Absolute Zone Zero: Please call me the Dragon of Annihilation

Chapter 44 The Dead End, the Empty Battle – The Descent of the Demon Dragon

"Tsk! This is troublesome."

Ming Che frowned, his fingertips unconsciously tightening their grip on the handle of the Dragon Abyss Black Gold Spear. His amber dragon eyes warily swept over the special skeleton that had suddenly appeared before him—the creature had a twisted ethereal howitzer barrel on its left arm and an ethereal-corroded horse-slaying sword in its right. It was surrounded by a strange, gray mist, its silhouette barely visible within the mist, clearly not someone to be trifled with.

His gaze swept quickly over the Dead Road Butcher beside him. The man's body was expanding at a visible speed, and the etheric patterns on his body were flashing wildly. He was obviously undergoing a second-stage transformation. Two completely different ferocious auras intertwined, causing the surrounding etheric air to tremble slightly. Mingche's brain was working at high speed, already thinking about how to deal with this battle where he was attacked from both sides.

Just as Mingche was at his wit's end, the calm and steady electronic voice of the Dragon Soul suddenly came through the earpiece: "An unknown individual has been detected. The energy fluctuation intensity exceeds that of a regular special-grade individual. It is recommended that the host first probe the opponent's attack pattern and defensive weaknesses so that this artificial intelligence can collect data for analysis and deduction."

Ming Che first glanced at the Dead Road Butcher, whose bones were cracking and who was about to complete the second stage of transformation, then turned to look at the few people who were leaning against the broken wall not far away, panting and obviously had lost their fighting ability. A resolute look flashed in his eyes and a clear solution instantly came to his mind.

He wiped the dust from the corner of his mouth and shouted at the top of his lungs toward Nekomata, "Nekomata! Lycan! There's a stable spatial rift fifty meters behind you. My men are guarding the evacuation train on the other side of the rift. Take the wounded and head there to meet them immediately, then leave the void area right away! The battle that follows is not something you can interfere with!"

“But, Your Majesty the Dragon Emperor!” Lycan, supported by Ellen, was pale-faced and wanted to say something more, but was interrupted by a slap on the shoulder from the cat: “No buts! If you dawdle any longer, no one will be able to leave! Meow!”

Before the words were even finished, the cat turned around and nimbly picked up little Kelin, who was huddled in the corner. With a light tap of its toes on the ground, it dashed off in the direction Mingche had indicated.

Little Cocoline was startled by the sudden feeling of weightlessness and stared wide-eyed. She froze on the cat's shoulder, staring blankly at Lycan and Ellen getting further and further away behind her. For a moment, she forgot to struggle and could only let the cat carry her and quickly move through the jagged pile of rubble.

Seeing this, Lycaen and the others no longer hesitated. Supporting each other, they staggered and ran after the cat demon. Although they didn't know how Ming Che would deal with the two ridiculously powerful Yi Hai, they knew even better that Ming Che never spoke without certainty. Since he told them to evacuate, he must have a way to resolve the crisis on his own.

“Miss Nekomata…please…please put Corinne down.” Sensing that Lycan and the others had caught up, little Corinne spoke timidly, her weak voice trembling slightly, “Corinne…can walk by herself.”

Upon hearing this, the cat deliberately bounced little Coco on its shoulder, causing the little girl to tense up instantly, her voice trembling with tears: "Please...please don't do this, Coco will be scared."

Feeling the small body trembling slightly on his shoulder, the cat's lips curled into a sly smile. He leaned close to little Colleen's ear and deliberately lowered his voice to tease her, "Colleen, you smell so good, like a sweet matcha cake. I really want to devour you in one bite. Meow~"

"Waaah—! Please...please don't eat Cocolin, Cocolin doesn't taste good..." Little Cocolin's voice was already filled with sobs, her body was trembling even more, her eyes instantly turned red, and large tears were welling up in her eyes, about to fall.

