Chapter Fifty-Five: Fatal Pride

Melina dodged the collapsed ruins of the nest and unleashed yet another wave of attacks upon the Marsh Wolf-Dragon.

Her combat rhythm was remarkably steady.

Even if the apocalypse arrived and meteors rained from the sky, if her schedule dictated firing a volley of bullets, she would fire that volley.

This blatant disregard clearly infuriated the newly emboldened Marsh Wolf-Dragon. It locked its vicious gaze onto Melina, yet she remained utterly unfazed by its transformation sequence.

She had always believed in one fundamental truth:

A second-form transformation does not come with a full health bar.

The wounds inflicted earlier were still there; the pain inflicted earlier was still there; the blood spilled previously was still its blood. Using certain evolutionary factors to squeeze and push one's own potential into an evolution would only make the injuries even more severe—this was the truth Melina believed in.

Leon was a seasoned veteran explorer who had witnessed plenty of monsters in their second phases. Instead of being overwhelmed by the terrifying aura of the transformed Marsh Wolf-Dragon, he pushed himself even harder, engaging in a mutual torment with the beast.

It was difficult for Melina to describe Leon’s defensive style.

If his previous defense could be described as an active, offensive defense—forcing the enemy to attack him through continuous assaults to provide defensive utility for the team—then his current defense was a flesh-and-blood, suicidal style. He abandoned the fading single-target tactics of an odachi user and plunged into the dust—the literal dust.

He rolled across the ground, incessantly hacking at the Marsh Wolf-Dragon's hind legs. From time to time, leveraging his monstrous strength, he would suddenly leap onto the beast's head to give its hairstyle a harsh trim.

It was an intensely aggressive fighting style.

Such a suicidal approach against the Marsh Wolf-Dragon carried extremely high risks, potentially leaving him with severe injuries that even magical factors could not repair, or quite simply resulting in a swift and absolute demise. However, the rewards were equally immense, leaving Melina and G completely freed from defensive duties.

How absurd was that?

Melina retaliated with her firearms, while G switched to an offensive posture. She scattered a massive quantity of white bones, summoning dozens of skeletons that assaulted the Marsh Wolf-Dragon’s wing membranes in a relentless, self-destructive wave of charges. At the same time, G triggered a near-berserk state, teleporting left and right at a frequency of twice per second, turning the beast's wing membranes into Swiss cheese.

Melina hesitated for a fraction of a second before following G's lead, opening fire on the wing membranes.

They understood each other's intentions completely.

The Marsh Wolf-Dragon, or rather, the radiant-tier Marsh Wolf-Dragon, possessed a pride unlike that of humans or dragons—a foolish arrogance that seemed to combine the worst traits of both species.

Even after evolving and destroying its nest, when it could have easily taken to the skies while the three enemies dealt with the collapse to secure aerial dominance—where, aside from Melina, the other two would have lost all initiative and been forced to fight grounded—it chose not to. Its damned pride made it stay right where it was, howling at the sky on pure instinct.

Evolution could have granted it far tougher wing membranes.

Instead, it discarded its horns as if casting aside its own pride, squandering precious evolutionary factors on growing wolf ears.

This dragon was clever and cunning, but in these respects, its pride utterly destroyed it, tormenting it without leaving any room for escape.

The secret to victory is reigning in one's pride, not extinguishing it, and applying it in the right places.

In other words, one must never inwardly yield to any opponent, but upon truly losing, one must swallow the bitter fruit and continue training.

The Marsh Wolf-Dragon could not control this; it was a beast, and no matter how clever a beast it might be, it could not escape the fate of being treated as prey.

The persistent and explosive attacks from Melina and G were exceptionally steady, shredding the Marsh Wolf-Dragon's wing membranes to a tattered state. After persisting for a while, Leon finally took the initiative to step back, and G stepped up. The expressionless woman in black gauze waved her hand, and three malnourished (literally) skeletal soldiers painted in primary colors, wearing horned helmets, materialized around her.

"No way, boss? We're supposed to tank this?" the green skeleton muttered—they lacked vocal cords, yet they could speak!

"This is a blessing," the red skeleton stated solemnly.

"I am so fucking ready to blast!" the blue skeleton declared dissolutely.

Their master, G, made a hand gesture, and the three skeletons charged forward in unison.

Naturally, their speed could not compare to Leon's, exposing numerous openings.

Realizing the need to escape at last, the Marsh Wolf-Dragon flapped its wings, only to discover that its shredded membranes could no longer provide lift. It leaped over three meters into the air, only to flail wildly like a comical circus performer before crashing headlong back down to the ground.

Working together with tacit coordination, the three skeletons wielded a heavy hammer, a spear, and a bloodletting scimitar (all equipped with shields), savagely beating the Marsh Wolf-Dragon from all sides.

Though the Marsh Wolf-Dragon regained its wits and whipped its tail, sending the red skeleton's skull flying, the headless body kept right on fighting.

The red skeleton even claimed a VIP viewing seat, roaring from a distance:

"Blue, two meters to the left!"

"Green, swing one meter forward!"

It attempted some intense micro-management.

However, the red skeleton's command artistry left much to be desired. Although its two companions trusted it deeply and followed its directions, they were almost instantly killed in a single exchange by the Marsh Wolf-Dragon.

G arrived just in time, teleporting directly in front of the Marsh Wolf-Dragon and bringing her mining pickaxe down with both hands.

