Ancient Dragon in Arknights

Its face was adorned with a mask that closely resembled that of the Odogaron, with red visor plates extending from both sides that contrasted beautifully with the black dragon horns; blue eyes were hidden in their sockets, and the cold light gleaming behind them resembled that of a ruthless hunter; its lips featured protruding fangs, just like those of the Odogaron, much like the Niou from the Eastern Kingdoms.

Upon closer inspection, Nesario discovered that his armor was indeed consistent with the style of the Eastern Kingdom.

A black, tight-fitting leather suit forms the base, while the red armor gleams brilliantly. The patterns carved on it are curly yet aesthetically pleasing, resembling the muscle lines of a griffin. Several sharp claws protrude from the right gauntlet, while a weapon resembling a crossbow is mounted on the left hand.

The waist armor and leg wraps also continued this Eastern samurai style, with many parts of the body bound and connected by thick white hemp ropes, and even a small green lantern hanging at the waist as decoration—in short, cool!

'Next up are the weapons, come on!'

Nesario tried to imagine a katana that would fit the armor, but as he focused his attention, he suddenly realized that the Odogaron's attack style was nothing like a katana... more like a short, dangerous, and swift dagger.

Clang—the chains made a crisp sound as they clattered together.

Nesario stared blankly at the new thing in his hand—two pairs of scythes linked by chains, the blades shaped like the claws of a griffin, except they had been artificially dyed to a blue-red gradient, and a red dragon gem in the center of each scythe served as an eye.

This weapon looks incredibly sinister! It's the kind of weapon an assassin would use at first glance.

"Um...it looks cool, but...how do you use this weapon?"

Nesario can use most common weapons, but the pair of scythes in his hands are not one of the common weapons.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Slaying the Dragon

After fiddling around in the air for a while, Nesario finally managed to figure out how to use the weapon.

Short-range weapons, especially those like daggers, are all about speed, accuracy, ruthlessness, and high frequency. In Neltharion's hands, these scythes felt very lightweight, so with Neltharion's physical strength and the enhancement of his spiritual power, he could almost fly close to the ground while slashing.

Although he didn't know what it was for, Nesario inexplicably felt that he was very handsome.

In addition, Nesario received a big surprise.

As mentioned earlier, he had a light crossbow-like weapon mounted on the left hand of his armor.

Research has shown that this weapon can launch most small objects, including stones and fruits picked up from the roadside. More importantly, this weapon also has another form: it can launch a grappling hook to grab objects within its range. At first glance, it seems quite ordinary.

But what if it had enough strength to send Nesariora flying?

Nesario just successfully performed a 3D maneuver, using his claws to hook onto some kind of special insect at the top of a tree to jump and move.

In real life, doing this would require a kneecap and a foot, but here, Nesario seems to be able to do anything; he only needs to roll to land smoothly.

"Alright, now that we've familiarized ourselves with the area, our next target is dragon hunting!"

New heritage, new power, new weapons—these three temptations drove Neltharion forward relentlessly.

But with such a large area, what exactly is Nesario's goal?

'Could it be random this time? Is finding anything entirely based on luck?'

Nesario glanced disdainfully at the herbivorous dragon slowly walking by in the distance... This guy doesn't look like he's much of a fighter.

A clear, resonant sound suddenly rang out from Nesario's waist, and the small green lantern that he had previously regarded as merely an ornament emitted a bright light.

Many green fluorescent particles flew out and landed on the ground, filling a depression—a footprint!

Nesario rushed forward to examine it. The entire footprint looked larger than a bathtub, and this was just a footprint! Just how magnificent must its owner be!?

Nesario then realized that the green lights were not fireflies, but tiny, glowing insects.

They paused briefly at this footprint before quickly flying away into the distance... Sure enough! There was another footprint not far away.

The green light path moved slowly forward, with the terrifyingly dressed hunter hurriedly following behind.

After searching for five footprints, the green insects stopped looking for new ones. As if they had tracked down something, they quickly rushed forward.

Nesario had no choice but to keep chasing after it.

He climbed slopes, descended ridges, waded through water, and climbed vines... stumbling and falling as he followed the insects to the middle of a desert.

"That's it, right? Let me see... where's the prey?"

Nesario looked around and found only cacti, towering rock pillars, and pterosaurs flying around in the sky.

"That footprint was definitely not something a pterosaur could leave... Could it be that the creature wasn't on the ground, but somewhere else...?"

Nesario himself probably didn't realize that his intuition was sometimes remarkably accurate, and this time was no exception.

The once calm sand dunes began to shift, and the sand above them began to rapidly converge at Neltharion's feet, while the ground beneath his feet had already collapsed and sunken—there was something down there!

"*Colombian swear words*! I've been tricked!"

How could Nesario not realize that he had fallen into a trap? The trap's owner was extremely wise and knew how to use nature to hunt.

The swirling quicksand engulfed Nesario in an instant. He thought he was going to suffocate, but the sudden sensation of falling told him that he still had a chance.

Thump—Nesario landed on the ground, and because it was all sand, it didn't hurt much.

He quickly got up and rolled towards the rocky ground beside him. Sand was still falling, and if he didn't get out of the way, he would be buried alive.

Nesario had barely caught his breath after escaping when he felt a vibration and a sound coming from under his feet.

He slowly raised his head—and a huge creature was slowly walking towards him from not far away.

Its head and horns were so huge that they resembled two battering rams. Its eyes were completely obscured by these massive horns, and only its hostile presence could be seen in the shadows. Its entire body was covered with hard carapaces. Its forelimbs grew from its back and evolved into wings. Its thick hind limbs supported the weight of its entire body, and its thick tail swayed slowly, with the end of its carapace resembling a battle axe.

