Dragon Raja; Chapter 66: A Dragon’s Shadow (4)

Dragon Raja

“There are many theories about dragons, but no one is certain they’re reptiles. Maybe what we call dragons are just shadows in people’s hearts,” Mance said.

“Captain! The bombs are back on the radar!” The second officer yelled in surprise, like a grieving father suddenly finding his lost children.

Mance froze, realizing something. “Quick, detonate them!”

“Wait, didn’t they get eaten?” The second officer was bewildered.

“But they haven’t been digested yet! The creature’s body can block electromagnetic waves, but now it’s surfaced with its mouth open! Your bombs are calling out from its stomach!” Mance hit the detonation button.

A deafening explosion sounded from a kilometer behind them, shaking the entire Maniakh. At the moment when all ten underwater bombs detonated simultaneously, a towering pillar of fire plunged into the water like a sword of flames thrown down by a god. A moment later, the fire erupted, and sharp metal fragments mixed with the explosive charge shot in all directions, some striking the stern of the Maniakh.

“We did it!” Selma shouted, waving her arms. She saw the dark spine twist at the moment of the explosion. As long as it was a living being, it couldn’t possibly survive that.

The first mate turned the steering wheel suddenly, and the hull of the Maniakh tilted almost 90 degrees on the water surface. It stopped with great difficulty due to the huge resistance of the water. The overheated engine evaporated a lot of water vapor from the bottom of the ship. Everyone in the cabin followed Mance out and stood in the cold rain, looking at a piece of water that was boiling instantly a kilometer away. The huge whirlpool on the water surface was spinning, sucking a lot of foam deep into the water. Mance wiped the rain off his face, thinking about the thick spine that was not completely destroyed at all and slowly sank to the riverbed at the bottom of the water. He breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and then he felt the pain of losing his companions again.

“It would have been great if we could have captured a live specimen,” the third officer lamented.

“A fifteen-meter-long, fifty-ton live specimen—how were you planning to transport it back to Cassell College?” Mance asked.

“Is that Dragon King Norton?” Selma asked.

“Probably not. The Dragon King’s intelligence wouldn’t be so low as to swallow a bomb,” Mance replied. “We might be able to check later to see if we can retrieve any tissue fragments for research. Selma, you performed well this time. I’ll give you full marks for your internship course; you’ll be one of the rare few in Cassell College history to get full marks in an internship.”

Selma nodded. “Thank you, though right now I’d rather trade it to have Ye Sheng and Aki back.”

Mance grabbed Selma’s shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze. That was all he could do to encourage her. Suddenly, Selma was yanked backward, falling into the water as if some demonic giant hand in the darkness had grabbed her vest. Selma sank straight down, and at the last moment, the light shone on her. Mance saw her mouth wide open, unable to make a sound, water pouring into her mouth. She disappeared, and all that remained on the water’s surface was something thin and dark, like a coiling snake.

A long tail! The tail vertebra that should have been blown to pieces!

Mance picked up the sniper rifle on the ground and fired an entire magazine into the water. Moments later, red-black water rose to the surface.

Mance was stunned. He suddenly realized that Selma was also underwater, along with that creature. He didn’t know if the blood was Selma’s or the dragon’s, but with such concentrated fire, even if Selma were alive, survival would be nearly impossible. He dropped the sniper rifle, stumbling back a few steps until he leaned against the cabin wall.

An eerie laugh seemed to rise from the raging waves, echoing around the Maniakh. It was very low but carried a mocking cheerfulness.

“Did you all hear that?” the third officer’s voice trembled.

“You didn’t mishear… it was the dragon laughing. He’s… mocking us,” Mance whispered.

“He was blown to death!” the second mate shouted, “Nine out of ten bombs exploded! Only one was a dud! It can definitely destroy the outer armor of the cruiser!”

A rapid beeping suddenly sounded from the cabin. The second officer paused—it was the fire control radar picking up a bomb signal once again. A dud had failed to detonate earlier. At this moment, not far from the Maniakh, a black spine slowly emerged from the water. The creature opened its mouth wide, and everyone could see its dense rows of teeth extending deep towards its throat. Deep within was an underwater bomb glinting with a red light.

“Should we detonate it?” the second officer asked.

“It’s waiting for you to detonate it,” Mance said. “Remember the moment a column of fire shot upwards during the explosion? That thing opened its mouth and faced upwards, letting the massive hot airflow from the explosion spray out from its mouth, releasing pressure—just like dragon’s breath. Now it’s aiming its mouth at us. If you detonate it, the hot airflow will rush towards us.”

“Is its digestive tract made of iron?” the second officer asked in disbelief. “Oh my God! If we can’t blow it from inside, then how can we blow it from outside?” Then why did he dodge your bullets? “

“I was wrong,” Mance whispered. “His intelligence isn’t low at all. He swallowed the bomb because he knew it wouldn’t hurt him. He attacked the helicopter because he didn’t like the light bothering him. Dodging my bullets—Ye Sheng didn’t like being bothered either, but it didn’t hurt him. He’s playing a game with us—a group of trapped prey. Start the engine!”

“The engine’s already overheated; it won’t last long,” the chief engineer said.

“We don’t need to go far. Shine the light towards the bow and see what’s ahead,” Mance said.

The first officer looked back and froze. In the darkness, they had only focused on fleeing, keeping the sonar pointed at the pursuer behind them, without realizing the looming silhouette in front.

The Three Gorges Dam.

They were only a few kilometers away from this colossal, billion-dollar man-made structure. The majestic dam stood tall in the darkness, like a giant lying down to sleep. Tens of millions of tons of cement and millions of tons of steel built this behemoth, blocking billions of water, with a drop of hundreds of meters. Probably nothing could shake it except nuclear bombs. There were pursuers in front and fortresses behind, and the Maniakh was in the middle like a fleeing squad.

There was no way to escape.

“Return to the cabin, start the engine, go straight ahead,” Mance said.

Everyone looked at him in silence.

“I’m the captain. I give the orders here,” Mance said. “Start the engine, full power, forward!”

Everyone obeyed the order. When the first mate passed by Mance, he heard his whispered order, “Take the helm.” The second mate also received the order when he passed by. “Prepare the last bomb for intelligence.” The third mate was stunned by the order, he didn’t say anything, just nodded.

The overheated engine roared once more, the stern of the Maniakh kicked up waves, and the ship charged forward. Mance stood alone at the stern, watching the enormous creature swimming in the distance, the rain streaming down his face along the wrinkles.

“Come on!” he suddenly growled.

As he expected, the creature was waiting for this moment—the real chase began when the prey made its final dash. The creature suddenly submerged, the sharp waterline reappearing as it approached at unprecedented speed, now unimpeded by anything.

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