"Since it's here to molt, why is it so resistant to Dius's attacks?" Yudora asked, puzzled.
"Because the Kingfang Twinblades possess strong thunder attributes, along with the sharpness to cut through steel shells," Li Fan speculated.
"I understand. So, even when molting, the attacks must be within its tolerance, and not of the thunder attribute," Yudora immediately grasped. The Steel Dragon indeed wanted to molt, but not to the point of being severely injured.
"Since it dislikes thunder attribute attacks... our induction combat procedure might be further optimized," Li Fan mused.
Seeing the Steel Dragon enjoying the bombardment in place, Dius and Hoover immediately fired two cyan signal flares into the sky.
Moments later, a sharp cross-shaped starlight faintly flickered on the spiral staircase below the guild's top floor. Semika, camouflaged with wall tile-colored adaptive camouflage, was crouched on the wooden landing of the spiral staircase. The heavy bowgun she held was a modified Felyne Cannon [Himegeki], a custom version built upon a standard model crafted from Rathian materials, constantly altered according to the user's preferences and habits. With its long barrel, the modified Felyne Cannon [Himegeki] was nearly two meters long.
Semika wiped the lens of her scope and pulled the closing bolt in the middle of the bowgun. *Click!* The Felyne Cannon [Himegeki] split into two sections, revealing the injection-type magazine in the rear half. Confirming the loaded Dragon Piercer rounds were in order, Semika quickly closed the bowgun and engaged the closing bolt. *Click! Click!* The bowgun returned to its previous set-up state.
*Hoo~ hoo~* Semika brought her eye close to the scope lens, gradually slowing her breathing. *Dah! Dah! ...* As her finger lightly adjusted the zoom knob on the side of the scope, the magnification steadily increased.
*Boom! Boom! Boom! ...* After the second round of bombardment, the Steel Dragon shifted its orientation, preparing to endure the attack on its other side. "Ah! It's had enough on one side, so it's switching to the other!" Yudora exclaimed, frustrated that the Steel Dragon still held the initiative in the attack.
"Calm down."
"But it's so arrogant, right in the middle of Dongdouruma City," Yudora said resentfully.
"Support has arrived. This time, the Steel Dragon should have no choice," Li Fan observed, noticing eight more railgun artillery vehicles arriving as reinforcements on the railway across the combat street, and gave a warning.
*Boom! Boom! Boom! ...* The third round of artillery fire sounded. Just as the black smoke was about to dissipate, a thin line streaked through the air, piercing the smoke and hitting the Steel Dragon's head directly. *Clang! Pschsch!* Upon impact, the Dragon Piercer round scraped a long trail of blue sparks across the Steel Dragon's head, its shell cracking and shattering. Three explosive rounds with rapid fuses attached themselves to the area between its horns. The Steel Dragon, tilting its head back, immediately sensed something was wrong. Its protective wind armor spun rapidly around its body, but it was too late.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!* The three explosive rounds detonated at point-blank range. *Crash! Clang!* A crisp sound of metal hitting the ground echoed. "Did it succeed?" Dius asked cautiously.
"Semika fired it, it's definitely successful!" Hoover said with conviction. The dense smoke kicked up by the explosion was quickly dispersed by the protective wind armor. The Steel Dragon's form was somewhat blurred behind the gale, but the damage to the steel shell at the tip of its horns was clearly visible. However, the members of the elite team did not seem happy at all. While the outer shell had been blown apart by the Dragon Piercer, the inner, jade-like white contours showed no external damage. The exposed parts of the shell rapidly oxidized, turning a shiny metallic silver, with no rust visible from the outside.
The Steel Dragon looked at the shattered rusty shell on the ground and proudly spread its wings. But as soon as it looked up, it saw a silver projectile right before its eyes, in the truest sense. *Psch!* The projectile exploded! The purple gelatinous substance inside dispersed, directly covering the Steel Dragon's left eye. *Whoosh!* Another silver projectile flew towards its left eye, but this time the Steel Dragon was prepared. It immediately spun its body in a wide arc. The silver projectile struck its massive wing, leaving only an indentation. The venom contained within instantly dissipated into the strong wind. *Roar!* The Steel Dragon let out a pained roar. Even without translation, its fury was evident.
"Hoover, the venom invasion has weakened the Steel Dragon's wind control. Are you ready?" Dius, hiding behind a wall, inquired.
