Chapter 13: The Guardian Beast of the Tomb

With so many crossbow bolts fired at once, if they all hit me, I’d be turned into a porcupine for sure!

In that critical moment, Xue Ya lunged forward and leapt in front of me. A sharp chorus of metallic clangs rang out as the bolts, like a sudden downpour, clattered harmlessly to the ground.

When the chaos finally settled, I looked up and saw Xue Ya holding a shield in her hand. Just now, she had used this shield to block the barrage of bolts, sending them tumbling to the earth.

It was probably my first time seeing such a peculiar shield. For one, it was extremely thin, a stark contrast to the heavy shields I’d seen before. Secondly, its shape was most unusual—like a giant scale. The sharp, deadly bolts struck the “scale,” but were instantly deflected, falling to the ground without leaving a single mark. The shield was utterly unscathed, a testament to its extraordinary strength!

With a flick of Xue Ya’s arm, there was a crisp metallic snap, and the giant scaled shield vanished in an instant!

The sight left me utterly dumbfounded.

“Is… is that the legendary Dragon Scale Shield?” I asked Xue Ya in astonishment.

She looked at me proudly and smiled, “Good eye, Jiang Yuan. That was indeed the Dragon Scale Shield!”

I’d heard of the Dragon Scale Shield before. Its greatest feature was its portability and versatility. Normally, it appeared inconspicuous—just a small plate, even tinier than a palm, worn on the wrist, easily mistaken for an oversized watch by the uninitiated. But when danger struck, a sharp flick of the wrist would cause the shield to expand instantly, its surface area increasing more than tenfold, transforming into a massive shield. Its resemblance to a dragon’s scale had earned it the name Dragon Scale Shield.

Just then, a strange creaking noise arose, and the head of the tomb guardian beast swiftly turned in my direction, its bloody maw opening wide once more.

Xue Ya reacted with lightning speed, drawing two pistols from her waist and aiming at the creature’s head. Bang! Bang! Bang! The blazing bullets shot through the darkness like meteors, striking the tomb beast’s head.

The pistols Xue Ya carried were loaded with steel-core bullets—devastating and highly penetrative. No matter how tough the beast’s head was, it couldn’t withstand such firepower.

A dozen rounds tore the tomb guardian beast’s head apart, completely destroying the bolt-firing mechanism hidden inside.

“Jiang, are you all right?” Wang Yueban hurried up, checking me over anxiously.

“It’s not over yet,” I said quietly. “The real trouble is just beginning.”

“What do you mean by that?” Wang Yueban’s eyes widened in shock.

I pointed to the other tomb guardian beast. “There are two. We’ve only dealt with one. There’s another left.”

Wang Yueban grinned and said, “But this one looks so gentle and harmless. With that honest face, I doubt it’ll give us any trouble.”

He hadn’t finished speaking when the other beast opened its mouth. With a strange whoosh, a blast of fire shot out like a thunderbolt, striking Wang Yueban squarely on the backside. He let out a pig-like scream and began rolling frantically across the damp earth.

I tried to help him, but the beast twisted its head towards me and unleashed a jet of flame in my direction. I quickly dodged backward as Xue Ya and Hong Zhaohai were attacked as well.

While evading the fire, Xue Ya fired at the beast’s head, but to everyone’s shock, the bullets bounced off with metallic pings. Even steel-core bullets had no effect on this tomb beast! Worse yet, the creature seemed to have come back to life, lumbering after us and spewing flames at our heels.

Wang Yueban fled in panic but still had breath to shout, “Hey, this thing isn’t stopping till we’re all roasted! Jiang, do something and kill this damn thing!”

His words suddenly gave me an idea. I shouted, “Yueban, do you have to pee?”

He didn’t get my meaning and yelled back, “What? Have what? What are you talking about?”

“Not that! I mean urine! Do you need to pee?” I raised my voice to explain.

“Urine? Actually, yes—I’ve been holding it in for ages!” Wang Yueban replied as he ran.

Hearing this, I quickly called out, “Perfect! Yueban, stop running!”

“Jiang, you’re not saying you want me to pee on the beast, are you?” Wang Yueban skidded to a halt, staring at me in bewilderment.

I nodded and explained, “Ancient tomb traps are designed according to the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, which generate and restrain each other. This fire-breathing tomb beast clearly represents fire, and water is its nemesis! We can only defeat it with water.”

At that moment, the beast’s body was glowing red-hot from the fire raging inside it, like a chunk of iron in a blacksmith’s forge.

There was no time to lose. I kept it simple: “Yueban, here’s the plan. I’ll distract it, you circle behind, and then—you know what to do!”

Having been burned already, Wang Yueban was eager for payback. He nodded in understanding, slipped into the shadows, and crouched low.

I slowed my pace, weaving in front of the beast to keep its attention. When it came to cunning, humans were second to none. Predictably, the tomb beast took the bait, its jaws spewing flame as it charged straight at me...