Chapter 139: Wow, What a Huge Lizard

"Whoosh." Accompanied by intense wind pressure, the owner of the bone claws soared back into the sky, pursuing the military-green truck as it sped away.

"Xiao Yuan, it's chasing us again." Seeing the massive shadow take flight once more, Wen Hui let out a weary sigh and spoke up.

"Ugh, I've really had enough of this. We didn't do anything to provoke it, so why has it been hunting us for a day and a night? I want to sleep, I'm so tired." Hearing Wen Hui’s warning, Zhuang Xiaoyuan stomped her left foot in frustration and complained loudly.

"And whose fault is that? I told you not to take this route; we should have taken the other one." Hearing the complaint, Wen Hui glared at her in annoyance and began to grumble as well.

"Who knew we’d run into such a stubborn creature? It was obviously much shorter this way. Don't you want to arrive sooner?" Shaking her head irritably, Zhuang Xiaoyuan felt a twinge of regret for choosing the shortcut. She knew she was unlucky, yet she had still insisted on leading the way—and now, look what happened. Another mess. This delay had only cost them more time.

"It's coming! This time from the right. Watch out, the tail is coming too!" Despite their bickering, Wen Hui kept her attention fixed on the giant beast above. Noticing its movement, she immediately shouted a warning.

"Hah! Don’t underestimate the driving skills I was forced to learn over the past week!" With a wild cry, Zhuang Xiaoyuan jerked the steering wheel to the left. The truck swerved sharply, narrowly dodging the bone claws. Then, she quickly corrected, slamming the wheel to the right while simultaneously lifting her foot off the gas and stomping on the brake.

As she acted, the truck—which had been drifting left—swung its rear end outward to the left as it turned right. While surging forward, the truck performed a full 360-degree spin, successfully evading the creature’s tail swipe. Once back on course, she floored the gas and sped away.

"Tch, how troublesome. Damn it." Relying on her forcibly honed driving skills to escape, Zhuang Xiaoyuan bit her lip and cursed.

"Sigh, it’s no wonder. After all, we’ve been driving at full speed for a day and a night. It looks like this is the end of the line." Hearing the curse, Wen Hui glanced at the dashboard. Indeed, the fuel gauge was critically low, showing only one percent remaining. It could run out at any moment. They had been driving non-stop for twenty-four hours just to escape that beast.

"Xiao Hui, did you get everything ready?" After venting her frustration, Zhuang Xiaoyuan’s voice returned to a calm, steady tone. She asked without turning her head.

"Everything is ready. Enough food and water for over a week. That should be enough to get us to the Central City. We aren't far now." Wen Hui pulled two fully packed bags from the back seat, already anticipating their next move.

"Good. We’re out of fuel. Get ready—we’re abandoning the car." Zhuang Xiaoyuan pressed hard on the accelerator, but the truck’s speed could no longer be maintained; it began to drop steadily. It was truly empty.

"Okay, ready whenever you are." A wide, cheerful smile bloomed on Wen Hui’s face; she always seemed so optimistic and energetic.

Letting go of the steering wheel, Zhuang Xiaoyuan shouldered one of the packs Wen Hui had prepared, and they each took one. They contained all the essential water and food. After putting on her pack, Zhuang Xiaoyuan pulled a card from the Nebula Vortex, and Wen Hui prepared herself as well: "Divine Armament—Divine Descent Transformation."

Golden light flared on the left, and green light shimmered on the right inside the truck cabin. Amidst intense wind pressure, a massive bone claw descended from the sky once more.

"Go!" Zhuang Xiaoyuan commanded. The doors flew open, and both girls leaped from the truck on opposite sides.

"Boom!" The bone claw smashed heavily into the truck, shattering it instantly. At the moment of impact, the fuel and gunpowder stored in the cabin ignited with explosive force. A deafening blast erupted beneath the bone claw, leaving behind dense cracks and charred, blackened remains. Yet, even such a violent explosion failed to shatter the bone.

Two streaks of light—one red, one green—shot out and darted toward the horizon. "ROAR!" The master of the bone claws let out a furious, powerful cry. It flapped its skeletal wings, rocketed skyward, and pursued the two lights.

"It really is persistent." Noticing the giant bone dragon closing in behind them, Zhuang Xiaoyuan’s expression turned impatient.

"I still don't understand why a bone dragon, something from a fantasy story, would appear among the bone demons." Controlling the breeze to fly alongside Zhuang Xiaoyuan, Wen Hui looked back with curiosity at the massive creature. The terrifying dragon head, the thick, boney torso, the wings, the four claws, and the long tail—it looked exactly like a villain from a knight’s tale.

"No, that’s not a bone dragon. It’s just a lizard with wings. A mere lizard is chasing me? The more I think about it, the angrier I get." Transformed into the "Young Lady" persona, Zhuang Xiaoyuan struggled to fully control the personality that came with the transformation. This was likely because the Young Lady’s abilities were so prominent that they made her personality seem slightly more willful and aggressive.

"Angry? If you're angry, why don't we turn around and finish it off?" Wen Hui’s eyes sparkled with excitement and deep curiosity—both about the dragon and the prospect of finally paying back their pursuer after such a long chase.

"That’s not a bad idea. I’d love to return the 'hospitality' we’ve received. I only avoided fighting before to protect the car. Now that we aren't tied down, we can play however we like. But be careful; if it’s too strong, we leave at top speed and find somewhere to hide." Her face took on an arrogant expression, as if to say it was rare for Wen Hui to have a good idea. However, as she continued, she seemed to revert to her true self, cautioning Wen Hui with a solemn look.

"No problem. Hurricane Revolving Spear!" With Zhuang Xiaoyuan’s approval, Wen Hui didn't hesitate for a second, turning around to unleash a miniature storm.

"You're fast on the draw. Night Sign—Vampire Raid!" Stopping at almost the exact same moment as Wen Hui, Zhuang Xiaoyuan gripped a black talisman card and released countless black bats that swarmed toward the bone dragon.

The attack pattern of these bats was different from when she had fought the wild boar. Having learned her lesson, Zhuang Xiaoyuan didn't intend to let the bats get close to the bone demon—who knew if it could absorb magic like the previous one?

As the countless bats released by the Night Sign approached the dragon, they all opened their mouths and spat out red magical projectiles. As the projectiles left the bats' mouths, they split—one into two, two into four. In an instant, the air in front of Zhuang Xiaoyuan was filled with countless red energy bullets firing toward the bone dragon.

This was the true "Night Sign—Vampire Raid," the hallmark of Gensokyo: a barrage attack. Tell me, Mr. Bone Dragon, do you know how to graze?