Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 362 Battle Against the Dragon
Lieutenant Horn stared wide-eyed, completely unable to believe what he was seeing.

Not only him, but the other crew members on the Sky Eye also watched as the drop pod flew rapidly out of the hole, and then, as if a volcano had erupted, roaring flames shot into the sky and completely engulfed the drop pod.

But it wasn't over yet, because then they saw a huge dark shadow emerge from the cave entrance, and at the same time, Levi's voice came through the radio.

"Fire!"

"Fire!"

Lieutenant Horn was jolted awake and hurriedly gave the order. The next moment, the anti-aircraft guns at the bow and stern of the Eye in the Sky and the howitzer in the center of the ship, which had been ready to fire, roared and bombarded the cave entrance!
"———————!"

Almost simultaneously, the dragon leaped out of the cave, its eyes squinting at the blinding light of the searchlights outside. But the dragon was not worried; it was so strong, so powerful, that mere humans were utterly incapable of…

"boom!"

The high-explosive armor-piercing round whistled past and struck the dragon heavily. It then exploded suddenly, and a huge impact tore through the dragon's incredibly hard, impenetrable scales, causing the dragon to fall backward to the ground with a roar filled with pain!

Who is it? Who dares to harm me! A foolish mortal? Or one of those arrogant mages? Whoever it is, they will pay the price!
The dragon spread its wings, attempting to take to the sky to locate the source of the attack. But at the same time, armor-piercing shells fired from 40mm anti-aircraft guns rained down on the dragon like hail. Its wings, which were previously impervious even to arrows, became as fragile as paper under the onslaught of these armor-piercing shells, instantly riddled with holes of varying sizes.

"Keep hitting it! Don't stop! Hit its wings! We absolutely cannot let it fly!"

While swaying and flying using his cloak, Li Wei issued commands.

He had used this cloak once before when he was with the little mermaid. It was supposed to be a very cool piece of equipment, but for some reason, he ended up looking so disheveled both times he was running with her... Oh well, that's not important.

Li Wei stared at the giant dragon, which was being beaten down by the Eye of the Sky, its head drooping. He was also sweating with anxiety. He knew that the dragon's intimidating power largely came from its ability to fly; once it couldn't fly, the threat was much less. Although Li Wei didn't know the principles of flight for dragons in this world, generally speaking, since it had wings, it must fly using its wings.

Theoretically speaking, if its wings are damaged, this giant dragon should be unable to fly.

Even if it doesn't make sense, it should at least be based on physics!
As Levi had predicted, the dragon was completely unable to lift its head due to the intense firepower of the Sky Eye, and its body was covered in wounds.

But how should I put it... I should say, it truly lives up to its name as a dragon.

Li Wei had ordered them to use high-explosive armor-piercing rounds and armor-piercing rounds, but so far, the damage inflicted on the dragon didn't seem very significant. Although thinner parts like its wings had been blasted open, the wounds on its body didn't appear fatal. Even after being hit by high-explosive armor-piercing rounds, the dragon hadn't been blown to pieces.

This thing is really hard...

Just as Li Wei was reflecting on his situation and considering how to respond, a sudden change occurred.

Seemingly caught off guard by the sudden barrage of attacks, Li Wei saw the giant dragon raise its head, stare in the direction of the Eye of the Sky, and then open its mouth.

"—————————!"

It was a roar as powerful as lightning and thunder, the invisible sound waves seemingly transforming into a raging torrent, spreading outwards from the dragon's center. Li Wei felt a sudden jolt in his chest, the fear he felt when the dragon stared at him resurfaced, then quickly vanished.

However, the situation was different with the Eye of the Sky. After the dragon's roar erupted, the Eye of the Sky, which had been attacking it, suddenly fell silent, contrary to its usual behavior.

"Eye of the Sky! Eye of the Sky! Respond if you hear me!"

Li Wei picked up the walkie-talkie and made a few calls, but there was no response. The dragon, after the attack from the Eye of the Sky ceased, hurriedly turned and ran towards the empty space. It seemed that although it didn't know what had happened, it was clearly planning to return to its lair!

