The Lao Shan Lung stood on its hind legs, revealing gray-white scales like snakeskin stretching from its neck to its belly.
These scales rippled with the slow tremor of the beast's swollen, bulging sac, giving it a soft, loose appearance.
Li Fan attempted to close in for an attack but quickly sensed something was wrong.
Crawling was the Lao Shan Lung's most stable posture; standing upright meant it was preparing for a targeted assault.
At such times, its chest and belly, not covered by thick armor, would be exposed.
It seemed like an excellent opportunity to attack, but the problem was that the Giant Ruin City had no defensive measures once an attack was launched.
Its body structure, akin to humans, allowed for much more agile movement than the Lao Shan Lung, but in this mountain pass flanked by sheer rock walls, this advantage was difficult to exploit.
Advance and attack, retreat and evade...
As Li Fan hesitated between the only two options, a red flare shot into the sky.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*....
In the battle against the Lao Shan Lung, this signaled the abandonment of all combat deployments and the need to retreat from the target as quickly as possible.
If there were any shelters built within the mountain pass nearby, one had to head for them immediately.
As expected, the exposure of its weakness also meant the Lao Shan Lung was about to launch an attack.
However, previously, its targets had been the high walls of the fortress; now, it faced the Giant Ruin City.
Li Fan decided to wait and assess the situation before acting, so he issued a retreat command.
*Bang! Bang!*
The Lao Shan Lung took two heavy steps forward, tilted its body slightly back, and then leaned its upper body forward, collapsing into a prone position.
A seemingly simple movement, but as its two massive forelegs slammed into the ground, the mountainsides on either flank cracked and crumbled under the impact.
*Boom! Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!*....
A massive shockwave, carrying countless fragments of rock, spread along the ground.
"Jump!"
Under Li Fan's command, the Giant Ruin City leaped, evading the visible ring of the shockwave.
However, the powerful impact that followed in mid-air still pushed it backward.
*Bang! Rumble! Rumble!*...
To stabilize itself, the Giant Ruin City landed on one knee, its massive palm digging into the earth to absorb the impact.
It slid backward for dozens of meters before the shock was dissipated.
At this point, the Lao Shan Lung raised its neck and stood up again.
Li Fan immediately understood: the Lao Shan Lung intended to use its standing posture to unleash a powerful smashing shockwave, aiming to crush the Giant Ruin City head-on.
If it actively moved forward to meet the attack, as long as the opponent could withstand one round of assault, it would be difficult for the Giant Ruin City to retreat to a safe distance before the next attack.
If it retreated and dodged, the Lao Shan Lung would continuously use its smashing shockwaves to force it back.
"This central route is quite difficult to breach..."
As Li Fan mused, the standing Lao Shan Lung advanced again.
The choice between attacking and evading reappeared.
Perhaps it was best to draw the sword first. If the Zhan Lao Dao, when thrust into the ground, could slow the shockwave, then a sudden forward charge might suppress the Lao Shan Lung as it rose.
After making this judgment, Li Fan drew the Ming Lei Shen Dao from his back.
The Great Mantis seemed to understand after a moment and quickly drew the Zhan Lao Dao from its sheath.
*Ching!* The gleaming blade emitted a hum.
Li Fan gripped the hilt with both hands and plunged the Ming Lei Shen Dao vertically into the ground.
The Great Mantis, having comprehended, also performed the same action through its controls.
A high-frequency vibration came from the silk thread on his left wrist. Li Fan knew this meant there was an objection to the action, so he had Dilu quickly run to the edge of the control room to observe.
"Ah! Only half of it, meow!"
Dilu, looking down, exclaimed in surprise.
"Half of what?"
"The Zhan Lao Dao! Or rather, more than half of it is left, meow."
"It's a broken sword?"
Li Fan was incredulous.
"Damn, no wonder the Guild Master carried a greatsword but didn't use it; it's a broken sword.
But it shouldn't be a deliberate trap. Otherwise, he wouldn't have given it to me.
Li Fan figured the Guild Master's thinking was probably along the lines of 'take it, child, it's better than nothing.'
Seeing the approaching Lao Shan Lung, if thrusting the sword into the ground wasn't enough to resist the shockwave due to the insufficient length of the blade.
The Giant Ruin City could only jump to evade again. Although it maintained its balance upon landing, a large steel plate on its knee flew off.
This isn't working! Every time it faces a shockwave, it can only retreat! To attack, it risks a direct smash!
Li Fan felt utterly powerless.
If only there was a way to withstand one attack. Just one...
*Whoosh...*
Li Fan, feeling helpless, twitched his ears and suddenly detected a familiar sound.
It was the sound of wind passing through the ventilation holes...
"Great Mantis, hold the weapon in front of you."