Sensing the little one in her arms was about to cry, the cat quickly abandoned her playful mood, patted her back, and softened her voice to soothe her, "Sweetie~ Don't cry, don't cry! I was just teasing you, nobody wants to eat you. Meow~"

Little Kelin sniffed her red little nose, tears welling up in her eyes, looking so pitiful that the cat completely lost its desire to tease her. She turned her head and glanced at the battlefield behind her, her gaze landing on the tall figure standing alone in front of the two skeletons.

My mind involuntarily recalled that post about Mingche on the Rope Net Hot Talk forum—the post said that during the time of the Hollow of Crete, a mysterious person, with only one gun, instantly killed a notorious beast, and the earth-shattering pressure made even the boundary of the Hollow tremble.

Cat knew very well just how terrifying Mingche's combat power was. If he were really pushed to the brink and launched that level of attack again, not only would these two skeletons be reduced to rubble, but the entire hollow area would probably be razed to the ground. Even if they retreated to a hundred meters away, the aftershocks would be something they couldn't withstand.

"Crack! Crack!—Roar!!!"

A sickening, bone-grinding sound suddenly erupted, shattering the cat's thoughts. The Butcher of the Dead Road's spine burst open, and two thick, ethereal arms covered in hard carapaces stretched out from the crack. Its ethereal energy surged several times over, and a violent shockwave whipped up a shower of debris. It slowly rose to its feet, its three-meter-tall body standing like a small mountain, and let out a deafening roar at Ming Che.

The raging air currents made Mingche's clothes flutter wildly. A resolute glint flashed in his amber dragon eyes as he spoke in a deep voice into the headset: "Dragon Soul, detect whether there are any life forms other than ours within a 500-kilometer radius."

His voice carried a chilling killing intent more than usual. A few seconds later, the Dragon Soul's electronic voice sounded precisely on time: "Scan complete. No human life signs detected within a 500-kilometer radius."

Mingche took a deep breath, a muffled echo reverberating in his chest. He raised his hand and pressed the red button above the alloy box behind him. A series of mechanical sounds, "click—hiss—", rang out, and the right hatch of the box slowly opened, revealing three metal canisters filled with a ghostly blue ethereal liquid, steadily pushed out by the built-in mechanical supports.

Ming Che casually pulled out one of the bottles, the cool metallic touch spreading from his fingertips to his limbs. As he moved, the mechanical support retracted automatically, and the hatch of the alloy box slowly closed, returning it to its original state.

He glanced down at the gleaming metal can in his hand, sighed softly, and said with a hint of helplessness, "I didn't want to do it this way, but you... forced me to."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ming Che landed back on the ground, pulled out the Dragon Abyss Black Gold Spear that had been stuck in the rubble, carefully wiped the dust off the spear, and then slowly put it into the alloy box behind him.

After doing all this, he reached out and twisted open the metal can's sealed lid. Intense ethereal energy instantly filled the air, carrying a cool, refreshing scent. Ming Che tilted his head back and swallowed the black liquid flowing from the can without hesitation. The icy liquid slid down his throat and transformed into a scalding heat in his chest, frantically washing over his limbs and bones.

"Glug... glug..." The swallowing sound was particularly clear on the empty battlefield. Before long, the metal can was empty. Ming Che let go of it, letting the empty metal can fall to the ground with a crisp "clang". The can rolled a few times in the pile of rubble before coming to a stop.

He raised his hand and used his tactical glove to wipe away the remaining etheric liquid from the corner of his mouth. His chest heaved violently, and wisps of warm air carrying etheric light occasionally escaped his mouth. Each breath was accompanied by a heart-pounding energy fluctuation.

With a hoarse voice, Ming Che ordered into the headset, "Hoo... Dragon... Dragon Soul, immediately jam all surrounding surveillance equipment. The following scene... may be inappropriate for children..."

Before he finished speaking, a series of cracking sounds came from his body. Ming Che raised his hand, unlocked the locking mechanism of the alloy box on his back, and gently placed the box on the flat ground beside him with a dull thud.

