Chapter 26: Slaying the Thorn Dragon

In fact, when those dinosaurs charged earlier, the camels and horses had already descended into chaos once. Because there were people blocking the way ahead, and since these creatures did not really understand what they were facing, things hadn’t escalated into a full-blown stampede.

But this time, the moment the spinosaurus let out its roar, the instinctive suppression of bloodlines and the primal urge to survive caused the camels to break down instantly.

Those camels, which could usually lie down calmly even in the face of a sandstorm, could no longer suppress their wild nature. Under the spinosaurus’s roar, they all began to scatter in every direction.

Previously, all the camels had been tethered one after another for easier management.

Had they all fled in the same direction, it might have been manageable. But now, as they bolted in all directions, the camels crashed into each other or dragged their companions along.

Amid the chaos, the camels were soon tripped up by their fellows, and in the end, they rolled together in a tangled heap, crashing straight into the ballista device charging toward the spinosaurus.

At that moment, Zhao Gongming had just released a batch of little demons.

These little demons were not large, coming in all shapes and forms; some looked like inky black tigers painted right out of a picture, while others appeared as bald little men covered in a greenish patina.

No sooner were they released than they rushed toward the spinosaurus, shrieking and howling.

The spinosaurus seemed to be intrigued by these little creatures, its attention shifting in their direction.

The leader of the paladins took advantage of the distraction to escape with his remaining men.

He had already seen through the situation: these two monsters before him were simply bigger and tougher than most, but defeating them wasn’t such a difficult task—as long as one avoided their jaws and delivered a decisive blow at the crucial moment.

The real trouble, however, was their ultimate attacks, which required preparation time. That was the biggest headache.

Now, Niu Xuanguang and a few others were holding off the tyrannosaurus. As long as the ballista device could pin down the spinosaurus, the paladin leader would have a chance to unleash his ultimate move.

With this in mind, he raised his greatsword.

“Everyone, gather around me.”

At his command, all the surviving paladins moved in.

Only five of them were left alive; the rest were either grievously wounded or already dead.

As for the men in white robes, they had been protected by the ballista device earlier and thus suffered little harm, but their system differed from that of the paladins, and they did not come to support when the paladin leader called out.

“Protect me.”

With those words, the paladin leader drove his greatsword into the ground, gripping it tightly with both hands.

Wang Liang noticed the paladin leader at this moment, observing a strange light emanating from his body, as if he were pouring all his strength and life force into his two-handed sword.

The method was simple enough that even Wang Liang, a complete novice, could understand it.

But the simpler the technique, the more terrifying its power could be. As life and strength poured in, the paladin leader’s face grew pale, while the greatsword itself turned into a blade of pure light.

He wrenched the light blade from the earth and planted his feet firmly.

“I have strength for only one blow. Draw it over here.”

At this command, a paladin immediately charged toward the spinosaurus.

This paladin wore no armor, and so his speed was not slow.

Compared to the spinosaurus, he was nothing more than a morsel of flesh delivered to its jaws.

Yet, obeying the leader’s order, he did not hesitate, but sprinted straight at the beast.

As he ran, he shouted loudly, doing everything to attract the spinosaurus’s attention.

At that moment, the spinosaurus was tearing into the little demons Zhao Gongming had released. Though they seemed numerous, they had no real combat power. Zhao Gongming usually summoned them for other purposes.

Take the inky black tiger, for example—drawn from a painting, it could be used to guard a gate, much like a temple guardian, ensuring no little ghosts would sneak in at night.

But against a spinosaurus, such things were useless.

The spinosaurus roared at the black tiger, nearly dispersing its inky form.

Then, with a single step, it crushed a demon that resembled a dagger underfoot.

Yet the other little demons took the opportunity to leap onto its back, making the spinosaurus exceedingly uncomfortable.

Unlike the tyrannosaurus, the spinosaurus had relatively long forelimbs and could reach its own body, plucking the little demons off at will.

But their numbers made the task troublesome.

Just then, the paladin’s charge enraged the spinosaurus. Abandoning the little demons, it lunged at the paladin.

Paladins were never known for speed; even changing movement patterns was far from easy.

Seeing that he could not escape, the paladin simply dropped to the ground, raising his sword above his head.

The spinosaurus, though capable of biting downward, was unused to fighting on the ground.

The paladin’s action provoked it further, and as the beast snapped down, the sword wedged itself under its jaw.

The spinosaurus cared little for wounds on its body, but it still needed to eat.

Injured, it roared, stomping hard toward the paladin.

The paladin rolled on the ground, trying to scramble back to his leader.

But he was too slow. With a single step, the spinosaurus crushed him to pulp.

Just then, the spinosaurus heard a strange noise. Looking up, it saw four heavily armored paladins striking the hilts of their swords against their armor, drawing its attention.

The spinosaurus paused, a flicker of thought in its eyes, as if pondering why the enemy would lure it over.

But confident in its own might, it was unafraid. It roared and charged the paladins.

The four paladins quickly retreated to either side, revealing what they had been concealing from the start.

There stood the paladin leader, his light blade shining ever brighter. As the spinosaurus barreled forward, he cleaved downward.

A flash of white light split the earth; the massive spinosaurus was caught squarely in the arc. Still charging, it had no chance to dodge the blow.

Under the white light, the enormous beast was cut into four pieces—its upper and lower halves, along with its forelimbs, sent flying far by the torrent of blood.