"Of course. Until I fall, you and Semika will be safe," Hoover replied with firm conviction. After their exchange, the two fired signal flares to halt the bombardment on the combat street and then charged towards the Steel Dragon.
"Semika, your marksmanship has improved again."
"You... When did you get here!" Semika, still crouched on the landing, was startled to see Sophia standing beside her, observing the distance with binoculars.
"I've been here for a while, but I didn't want to disturb your shot, so I didn't announce myself," Sophia replied.
"You can't just enter the guild's observation spiral staircase, can you? Besides, the elite team is already deployed here," Semika said with a hint of helplessness.
"The guild knights work so hard every day to deal with crises; some oversights in their work are normal," Sophia responded.
"You should leave quickly. The Steel Dragon has already detected this place. Although there are many artillery deployment points around headquarters, without Dius and Hoover intercepting from the front, it will catch up soon," Semika said, quickly dismantling the Felyne Cannon [Himegeki] she had set up.
"I feel like the penetration and accuracy have improved so much. Has there been a new technological innovation in heavy bowguns?" Sophia, unconcerned by the warning, inquired curiously.
"Not really. The modifications to this heavy bowgun for range and penetration have reached their limit. The excellent results are mainly due to the new ammunition brought by Dean Vegasha of the Dragon Calendar Institute," Semika replied, already slinging the heavy Felyne Cannon onto her back.
"So cutting-edge," Sophia said, quite surprised.
"I heard it uses a material called ZMC, processed from Astalos materials. Besides the extremely high processing difficulty and very low yield rate, this ammunition has no drawbacks... What's wrong?" Semika asked, noticing Sophia suddenly frown.
"The Astalos plushies I sold were returned, so I'm feeling a bit annoyed thinking about it."
"I'm heading to the next deployment point. You should leave quickly too, the Steel Dragon has already locked onto this location," Semika warned again.
"The Steel Dragon won't come. If you want to ensure your safety, staying with me is the most correct choice," Sophia said, climbing onto the handrail of the stairs and sitting with her legs dangling.
"Sophia... Never mind. Be careful," Semika didn't know how to persuade her. However, with the Felyne Cannon, her mobility was very low. All her attack opportunities were created by the other members of the elite team. There was clearly no time to persuade Sophia further.
After Semika detached herself and retreated using her wire. Sophia opened her sketch box and held up a drawing. She extended her hand forward a short distance, and the city outline in the drawing quickly overlapped with reality. However, in the drawing, the combat street had an elder dragon in addition to the current scene.
Meanwhile, the Steel Dragon's four heavy airships found an opportunity to attack as the air currents weakened. Pressure-sensitive resistance rounds and heavy bowgun arrows rained down, and the city defense forces' support was also gathering. The two members of the elite team were also able to deliver heavy blows to intercept, but even so, they could not stop the advancing Steel Dragon. Furthermore, as the venom's effect waned, the protective wind armor and the strength of its wind control were gradually recovering.
Fortunately, Semika had safely transferred to the second deployment point, located in the bell tower of the Dongdouruma Airport. "Semika, I will protect you with my life," Aiden, clad in Uragaan armor and wielding the Kingfang Short Sword, promised sincerely.
"Huh? Aren't you here to guard the ammunition at the deployment point?" Semika, who had just arrived at the top of the bell tower, was a bit bewildered by Aiden's resolute promise.
"Master said you are a key protected target for the team! And you are crucial to the success of the operation!"
"Alright, Aiden, I'll set up the bowgun. You help me move the Dragon Piercer ammunition crates here." Semika then expertly unfolded and set up the Felyne Cannon. *Screech!* As the injection-type magazine opened, a burst of scorching blue smoke emerged.
"Not cooled down yet... then let's start with the heat-resistant ZMC poison rounds," Semika muttered, pulling out two sharp silver bullets from her waist pouch and loading them.
*Whoosh!* A gust of wind surged. The Steel Dragon, with numerous cracks on its body, unleashed a tornado as cover and leaped into the high sky.
"Hovering at high altitude... this distance is just right!" Semika estimated the distance between them, feeling it was the perfect moment to fire. Not only would accuracy be guaranteed, but there would also be enough time to retreat when the opponent detected the firing position.
