged in, shouting encouragement: "Nice one! The Priest is mighty!!"

The Armored Dragon Beast was, after all, only a weaker Sub-Dragon. After the yellow membrane on its body was shattered by the two burly men in no time, it finally showed signs of defeat. Struck on both sides of its torso, it let out a deafening roar, desperately opening its mouth wide to spew something out, only for Blazing Sun to roar back, "You have, I have, everyone has!!" and ram the pole right back down its throat.

Then...

A clear, resonant dragon's roar suddenly rang out from the sky!

Blazing Sun, who had just thrown away his shame and was about to revel in his triumph, felt his legs go weak. Was this really happening—bully the young one, and the old one shows up?

Just as this Sub-Dragon was about to be taken down, a pure-blooded one arrives!?

Muttering "Heh heh heh, everyone has," Blazing Sun looked up, and sure enough, he spotted a massive figure in the sky not far away—clearly a genuine Giant Dragon!

And with its wings flapping urgently and its roars growing louder and more piercing, it was obviously rushing over from afar to help!

"Blazing Sun, all of you fall back!" The Great Priest, who had been resting with his eyes closed, spoke softly. Then, he lifted his arm—barely thicker than a twig—and with one hand, hoisted the massive Totem Pole behind him, which was at least two and a half meters tall, and slammed it down in front of him with a thump: "This is no longer a trial you can endure!"

The three immediately released the badly wounded Armored Dragon Beast and scurried behind the Great Priest.

"That Giant Dragon's emotions are very unstable." Great Priest Mondo sighed, then gently tapped the Totem Pole in front of him: "I need to calm it down before I can communicate... Earth Spirit, hear my call..."

The air suddenly grew heavy, and then Blazing Sun and the others saw a dark yellow halo appear in midair. It hovered briefly above the Great Priest before spreading outward toward the dragon, whose oppressive presence was growing stronger by the second!

The dragon reacted quickly, letting out a clear roar in response: "Damn!"

That dragon roar just now... how could I understand it myself?

Blazing Sun was momentarily stunned, then witnessed an incredibly shocking scene.

The giant dragon swept by that halo trembled all over, then plummeted straight down from midair!

【The Great Priest's power is terrifyingly formidable!】

The two Orc warriors beside him were instantly dumbfounded. Turning back, the Great Priest, whose expression was somewhat stiff, suddenly appeared much more towering and majestic in their eyes!

"Master, your power is boundless! Invincible in attack, unbeatable in battle, your might sweeps the central plains, your divine abilities are vast, may you enjoy eternal blessings and live as long as the heavens!" Blazing Sun didn't hesitate either. He immediately turned around and knelt before his great master.

But why did the great master now look utterly bewildered...?

"Are you insane?!"

The dust not far away gradually dispersed, revealing the ice-blue adult giant dragon roaring loudly in their direction: "I've been flying for so long, almost exhausted to death on the way. I finally found a place to land just now, and you knock me down for no reason?!"

...

So this giant dragon wasn't here to cause trouble?

Sweat immediately appeared on the Great Priest's forehead. He waved his hand repeatedly and said, "Misunderstanding! We were just dealing with a ferocious Sub-Dragon Species. I accidentally injured you just now—my sincerest apologies!"

The two tribal warriors exchanged glances, their admiration growing even stronger. No wonder he was the Great Priest—look at how flawlessly he spoke!

"Oh~ So you guys were fighting monsters?" Another voice sounded from beside the giant dragon's foot. Then the group saw a tall, humanoid figure covered in dust walking over. As he passed the Armored Dragon Beast, he stopped.

The sharp, gleaming, and pointed "staff" was raised high. Cordova nodded at Blazing Sun and the others, then turned and smashed the still-dazed Sub-Dragon's head, causing blood to splatter. He shouted loudly, "Then let me assist you all in battle!"

Chapter 50: The End