Escape

'Now I know where the dense death aether in the mine pit came from.'

After an extremely brief moment of shock, seeing the Bone Dragon less than ten meters away open its mouth, Caelan and Violet both said nothing and ran without hesitation.

There was no intention of reminding the other to escape together.

Caelan also conveniently recalled Iron Head and Skull, then flipped over and jumped onto the back of the rapidly galloping Stone troll.

The next moment, a "boom" sounded behind them, and looking back, the Bone Dragon's entire head was buried in the dust kicked up by the mine tunnel.

'If I had been a step slower just now, I probably would have become a meal for this Bone Dragon.'

"C-a-e-l-a-n!!—"

Hearing Violet's voice still present, Caelan took a closer look and realized that this guy was also clever; he was clinging tightly to the Stone troll's tail, not having been thrown off.

Since he wasn't dead, it wouldn't hurt to save him.

Caelan patted the Stone troll's back, and it immediately understood Caelan's meaning; with a flick of its tail, Violet landed on its back.

As soon as he steadied himself, Violet's mouth started again.

He was seen with tears and snot streaming down his face: "Caelan, you really wouldn't abandon me, you are my best friend!"

"That's not necessarily true, our relationship isn't that good yet..."

Boom!

As Caelan was speaking, there was another world-shaking tremor from behind.

The Bone Dragon's claws were already clinging to the rock wall, looking like a giant gecko, its eyes glowing with eerie blue fire once again fixated on the Stone troll and Caelan on its back.

Then it charged over.

"Wah wah wah, it's coming!!!"

Violet shouted loudly, and Caelan could only hope the Stone troll would run faster.

However, the Stone troll was already running at full speed; it had never run so fast before.

The mine tunnel rapidly collapsed beneath the Bone Dragon, and not just behind them; even the ceiling ahead began to drop rubble.

The ground beneath their feet was shaking violently, and the Stone troll was running erratically; if they were even slightly slower, they might not even need to wait for the Bone Dragon to open its mouth—Caelan and company would first be buried by the falling rocks from above.

Before this mine tunnel completely collapsed, they finally burst out into the relatively open level where the group of miners had been resting earlier.

But immediately after, a claw gripped the edge of the cliff, and the Bone Dragon's head reappeared.

It even flapped its two skeletal wings and took flight, semi-hovering in the air.

"...That thing can really fly?"

Complaining about this in a world with slightly different physical laws seemed pointless, but Caelan just felt that if he didn't say something at a time like this, his heart would leap out of his chest.

The Bone Dragon flapped its wings again, rolled in mid-air, and then swooped down towards the Stone troll on the ground.

The Stone troll's two legs, after all, couldn't outrun a pair of wings. Seeing that they were about to be caught, Caelan had a flash of inspiration and opened his Chaos Encyclopedia.

"Iron Head, use Take Down!"

A point of light flew out from the pages, forming the Stone troll's body above the Bone Dragon's head. As it slammed its fists down, its heavy body also plummeted.

Bang!

It slammed heavily into the Bone Dragon's face.

Perhaps this Bone Dragon was too old and had osteoporosis, because with that punch, its head twisted, causing its body to also shift. Its two claws just happened to grab both sides of the Stone troll, and the flying debris pelted Caelan and Violet, leaving them with bumps all over their heads, but ultimately, they weren't flattened by a single claw.

Ahead was the narrow tunnel Caelan had entered through; once they reached there, even the Bone Dragon wouldn't be able to pass through quickly.

But that one punch just now seemed to have enraged this legendary undead creature.

It opened its mouth and roared skyward; although no sound was emitted, a tangible shockwave instantly spread out. Caelan only felt a force strike his back, his chest felt tight, as if he couldn't breathe.

And the glowing crystals around them shattered one after another with this roar.

In a flash, the entire cavern plunged into darkness.

Caelan quickly summoned the Fire Sprite again to illuminate a radius of about ten meters. He could see that the cave entrance ahead was within reach.

However, behind them, a point of eerie blue fire suddenly ignited, then rapidly expanded.

"Damn, it's Dragon's Breath!"

Caelan quickly turned to look ahead; the Stone troll couldn't fit into that cave entrance either.

"Prepare to jump!"

"What?!"

Violet hadn't yet understood Caelan's meaning when Caelan already grabbed him by the back of his collar, half-crouched on the Stone troll's back, and then pushed off forcefully.

As he leaped out, he recalled the Stone troll into the Chaos Encyclopedia.

After landing, they rolled, and the two had already entered the tunnel.

However, at this moment, illuminated by the strangely flickering eerie blue flames, the Bone Dragon, standing in the cavern with its head held high, displayed the terrifying might of a legendary creature, its Dragon's Breath already poised to unleash from its mouth.

Caelan dared not stop for a moment; he grabbed Violet and ran forward.

The Dragon's Breath also erupted at this moment.

Boom—

The rapidly surging eerie blue flames instantly engulfed the entire mine tunnel.