26、Bone (upper)

  Link held the Earth's Eyeball in his left hand and swung the Bone Rod with his right, shaking his head and muttering to himself with a self-satisfied expression. He couldn't possibly use two staves at once, and the Earth's Eyeball could also serve as a medium for casting spells directly, but Link had grown accustomed to swinging the Tribal Chief's staff.

  As he cast his spell, the calm pool of water began to stir, forming a whirlpool in the center that grew larger and larger. The water seemed to become heavier, flowing at a slower pace, striking the rocks with a heavy hum. Lin Ke was still using his most skilled earth element divine technique, if there was anything hidden in the pool, it would definitely not be able to withstand it.

  As expected, a strange roar came from the mountain wall near the water's surface, and four ugly big heads suddenly emerged from the water, with bloody basins and sharp teeth, one mouth could swallow half of a person's body. One of the heads saw Meidanzo by the water and immediately retreated, possibly the same giant iron-armored beast that had its claw cut off by Meidanzo last time.

  Medli had drawn her sword and was on full alert when the sudden change occurred. A long whip with golden stripes suddenly flew out of the water pool close to the shore, silently and swiftly whipping towards Medli and Link's direction.

  This was the tail of an Ironclad Beast, but it was clearly longer and thinner than those of the larger Ironclad Beasts. The dark horn-like scales were covered in golden spots, and it came swiftly and silently without making a sound. The tail swooped down from mid-air, tracing an arc around Mei Dansuo in front before charging towards Lin Ke behind.

  If Lin Ke didn't die on the spot, it would be strange. Mei Danzuo let out a loud shout and raised his sword to slash upwards, with dazzling light emanating from the sword and an invisible force that seemed to hold up the sky, supporting the long tail and preventing it from falling, suspended in mid-air as the sword sliced through it.

  His swordsmanship combined with his divine technique was much more powerful than before, and the sword didn't directly slash at the long tail, but it emitted a sound like the clash of gold and iron. Maito had essentially pinned down the long tail, unable to hit himself on the head. His boots were also stuck in the mud, clearly bearing an enormous amount of pressure, and the long tail that was pulled over actually carried the heavy effect of the earth element divine technique.

  But don't forget that the tail is soft, and as the sword's momentum cuts upwards in an arc, the tip of the tail still whips towards Link, only slower and weaker.

  As Midna swung her sword, Link also cast a spell to protect himself using the earth element with heavy and slow effects, but it didn't seem to have much effect. The sudden sneak attack was supposed to be from Ironclad King, who raised its long tail in the water with immense force, as if it didn't care about its own body feeling heavier, nor did it slow down its speed much.

  Link, who was in the middle of casting a spell, had his vision blocked by Medan. He looked up to see the tail coming towards him and it was too late to dodge. In desperation, he also unleashed an incredible hidden power, using the Earth's Eye to instantly summon an earth element defense. It was unclear whether it was muddy or sandy, but in any case, a blurry and turbid mass appeared above his head.

  A long tail swept out a yellowish-gray glow, shattering the earth element defense summoned by Link, and the tip of the tail also swept across his left wrist. With a cracking sound, Link's forearm was broken, and the large Earth Eye in his hand flew out. Fortunately, Medanzer and he both blocked it once, otherwise his head would have been hit on the spot.

  At this time, a loud shout was heard from above: "You guys run quickly!!!!"

  At the same time, a series of crisp sounds were heard, as if many dishes were being shattered one after another. A giant beast suddenly jumped out of the water, but its forward pounce was frozen in place because a wave had just risen from the pool and hit it, turning into a layer of hard ice that froze it inside.

  The Ironclad Beast King finally revealed its true form, its body length similar to that of the large ironclad beast, or even slightly smaller. However, its shape was not quite the same, with a more slender body and an extremely long tail that accounted for about two-thirds of its total body length. Its entire body was covered in golden spots.

