Chương 394: True Dragons Fury

Vale stared at the enormous, milky-white eye in front of him. It was only five meters away, yet somehow it felt much farther. The eye was so large that Vale could barely see its edges. Whatever creature it belonged to had to be huge. Not simply large, but so massive that mountains might look small beside it. Slowly, Vale took a step backward. Then another. He raised one hand toward Shade, telling him to stay where he was. Shade stopped at once, his ruby eyes locked on the creature. Vale kept moving.

His steps were slow and careful, and he did his best not to make any sudden movements. The giant eye followed him the whole time. There was no anger in it. No clear bloodlust either. It was simply watching him, as if it were trying to understand what he was.

'If this thing decides I'm a threat, I'm dead.' Vale swallowed and forced himself to stay calm. He had no idea what he was dealing with, and that was what scared him most. He knew nothing about the creature except that one of its eyes was larger than most buildings. His gaze slowly moved upward. That was when he noticed something strange. The eye seemed to be connected to what looked like a mountain. Vale stared at it. The surface was rough and covered in stone, with dirt and trees spread across it.

At first, he thought nothing of it. Then he noticed the shape. It wasn't a mountain. It was part of the creature. Vale's stomach dropped.

'Shit.' He knew what this was. A Dragon Turtle. One of the first five species of True Dragon. Countless dragon species had descended from those original five, but Dragon Turtles were still among the most feared. They were known for their huge size and their shells. Their natural armor was strong enough to survive attacks that would destroy most creatures. As they grew older, their shells could become covered in dirt, trees, and stone, making them look like moving mountains.

Vale's face tightened as he looked over the creature again. And this one wasn't even fully grown. Judging by its size, it was probably still a juvenile.

'You're kidding me.' He took another careful step backward, hoping the creature would simply ignore them. Then— CRACK. Vale froze. His eyes slowly dropped toward the ground. A broken branch lay beneath his foot. For a moment, he didn't breathe. He slowly looked back at the Dragon Turtle, waiting for any sign that it had heard the sound. Nothing happened. The creature didn't move. Its enormous eye remained fixed on him. Vale let out a quiet breath.

'Maybe it didn't notice.' His shoulders relaxed slightly.

'Guess I was worried for—'"UEGH!" The Dragon Turtle roared. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. The sound shook the entire forest. Dirt and rocks flew from its shell as the ground trembled beneath Vale's feet. Trees shook hard, birds fled from the canopy, and loose stones rolled down the slopes around them. Vale's face went pale.

"Nope!" He spun around.

"RUN!" Shade moved at once. The two sprinted through the forest as the Dragon Turtle began to rise behind them. Its massive body pushed through the trees as though they were nothing. Trunks snapped beneath its weight, while several trees were thrown into the air and crashed down around Vale and Shade.

"Dammit!" Vale ducked beneath a falling branch and kept running. His heart hammered in his chest as he glanced back. The Dragon Turtle had noticed them. Worse, it had decided they were a threat.

'We need to reach the camp.' That was their only chance. The lake was close, and if they reached the guardian, the serpent might protect them. It had already shown that it would defend its territory. If they couldn't reach it, Vale didn't even want to think about what would happen. The ground suddenly shook again. Vale stumbled and slammed into a tree. He caught himself before falling and quickly looked back. The Dragon Turtle's head was finally rising above its shell. It looked horrifying.

Its face reminded Vale of a mix between a Komodo dragon and a snapping turtle, but there was something far more dangerous about it. Heat rolled from its body, while cracks across its shell glowed faintly like the inside of a volcano. Its jaws opened. Rows of huge teeth filled its mouth. Then it snapped them shut. BOOM! The shockwave tore through the forest. Vale nearly lost his footing.

"Shit!" He pushed himself forward and ran harder.

"Even as a juvenile, a True Dragon should be at least Category Nine!" he shouted between breaths.

"That's around the same level as an Eighth-Stage Spawn!" He looked toward Shade.

"And once it gets out of that shell, there's no way we can outrun it!" Shade said nothing. He simply ran faster.

"Keep going!" A shadow suddenly passed over them. Shade looked up. His ruby eyes widened. A huge piece of stone was falling straight toward Vale. Shade lunged forward and slammed into him, knocking him aside just before the boulder crashed into the ground. CRASH! Dust exploded across the forest.

"Shade!" Vale spun around. For a moment, he could see nothing but rubble and dust. Then two dark hands pushed out from beneath the stone. Shade rose from the wreckage. His body strained as he lifted the huge rock with both hands. The ground cracked beneath his feet from the weight, but he managed to throw the boulder aside. Vale stared at him for a second. Then he grinned.

"Nice one!" Shade gave him a quick nod.

"Come on!" They started running again. Behind them, the Dragon Turtle finally stood at its full height. Its enormous body towered over the forest, blocking part of the sky. A deep growl rolled through the valley, making the trees around them shake. Vale looked back. His blood ran cold.

"Oh no..." He quickly turned forward. The trees were ending. The forest opened into the clearing. The camp was just ahead. Vale rushed into it, gasping for air as he looked around. His eyes moved across the camp, searching for any sign of the others. Nobody was there. His expression fell.

"Where are they...?" The others were gone. Vale clenched his teeth. There was no time to search for them. Behind him, the Dragon Turtle continued forward. It was still hundreds of meters away, but its size made that distance almost meaningless. Every step sent another tremor through the ground. Vale looked toward the lake. There was only one thing left to do. He took a deep breath and gathered every bit of strength he had before shouting across the clearing." REVESH!" His voice echoed through the trees.

The Dragon Turtle roared behind him. Chunks of rock broke loose from its shell and rolled down its enormous body as it moved closer. Vale's hands began to shake.

'Come on.' Another tremor passed through the ground.

'Please.' The Dragon Turtle drew closer. Then the lake moved. Vale's eyes widened. The water began to churn. Huge waves rolled across the surface as something massive rose from the depths. Water spilled outward before a giant blue-scaled body broke through the surface. The serpent. Sunlight danced across its scales as water poured down its body. It kept rising until its head stood high above the surrounding trees. Its slitted eyes locked onto the Dragon Turtle. A deep hiss escaped its throat.

This was its territory. The Dragon Turtle stopped. For a moment, the two True Dragons simply stared at each other. The air felt heavy, and even the forest seemed to fall silent around them. Then the turtle roared. The serpent answered. The earth shook beneath them. Vale slowly dropped to one knee, staring at the serpent in disbelief.

"Is it insane?" He looked up at the massive creature.

"There's no way it can beat a nearly full-grown True Dragon!" But the turtle didn't seem to care. The serpent's eyes began to glow. The lake behind it rose with them. Then the ground beneath the Dragon Turtle suddenly broke apart. Massive streams of water burst from the earth and wrapped around its legs and shell. They twisted around its body like giant serpents, holding it in place as the Dragon Turtle roared and fought against them. The guardian finally left the lake.

Its full body rose from the water, revealing a huge length of blue scales that seemed to stretch beyond Vale's sight. It was hundreds of meters long. Maybe even more. Vale could only stare. He glanced at Shade, who was also watching the two dragons.

"Well..." A grin slowly spread across Vale's face.

"Looks like we're not getting any rest right now." He turned back toward the two True Dragons as they faced each other across the clearing. Then he gave a quiet laugh.

"But this is one hell of a fight to watch, isn't it, Shade?"