*Click! Click!* As she pulled the closing bolt of the Felyne Cannon, Semika suddenly realized she had made a grave mistake. She quickly reached out to cover the scope lens, but the faintly flashing crosshair starlight on the bell tower's summit was still detected by the Steel Dragon high in the sky. The Steel Dragon immediately veered away from the heavily bombarded guild headquarters tower and flew towards the top of the bell tower.
Semika, lying prone on the ground, froze for a moment. She glanced at the Felyne Cannon set up on the ground, then lifted it and aimed in a crouching position. Clearly, as the Steel Dragon approached, it was no longer necessary to rely on the ground setup for accuracy.
"Semika! Run!" Aiden shouted.
"You retreat, I don't have time anymore..." Semika shook her head slightly.
"There's still time! I can cover you to the third deployment point!" Aiden said firmly.
"Thank you, but with the Steel Dragon locked onto us at this distance, there's little hope of escape," Semika sighed softly. Aiden still wanted to insist, but he remembered that in terms of calculating distance to monsters, Semika's ability was unmatched.
"I'm not retreating!" Aiden declared, running in front of Semika and raising the small shield on his right arm.
"Don't be reckless, Aiden!"
"I'm not being reckless! I've carefully studied this equipment, and it can withstand the Steel Dragon for a while," Aiden's attitude was resolute.
"At this distance, if you don't leave now... it will be too late," Semika said, her gaze hardening as she looked at Aiden's trembling back.
"Aiden! Can you attract its attention?"
"No problem!"
"Alright then!" Semika said, slightly raising the muzzle of the Felyne Cannon, closing her left eye to aim.
*Whoosh! Whoosh!* A powerful gale blew towards the bell tower, creating a howling sound. The Steel Dragon disappeared into the sky in a dive, and the world suddenly seemed to become quiet. Aiden could no longer even feel the Steel Dragon's presence. But the next moment, a massive figure suddenly emerged from below the outer wall of the bell tower's summit. Despite numerous cracks and damage all over its body, the Steel Dragon, enveloped in the wind, showed no signs of weakness.
"Haha, so you're the Steel Dragon, huh? You don't look that impressive..." Aiden taunted. However, the Steel Dragon didn't even look at him. After scanning the top of the bell tower, its gaze locked onto the gleaming Felyne Cannon.
*Yyy*
In his haste, Aiden quickly tapped his shield with the Kingfang Short Sword to attract its attention. The ringing sound of the shield striking the surface was barely audible in the strong wind unless one listened carefully. However, the blue-white electrical discharge triggered by the striking quickly alerted the Steel Dragon. After all, it had recently experienced pain from similar weapons.
"So you're afraid too, huh? Let me tell you, I'm Aiden, the top rookie. I've been in danger countless times..." Aiden was in the middle of his introduction when a muffled explosion sounded from behind him. A silver poison round flew directly towards the Steel Dragon's left eye. With prior experience, the Steel Dragon instantly intensified the strength of its protective wind armor. The projectile had enough penetration, but it was still severely affected by the airflow, causing its trajectory to deviate. It ended up scraping past the tip of its horn.
Aiden tried to continue attracting its attention, but under the influence of the expanding wind armor, it was difficult to even stand, and he could only retreat backward. He glanced back at Semika and was surprised to find her still in the crouching firing stance, not yielding an inch.
*Clang! Clang! Clang! ...* Gritting his teeth, Aiden immediately struck his shield with his short sword. Seeing more electrical discharges emerge, the Steel Dragon's attention was momentarily diverted.
*Boom!* Another muffled explosion.
"Escape!" Semika, who had fired this shot, seemed like a different person. Without even checking if she hit, she forcefully threw the Felyne Cannon aside and sprinted away. Aiden, however, was too focused on the silver poison round to escape immediately. The reason was that, by visual estimation, the trajectory of this poison round showed a severe deviation. After entering the protective wind armor and being severely disturbed by the airflow, although the deviated trajectory did not correct itself, it was aimed directly at the Steel Dragon's right eye!
*Psch!* The purple venomous mass exploded in its left eye again.
"Haha, this is the power of the elite team. Bye-bye!" Aiden shouted, turning and running. The Steel Dragon slowly stepped back two paces. The highly corrosive purple venom, unable to adhere to the smooth silver surface, all slid onto the ground. Its mouth, filled with sharp silver teeth, suddenly opened. The protective wind armor vanished instantly, and surging airflow was continuously inhaled into its mouth.