Chapter 364: 366 Capture
The Little Azure Dragon maintained a certain distance. It wouldn’t fly too high, for if it did, the Water Lizard Monster might burrow into the wet sand and not come out again.
Then, the third feathered tail suddenly blazed like blue flames. The Azure Phoenix Little Azure Dragon’s whole body heated up and a burst of blue radiance poured down, carrying the might of the scorching sun, beginning to roast the shallow beach below.
White smoke rose instantly from the beach as the moist mud and sand were quickly evaporated by the intense light. The powerful illumination even scorched the Water Lizard Monster’s scales, causing severe pain that forced it to retreat into a sand hole.
The fierce Qing Yao Sacred Light was like whips of judgment, ferociously whipping the earth and all creatures upon it. Before long, the skin of the Thousand Year Water Lizard Monster had started to fester, and even the sanctuary of its sand hole could not block the penetration of this searing light!
With its flesh ripped open, the Thousand Year Water Lizard Monster seemed to realize that hiding was futile, so it charged at the Azure Phoenix Azure Dragon, braving the scorching Qing Yao Sacred Light.
The closer it got to the Azure Phoenix Azure Dragon, the stronger the power of the burning sacred light became. The body of the Thousand Year Water Lizard Monster had become a bloody blur, emitting a strange aroma of meat, yet it continued to charge forward, leaping with its powerful hind legs, attacking the Azure Phoenix Azure Dragon with its thick claws.
“We need to dodge,” Zhu Minglang said to Little Qingzhuo.
When Qing Yao Sacred Light was released, the Little Azure Dragon couldn’t move. Dodging would mean interrupting the spellcasting itself.
If it were in its growth period, Little Qingzhuo’s physique could have completely withstood the Water Lizard Monster’s claw tear, and just by enduring a little longer, Little Qingzhuo could have turned the Thousand Year Water Lizard Monster into a puddle of mud!
Little Qingzhuo was still rational.
Sustaining serious injuries in order to kill the Thousand Year Water Lizard Monster would be very unfavorable for its subsequent growth and transformation.
Injuries sustained during the juvenile stage could last a lifetime. As a former Disabled Dragon, Little Qingzhuo was aware of this.
It gave up the blaze of light; its wings suddenly folded in as it drilled underneath the Water Lizard Monster’s deadly pounce with an extremely skilled flying maneuver, perfectly avoiding the Thousand Year Water Lizard Monster’s fatal attack.
The Water Lizard Monster landed back on the ground and quickly dug into the dry soil.
The surface soil had been thoroughly steamed into hard mud, but deep beneath, there was still plenty of moist mud and sand. The Water Lizard Monster immediately burrowed into this deeper layer, wrapping its festering skin with the damp soil.
The blood of the Water Lizard Monster was very sticky, flowing over its skin like a powerful adhesive. With a roll in the deep hole, all the mud and sand particles stuck to its body as if it had donned a thick Mud and Sand Armor!
With this Mud and Sand Armor, it no longer had to fear even the strong Qing Yao Sacred Light of the Little Azure Dragon.
After all, being a Thousand Year Demon Spirit, killing such a creature was no easy task.
Zhu Minglang was also closely watching the Water Lizard Monster’s every move, trying to find the Demon Spirit’s weakness.
By activating his Spiritual Sense, his eyes could see much finer details. Although as a Dragon Shepherd, combat often allowed him to stand by leisurely munching on melon seeds, when facing a formidable foe, he still needed to be fully focused, guiding his Dragon Beast on how to fight, how to evade powerful offensive techniques from the opponent, and how to identify the enemy’s weakness in the shortest time possible.
A true Dragon Shepherd not only made his dragons superior to wild breeds during the nurturing and training stages but also needed to use his wisdom, experience, and observation in battle to give his dragons an edge.
Little Qingzhuo’s strength was clearly not enough; its abilities could not inflict fatal damage on the Thousand Year Demon Spirit, and as a Young Dragon, it could not afford to make even the slightest mistake.
At this time, it was naturally up to Zhu Minglang to provide guidance.
Weak points, vitals; even the most advanced dragons have flaws, not to mention a Thousand Year Demon Spirit, a creature that had not yet transformed into a dragon.
“It’s using the Lizard Crown to control the tides,” Zhu Minglang noted.
“The belly’s large capacity suggests it has an enormous appetite, but this area doesn’t seem to have an abundant supply of prey for it to feed on unless this creature is vegetarian.”
