Under the scorching sun, the Giant Rock Dragon’s mottled, shadowed body was covered in a crisscrossing web of scars, large and small.

On its back, some of the pillar-like crystals had broken off, leaving behind scars the size of bowls or basins.

It let out a furious roar, and Qin Ziwen’s legs went weak. The hard earth beneath his feet seemed to turn into soft cotton.

Du Yu grabbed him and pulled him back several steps.

After moving away, Qin Ziwen looked back at where he had just been standing. The ground was unchanged, as if it had all been an illusion.

"Sir, it wasn’t an illusion," came Du Yu’s voice from beside him. "I could feel the ground beneath my feet soften slightly."

Hearing this, Qin Ziwen’s expression turned grave.

’Just as I thought, another Extraordinary Creature. If Tyrannosaurs are the apex of what normal creatures can achieve on land, then the Giant Rock Dragon has already surpassed that, standing on a higher tier.’

’Just like how the Beaked Eagle can manipulate air currents, this Giant Rock Dragon can affect the earth.’

"Now that we know its location, things are simpler. Du Yu, give me the Bow. You and the main group fall back first. The Beaked Eagle and I will keep it occupied for a while longer."

"Yes, Sir." Du Yu was decisive. The earlier probing attack had shown that even an Arrow to the eye failed to cause any significant injury. This meant conventional weapons would have a hard time breaching the Giant Rock Dragon’s defenses. There was little point in him staying here.

Riding on the Beaked Eagle’s back, Qin Ziwen looked down from the sky. At the bottom of the rift, the Giant Rock Dragon had already turned around and was heading toward the western end. A kilometer to the west was a large, gentle slope it could use to reach the surface.

’This showed it was familiar with the surrounding terrain.’

’It must have lived here for quite some time.’

’But what does it eat?’

Qin Ziwen’s gaze fell on the cave from which it had emerged.

’Perhaps the Giant Rock Dragon never expected its enemy would one day be able to fly.’

"Beaked Eagle, lower our altitude a bit."

As the Beaked Eagle descended, the Giant Rock Dragon stopped moving and let out a low bellow.

It stomped its feet, making the surrounding walls and the ground shake continuously.

But even so, it was helpless against the man and the bird in the sky.

After a moment, it seemed to realize this itself.

It fell silent, lowered its head, and continued heading west.

"It’s this desperate and still isn’t using any other tricks. Looks like it really doesn’t have any ranged attacks." Qin Ziwen understood. ’If it has no ranged attacks, then this will be much easier.’

When the Beaked Eagle was positioned directly above its head, he took out his Bow, drew it, and fired an Arrow.

The Arrow avoided the prismatic crystals on its back, instead piercing its flesh and sinking in just under three inches.

But it was like a mosquito bite. The nearly ten-meter-long Giant Rock Dragon just kept walking, its movements completely unaffected.

He nocked another Arrow, this time aiming for the hollowed-out scars on its back.

SQUELCH—

The Arrow sank in most of the way.

’The defenses here are indeed weaker.’

The Giant Rock Dragon stopped moving.

It let out a low roar, then knelt and scraped its craggy back furiously against the nearby rock wall.

Chunks of gravel and debris were ground off the wall, falling onto its back.

When it stood up again, many of the scars on its back had been filled with gravel and loose earth.

The gravel and earth gradually melted, turning into a muddy slurry that patched the holes. From a distance, aside from the color being slightly different from the surrounding hide, it looked mostly fine.

Qin Ziwen watched in surprise. "It can do that? Crafting its own earthen armor on the spot?"

’Looking again at the Giant Rock Dragon’s thick, muddy hide, he suspected its entire body was coated in a layer of this stuff, like an outer shell of mud or clay armor.’

’In that case, its resistance to fire might be even higher than I imagined.’

"But... being fire-resistant doesn’t mean it can withstand a continuous roasting," Qin Ziwen mused.

After emerging from the narrow passage at the end of the rift, the Giant Rock Dragon found it still couldn’t reach the Beaked Eagle in the sky. It was so furious it began to bellow incessantly.

The harsh sun also seemed to be unbearable for it. After pausing for a moment, it turned, walked back into the rift, and returned to its cave.

The Beaked Eagle circled in the sky for a while longer. After confirming that the Giant Rock Dragon wasn’t reemerging, it carried Qin Ziwen back toward Home.

On the way back, they saw the rest of the group still on the path and descended from the sky.

"Sir."

"President."

Everyone gathered around.

"Mm, it went back." Qin Ziwen nodded. He looked at Wei Yu. "The intel was real. The Giant Rock Dragon is in there. I owe you one."

A group was approaching from the opposite direction.

The one in the lead was Zou Jianghe.

Zou Jianghe and Qin Ziwen’s eyes met for a moment, but Zou Jianghe’s gaze flickered before he looked away.

The two groups passed each other. Qin Ziwen glanced over his shoulder at their retreating backs. They were heading in the direction he had just come from.

Zhao Pu whispered, "President, they’re probably going after the Giant Rock Dragon, too."

"Yes, I figured." Qin Ziwen’s expression remained calm. He wasn’t worried that Zou Jianghe and his men could actually kill the Giant Rock Dragon.

’After his earlier test, he was certain most conventional melee weapons wouldn’t even be able to break its defense.’

’Especially with the Giant Rock Dragon’s suspected ability to soften stone, they would be at a distinct disadvantage in a head-on melee fight.’

"If they want to go, let them test the waters." Qin Ziwen gave a faint smile. Noticing the worry in Zhao Pu’s eyes, he added, "The Giant Rock Dragon isn’t that easy to deal with."

Behind them, after they had walked some distance, Zou Jianghe turned his head. He stared at Qin Ziwen, who was now just a small black dot on the horizon.

His brow was tightly furrowed. He suddenly said to Huang Tao beside him, "I’ve got a bad feeling about this. Maybe we should just head back."

’He prided himself on understanding Qin Ziwen to a certain degree. When they passed just now, Qin Ziwen hadn’t tried to stop them. That could only mean one of two things: either he didn’t think they could find the Giant Rock Dragon, or he believed the creature was so dangerous they stood no chance against it.’

"President," Huang Tao said in a low voice, "if we just turn back like this, it’ll be a huge blow to your prestige. People will just think we’re scared of him, and the members will have something to say about it."

Zou Jianghe looked at him. "Then what do you suggest we do?"

A smile appeared on Huang Tao’s face. "We keep going. But whether we actually *find* it is another matter entirely. The news about this Giant Rock Dragon is just hearsay, anyway. We don’t know its exact location, so it would be perfectly normal if we failed to find it, wouldn’t it?"

"That makes sense, but what if we actually find it?" Zou Jianghe had only come to make an appearance; he wasn’t actually prepared to fight the Giant Rock Dragon. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

He just planned to show his face and put on a display of responsibility befitting the leader of the "Grand Alliance."

As for actually fighting the Giant Rock Dragon, he wasn’t that arrogant. He wasn’t even sure he could handle a Tyrannosaurus, let alone a Giant Rock Dragon of a higher danger Level.

Huang Tao offered a suggestion. "We can deliberately avoid the footprints they left on their way here."

After hearing this, Zou Jianghe’s tightly furrowed brow suddenly relaxed, and a flash of admiration appeared in his eyes.

He clapped Huang Tao heavily on the shoulder and laughed in a low voice. "Excellent! We’ll do exactly as you say!"

...