Levi wouldn't mind letting the other party go back, but the problem was that at that moment, he and Katie had already landed on the ground, blocking the dragon's path. The dragon, panting heavily, had climbed up the cliff and was charging towards them!

"Katie, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Mr. Li Wei. What do we do now?"

"It seems you can now become the dragon-slaying hero you've always dreamed of."

Li Wei reached out and pulled a handful of folded paper dolls from his pocket, then casually scattered them around. He stared at the massive body in front of him, while Katie gripped her greatsword and raised it.

"What role will Mr. Li Wei play? The princess who was captured by the dragon?"

"I am naturally the handsome and dashing archer in the adventure team."

As Li Wei spoke, he raised his two guns, and at the same time, the giant dragon had already charged in front of them.

Humans, you will pay the price for your arrogance!

Seeing Levi and Katie, the dragon roared again, then lowered its head and bit down at the two of them!

"I'll hold it off, you go back and deal damage!"

Logically speaking, a ranged, fragile character like Levi is not suitable to be a tank. However, the problem is that Katie is not a heavily armored tank either. At least Levi has the "Death Eye" skill to slow down and dodge, but Katie has no other way to fight dragons except for being strong.

She herself probably wouldn't even be enough to fill a dragon's teeth.

"Yes!" Katie responded and quickly moved aside.

At this moment, the two people and the dragon are on a platform at the top of the mountain. This dragon, including its tail, is seventy or eighty meters long. It is definitely not an easy task to confront it face to face.

As for why the Eye of the Sky was silent, Li Wei could guess. After all, he had just felt that terrifying dragon's might again, and he had only escaped because of his system skills. However, the people on the Eye of the Sky obviously did not have such abilities. Now, Li Wei could only hope that they would not completely collapse and would recover as soon as possible.

But then again, Katie doesn't seem afraid at all... Never mind, now's not the time to think about that!
Li Wei snapped out of his thoughts and stared at the dragon rushing towards him. Perhaps because he had been tricked by Li Wei underground, the dragon was now firmly held in Li Wei's grip on its aggro. It didn't even glance at Katie who flashed past (or perhaps it didn't see her at all) and directly bit down on Li Wei!
Just then, Li Wei also raised his gun and pulled the trigger!
"Boom!"

This was certainly not a random counterattack by Li Wei. He had already discovered that the dragon's body was extremely tough; even high-explosive armor-piercing rounds could only manage to tear its skin. No matter how powerful his bullets were, they couldn't possibly be more powerful than high-explosive rounds, making it too difficult to inflict damage on the dragon using bullets alone.

But difficulties don't mean they're impossible! There are at least a few places where even Li Wei could pose a threat!
Those are eyes!
Any living creature would instinctively flinch or close its eyes when it sees a foreign object aimed at its eyes, and dragons would likely be no exception!

This is the only way Li Wei can currently control this giant dragon!
Of course, it would be even better if we could just blow its eyes out. After all, even if the dragon has thick skin and flesh in other parts, it doesn't mean its eyes can stop bullets.

As expected, the dragon instinctively closed its eyes when faced with a bullet aimed at its eye, and Li Wei seized the opportunity to activate [Shadow Shift] again, swapping positions with the puppet next to him. The enormous, foul-smelling mouth almost grazed past him, biting at nothing.

"Hey-----!"

While Levi was fighting the dragon, Katie also grabbed her greatsword and circled behind the dragon. Then she gripped the greatsword tightly and slashed down hard at the dragon's body!
"Pfft—!"

Whether it was Katie's immense strength or the exceptionally sharpness of the greatsword given to her by the system, the blade pierced into the dragon with Katie's full-force strike, leaving a wound on its surface!
"roar-----!'

Feeling the pain from its hind leg, the dragon was startled and hurriedly turned its head to see who dared to do such a thing. However, just as the dragon tried to turn its head, Levi aimed at its eye again and pulled the trigger, forcing the dragon to dodge Levi's attack once more.

