Chapter 3: Departure (Part 1)
The two golden-haired giant apes remained motionless, instead directing their subordinates to attack the Earth Dragon. Guo Shieru couldn’t help but wonder: Even if the mutated Earth Dragon was severely injured, it was still dangerous, yet these giant apes attacked it recklessly, disregarding their own lives. Could there be some feud between them?
Guo Shieru was puzzled. “Are these giant apes stupid? Even if the Earth Dragon is badly wounded, it wouldn’t be hard to wipe them out. Why are they attacking so frantically?”
Nanyou solved the mystery with just one sentence. “They’re hungry!”
Guo Shieru was speechless. He had also noticed it. Seeing those giant apes leap onto the Earth Dragon’s back and eagerly dig into its flesh, he realized just how hungry they were.
Nanyou said, “If it were you… would you choose to starve to death or fight desperately? Which would you pick?”
Guo Shieru replied, “Heh, there’s no need to choose.”
Nanyou said, “Exactly. That’s why they’re attacking the Earth Dragon so fiercely. This place… feels really eerie. I wonder if we can find a way out.”
Guo Shieru laughed. “No problem. We’re the Lost Squad. It’s abnormal to find our way out; it’s normal not to.” Yingmo and Luozhan burst into laughter. The handsome old man shook his head and cursed, “Damn brat.”
Nanyou smiled. “I admit, I’ve never gotten lost in my entire life. It’s only been a few years since I joined you, and I’ve already started my ‘lost’ career. I have to say… the Lost Squad truly lives up to its name.”
Guo Shieru gave a bitter smile and stopped talking, turning his gaze downward.
In just a few minutes, over thirty giant apes died, but more than twenty managed to climb onto the Earth Dragon’s back. If the Earth Dragon hadn’t had wounds, its defenses would have been too strong for the giant apes’ claws to break through. But with those wounds, the Earth Dragon suffered greatly.
The twenty-plus giant apes dug into the wounds and drank the blood, driving the Earth Dragon into a frenzy. It twisted wildly, knocking the giant apes who hadn’t yet climbed aboard into screaming agony.
Nearly half of the over a hundred giant apes died, with another dozen seriously injured. Finally, the two golden-haired giant apes moved. They leaped forward abruptly; one of them rushed at the Earth Dragon’s head, letting out a series of shrill howls with terrifying intensity, making Guo Shieru’s eyelids twitch.
The Earth Dragon lunged forward, shook its head slightly, and its horn extending from the back sliced toward the golden-haired giant ape at an astonishing speed, instantly passing through its abdomen.
That golden-haired giant ape-man threw a fierce punch, colliding head-on with the sweeping unicorn horn.
Boom!
The golden-haired giant ape-man let out a shrill roar as one of its arms turned into a mist of blood as bones shattered. The unicorn horn scraped across its chest, leaving a deep wound—its scale armor utterly unable to withstand it, with blood spraying everywhere. This single strike dealt it severe damage.
Another golden-haired giant ape-man grabbed its companion, leaped upward, and quickly rushed onto the earth dragon’s back. It pushed aside a black-haired giant ape-man, threw the severely injured golden-haired giant ape-man into the wound, then turned to attack the earth dragon’s head. It appeared extremely enraged.
The earth dragon’s unicorn horn was meant to protect its neck, so when the golden-haired giant ape-man charged, the horn swung back and forth above its neck, emitting a harsh whistling sound that drove back the attacking ape-man. The earth dragon let out a thunderous roar—it seemed to realize that delaying any longer could truly be fatal.
The remaining giant ape-men desperately tried to climb onto the earth dragon’s back, where there was not only food but also greater safety.
Guo Shier said, “Those giant ape-men are insane!”
Nan You said, “They only pose a threat to things that can’t fly. They’re incredibly strong and ferocious. If a master of the altar were on the ground and had to fight such opponents, it would be very difficult to win.”
The mutated earth dragon clearly grew weaker, its roars gradually fading.
Eagle Demon said excitedly, “The earth dragon is about to give up!”
