“What a pity,” thought Meng Hao. “I was only able to identify Mo Li and old devil w.a.n.g. There was no way to figure out who Yan Song and Li Tao are.”

“Grandmaster Meng,” said rank 7 Dragoneer Mo Zi coolly, “you need to be careful. This is a battle of life and death. When the time comes, hopefully you’ll have enough time to say the word ‘forfeit.’” He pa.s.sed by Meng Hao, glaring at him with a sinister expression.

Next to him was Mo Fang, who looked at Meng Hao with a look of deep fury and the clear desire to kill.

As the father and son shot past him into the golden s.h.i.+eld, Meng Hao’s expression was calm. Of course, that was the nature of Meng Hao’s personality; the calmer he looked, the more likely he was to kill.

Considering his opponents had bared their fangs, then as far as Meng Hao was concerned, it was time to break those fangs!

Wu Ling looked nervous as she watched Meng Hao. Wu Chen stood next to her, his eyes filled with fanaticism. He had ultimate confidence in Meng Hao, almost to the point of blind faith. In his heart, Meng Hao’s strength was incomparable.

Meng Hao’s body flickered as he and Big Hairy turned into a white beam that shot toward the golden s.h.i.+eld. As they entered, Meng Hao’s eyes flickered. The s.h.i.+eld was like water pa.s.sing over his skin. He could very clearly feel the Wood-type power within it. It seemed as if he could even utilize the power of the Greenwood Tree totem to exercise some simple level of control over it.

At the same time, there also appeared to be Metal-type power within the golden light, which caused Meng Hao no small bit of surprise.

Almost at the same time that Meng Hao stepped foot onto the platform, Dragoneers from the other four Tribes arrived in groups of threes. Gu La, the old woman, the old fisherman, and others. All of the Dragoneers who would be partic.i.p.ating in the battle now stood on the platform. It was at this moment that….

Roars immediately shook Heaven and Earth as Gu La waved his hand, causing nearly a hundred neo-demons to appear around the howling Wild Giant. Among the shocking group were more than ten Flood Dragons as well as a gigantic Zombie Wolf which emanated a boundless death aura. This immediately set Gu La apart from the others in shocking fas.h.i.+on.

The continuous roars of the Wild Giant caused the observing members of the five great Tribes to be filled with shock.

Next was the old woman. The giant Cyclops Ape she rode let out a howl as she seemed to open up a door in the air itself. Instantly, a horde of apes appeared, every single one of them a Demonic Cyclops. There were nearly a hundred in total, the sight of which was just as shocking as that of Gu La.

After her was the white-haired old man with the demeanor of a transcendent being, who rode the mighty white crane. He waved his hand and was suddenly surrounded by a vast collection of tiny white snakes. The number of snakes he possessed vastly outnumbered that of the neo-demons of the other Dragoneers. There were hundreds of them, all of whom had forked tongues that flicked in and out. The aura of a hyper toxic venom drifted out from them.

Most shocking of all, however, was the old fisherman. The enormous earthworm he stood atop of let out a noiseless roar as ma.s.sive amounts of silt magically appeared around the both of them. Within the silt burrowed countless vicious-looking earthworms that swayed back and forth, making the whole scene look like an illusion.

Then there was Mo Zi. As the roaring, two-headed Flood Dragon circled around him, distortions appeared in the air. A neo-demon horde emerged from within, a vast collection of howling Flood Dragons, none of which were small.

As for Meng Hao, he didn’t look quite as impressive as the others. His horde only contained a few dozen Greenwood Wolves and Bats, which was not enough to shock anyone when compared to the other five.

As of this moment, all the members of the five great Tribes outside of the golden s.h.i.+eld were paying close attention. This was especially true of the Tribe Greatfathers and Priests. The Dragoneer Duel was much different than the battle of Totem Cultivators. Totems represented personal strength. However, in many aspects, Dragoneers could influence the Tribe as a whole.

