The Highest Bounty

Having received Potie’s orders, the three-headed monster trotted out and closed in on Gu Ding’s crew.

“Roar…” It looked down at Gu Ding and his crew before letting out a menacing roar. All its three heads sounded at different frequencies. It produced a sound that was like the product of three harsh, incongruous chords, and it made one cover their ears. After roaring, it stomped on the spot where Gu Ding and his crew were standing.

It struck with its foot so fast that its big green foot was like a giant falling from the sky. Gu Ding and Biggie dodged the attack and pulled Elsa and Lilliath out of the way.

The three-headed monster did not stop making fun of them as its second and third foot came down one after the other. Each step it took made the ground throughout the domain shake wildly. It created a sense of fear that the ground would collapse completely, causing everyone to fall.

Gu Ding and the others dodged with great luck. On the other hand, the demigods who stood in their places motionless were not so lucky. The three-headed monster trampled most of them to death.

Potie did not care too much about it. She knew that no matter how many demigod bodies she lost in the battle, the senior elder would compensate her. Even for corpse dummies on the level of Dunn and Scrogg, the senior elder had a way of getting hold of them. She no longer cared about losing anything and only enjoyed the pleasure of chasing Gu Ding and his crew. As she watched Gu Ding and Biggie scamper off with difficultly as they were forced to take care of Elsa and Lilliath, she felt a wonderful pleasure swell in her heart. It made her burst into a shrill laugh. “Hahaha…”

At the sound of her laugh, the three-headed monster seemed to experience its master’s joy. Its attacks on Gu Ding and his crew intensified. It jumped up high and stomped its feet on the ground where Gu Ding and the others were at.

As a result, not only did it kill dozens of demigod corpse dummies, but it nearly destroyed Potie’s domain, giving her a heart attack. Hence, Potie stopped the three-headed monster at once. “Alright, stop fooling around. Get rid of them.”

When the three-headed monster heard her command, it let out another roar as if it was a response to Potie’s orders. Finally, it stopped stomping around. Instead, it brandished its six fists at Gu Ding and his crew. Its fists were so fast that Gu Ding was unable to catch them. The creature’s greyish-green fists hurled energy like a thousand greyish-green comets at Gu Ding and his crew.

Gu Ding frantically dragged Elsa and Lilliath out of the way but was a step too slow as he was slowed down by them.

Biggie, who had already dodged its attacks, appeared in front of Gu Ding. He brandished his saber, trying to buy time for them.

Nevertheless, his black sword energy was as fragile as glass in front of the creature’s greyish-green fist energy. Just one touch from it and Biggie’s energy shattered apart. As a result, the fist energy hit Biggie’s body without reserve, and Biggie spat out a mouthful of blood as he flew upside down into the far ground.

Biggie, however, managed to buy Gu Ding a little time to escape with Lilliath and Elsa.

“How’s Biggie, Neptune?” Gu Ding asked anxiously as he ducked out of sight. He had seen the intensity of the attack. Several demigods who had taken the same hit were smashed to smithereens. It was without a doubt that there was a chance for Biggie, who had been hit, to be in danger.

“All his bones have been shattered and many of his internal organs have been destroyed. However, he’s not dead, and he’s breathing faintly. He must be treated as soon as possible.” Neptune analyzed Biggie’s condition. Fortunately, Biggie was still alive and had not died on the spot.

“It’s all my fault. If it weren’t for me, Biggie wouldn’t have…” Tears were streaming down Lilliath’s face non-stop, she knew that Biggie had taken the blow to protect the three of them. Gu Ding could have easily avoided it and Elsa would not have been hit if she did not have to take care of her. She herself was the only one who could not defend and dodge such attacks.

“Biggie is not dead.” Gu Ding knew that it was not the time to comfort Lilliath, and he could only utter crucial words that affirmed her.

Lilliath felt a little better when she heard that Biggie was not dead.

Gu Ding turned around and looked at the woman sitting on the shoulder of the three-headed monster. She was laughing happily and saying nasty things about Biggie. The monster did not attack immediately.

“Neptune, I remember that when we bought the ax, you said you could not unlock its seal. However, you mentioned that there’s an ancient technique that can awaken the weapon spirit in the ax. With your unlocking ability, there is a good chance that we can unlock the ax, right?” Gu Ding asked suddenly. “I think we have to use a lot of blood.”

“Gu Ding, it’s no use. Even if we summon the weapon spirit, it won’t be a match for it. The creature’s strength is comparable to that of a 3-star Medium Ranking deity. There’s no way we can beat it.” Neptune quickly explained that the Art of Blood Sacrifice was different from that of an ordinary blood sacrifice. It required a person to sacrifice two-thirds of their blood.

