Ancient Dragon in Arknights

"That bastard, next time I'll—!"

The tall, thin man was still complaining about something; his concentration was lacking, and this mistake could have cost him his life!

"Die!"

Nesario chose to thrust forward with his right hand, his right hand, with four sharp claws, charging straight towards the opponent's throat.

The face may be hidden by the skull, the heart protected by clothing, but only the throat—unguarded yet deadly enough.

Swish-!

As the claws were pulled out, the fine serrations tore open the original wound.

Several vital arteries were located near the throat, and as Neltharion tore them apart, bright red blood gushed out. The crimson color stained Neltharion's claws and clothes, and the continuously gushing blood continued to smear, turning the carriage door and the feet of the tall, thin man red.

His pupils constricted rapidly with the pain. He instinctively wanted to retaliate, but the intense pain and gushing blood shattered his composure. The man gripped his throat tightly with both hands, pressing against his wound, fighting for his life with a force as if he were strangling himself.

Such a wound would be impossible to heal even for an ordinary medical practitioner, let alone in such a rudimentary environment.

"Help...help me..."

His trachea was blocked by the rush of blood, and after a few painful screams, he collapsed to the ground—he was dead.

Because of his violent movements, blood sprayed everywhere, like a blood-red flower blooming on the earth, giving birth to a deadly, bloody beauty.

"Big, big brother!"

The tall, thin man struggled for a short while, during which time Nesario and Saria focused intently on their next target.

Faced with the two siblings attacking him, the chubby guy didn't even bother to collect his older brother's body.

His not-so-long arm span appeared enormous due to his obesity, and his furious counterattack, tinged with a hint of fear, swept towards Saria. Whether it was luck or inevitability, his obesity caused him to land low, and the tool he swung left little room for him to dive.

Saria was forced to roll away to avoid the attack.

If the older sister's attack fails, then it's up to the younger brother.

Nesario's blood-stained claws lunged at the fat man. The man was covered in fat, and one stab might not be enough to kill him; he would have to be slowly worn down by bleeding him.

Surprisingly, this fat man only appeared obese; in reality, he was very agile.

The fat man had witnessed his older brother being slit in the throat by Neltharion's claw, and he knew very well the power of that claw.

So he didn't confront them head-on, but instead jumped back several times to create distance.

The raid ended, with one enemy soldier killed and only one remaining.

'It's a two-on-one situation, even though it's two kids... but the advantage is mine.'

Nesario thought so.

Chapter Eighteen: The Situation Reversed

"Sister, be careful."

"the same as you."

Although the two siblings care about each other, Nesario will ultimately be the one to take the lead in attacking, since Saria currently lacks effective means of killing, and her punches may not even be able to hurt this fat man.

"You two damned brats! I really underestimated you... So cruel at such a young age..."

There wasn't much affection between the thugs, but these two brothers had worked together many times and had helped each other on occasions.

Seeing his so-called "big brother" die in front of him with a look of fear on his face, the fat man couldn't help but feel a little sad.

These two kids are really something else. They're so young yet so vicious. A life was lost because of them.

What was Nesario thinking?

He was calm. His opponent had twice tried to kill him, so resistance was the only option. Killing his opponent was the only way to eliminate any future trouble. Neltharion even felt a little excited. As a pure killing machine, the Odogaron naturally had an extremely bloodthirsty nature.

"Cruel? It's a dog-eat-dog world, survival of the fittest. He will pay with his life for his carelessness and negligence."

As Nesario watched the blood slowly dripping from his claws, there was no remorse or sorrow for wasting life in his eyes, only a slowly burning flame.

*Snap*—The fat man drew a sheathed dagger from his back waist. As the sheath was thrown away, a flash of cold light appeared.

Neltharion was not afraid. He sprinted forward, but he did not rush forward. Instead, he held back with each move so that he could stop or turn when needed. This was a skill that Odogaron had trained to develop. It had an extremely good ability to move, which allowed it to fight enemies that were twice its size.

Nesario has now inherited this ability, which is the source of his confidence to attack.

More importantly—he was not alone.

Saria also began attacking the fat man the moment Neltharion took action. She and Neltharion chose different directions of attack, with the two siblings each attacking one side.

The fat man now regretted not bringing a longer weapon; a small dagger obviously couldn't attack from two directions at the same time.

'That little bastard's claws are dangerous; a scratch would probably draw blood... This little bitch, on the other hand, isn't much of a threat...'

The fat man's brain was working at a rapid pace. The two siblings were clearly different levels of threat. After weighing the options, he decided to fight off Nesario first. Even if Saria seized the opportunity to punch him a few times, he was confident that he would be fine.

In the blink of an eye, the dagger in his hand swung towards Nesario.

He raised his arm, exerted force, and then slashed down to the side—the fat man's movements were clearly seen. Nesario ducked down, dodging the blow at an incredible angle.

"What—ah!!"

