Chapter Eleven: The Epic of the Age of Cold Weapons

Page (1/3)

Future scientists have studied and even dissected the corpses of the dead dragon insects, identifying their primary genetic components as coming from rock centipedes, armored beetles, blade mother insects, and finally the gravel dragon, the apex predator of the food chain in the New Yumen region.

This raises a question: the insect dragons have already appeared, but what happened to the gravel dragon, the genetic blueprint for these creatures? Was it simply eaten by the alien insects? That would contradict the insect swarm’s usual pragmatic and efficient style, which never wastes energy. There are plenty of other animals to feed on for energy and protein, but a powerful “phantom beast” body is not something that can be found everywhere.

Now, it has appeared!

…Although it probably didn’t want to.

Yu Lian guessed that the creature must have climbed high into the sky, beyond the naked eye’s notice, before diving down in a free-fall trajectory. Despite its massive body over ten meters long and its enormous wingspan, it dove with a stealth so profound that its sound was quieter than a mosquito’s buzz.

In a way, those dragon insects and the ground-dwelling jumping insects and fear bugs were just a cover. This was the real trump card.

The monster’s appearance was naturally imposing. To put it elegantly, it resembled a dragon without a neck—the kind from Western fantasy; to be blunt, it looked like a giant bat with an extra tail. In the common tongue, people called it a “gravel dragon” because it could fly silently and invisibly, hide in gravel for days without food or water, waiting to ambush prey. Before humans colonized this planet, it was undoubtedly the apex predator with no natural enemies. It even dared to attack large nomad settlements.

After humans arrived… well, large towns and military outposts were off-limits, but it still dared to attack ordinary travelers, small farms, and mines.

Farmers and miners found it a huge headache. On one hand, it was undeniably formidable—even a well-equipped small military unit would struggle against it. On the other hand, this creature was listed under the Galactic Civilization Council’s Environmental Bureau as a “Cosmic Rare Phantom Beast.” If it killed your cattle or even you, it simply flew away; but killing it was illegal.

Also, calling it a “dragon” was more out of human habit—any large, predatory, reptile-like creature got the “dragon” label, but genetically it had little to do with the mythical beasts.

Yet, although it wasn’t a legendary creature, as a “phantom beast,” it had its own wonders.

For instance, this scientifically impossible body size could still achieve flight.

For another, this enormous creature soared through the air without making a sound.

And furthermore, as a “phantom beast,” it possessed psionic-like abilities.

“Ina, the eye—” Yu Lian shouted towards the opposite gun turret, but before he could finish, the sergeant fired a burst of machine gun bullets straight at the dragon’s head!

Then, an air vortex suddenly appeared in front of the beast, instantly swallowing all the bullets and swirling them back. Several unlucky soldiers on the battlements were struck down, screaming in pain.

Of course, the bullets lost much of their kinetic energy after being deflected, so the impact wasn’t fatal, but these were 20mm high-carbon steel projectiles—enough to seriously injure or kill if they hit directly.

The gravel dragon truly possessed the ability to generate a psionic field, capable of blocking and even reflecting most kinetic weapons.

Page (2/3)

There were ways to kill it, of course. First, high-powered energy weapons. Second, high-explosive ordnance. Third, massive kinetic weapons.

…but this wasn’t a crack military force; these were just low-level guards. None of those weapons were available.

Could there be a fourth method? Just as this thought flashed through Yu Lian’s mind, the giant flying beast swooped down to just a few meters from the wall, then charged straight towards him.

What grudge did it hold? Yu Lian wondered as he leapt down from the turret, clutching his half-empty nanomachine injector and wounded body, yet still managed to unleash a psionic shock he’d just recently mastered.

Without activating a star ring, even a sensitive person’s basic psionic combat skills were hit or miss—pure mysticism. But Yu Lian was different; he was an old hand inhabiting the body of a twenty-year-old youth.

Bang! The gravel dragon probably didn’t expect this hidden ace, its movement briefly faltered, but the attack was undiminished. With a thunderous crash, it slammed into the turret, instantly collapsing the steel-and-concrete structure like a pile of blocks. Fortunately, Yu Lian had already rolled far away.

He picked up a gun from the ground, noticing a severed arm still attached to its handle. Looking back at the wreckage of the turret twisted into a tangled mess of steel and rubble, he sighed inwardly but didn’t hesitate, firing a burst at the bat-like wings on the dragon’s back.

