168: Rogue's regeneration speed

The high speed from flight made the wind whistle sharply in his ears, while the scenery below blurred into streaks of color rushing backward.

Without the aid of sound waves and thermal perception, the world presented itself to Shen Mingyuan in a more primitive, more direct way: the vast sky, clear air currents, and the rapidly approaching horizon in the distance.

His visor locked onto the coordinates provided by Lu Jianchuan. The altitude and speed gave him an unparalleled vantage point, and soon, the scene at the border between the Mountain Forest and the urban-rural fringe came clearly into "view."

Below, at the edge of a relatively open wasteland, simple defensive works had been hastily set up—several GUPA off-road vehicles were arranged horizontally as barriers, with team members using the vehicles and terrain to establish firing positions.

Further away, on the road leading toward the city, vehicles seemed to be setting up roadblocks as well.

And several hundred meters ahead of this hastily established defensive line was the heart of the chase!

That massive, twisted, and agonized dragon-like creature was crawling and charging across the wasteland at an astonishing speed. The charred and newly formed wounds on its body writhed constantly during movement, clearly still consuming energy for repair.

Its target was clear: the direction ahead, where scattered lights flickered, representing human settlements. Even from a distance, Shen Mingyuan could sense its desperate, frenzied charge.

Chasing closely behind the dragon-like creature's flank was Lu Jianchuan's silver-and-red motorcycle!

The motorcycle, like a hunter with a will of its own, constantly executed high-speed directional changes, short bursts to block, and even used its body to ram the dragon's leg joints—tactical maneuvers aimed at disrupting its path and slowing its advance toward the defensive line.

The motorcycle's movements were agile yet forceful, clearly specially enhanced, but against this thick-skinned, rapidly regenerating monster, such entanglement was exceptionally difficult and dangerous, like dancing on the edge of a blade.

Shen Mingyuan quickly assessed the situation. The defensive line hadn't yet made contact with the monster, but the distance was rapidly closing. The motorcycle was doing its best to delay, buying time and creating opportunities for the line.

He adjusted his flight posture, the massive metal wings cutting through the air with a low roar as he began tracing a wide arc in the sky, approaching the chaotic battlefield from above and to the side.

He needed to find an opening—an angle of attack that could leverage his aerial advantage while coordinating with the ground interception.

Below, driven by pain and frenzied instinct, the dragon-like creature paid almost no heed to the motorcycle's relentless ramming or the warning shots from the defensive line behind it, simply charging forward with its head down. The constantly shifting wounds on its body and the intense internal rejection reactions were like an unquenchable hellish furnace, burning it down to the two most primal urges: "escape" and "devour."

"What a... tortured creature," a cold sigh flashed through Shen Mingyuan's mind, but it did nothing to sway his resolve.

He spotted a perfect opening—the dragon was charging toward a relatively flat, open area, and the motorcycle had just completed a disruptive ram, creating a slight gap.

Now!

Shen Mingyuan abruptly folded his wings, the massive metal feathers instantly angling into a sharp, wind-cutting shape. His entire body, as if seized by gravity, transformed into a straight, dark meteor, plummeting toward the twisted, crawling dragon below! The speed from the dive surged to its peak in an instant, the air tearing with a piercing shriek!

At the moment when the dive trajectory was steepest and speed at its maximum, he willed it!

"Clang! Clang!"

A faint glow flashed at the armor joints on his forearms, and the pair of slender, straight, double-edged black Arm Blades shot forward!

The red energy stripes along the center of the blades blazed brightly, while the dancing black-red bio-electric arcs around them stretched and flashed violently from the ultra-high-speed motion, emitting a scalp-tingling "crackle"!

Shen Mingyuan showed no intention of slowing or changing course, harnessing all the kinetic energy of the dive. With his arms crossed before him, the two Arm Blades wreathed in violent arcs of electricity scissored like the blades of death, at a speed barely visible to the naked eye, viciously "grazing" the dragon's thick, scale-and-fur-covered spine!

"Riiip—!!!"

The grating sound of cutting mixed with the sizzle of flesh instantly carbonizing and evaporating!

Where the Arm Blades passed, two deep, bone-exposing charred gashes appeared. The tissue at the edges of the wounds necrotized and carbonized instantly under the dual effects of ultra-high speed and the black-red current, with little blood spraying—only the foul stench of scorched flesh spreading.

"Roar—!!!"

