Under the moonlight, a colossal land dragon arrived at the entrance of the mountain stronghold.
With each step of its pillar-like four legs, visible shockwaves rippled through the ground.
*Crackle! Rumble!*...
On the stronghold's observation deck, the young members of the Fortress Guard tensed as stones began to tumble down the mountainside from the tremors.
"Don't worry, young man. I've been observing this Elder Dragon for half my life; it won't collapse. Hurry and record this. 2:30 AM, the Elder Dragon has arrived at the mountain stronghold's entrance."
The elderly male observer, holding a telescope, reassured them, seemingly sensing the youth's apprehension.
"Understood, senior!"
The young Fortress Guard's confidence immediately returned.
*Boom! Rumble...*
With the next shockwave, a corner of the observation deck's exterior collapsed. A support beam, along with a few stones, tumbled down, causing the deck to tilt outward.
"Well, time to run."
The elderly male observer closed his heavy logbook and pulled the young Fortress Guard away to evacuate quickly.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*...
Signal flares of various colors exploded in the air like a fireworks display.
Li Fan, seeing the distant flares light up, pulled out his combat plan and reviewed it item by item.
The operation to intercept the Elder Dragon was the responsibility of the Fortress Guard and the conscripted hunters.
The Elder Dragon would remain mobile within the mountain stronghold, but due to its not-so-fast forward speed and winding path, it would take at least a day to pass through.
This day spent within the mountain stronghold was the prime time for full-scale assault.
"What if the Elder Dragon were to build a dead end within the mountain fortress?"
Li Fan couldn't help but let his imagination wander.
"It's useless. This mountain stronghold was originally carved out by the Elder Dragon itself in the mountains to facilitate its passage,"
Eudora explained.
"The path it can reach is its road, I see... Aren't you going to sleep?"
Li Fan asked, looking at the night sky.
"I can't sleep. It'll be dawn soon if I stay up any longer. Perhaps I should practice the combat sequence again. I'm always afraid of messing up the throwing order of the attack balls,"
Eudora said with some concern.
"Alright."
Li Fan, by the campfire, stood up and stretched his arms.
As time passed, the sky gradually brightened, and the warm sun illuminated the land, creating a clear day.
It was a good day, but the intensifying ground tremors and the distant booming of cannons made it difficult to feel at ease.
Although the team's deployment area was outside the city, they could observe the city's interior with the high-altitude view from the Ignis.
While Li Fan and Eudora were having breakfast, Dede went to the telescope at the ship's bow to monitor the surrounding movements.
The Steel Dragon hadn't been detected, but something significant had been observed.
"Oh no, a sandstorm is approaching from the north, meow."
Dede shouted and ran into the kitchen.
Li Fan, behind the bar, quickly put down his fork and went to the ship's bow to observe.
A massive sandstorm, obscuring the sky, was indeed approaching Dundorma.
"Could it be the Steel Dragon?"
Eudora asked.
"No. Judging by the Steel Dragon's control over air currents, a sandstorm wouldn't be this loose and chaotic. This is likely something the Elder Mantis created in the desert using the ruins,"
Li Fan explained.
"You mean the Elder Mantis is hiding within the sandstorm?"
"It should be. This way, even if it enters the Fortress Guard's maximum firepower range, its target won't be confirmed for firing."
"Then what should we do?"
Eudora couldn't help but worry.
Indeed, no one could estimate the Elder Mantis's danger, but the Guild regarded it with the same importance as the Elder Dragon.
"This is simple. Although the Elder Mantis can stir up sandstorms to guide and transfer, the area north of Dundorma is not desert. We just need to have Huihui disperse it with a low-altitude charge."
Li Fan informed them.
"That's great."
With her worries eased, Eudora let out a sigh of relief.
"However, the Elder Mantis's stealthy behavior using sandstorms is strange,"
Li Fan mentioned.
"What do you mean?"
"According to records, the Elder Mantis has never attacked a city. How did it know to use sandstorms for cover beforehand?"
"You mean... someone is manipulating it from the shadows? That's not right. Besides you, who else can command monsters?"
Eudora sensed the strangeness of the situation.
"The Elder Mantis possesses extremely high intelligence. It's not impossible for it to establish a relationship through simple communication with humans. In any case, once the sandstorm approaches the Fortress Guard's maximum range, let Huihui give it a surprise."
Li Fan laid out the plan.