  It was just starting to launch a sneak attack underwater when Ah Meng felt something was off. He sensed the fluctuations in the earth elements around him, and it seemed that there was an Iron Shell Beast here that would instinctively use the simplest earth element detection, without revealing its face, it could detect the position of people on the shore. This technique Ah Meng had used before, and it was by sensing the water element fluctuations that he discovered Ma Qi who was following him.

  This Ironclad King is very clever, and it knows how to avoid the real and attack the virtual. Its long tail circled through the air and directly attacked Link behind Medusa, and it succeeded with one blow!

  Link made a mistake, using his strongest earth-elemental magic to fight the Iron-Tail Beast King, but the Iron-Tail Beast King itself was also skilled in similar earth-elemental powers, and this power was much stronger than Link's. The effect of the magic was greatly discounted. Seeing the Iron-Tail Beast King's long tail swing out with great force and speed, Ghirahim realized that Link's "intelligence" was incorrect!

  This Ironshell King is absolutely more powerful than Midna, no less than a mid-tier warrior. The earth elemental divine magic it wields is also much stronger than Link's. These two combined would be enough to take him down. In an unexpected turn of events, it knocked Link's left arm out of commission with just one swipe. At such close range, the two had to make a hasty retreat. Armon also used his strongest divine magic skill, Rolling Wave Freeze, freezing the Ironshell King in place just as it was about to emerge from the water.

  The Ironclad Beast King struggled with all its might, and the ice layer covering its body cracked into pieces. Mei Dansuo saw that things were not going well and was very obedient, turning around to grab Lin Kesha's leg and run away. The running speed of a fourth-level warrior is astonishing, especially when escaping for one's life, and even pulling someone along while running is incredibly fast.

  Luckily, Ah Mon's spell blocked it for a moment, allowing them to run into the forest first. The Iron Armor Beast King broke free from the ice shackles and chased after them immediately. The shattered ice was blown up by the sudden gust of wind, turning into countless sharp icicles that shot towards the Iron Armor Beast King's eyes in mid-air.

  The Ironclad Beast King closed his eyes, and the ice crystals couldn't harm his hard scales. He just paused for a moment, then continued to charge forward, looking like he was going to catch up with Link and Midna. His speed wasn't slower than theirs either. At this time, a fire suddenly broke out at the edge of the forest, and two trees that had just fallen down started burning.

  This was not Ahmon's divine technique, Meidanzo escaped into the forest and swung his sword to cut down two trees that were blocking the way. Link, who had been hit on the arm, used fire elemental magic between life and death again. This time it was more efficient than burning his own house, and in an instant he set the two big trees on fire, then his magical power was exhausted.

  The sudden burst of flames blocked the way, and the Ironclad Beast King stopped in its tracks, squatting on the ground. With a furious roar, it jumped up with force. Although this beast couldn't fly, it jumped extremely high, directly leaping over the fire. When it landed, the damp soil inexplicably turned into a swamp, trapping its heavy body inside. A layer of hard earth then surged up from the swamp, pinning its head and front paws beneath.

  Ah Mon also cast the earth element spell, he had no other choice, this was the best way to stop the Iron Armored Beast King's movement. The Iron Armored Beast King let out a roar from within the mud, and a faint yellow glow appeared on its body surface, it exerted force and drilled out, shattering the hard soil layer, still chasing forward, its long tail raised in the air drew an arc and disappeared into the tree cluster.

  Amon cast spells to block the Ironclad Beast King three times in a row, buying enough time for Maidan and Link to escape, then wished them good luck as he himself got into trouble.

  The Ironclad Beast King had just disappeared into the thicket, when a most ferocious large ironclad beast climbed up the mountain wall, opening its big mouth with sharp fangs and pouncing on Amun. Amun was not tall, like an adult dwarf, holding a tree branch in his hand, which obviously wasn't as dangerous as a warrior's sword, looking seemingly defenseless, but this large ironclad beast had met its match.

