Of the two ultimate mud dragons, one had been very nearly cut through by the Mushroom-Bug Sword and the other had been clawed open along countless bloody furrows by the four-legged dragon. Both carried wounds that were neither light nor mortal.

"Little Four, work with me. You take hold of the one that's nearly severed through the middle — I'll handle the other! Draw them over slowly, and mind you don't come inside the Mushroom-Bug Sword's reach." Shen Cong's gaze hardened at once. He'd decided to send these two ultimate mud dragons off to join their descendants sooner rather than later.

The four-legged dragon, well practiced at working with him, immediately began falling back toward the Vajra Fortress.

And when Shen Cong saw his moment, he roared like a tiger. "Now!"

The four-legged dragon seized the ultimate mud dragon in front of it on the instant, slammed it hard into the ground, and set to wrestling and rolling with it. Shen Cong, meanwhile, drove the Vajra Fortress and in the blink of an eye had charged up on the other ultimate mud dragon, the Mushroom-Bug Sword erupting with its maximum Activity light-wave and striking hard at the creature's head — right up close to the jin-core clitellum.

Splat!

Splat!

Splat!

The Mushroom-Bug Sword tore the ultimate mud dragon open, and in the space of a single second corroded a wound across more than a quarter of its bulk. The ultimate mud dragon tried to break free of the Mushroom-Bug Sword — but Shen Cong guided the Vajra Fortress, pouring vast Activity into the armor layer, and the Mechanical Vine's metal seeds sprouted like mad.

Countless vine shoots went climbing up the ultimate mud dragon, binding it fast.

It snapped the vines in an instant, but that one instant of being pinned let the Mushroom-Bug Sword cut another quarter of the way into the ultimate mud dragon's body.

Very nearly severing it at the waist.

Its body thrashed wildly, lashing again and again at the Vajra Fortress, and the Mechanical Vine across the Vajra Fortress's exterior grew, wound tight, snapped; grew…