Guo Shier suddenly exclaimed in surprise, “Hey, look at that severely injured golden-haired giant ape-man—it’s actually starting to recover!”
The golden-haired giant ape-man was gulping down the earth dragon’s blood and eating its flesh, its wounds rapidly healing.
The handsome old man said, “There’s nothing strange about that. The flesh and blood of a level-15 mutated earth dragon are highly nourishing, containing immense vitality… Did you notice? A few black-haired giant ape-men have silver streaks appearing in their black hair.”
Just then, the earth dragon roared and suddenly knelt on the ground. Then, it did something no one expected—it rolled on the ground.
With a body nearly a kilometer long and an unknown weight, this roll was even more astonishing than the collapse of a small mountain range. One after another, the giant ape-men were crushed into meat pies; only a few clever ones managed to dodge, while the rest were crushed by the earth dragon’s massive body.
Guo Shier exclaimed in horror, “Damn, that’s brutal!”
Only one golden-haired giant ape survived this disaster. The golden-haired giant ape on the back of the Earth Dragon had its upper body crushed and hung by its wound on the dragon’s back. The sole surviving golden-haired giant ape let out a shrill roar.
Apart from that one, there were still two black-haired giant apes and one white-haired giant ape left. In terror, the three giant apes fled desperately into the distance, and even the golden-haired giant ape’s roars couldn’t bring them back.
Nanyou said, “This tribe of giant apes is completely finished.”
Just as the golden-haired giant ape roared in grief and anger, the Earth Dragon suddenly turned its head and bit down at lightning speed.
The golden-haired giant ape leaped away, but it only managed to dodge half of the attack—its lower body was caught in the Earth Dragon’s massive mouth, with its legs tightly gripped. The giant ape screamed in pain, frantically scratching with its claws. The Earth Dragon shook its head violently, and the golden-haired giant ape was like a broken toy doll, its bones cracking one after another.
The Earth Dragon threw the golden-haired giant ape upward, stretched its body forward slightly, and bit down. With a crack, it crushed the giant ape and swallowed it in a few bites. By then, the Earth Dragon was exhausted; its limbs went limp, and it knelt on the ground. Its thick neck seemed unable to support its head, which crashed to the ground with a loud thud.
Guo Shier said, “Alright, it’s our turn to act.”
Nanyou asked doubtfully, “Attack now?”
Guo Shier nodded. “There’s no better opportunity than this. We can’t bear not to fight… We can attack from a distance. The Earth Dragon is badly injured; it probably can’t use magic attacks. Hehe, how could we miss such a chance to strike without a counterattack?”
Nanyou said, “Fine, you take the lead, and I’ll support you.”
The old hero said, “Don’t rush. This guy seems about to pass out… Hehe, wait a bit longer—maybe we can directly extract his soul!” With his rich combat experience and extensive knowledge, Guo Shier trusted him greatly.
After waiting for a few hours, Eagle Demon, who had been observing, whispered, “It’s closed its eyes! It seems to be asleep.”
The old hero said, “Let’s start!”
Guo Shier felt a bit like a thief. He quietly lowered the altar and hovered a hundred meters above the mutated Earth Dragon. He knew that entering the Earth Dragon’s attack range would be extremely dangerous—the creature was too huge, and even a slight touch would be fatal for him. But giving up was out of the question. He carefully released the tentacles of Guxi Bi.
The handsome old man began to rapidly chant spells, with countless virtual talismans merging into Gu Xi Bi’s tentacles. Guo Shier stared intently at the Earth Dragon below. He cast another spell, striving to extend Gu Xi Bi’s tentacles further. By then, Nan You had already flown outside and sat on the altar, staying on high alert.
Guo Shier slammed his hand hard on the top of the altar, then cast yet another spell. Immediately, Gu Xi Bi’s tentacles pierced into the Earth Dragon’s body.
Roar!
The Earth Dragon, still unconscious, had its soul stirred, causing it to let out a roar. But its injuries were too severe. Though this roar scared Guo Shier and the others to sweating, it had little effect—it remained unconscious, its soul as well completely trapped in slumber.