Power, heavy blows, and stuns—that was Nesario's first impression of it.

"Roar--!!!"

The piercing roar of the dragon scattered the yellow sand, and Neltharion felt as if his eardrums were about to explode. When he recovered, the dragon had already assumed a fighting stance, its hind legs slowly rubbing against the ground, its horns poised to strike and aimed at Neltharion.

"You bastard, you look so stupid, but you've got quite the temper, huh? You want to smash me to pieces? Before that, I'll stab your neck with my claws!"

Nesario knew he couldn't outrun this creature; the size difference was too great. Besides, when facing a wild beast, exposing one's back to escape was the most unwise choice.

He quickly drew his twin scythes, his legs tensing as he prepared to grab the massive creature the moment it charged at him.

"Roar--!!!"

A dragon roar erupted, this time from behind Neltharion. He had been in a defensive stance, leaving his ears unprotected, and this blast gave him quite a shock.

'What?! There's more?!'

Neltharion turned his head and what came into view was a walking greatsword—or rather, a dragon with a greatsword!

He didn't even know what he was saying, but it was true.

Unlike the winged dragon in front, this new creature was completely unbalanced in size—its head was enormous, covered with metallic-looking armor like a warrior's helmet, with horns on its brows, a protruding jawbone, and a slightly swollen neck as if it were storing something.

Its back is covered with a thick, flame-like shell, and its limbs are extremely unbalanced. Its forelimbs are short and thin, as if they have degenerated; its hind limbs not only have incredibly thick shells, but are also incredibly strong! After all, it is only natural that it is strong enough to support the weight of its entire body.

But Nesario believed that the strength of the hind limbs was definitely not just for walking.

The most striking feature of this behemoth is its tail—which is half the length of its body, with most of its end displaying a blue metallic sheen. It is not only hard and straight but also sharp; it feels like a giant sword.

But swords are tools crafted by humans, weapons created for killing—can creatures in nature really evolve such a form?

This guy is a pure, fanatical warrior!

Nesario felt this way.

Just as he was reflecting and observing, the two dragons facing each other roared again.

He quickly snapped out of his daze and ran to the side. If those two were fighting, he would be crushed into mincemeat if he stood in the middle.

The dragon with huge horns took the lead in the attack, and its attack was as simple and unadorned as its appearance—it charged fiercely at the enemy.

Faced with such a powerful attack, the dragon carrying a sword on its back remained calm and composed. With a sudden burst of power from its strong hind legs, its giant sword-like tail swept across the battlefield.

With a sharp, clanging sound like the ringing of a sword, one of the dragon's massive horns was severed, and the dragon itself flew out with it.

Nesario watched the whole thing unfold—the monster's movements just now were nothing like those of a wild beast, but rather those of a highly skilled swordsman!

Distance, angle, strength—it excels in all three! That tail, that sword—very dangerous!

Nesario patted his tail on the ground, thinking, "Comparison is no good."

Chapter Thirty: A Samurai Girl with Superb Swordsmanship (Just kidding)

The dragon with giant horns was slashed away by a sword, but the beast dragon with a sword-like tail was not yet finished with its attack. It would not give the fallen enemy a chance.

The enormous dragon's jaws, like a shredder, suddenly snapped out, biting the dragon's neck and then violently lifting it off the ground—and slamming it down!

Thump! The powerful impact seemed to pierce the earth. Nesario, who was watching from the sidelines, was also shocked by it and almost fell to the ground.

The dragon suffered two defeats and was severely injured. More importantly, it began to feel fear, realizing that the enemy before it was someone it could not defeat.

Nature operates on the principle of survival of the fittest; the losers have no choice. Although this cave was a perfect habitat for the dragon that loved sand and stones, it could not defend its territory and had no choice but to flee.

With its broken horns plunging into the ground, the winged dragon somehow managed to burrow into the sand!

As the ground arched up, Neltharion watched the dragon hiding beneath the ground flee.

"Wait! Wasn't it supposed to be one of them dying? Come back quickly, I'm waiting to reap the benefits!"

Nesario originally thought that the collision of the two behemoths would inevitably result in one dying and the other being injured, at which point he could absorb the inheritance of both beasts into himself. But to his surprise, one of them, seeing that it was no match for him, actually fled for its life!

With a clang, the sound of metal scraping against metal rang out. The big guy standing behind Nesario couldn't hold back any longer and started rubbing his tail against the ground.

The tail, which originally shimmered with a blue metallic luster, began to slowly glow and heat up under friction. This guy's tail could actually heat up, and its scorching appearance reminded Nesario of the high-temperature cutting knife he had used in class not long ago.

'Getting slashed once will definitely kill you!'

Without the slightest hesitation, Nesario immediately hid behind the surrounding stalagmites.

Swish-!

The moment he dodged, the giant beast swung its tail violently, the scorching tail scraping and sweeping across the ground—the flames, propelled by inertia, rushed towards the spot where Neltharion had stood, leaving a trail of charred marks on the ground. Fiery Blade Technique!

After this intense sharpening, the tail, which had been faintly glowing, began to "burn" completely, and the dangerous energy emanating from it was something Nesario dared not ignore.

Taking advantage of the moment when his opponent had not yet finished his attack, Nesario launched his assault. He aimed his left-hand launcher at the beast's head, and the steel grappling hook shot out and firmly gripped the hard carapace.

The immense pulling force dragged Nesario onto the monster's head. He grabbed his scythe and thrust it fiercely into the monster's eyes—for any creature, the eyes are always the weakest point in its defenses.

This dragon wasn't stupid either; with the enemy's appearance almost filling its entire field of vision, its intentions were already quite clear.