“We don’t have to defeat that three-headed monster. We just have to destroy this woman’s domain.” Gu Ding had it all figured out. “Tell me what to do.”

“You’ll die!” Neptune knew exactly what the consequences of it would be.

“It’s better than being turned into a corpse dummy. At least the others will survive.” Gu Ding clenched his fists and turned to look at Elsa. “Elsa, if I fail, take this ax, destroy the domain, and get everyone out of here quickly.”

Gu Ding finished his sentence, and without listening to Neptune, he cut his own wrist with the ax and forcefully shut off his advanced regenerative ability. Bright red blood poured out from his hand and dripped onto the ax. “Neptune, tell me what’s the next step.”

Knowing that Gu Ding would drain all of his blood if he said nothing, Neptune reluctantly sent details about the forbidden blood sacrifice to Gu Ding’s brain.

Gu Ding followed the information in his head and began drawing weird patterns on the ax.

“Hmph. They’re still trying to resist. It’s only a simple Art of Blood Sacrifice. So what if you manage to awaken the weapon spirit of that god item? Can that god item kill a real deity?” Potie mocked loudly. “I’ll let you summon it today and let this big guy kill the weapon spirit right in front of you so you’ll give up completely.”

After the drawing was finished, the ax slowly began to levitate in the air. Additionally, Gu Ding’s blood began to flow over the surface of the ax, seeping into it as fast as one’s eye could see.

The scene made Potie feel a little uncomfortable. Nevertheless, she did not command the three-headed monster to attack. Gu Ding’s blood began to flow more and more into the ex. It was as if the ax was feeding on Gu Ding like an underfed baby–madly sucking at his blood. As Gu Ding began to lose too much blood, his vision started to become blurry, and he felt his body become heavier. He felt very drowsy as his consciousness gradually drifted away. Nevertheless, his strong will kept him standing still.

By the time more than a third of his blood had left Gu Ding’s body, he was completely unconscious, and his body was in a state of near-death. His heart had stopped working and his brain waves had become weaker…

However, after the two-thirds of his blood had been sucked out of his body, Gu Ding’s advanced regenerative ability resumed its functionality. As a result, his wounds healed in an instant and his blood stopped flowing. He stood where he was, completely unconscious.

Neptune had not noticed that while the ax was absorbing Gu Ding’s blood, the dragon blood which had looked like rust on it previously, had also been absorbed by it.

After the forbidden blood sacrifice was completed, with Neptune’s help, the weapon spirit of the ax tore apart the shackles of its seal. At that time, everyone near could faintly hear the faint sound of something being torn. The shape of the ax began to change dramatically as it turned into a giant golden dragon.

The giant golden dragon rose into the sky and, after hovering over Gu Ding’s head several times, seemed to feel Gu Ding’s will. It flapped its giant tail wildly against the ground, and for a moment, the ground all over the domain shook.

With that, Potie immediately understood what her opponent was trying to do. She pointed at the giant golden dragon and shouted at the three-headed monster, “Kill that thing!”

However, before the three-headed monster could dash toward it, the dragon slammed its tail downward once again and Potie spat out a mouthful of blood. The dragon’s blow managed to tear a hole in the domain, and without a doubt, another attack from it would shatter her domain completely. If that were to happen, Gu Ding would certainly take the others and flee like crazy. The three-headed monster would also be stuck with the dragon and would not be able to escape. She was severely wounded. If she rushed to catch up with them, she would probably be killed by Gu Ding.

Having seen Gu Ding conjure up something like that with her own eyes, she no longer knew how much Gu Ding had up his sleeve and was afraid to try him further. What she did not know was that Gu Ding, though still standing there with his eyes open, was in fact no different from a dead person.

Her greatest hope was that the three-headed monster would kill the dragon in their domain. As long as her domain was not destroyed, Gu Ding was a sitting duck. No matter what they did, they would not be able to get out. She would be able to complete her mission that way.

Then, Elsa heard Neptune’s voice in her ear, “Don’t touch Gu Ding for now. He may be unconscious, but he can still deter the woman. Go over to Biggie and carry him here. If the domain collapses later, take him and Gu Ding with you and head for the port.”

Neptune’s words were not only heard by Elsa but also Lilliath.

Elsa nodded at Lilliath. “Keep an eye on Gu Ding. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Elsa disappeared as she finished speaking. A moment later, she was seen carrying the huge Biggie. Biggie’s heartbeat was weak, but he was not dead.

“Elsa, inject him with some S-grade cell repair agent. I’ve just transferred two bottles from Gu Ding’s Inventory to yours,” Neptune’s voice was heard once again.

Elsa quickly took out the medicine and injected Biggie with it. Its effects were limited, but it was better than nothing.

On the other side, the battle between the dragon and the three-headed monster had begun…