Back at Home, Qin Ziwen summoned everyone to discuss how to hunt the Giant Rock Dragon, given the restriction that only recruited members of Home could participate.

After learning that the Giant Rock Dragon possessed an absurdly high Defense Power, rendering conventional melee weapons useless against it,

everyone’s imaginations ran wild, and they began to offer their suggestions.

Li Tieshan said, "Sir, for the past two days, I’ve been thinking about a type of Giant Crossbow. If we double the size of the Crossbow on the Car-Mounted Crossbow and use Giant Arrows, we might be able to double its power."

"How long would a finished one take?"

"Five days."

"That’s too long. We’ll stick with the Car-Mounted Crossbows we have."

Jia Liangcai stroked his beard thoughtfully. "A direct assault won’t work. Perhaps we can outsmart it. Attacking with fire or poison might be worth a try."

"It has Mud Armor. A normal fire attack will be difficult to pull off."

"The Mud Armor might block fire, but it might not block heat," Li Tieshan said, leading the group to the Sword and Saber Workshop.

He found a frozen Single Claw Dragon, coated its body in a layer of mud, and placed it in the furnace.

After just a quarter of an hour, the mud ball was pulled out with tongs. Its outer shell was already dry, cracked, and pale.

Li Tieshan smashed it with a hammer.

A puff of scalding steam, smelling of cooked meat and damp earth, HISSED out from the hole.

When he broke the outer shell apart, the Single Claw Dragon’s skin underneath the mud casing was moist and glistening, already steamed half-cooked.

Qin Ziwen mused, ’Even if we burn it for a full ten minutes, the Giant Rock Dragon isn’t just going to sit there and wait to die. Its Mud Armor would buy it time. What if it alters the terrain and escapes into an underground cavern?’

"Then we’ll shatter its mud shell," Jia Liangcai said. "A volley from the Car-Mounted Crossbows can bring down even a thin city wall. Its ’turtle shell’ can’t be harder than a city wall, can it?"

Following that, the group began to discuss the specific details of the plan.

Finally, after a dozen or so minutes, the details were settled, and they prepared to move out.

Qin Ziwen called out to Li Tieshan.

"Iron Mountain, come here."

"If I wanted you to forge a Celestial Javelin for the Beaked Eagle, could you do it?"

"A Celes... Chicken Head Spear?" Li Tieshan asked, confused.

"No, no, you misunderstood." Qin Ziwen explained the concept to him.

After listening to his lord’s explanation, Li Tieshan understood what it was.

"Sir, it’s worth a try."

Meanwhile, everyone back at Home dropped what they were doing and sprang into action.

They transported supplies and prepared tools.

Batch after batch of related equipment, tools, and materials were sent to the Great Rift Valley to the south.

The cave entrance used by the Giant Rock Dragon had been partially blocked up. A mud wall was plastered over the surface; it was still damp to the touch. The area had clearly been deliberately reinforced by the creature.

This was likely one of the Giant Rock Dragon’s survival strategies. They would alter the surrounding terrain, creating the illusion of a solid wall to conceal their habitat.

Over time, in the dry, dusty environment of the Gobi Desert, the mud wall would harden and blend in seamlessly with its surroundings.

Using two-wheeled carts, they hauled surrounding stones and piled them on the clifftops on both sides of the rift.

At the same time, bundles of hay and branches were scattered on the ground near the cave. Above, the last of their gasoline was brought over in large quantities.

At the bottom of the Great Rift Valley, the pile of supplies grew ever larger.

Meanwhile, on the paths along both sides of the rift, two Crossbow Wagons were positioned on each side, for a total of four Car-Mounted Crossbows.

The tips of the Crossbow Arrows were specially modified. The heads were made thicker, sacrificing range and accuracy in favor of increased close-range lethality.

Jia Liangcai personally led a team, directing his men to build a Stone Fall Mechanism on-site. The moment the Giant Rock Dragon emerged, they would drop rocks to block its path of retreat.

At the edge of the slope, Qin Ziwen and the others around him worked together to push a massive boulder into its designated position. He wiped the sweat from his brow.