Li Fan instructed, and the giant palm held the Zhan Lao Dao diagonally in front of its chest.
To maintain the accumulation of qi in the blade, the qi channel exposed at the broken edge had been sealed by melting. This was a treatment only applied to greatswords that were confirmed irreparable but still intended for use.
This meant that despite its immense size and being a broken blade, the Zhan Lao Dao was no different from a standard greatsword in terms of weapon performance.
A wild thought surged through his mind.
However, Li Fan quickly dismissed it with a shake of his head.
The Giant Ruin City was currently in combat, and simply dodging the shockwaves from the Lao Shan Lung was already incredibly difficult.
No matter how intelligent the Great Mantis was, it couldn't possibly comprehend the Iaijutsu in this state.
Furthermore, given the size and weight of the Zhan Lao Dao, the instantaneous burst of power required to wield it was likely beyond the Giant Ruin City's capacity.
Li Fan pulled out the Ming Lei Shen Dao, preparing to sheath it.
At this moment, the silk thread tied to his right wrist vibrated slightly.
Li Fan curiously looked back. The Great Mantis tilted its head forward, gesturing for him to look outside.
Turning around, he saw the wrist joint of the left giant palm in front of its chest slowly rotating, as if it were a real human wrist.
Li Fan tentatively lowered his wrist, and the giant palm's wrist joint responded in kind, performing an action with almost identical force and amplitude.
"Dilu! I want to tie more silk threads!"
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*...
The standing Lao Shan Lung approached steadily. Seeing the Giant Ruin City stationary, it didn't rush to unleash its shockwave.
Because once it got close enough to make evasion impossible, it could end the battle with a single blow.
"Can this really work, meow?"
Dilu asked with some concern, seeing Li Fan wrapped in extremely fine silk threads.
"It's fine, the more silk threads there are, the stronger the Great Mantis's perception of my movements will be... There's one on your neck, no need to tie any more, it's not like we're going to headbutt it."
Li Fan quickly reminded.
*Roar...*
The Lao Shan Lung in front let out a low growl.
"Uh..."
Li Fan hesitated.
"What's wrong, meow?"
"The Lao Shan Lung is warning the Giant Ruin City to leave immediately."
"Huh? That considerate, meow?"
Dilu was incredulous.
"Actually, it doesn't have much hostility..."
Li Fan sighed.
*Roar...*
Another muffled roar echoed.
"Please don't stop me from escaping? Let me pass... I'm scared?"
This time, Li Fan couldn't understand at all.
"How old are you, and you're scared? Leave some room for humans, turn back now!"
Li Fan responded loudly, regardless of whether the other party could hear.
The approaching Lao Shan Lung let out another low growl.
"It's at the end of the road... You're kidding, with your physique, you could flatten mountains, who wouldn't avoid you?"
Li Fan had just witnessed the Lao Shan Lung's extreme defensive capabilities, so he couldn't accept this claim.
*Roar...*
"It's too powerful, I must avoid it... What kind of talk is that? If you can only choose to escape when facing a powerful enemy, then those who should choose to run are the hunters and the fortress guards who intercept you. Even if they are like ants in your eyes, they will never accept their homes being destroyed and being constantly driven away. This is why we stand here."
The Lao Shan Lung halted its steps and fell silent.
"When you meet an enemy head-on, you don't even have the courage to draw your sword. And you have 'dragon' in your name."
*Clang...*
The rusty steel fingers bent and tightened, gripping the hilt of the Zhan Lao Dao.
Perhaps stimulated by Li Fan's words, the Lao Shan Lung stood still for a long time.
But after turning its head and glancing back in the direction it came from, it resolutely continued to step forward.
Li Fan took a deep breath.
*Clang!* The Giant Ruin City, bent forward, sheathed the Zhan Lao Dao.
*Bang! Bang!*...
The shadow extending from the Lao Shan Lung's feet enveloped and swallowed the Giant Ruin City, quickly obscuring its view from the opening in its chest.
All Li Fan could see was the bulging, trembling giant dragon's belly.
*Whoosh...*
In the darkness, Li Fan sensed a powerful pressure approaching.
*Ding!*
The broken Zhan Lao Dao was drawn, and under the giant's grip, it spun in place.
A circular blast of white qi energy sliced through the rock walls on both sides, sending large amounts of rubble cascading down from the newly formed cliffs.
*Puff! Hiss...*
The blue mist-like defense formed by the Iaijutsu not only repelled the Lao Shan Lung's heavy pressure but also cut a long, thin wound on the gray-white scales of its chest and belly, causing blood to gush out immediately.
However, the Lao Shan Lung remained steady, taking two steps back.
"Hmm? Where's the forward momentum of the Iaijutsu?"
Li Fan looked at the distance between himself and the Lao Shan Lung.