Mid-swing, she triggered another teleport, reversing her position to appear directly beneath the dragon's chin, delivering a heavy upward strike. At the same time, she teleported back to Melina's side, voluntarily welcoming the electrostatic shock of the magical factors.

Crackling—

She shook her head, moving almost in sync with the Marsh Wolf-Dragon.

G pulled a small vial from her pocket, shook out three pills, tossed them straight into her mouth, and chewed.

Melina glanced at her and asked while maintaining her barrage, "Painkillers?"

G returned a complex look, her lips twitching as she replied in an exhausted tone:

"Motion sickness pills."

She covered her mouth, her expression miserable.

Melina had nothing to say. Power came with a price; she had known countless powerful banshee explorers back at the academy, none of whom could rival G's mastery of teleportation. Yet, Miss G also happened to be the only user of [Ghost Step], [Shadow Step], [Flash Step], and similar skills who suffered from motion sickness...

Heaven was somewhat fair, after all.

If one ignored the fact that Heaven had bestowed upon Melina astonishing wisdom, the appearance of Daji with a youthful face and massive assets, superhuman physical attributes, and an ungodly amount of magical factors, Heaven was actually quite fair.

Heaven likely had something to say as well:

"Can we please stop bringing Melmel into every comparison?"

Dante... no, Vergil... no, no, no, Leon! The middle-aged handsome man, Leon! He ambled over as well, uncorking a small flask filled with strong liquor and taking a swig. The wounds on his body healed at a visible rate.

This flask was also a rare and precious wondrous item.

"Can you resume tanking now?" Miss G asked with the spirit of a capitalist, adding, "My skeletons are about to collapse."

Over there, the red, blue, and green skeletons were wailing in unison, reminding Melina of a certain hero named Rambo whose voice was remarkably loud and who typically opened a match by saying, 'What an amazing start!'... Wait, was something wrong with that picture? Regardless, Melmel was fearless.

Leon’s expression turned somewhat greenish.

It was evident that confronting a mutated Marsh Wolf-Dragon was no easy feat for an ordinary mortal. Even someone of Leon's caliber—undefeated against all peers at this tier—could only barely manage it, and he had nearly been beaten into total amnesia...

Seeing Uncle Sonia in a tight spot, Melina rolled up her sleeves and loudly declared:

"I'll handle it!"

Leon's expression shifted, thinking the girl was mocking him. Just as he was about to grit his teeth and say, "I can hold out a bit longer," he heard Melina say:

"I have plenty of flintlocks, so I brought a lot of utility skills. I have defensive abilities, so stepping up to tank for a bit is no big deal. It's just that the offensive part..."

"I can try to make up for it."

Could Melina manage the tank role?

Neither Leon nor G were particularly optimistic. G had already pinched a magical rune, preparing to rescue little Mei if things went south.

Mayor Leon stood 184 cm tall, weighed 92 kg, and possessed a staggering reserve of magical factors, granting him the sheer physical prowess to wrestle lesser dragons. Melina, on the other hand, stood a mere 149 cm tall (resembling the figure of Miss Aika Yumeno). Though somewhat fleshy, she looked far too weak physically.

In reality, however, Melina's pure physical strength exceeded Leon's. As a pure grappler, she could pin marsh dragons to the ground and beat them, and punch a Crimson-Feathered Dragon hard enough to cause a brief stagger. She only used ranged weapons to protect her body and out of frustration with Sonia.

Upon shifting into her melee-gunner form, though lacking Leon's professional defensive techniques, she displayed an intensely visible, natural talent.

She looked a bit disheveled.

Yet her defense was surprisingly solid, successfully buying Leon the recovery time he needed.

The mayor seemed to grow younger the longer he fought, his mindset improving steadily. Aside from lamenting that "Melina has no flaws other than the fact that her entire gear set is still level 1," he brought out his full strength.

The battle against the mutated Marsh Wolf-Dragon devolved into a brutal war of attrition.

Even when driven blood-red with rage, the dragon still spared thoughts for how to escape. Its nest had been demolished by its own hands, freeing it from the usual constraints associated with a dragon's weaknesses.

They eroded its stamina and vitality with bullets.

They chipped away at its willpower and endurance with resilient defenses.

The dragon-forged firmament covering the sky vanished as its physical stamina dwindled, but soon enough, the scorching sun in the sky drifted toward the horizon, and the searing air gradually gave way to the biting chill of midnight. Soaked to the bone, Melina nearly thought she had contracted an affliction a banshee should never experience: a cold.

Worn down sufficiently, Melina and her team finally found an opening.

With a single strike, they shattered the mutated Marsh Wolf-Dragon's right hind leg—the ultimate turning point and symbol of this prolonged war of attrition.

Deprived of adequate mobility, the Marsh Wolf-Dragon was bitterly beaten to near-death by Melina, who had sprinted back to Katerina to reload her ammunition. G then blanketed the beast with heavy poisons and paralytics, capturing it alive.

The Graveyard Keeper's abilities were truly astonishing; even such a frenzied dragon could be taken alive.

Transporting it back to Hamlet, however, would be no easy task.

Fortunately, Melina effortlessly co-opted Katerina, having the woman drive them back to Hamlet in her vehicle. Along the way, they needed to pass through Raccoon Town to verify whether the werewolf infestation had shown any signs of improvement.

Besides, Katerina needed to pack her luggage.

That was right... she had decided to follow Melina and live in Hamlet. On one hand, she missed the days of discussing technology with Melina; on the other hand, she simply wanted to drink Louisa's tea.