Giant Dragon Lord: Starting from Daily Intelligence-Chapter 155 - 149: The Golden Dragon Appears
It was nearing noon.
The scout’s report invigorated Gao Wen, Raylo, and the others.
Not far ahead was the camp of the Snake-man Battle Group mentioned in the intelligence reports.
However, as the army slowly approached, everyone’s expressions shifted from initial vigilance to shock and disbelief.
The heavily guarded camp, teeming with the shadows of Snake-men they had anticipated, was nowhere to be seen.
In its place was a scene of utter ruin.
The crude tents that should have been there were torn to shreds. The wooden walls were toppled and broken, and shattered weapons were scattered everywhere.
Even more horrifying, the ground was littered with the mangled remains of Snake-men.
The Snake-men had died horribly. Some were severed at the waist, others had their chests and abdomens pierced through by immense Power, and still others looked as if they had been crushed by some kind of Giant Strength, their bones and flesh a bloody pulp.
Dark green blood soaked the soil, exuding a thick, foul stench mixed with a strange, scorched smell that hung in the humid air.
"Wh-what happened here?"
A young Knight couldn’t help but whisper, his face pale.
Gao Wen waved his hand, signaling the army to halt and remain on alert.
"Look at these tracks."
Raylo knelt to examine the corpse of a Snake-man. Its tough Scale Armor had been torn apart by Giant Strength, the flesh at the wound mangled.
"This doesn’t look like the work of a human army. It’s more like... some kind of massive Giant Beast."
He stood up and surveyed the surroundings.
The destruction in the camp was extensive. Many thick trees had been uprooted or snapped in half, and the ground was scarred with several enormous claw marks, each half a foot deep. The upturned soil at their edges was a testament to the terrifying Power at play.
In some places, the soil was even scorched black and vitrified, as if it had been burned by extreme heat.
"My Lord, look over there!"
A sharp-eyed Knight pointed toward the center of the camp.
Everyone looked and saw that on a relatively open patch of ground, the Snake-man corpses were piled even higher, forming small mounds.
Among them were individuals who were clearly larger and more muscular than the average Snake-man, with darker colored scales—evidently the elites among them.
"At least half the Snake-men died here."
Raylo concluded in a low voice after inspecting several spots.
"And based on how fresh the bodies are, this battle took place last night, or in the early hours of this morning."
Count Gao Wen’s brow furrowed. He had been preparing for a difficult siege, never expecting the Snake-man Battle Group to have already suffered such a devastating blow.
"What kind of Magical Beast could it be? With such destructive power, could it be..."
Before he could finish, a dull, thunderous roar echoed faintly from the depths of the dense forest in the distance.
At first, the sound was distant, but it quickly grew clearer and more intense, as if some colossal creature was fighting violently, each impact causing the ground to tremble slightly.
Immediately after, a tyrannical and unparalleled wave of energy swept over them like a tide, filling the air with the scent of wild Elements.
Even from such a distance, they could feel the heart-stopping pressure.
"Tier Five! This is definitely a Tier Five Level battle!"
A High Tier Mage with the army cried out in alarm, his face suddenly changing.
Gao Wen’s pupils contracted, and he made an immediate decision.
"All troops, hold your position and form a defensive formation! No one is to move without my command!"
The order was absolute. The Knights moved quickly, watching warily in the direction of the sounds.
"Sir Luke."
"I’m afraid I must trouble you to investigate in person."
Luke nodded upon hearing this.
"You’re too kind, Lord Earl. It is my duty."
He lightly patted his Thunder Eagle’s neck. The bird of prey, covered in cyan and violet feathers with faint arcs of electricity crackling along its wingtips, let out a clear cry. With a single flap of its wings, it kicked up a gust of wind and shot into the sky like a bolt of Lightning, speeding toward the source of the battle’s fluctuations.
Raylo glanced at Gao Wen.
"Baofeng, let’s go take a look. Fly higher and don’t get too close."
Raylo patted Baofeng’s head.
The Storm Griffin King let out a resounding cry in response. With a powerful beat of its wings, it kicked up dust and grass, carrying Raylo off the ground. It flew forward, following behind Sir Luke’s Thunder Eagle but maintaining a safe distance.
