CHAPTER 343: Landslide

A loud crack followed Han Shuo's strategic retreat down the tunnel. Like a fuse, the first explosion led to a chain reaction of explosions. The entire mountain shook as the explosives shattered every corner, earth and rock shifting in the wake of the goblin missile's detonation.

As the explosions ripped through the air above him, the tens of metres of the Ancient Lizard King's tail danced like a python. His colossal body struggled mightily, trying to break the hold of the Ancient formation.

Celt was still waiting for his subordinates outside when the explosions violently shook the mountain. Unprepared for the sudden explosion, his heart felt as if it had been beaten by a giant hammer, and even his breathing was thrown into chaos.

As he heard the thunderous explosion and saw the Gourd Mountain crumble, the gorgeously dressed noble dark elf Arlen's pupils dilated. He turned to grab Celt by the lapels and roared, "How can this be, why did the goblin missiles explode now?! Damn it, you tricked us, didn't you?"

Celt was even angrier than Arlen. Celt threw him away with such force that the dark elf stumbled. Celt's handsome face twisted into a cruel grimace as he bit off, " Don't you have no eyes?! Do you not see my people in there?"

Rumble...

With a final rumble, the mountain finally collapsed. Dust swirled around the rubble, slowly settling in the wake of the explosions. Celt and Arlen began to argue angrily, but were quickly interrupted by a series of loud cracks. Something deep inside the mountain exploded upwards, throwing the gourd-shaped mountain sky high into the distance until it crashed into the ground far away.

A new cloud of dust settled over the region. The landscape was no longer the silhouette of a gourd-shaped mountain, but a pile of reddish-brown rubble, a monument to ruin. The only other remnants of the explosion were the scattered pieces of what was left of the Redbud Knights and the Dark Elves.

Celt rudely shoved Arlen away. Arlen staggered back a step, staring blankly at the ruins of Gourd Mountain and muttering, "Those were my most elite tribesmen! How can this be, how can this be?"

Celt, on the other hand, was completely clear-headed. His expression was a vicious scowl as he shouted angrily, "Someone must be stirring up trouble, otherwise that big lizard wouldn't have been able to escape from the mountain and stop my knights from retreating! Things are not that simple."

A light bulb went on in Arlen's head when he heard Celt shout, "Indeed, there must be something wrong! Those lowly lizardmen would have been no match for my brave tribesmen alone."

At that moment, however, the object of Celt and Arlen's suspicion, Han Shuo, witnessed an incredible sight. Creaking echoed through the chamber as the ancient magical formation began to collapse. The explosion had finally destroyed a key component of the formation, reducing the mountain to rubble. As the Ancient Lizard King thrashed like a creature possessed, a huge snap sounded. The ancient magical formation that had bound him for eons... had finally cracked open.

"Aowuuuuuu..."

An unearthly howl, unlike anything that had been unleashed before, ripped from the ruined remains of the mountain. The ancient lizard king, Dagassi, used every ounce of his immense strength to break the formation further. The formation had already passed its breaking point from the goblin missiles, and the first crack spread like an errant spider web, reaching six of the eight corners.

The Ancient Lizard King brought his massive presence down on each corner of the octagonal magical formation. As each corner crumbled, Dagassi's aura grew a little stronger. There was a moment of silence as the last corner shattered and Dagassi erupted from beneath the thousands of pounds of rock that had previously buried him.

A mountain of twisted muscle broke free from the rubble, accompanied by a roar that shook the earth and sky. The Ancient Lizard King took a moment to beat his chest and stomp his feet, letting out all the resentment that had built up over countless years.

Han Shuo, who was hiding in the tunnel, was suddenly horrified. As each corner of the formation was destroyed, the presence of the Ancient Lizard King had become a notched corner. He had originally estimated the Ancient Lizard King to be as powerful as the Lord of Flames, but he had been sorely mistaken. With the formation in ruins, its true ability seemed to be far more terrifying.

"The ancient magical formation not only confined his body, but also suppressed his power. I didn't expect this Ancient Lizard King to be so powerful. It might be that only demigods could defeat him!" Han Shuo was strangely terrified when he felt the power of the Ancient Lizard King.

The lizardmen beside him were chattering rapidly with excitement, each with an extremely fervent expression on their faces. The lizardmen all kowtowed as they saw the Ancient Lizard King's thick thighs break free from the cracked ancient formation like towering old trees.