Just as Li Wei once again diverted the dragon's attention, Katie drew her greatsword again, frowning as she looked at the wound before her. Although the sword could indeed inflict some damage on the dragon, the wound was far too insignificant, especially against the dragon's massive body. Even with Katie's full strength, she could only cause a tiny bit of damage, not even as much as the bombardment from before.

"Boom!"

At that moment, the dragon suddenly twisted its body, and Katie, sensing the massive form hurtling towards her, quickly gripped her greatsword and rolled away, dodging the dragon's impact. Just then, Katie saw the dragon's hind legs, which it used to support its body, and its hawk-like talons, which were firmly planted on the ground.

Got it!

Upon seeing the dragon's claws, Katie suddenly had a brilliant idea. She stood up, quickly ran to the dragon's hind legs, raised her greatsword, and slashed down hard at the dragon's claws!
With a flash of cold light, one of the toes was severed by the greatsword and flew away, spraying blood.

"Oh oh oh oh oh oh!"

The dragon's agonizing roar echoed throughout the entire Forest of Death. Indeed, compared to the dragon's massive body, a single toe seemed insignificant. But just as a human would feel excruciating pain at the loss of a toe, it seemed the same was true for the dragon.

The dragon, whose toe had been chopped off by Katie's sword, was finally enraged. Ignoring Levi's threats, it opened its mouth and turned around! It vowed to catch the bastard who had hurt it and make him die a painful death!
good chance!
Seeing this, Li Wei's heart stirred. He didn't know what Katie had done, but he was certain that it had greatly angered the dragon, even causing it to briefly ignore him.

This is a golden opportunity for Li Wei!

Thinking of this, Li Wei's expression hardened, and at the same time, the flow of the entire world slowed down once again. Then, Li Wei raised the Persuader in his hand and aimed it at the ground.

[Cruising Shot]

"boom!"

A gunshot rang out, the bullet shot from the muzzle, hit the ground, and then bounced forward, narrowly missing the dragon's turning head—then, in the next instant, the bullet vanished without a trace, replaced by Li Wei.

【Teleportation】!
Li Wei stared at the dragon, their heads almost face to face. He could even see his own reflection in the dragon's eyes and feel the foul, hot breath spewing from its gaping maw. But Li Wei was not afraid. He raised the Punisher, aimed at the dragon's eyes, and pulled the trigger.

"Bang-----!"

The armor-piercing bullet spun as it was fired from the muzzle. This time, the dragon didn't have time to close its eyes. The bullet struck the dragon's eyeball squarely, shattering it into pieces like hitting a thick piece of glass!
"Roar-----!!!"

The dragon roared even louder than before; losing an eye so suddenly was unimaginable for a dragon. It opened its mouth in agony, spewing out a stream of fire, but the misfiring flames missed Li Wei, striking only the nearby rocks.

Li Wei raised his gun again, aiming at the dragon's mouth, which was now open in pain.

The third bullet was fired from the muzzle and pierced deep into the dragon's mouth.

Of course, against a monster roughly the size of a human, this attack would be enough to pierce its brain and kill it. But against a behemoth with a head the size of a small house, Li Wei's attack was clearly insufficient to be fatal.

However, Li Wei was naturally aware of this as well. Just as the bullet was fired, he stretched out his left hand and swept it towards the void—in the blink of an eye, a cloaked puppet emerged from it.

That was Li Wei's Death Doll!

Then, Li Wei snapped his fingers.

【Teleportation】!
The Death Puppet vanished instantly, while the bullet that had been fired into the dragon's mouth reappeared, striking the dragon's already closed mouth before bouncing away.

However, Li Wei no longer cared about the bullet at this moment. After all, in the games Li Wei had played, there were boss battles where players controlled characters to fight against giant monsters, and the methods to deal with these giant monsters were basically the same.

That means going inside the other person's stomach!
(End of this chapter)