All flying creatures had an advantage over those who couldnāt climb to cloud level - safety.
Sure, monsters like the One-Eyed Serpent Archers or Phantoms with long-range abilities could do something to the flying monsters, but more often than not the flying ones would simply dodge their attacks and move away to a safe distance.
This allowed the flying monsters to attack when it was to their advantage without taking any risks.
Thus, if a flying monster didnāt need to come down to the ground for some reason and could do its job from above, it was invulnerable to ground monsters. The only ones that could attack this monster were other flying ones.
But... This was only true if, among the ground walkers, there was not one strong and brave enough, one capable of bringing the sky dwellers down to the bottom.
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The shudder spread around, scattering the nearest clouds with its destructive power. The bright, white flash expanded and contracted in rapid pulses, actively building up its power in a single fist.
Unlike most monsters, the Dormant Lord could not speak or utter any sounds, yet his aura and posture told more than the words of a common man.
A bright star reflected in the Conqueror Flame Raiderās eyes, before turning into a flash of light descending directly on the eagleās head.
Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.
A ring of light erupted hundreds of meters around, splitting the clouds in two, into discs quickly floating across the sky.
With an ear-piercing creak, a star burst out, unleashing all its power on one arrogant monster.
"GRROOOOOOOOOO!!!"
The Conqueror Flame Raider let out a painful roar, his wide wings flapping vigorously trying to regain his balance, to take off again, but the impact was too strong.
Not only the Grim Warro grinning widely, but also the monsters and Phantoms were watching this scene.
All of them witnessed the past arrival of the plasma spear that triggered the starfall, but for only one Phantom, this was not the first encounter with the Dormant Lord.
Katrin gulped, her black eyes reflecting the huge flaming eagle hurtling towards the ground despite its desperate attempts to remain in the sky. It was time to descend to the ground.
āWait... Somethingās wrong... Isnāt the Dormant Lord a Mid Yellow Threat monster?ā
Trying to figure out why the Dormant Lord was so powerful, Katrin did what Phantoms always did - she turned to her Operator:
"Alan, did the Dormant Lord get some kind of enhancement? Is it normal that with one hit he brought the Conqueror Flame Raider down to the ground? It feels like heās at the Dark Yellow Threat level, this isnāt like Mid One at all!"
With a trembling voice, Alan quickly replied:
āKatrin... I donāt know but maybe heās actually become stronger lately.ā
A chill ran down her back, but she quickly pulled herself together.
"What, how is that possible? Wasnāt it supposed to go to the next level after evolving? I mean, itās still the Dormant Lord and not another monster!"
Alan nodded uncertainly.
āYeah... I understand your confusion, I canāt know for sure itās just my guess, but when I chose this mission for you, the latest information about the Dormant Lord was updated two months ago.ā
Katrin bit her lip as she clenched her fists tightly, she knew about all of this since she forced Alan to pick a dangerous mission for her.
Yet, despite Alanās assumption that seemed logical, Katrin felt that something was wrong.
Taking a deep breath, Katrin narrowed her eyes closely scrutinizing the Grim Warro and the Silent Droao, other than a brief skirmish with each other these two had yet to do anything major.
Katrin could see an unusual energy thickening around them, it wasnāt an aura, more like the pulses that had once led her to her monster to destroy the First Wall.
Then, intuitively, Katrin raised her eyes upward, watching for the Eclipse, the one that was not supposed to occur that night.
āThough much information is not yet available to me, Iāve heard something strange is happening with the Eclipses. First, they became less frequent, often coming once every two weeks, but... now theyāre happening suddenly? What the hell...ā
Slowly, her gaze returned to the monsters, especially Grim Warro. He seemed to realize that something was wrong, but it worked to his advantage.
An unusual, dark but faintly noticeable energy was near each monster, the stronger the monster was, the more massive it was.
However, even for Katrin, it was difficult to notice it, she had to concentrate.
āHmm... Itās not like this energy is making them stronger directly, but something is changing. Maybe itās not the fact that the Dormant Lord moved to one stage in these two months, but what heās doing now?ā
By this point, which only took a few seconds, the Conqueror Flame Raider reached the ground, even his wings didnāt let him return to the sky.
Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.
A pillar of dark sand rose upwards, hiding the eagleās massive body for a moment. Then, without wasting a moment, the Conqueror Flame Raider opened his beak wide, giving vent to his wildfire.
Scarlet sparks could be seen through the gaps in the sand as corners burned their way forward.
Then, the flaming ray destroyed the top of the sand pillar, heading straight for the Dormant Lord at tremendous speed.
The Phantoms and monsters froze in place. They didnāt know who they should be more worried about, as both creatures were dangerous. Yet, fear appeared in the eyes of most, realizing that the flame ray would burn the Dormant Lord like the hundred monsters before it.
However... it didnāt seem like the Dormant Lord feared this fire like the others.
Without running away, hovering in the air, the Dormant Lord extended his arm to the side, creating a long plasma spear, warping space with its power.
Wooooooooooosh.
Without fear of death, the Dormant Lord threw the spear downward, directly into the center of the flaming ray, as a retaliatory strike.
A deadly attack - on a deadly one.