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Chapter 79 - Dragon
🕑 Added 2025-07-20 16:31:30 +0000 UTCCreak... Creak… Creak...
Each step Puss took on the bridge was accompanied by the creak of old wood, even with his light weight, making him seriously question how Shrek had ever made it across.
Looking down and seeing the vast sea of lava dozens of meters below his feet, even Puss, with his nine lives, couldn't help but feel a little cowardly.
'Fighting something with a beating heart is no problem for me, but against nature itself… I'm still very weak.' The thought rooted itself in his heart, while his eyes reflected the bright red of the bubbling lava.
Sighing and regaining focus, he continued walking across the bridge, always alert for any plank that might suddenly break — after all, due to his height, he couldn't use the rope rails for support.
So, in case of such an incident, he could only be ready to jump and cling to anything he could — as if his life depended on it… because it did.
Blorp!
A loud explosion sounded below, and a jet of lava shot upward before gravity brought it back down, making the corner of Puss's mouth twitch before he continued walking.
Creak... Creak… Creak…
The bridge was long and swayed slightly with Puss's careful steps, but since nothing was happening apart from the creaking, he began to pick up the pace — still cautious of any sudden mishap.
Fortunately, he was very light, and Puss made it to the other side without incident.
Turning his gaze to the head of the long bridge behind him, he saw Tornado looking at him worriedly.
Waving a hand to reassure him, he didn't linger and turned around, now facing the entrance gates of the great black castle — which looked as if it had been burned by flames rather than simply colored that way.
Walking forward, there was a gap between the bridge and the entrance, which Puss easily leapt across.
Upon entering the castle, he was met with some interesting decorations.
Charred knight's boots, with leg bones still sticking out. A roasted knight slumped against a wall. Boiled knights strewn over the battlements. And many other scorched bones in various forms.
"How pleasant," Puss joked with an amused look, now much calmer.
Being suspended over a lava river on a wooden bridge might have made him seem cowardly, but aside from that, the sword-wielding cat wasn't the least bit worried about his next opponent. Not even if there were ten dragons — he still wouldn't be afraid.
Walking calmly through the blackened ruins of what had probably once been a castle, Puss occasionally had to jump over glowing red cracks that emitted steam from the lava river below, but something piqued his curiosity.
"It's not that hot in here, nor toxic to breathe… even though these lava vapors should suggest otherwise. This castle is not ordinary," Puss said aloud to himself as he looked around curiously.
He didn't keep his voice down, as it was his intention to draw out the dragon, but the castle remained silent, and Puss saw no sign of the possible transformed princess.
With nothing else to do, he shrugged and simply started whistling as he walked.
It was only after he'd walked a good distance toward the tower that a low growl sounded.
Puss patted his belly, reached into his boot, pulled out a can of sardines, grabbed the ring, and calmly opened it.
He took one and tossed it into his mouth.
Yes — the sound that had just been heard wasn't the dragon's roar, but his own hungry stomach.
Then another growl echoed — this one much louder than the first.
"That one wasn't me," Puss quipped as he turned to his right, where an enormous green eye was staring at him through a hole in the wall.
The eye observed him for a moment, confused by his lack of fear, but soon, the confusion was replaced by ferocity — and the eye that had been there, behind the wall, vanished, replaced by an enormous mouth full of sharp teeth.
"Rooaarrrrr!!"
Accompanying the roar, a huge fireball was spat out, speeding toward Puss, who, without hesitation, leapt to the side, dodging the searing flame.
The fireball hit the wall on the opposite side, bringing it down in a fiery explosion.
"Rooaarrr!!"
Roaring in fury, the dragon smashed through the massive wall in front of her with ease using her body and charged on all fours toward Puss.
But the cat didn't flinch — and smiled. He intended to talk to the female dragon, but not before defeating her while she still wanted to kill him.
Such a creature, once defeated in real battle, would grant him many experience points in his talents — more than enough to level up once again.
So, without hesitation, he leapt onto a beam, clinging to it just as another fireball struck where he had just been standing.
Another fireball came at the spot where he was now hanging, forcing him to leap once more.
Still in midair, not wanting to waste the moment, he reached into the sardine can, grabbed them all at once, and shoved them into his mouth. With the empty can in hand, he tossed it behind him — just in time for it to be incinerated by a fireball that came dangerously close, nearly singeing a bit of his fur.
Falling to the ground, he rolled and hid behind one of the black stone columns.
His eyes widened when he heard the heavy steps rushing at full speed, and he suddenly jumped to the side as an enormous scaly red body violently smashed the column he had been hiding behind.
"Rooaarrr!!" The dragon roared, looking around, searching for Puss, unaware that he was right beneath her body.
Suddenly jumping up beneath the dragon's chin, Puss clenched his fist and punched her jaw with all his strength.
"Roar?"
Confusion appeared in the dragon's eyes, as she felt her head tilt slightly to the side after being hit by… something?
Looking down, she saw Puss falling to the ground, his fist still clenched and a strained smile on his face.
"Hehe, looks like I can't beat you with bare fists just yet," he joked, shrugging helplessly.
"Roooaarr!"
"Wow, someone woke up in a mood!" Puss exclaimed, eyes wide as he jumped aside, dodging the draconic paw that smashed the ground where he'd been.
Then, with a leap upward, he dodged a bite and landed on her snout, swiftly running along her body as she hit herself trying to catch him.
"Roaar!!" She roared in pain from the hit she gave herself, and furious, tried to bite Puss as he ran across her back. But when he ran toward her tail, a clever glint sparkled in the beautiful green draconic eyes.
Puss, who was thoroughly enjoying himself with a huge grin as he raced along the dragon's body, suddenly widened his eyes as he reached the tail's tip.
"Whoa!" With a sudden swing, before he knew it, he had been whipped away, flying across the castle.
"Hahaha!" He laughed, entirely unbothered. Facing a tough opponent only made everything more fun.
The dragon was already incredibly strong, and when added to the fact that Puss didn't want to hurt her and hadn't even drawn his sword, it only made things more difficult. But he wasn't worried — his years of training weren't for nothing, and if things went south, he had plenty of ways to handle the situation.
Twisting his body midair with agility, Puss noticed he was being flung toward a door. His eyes narrowed — if there was lava behind it, crashing through with such force could be dangerous.
Without hesitation, he twisted his body, pointed his feet toward the door, bent his knees, and prepared for impact with precision. And then…
BAM!
He kicked the door at the exact moment he reached it, stopping his momentum and smashing the wood with the force of the collision.
Spinning through the air, he landed elegantly on the ground, a smile on his face.
'Note to self. Once the toad is working, store a long whip for more stylish aerial maneuvers,' he mused playfully — though he really did intend to do that.
Seeing that the dragon was still a bit far but charging his way, Puss took the opportunity to glance back toward the door.
The first thing he saw was a medieval chain chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
Stepping inside, where there was just a small balcony with side stairs and a large hall below, Puss spotted piles of gold, which immediately told him where he was.
This was where the dragon had kissed Shrek's butt, and then Shrek dropped the chandelier on her.
An idea sparked in Puss's mind upon seeing that. He wouldn't do the same thing Shrek did, but the chains could come in handy.
"Roooaarrr!!" A roar sounded very close.
"Oh, looks like she's already here." Puss glanced over his shoulder and saw the massive figure charging in, so without hesitation, he jumped onto the railing and dove into the pile of gold below.
His figure suddenly vanished amidst the metallic shine.
