"Hurry up, be careful or I'll cut you!"
"Quickly pull it out and eat it, don't waste our time."
Jack and the others dragged the adventurer to a corner, pressed the weapon in his hand to his neck, and kept threatening him.
"Big brothers, with so many of you staring at me, I really can't pull it out."
Tears welled up in the adventurer's eyes as he finally understood the consequences of careless actions and words—there was always a price to pay for speaking recklessly.
"Can't pull it out? Jack, check if there's anything that can help him pull it out faster."
"Okay, let me see."
Jack opened a bag and began pulling out small bottles one by one.
"Well... this is the saliva of a highly poisonous frog—one drop is enough to kill. No, this is aconitum root; if the poison's strong enough, it'll numb the entire body before killing. That won't work..."
The adventurer's face turned deathly pale as Jack listed the lethal substances.
Even the adventurers nearby shuddered at the thought, each of them sharing the same conclusion: this group was not to be trifled with.
"Uh, Sir Shield Hero, thank you for saving us."
"Thank you very much!"
The adventurers quickly changed their tone and turned to Jason, expressing their gratitude.
"You don't have to be so polite. After all, saving you was just on my way."
Jason smiled, waving off their thanks as if it were no big deal.
"By the way... does Shield Hero-sama have another reason for being here?"
One of the adventurers seemed to pick up on something in Jason's words.
"Of course. I'm here to kill the dragon!"
"Demon Dragon? It's already been killed by Lord Ren."
"Are you sure it's really dead?"
Jason shook his head, ignoring them as he continued to walk up the mountainside.
Before long, a large platform came into view, and the corpse of the Demon Dragon lay in the center, a shadow of its former self.
Its body was marred with countless wounds; scales and flesh had been carved away, and a massive gash in its abdomen hinted that Ren had likely dealt the fatal blow.
"Jason... I don't really get what you're saying. This dragon's already been killed by me."
At that moment, Ren approached Jason, frowning as he spoke.
"Yeah, this dragon looks like it's well and truly dead."
"That's right, we saw Lord Ren kill it ourselves."
"And we all took some souvenirs from the Demon Dragon. If it was still alive, it would've come back to eat us by now."
The adventurers following behind echoed each other, reaffirming what they'd seen.
"No, I said it's alive, so it is alive."
Jason shook his head again, walking directly toward the dragon's corpse.
"Tch, Sir Shield Hero, take a closer look, will you?"
"Yeah, if that dragon's still alive, then I'll... I'll..."
Some adventurers began to shout boldly, but when they remembered how one of them had been forced to eat filth earlier, they hesitated, swallowing their words.
What if the Demon Dragon really was alive? They didn't want to tempt fate.
Jason reached the dragon's body, placing his hand on the massive creature while stroking his chin thoughtfully.
The passage of time had yet to fully decompose the dragon, and something about its corpse made it resistant to falling apart.
No, there was definitely some kind of energy coursing through its body—wild and violent.
"It seems I need to give it a little push."
With that in mind, Jason flipped his shield, transforming it into a new form: a massive shield adorned with ten lifelike dragon heads, each intricately carved.
This was the Dragon Shield, which had been crafted from the materials Ren had scavenged from the dragon.
[Dragon Shield]: Ability yet to be unlocked. Equipment bonus: Intimidation. Special effect: Dragon's Aura.
"Dragon's Aura!!!"
Jason raised the shield, planting it firmly on the ground.
At that moment, the carved dragon heads opened their glowing red eyes and slowly parted their jaws as if they had come to life.
"Roar~~~"
A deafening roar burst forth like thunder, spreading outward in all directions, imbued with a relentless, suffocating pressure.
Ren took several steps back, while the adventurers behind him collapsed in fear. Some were so terrified that they lost control of their bladders.
No one knew what Jason was doing, but their pale faces made it clear—they were scared out of their minds.
Just then, the Demon Dragon's corpse twitched slightly.
Jason knew that the Dragon's Aura had triggered the dormant energy within the dragon's body, finally awakening its lingering power.
"Raphtalia... take Jack and get as far away as you can. Filo... stay put until I give the signal."
Jason flashed to Ren's side and shouted orders at Raphtalia and the others.
He knew they weren't resistant enough to handle the dragon's poison, and if they got caught in the fumes, it would spell disaster.
Before Ren or the adventurers could comprehend the situation, the dead dragon slowly raised its fearsome head and let out a skyward roar, spewing clouds of poisonous gas into the air.
"Holy crap... the dragon really came back to life. Good thing it didn't greet us earlier."
"This isn't the time for jokes, RUN!"
"Damn it, that's corpse poison! The dragon's become a corpse dragon!"
The adventurers panicked, but it was too late—poison filled the air, and they started coughing violently, their faces turning sickly as the poison took its toll.
"Ren, still think the dragon's really dead?"
Jason tilted his head, teasing Ren.
With his Shield of Will activated, Jason's resistance had increased by 84%, rendering him immune to the toxic air that now suffused the area.
Ren's expression tightened, but he mustered up his courage and responded defiantly, "If I could kill it once, I can kill it again."
"Meteor Sword!"
With that, Ren charged forward, his sword blazing with familiar energy, prepared to face the resurrected dragon once more.
Although Ren's attack landed on the Demon Dragon, it failed to leave any visible marks. Clearly, his strike had done little to no damage.
"How can this be?"
Ren's eyes widened in disbelief. He had been able to hurt the dragon before—so why couldn't he now?
Before he could make sense of it, his knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.
Even though Ren was one of the Four Heroes, his resistance was nowhere near as terrifying as Jason's. The dragon's corpse poison had already begun to invade his system.
"What's wrong? Weren't you bragging just now about being able to kill it a second time? So why are you on your knees now?"
Jason shook his head and sighed. "Ren, a sword hero who needs someone to clean up after him, huh?"
Ren bowed his head, feeling humiliated. In a fit of frustration, he yelled, "Stop making sarcastic remarks and just kill it if you can! If you do, I'll kowtow to you every time I see you from now on!"
Even as the words left his mouth, Ren regretted his outburst. But by then, Jason had already vanished from his sight.
"Remember you said that!"
In the blink of an eye, Jason leaped into the air, appearing directly in front of the massive dragon. He clenched his fist and delivered a devastating punch to the creature's head.
Boom!
With a thunderous crash, the Demon Dragon's enormous body was sent flying backward, hurtling through the air before slamming into the mountainside. The impact shook the earth, causing rocks to dislodge and tumble down from the quivering mountainscape.