  The "branch" in Ah Mon's hand was a whole rod of superior refined iron, which was not only a staff but also a weapon, and it was much heavier than the long sword of a warrior, just suitable for dealing with this thick-skinned and armored beast that even a sword could not pierce. Ah Mon stood high above, using his full strength to strike the iron-armored beast's shoulder and back with one rod, while also bringing a gust of wild wind that rolled its body outwards towards the mountain wall.

  Not to mention the Ironclad Beast, even warriors or divine arts practitioners on the mainland have never seen this scene. The staff directly hit the body and still exerted the power of the divine arts. Amun's one staff knocked the ironclad beast off the cliff. It fell into the water pool but did not splash any water, instead making a heavy sound, and several cracks were smashed on the surface of the water.

  How did cracks appear on the water surface? A thick layer of ice had already formed in the pool, and the shape of the water surface was frozen at an angle. Just now, Ah Mon cast a spell on the mountain wall, causing a wave to surge towards the shore, and the water surface near the mountain wall sank, exposing the entrance of the nest after freezing.

  That large Earth's Pupil that was knocked flying fell into the water pool, and rolled right into the Iron Armored Beast King's lair along the inclined ice surface. Amun couldn't lose this thing, there was still information left behind by Old Crazy inside it. In his anxious state, he waved his staff to stimulate all the power of the Azure Water Heart, continuously making the pool water freeze thicker and thicker, so that the Earth's Pupil wouldn't fall into the water and could be retrieved easily.

  That big iron-armored beast fell down without breaking the ice layer, and immediately heard a loud crash. Another big iron-armored beast fell from the mountain wall and hit it on its body. The two big iron-armored beasts were both severely injured, another one that was climbing up the mountain saw this and turned around to come back down, while the last one with a broken claw never went up in the first place.

  Amun smashed one down with an iron rod, and then conjured another down with a divine technique. This was mainly because his position was good, and the various divine techniques were also very familiar to him. Amun shouted again and swung his staff, a gust of wind blew in, bringing icy mist that swept towards the four large iron-armored beasts on the ice surface. The large iron-armored beast, which had already been frightened by him, turned around and burrowed into the dense forest at the foot of the mountain, abandoning its nest hole guarding the edge of the water pool.

  Amon's divine technique was not only stronger than Link's, but his staff was also much more powerful. More importantly, he stood in the right position and used the right method. He understood the habits of the Iron Tortoise, a creature that hibernates during winter, and the cold would slow down its movements and make it fall asleep. Although the mutated Iron Tortoise was much stronger than the normal one, it still had its innate habits, and in the end, it was driven away by the piercing cold.

  Ah Mon did not dare to rush down the cliff to the nest to retrieve the Earth's Pupil, he didn't know if the four iron-armored beasts had left or not. Being surrounded at the foot of the mountain wasn't fun, and the Iron Armored Beast King could return at any time, when no one would be able to cover for him.

  At this time, he suddenly remembered that there was another accomplice in the leather pouch on his shoulder. Xue Ding'e could apparently understand human language and immediately patted the pouch and shouted: "Xue Ding'e, you quickly go down and bring back the Earth's Pupil, I'll protect you!... If you don't go down, I'll throw you down."

  Before the words had fallen, the cat suddenly jumped out of the skin bag and went down along the mountain cliff, its movements much more agile and swift than those of the giant iron-clad beast. It disappeared at the foot of the cliff for a moment, and then immediately ran up with a long white thing in its mouth.

  Amon's nose was almost twisted in anger, and he shouted: "What I want is the Earth's Pupil, that black divine stone, not this bone!"

  **

  PS: Still double update today, and an additional half chapter tonight.

  I beg for your recommendation votes, support the rush list! This week, "Tian Shuo" was recommended by Sanjiang, and I also ask you to vote for this book in the evaluation of the starting point "Sanjiang Channel", thank you!

  **