Just as the team was discussing, a dark silhouette with flapping wings cast a shadow on the streets of Dundorma city.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*...
Red signal flares continuously exploded in the sky above the city center.
The team immediately began their observation.
The Steel Dragon was hovering, its wings spread. Due to the overlap of its high-altitude position with the sun's direction, its entire form appeared as black as ink.
*Are you trying to be Pain?*
Li Fan had envisioned many ways for the Steel Dragon to appear, but such a sudden and calm entrance was truly unexpected.
No fierce winds or torrential rain, no roaring cries, an Elder Dragon simply appeared without any warning.
"It likely descended from high altitude and then landed at its current height,"
Eudora calmly analyzed.
"Its appearance point is within the city. Now it's up to the top-tier teams to perform."
Li Fan had his own tactical deployment. Both sides had agreed not to participate in the combat within the city, so all they could do now was observe, gather as much information on the Steel Dragon as possible, and prepare for the upcoming battle.
After surveying the Dundorma cityscape for a moment, the Steel Dragon retracted its wings and plummeted downwards.
A violent gust of wind suddenly surged in the air, and dark, ribbon-like clouds swirled in, rapidly gathering.
The rapidly growing dark clouds, like a dark curtain, soon obscured the clear sky stage.
"This looks like the wind vortex of the Wind Serpent Dragon..."
Eudora said uncertainly.
"The protective wind armor shows no signs of weakening, meaning the two methods of using air currents can be performed simultaneously without interference,"
Li Fan, following the Steel Dragon's descent, continuously lowered his telescope.
"The attributes invoked by the two methods of use originate from the same source. Wouldn't the improvement be insignificant then?"
Eudora speculated.
"Theoretically, yes. Could it be that the Steel Dragon considered adaptability before consuming the Dragon Gem?"
Li Fan mused.
Dragon gems weren't something to be eaten lightly, especially not by Elder Dragons.
Looking at it, only the Wind Serpent Dragon's seemed the safest and most reliable.
If the consideration for adaptability held true, then the direction of mutation also became clearer.
By consuming a Dragon Gem of the same elemental or energy source, one wouldn't die immediately and would gain an additional method of ability usage.
*Boom!* The Steel Dragon landed in the city, and five swirling vortexes of wind moved outwards as its wings spread.
Amidst the flying debris, the walls of the low-rise buildings it touched peeled away and crumbled, getting swept into the vortexes.
The four giant airships – the Hunter, the Eternal, the White God, and the Crimson Horn – stationed in the sky above the city were unable to approach due to the raging winds.
The Ignis, far outside the city, although experiencing less impact, was only able to maintain its hover thanks to Ferri's strenuous efforts.
However, on the tilted deck, the team had not given up on observing the Steel Dragon.
"It's Deus and Hoover!... By the way, Deus is facing the Steel Dragon, why isn't he wearing a helmet?"
Eudora, observing, asked in confusion.
"Top dual-bladed hunters pursue extreme lightness in their armor. And he's wearing the Sword Saint's Earring, so it's not like he's completely without head protection,"
Li Fan explained.
"You know so much."
Eudora asked with some surprise.
She had introduced the three members of the top-tier team to Li Fan herself, yet she knew so little about these details.
"To understand my partner for this operation, I read a biography about the top-tier teams. Much of the related information is from the book. Do you know why Deus's title is Silver Spirit?"
After explaining, Li Fan posed a question.
"No."
"When Deus unleashes his Demon Dance, his long, flowing hair spins with his rotating body, making him look like a silver ghost appearing in the night, hence the title Silver Spirit."
"Oh! Hoover's Eternal Wall, when he raises his shield to defend, his hair spins... Uh, that doesn't seem right."
"Member Hoover doesn't have such a description; it merely praises his incredibly strong defense when holding his shield,"
Li Fan clarified.
"What about Semicar's Owl's Eye?"
"The biography states that Semicar can accurately hit targets from extreme distances with her heavy bowgun. Since this distance exceeds the heavy bowgun's maximum range, she uses a specially modified model. However, the recoil of this heavy bowgun is so great that she must shoot in a prone or crouched position to effectively mitigate it,"
Li Fan explained.
"That's amazing. You know, I also wanted to use a heavy bowgun once, but my vision test didn't meet the standard, and I wanted to be a solo hunter, so I had to give up,"
Eudora sighed.
"They've met!"
Li Fan, seeing Deus leaping and sprinting across the rooftops, about to encounter the Steel Dragon, became excited.
