DADH Chapter 69

In the terrifying silence of the Abyssal Canyon, all players stopped in their tracks, turning their heads toward the source of the disturbance.

The players were positioned at the entrance of the Abyssal Canyon. It was a wide and gently sloping area that connected to the forest. To enter the canyon, they had to confront a vast and seemingly bottomless abyss.

Beneath the pitch-black abyss, no figures could be seen yet, but the oppressive aura had already reached them. Even though these players knew it was just a game instance, a hint of fear crept into their hearts, causing many to take a few steps back in secret.

Soon after, several earth-shattering roars, akin to thunder, resounded, and the players were shaken to the point of losing their balance. The surrounding trees were even shattered by the force of these roars.

Time seemed to blur, and suddenly, the sky darkened, and the wind appeared to sense the oppression, falling silent.

The players, who had just managed to get back on their feet, breathed a sigh of relief.

The next moment, an even more violent gale toppled everyone to the ground, with some being thrown several meters away until they collided with obstacles, coming to a halt.

When the players, with dirt-stained faces, slowly reopened their eyes, confusion took over.

The sky… had turned dark?

No, it was countless massive, horrifying figures blocking the sunlight, casting shadows!

When the players raised their heads to meet the terrifying, furious eyes, they were petrified.

In an instant, terror overtook them, and they scrambled in all directions.

However, the players were no match for the colossal dragons, with figures no larger than the dragons’ toes. How could they possibly escape? Even the winds stirred by a few footsteps were enough to blow them away.

After all, they were the most elite group of players in the game. They quickly realized this was the most powerful boss in the game, and they began to brandish their weapons and chant their most potent spells.

Then, in the next moment, they fell into despair.

Because the Dragon Bosses decided not to follow the typical antagonist script!

They skipped the threats!

They went straight to action!

Players were caught off guard, and the stronger the skill, the longer the casting time. While they were preparing their skills, the opposing dragons began a direct physical onslaught!

The dragons kicked a bunch of inexperienced players around, treating them like footballs. Some dragons were so annoyed that they grabbed players and flew them up into the sky before tossing them down.

But some players refused to be beaten. Just before the perilous high-altitude freefall, they swooped down to catch their comrades, continuing the cycle.

The players, coughing up blood, could only flee while cursing.

“Stupid dragons! No honor in battle!”

However, in the next second, they suffered even more ferocious blows.

Because, once upon a time, the dragons had intentionally learned the common language of the continent (also known as Interstellar Language), and they understood!

Of course, the players currently being pummeled had no idea about this. They were too preoccupied with their torment.

Finally, after enduring the third round of attacks, the group of players with the quickest reactions was ready to unleash magical waves of attacks, using various skills on the dragons.

Then, something even more despairing occurred.

The magical attacks were like flames from a matchstick striking across a wet surface; they brushed against the dragons’ skin and instantly extinguished.

Not only that, but the dragons, who enjoyed close combat, were growing impatient with the slippery, hard-to-crush ants from the south and were reminded of alternative fighting methods.

They could use “magic” too!

One by one, they inhaled and began harnessing magical elements to launch their attacks.

Players who discovered that the dragons could use magic were initially astonished for a moment, thinking to themselves, ‘Wasn’t it stated in the game lore that dragons couldn’t use magic?’

Then they realized…

Not only could the dragons use magic, but they didn’t even need to chant incantations!

The players, with bruised and swollen faces, held their heads and scurried around: “…”

There was no end to their despair; it only grew worse.

In the end, they gave up struggling, hoping to be killed and return to the respawn point, exiting the instance.

Then they discovered, to their surprise, that these damn dragons weren’t shark-like¹PKing!

Moreover, they intentionally “weren’t sharking”!

To verify this, they deliberately measured the distance and blindly rushed into the deadly zone. For example, right under the dragon’s feet, at the center of the dragon’s attack range, thinking of “sharking” and then logging out of the game. But the group of dragons was daring and precise. They appeared incredibly violent, but in reality, every brutal attack was pinpoint accurate, and their control was unmatched. Even if players tried to pull a last-minute “sharking” attack, the dragons would instantly switch to a brutal attack.

When they couldn’t be stopped, the dragons would use their bodies to shield against the attack or kick the players away to avoid the deadly blows.

Players who wanted to use “death” as an escape from the brutality: *choked sob.*

Some just lay flat on the ground, refusing to move, thinking, ‘You can hit me all you want, but I won’t budge.’

However…

The brutal attacks and torment continued.

Because the dragons knew only one thing: their Dragon Lord was made to cry by these people!

And their Dragon Lord was still crying, and the cries were getting louder!

It had to be them!

More!

Not enough!

Strive!

Players who didn’t understand why the beatings were intensifying: “…” QAQ

Although most players minimized the pain, being brutally beaten without feeling pain was still brutal.

It was still uncomfortable.

Especially when lying flat and getting pummeled. Someone remembered that when they arrived, someone seemed excited about opening a livestream.

What were they saying at the time?