The handsome old man kept saying, “A great opportunity, a great opportunity…” He fervently summoned numerous virtual talismans to strengthen Gu Xi Bi’s tentacles, enabling them to pull the Earth Dragon’s soul out of its body more gently.
The poor Earth Dragon, having endured two battles in a row, had exhausted all its strength. Coupled with prolonged fasting, its body was extremely weak. Although Aberrant Talisman Beasts were incredibly powerful, their huge size posed a significant burden, and without food for a long time, their bodies weakened even further. As its soul was pulled out, it still failed to regain consciousness.
It wasn’t until all of its soul was extracted that the intense pain woke the Earth Dragon up—by then, its soul had already left its body. Once separated from its massive body, no matter how strong the Earth Dragon was, it paled in comparison to Gu Xi Bi, empowered by countless virtual talismans. The power of Soul Devouring Beasts was extraordinary. No matter how high the Earth Dragon’s original rank had been, it could no longer struggle. It was like a shark—no matter how fierce it is in water, it’s nothing once on land.
The handsome old man repeated, “Luck, pure luck… I never expected the Earth Dragon to be so badly injured. Haha, a Level 15 Aberrant Earth Dragon… Even in our time, it was a rare treasure, definitely one of the best sacrificial offerings…”
A moment later, the Earth Dragon’s soul was placed inside the altar. The nearly a kilometer-long body of the Earth Dragon lay lifeless on the ground. The handsome old man said, “Hurry! Collect it quickly… While it’s still fresh, put it in the altar right away.”
Without the space of the altar, it would take at least a month or two to deal with such an Aberrant Earth Dragon, and many useful materials would be lost. There could be no interruptions either—if a few powerful Aberrant Talisman Beasts or altar experts showed up, it would be a huge problem.
Guo Shier replied and immediately began collecting the corpses on the ground. It was indeed difficult to bring a nearly thousand-meter-long corpse onto the altar; it took several hours before he finally managed to collect this precious Abnormal Earth Dragon.
A hint of envy appeared in Nan You’s eyes. Guo Shier smiled and said, “You’ll get your share; I’m collecting it on behalf of everyone.”
The old man also said, “Your Virtual Form Altar can’t hold such a huge Earth Dragon.”
Nan You nodded. Of course he knew that without Guo Shier, he wouldn’t be able to obtain the essence of the Earth Dragon at all. Even if the Earth Dragon died, he could only collect some materials from it, having to give up most of them. Since his altar hadn’t yet taken solid form, it would be fortunate if it could hold even one percent of the materials from a nearly thousand-meter-long Earth Dragon body, which was as big as a small mountain range.
There was a lot of blood on the ground, and of course the old man wouldn’t give it up. He asked Guo Shier to suspend the altar ten meters above the ground and start purifying the blood. After several hours of work, they obtained over thirty drops of essence blood. The old man said, “It’s still a waste; it’s a shame… Those giant ape men have become mere flesh and bones, leaving nothing behind.”
The ground was in chaos, with countless huge footprints and deep marks left by the Earth Dragon’s thrashing. Standing on the altar, Guo Shier said, “These two Level 15 Abnormal Symbol Beasts will greatly boost our strength. Hehe, getting lost like this isn’t so bad,” he joked amid the hardship.
The old man said, “Kid, you’re in charge of finding the way. I’ll deal with these two corpses. Haha, these two corpses will keep me busy for a while, and I can get a lot of good things from them.” With that, he retreated into the altar.
Guo Shier stared in the direction where the giant ape men had disappeared. Nan You smiled and said, “Those giant ape men… aren’t worth our effort. Compared to Abnormal Symbol Beasts, their essences and materials are insignificant.”
Guo Shier was speechless. After a while, he said, “I didn’t intend to kill those giant ape men. I was just thinking… about how to get out.”
Nan You said, “We have enough supplies and time to search. Hehe, with the flesh and blood from these two Level 15 Abnormal Symbol Beasts we just got, we’ll have enough to eat for many years.”