Reborn As a Pirate - Chapter 74

Chapter 74: Female Fire Dragon!
“Bang! Bang! Bang!” The ground trembled under its terrifying mass.

One pursued, the other fled. In a blink, they were hundreds of meters apart, with the Tyrannosaurus bulldozing through the forest, obliterating anything in its path like a rampaging colossus.

But suddenly, Ryan halted and pivoted, facing his enormous adversary. This abrupt change did not slow the red behemoth, which charged forward, blinded by momentum.

At that critical moment, the ground beneath the Tyrannosaurus gave way. The brittle underbrush could not bear its immense weight, and with a deceptive crack, it revealed a hidden pitfall. The beast flailed helplessly as it plummeted, its massive body wedged within the earth, struggling in vain.

Ryan, poised with his greatsword gleaming in a silvery-blue hue on his shoulder, gazed at the trapped predator. His eyes flickered with a fierce spark, yet beneath that fiery veil lay a cold, strategic calm.

He allowed himself precisely 1.7 seconds to gather his strength. Then, with a fluid, merciless arc, his blade swept down, targeting the neck of the ensnared Tyrannosaurus.

“Ka!” The sound of finality echoed through the air as steel met scale.

Though devoid of the protective scale armor typical of its kind, the red Tyrannosaurus’s thick fur offered some defense. Ryan’s sword, thrust with precision, only managed to shear through the fur and penetrate a mere ten centimeters into the beast’s flesh.

To any human, such a wound would have been grievous, potentially fatal. But for the colossal predator, it was little more than a deep scratch, slightly more severe than a mere scrape. The dinosaur’s densely muscled hide compensated for its lack of scales, blunting the sword’s lethal blows.

Ryan felt a shiver of concern pulse through him at the realization of the creature’s resilience. As the Tyrannosaurus struggled to rise from the pit, he retreated a few paces, twisting at the waist to ready his sword once more. His muscles tensed as he began gathering energy for another strike.

Seconds ticked by, three…five. With a thunderous effort, the Tyrannosaurus freed itself, shaking the earth as it clambered out of the trap. Just as it regained its footing, Ryan unleashed his prepared assault, now doubly charged with “one and a half power accumulations.”

“Crack!”

The sword, swung with formidable force, deviated slightly due to the angle and instead struck the formidable skull of the Tyrannosaurus. The impact was powerful; the beast’s head recoiled, throwing its massive body off balance once again, sending it tumbling backward.

Dust billowed and leaves fluttered as the dinosaur crashed down. Ryan, his body screaming in protest due to the recoil and the consumption, hastily consumed a dose of “rich pearl powder,” a concoction designed to bolster his strength. Ignoring the pain that wracked his frame, he charged towards the fallen beast.

Empowered by the pearl of fertility powder but nearing his physical limits, Ryan could only muster “one power accumulation.” He raised his greatsword once more, targeting the neck that had already been struck. With a decisive “puff,” the blade carved a deeper gash, from which blood surged forth in torrents.

The wounded Tyrannosaurus, jolted from its stupor by the pain, reacted with primal fury. It rolled over, its massive tail whipping through the air towards Ryan.

In that critical moment, Ryan’s left hand discharged a “bloody bullet,” embedding it deep within the fresh wound on the creature’s neck. Learning from his previous misfires, he had made this shot at close range, a mere two meters, ensuring accuracy against such a vast target.

“Bang!”

As the tail connected, Ryan was hurled away, tumbling across the ground, each roll a blur of agony. When he finally came to a stop after hitting a tree, he expelled a mouthful of blood, his complexion ghostly pale.

Meanwhile, the Tyrannosaurus, too, was faring poorly. The “bloody bullet,”, failed to stem the bleeding from its neck. Additionally, the impact from the misaimed headshot left the beast panting heavily, drooling, barely able to maintain its stance as it swayed on the spot.

As if locked in the climactic final stretch of a ten-meter sprint, Ryan and the red Tyrannosaurus found themselves poised at a pivotal juncture; the first to regain composure would seize the upper hand in this grueling battle.

Seconds dragged on: five, ten…about twenty in total.

The Tyrannosaurus, drawing a deep, stabilizing breath, was the first to recover. It surged forward, the wings on its back unfurling majestically. Sparks erupted from its mouth, the searing heat within its throat cauterizing the bloody wound at its neck, effectively neutralizing the lingering effects of the “bloody bullet.”

