Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Drawing in a deep breath, he made up his mind.
“Goldie, let’s go!”
“Huh?” Goldie cocked his head and eyed Gao Peng. Silently, he plodded up the mountain behind Gao Peng.
Crackle—
The closer they got to the cavern, the drier the earth beneath their feet seemed to be. In fact, the earth was so dry in some parts that it was basically hardened clay.
Under these extreme conditions, a normal human being would have been roasted alive. However, any heat that Gao Peng felt was transferred to Goldie. He was unharmed, but unfortunately, it made Goldie feel twice as hot.
Rumble— The earth-splitting roar of a dragon reverberated through the rock wall and echoed in the confined space. The wall rumbled and let out a series of loud explosions.
A large section of the wall behind them crumbled. Rays of light could be seen filtering through the cracks.
Through the light, Gao Peng could vaguely see an enormous dragon claw with bands of black cloth wrapped tightly around it.
In a flash, the claws ripped through the rocks holding them captive as though they were paper.
“Stripey, come out.” Through their Blood Contract, Gao Peng’s voice was frantic.
Silence.
Then, a faint whisper. “So… painful…”
More silence.
As he made his way towards the dragon, he glanced at the depths of the cave. Jia Lu and her men were huddled there, eyeing Gao Peng and his party warily.
Gao Peng chuckled. Those people weren’t making it out anytime soon. The White Dragon was exerting such an immense aura that even the rock wall between them couldn’t mask what appeared to be the heat of the sun itself.
…
As Gao Peng felt his way out along the cracks, the White Dragon was waiting outside with his head held high, snow-white whiskers fluttering proudly in the wind. His golden eyes were locked on the Mountain Spirit King.
The Mountain Spirit King stopped moving. The magma flowing out of its body slowed to a trickle, a sure sign that it was on high alert around the White Dragon.
At the same time, a huge rumble could be heard from behind. Other mountain spirits were gathering around the Mountain Spirit King, forming a line of defense against the White Dragon.
There was no room for all of these mountain spirits. All the shifting and grinding between the enormous creatures resulted in thunderous booms periodically puncturing the stillness of air.
“Grandfather, there are still people from the Golden Hands inside. They’re our enemies!” Gao Peng yelled.
It took Ji Hanwu quite a while to find Gao Peng. Luckily, the White Dragon was pretty fast.
Upon seeing so many mountain spirits gathered, Ji Hanwu did a double take. There were at least ten of them there, which was to say, there were at least ten Lord-tier Mountain Spirits in addition to the giant Mountain Spirit closest to him, which was basically a mountain range on its own.
The White Dragon peered into the blocked cave. So these were the members of the Golden Hands…
As quick as a flash, the White Dragon aimed its claws at the blockage and unleashed a furious blow.
Rumble!
This time, Gao Peng could clearly see just how the White Dragon smashed through the blockage obstructing the cave. His claws slashed through the wall of rock like a hot knife through butter and reached all the way into the depths of the cave. The wall of rock simply exploded, debris flying in every direction as a result.
The dragon’s claw flashed with lightning, but resistance proved futile!
The earth shuddered violently, and blood slowly oozed from the White Dragon’s claws…
Gao Peng was taken aback. Was it dead, just like that?
Even though he had already been expecting it, he was still shocked. Even though both he and Huang Ya had gone all out with their familiars, they had only been able to fight Jia Lu and her men to a draw.
In other words, if their places had been switched, his own familiar would have been just as squashed by those claws…
Was there really that big of a difference in their strength?
Maybe it was because he was used to having his familiars fight against higher-level monsters that he had slowly come to value only grade, not levels.
As long as one could improve his or her grade, one could beat monsters tens of levels higher, maybe even a whole tier above.
Monsters in this world grew stronger exponentially. The stronger they were, the bigger the difference in strength there was between an incredibly strong monster and a regular monster.
Whether it was the Mountain Spirit’s King Rock Wall Trap or the White Dragon’s Emperor Claw, the difference between Emperor-tier and Lord-tier monsters was as clear as day.
Gao Peng felt a tinge of regret looking at the carnage in front of him. This Wooden Peacock was actually an opponent whose strength he admired. It was too bad it already had an owner.
A Blood Contract was unbreakable by both master and familiar. It could only be broken upon the death of one or both parties. A Blood Contract bound their souls together, forming a bond that transcended comprehension, which is why it was nigh impossible to steal a familiar just by killing their master.
As the White Dragon slowly lifted its claws, there was nothing left but a puddle of blood. Gao Peng suddenly squinted.
[Monster Name]: Wooden Peacock
[Monster Condition]: Fatal Injury (Agony)
The blackish-red words flickered in and out of focus. From the rubble, a severely wounded Wooden Peacock dragged itself up painfully. Its tail feathers were broken and askew, green blood gushing from the wounds like a fountain.
“Ugh…”
A long plaintive cry echoed into the night from the caverns on the Mountain Spirit King. The magma flowing on the surface slowed to a trickle before hardening, even though the faint glow of the embers could still be seen.
The Mountain Spirit King gradually stopped moving. The light from the cavern at the foot of the mountain started dimming, and its vitality was slowly weakening, too…
[Monster Name]: Mountain Spirit King (Evolving) (Weak)
[Monster Condition]: About to hibernate forever… (Not enough energy)
The Mountain Spirit King’s vitality grew weaker and weaker, as did Stripey’s lifeforce!
Gao Peng couldn’t breathe. All he could think about was the first time he had met Stripey. It had been a small, gray-striped spider snoozing idly on the ceiling, and Gao Peng had thrown a crumpled wad of paper at it out of boredom. It had been so startled that it fell unceremoniously from the ceiling.
In the dimming twilight, a lone spider trotted silently on the ground. It was probably only able to process simple emotions, like happiness, anger, or sadness.