"Fireball!"
Li Fan gave the attack command.
After a brief charge, two fireballs plummeted diagonally from high above.
The Electric Dragon at the edge of the cliff took half a step back, its side wing claw supporting its body as it spun rapidly.
Easily dodging the fireballs, it stretched its neck and raised its head. Its crest expanded and contracted with high-frequency vibrations, accompanied by numerous electric sparks.
*Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!*...
A dense sound of friction filled the air, like thousands of insects buzzing in one's ears.
Leaping green arcs of electricity erupted from the Electric Dragon's carapace, flowing towards its crest, wing claws, and tail.
Within the dark, sharp keratin at the tips, a faint yellow light began to glow.
"The Electric Dragon is using its piezoelectric armor to charge itself. We need to stop it quickly!"
Under Li Fan's guidance, the two dragons immediately began a dive towards the ground.
The Electric Dragon's red eyes darted left and right, scanning Little Dummy and Playful as they attacked from either side. It immediately stopped charging, turned its body, and swung its hammer-like tail to its front.
The bright yellow light on its crest and wing claws quickly faded, while the light on its tail intensified.
Seeing this, Playful fully retracted its wings, its diving speed increasing once more, instantly creating a gap with Little Dummy.
Li Fan knew that Playful might suffer if it engaged in a head-on collision.
However, due to their size, battles between large monsters were inherently about direct confrontation.
This meant that in close-quarters combat, most moves were either taken head-on or defended against, with far fewer opportunities for evasion compared to hunter battles.
*Sizzle!*
Emerald green lightning appeared at the tip of the tail, spreading outwards in a net-like pattern towards the sky.
So fast! Was this a partial release from a half-charged attack?
Li Fan was somewhat surprised.
Only monsters with extremely strong combat instincts would make such a decision.
This Electric Dragon, which had attacked a giant airship and acted so arrogantly, didn't seem like the kind of monster that would plan such a move.
Upon impact with the emerald current, Playful's momentum was momentarily halted.
*Snap! Snap!*
The electric light dispersed into several arcs, striking the armored scales in a flickering, leaping manner. Shattered keratin fragments flew outwards, and small nicks appeared on Playful's body.
However, with the advantage of its diving speed, Playful managed to break through the electric barrier.
The light on its tail dissipated, and the current shifted towards its claws.
*Whoosh~* Playful spread its wings to slow down, arriving in front of the Electric Dragon.
Seeing the Rathalos's chest contract and its body lean back.
The Electric Dragon raised its head and let out a fierce roar into the sky!
*ROAR!*
*BOOM!*
A fireball struck its face. The somewhat stunned Electric Dragon stumbled back half a step. Before it could regain its footing, a pair of attacking claws descended upon it.
The Electric Dragon quickly lowered its body, and Playful's sharp claws scraped across its back.
*Whoosh~*
Before it could even look back at Playful's actions, another gust of wind pressure hit. The Electric Dragon instinctively retreated, quickly looking up.
Seeing the Rathalos's chest contract and its body lean back, the Electric Dragon roared at it again.
*ROAR!*
*BOOM!*
Another fireball struck its face.
*ROAR!!!*
Accompanied by the high-frequency vibration of its piezoelectric armor, a roar of defiance echoed.
Emerald green electricity instantly flooded the Electric Dragon's body.
Years of hunting together allowed Yodora to recognize a hint of meaning in the roar and ask curiously, "What does that mean?"
"The Electric Dragon is asking where you dragons came from and why you don't follow any rules."
Li Fan translated.
"Rules, you mean roaring?"
Yodora guessed.
"Yes, through communication with Little Dummy and Playful, roaring has evolved into a preparatory action before a charging fireball attack."
Li Fan explained.
Monster roars before battle generally served two purposes.
Firstly, to intimidate the enemy.
Secondly, it was a customary ritual before combat began.
It was akin to humans taking off their shirts, rolling up their sleeves, and exchanging passionate taunts before a fight.
If someone were to throw a punch without any warning, not just monsters, but humans would also be taken aback.
The Electric Dragon shook off the flames clinging to its face and observed the two fire dragons circling it.
If they took to the air now, whether attacking Little Dummy or Playful, the other would... take to the air?
Just as Li Fan was judging that it wouldn't ascend, the Electric Dragon spread its wings, which could be folded together at a high angle, and took to the sky.
"Attack the wing membranes!"
Li Fan gave the command.
Once the wing membranes were extensively damaged, the battle would be entirely confined to the ground.
This would give Zanchuan Pao Pao an advantage, making it significantly more difficult for the team.
"Can I attack from the air?"
Yodora asked tentatively.
"No, the timing for aerial combat is too difficult to grasp."
