CHAPTER 42 — "BLOOD, SCALE, AND THE POINT OF NO RETURN"
The roar of the Ironclad Dreadwyrm tore the sky apart.
Its wings slammed downward.
BOOOOOM—!!!
A shockwave exploded through the battlefield, uprooting trees, shattering stone, and throwing bodies like leaves in a storm.
"DOWN—!" Chen Wulian roared.
The team scattered just as the dragon's tail swept through the space they had occupied.
CRAAAAASH—!
The ground split open.
Chen stood at the front.
Always at the front.
His arms were trembling now, muscles screaming as he blocked another claw strike head-on.
CRACK—!
Bone creaked.
Blood spilled from his mouth.
"Captain—!" Zhao Lanyue shouted.
"I'M FINE!" Chen yelled back, even as his feet slid several meters backward.
Ling Yifan darted in, spear flashing.
"Left flank—!"
CLANG—!
His spear struck the dragon's neck.
Sparks erupted—but the recoil sent him flying.
He slammed into a tree, coughing blood.
"…Damn… scales adapting," he muttered, forcing himself upright.
Lightning exploded as Han Duwei charged, fists crackling with electricity.
"I'LL STUN IT—!"
He leapt—
The dragon's wing snapped outward.
WHAM—!
Han was swatted mid-air like an insect, crashing into the ground with a sickening crunch.
"Han!!" Wang Junxie shouted.
Han tried to move.
Failed.
His right arm hung uselessly, bent at a wrong angle.
"…Can't… fight…" he rasped.
Ling Yifan clenched his teeth.
"Carry him back—NOW!"
Wang Junxie dragged Han away, teeth clenched, eyes shaking.
The team was down one.
Zhao Lanyue climbed higher, bow glowing.
"I'll blind it!"
She fired—
Three spirit arrows streaked toward the dragon's eyes.
The Dreadwyrm roared and slammed its head into the cliff wall.
The mountain collapsed.
Rocks rained down.
Zhao screamed as debris buried her.
When the dust cleared—
She was half-buried, blood streaming down her face, bow shattered beside her.
"…I can't see…" she whispered.
Bai Qianlan rushed to her.
"Zhao—!"
Zhao shook her head weakly.
"…I'm out."
Two down.
Chen was still standing.
Barely.
Blood soaked his chest and arms. One shoulder was dislocated. His breathing was ragged.
Yet he stepped forward again.
"COME ON, YOU OVERGROWN LIZARD!"
The dragon answered.
Its tail slammed down.
BOOOOOM—!
Chen blocked—just barely.
The impact shattered the ground beneath him and drove him to one knee.
Blood splattered the dirt.
Ling Yifan shouted,"Chen! FALL BACK!"
Chen laughed weakly.
"…If I fall back… it hits you."
He forced himself upright again.
The Dreadwyrm suddenly shifted.
Too fast.
Too focused.
Its eyes locked onto Jin Roulan.
She was repositioning traps—blade raised.
"Jin— MOVE!!" Bai Qianlan screamed.
Too late.
The dragon inhaled.
Its chest glowed crimson.
A dragon breath was forming.
Ling Yifan tried to intercept.
Chen lunged.
Neither would make it in time.
Jin Roulan's eyes widened.
This is it.
The world shifted.
Void surged.
Long Hao moved.
Not fast.
Instant.
He appeared in front of Jin Roulan as the breath erupted.
Long Hao felt it before he saw it.
The pressure.
Not from the dragon.
From inside himself.
His vision flickered—just for a fraction of a second—and then the system slammed into his awareness.
[WARNING.][Host physiological limits exceeded.][Unsealing threshold at 28%. Forced output detected.]
His heart pounded.
"…I know," he muttered under his breath.
The dragon inhaled.
Heat warped the air.
Chen turned, instinct screaming.
"LONG HAO—!"
Too late.
Too fast.
[ERROR.][Eclipse Suppression bypassed.][Unauthorized power routing detected.]
Blood filled his mouth.
But he didn't stop.
He stepped forward and punched.
Not with technique.
Not with form.
Just will.
The impact detonated.
The dragon's head snapped sideways, scales cracking audibly. The shockwave ripped outward, flattening everything within twenty meters.
The blast didn't kill the dragon.
But—
It hurt it.
The dragon screamed.
A real scream.
Black and silver energy exploded outward.
BOOOOOOOOOOM—!!!
The dragon fire collided with something it should not have met.
The ground shattered for hundreds of meters.
Trees were erased.
The sky rippled.
Everyone stared.