“I’m confident in not squishing my face, showing my real self, and I must show my first kill to the entire interstellar community!”?

And now, what was this?

“Click to watch the scene of the ‘Dragon Slayer’ player getting beaten up?”

The damage was minimal, but the humiliation was extreme.

The only players who managed to escape the beating and publicly faced this embarrassing outcome were the three brothers from the Jing family.

Because when the little dragonlet started crying, they immediately recognized the distinctive crying tone. Combined with the commotion in the Abyssal Canyon, they became even more certain.

This rounder little dirty dragonlet was none other than their “nephew,” the proud prince of the dragon clan.

—His Royal Highness the Dragon.

The three brothers from the Jing family approached the baby dragon’s side. Despite their concerns for their younger brother’s safety, after spending time with this “baby,” they all genuinely felt affection for it. So, their initial reaction was to comfort it.

After soothing the little dragon, they asked about their brother’s condition.

However, even though the three brothers had caught the little dragon’s attention, the little dragon, still whimpering with its eyes closed, only opened one eye and glanced at them with a look of unfamiliarity.

Finally, its gaze lingered briefly on Jing Yan’s face. For some reason, it cried even more sorrowfully.

Jing Yan was taken aback. “Does it not recognize us?”

Jing Chen and Jing Xing also realized this and immediately thought about the process of instance assimilation.

After exchanging glances, they all felt a deep concern for Jing Nian.

If the dragon clan didn’t recognize them, what about Jing Nian? Where was he now?

At that moment, the largest and oldest dragon, Hesse, approached with earth-shaking footsteps.

The three recognized him as Hesse and attempted to communicate with him, but his brown dragon eyes held only indifference and authority as he looked at them. They even shimmered with a dangerous light because they had approached the young dragon.

They had synchronized to the point of not recognizing them!

Fortunately, it seemed Hesse noticed they meant no harm. He ignored them and focused all his attention on the crying little dragon.

After emerging from the canyon, not all dragons charged into the player group to pummel the “enemies” that made their young lord cry.

The top priority, of course, was to comfort the young lord.

Upon awakening, Hesse immediately rushed to the little dragon’s side.

Hesse approached the little dragon, attempting to lift it up with his dragon claw as he had done in the past. However, the little dragon only glanced at him, then had a moment of disappointment in its eyes. It wriggled and evaded Hesse’s dragon claw, hugging its knees, continuing to cry in sadness on its own.

The old dragon gazed at its young lord with a hint of concern. It seemed utterly helpless.

Because the little dragon was crying with closed eyes, Jing Nian could only observe the situation outside through its occasional glimpses of sight.

When he saw his brothers, he was excited and tried all sorts of ways to call out to them in the Dragon Soul Space, but all his efforts failed.

Upon seeing Hesse, he was excited once again. However, he noticed that the little dragon didn’t want to pay attention to Hesse and avoided him after just a glance, making it cry even more sorrowfully.

In addition to its sorrow, the little one occasionally squinted its eyes to look around, as if searching for something.

Following the little dragon’s gaze, Jing Nian saw nothing.

He furrowed his brow. What could be going on?

Jing Nian’s initially excited emotions gradually cooled down. Because he was used to the little dragon’s various states of crying and wailing, he initially thought that the little dragon’s crying would have brought Hesse, and comforting it would resolve the situation.

But now, there seemed to be no effect at all.

A thought crossed his mind, could it be… looking for him?

Initially, when Jing Nian briefly saw Hesse and the little dragon not recognizing his three brothers through the little dragon’s perspective, he had already realized it. The process of the dragon’s instance assimilation was faster than that of other instances.

So he became convinced that the dragonlet had likely forgotten him.

But now, this thought was starting to waver.

If it wasn’t for the dragons’ comfort or the teething ring, what could it be for?

Was his little dragon, his baby, truly forgetting him, or was it instinctively searching for him?

Jing Nian’s eyes welled up with tears.

He couldn’t contact the outside world and could only listen through the little dragon’s ears. He heard his three brothers clumsily trying to comfort the little dragon and the resigned yet soothing voice of the old dragon, Hesse, as they tried to console the little dragon.

But the more the little dragon cried, the sadder it became.

The baby dragon was still in the stage of babbling, unable to articulate its thoughts.

In the Dragon Soul Space, Jing Nian held the little dragon’s soul, his eyes red with heartache. He remembered how the little dragon used to love cuddling with his soul. But this time, the little dragon couldn’t sense his presence.

His eyes reddened in desperation, yet he had no way to comfort his dragon.

At that moment, Jing Nian realized that thoughts of the game and thoughts of returning home had all been pushed aside in his mind.

All he knew was that his dragon was crying so hard it was running out of breath because it wanted to find him.

He had to find a way to be there for his dragon immediately.

Just then, a familiar voice suddenly rang out.

“I’ve finally found you, sorry for being late.”

Jing Nian looked up and, through his blurred vision, saw a glowing figure.

 

Author’s note:

Player: Can’t survive, can’t die, QAQ.

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