âHoly crap! The Molten Armored Dragon?!â
Qiao Sangâs adrenaline spiked instantly.
Guo Ruiqiâs face changed drastically, but since he already knew about the dragonâs existence, and trusted Senior Qiao, he managed not to scream outright.
Mikayla, however, remained calm.
For an S-rank Beast Tamer, even a late-stage King-level dragon-type opponent was nothing more than a warm-up. Still, because of her
persona
, her expression subtly shifted from composed to serious.
She had no intention of acting immediately.
In her eyes, Qiao Sang, with her pets fully recovered, could handle the Molten Armored Dragon herself.
Just as Mikayla was preparing to watch from the sidelines as background decoration, Qiao Sang suddenly shouted: âGangbao, go!â
Mikayla: âŠâŠ
âMolten!â
As soon as the words left her lips, the Molten Armored Dragon raised its head and unleashed another roar that made their blood run cold.
That roar carried an overwhelming sense of suppression.
Qiao Sang felt a powerful pressure crash down on her, so heavy that even breathing became difficult.
Guo Ruiqiâs face went pale as he clutched his chest, struggling to breathe.
Yabao, being the closest, stiffened, his remaining fur stood on end, tail frozen in place. Instinct screamed at him to retreat.
But he quickly realized that he was showing fear before even fighting, something his pride couldnât tolerate.
The fear in his heart burned away in the heat of that unwillingness.
âYap!!â
Yabaoâs eyes turned sharp. With a fierce cry, he flapped his wings, darting diagonally backward to open distance from the dragon.
In the same instant, he opened his mouth,condensing a red-and-gold energy sphere that fired as a beam straight toward the Molten Armored Dragon.
The dragon only glared coldly, without moving to dodge.
When the Explosive Flame Shot was just five meters away, a massive tail covered in black-red scales whipped out from the magma, instantly bursting into blazing fire.
Where the dragonâs tail swept, molten flames roared like a living inferno, wrapping the tail in waves of fire as it smashed down upon the beam!
BOOM!
The impact sent shockwaves through the cavern, making the molten river churn wildly.
Lava splashed outward, only to be stopped by a transparent barrier that appeared before Gangbao, shielding the group from the fiery rain.
Qiao Sang recognized it immediately, Hidden Shield had acted.
The smoke and flames obscured the dragonâs head, then, a massive jet of flame erupted from its mouth, nearly two meters thick, tearing through the air straight toward Yabao. áčđĆÉ”đĂáč€
Yabao reacted instantly,teleporting away, reappearing behind the dragon with his jaws wide.
At the same time, a giant fiery phantom head resembling a flaming beast condensed and bit down hard on the back of the Molten Armored Dragonâs neck!
But unlike all previous opponents, there was no scream.
The Molten Armored Dragon didnât make a sound.
As Yabao hesitated in confusion, his Beast Tamerâs sharp voice rang in his mind: âMove!â
Too late.
The dragonâs tail was already behind him, barbed and blazing, less than ten centimeters away.
At that distance, even teleportation would be too slow.
Just before the tail could coil around him, Qiao Sangâs mind moved like lightning.
âFreeze!â
âLubao!â
Lubao, already prepared, stepped forward with her left forepaw.
Her entire body radiated a visible wave of cold.
In an instant, everything froze.
The Molten Armored Dragonâs attacking pose turned to ice, its whole body encased in a thick shell of frost.
Even the magma in sight solidified into crimson-tinged ice.
If one listened closely, faint bubbling could still be heard beneath the frozen crust.
Yabao seized the chance to teleport away, escaping the tailâs range.
âWeâre leaving!â Qiao Sang decided without hesitation.
By
leaving
, she didnât mean retreating to the surface, but escaping this section of the underground.
The Molten Crystal was already in their possession, there was no need for a pointless fight.
Yabao glared at the frozen dragon.
He wanted, desperately, to battle it, but he knew he wasnât its match.
