The Thousand Blades Dragon's claws pried open the Zanchun's maw.
Its tail withdrew, and with a powerful stomp on the Zanchun's head, it recoiled.
*Splash!*
Black, viscous, explosive minerals mixed with blood dripped from its mouth.
The Thousand Blades Dragon landed, its claws still digging in as it retreated further.
Seemingly wary of the tail blade's attack, the Zanchun merely clamped its mouth shut and lowered its head, making no offensive move.
Seeing this, the Thousand Blades Dragon flicked its tail forward, intending to check its injuries.
Its pupils contracted sharply!
It had anticipated the burning and biting damage.
But upon seeing that all the broken scales on its tail had melted and fused together, it realized the gravity of the situation.
For the Thousand Blades Dragon, shedding scales was a common occurrence.
When some scales became corroded and their edges dulled, the Thousand Blades Dragon would shed them to make way for new growth.
However, as the Zanchun bit its tail, it didn't just tear and bite.
It also used high temperatures to melt some of the broken scales, causing them to fuse together and stick to the skin, preventing them from splaying open.
This not only blocked the regeneration of scales on its tail but also turned its formidable "Absolute Spear Tail," sharp and deadly from any angle, into a useless little hammer.
*Bang! Bang!*
The Thousand Blades Dragon slammed its tail against the ground, sending dirt flying.
Unfortunately, the melted broken scales, even if not fully solidified, were not easily dislodged.
The Thousand Blades Dragon then changed tactics, leaping up and using its agile claws to try and peel away the melted scales at the tip of its tail.
Meanwhile, the Zanchun slowly advanced.
As its feet moved, the explosive minerals that dripped cooled rapidly, turning black. With explosive bursts of flame, several golden fragments flew out.
"Roar!"
The Little Fool in the sky let out a cry.
"It's too dangerous to get close now, I need to tell Eudora and Dilu to quickly take cover!"
After Li Fan's warning, the Little Fool dived downwards.
"Don't get close! Danger! Retreat quickly!"
Seeing Li Fan shouting from the air, Eudora and Dilu sensed the approaching danger.
The Thousand Blades Dragon noticed that the Zanchun was still chewing despite blood continuously seeping from its mouth, and sensed something was wrong. However, it had no clear concept of the threat.
In its memory, the Zanchun was a monster that only fought with brute force.
As long as it didn't linger on the ground for too long, it wouldn't be in danger.
This one was completely different. Its terrifying cutting ability, the "White Emperor's Sacred Sword," and its tactic of biting the tail and melting the scales with heat were unlike any other Zanchun.
To be cautious, the Thousand Blades Dragon decided to respond in a safe manner.
*Whoosh! Whoosh!*
With a beat of its wings, the Thousand Blades Dragon ascended.
It had been worried about the Rathian attacking, but instead, it saw them rapidly retreating.
On the mountaintop platform, the Zanchun's chewing stopped, and its head turned towards its tail.
The Thousand Blades Dragon still hadn't figured out what the Zanchun was trying to do, so it hovered in the air and tried to peel off the heat-melted scales with its claws again.
"Zanchun, you must seize the moment."
Li Fan glanced back at the mountain and muttered softly.
Before long, the Zanchun's body stiffened briefly, and then it violently swung its head towards the sky, spitting out a large mass of black minerals.
The Thousand Blades Dragon was momentarily stunned.
The Zanchun's explosive breath attack was extremely powerful, but its aerial capability was practically zero.
This was because the explosive minerals only detonated after leaving the Zanchun's mouth, cooling to a certain extent.
Coupled with insufficient propulsion, if aimed at an aerial target, the mass of minerals might fall before reaching it.
Once the distance increased, no matter how strong the subsequent explosion, it would be difficult to hit an airborne enemy.
Just as the Thousand Blades Dragon thought this was a complete misstep, countless sharp glints appeared on the fan-shaped explosive minerals.
The Thousand Blades Dragon was all too familiar with this light. It was the glint of fragmented broken scales, though much finer than those after an explosion.
The premonition of danger was now confirmed. The Thousand Blades Dragon flapped its wings and turned to flee, but the explosive minerals began to swell before falling, as if preparing to detonate.
"Dillu, stop looking!"
Behind the low slope on the mountaintop, Eudora grabbed the still intently watching Dillu and dragged her back down the slope.
Based on the usual delay for explosive mineral detonations, it would have been fine to watch a little longer.
However, Eudora's angle allowed her to see the Zanchun turn its head to the side and open its mouth, allowing the explosive minerals to cool directly inside its mouth.