The gravel dragon could not maintain its defensive field around the clock; otherwise, it would be a “divine beast,” not a “phantom beast.” Yet, the firepower of Yu Lian’s C10 rifle was insufficient to pierce its thick armor on the back and wings, only sparking a few small flashes.

Still, several bullets tore into the wing membranes, somewhat disrupting the dragon’s flight. It instinctively flapped its wings vigorously, propelling its massive body upward and over the turret where Ina stood—if it hadn’t done so, it would have smashed the turret flat.

The sergeant, having narrowly escaped, seemed unfazed and kept firing. The bullets formed a powerful whip of fire striking the dragon’s back. One shot even pried open a section of its scale armor, releasing a spray of brownish-red blood. Momentarily losing balance, the beast twisted awkwardly into the spiked wire at the edge of the wall, then slid down the smooth iron panel. Its body structure was clearly ill-suited for crawling on rocky ground, and it struggled to right itself, looking quite miserable.

A few brave soldiers stepped forward, unleashing a torrent of rifle fire.

Wild animals like the gravel dragon usually avoided harm when possible. Under normal circumstances, such wounds would have made it retreat. Yet this fierce giant neither fled nor groaned but coldly raised its head like a battle-hardened warrior, wounded yet undeterred—utterly badass.

The soldiers changed their aim to its head.

Yu Lian shouted, “Scatter! Scatter! You fools!”

Why stand in a bunch? To have hotpot? To warm yourselves? To stir up trouble?

The soldiers apparently didn’t hear him and didn’t move. Before they could pull their triggers, the gravel dragon opened its massive jaws. Its razor-sharp teeth parted like gates, and a bright, colorful energy orb shot out with a whoosh, striking the dense crowd.

Boom! The orb exploded in a blinding flash, engulfing a five-meter radius in a searing blast.

Three soldiers were completely obliterated, their bodies mangled beyond recognition. Two others at the edge were thrown several meters away, their bodies deformed—if alive, permanently disabled.

This was another psionic talent of the gravel dragon. Its ability to expel concentrated explosive energy orbs was so lethal it could destroy lightly armored vehicles or even flying airships in a single strike, rivaling medium to low-powered phase wave cannons. This power was even more pronounced in the later-evolved insect dragons and aerial insect warriors, making them the swarm’s most formidable air-to-ground suppression units.

Page (3/3)

The problem was, if those soldiers hadn’t positioned themselves so amateurishly, the casualties wouldn’t have been so severe.

Yu Lian sighed silently. He missed his homeland’s dense formations. If he and Ina had been operating those, that super-sized bat would never have gotten this close. Even gunpowder weapons, at times like this, were more suitable for close defense than the slow-firing railguns, and their power was no less.

“Advanced technology” didn’t always mean practical, but many seemed not to understand such a simple truth.

He missed the soldiers from his homeland even more—they wielded “primitive” weapons, much more so than this universe-spanning starship world, but at least they didn’t bunch up in a clump. His whole previous life had been spent remembering that, and probably this one would be the same.

After driving off the small insects harassing it, the gravel dragon climbed up proudly, wanting to roar at the soldiers on the wall. Realizing it had no neck, it spread its wings and flapped hard, kicking up a fierce wind and lifting its massive bulk several meters off the ground.

It opened its blood-red maw again, aiming at the densest crowd on the battlements, letting out a silent roar. A dazzling, brilliant light gathered among its sharp teeth once more.

But the soldiers stood frozen, neither counterattacking nor scattering.

Naturally, their fire dwindled.

In the distance, the remaining alien insects seized the opportunity, accelerating their charge.

Yu Lian gritted his teeth, held his breath, and slowly aimed at the dragon’s eye. Whether it would help, he couldn’t say—its eyes were fragile, but fragile only relative to what.

He pulled the trigger, sending a burst of bullets. Almost simultaneously, a sudden, invisible strike—like a lightning bolt—hit the dragon. It convulsed, unable to release its energy orb. Its wings went limp, and with a thud, it fell to the ground.

Yu Lian knew it wasn’t the rifle’s power but the armor plate smashed onto the dragon’s head that did the job. Turning, he saw Sergeant Baka, the bear-man, had somehow reached the city gate, roaring fiercely like a Kodiak grizzly, and once more grabbed a broken steel rod from the ground, throwing it like a javelin.

“For the collective!”

Lieutenant Mondsen, wielding his chainsaw sword, rushed past Baka, using the “javelin” as cover to launch a thunderous charge. The setting sun cast a halo around his hard mechanized armor—he looked just like those legendary knights charging fierce dragons in epic tales.

…An epic from the age of cold steel.