The closer they got, the more astonishing the sounds of battle became.
The air was thick with the smell of sulfur and scorching, and the Magic Elements were in chaos.
After passing through a dense canopy of trees, the scene ahead opened up dramatically.
Raylo and Sir Luke reined in their mounts at almost the same time, hovering in mid-air with expressions of disbelief.
Below was a forest clearing that had been completely razed, far larger in scope than the previous Snake-man camp.
And in the center of this clearing, an earth-shattering battle was underway.
A Giant Dragon, covered from head to toe in resplendent golden scales, was locked in a fierce battle with a legion of several thousand Snake-men.
The Golden Dragon was a hundred meters long. Each of its scales, like forged Gold, shone with a dazzling brilliance that glittered under the sun, exuding a sense of both Power and divinity.
Its sleek, powerful body possessed an explosive beauty. Its thick limbs cracked the earth, and every sweep of its massive tail stirred a bloody storm, sending dozens of screaming Snake-men flying, their bones shattered.
Every swipe of its sharp claws easily tore through the Snake-men’s tough Scale Armor, or crushed the heads of the Tier Three and Tier Four Swamp Demons that tried to get close as if they were toys.
Swamp Giant Crocodiles, Mire Giant Lizards—these Giant Beasts in the eyes of humans—were as fragile as paper under the Golden Dragon’s claws.
From time to time, it spewed scorching golden Dragon Breath from its maw. Like a torrent of destruction, it instantly incinerated any Snake-men in its path, leaving them no time to even scream.
Although this Golden Dragon was surrounded, facing at least three or four thousand fearless Snake-man Warriors wielding all manner of weapons, it showed no signs of faltering. Instead, it fought with increasing ferocity, each attack filled with devastating Power.
Its deafening roars even caused some chaos in the formation of the Snake-man Legion below.
"It’s a Golden Dragon!"
Luke asked in confusion, "Isn’t this Golden Dragon supposed to be a ’Judge’ in the southern part of the Duchy? When did it come to the Northern Territory and start this massacre in the swamp?"
Raylo, too, was deeply shaken.
The sheer physical destructive force and the all-conquering aura displayed by the Golden Dragon before him were an immense shock.
’This is the true form of a Giant Dragon. A predator at the top of the food chain, an unstoppable war machine.’
The Snake-man Legion had paid a heavy price. The clearing was already covered in a thick layer of Snake-man corpses, and their dark green blood flowed in streams.
Despite this, they hadn’t managed to inflict a single wound on the Golden Dragon.
But still, they surged toward the Golden Dragon like a tide, trying to overwhelm it with sheer numbers.
Behind the Snake-man Legion, on a high hill, stood a figure completely different from the other Snake-men.
It was an exceptionally tall Snake-man Priest with a vertical-slitted eye in the center of its forehead.
It wore a black Sacrificial Robe adorned with bone fragments and Gemstones, and in its hand, it held a Snake Head Scepter topped with a massive black Crystal Stone.
At that moment, the Three-eyed Snake-man Priest was holding its Scepter high, muttering a series of hoarse and sinister Spells.
As it chanted, dense streams of Shadow Energy poured from the Crystal Stone at the top of the Scepter, coalescing into various twisted shapes in the air.
Acid Arrows, Soul Curses, Shadow Arrows, and other Evil Techniques were released almost nonstop, flying toward the Golden Dragon in a veritable flood.
However, these Evil Techniques, which would have been fatal to ordinary Magical Beasts or powerful humans, merely burst into insignificant dark spots of light upon striking the Golden Dragon’s resplendent Golden Scale Armor. They couldn’t even slow its movements for a moment.
A faint halo of Magic Power flowed across its golden scales, seemingly granting it extremely high resistance to these negative energies.
Golden Dragons are known as the Giant Dragons with the strongest defense; their powerful physical and Magic Defenses are enough to give any enemy a headache.
The Golden Dragon seemed enraged by these annoying spells. It threw its head back and let out a sky-shattering roar. The invisible sonic wave spread out, directly dissipating several incoming Shadow Meteors.
