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Chapter 554: The Catachan Brutes
Bang!
A nimble figure landed squarely on the back of the land dragon.
He rolled forward effortlessly, dissipating the impact while thrusting his long, razor-sharp curved blade deep into the land dragon's back.
Crack!
Scales tough enough to withstand cannon fire shattered like thin wood. The dark brown curved blade plunged deep into the land dragon's flesh.
"Roar...!"
The sharp, ear-piercing howl left Gatell momentarily dazed.
But he paid no heed—he had long since outgrown the days when pain could slow him down.
With both hands, he pushed the hilt with full force, driving the blade deeper until it was entirely embedded in the land dragon's body.
Gatell could feel the land dragon's body tightening, its powerful muscles clamping down on the blade.
That was exactly what he wanted—this reaction proved his attack had landed effectively.
Thick blood gushed from the serrated groove of the blade as the land dragon thrashed wildly, trying to shake Gatell off.
He simply gripped the blade and used the creature's own twisting force to rip the dark blade out.
The deep, dark-green venom had already begun spreading through the monster's bloodstream.
The land dragon, sensing the lethal threat, felt an unbearable itch crawl down its spine.
It had to get him off!
Snapping through two more chains with its powerful jaws, its body trembled violently as a faint yellow elemental force radiated from it.
A thick layer of earth-elemental armor began spreading upwards from its legs, threatening to cover its entire back.
Gatell had anticipated this, swiftly stepping forward to climb toward the land dragon's head.
The gleaming blade scraped against its scales, sending tingling waves of unease through the beast.
In that moment, more agile figures rushed toward the land dragon's legs.
They carried modified rope crossbows, which shot straight into the dense elemental shield covering the beast.
Using the crossbows' retracting force, the Catachan warriors launched themselves onto the land dragon's back.
Just one of them was enough to unsettle the creature—but now, with so many swarming it, a deep sense of crisis ignited within it.
Entangled by chains, unable to escape, the land dragon let out a furious roar and suddenly collapsed to the ground.
The sudden impact unleashed a massive shockwave.
Several climbing Catachan warriors lost their grip on the gaps between the elemental armor plates, tumbling downward.
At that moment, surging earth-elemental energy condensed on the ground, forming jagged, menacing spikes that shot upward.
A Tier-5 Spell—Earth Spikes!
Recognizing the imminent threat, two mid-air Catachan warriors twisted their bodies to evade.
One even managed to grab hold of a rising spike, using it as leverage to fire another shot at the distant land dragon, propelling himself toward it.
But two warriors failed to escape, impaled instantly by the piercing spikes.
Their deaths did not deter the remaining Catachan warriors. Instead, they surged forward with renewed aggression toward the struggling land dragon.
With an unshaken heart, Gatell had already reached the top of the land dragon's head. The thick, jet-black armor on its skull was too strong for his blade to pierce.
His solution was simple—he cast aside all fear of dragons, let his body drop lightly, and climbed directly to the land dragon's eye.
Gazing into its vertical, crimson pupils, Gatell smirked in a chilling manner and slowly raised his Ghostblade!
Crack!
"Roar...!"
A deafening, agonized scream echoed throughout the fortress.
The grievously wounded land dragon thrashed violently.
Pushed to the brink by excruciating pain, it forcefully wrenched out the massive crossbow bolts embedded in its body.
The barbed arrowheads tore out chunks of its own flesh as they were ripped free.
Dark-red blood spurted wildly, staining its earth-elemental armor crimson.
The mortally wounded beast rolled frantically on the ground, desperately trying to shake off the Catachan warriors clinging to it.
But it was too late!
The Catachan warriors, seasoned in fighting large foes, leaped and climbed skillfully across its body.
The military daggers they wielded, forged from rare Catachan plane metal known as Flashsteel, repeatedly stabbed into the land dragon's body.
The potent Catachan Demon venom coating the blades spread rapidly through the beast's bloodstream.
Even dragon blood could not neutralize this deadly toxin, subjecting the creature to wave after wave of searing agony.
Meanwhile, its muscles spasmed uncontrollably, causing its entire body to stiffen.
Catachan Demons used this venom to easily immobilize their prey, turning them into vessels of sin and desecration for their offspring to hatch.
The land dragon, sensing the inevitable, did not retreat.
It continued to struggle madly, even attempting to attack the encroaching Catachan warriors.
But its movements slowed with each passing second, and its dwindling blood further drained its strength.
Seizing the moment, multiple dragon-hunting crossbows fired in unison, striking deep into its neck.
Bang!
The colossal beast crashed to the ground, sending a plume of dust billowing into the air.
Its lifeblood spread across the battlefield as its once-mighty roars faded to weak murmurs—until they stopped entirely.
It was dead!
Gatell delivered the final blow, driving his Ghostblade through its skull!
The first land dragon had fallen, but rather than retreating, the remaining land dragons surged forward in fury.
They launched a frenzied charge.
The Catachan warriors within the fortress grinned, storing the slain land dragon's body into their spatial storage before eagerly advancing toward the next one.
This time, they would face multiple land dragons at once!
The adventurers watching from the walls were in utter disbelief at the Catachan warriors' relentless assault.
While some warriors had perished in battle—
Their fearless sacrifices earned the respect of all who witnessed them.
Gatell, observing his fallen comrades, felt both sorrow and pride.
Catachan warriors never feared death, nor did they shy away from challenges.
The stronger the enemy, the more exhilarated they became.
Sacrifices would be made, but as long as some warriors survived and triumphed over their foes, they would only grow stronger!
After their first battle against a land dragon—
The Catachan warriors had gained valuable insight into their enemies.
Their teamwork became increasingly seamless, allowing them to swiftly scale the beasts and restrain them.
