The night was completely torn apart by the two dragons.
Facing Garros's overwhelming Aura, the Cliff Snake Dragon did not meet it head-on. After taking to the air, its body snapped like a bolt of green lightning, constantly shifting directions as its slender frame traced a complex, zigzagging path through the sky.
However...
In terms of speed and agility, it still could not match Garros.
Garros's body was powerful and thick. At first glance, he seemed heavy and perhaps less agile than the serpentine body of the Cliff Snake Dragon, but his flexibility when turning was incredible. With a sweep of his massive wings, he kicked up howling gales and dense sparks, completing near-ninety-degree turns in an instant.
The silhouettes of the two dragons maneuvered and shifted across the night sky.
The Cliff Snake Dragon soared diagonally toward the high heavens while Garros pursued relentlessly from behind, the distance between them closing rapidly.
Looking back and seeing the Red Iron Dragon's figure drawing closer, the Cliff Snake Dragon let out a hiss. It grew infuriated because it could not shake Garros off and because of his dogged pursuit.
But intuition and instinct told it that the current Garros was very dangerous.
If it couldn't reduce his speed and was hit by this strike, it might be severely wounded in an instant.
Snake Dragons do not fear death, but unless it is the final moment or their anger and hatred have reached an extreme, they will not use the method of a death curse to make a powerful enemy pay the price.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!
The high-temperature steam rising from beneath the Cliff Snake Dragon's scales turned green, transforming into a Toxic Mist. Immediately after, the mist erupting from the gaps in its scales condensed into fine threads in the air, weaving a giant poisonous web behind its body as it twisted and turned.
Garros's pursuit path was blocked layer by layer by the toxic silk.
His body shook, shedding Explosive Scales that glowed red from the extreme friction, and then he exhaled a blast of Flame Dragon Breath.
The Flame Dragon Breath was incredibly powerful, though its area of effect was slightly lacking. However, when the Dragon Breath collided with the Explosive Scales, it triggered a thunderous explosion.
A rain of molten toxic silk fell toward the dense forest on the ground.
The canopies of century-old trees hissed as if doused in strong acid, the resin reacting with the venom to produce thick, black-green smoke.
At the same time, the flames surged and swept outward, tearing a massive gap in the poison web.
Garros tucked in his wings.
His body spun as he passed precisely through the gap, then his wings unfurled as he charged toward the Cliff Snake Dragon once more. However, because of the obstruction from the poison web, his speed had ultimately slowed a bit, and his offensive momentum eased slightly.
The Cliff Snake Dragon took the opportunity to wheel around and charge.
Garros raised his right wing high, like a giant guillotine, slashing toward the Cliff Snake Dragon's body.
Having tasted the lethality of Garros's wings before, the Cliff Snake Dragon did not try to tank the wing slash this time. Its long body curved backward, dodging the right wing.
Just as it prepared to counterattack...
Garros's body suddenly whirled. His left wing swept up, the Wing-rings hanging from the end lighting up, suddenly igniting the left wing with surging flames. It tore through the air with an ear-piercing shriek at an even faster speed, hacking toward the Cliff Snake Dragon's head.
This wing rotation was too fast and too sudden.
The Cliff Snake Dragon's pupils constricted as it hissed, leaning back as far as possible.
Rip!
The wing-blade grazed the Cliff Snake Dragon's neck, shallowly slicing open the fine scales on its throat.
Just a little off.
If he could have cleaved it to death in one go and ended the battle directly, he wouldn't have been stained with too much toxic blood. What a pity; the Snake Dragon's reaction speed was still fast. Being of the Dragonkin, it wasn't something other Vicious Beasts or monsters of the same rank could compare to.
Toxic blood gushed from the Cliff Snake Dragon's throat, landing on Garros's left wing.
Intense pain transmitted instantly, but compared to the first time, it had become a bit more bearable.
Garros's previous actions of using the Cliff Snake Dragon's poison to train his own resistance had indeed added a bit of immunity.
Garros's gaze was cold as his body executed continuous spinning slashes. His pair of wings were like two giant, terrifying blades, whipping up a blade storm that ravaged the Cliff Snake Dragon.