Han Shuo wanted to stay nowhere near this terrifying creature. He shot out of the tunnel torn apart by the Ancient Lizard King. At the same time, his sharp eyes caught sight of a small ground pangolin sneaking out. It carefully avoided the furious Ancient Lizard King.

Han Shuo felt something strange when he saw this incredibly small pangolin. Suddenly, the pangolin transformed into a hawk and took on a burst of speed, frantically clawing at the air to move faster. Han Shuo immediately recognised it as Kassel in disguise.

Standing at the feet of the mountain-like Ancient Lizard King, Han Shuo looked at the stunned invaders. He discovered that Kassel was flying back to Celt's side, so he refrained from dealing with him just yet.

The two leaders of the invasion, Celt and Arlen, had strangely coloured expressions on their faces. Their lips were dry as they watched the huge monster climb out of the ruins, not knowing what to do next.

"Human, didn't you say the creature was afraid of flames and missile? Why is the mountain gone but he still alive and well?" Arlen suddenly felt he was being played. To be honest, if the Redbud Knights hadn't suffered a loss as great as his, he would have thrown caution to the wind and attacked Celt.

Celt, too, was at a loss for words when confronted by the massive creature, who was involved in venting his rage amidst wild howls. He stammered weakly, "Me, how should I know?"

Kassel flew over and quickly returned to human form. Before the two intruders could argue again, he pointed at the unassuming figure that was Han Shuo, standing at the feet of the Ancient Lizard King. Kassel's face turned black as he said, "It's him! He helped the Ancient Lizard King escape! Otherwise, the great lizard would've been finished for sure."

Only then did Celt, Arlen and the dark elf matriarch Dana notice the unassuming Han Shuo. Celt and Dana recognised Han Shuo immediately. Their blood hatred for Han Shuo almost made them charge at him, regardless of the consequences, when they saw him.

"It's him again! His name is Bryan, a noble of the Lancelot Empire. I have to kill him personally!" Celt growled between clenched teeth, his eyes fixed on Han Shuo as he explained to Arlen.

End of part 1 of the chapter!

"I know him! He ruined our plans last time, otherwise we could have made the lizardmen suffer!" The enchantress Dana was no different, screeching her fury as she pointed at Han Shuo.

"You shameless, despicable little intruders! I'll tear you to pieces right now to appease my anger!" The Ancient Lizard King finally took notice of Celt and his band, the air shaking with his mental message. He threw his head back to the sky in a long roar as he began to move towards them.

The earth shook with every foot he stamped. Dagassi moved several dozen metres with each step as his colossal body moved with a speed that belied his size. He quickly caught up with the remnants of the invading army, flattening a group of Redbud Knights in heavy armour into meat paste as he made his way over to where Celt was.

Dagassi's ten-metre tail writhed as if it had a mind of its own. Dozens of Redbud Knights and Dark Elves were tossed into the air like twigs with each swing. The Ancient Lizard King's massive body moved with unparalleled presence, projecting an irresistible momentum.

He made the earth tremble with each step, trampling several knights into the mud with every tread. His tail was like a deadly weapon, snapping in the air with every step, taking the lives of knights and dark elves one by one.

Celt and Arlen's minions kept firing spells at the Ancient Lizard King's body. However, his huge, rock-like body seemed to have an excellent anti-magic effect. This level of attack simply couldn't hurt him.

Even arrows, spears, and lances couldn't penetrate his solid body. Only the two archers wielding strange bows next to Arlen were able to shoot arrows with dark magic elements that pierced his skin, leaving a small wound on the Ancient Lizard King's body.

It was a pity that this level of injury was like a mosquito bite to the Ancient Lizard King. Its effect was minimal, unable to stop him as he ravaged their forces. More and more Redbud Knights and Dark Elves were trampled into pieces.

Even more terrifying were the Ancient Lizard King's wondrous attacks. Waves and waves of strange, spiritual energy shot out in all directions, even more powerful now that the old Ancient Lizard King had been unsealed. It took only two of these attacks to seriously injure a Redbud Knight, and three to kill one instantly.

The dark elves fared even worse. Every successful attack meant the death of a dark elf. The only exception was Arlen, who could rely on defensive magic to withstand the attacks.

"Retreat, we all have to retreat!" Celt shouted in pain. He didn't pull out his Starry Sky artefact. He knew that even if he did, he still wouldn't be able to defeat the Ancient Lizard King with the power he currently possessed. So he resolutely gave the order to retreat.