Little Treasure understood his tamerâs intent. His eyes glowed blue but before he could lock onto coordinates, the Molten Armored Dragonâs body erupted in fire once more.
The ice shattered, completely breaking free.
That fast?!
Qiao Sangâs face tightened.
Lubao had unleashed her full power, a super-tier skill at her peak, and yet, the dragon shattered it in seconds?
Could its internal energy surpass even Lubaoâs?
âMolten!â
The dragonâs furious roar shook the cavern.
The frozen magma cracked and exploded, lava surged forth like enraged beasts.
The heat spiked, air distorted, waves of scorching pressure radiated outward.
Gangbao flapped her wings hard, flying to a safer spot.
âLittle Treasure!â
He was still focusing on spatial shift when a single droplet of lava splattered on him.
He cried out in pain, the blue glow in his eyes flickered out.
He instinctively stopped.
The heavens didnât want them to escape, then theyâd fight.
Qiao Sangâs gaze hardened.
Even if the dragonâs energy surpassed Lubaoâs, so what? This wasnât a duel. It was a group battle.
âAgain!â She shouted.
âLubao!â
Lubao surged with energy, the temperature plummeted again.
Frost crawled over every surface,encasing everything once more.
âHyper Beam! Ice Mountain! Shadow Ball! Sacred Sword! Gangbao, go too!â
She timed her orders perfectly.
Yabaoâs strongest attacks were fire-type, but a dragon who lived in magma?
Fire wouldnât harm it unless the power exceeded its limits by magnitudes.
Even his Fire Fang, a Ultimate skill, hadnât scratched its scales.
So, Hyper Beam was the only option left.
Mikayla paused for 0.01 seconds, then said evenly, âSleepbird.â
Sleepbird: âŠ
Above the dragon, a towering Ice Mountain formed.
Yabaoâs throat glowed white, power building into a destructive beam.
Little Treasure raised both paws, condensing black Shadow Balls, compressing them tighter and tighter.
Gangbao's entire body flared with silvery light, summoning a massive glowing sword before her.
The Sleepbird beat its wings, conjuring violent cyclones, then again, slicing gusts merged into the whirlwind, forming a spinning blade storm.
The massive ice spike, the destructive white beam, twin compressed Shadow Balls, the colossal silver sword, and the razor cyclone, all converged on the Molten Armored Dragon.
âMolten!!!â
Flames burst over its body again, the ice shattered a second time, and in that instant, every attack struck home.
BOOM!!!
The explosion was deafening.
The dragonâs roar split the air, anguished and wild.
A barrier appeared before Gangbao again, shielding the group from the blastâs shockwave.
So many ultimate skills⊠that had to have finished it.
Qiao Sang stared into the roiling energy cloud, waiting for the result.
When the flames cleared, the dragonâs body was battered and cracked.
Its massive form trembled, its eyes swollen and half-closed.
âMoltenâŠâ
Just as it seemed about to collapse, its eyes snapped open, filled with fury.
Its tail lashed violently, striking straight toward the airborne Yabao.
The tail glowed with a dense, blinding white light.
It moved too fast, Qiao Sangâs pupils shrank, she couldnât even issue a command before it struck.
BAM!
The glowing tail slammed into Yabao, hurling him into a nearby cliffside.
Stone shattered, he was buried in rubble.
From his loosened claws, a black-red Molten Crystal fell to the ground.
Qiao Sangâs heart sank.
Even after taking all those attacks, it still wasnât dead?
So this was the power of a King-level Dragon-type beastâŠ
If sheâd known, sheâd never have had Yabao use Hyper Beam, which left him immobile for seconds.
âMoltenâŠâ
The dragonâs eyes landed on the fallen crystal, and on Yabao, its expression mocking.
As if to say:
Even if you all gang up on me, youâre still nothing but weaklings.
Yabao struggled to his feet, rage blazing in his eyes.