Li Fan deemed it unfeasible.
As they spoke, the Electric Dragon broke free from the two dragons' interception and ascended at all costs.
It wants to use its altitude... I can't understand this at all!
Li Fan was truly baffled now.
It was precisely because the Electric Dragon's flight altitude overlapped with the fire dragons' that they had become rivals.
Constantly increasing altitude, besides changing the battlefield, offered no additional advantage.
*Whoosh! Whoosh!*
The Electric Dragon and Playful, one after the other, plunged into the thick clouds.
*Roar!* Little Dummy grunted, signaling to hurry, and also charged in.
Not long after, bright sunlight appeared overhead, and the three dragons chased each other across the sea of clouds.
Dill picked up her binoculars and looked back at the Pioneering Ship in the distance, realizing the team was rapidly moving away.
"We're flying into an uncharted area, meow, and getting further and further from the Pioneering Ship."
Dill reminded them.
"It seems to be deliberately leading us..."
Yodora voiced her feeling.
There were too many uncharted areas in the Forgotten Ruins Ridge. It wasn't a problem to venture in, but the Electric Dragon's actions were highly directional, clearly heading somewhere intentionally.
Li Fan, caught in hesitation, asked, "Do you think we should continue the pursuit?"
"Pursue!"
"Pursue, meow!"
With the support of his team members, Li Fan's judgment was solidified.
The three dragons flew rapidly across the sea of clouds for half an hour. By now, the map was completely useless.
Below, the originally white sea of clouds deepened in color as they traveled, turning a dark gray, rolling and flowing under the push of strong winds.
Even more bizarrely, towering mountain peaks began to appear above the sea of clouds, their height and density gradually increasing.
This gave the team the feeling that their flight altitude was decreasing.
However, based on the wind and the aerial ecosystem, Li Fan was certain their altitude had not dropped.
Therefore, the only logical explanation was that the overall terrain of this mountain range was extremely high, high enough to pierce through the clouds.
About ten minutes later, the clouds above completely obscured the sunlight.
The sky and the clouds seemed to lose their boundary, merging into a hazy gray.
All the team could feel was a strong airflow rotating towards one side.
"What is that!"
Yodora exclaimed, pointing forward.
Li Fan, who was still observing the abnormal weather, turned his head and was instantly stunned.
On the highest peak of the mountain range ahead, a circular stone pillar, piercing through the clouds, stood proudly amidst the swirling gray storm.
"This is the Sky-Piercing Tower. The Amatsu's nest is at the top."
This was a landmark in the Forgotten Ruins Ridge in the game, and Li Fan certainly wouldn't forget it.
"This... this doesn't make sense. Does the Electric Dragon not know who lives here? Does it think it can use the abnormal weather?"
Yodora speculated.
"That makes sense. What monster would actively seek out an Elder Dragon for help?"
Li Fan also found it incredible.
The Electric Dragon showed no intention of slowing down. Not long after, it plunged directly into the gray storm swirling around the Sky-Piercing Tower.
Little Dummy and Playful immediately hovered, awaiting Li Fan's command.
With the fire dragons' flight capabilities, breaking through the storm wouldn't be too difficult.
However, Li Fan was somewhat uncertain about how the subsequent battle would proceed.
After all, this was too far from the planned engagement area.
Discovering the Sky-Piercing Tower, where Amatsu resided, was already a considerable gain.
But if the team were to stop here and use the Pioneering Ship as bait to locate the Electric Dragon, the hunting time might be exhausted.
The next hunter to sortie, Gu Xing, had a strength likely comparable to a peak-era Instructor Yin Tie.
Perhaps he could single-handedly hunt the Electric Dragon in this unstable environment.
"Whatever decision you make, we'll support it, meow!"
"Yes."
When Li Fan turned around, Yodora and Dill had already conveyed their thoughts.
"I haven't even asked yet... Alright, anyway, Amatsu doesn't fly this low, and it's not often home. After dealing with the Electric Dragon, maybe we can even do some ecological research... Everyone buckle up! Little Dummy! Playful! Charge!"
*Whoosh~ Whoosh~*
The two dragons flapped their wings, alternating their entry, and plunged into the storm.
Under the constant assault of the strong winds, it took the two dragons less than a minute to reach the center of the storm.
The roaring wind abruptly stopped. The team, observing, removed their helmets and poured out the sand within.
This was the base of the Sky-Piercing Tower, where the airflow clung to the rock walls, swirling and rolling.
The straight, massive stone pillar extended into the clouds, and even looking up, its end was nowhere in sight.
The Electric Dragon leisurely roamed the rock platform in front of the pillar.
Upon seeing the two fire dragons pursuing it, it excitedly raised its head and let out a roar.