He stood still, slowly lowering his head. His amber dragon eyes, under the frenzied influx of etheric energy, were rapidly dyed crimson, like molten iron. The meridians within his body, like awakening dragons, bulged and pulsated with the contraction of his muscles. His bones emitted a series of crackling sounds, deforming and reforming at a visible speed.

A pair of dragon wings covered in dark gold scales suddenly stretched out from his back. At the same time, two ferocious dragon horns grew upwards from his forehead—only the tip of the left horn was broken off cleanly at the root, the scales at the break point rough and uneven, the very mark left by the white fox's sword. The dragon wings closed, completely enveloping his body, transforming into an oval-shaped cocoon of flesh.

The etheric energy around the cocoon instantly became violent, surging like boiling water, with dense energy fluctuations spreading wildly in all directions from the cocoon as the center.

"Thump! Thump!..."

A deep, drum-like heartbeat emanated from the fleshy cocoon, each beat carrying a soul-shaking pressure. As the heartbeat continued, the cocoon expanded, growing stronger with each beat. The pressure emanating from this primal, superior being was clearly felt even by the two skeletons nearby, who shifted their feet restlessly and let out uneasy growls.

The violent heartbeat only gradually subsided when the flesh cocoon swelled to the size of the Dead Road Butcher.

The mysterious skeleton, unable to contain itself any longer, launched the first attack. It suddenly raised the ether grenade launcher on its shoulder, and the barrel instantly lit up with a blinding blue light. An ether shell, carrying violent energy, was fired from the barrel with a sharp whistling sound, and slammed straight into the flesh cocoon.

"Bang! Rumble—!!!"

A deafening explosion rang out, blinding flames and billowing smoke instantly engulfing the cocoon of flesh. Debris and shockwaves swept through the area, even sending the Butcher of the Dead End staggering backward.

Just as the mysterious skeleton was shaking the cannon barrel, seemingly confirming the results of the battle, the next second—

"Roar--!!!"

A deafening dragon roar suddenly erupted from the depths of the smoke!

The raging air currents, like an invisible giant hand, instantly tore apart the pervasive smoke. Two scarlet vertical pupils, as red as molten iron, pierced through the chaos, their sharp gazes like unsheathed blades, locking onto the two skeletons ahead.

The combat suit that had once fit him perfectly was now torn to shreds by his swollen body, turning into pieces that scattered in the air. Mingche's body was completely covered in dark golden dragon scales, with dark purple ethereal light flowing along the edges of each scale. As he breathed, thunder rumbled faintly beneath his skin, emitting a low hum.

From his back, jagged yet undistorted bone spikes burst forth from the earth, extending along his spine to firmly support a pair of sky-covering dragon wings. The wing membranes were covered with patterns resembling ancient incantations, and with each flap, they stirred up gales powerful enough to overturn boulders, scattering pebbles across the sky.

What is most striking are the dragon horns on his forehead—the right horn is tall and sharp, shimmering with a dark gold luster, while the left horn is broken off at the root, the jagged mark at the break point particularly glaring in the flowing light. That old wound is like a brand etched there, constantly reminding people of that fierce battle with the white fox.

Mingche's head completely transformed into a dragon's head. Its sharply defined features lacked any ferocity or terror; instead, they exuded the majesty of a supreme ruler who looked down upon the world. He slowly raised his scale-covered forepaws, the sharp tips gleaming with a cold light, enough to easily tear apart the hard defenses made of ether.

"Roar--!!!"

Another dragon roar shook the heavens and earth, this time no longer a suppressed howl, but a domineering intimidation. The surrounding ethereal energy instantly went out of control, like a tide finding its home, frantically converging towards his body.

Even the Dead Road Butcher, who had completed the second stage of transformation, trembled uncontrollably under this terrifying pressure, his two newly grown ethereal arms flashing with a rare fear.

The fully transformed Mingche slowly lowered his head, his scarlet vertical pupils devoid of any emotion, only showing indifference towards his prey. He tilted his head slightly, his thick dragon tail flicking gently, the tip slamming into the ground with a whooshing sound, creating a deafening roar and sending up a large amount of gravel.

The battle has only just begun.

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(End of this chapter)