The Molten Armored Dragonâs body swayed, then, just as Qiao Sang prepared to finish it off, its eyes closed and it fell toward the magma.
Finally down
⊠Qiao Sang exhaled.
Glug, glugâŠ
But in the next instant, the magma exploded, and from it, another red-scaled dragon emerged, catching the first one mid-fall.
âT-Two⊠Two Molten Armored Dragons?!â
Guo Ruiqiâs face turned chalk white, stammering.
Two of themâŠ
Mikayla frowned and this time, it wasnât acting.
There was really a second Molten Armored Dragon!
No wonder!
No wonder when theyâd teleported earlier, the coordinates showed the dragonâs position jump three kilometers away!
It hadnât teleported, it had been another dragon the whole time!
The new dragon glared at them furiously, eyes glowing red.
From the magma, eleven towering fire pillars erupted, twisting like crazed serpents, lashing toward them from all sides.
âFreeze!â Qiao Sang shouted reflexively.
âLu Di!â
Lubao cried out, freezing air burst from her body, sweeping outward.
The fiery pillars froze solid midair, then shattered into icy shards.
âMolten!â
The dragon sneered.
The lava churned violently, and this time, hundreds of magma pillars surged up!
We canât win this-
Qiao Sangâs scalp prickled, a wave of danger overwhelmed her.
âRetreat!!â
Little Treasureâs eyes glowed blue but then, he hesitated.
He couldnât lock onto Yabaoâs positionâŠ
A flash of realization, he spotted Yabao beside the dragonâs massive body, baring his fangs.
So thatâs whyâŠ
âLubao!â
The magma pillars converged, Little Treasure hadnât finished teleporting.
Qiao Sang yelled desperately.
âLubao!â
Lubao once again unleashed icy energy, freezing everything in reach.
But there were too many pillars, too much heat.
Even as she shattered the first waves, dozens more surged in from all directions.
Just before they struck, Little Treasureâs blue glow flared again, teleporting the group to the opposite bank of the magma river, narrowly avoiding the attack.
Meanwhile, Yabaoâs clones surrounding the dragon were all destroyed in one sweeping strike of its tail, and the real Yabao was sent crashing into a rock wall once more.
âMolten!!â
Ignoring him, the dragon turned toward Lubao.
Its jaws opened, releasing a brilliant silver-white pulse.
Dragon Pulse!
âMove!â Qiao Sang shouted.
But before Little Treasure could act, a terrifying pressure descended.
Even Gangbao and the Sleepbird trembled uncontrollably.
Even Lubao felt fear rise within her.
Yet Little Treasure remained unaffected, his eyes shone blue, teleporting them again just as the Dragon Pulse struck the wall-
BOOM!
The explosion shook the underground chamber, stones rained down.
The dragon looked at Little Treasure, curious.
âXun?â
Little Treasure blinked, looked left, looked right, then back at the dragon.
When he realized it was staring at him, his eyes widened in alarm.
Whyâs it looking at me?! I didnât do anything!
At that moment, the injured Yabao appeared above the dragon again.
Qiao Sangâs mind moved sharply.
âRestrain it!â
Little Treasureâs eyes flashed blue, an invisible force clamped onto the Molten Armored Dragon.
âAttack its eyes!â Qiao Sang commanded.
The eyes, the weakest point of any beast.
âYap!!â
Yabao raised his claw, flames igniting around it, and slashed downward.
But just then, a blinding silver-white claw burst from the magma below, tearing toward him at blinding speed!
âYap!!â
Yabao screamed as he was sent flying again.
Qiao Sangâs heart clenched.
Even at its current level, Little Treasureâs Ultimate-level psychic power couldnât hold the dragon for even a secondâŠ
-----
T/n: I rose from the deaddddddd~ I'm free from the fetters of chatting and urging those damn students to pass their missing activities~ Recording their damn grades~ That damned typhoon~ I'm free againđ I'm alright and I miss you guyssssssss.