This meant that turning its head before spitting was not only to increase range with the swing but also to accelerate the explosion.
"Li Fan, what exactly have you taught Zanchun..."
Eudora sighed and lay down with Dillu.
*Boom! Whoosh!*
*Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!....*
The explosive breath, sprayed into the air, created a golden ring above the peak.
Amidst the dense black smoke, completely disproportionate to the golden ring, countless fine fragments of broken scales scattered.
"Roar! Meow!"
A falling fragment pierced Dillu's paw, and she cried out in pain, pulling it out.
Eudora, hiding behind the low slope, looked up at the sky, thinking that even the falling fragments had lethality. The fragments blasted by the explosive breath would be even more terrifying.
A moment later, Eudora and Dillu peeked out from behind the low slope.
The Zanchun hadn't moved, but its tail, which had swung to the front of its head for defense, was now embedded with golden fragments.
It seemed to have been severely affected by being too close.
Fortunately, the Thousand Blades Dragon was in a worse state, its four limbs splayed out as it lay prone on the ground.
The remaining broken scales on its body were covered in cracks and chips.
*Bang! Bang!*
The Zanchun advanced, but after only two steps, it stopped, vomiting blood.
The power of the explosive breath attack, after chewing and fusing the broken scales with the explosive minerals, was indeed terrifying.
However, the damage to its oral cavity was also immense. Zanchuns, having forged their tail blades for years, had strong resistance in this regard.
Unfortunately, as this was its first attempt, Zanchun couldn't estimate the extent of the damage. It seemed to have suffered too much, causing its movement to falter.
The prone Thousand Blades Dragon, after several breaths, pushed itself up with its wing claws, quickly moved sideways to avoid a fireball, and flapped its wings to take flight again.
"The scales! The scales are growing back, meow!"
Dillu exclaimed, looking at the Thousand Blades Dragon's body as scales continuously regenerated.
The Thousand Blades Dragon did not attack. Faced with the Zanchun's bizarre moves and cunning tactics, it had lost the desire to fight.
If this life-risking tactic were to be repeated, it was uncertain who would die.
However, the Thousand Blades Dragon's retreat did not mean it would leave.
"You've chosen your opponent well..."
Li Fan's gaze darkened as he watched the Thousand Blades Dragon follow.
The Rathian was a star lower than the Thousand Blades Dragon and occupied a significantly higher ecological niche.
The Little Fool had virtually no chance of winning.
Furthermore, the Thousand Blades Dragon's decisive pursuit clearly indicated it wasn't its first encounter with a Rathian, meaning it would have ample experience dealing with them.
Sensing the Little Fool's body tremble, Li Fan gently stroked its shell to comfort it.
"Don't worry, I won't let it hurt you."
"Roar!" The Little Fool roared, its trembling significantly reduced.
Li Fan understood this fear was not due to a lack of bravery; otherwise, it wouldn't have knocked the Thousand Blades Dragon away to rescue him earlier.
This was a fear rooted in the monster's instincts.
The more intelligent a monster was, the more profound this fear became.
This might seem like a very negative trait.
But Li Fan believed this ability was not only useful but also one of the survival mechanisms for monsters when they were being raised.
If a monster lost this fear when it was not strong enough, it would easily become prey.
"Come on, charge straight into the mountain!"
After a moment of thought, Li Fan gave the instruction.
In terms of flight capability, the Rathian couldn't compare to the Thousand Blades Dragon, even if the latter was injured.
Therefore, any fancy aerial maneuvers would be futile.
Li Fan took off the Poké Ball hanging from his shoulder strap.
"Jump... capture into the ball... use the Wirebug to create distance... then hover or descend based on the situation."
Li Fan rehearsed the actions he was about to take and slowly stood up.
Although the Little Fool's neck was stretched forward, its footing still felt somewhat unstable.
Only when one foot was placed on the edge of its back did it feel slightly more secure.
"Come on! See that mountain ahead? Don't you dare slow down!"
Li Fan shouted towards the rear.
The pursuing Thousand Blades Dragon accelerated again, its tail raised, swinging forward powerfully.
Li Fan drew his sword to respond, but nothing happened.
The man and the dragon stared at each other for a moment, and the air suddenly fell silent.
"What kind of memory do you have? Your tail scales are all melted into a lump, who are you trying to scare?"
Li Fan accused.
The somewhat embarrassed Thousand Blades Dragon's gaze darkened.
After briefly gaining altitude, it prepared to attack by shaking its back scales.
But it suddenly realized that to shake its head, its wings had to stop flapping.