The dragon erupted again, a cry of agony that held not just the pain of torn flesh, but also a sense of neural paralysis and loss of control!

The black-red bio-electric current surged wildly into its body through the wounds. Though insufficient to completely paralyze its unnaturally resilient nervous System, it successfully triggered a violent, uncoordinated spasm and stiffness throughout its muscles!

Its forward momentum jerked to a halt, the massive body tilting sideways from the brief loss of control in one side's muscles, its claws plowing deep furrows in the ground.

Yet, that terrifying regenerative ability manifested once more. At the charred, carbonized wounds left by the Arm Blades, the necrotic flesh softened and sloughed off like butter on a hot iron, while pinkish flesh buds surged visibly, frantically trying to fill the gaps.

The paralyzing effects of the current also faded rapidly as the necrotic tissue shed and metabolism skyrocketed.

Having struck successfully, Shen Mingyuan didn't linger. His massive wings snapped open perilously close to the ground, the powerful airflow kicking up a cloud of dust. Using the terrifying speed accumulated from the dive and precise wing control, his body traced a risky yet fluid low-altitude arc, barely pulling up and soaring back into the sky, avoiding the risk of being swept by the dragon's tail or claws in its pained, possibly frenzied counterattack.

He flipped lightly in the air to adjust his posture, his gaze cold as he looked down. The attack had worked, but clearly wasn't fatal.

The current's paralysis was an effective means of control, but against a monster that could actively discard damaged parts and prioritize regeneration so highly, more lethal, sustained attacks were needed—or... finding its core.

Below, taking advantage of the dragon's brief stiffness and imbalance, the silver-and-red motorcycle seized the opportunity, accelerating again to ram hard into its relatively vulnerable joint areas.

The GUPA team members on the defensive line also concentrated their fire, unleashing a barrage at the softer regions like its abdomen, exposed by the imbalance.

Circling in the air, Shen Mingyuan's dark purple visor clearly captured the scene below: the shedding of charred flesh, the frantic regeneration. "The regeneration speed is too fast; localized damage gets discarded and repaired in the blink of an eye..." he analyzed coolly. "Then, let's try here."

For many creatures, no matter how they evolve, the head—especially the brain—often remains a relatively fragile and difficult-to-fully-regenerate hub.

Seizing the moment when the dragon raised its head to roar under sustained suppressive fire, exposing its neck and the side of its skull, Shen Mingyuan moved again!

Metal wings folded, his body diving like a javelin for a second time! This time, the target was clear: near the crooked, newly regenerated eye on the twisted head, still glistening wetly!

Speed surged, Arm Blades shot out, black-red arcs of electricity exploded!

Just before impact, the dragon's head jerked violently aside, driven by agony and instinct!

"Clang! Riiip—!"

The intended direct hit to the eye became a fierce slash grazing the side and back of the skull! The Arm Blades embedded deep into the area connecting the skull and neck, cutting through hard bone plates and the softer tissues beneath, the black-red current pouring in wildly!

"Roaaar—!!!"

The dragon let out an unprecedented, piercing shriek, its entire upper body convulsing and swaying violently from the deep cranial damage and electrical stimulation, nearly losing balance.

Shen Mingyuan struck and retreated immediately, rapidly gaining altitude. He looked back.

On the side of the skull, a horrifying gash had appeared, even revealing faintly pulsating, oddly colored brain tissue within. Smoke from the current rose from the wound.

But then, the flesh, bone, and even the vaguely visible brain damage in the gash began to writhe frantically! Not "repair," more like... replacement.

The damaged parts dissolved and were absorbed as if by an invisible force, while the surrounding intact tissues proliferated and spread at double the rate. In just two or three seconds, the terrifying wound was completely "smoothed over," covered by a layer of smooth, fragile but intact new skin.

The eye even blinked once, still cloudy but undeniably "present."

Even the brain could be "discarded" and "reborn" like this?

The last shred of hope in Shen Mingyuan's mind about "finding a core or non-regenerative area" was utterly extinguished.

The cruel truth lay before him: this monster, forcibly fused from countless pains and failed experiments, had, under the Law of "survival first," evolved toward a nearly rogue extreme—no part was unsacrificable and irreplaceable, as long as energy remained.

"This is... too rogue."

The thought flashed through Shen Mingyuan's mind. This meant conventional concepts of fatal wounds were ineffective against this thing. The logic to defeat it had to change completely.