They inflicted damage while simultaneously diverting the land dragons' focus.
Once the Catachan Demon venom took full effect, they executed a decisive strike!
One by one, the land dragons fell!
More Catachan warriors also fell in battle.
Yet all who witnessed them were in awe.
No one had believed it possible—soldiers taking down supernatural-tier dragons.
But in the end—
All eight land dragons had been slain at the hands of the Catachan warriors.
A total of 160 elite Catachan warriors participated, with 33 fallen and another 22 seriously injured.
They paid a great price, but it was a price well worth paying.
They had won the respect of everyone, and their remarkable achievement spread throughout the entire Netheril Empire.
Almost everyone had heard about it.
The Catachan Demi-plane was incredibly dangerous, filled with deadly monsters and plants, and home to an exceptionally formidable group of Catachan warriors.
Angela furrowed her brow slightly in distress but ultimately remained silent.
The battle had been commanded by Gatell, who had successfully accomplished what was nearly an impossible mission.
Though there were casualties, their sacrifice had secured victory for the entire battle.
Had the fight dragged on and allowed the land dragons to truly breach the walled stronghold,
the losses in the subsequent battles could have been far greater.
"Sigh, just as the Lord said, this is the combat style that suits them best."
"If we force them to change, they might even lose their ability to fight."
"Perhaps next time, we should provide them with better weapons and equipment, prepare more life-saving items, and try to reduce their casualty rate as much as possible."
Having reached a conclusion, Angela immediately ordered the exhausted Catachan warriors to rest and recover.
At the same time, she arranged for the wounded soldiers to be sent to the underground laboratory.
There, they would receive the best possible treatment to restore their physical condition.
If any were left disabled or suffered irreparable injuries, the Lord had prepared other surprises for them.
A special operations unit known as the Catachan Warriors was already being quietly established.
With the fall of the eight leading land dragons,
the dragon beast army, now without their supernatural commanders, had become a bloated and mindless giant.
They launched futile assaults against the city walls, either attacking the fortified structures or rushing toward the massive breach created by the land dragons.
It was as if that breach was not the burial site of the land dragons but their ultimate destination.
The drive for slaughter and destruction continued to propel the dragon beasts forward.
However, everyone knew that as time passed, these once-fierce monsters would inevitably become trapped prey, ready for slaughter.
Adventurers were also assigned tasks to hunt and encircle the mindless dragon-blood creatures from the outskirts.
The primary objective was to prevent them from scattering in all directions.
The sheer number of these creatures was too great; even if Bay Territory exerted its full strength to kill them all, it would take at least a week.
Fortunately, the immense pressure that the dragon-blood army had placed on Bay Territory was finally fading.
This was a grand feast of carnage!
If one wanted to savor it, one had to be willing to pay the price!
Watching the battle, Matthew's face showed a faint smile.
Aside from modifying soldiers through surgery, he had focused most of his efforts on finding special dragon creatures within the dragon beast army.
He was searching for a particular kind of dragon beast—one capable of resisting the Mad Dragon Lock.
To Matthew, the activation and unique processing of the Mad Dragon Lock were bound to produce some exceptional individuals.
Even if the probability was low, there was still a chance.
However, after three days of searching, Matthew had yet to find a dragon that truly caught his attention.
Until the dragon beast army had been drastically reduced,
and only 30,000 remained.
It was then that Matthew discovered an exceptionally unique dragon creature at the army's edge.
"Faerie Dragon, Advanced Magical Creature, Challenge Level 11+, Special Ability: Hive Mind!"
"Hive Mind LV1, Extraordinary Feat—linked individuals gain +1 Willpower at collective thresholds of 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000..."
Such a unique feat had an almost poetic beauty in its design.
However, despite its name, the feat's ability to link consciousness did not manifest in this particular faerie dragon, which had already lost its sanity.
It was quite small, with butterfly-like translucent wings allowing it to float gently in the air.
Its appearance resembled a blue-and-white lizard, though it had more humanoid features.
After securing the faerie dragon, Matthew found no other similar creatures.
Examining its basic attributes, he confirmed that the faerie dragon was fundamentally different from other dragon beasts.
Most dragon beasts evolved through physical modifications due to their awakened powers.
Only a small portion could wield elemental forces.
A spiritual enhancement like that of the faerie dragon was an exceedingly rare occurrence.
Returning to the territory, Matthew searched for records on faerie dragons.
He discovered that these unique creatures primarily lived in the Kingdom of Cole Elves and were among the few dragon beasts to possess magical and intellectual inheritance.
"It seems that the activation and influence of the Mad Dragon Lock are largely determined by the state and feats of the dragon itself."
Matthew attempted to capture more faerie dragons for research but found that even the slave markets had no such 'merchandise.'
For now, the only faerie dragon he had was this solitary, mindless one.
Even its original consciousness and intelligence had vanished.
Perhaps it could no longer grow stronger.
Still, that did not stop Matthew from 'collecting' it.
Unique feats were rare, and so was good fortune!
Upon learning of this, Yaya showed great interest.
She planned to experiment and conduct tests using the faerie dragon's feat.
There were plenty of test subjects—the underground laboratory never lacked experimental material.
As the Bay Territory army continued clearing out the remaining dragon beasts,
the intelligence department in the Dark Forest was in a state of urgency and commotion.
They had immediately used encrypted emergency channels to send messages to Bay Territory's nearby outposts and camps.
Once they had stabilized the situation, they promptly contacted Bay City.
Matthew soon received word of the turmoil within the Dark Forest.
A pack of ferocious dragon beasts was advancing toward Bay Territory.
Upon hearing this, Matthew instinctively furrowed his brow.