Cardinal!
Is he here to hunt down Linley and his people? Even a powerful dragon would struggle, so if Linley runs into him, it won't end well.
"Are you one of Poseidon's subordinates? The Holiness is our common enemy," Linley asked cautiously.
"That's right." The dragon stared coldly at Linley and nodded, "You are... the wine god, right? Even though you're the wine god, it's obvious you didn't inherit Dionysus's power. You're weaker than a demigod. Tsk tsk, what's the point of a god like you living? You might as well just die."
Before he finished speaking, the dragon suddenly turned and lunged at Linley with its huge mouth open. Linley panicked and quickly dodged. However, despite the dragon's massive body, its movements were exceptionally agile, and its swimming speed far exceeded Linley's. With a flap of its wings, the dragon covered dozens of meters in an instant, closing in on him.
The closer it got, the more Linley felt its oppressive presence, and its mouth full of sharp teeth was terrifying.
"What are you doing!" Linley shouted in anger.
"I'm injured, can't you see? Maybe you're new to this god thing and don't understand yet. Once we immortals are injured, our wounds are hard to heal," the dragon explained. "I thought this wound would take centuries to heal, but then I met you. If I eat you, my injury will heal instantly, and I can absorb your divine power and make it mine!"
The dragon opened its huge mouth, forming a powerful vortex to suck Linley in. Linley swam desperately, but the suction was too strong, pulling him towards the dragon's huge mouth. He turned, took out a slingshot, and shot wildly—alcohol bullets, mermaid tears, and diamonds—all hitting the dragon's body through the vortex's suction.
Although new wounds kept appearing on the dragon's body, they were all small and far less severe than the original wound. The dragon's massive body and vigorous vitality made Linley's bullets completely ineffective.
In the end, Linley was sucked into the dragon's mouth, and the giant sharp teeth pressed down. Linley shouted and actually charged into the dragon's mouth. The dragon's esophagus was different from a human's; to be precise, the human esophagus is very special and fragile.
Since humans learned to use fire, they have become accustomed to cooked food, eating only processed and cooked things. Occasionally, they eat raw food, like easily digestible sashimi. Therefore, the human esophagus is very fragile, and even small fish bones can be deadly.
Other creatures are not so particular. Camels can eat thorny cacti, hyenas can swallow animal carcasses with bones, and pandas can eat bamboo, earning the nickname "iron-eating beast."
This dragon was obviously used to eating live prey, with a very tough and rough esophagus, like sandpaper, that ordinary swords couldn't penetrate. Linley was squeezed all the way down the esophagus, his body getting large patches of skin torn off, oozing blood. He finally pulled out a crystal dagger, which easily pierced the dragon's esophagus, creating a huge cut as he slid down.
Finally, Linley reached the stomach, where thick acidic water enveloped him, causing his whole body to sting as if dozens of swords were stabbing him simultaneously. He made a hard slash, cutting through the dragon's stomach and entering another abdominal cavity.
At this point, he didn't care anymore and stabbed wildly, hitting whatever he could. The dragon's screams echoed outside, and soon the dragon couldn't take it anymore, biting through its own abdomen and exposing Linley.
"A dragon-slaying sword?" The dragon saw Linley's crystal dagger, and a fierce light immediately flashed in its eyes, showing extreme anger: "So you planned this all along, coming here just to mess with me!"
"You've got it all wrong... but it's too late for explanations. Die!" Linley grabbed the dragon's guts with one hand and slashed hard, making blood and organs gush out.
Even though Linley had studied human anatomy in school, he couldn't tell which organ would be fatal in a dragon. He knew the heart was the most vital spot, but it was deep inside the chest, behind the diaphragm. Linley stabbed an organ, but the dragon didn't die right away.
The dragon tried to bite Linley by plunging its head into its belly, but Linley rolled away, making the dragon bite its own guts, driving it mad with pain. It began biting its own organs wildly, while Linley kept cutting deeper into its body. After a while, the dragon finally stopped struggling, and its body slowly sank to the ocean floor.
Badly injured, Linley sank into the sea with the dragon's body. Even though they were close to the shore, it was still several hundred meters deep. Eventually, the dragon's body hit the seabed rocks.
"You've achieved a glorious victory. Please enter the divine realm to claim your reward." The system's cold voice sounded particularly pleasant at this moment.
"Did I win?" Linley asked.
"Yes, the dragon is dead," the system replied.
"Great..." Linley sighed in relief.
This victory was all thanks to that crystal dagger; otherwise, he'd have been dragon food long ago. The fleet was so close that the dragon would have definitely noticed and attacked them. If Linley hadn't killed the dragon first, the fleet could have suffered huge losses.
This dragon was clearly a malicious one, wanting to eat him to heal itself even without any personal grudges. Imagine, if the dragon encountered the fleet at sea, would it have spared them? However, Linley couldn't help but feel that this encounter was somewhat coincidental; he had just acquired the crystal sword and then encountered the dragon.
"Did you foresee that I would encounter a dragon?" Linley asked.
"I don't have that ability," the system replied.
"Then why did you give me the crystal dragon-slaying sword?" Linley pursued.
"You found it yourself, I only manifested its power to facilitate your use," the system explained.
This was thanks to Boris; without him, Linley wouldn't have obtained the crystal sword. However, if it weren't for Boris, Linley might not have chosen this time to go to sea, and naturally wouldn't have encountered this dragon.
Linley entered the divine realm, feeling his whole body stiff and in unbearable pain. Bavaria jumped up and down excitedly, saying, "Lord, you slayed a dragon! And it's an ancient dragon too!"