Needless to say, Arlen was completely out of his mind with fear, and just attacked randomly. In his panic to survive, he even left Dana behind. Too bad Dana's strength wasn't much. In a moment of carelessness, she stumbled as she fled, and as she struggled to her feet, she saw a reddish-black mountain looming in the distance. It was the last thing she saw before she was flattened into meat paste.

After Dagassi, Han Shuo happily let the Demonslayer Edge absorb the power of the dead invaders. The Yin Demon also watched Celt closely, waiting for the moment he lost concentration to deliver a fatal blow.

By this time, Cecilia had led her Dark Mantle team to the site of the battle. No sooner had they arrived than the huge form of the Ancient Lizard revealed itself, startling them. They stood at a distance, stunned by the turn of events.

"That, what is that thing, it's so big!" Chrissie, the fire mage, even cheered with a look of joy and excitement.

"That must be the creature in the magical crystal mine. With such strong powerful waves, it must be close to a super-rank five magical creature. How could such a powerful creature appear in this layer?" Cecilia couldn't help but cry out in shock as she watched the mountainous Ancient Lizard King chasing after Celt and Arlen.

"Bryan, that's Bryan!" Emily also exclaimed. She had used her levitation skills to fly into the sky, allowing her to see further. She shouted loudly when she saw Han Shuo next to the Ancient Lizard King's waist.

Han Shuo had originally been near the Ancient Lizard King's waist. In the blink of an eye, he flew up to the Ancient Lizard King's shoulder. Pointing at the panicked and fleeing Celt and Arlen, he said, "These two fellows are the leaders. Kill them and you can avenge the death of your children!"

"Aowuuuuuuuu..."

Dagassi let out another earth-shattering roar. The sound wave itself was like a terrifying weapon, turning the bushes and leaves to dust.

"Damn it, I'll never forgive that despicable human!" The noble dark elf Arlen had almost been injured by the sound wave and couldn't help but curse when he heard Han Shuo egging the Ancient Lizard King on.

Celt was well aware of how powerful Han Shuo was. He believed that even without the Ancient Lizard King in the picture, Han Shuo would have no trouble destroying Arlen. Celt kept his mouth shut, mocking Arlen inwardly as he desperately searched for a way to escape. He just wanted to get away from this terrifying Ancient Lizard King as soon as possible.

By now, Dagassi had killed more than a thousand Redbud Knights and Dark Elves. There were only a few hundred of the invaders left, and they were fleeing in all directions. Not a single one dared to look back, let alone stop to catch their breath.

Following Han Shuo's advice, the Ancient Lizard King kept his eyes on Celt and Arlen, paying no attention to the small fry. His huge body seemed slow, but each step carried him dozens of metres. He also used his presence to attack again and again. The two fellows were miserably pursued as they hatefully cursed the instigator in their hearts. Their curses greeted each and every one of Han Shuo's eighteen generations of ancestors.

"It really is that brat, why is he with that monster?" Cecilia floated in the air next to Emily using an unknown method and looked at Han Shuo sitting comfortably on the Ancient Lizard King's shoulder. Her heart was in turmoil and her emotions were all mixed up, as if jars of five-spice powder had been upturned.

Cecilia hadn't actually found Han Shuo annoying at first. On the contrary, she even appreciated his strength a little. However, Han Shuo had repeatedly gone against her, from the orc shop in the Valley of Sunshine to this mission. He had never once allowed her to conduct her business smoothly.

This made Cecilia, who had become one of the three heavyweights of the Dark Mantle at a young age, extremely angry. In her heart, she wanted to see Han Shuo fail. The more he failed, the happier she would feel.

But reality never pleased her. Earlier, Chrissie had told her that he had kill the green dragon ans had caused the loss of Celt's ear. Now that she saw him in high spirits with the big lizard chasing Celt, how could he fail as she'd wished?

The mission to deal with Celt had originally been theirs, but now that the lone Han Shuo had stepped in, he'd interrupted their plan. He didn't even seem to be trying, yet he was able to force Celt into such a miserable state. It was embarrassing for Cecilia, who had spent so much time with Celt, but was still helpless.

"Ah, it's really Bryan, he's so handsome!" Chrissie finally saw Han Shuo and couldn't help but squeal.

"You little boy-crazy girl, hurry up and shut up.

Don't bring that big lizard here!" Fearing the lizard would come, Cecilia snapped at Chrissie.

What you didn't want was apparently what you got. The ancient lizard king didn't hear her, but the evil Celt obviously did. He suddenly changed direction, leading the Redbud Knights' experts straight in their direction.