Chapter 219: Manipulating Soil |
Under the blazing sun, the Giant Rock Dragon's mottled, shadowy body was covered in crisscrossing marks of various sizes.
On its spine, some of the pillar-like crystals had fallen off, leaving behind scars the size of bowls or basins.
It roared. Qin Ziwen's legs went weak, and the hard soil beneath his feet seemed to turn into soft cotton.
Du Yu grabbed him and retreated several steps backward.
After leaving the spot, Qin Ziwen looked back at where he had just been standing. The ground was still the same, as if it had just been an illusion.
"Master, it wasn't an illusion. I could feel the soil under my feet soften a little at that moment," Du Yu's voice came from beside his ear.
Hearing this, Qin Ziwen's expression turned grave.
Sure enough, this creature was also a Superhuman being. If the Tarbosaurus represented the peak level ordinary creatures could achieve on land, then this Giant Rock Dragon had already transcended that category, standing at a higher level.
Just as the Crowned Eagle could manipulate air currents, this Giant Rock Dragon could influence the soil.
"Yes, Master." Du Yu was decisive. From the earlier probe, even an arrow hitting its eye hadn't caused obvious injury. This showed ordinary weapons could hardly breach the Giant Rock Dragon's defense. His staying here served little purpose.
Mounted on the Crowned Eagle's back, Qin Ziwen looked down from the sky. At the bottom of the ravine, the Giant Rock Dragon had already turned its body and was heading west along the ravine. About a kilometer to the west, there was a large gentle slope where it could ascend to the surface.
From this, it was clear it was familiar with the surrounding terrain.
Perhaps it had lived here for quite some time.
But what did it eat?
Qin Ziwen's gaze fell on the cave it had emerged from.
Perhaps the Giant Rock Dragon hadn't anticipated that its enemies would one day be able to fly.
"Crowned Eagle, lower the altitude a bit."
As the Crowned Eagle descended, the Giant Rock Dragon stopped moving. It let out a low growl.
It stomped its feet, shaking the surrounding walls and ground continuously.
But even so, it had no real way to deal with the one man and one bird in the air.
After a while, it seemed to realize this problem itself.
It stopped roaring, lowered its head, and continued westward.
"So anxious, yet still not using other methods. It seems it really doesn't have any long-range attacks." Qin Ziwen understood. Since it lacked long-range attacks, things were simpler.
When the Crowned Eagle hovered directly above it, he took out the bow, drew it, and shot an arrow.
The arrow avoided the prismatic crystals on its back, instead piercing into the spine, sinking about three inches deep.
But it was like being bitten by a mosquito. This nearly ten-meter-long Giant Rock Dragon continued walking on its own, its movements completely unaffected.
He took out another arrow. This time, he aimed at the sunken scarred pits on its back.
Thud!
The arrow sank in about halfway.
The defense here was indeed weaker.
The Giant Rock Dragon stopped moving.
It let out a low growl, then knelt down, rubbing its scaled spine violently against the rock wall beside it.
Chunks of sand, stone, and debris were ground off, falling onto its back.
When it stood up again, many of the scarred pits on its spine were filled with sand, stone fragments, and soil.
These fragments gradually melted, turning into mud that plugged the holes. From a distance, aside from the color being slightly different from the surrounding skin, it looked mostly fine.
Seeing this, Qin Ziwen was somewhat surprised. "It can do that? Hand-crafted mud-rock extensions?"
Looking again at the Giant Rock Dragon's thick layer of mud-like outer skin, he suspected this skin was actually a whole layer of this stuff smeared on, equivalent to wearing an outer shell of mud or ceramic armor.
That meant its resistance to fire might be even higher than imagined.
"But... being able to defend against fire doesn't mean it can withstand continuous roasting." Qin Ziwen pondered.
After emerging from the narrow passage at the end of the ravine, the Giant Rock Dragon found it still couldn't reach the Crowned Eagle in the sky. It screeched angrily.
The scorching sun also seemed hard for it to endure. After pausing for a moment, it turned its head and walked back into the ravine, returning to that cave.
The Crowned Eagle circled in the air for a while longer. After confirming the Giant Rock Dragon wouldn't come out again, it carried Qin Ziwen back to the Home.
On the return journey, they saw the others still on the road and descended from the sky.
"Master."
"Guild Leader."
Everyone gathered around.
"Mhm, that thing went back." Qin Ziwen nodded. He looked at Wei Yu. "The information was true. The Giant Rock Dragon is inside. I owe you a favor."
A team approached from the front.
Leading it was Zou Jianghe.
Zou Jianghe and Qin Ziwen exchanged a glance. Zou Jianghe's eyes flickered, and he averted his gaze.
The two groups passed each other. Qin Ziwen turned his head to look at their retreating backs. The direction they were heading was exactly the way he had come.
Zhao Pu said in a low voice, "Guild Leader, they might also be going to find the Giant Rock Dragon."
"Mhm, I guessed." Qin Ziwen's expression remained unchanged. He wasn't worried that Zou Jianghe and his group could kill the Giant Rock Dragon.
Based on the earlier test, he was certain most ordinary cold weapons probably couldn't even penetrate the Giant Rock Dragon's defense.
Especially since the Giant Rock Dragon seemed to have the ability to soften rock. In close-quarters combat, hand-to-hand, they definitely wouldn't have the advantage.
"If they want to go, let them test the waters." Qin Ziwen smiled faintly. Noticing the worry in Zhao Pu's eyes, he added, "The Giant Rock Dragon isn't that easy to deal with."
Behind them, after walking some distance, Zou Jianghe turned his head, looking at Qin Ziwen, who had become a small black dot on the horizon.
His brow furrowed deeply. Suddenly, he said to Huang Tao beside him, "I have a bad feeling about this. Maybe we should go back."
He prided himself on understanding Qin Ziwen to some extent. When they passed by earlier, the other party hadn't stopped them. This meant either Qin Ziwen thought they wouldn't find the Giant Rock Dragon, or he thought the Giant Rock Dragon was too dangerous for them to handle.
"Guild Leader, if we go back just like that, it would be a huge blow to your authority. Others will only think we're afraid of him. The members will have opinions," Huang Tao said in a low voice.
Zou Jianghe looked at him. "Then what do you think we should do?"
A smile appeared on Huang Tao's face. "Keep walking. But whether we find it or not is another matter. This news about the Giant Rock Dragon is just hearsay anyway. We don't know the exact location. Not finding it is perfectly normal."
"That makes sense. But what if we actually find it?" Zou Jianghe had come this time mainly to make an appearance, not really prepared to confront the Giant Rock Dragon.
He just wanted to show his face, demonstrating the responsibility befitting the leader of a "major alliance."
As for actually fighting the Giant Rock Dragon, he wasn't that arrogant. He couldn't even necessarily handle a Tarbosaurus, let alone a Giant Rock Dragon with a higher danger level.
Huang Tao offered an idea. "We can deliberately avoid the footprints they left on their way here."
After hearing this, Zou Jianghe's tightly furrowed brows suddenly relaxed. A flicker of appreciation flashed in his eyes.
He heavily patted Huang Tao's shoulder, lowered his voice, and laughed, "Good! We'll do as you say!"
Comments 1