From behind, Li Tieshan approached, carrying something.

"Sir, it’s finished!"

Looking at the two-meter-long Cone Spear in Li Tieshan’s hands, Qin Ziwen took it with both of his own. The weight sank in his palms, and he nearly dropped it.

’This thing must weigh close to 220 pounds,’ he thought.

The spear was about two meters long, forged entirely from refined iron.

Its shaft was perfectly straight, but the most striking feature was its Spearhead.

It wasn’t the usual flat, leaf-shaped, or rhomboid blade, but a nearly solid, three-edged, armor-piercing cone. It was top-heavy and as thick as a man’s arm.

Three deep blood grooves ran from the sharpened edges all the way down to the neck of the spear.

The tail of the spear featured hollowed-out fins, designed to make it easier for the Beaked Eagle’s talons to grip.

This also ensured that when the Javelin was dropped from a great height, it would remain oriented with the Spearhead pointing down.

The body of the spear had spiral grooves, which would help maintain stability during its descent and increase bleeding from the wound.

"A fine weapon. Let’s call it the Staff of God," Qin Ziwen said with admiration.

"Beaked Eagle," he called, waving at the sky.

The Beaked Eagle, which had been practicing its dropping technique with a wooden javelin clutched in its talons, swiftly descended. It had been training with a Wooden Spear for the past few days, using its control over air currents to maximize the javelin’s accuracy.

"Try this. See if you can lift it."

The Beaked Eagle understood. Its talons precisely gripped the hollowed-out ring on the spear’s fins. With a powerful flap of its wings, it soared into the sky, carrying the heavy Javelin.

After flying to a height of a hundred meters, it held the weight, paused for a moment, and then descended while still carrying it.

Watching it descend, Qin Ziwen’s heart pounded in his chest. He was terrified it would lose its grip and quickly backed away. If it fumbled and that thing fell, even two lives wouldn’t be enough to survive.

Fortunately, it landed safely. After becoming Extraordinary, the Beaked Eagle’s strength had increased dramatically.

"SCREEE!"

It cried out twice, indicating that it was fine.

One day later, all the preparations were complete.

The refugees temporarily brought in from the congee sheds were dismissed, leaving only recruited members of Home like Li Tieshan, Shi Hu, Zhang Meng, and Da Zhuang at the scene.

"Sir, I’m going," Du Yu said. He grabbed a rope and rappelled down the cliff face of the Great Rift Valley to the bottom.

He took a pickaxe from his belt and began striking the entrance.

Soon, a hole was knocked through the thin wall.

Du Yu pulled on the rope and quickly ascended.

Inside the opening, it was silent. There wasn’t the slightest sound.

’Did it leave?’ Qin Ziwen’s heart sank. ’Could it be that after last time, the Giant Rock Dragon left through the underground caves and found a new lair?’

’If so, all their preparations over the past two days would have been for nothing.’

The setting sun was gradually disappearing over the horizon, and visibility in the Gobi Desert was dropping.

"Smoke it out. Let’s see if it’s still in there," Qin Ziwen ordered. Someone brought over damp wood, lit it, and tossed it through the opening.

Thick smoke billowed out from the cracks.

A moment later, the mud wall at the cave entrance suddenly collapsed inward, accompanied by a low, guttural roar filled with fury.

"MOOOO—"

The massive head, covered in thick, rock-like armor, slowly emerged from the darkness.

"Here it comes!"

The eyes of the ambushing party lit up, and everyone held their breath.

They watched as the Giant Beast fully revealed its body.

Just as its entire body was about to emerge, it suddenly stopped. It looked around at the thick piles of hay and the stacks of deadwood.

"MOOOO—"

Two jets of white steam shot from its nostrils, and it prepared to retreat back into the cave.

"SWOOSH!" 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

An Arrow shot across dozens of meters from the top of the rift and landed precisely on its nostril.

The Arrow sank in half an inch, its fletching trembling violently.

The damage wasn’t high, but the insult was immense.

...

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