Saria wouldn't miss such an opportunity. The fat man had no intention of being on guard against her, so she would make the most of it.

She aimed a punch at the fat man's crotch, which was hidden by his large belly—a fatal blow to his weak point.

This is not a pleasant experience for a man; such a painful opportunity can shake any man to the point that he reveals his weakness in a life-or-death moment.

The intense pain caused the fat man to bend over, and Nesario's attack rushed towards his face, his sharp claws aiming for the eyes that were squeezed together by fat—if he was lucky, he could pierce the eye socket and smash the brain; if he was unlucky, he could destroy the other's eyes.

Nesario's fighting style is absolutely unacceptable; his attacks are almost entirely aimed at injuring or killing, making him a true assassin.

But in the wilderness, this is the best way to attack. Hidden weapons, poison, backstabs, or even biting with your teeth—anything that allows you to survive is the best option.

Pfft!

Nesario could clearly feel the flesh being pierced, and he was about to tear the fat man's face open.

Even a cornered beast will fight back; a rabbit will bite when cornered, let alone a desperate thug.

"Ah—! You little bastard, I'm going to kill you!"

The thick arm swung down rapidly under the stimulation of pain.

"elder sister!"

Nesario rolled awkwardly on the ground and quickly created distance. He quickly alerted Saria, but unfortunately, she was a beat too late.

A bloody gash appeared on her shoulder; she had been grazed by a dagger.

"I am fine."

It was just a superficial wound; although it hurt a lot, Saria could still bear it.

The fat man brandished his knife in one hand and covered his face with the other—blood gushed from between his fingers. Nesario's attack was effective but not fatal.

"It seems that the blow just now only injured his face."

"We need to do it again..."

The two siblings were also running out of energy; if they continued like this for a few more moves, they probably wouldn't make it.

The wind in the wilderness was extremely dry, carrying yellow sand that flew into the distance—carrying a hint of smoke with it.

'The smell of smoke?!'

Without hesitation, Nesario lunged at Saria, and the two little dragons instantly rolled on the ground.

Nesario's choice was correct, because in the next instant after he acted, a crossbow bolt flew past him almost grazing his body.

"who!?"

Nesario quickly got up and looked around for the direction from which the crossbow bolts were coming—at his shout, a dusty figure emerged from behind a small mound in the distance.

His tattered clothes barely covered his body, his goggles were cracked, and his exposed skin was as rough and ugly as cracked tree bark. His dirty hands held a homemade crossbow, and a homemade cigarette was dangling from his mouth. The smell of smoke that Nesario had just caught was from this cigarette.

These are the most common scavengers in the wilderness—you'll see them almost everywhere you look in a camp in the wilderness.

Many security companies encounter one or two such groups of desperate criminals during their missions; it's a common problem.

But for both sides at this moment, this guy is the most terrifying threat.

'Thanks to the favorable wind direction... the Odogaron's sense of smell spotted this creature in time.'

Nesario glared at the other man, who had just been planning to attack him—he was now an enemy, not a friend.

"Brother, you don't seem to be having much luck. Need any help? My prices are pretty cheap."

A hoarse voice slowly rose as the scavenger made a trade request to the fat man.

"Break the arms and legs of these two brats! Don't kill them, especially the man!"

"Hey! Fatty, aren't you afraid he'll double-cross us? I'm afraid that after he takes care of us, you'll be the next one to die! Hey you over there, there's at least a suitcase full of gold in this carriage. Let us leave, we didn't see anything."

Nesario knew very well that the two people in front of him did not trust each other, and he absolutely could not let them reach a cooperation agreement now.

Coincidentally, he knew exactly how to sow discord in this relationship.

Chapter Nineteen: Double-crossing

"Oh! That's something to look forward to... But I'm sorry, kid, even in the wilderness, basic morality must still be upheld."

After making a few jokes, the scavenger did not show any greed. What he said was even a matter of morality—the most worthless things in the wilderness.

"Heh, so you plan to kill us now, and that half-crippled fat guy won't change anything. Looks like you don't want this to get out... After all, this much crimson gold is enough for you to squander for a lifetime, isn't it?"

Nesario showed no sign of stopping, as if he was certain of the ill intentions of the person in front of him.

The fat man, who was consumed by rage, gradually calmed down. Ignoring the pain from his wounds, he forced himself to analyze the current situation.

Yes, Nesario is absolutely right.

His eyes were almost completely blinded by blood, and his hand and foot skills were severely compromised because of this attack.

Although he didn't have the extravagant wealth of a suitcase full of gold, this land vehicle did indeed contain considerable riches, which originally belonged to his elder brother. Now that his brother was dead, it was natural for him to inherit them.

'This guy has weapons, I'm definitely no match for him... but that kid is no pushover either.'

A strange balance was thus achieved—none of the three parties tacitly refrained from making the first move, but the scavenger naturally had the most confidence.