“If it’s vegetarian… Its blood is extremely viscous, and once the outer skin is damaged, it can use its blood to adhere to the surrounding hard mud and sand particles, creating a strong protective armor for itself.”
Zhu Minglang didn’t just observe the Thousand Year Water Lizard Monster; he also paid attention to the surroundings.
A Dragon Beast’s powers rely on substances contained in its food. Similarly, the Thousand Year Water Lizard Monster must eat something special to maintain its Sorcery abilities.
“Mangrove Resin??”
Zhu Minglang suddenly noticed in some broken trees, the bark and resin flowing out like glue, and evidently, they possessed extreme stickiness!
“So it drinks tree resin, that’s why its blood is incredibly sticky,” Zhu Minglang said with a hint of a smile.
This would make things easy!
“Little Qingzhuo, use the Method of Driving to make those mangroves secrete more resin, then lure it into the forest,” Zhu Minglang directed.
With its mud and sand armor, the Thousand-Year Lizard Water Demon Spirit didn’t fear any attack from Little Qingzhuo.
Fierce Sacred Light couldn’t penetrate the mud and sand, and the trees and corals summoned likewise couldn’t harm its thick muddy hide. Little Qingzhuo could only rely on its nimble Azure Phoenix maneuvers to dodge, but this way, depleting stamina like that, the one to lose would surely be the Little Azure Dragon.
Upon hearing Zhu Minglang’s words, Little Qingzhuo immediately flew toward a new mangrove wetland.
As Zhu Minglang instructed, using the Method of Driving, Little Qingzhuo transformed the mangrove into a lush waterborne jungle, followed by making the trees secrete a large amount of resin, which soon covered the surface of the water with a thick layer.
The Thousand-Year Lizard Water Demon Spirit, fearless, charged through with its mud and sand armor, the fragile mangrove roots incapable of withstanding its sturdy, robust body. Soon, the waterborne jungle called forth by Little Qingzhuo was trampled into chaos, with many tree trunks broken and scattered, floating on the water’s surface.
“Lead it onto the sand, fly low!” Zhu Minglang continued.
On the command, Little Qingzhuo immediately flew toward the beach, gliding close to the sand.
The Thousand-Year Lizard Water Demon Spirit was excited, for it had gained the upper hand. Faced with the temptation of transforming into a dragon, its pupils had gone greedily red.
Even a young Holy Dragon was a huge nourishment for a demon spirit like it. To transform into a dragon was imminent!
Once it reached the beach, it went into a frenzy of snaps and bites, nearly slapping Little Qingzhuo down several times.
Little Qingzhuo kept dodging around the sand, its stamina waning. After all, as a young dragon, it had far less endurance compared to adult creatures.
Its flight speed started to slow, and even its dodging was not as fluid as before. However, strangely, the Thousand-Year Lizard Water Demon Spirit’s speed also slowed down, and several times it could have harmed itself, its clumsy foreclaws allowed Little Qingzhuo to evade.
Gradually, the actions of the Thousand-Year Lizard Water Demon Spirit became slow, not resembling an energetically mature demon spirit but more like an old lizard in its twilight years.
Little Qingzhuo flew a bit further away, even having to wait a while for the Thousand-Year Lizard Water Demon Spirit to catch up.
On closer inspection, Little Qingzhuo realized that at some point the demon spirit had swollen up significantly. It wasn’t that its body had expanded, but rather it was coated in an immensely thick layer of mud and sand armor!
This armor had indeed become more substantial.
But its weight had increased manifold, and the bloated, burdened Thousand-Year Lizard Water Demon Spirit found movement more and more laborious and sluggish.
It was unaware that as it rampaged through the mangroves, it had been smeared with resin, which, like its blood, enabled even more mud and sand to adhere to it.
The Thousand-Year Lizard Water Demon Spirit had obtained a set of exceedingly heavy mud and sand armor, truly invincible—yet with that, it became clumsy and stiff, completely like a beached turtle.
Little Qingzhuo understood Zhu Minglang’s intention. It immediately used the Method of Driving, calling forth soft corals to get stuck in the demon spirit’s joints, making it even harder to move.
Now with slow spellcasting, the corals kept growing, continually binding. The immobilized Thousand-Year Lizard Water Demon Spirit, strong and thick as it was, found it nearly impossible to break free from the soft coral entanglements!
It might not be killed, but this counted as a capture!
Young dragon challenges demon spirit—victory!
It must be said, the sight of the swollen lizard struggling on the beach with its short fat claws was somewhat comedic.
All dignity lost!