Long Hao stood there.
One arm raised.
Void and light twisted violently around him.
For a single moment—
His presence felt catastrophic.
Ling Yifan's eyes went wide.
Bai Qianlan froze.
Chen forgot to breathe.
So this is… his real strength…
But—
The force was still too much.
The blast pierced through.
Jin Roulan screamed as the residual impact threw her backward.
She slammed into the rocks, blood spraying.
But—
She was alive.
Barely.
Long Hao staggered, blood dripping from his lips.
He turned—
Jin was breathing.
"…Alive," he whispered.
Then his knees hit the ground.
The ground was torn apart.
Scorched earth.Frozen fragments.Broken trees lying like corpses.
And in the middle of it all—
The dragon reared back, wings half-spread, blood dripping slowly from a shallow wound that should not have been possible.
Chen Wulian staggered, planting his sword into the ground just to stay upright.
"…It actually bled."
His voice sounded distant, like he wasn't sure he was still alive.
Ling Yifan didn't answer.
He was breathing hard. Too hard.
Every breath scraped his ribs from the inside, sharp and wrong. His spear trembled slightly in his grip—not fear, but exhaustion finally catching up.
Bai Qianlan knelt beside Jin Roulan, hands glowing faintly as she stabilized her.
"Stay with me," Bai said quietly. "Don't close your eyes."
Jin Roulan smiled weakly.
"…You sound like Ling Yifan."
"That's not a compliment," Bai muttered.
Ouyang Xue'er wiped blood from her mouth with the back of her sleeve, frost still leaking uncontrollably from her fingertips.
"…It's not done," she said.
No one argued.
The dragon's eyes locked onto them again.
Angry now.
Not curious.
Long Hao dropped to one knee immediately.
Pain hit all at once.
His right arm felt wrong.His chest burned.Something inside him felt… torn.
He coughed.
Blood splattered the ground.
[CRITICAL WARNING.][Host body integrity compromised.][Forced output exceeds system safety parameters.]
"…Shut up," Long Hao whispered hoarsely.
The system didn't.
[This power was not granted.][You took it.]
His vision blurred.
"…And?"
[Conclusion: Host has violated system constraints.][Result: System authority temporarily overridden.]
Long Hao laughed weakly.
"…So I broke your rules."
A pause.
Longer than usual.
[Correction.][You proved the rules were insufficient.]
Chen dragged himself to Long Hao's side, armor cracked, face pale.
"…You idiot," Chen said, half laughing, half furious."…You didn't even tell us."
Long Hao wiped blood from his lips.
"…Didn't have time."
Ling Yifan forced himself upright, spear shaking violently.
"…You're bleeding internally."
"Yeah," Long Hao admitted. "…Feels like it."
Bai looked over her shoulder, fear slipping through her composure.
"…Do that again and you die."
Long Hao didn't answer.
Because the dragon was still moving.
Slowly.
Angrily.
[Further forced unsealing may cause irreversible damage.][Host survival probability will drop below acceptable limits.]
Long Hao clenched his fist.
"…You said survival probability was unknown."
[It is becoming known.]
The dragon lifted its head again.
The ground shook.
Chen sucked in a breath.
"…So what now?"
Ling Yifan straightened as much as he could, pain screaming through him.
"…We buy time."
Ouyang wiped blood from her brow, frost crystallizing around her feet again.
"…Until someone stronger arrives."
Bai stood protectively in front of the injured.
"…Or until we fall."
Long Hao pushed himself up, every movement heavy.
"…No," he said quietly.
He looked at the dragon.
At his friends.
At the system.
"…Until the island learns it can bleed."
The system pulsed.
[Acknowledged.]
The dragon roared again.
And this time—
The team braced themselves knowing something fundamental had changed.
Not the monster.
Long Hao
Silence followed.
Broken only by the dragon's furious roar.
On the battlefield—
Han Duwei — incapacitatedZhao Lanyue — blinded, unconsciousJin Roulan — critically injured
Only three were still standing.
Chen Wulian — bleeding, barely uprightLing Yifan — cracked ribs, spear shakingBai Qianlan — pale, illusion petals shattered
And Long Hao—Kneeling.Breathing hard.Power fading.
The dragon stepped forward.
Slow.Dominant.
Unstoppable.
Chen wiped blood from his mouth.
He looked at the remaining members.
Then he smiled.
Not foolish.
Not joking.
Steady.
"…Team," he said hoarsely.
"…We need to do it."
The dragon roared.
And the final phase began.
[CHAPTER ENDS]