He realized that the Giant Ruin City's Iaijutsu this time was performed almost in place.
The silk threads tied to its ankles and knee joints quickly began to vibrate.
*Clang! Clatter!*...
The protective steel plates on the Giant Ruin City's wrist and elbow joints burst open, crashing to the ground.
"The protective steel plates on both arms have burst open... This means that the power allocation for performing the Iaijutsu has reached the Giant Ruin City's limit, leaving no surplus power to allocate to the legs."
Li Fan muttered, and the vibration from his right wrist confirmed that this was the information the Great Mantis was trying to convey.
"Ah... it was so close."
Seeing that the Lao Shan Lung only sustained a superficial wound despite such a good attack opportunity, Li Fan felt extremely frustrated.
But performing Iaijutsu in place was already the Giant Ruin City's limit.
If the power allocation were sufficient for the legs, it could have achieved forward momentum. But if the arms lacked sufficient power, and the Iaijutsu failed to be released to withstand the pressure, it would have been a complete disaster.
Li Fan realized that the Giant Ruin City was, after all, not human.
Even though the Great Mantis could perfectly replicate movements with its control and coordination, there was still a gap in terms of burst power.
After being struck on the abdomen, the Lao Shan Lung became wary.
Although it appeared to be retreating slowly based on its gait, Li Fan knew it was trying to retreat to a safe distance to use its shockwave to force the Giant Ruin City back again.
This was the safest and most reliable approach.
What to do now? Even if he could use the shockwave's impact to successfully perform Iaijutsu, the Giant Ruin City couldn't advance.
If there were enough time to optimize and improve this version 1.0 Giant Ruin City, it might be possible to solve this problem, but there was no time now.
"Li Fan! You can do it! Don't give up, meow! You still have us!"
Seeing Li Fan anxiously running his hands through his hair, Dilu offered encouragement.
"Thank you, Dilu, but currently... we? ...Hahaha! Hahahahaha!"
"What... what's wrong, meow?"
Seeing Li Fan, who had been looking distressed moments ago, suddenly burst into excited laughter, Dilu was at a loss.
"It's nothing, Dilu, you're absolutely right, I still have you all!"
"Uh... have you thought of a solution? Or are you just unable to bear the pressure, meow?"
Dilu cautiously probed.
"Of course, I've thought of a solution! Lao Shan Lung! Today, I, Li Fan, will show you what a fully realized Giant Ruin City is!"
With a smile, Li Fan took out his handheld device.
As the shockwaves continued to be unleashed, the Giant Ruin City could only retreat and evade.
The Lao Shan Lung gradually gained a safe distance, although its speed was significantly slower than if it were moving unimpeded.
However, with these continuous, terrifying shockwaves, the hunters and fortress guards were completely unable to sortie, which was a considerable obstacle removed.
Yet, the standing Lao Shan Lung soon discovered that the Giant Ruin City had once again stopped in place.
This time, the Lao Shan Lung did not pursue a one-hit kill but advanced within the range of its shockwave attack.
Before its upper body could even begin to descend, the Giant Ruin City suddenly sheathed the Zhan Lao Dao.
The Lao Shan Lung recognized this posture; it was the type of slash that could rebound and draw out a massive qi blade.
However, the Lao Shan Lung was not afraid, given the distance between them.
*Whoosh-Boom!*
At this moment, a muffled explosion of air current sounded from the sky.
The Lao Shan Lung tilted its head slightly and saw a red meteor streaking across the sky.
The red light twisted its trajectory several times before descending in a straight line towards the mountain pass ahead.
*Whoosh!* The silver gun wings reversed, and Hui Hui hovered, decelerating. The rock walls on either side were illuminated in red.
The Great Mantis's silk threads vibrated warily as Hui Hui suddenly appeared behind the Giant Ruin City, alerting Li Fan.
"Don't worry, Hui Hui is here to merge... Oh! Why are you holding on so tight?"
Li Fan turned back and complained.
Seeing the Great Mantis's compound eyes staring intently at him, he guessed the problem.
"There was a slight misunderstanding between you before. It's all my fault. Blame me completely. I'll clarify everything after this is over."
Hearing Li Fan's explanation, the somewhat softened Great Mantis relaxed its silk threads.
*Chirrr! Clatter...*
With its four claws digging in, Hui Hui scraped away the rock debris from the Giant Ruin City's back until the steel beams that secured its body were exposed.
Clenching the steel beams with its four claws, with a *creak*, the two gun wings' nozzles pointed backward.
*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*...
Six crimson tail flames erupted.
*Roar!* Hui Hui let out a whistle-like cry, signaling that the spray was ready.
The standing Lao Shan Lung became flustered for a moment, as despite its age, it had never witnessed such a scene.