Whichever way you looked at it, Dragoneers were in a far higher position than Totem Cultivators.

The first battle of the Ancestor Rite Compet.i.tion could be ignored to some extent; the truly important part of the whole thing was the second battle!

Wu Ling looked extremely nervous. Wu Chen looked excited and pa.s.sionate. The rest of the members of the five great Tribes exchanged anxious glances….

It was at this point that the battle royal began!

In the past, Meng Hao had always waited for others to take the initiative in battle. But after coming to the Western Desert, things were different. He would be the first one out of the gate. And when he attacked… it was with the intent to kill!

His first attack was actually not levelled against any of the Dragoneers from the four other Tribes, but instead, toward Mo Zi.

Bear your teeth? Then you’re looking to die!

That was Meng Hao. If you attack, you must do so with decisiveness and killing intent.

He waved his sleeve, and immediately, Big Hairy howled as his body began to expand. The wolfpack next to him, as well as the Black Bat, all transformed into beams of light that shot toward Mo Zi and his neo-demon horde.

Meng Hao’s attack caught Mo Zi completely by surprise. He had never imagined that Meng Hao would be the first one to make a move, let alone against him. His plan all along had been to launch a sneak attack against Meng Hao during the thick of battle, so that he would have a good excuse in case anyone called him out on the matter.

Meng Hao’s attack had thus caught him completely unawares.

“Are you looking to die!?” he roared. Flood Dragons from the horde next to him roared and shot toward Meng Hao’s neo-demons. Off to the side, Mo Fang’s face filled with intense rage as he glared at Meng Hao. Then a cold smile twisted his face.

“You’re dead!” he said.

Rumbling sounds immediately rose up into the sky.

Meng Hao’s attack filled the other Dragoneer va.s.sals with shock. Everyone outside of the golden s.h.i.+eld also watched on, eyes flickering with astonishment.

“What’s going on with the Crow Scout Tribe…?”

“They have another turncoat? Don’t tell me that this guy is just like that guy from before, so powerful that he can beat everyone else?”

“No way! Dragoneer Tian Qi is too powerful, and could never be defeated by that guy.”

The shocked members of the other Tribes slowly looked over to the members of the Crow Scout Tribe. What they saw was the Crow Scout Tribe members in complete astonishment. This was especially true of the Greatfather and the Priest, whose expressions were very similar to their expressions during the first battle.

This prompted further discussions.

“Dammit, something’s wrong here. Look at their expressions!”

“The first time was understandable, but for the same thing to happen again means it has to be some kind of trick on their part!!”

“But…. What trick exactly is it? To kill each other first?”

As the discussion continued on the outside, inside the golden s.h.i.+eld Mo Zi was laughing uproariously.

“Meng, you twerp, since you’re looking to die, don’t blame me for accommodating you. We’re both va.s.sals of the same Tribe, but considering how you’re attacking me, you must be a double agent! In that case… I’m going to kill you even if you do try to forfeit!” Mo Zi had sent half of his Flood Dragons, as well as the two-headed Flood Dragon, charging forward in attack.

A huge boom resonated up into the sky. Big Hairy was a blinding white beam of light, filled with savagery. The Black Bat flickered forward. Its sharp teeth glinted, and the body of one of the Flood Dragons immediately shrivelled up. It died with a miserable shriek.

Mo Zi’s face immediately fell. He had predicted that Meng Hao would be strong, but he never imagined that the White Wolf and Black Bat would be so shocking. In fact, he almost couldn’t believe that this was the same bat that used to belong to him. In his recollection, its latent talent didn't match up to the Flood Dragons, which was why he had eventually given it to his son to protect him.

How could he ever have imagined that under Meng Hao’s control, the Black Bat would exhibit such astonis.h.i.+ng power!?