Deus's weapon is the King Tusk Twinblades, dual blades crafted from Zinogre materials.
They possess abundant thunder element energy and also guarantee a certain level of sharpness.
Dodging the rampaging wind vortexes on the rooftops, Deus drew his King Tusk Twinblades.
He leaped high into the air, and his grip on the blades shifted from forward to reverse.
In the time Li Fan had been in the monster world, he had never seen anyone with such impressive jumping ability.
After a brief moment of suspension, Deus rotated his body sideways.
Perhaps due to his small size, the Steel Dragon did not notice his presence, and Deus plummeted downwards while spinning.
*Crack! Crack!*...
When blue-green lightning exploded on the Steel Dragon's head, it suddenly realized an attack was coming and tried to turn away.
However, the direction of Deus's spinning blades also changed accordingly.
*Crack! Crack!*...
Lightning and slashing sparks intertwined, and a series of explosions erupted on the Steel Dragon's back.
Landing with his tail, Deus forcefully pushed off the ground with his legs and quickly retreated with a charging movement.
*Whoosh!*
The Steel Dragon's tail swing missed, and it quickly turned its attention.
Deus watched the Steel Dragon and ran in a circular pattern.
To keep Deus within its sight, the Steel Dragon had to constantly shift its body and adjust its orientation frequently.
With an anxious roar, the Steel Dragon spread its wings and ascended to hover.
*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*...
With the flapping of its rusted, metallic-textured membrane wings, the surrounding air currents, along with the scattered stones and debris, converged towards the Steel Dragon.
*Swish! Hiss!*
A sharp piece of debris grazed Deus's face, leaving a bloody gash.
Deus changed direction, wanting to escape quickly, but he saw an unbelievable scene.
The surrounding city, which had been flattened by the Steel Dragon, now had countless walls and pillars slowly floating in the air.
Unlike the extremely violent, swirling winds around the Steel Dragon, everything in the outer area was slow and tranquil.
This extreme contrast filled him with an inexplicable sense of unease.
But Deus had no choice but to force his way through to escape.
However, as soon as his feet stepped into the outer area, his body began to float uncontrollably.
"This was never mentioned in previous ecological reports... Is this the mutation Li Fan spoke of?"
Muttering, Deus stabbed a single blade into a floating rock face, trying to use it to escape this area quickly.
But his overly light armor made it impossible for him to escape the pull of the air currents.
At this moment, an even stronger current emanated outwards from the Steel Dragon.
Deus suddenly realized that by approaching the Steel Dragon, he had essentially entered a trap.
The strangely slow air currents in the outer area were meant to restrict the enemy's escape.
*Clank! Clank!*...
The sound of heavy armor colliding gradually approached.
"Captain, is this a new attack move?"
Hoover, with blonde hair, looked up and asked.
"Phew~ Good thing you came to support in time. Grab on."
Deus said, throwing out a Wirebug.
Hoover grabbed it tightly with one hand and, with a slight pull, yanked Deus, who was being pulled by the current, to the ground.
The two immediately fled quickly.
*Boom!* The Steel Dragon's accumulated massive tornado storm dispersed.
The surrounding area, covered in wreckage, was completely flattened, forming an extremely regular circle on the city ground.
Seeing the two members of the top-tier team finally leap to safety, Li Fan also breathed a sigh of relief.
"The Tornado Storm attack has strong suction, but its excessively long charging time gives the enemy many opportunities to escape. Therefore, a layer of wind vortex currents was placed in the outer area, essentially closing the door while unleashing a big move."
"Will this ability affect our combat plan?"
Eudora inquired.
"Probably not. Hoover, wearing heavy armor, was only slightly affected,"
Li Fan speculated.
*Clang! Clang! Clang!*...
Above the battle street, on the railway tracks, eight rail-mounted cannons, which had arrived first on the battlefield, braked to a halt.
Fortress Guard members lowered the rangefinders on their helmets and directed the Felynes in their carriages to adjust the cannon's aim.
After the adjustments were complete, the eight cannons, with their muzzles raised, all pointed towards the Steel Dragon's location.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*...
Hearing the cannons, the Steel Dragon did not dodge but merely changed its orientation.
As the black smoke dissipated, it lowered its head to withstand the Steel Dragon, then raised its head again and let out a joyful roar.
"It chose to deactivate its protective wind armor to take the hit? In that case, it really is here to molt!"
Li Fan concluded.