Given the Rathian's straight-line flight speed, the attack would likely miss.
So, the Thousand Blades Dragon had to pause its attack and continue the pursuit.
"No way, you can't shed scales while flying?"
Li Fan asked in surprise.
The Thousand Blades Dragon roared in anger!
"I'm not just babbling. My Great Bird Kuku can even spray fireballs while flying."
Although its accuracy was nonexistent, Li Fan brought up Kuku for a bit of taunting.
The smooth rock face of the mountain was just ahead. Li Fan's eyes became serious.
He felt that with the Thousand Blades Dragon's flight capabilities, it would definitely follow.
In fact, if it could use the Little Fool as a cushion, a head-on collision would even be acceptable.
After all, if its claws gripped the Little Fool's back, it would be very difficult to escape.
And this was exactly what Li Fan intended to exploit.
"Get ready to crash into the mountain..."
"ROAR!!!"
Just as Li Fan was about to implement his plan, a fierce roar echoed through the mountains.
The Little Fool was startled by the roar.
"Turn!"
Seeing the Little Fool somewhat panicked, Li Fan quickly gave instructions.
*Screech!*
The Little Fool, its body rising, stomped forcefully on the mountain rock face, using the momentum to climb vertically upwards.
The closely pursuing Thousand Blades Dragon followed suit, but its flight posture changed from straight flight to vertical ascent.
Its speed advantage immediately became apparent, even reaching the Little Fool's tail.
"This Rathalos is quite despicable, why is it roaring so loudly!"
Li Fan, though he hadn't seen the dragon, could determine its species from the roar.
The situation had become difficult. If the Thousand Blades Dragon successfully crashed into the mountain, the Little Fool could be captured in a ball, and Li Fan could escape.
Now, with the Thousand Blades Dragon in close pursuit, escaping wouldn't be so easy.
Returning to the mountaintop to regroup with the team for a ground battle would be the best option, but it was uncertain if the Little Fool could hold on and fly back.
"Roar...."
Li Fan, raising his sword, turned to face the Thousand Blades Dragon, preparing to strike it as it attacked from behind.
But with a low growl from the Little Fool, he immediately turned his head back.
A Rathalos, holding a herbivore in its claws, appeared not far ahead.
"I was wondering why Wanpi hadn't come, turns out it was preparing a dowry."
Li Fan said in surprise.
"Wanpi! Go get him!"
Li Fan sheathed his sword and pointed behind him.
The annoyed Thousand Blades Dragon turned its head and roared, as if telling Wanpi to mind its own business.
Wanpi, without thinking, responded with a roar of its own.
The elderly Rathalos, perched on a distant mountaintop, rose with great interest and looked up at Wanpi in the sky.
*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!....*
Turbulent air currents swirled around.
Wanpi quickly joined the chase, flying alongside the Little Fool.
It raised a claw, and the herbivore carcass, pierced through its back by the claw tip, gradually moved towards the Little Fool.
The Little Fool let out a speechless low growl, thinking, "Who has time to eat at a time like this?"
Wanpi understood and responded with a gentle roar, its two claws continuously pushing backward.
*Swish!* The herbivore carcass quickly detached from the claw tip.
*Splat!* It landed on the head of the Thousand Blades Dragon behind them.
With a slight flick of its sharp, broken horn, the herbivore carcass was immediately cut into two pieces.
Wanpi looked back, a hint of worry in its eyes.
Li Fan saw something and said, "If you can't, don't force it. The Thousand Blades Dragon is very difficult to deal with."
He wasn't trying to ignite Wanpi's fighting spirit.
For the battle-hardened Thousand Blades Dragon, a young Rathalos posed a limited threat.
"ROAR!!!"
Wanpi turned back without hesitation.
The Thousand Blades Dragon was surprised by such a fierce attack, as it seemed completely unplanned, just a sudden impulse to charge.
*Clang!* The two dragons collided in the air.
Wanpi, due to its sudden turn, was at a significant disadvantage in terms of power and speed, and was immediately sent flying.
However, after being thrown back a short distance, it flapped its wings vigorously, performed a somersault to cancel out the impact, and immediately regained its balance.
Seeing the distance widen, Li Fan finally breathed a sigh of relief, but the Little Fool twisted its neck, constantly looking back.
"Wanpi is at a disadvantage fighting like this."
Li Fan became worried.
Both were five stars, but Wanpi's behavior showed a complete lack of the Little Fool's fear.
It wasn't strange for Rathalos to have this trait, especially young Rathalos.
But facing the Thousand Blades Dragon, this state was somewhat dangerous.