"There's no terrain advantage here either."
Li Fan, having completed his environmental assessment, said curiously.
When the lightning flashes were most frequent in the dense clouds, Li Fan had thought that was where the Electric Dragon was seeking to engage.
"Could there be other Electric Dragons here?"
Dill speculated.
"No, Electric Dragons have no concept of family. They are abandoned by their parents when they are still eggs, and they do not have the habit of living in groups after adulthood, which makes their temperament particularly violent."
Li Fan explained, then felt that the longer they delayed, the more dangerous it would become for the team, so he immediately began to set up for battle.
"Yodora, you and Dill go to the ground and prepare the ground team for battle. If the Electric Dragon still wants to fly, I'll find a way to bring it down with Little Dummy and Playful."
Li Fan felt that since the battleground had been established, the ground team now had an advantage for pre-deployment.
However, Little Dummy and Playful were supposed to control the air, and the Electric Dragon began to spread its wings and fly upwards along the rock face of the Sky-Piercing Tower.
"Prepare for deployment! I'll bring it down!"
Little Dummy was in pursuit, and Li Fan left a shout before plunging into the dark clouds swirling around the Sky-Piercing Tower.
Dense moisture continuously formed water droplets on his armor. Li Fan drew his Dragon Slaying Greatsword and used its heat to evaporate them.
Although visibility in the clouds was practically zero, judging by Little Dummy's performance, it hadn't lost its target.
Li Fan speculated that if fire dragons could communicate and cooperate by sensing wind pressure, then using the wake created by the Electric Dragon's flight to lock onto its trajectory without visual contact should not be difficult.
The continuous vertical ascent lasted for about three minutes.
*Whoosh!* A large area of blinding, intense light flashed from above.
Li Fan quickly covered his eyes. After a moment, he opened a slit, gradually adapting to the strong sunlight, and looked around.
Sun, azure sky, sea of clouds, Sky-Piercing Tower.
Looking around, there seemed to be only these four things.
*Whoosh~ Whoosh~ Whoosh~*...
Little Dummy's breathing became labored, as if it could only exhale and not inhale.
Was it due to the low air pressure and thin oxygen...
Even the Rathalos was having trouble breathing. How high were they?
Unconsciously, Li Fan found his own breathing becoming heavier, but it seemed to be within controllable limits due to his robust physique.
"Playful! Little Dummy can't hold on anymore! Catch me!"
After shouting, Li Fan ascended vertically, and Playful turned back.
After mounting Playful's neck, Li Fan recalled Little Dummy into its ball.
"Keep chasing! This Electric Dragon definitely won't be able to hold on for much longer!"
*Roar!* Playful let out an excited roar, flapping its wings and continuing to ascend.
Although it was still a sea of clouds, this time they were breaking through a higher layer.
Li Fan analyzed from the center.
They had initially chased along the surface of the sea of clouds, and then many mountains had emerged above it.
To avoid the risk of collision, their altitude had been raised again.
Then, reaching the base platform of the Sky-Piercing Tower on the mountain peak, it was easy to create the illusion of descending to the ground.
But in reality, at the base of the Sky-Piercing Tower alone, the team's position was already far higher than the clouds they had initially flown along.
"Playful! How are you doing!"
In the strong wind, Li Fan shouted and asked.
*Roar!* Playful let out a roar of enjoyment, as if saying that flying at this altitude was exactly to its liking.
Seeing the distance gradually closing, the Electric Dragon tried to accelerate, but due to insufficient inhalation, it coughed, causing its entire body to tremble, and its ascent speed plummeted.
Playful seized the opportunity and flew alongside it.
"If you're going to struggle, don't force it! Be careful not to affect your cardiopulmonary function!"
Li Fan shouted.
*Roar... Cough! Cough! Cough!*
The Electric Dragon tried to respond with a roar, but with less and less air, it could only cough when it opened its mouth.
Li Fan speculated that the Electric Dragon probably believed it had extremely strong climbing and high-altitude adaptation abilities, so when facing fire dragons, it preferred to fight at its extreme altitude.
However, it hadn't expected that Playful was also an expert in this field and was young and fierce.
After a moment of hesitation, the Electric Dragon simply stopped ascending. It dug its wing claws into the rock face of the Sky-Piercing Tower, slowing down by scratching, and then crawled directly onto the outer wall.
*Scrape! Scrape! Scrape!*...
Its piezoelectric armor vibrated at high frequency, and charging began.
Being able to adopt such a posture to fight basically indicated it had no other options.
Li Fan would certainly not let this opportunity pass.
"Crawling on the wall with your back to the enemy, do you think you're a Zinogre! Playful! Fight it!"
Playful swung its body, making an arc, and turned back to dive downwards.