Now in a frenzied “rage state,” its body swelled visibly with fury, propelling it forward with renewed vigor.

“Crack!”

As it charged, the ground beneath it gave way once more, revealing another trap. But this time, with a frantic flapping of its expansive wings, the Tyrannosaurus managed to stabilize itself, avoiding the fall.

Ryan, who had feigned weakness to lure the beast into the trap, watched with narrowed eyes. Realizing the ploy had failed, he turned and dashed away without a moment’s hesitation.

The “hole trap” had proven futile against this behemoth. Ryan knew he had to lead it into a thicket of massive trees, where his smaller stature could prove advantageous.

But no sooner had he sprinted ten meters than a gigantic fireball arced through the air, exploding just ahead of his path.

“Boom!”

The blast sent Ryan’s hair whipping back, the heat singeing the air around him. Were it not for the damp, mist-laden atmosphere, his skin would have surely suffered burns.

Sensing the imminent danger, Ryan instinctively pivoted as another fiery projectile detonated nearby.

“Boom!”

Fireballs continued to rain down as the Tyrannosaurus relentlessly pursued, its mouth a veritable cannon. For a moment, Ryan could do nothing but flee blindly, his every instinct focused on survival.

After what seemed an eternity of dodging and weaving, the barrage ceased. Catching his breath, Ryan glanced back, puzzled. Some forty or fifty meters behind, the red Tyrannosaurus clawed at the earth, its fury palpable but its advance halted.

While Ryan’s mind raced to understand this sudden change, a resonant dragon’s roar cut through the quiet of the dense forest. A gust of wind heralded the arrival of another formidable presence. Massive emerald wings beat the air, and a shadow engulfed Ryan.

With a stiffened neck, he looked up, and his eyes widened at the sight that met him. On the grey character panel before him, a new notification flashed ominously:

[Female Fire Dragon]!

the verdant, ancient forest, the emerald-scaled Female Fire Dragon, a formidable predator, reigns supreme. Unlike her airborne male counterpart, this carnivorous behemoth primarily traverses the forest floor, supported by her robust hind legs. Her venom glands are notably more advanced than those of the male, equipped with the ability to discharge a potent toxin from the spines lining her back and tail. This adaptation serves as a formidable defense mechanism against the myriad threats of her domain.

Post-egg-laying, her vigilance peaks, transforming her into a guardian fierce enough to challenge any intruder, be it beast or even her mate until she can trust them completely.

The atmosphere thickens with a palpable pressure.

A regal force emanates from the dragon, pressing down like a tangible weight.

It’s an innate warning.

Danger!

Profound danger!

Ryan’s muscles coil in anticipation. Having faced the male Fire Dragon leader on several occasions, he has developed a certain resilience to their draconic aura; the lesser might of the female does little to sway him.

Yet, caught between the menacing gaze of a Red Tyrannosaurus and the vigilant Female Fire Dragon, Ryan finds himself ensnared in a precarious trap.

He breathes a quiet sigh. Despite the peril, this venture has been enlightening, revealing much about the Red Tyrannosaurus’s attack patterns, knowledge that would prove invaluable on future hunts.

As he braces for what might be his final stand, Ryan notices the Female Fire Dragon aloft, her attention riveted not on him but on the Tyrannosaurus lurking nearby. The mighty predator, ruffled and hesitant, is caught in a standoff; it yearns to shred Ryan, yet it fears the venomous wrath of the dragon.

After a tense ten seconds, the Female Fire Dragon unleashes a thunderous roar, the force stirring the foliage around. She then swoops down like a fighter jet toward the Tyrannosaurus, oblivious to Ryan’s presence below.

“Boom!”

The ground quakes as dust billows and debris flies. Flames and venom clash in an extraordinary spectacle of nature’s raw ferocity.

Ryan, momentarily stunned by the chaotic dance of these colossal creatures, quickly grasps the scale of the confrontation. Compared to the ‘berserk’ Red Tyrannosaurus, stretching nearly 20 meters, his less than two-meter frame, even armed with a hefty sword, barely registers as a threat to a mighty dragon.

In the primal calculus of survival, his presence is as negligible as a cat’s beside a rampaging tiger, an afterthought to these behemoths whose battle rages with ancient, unstoppable fury.

Relief washed over Ryan as the tide of battle turned unexpectedly in his favor, kindling a spark of elation within him. Indeed, who would revel in the specter of death if given a choice?