“Things are just beginning,” he then said with a cold laugh. “I’d originally planned to use this next trick on an outsider, but I guess you’ll do nicely.” With that, he slapped his bag of holding. Immediately, hundreds of howling Flood Dragons emerged, ten of whom were two-headed.

When the other Dragoneers saw the aura emanating from these Flood Dragons, it filled their faces with shock. Of course, those on the outside of the s.h.i.+eld were even more surprised.

Meng Hao looked indifferently at the Flood Dragons and then said, “Wrong. Things aren’t beginning, they’re ending.”

His hand flashed an incantation gesture, and then pushed down onto his dantian region. Immediately, his Gold Core trembled as a roar emanated out from the ancient Flying Rain-Dragon Core.

In accompaniment with the roar, the illusory image of a three hundred meter long Flying Rain-Dragon appeared above his head. It had a long tail, wings with sharp tips, and blood-red eyes. Immediately, a shocking aura emanated out.

Even the golden s.h.i.+eld began to ripple and distort. The surrounding Dragoneers stared in shock.

“That’s….”

“A level 11 neo-demon! Heavens, that’s… the illusory spirit projection of a level 11 neo-demon!!”

“Such pressure…. This guy… don’t tell me he’s a Grand Dragoneer!?!?”

All of the other Dragoneers on the platform were shocked. They and their neo-demons were all trembling with intense fear as they looked at the Flying Rain-Dragon.

The intense pressure emanated by something vastly above them suddenly filled the area.

This intangible pressure covered everything within the golden s.h.i.+eld on the platform. The instant the Flying Rain-Dragon appeared, the Flood Dragons around Mo Zi began to shake and emit plaintive shrieks. They seemed to be shrieks of fear bordering on phobia.

They all shrank back, shaking, as if they couldn’t stand up to the pressure weighing down on them. Their miserable shrieks were such that it seemed as if their bodies might begin to collapse.

Meng Hao’s face was cold as he waved his right hand. Immediately, the Flying Rain-Dragon let out a shocking howl which caused the golden s.h.i.+eld to shake, and the sky outside of the s.h.i.+eld to grow dim. The ancient Flying Rain-Dragon was a sovereign of the sky, and its pride and dignity were now on full display as it charged toward the trembling Flood Dragons.

When it pa.s.sed, there were no miserable shrieks. The Flood Dragons did nothing to prevent the Flying Rain-Dragon from swallowing them up. Regardless of whether they had two heads or one, in front of the Flying Rain-Dragon, they were so weak that they couldn’t do anything to resist. Within the s.p.a.ce of a few breaths, they had all been completely consumed.

Mo Zi cried out in alarm and disbelief. His face was pale white as he staggered backward. As the Flying Rain-Dragon neared him, his eyes filled with frenzy. His eyes radiating with manic desire to continue living, he suddenly grabbed Mo Fang, and shoved him out in front.

“I, Mo Zi, have submerged myself in the Dao of Dragoneering for many years. I have expended my heart’s blood in my pursuits, in my research in how to produce shocking neo-demons. Meng, you twerp, I refuse to give in!” Roaring, he performed an incantation with his left hand as the Flying Rain-Dragon neared. Then he pushed his hand down onto the head of his son Mo Fang. A look of disbelief and confusion could be seen on Mo Fang’s face as blood sprayed from his mouth. Suddenly, his head exploded.

“Take my son to give birth to a new neo-demon! Use my son’s soul to bring forth the Mo Clan’s Dragoneer Legacy, the eight-headed Mo Flood Dragon!”

Roaring could be heard as Mo Fang’s body shook. Suddenly, the black head of a Flood Dragon emerged from within. It flew out into the air.

One. Two. Three…. It took only a split second for eight heads to burst out from within Mo Fang’s body.

-----

P.S. The image in the sneak peak is promotional art of a Flying Rain-Dragon from the Beseech the Devil computer game. Beseech the Devil is one of Er Gen's other 3 major novels, so I would a.s.sume the basic appearance jives between the two....