The strongest weapons on his body were undoubtedly these pair of wings, tempered through a thousand refinements.
Facing such a fierce assault from Garros, the Cliff Snake Dragon was completely unable to fight back.
Even with all its concentration, it could only maneuver and dodge under Garros's attacks, and it was unable to avoid all of them.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The vicious wing slashes grazed the Cliff Snake Dragon's body again and again, occasionally accompanied by claws and tail strikes. Amidst the sound of clashing metal, they tore through its scales and flesh, leaving behind a dense network of bloody gashes.
Its body was constantly being wounded.
Yet the Cliff Snake Dragon did not flee in fear; instead, it continued to maneuver against Garros as if it had lost its mind.
In reality, that was not the case. Dragonkin have excellent combat instincts, and this Cliff Snake Dragon was a veteran of many battles who knew how to use its advantages. It was cunning and insidious, not a fledgling lacking combat experience like the Copper Dragon from before.
In terms of direct combat, it was far inferior to Garros.
Its advantage lay in its toxic blood and the Toxic Mist that radiated from its steaming blood.
As the wounds on the Cliff Snake Dragon's body increased, Garros was stained with more toxic blood. Furthermore, green Toxic Mist constantly radiated from the Cliff Snake Dragon. At such close range, Garros was inevitably enveloped by it, suffering the pervasive corrosion of the Toxic Mist.
This Toxic Mist was different from the directness of the toxic blood.
It seemed unremarkable and was very deceptive, but it would gradually accumulate. Once it reached a certain threshold, it would erupt like a mountain torrent.
By the time the target realized it, it was often too late. The poison would destroy their resistance with the force of a landslide, causing them to lose their combat capability.
The Cliff Snake Dragon had once used this to kill Vicious Beasts stronger than itself.
Next...
It would show weakness to the enemy, making this Red Iron Dragon think he could kill it first while secretly accumulating toxins for a sudden eruption. A cruel curve appeared at the corner of the Cliff Snake Dragon's mouth; it had already planned how it would slowly tear apart Garros's scales once he lost the ability to resist due to the poisoning, listening to his wails as it ate his flesh piece by piece.
Rip!
Garros's claws swept across the Cliff Snake Dragon's abdomen, leaving several bloody gashes.
The Cliff Snake Dragon was bleeding all over. The toxic blood that didn't land directly on Garros was evaporated into a Toxic Mist surrounding them. The muscles under its scales were tense as it prepared to continue dodging and maneuvering, accumulating toxins to kill Garros in a counter-strike.
However.
What the Cliff Snake Dragon didn't expect was...
Garros, who seemingly held all the advantages, suddenly spread his wings and soared higher into the air, retreating instead of continuing the hunt.
Higher in the sky, Garros's gaze was calm as he stared quietly at the Cliff Snake Dragon.
His blood didn't boil over because of the battle, and he didn't fight the Cliff Snake Dragon to the death regardless of the cost. Although he was confident he could kill the Cliff Snake Dragon first within a short time, the risk was too great. It would only cause him to take in too much poison; even if he won, he would pay a painful price.
Compared to that...
Garros wanted to deal with this Snake Dragon at a smaller cost.
So, while appearing to have a full advantage, he chose to withdraw. He was not like most young dragons who fought like wild beasts, getting hot-headed and fighting blindly, forgetting that they possessed wisdom and were intelligent creatures.
In this game of slaughter...
Garros adopted a combat strategy of using wisdom to govern strength and retreating to advance.
Harnessing power with wisdom—this was something usually only older dragons could achieve.
"Are you afraid of me? Afraid of death?!"
The Cliff Snake Dragon roared. Covered in wounds, it instead charged toward Garros, but Garros unhurriedly beat his wings to continue widening the distance, no longer engaging it in close quarters.
The Cliff Snake Dragon was not lightly injured, and its sluggish speed was completely unable to keep up with Garros.
It provoked him constantly.
Yet it could never draw Garros's hatred.
Because he frequently struggled against his own negative desires and emotions, Garros had forged a resilient and steady mental will. Provocation tactics did not work on him; he did not lose his composure due to the opponent's taunts.
At this point.
The Cliff Snake Dragon thought Garros wanted to disengage and flee. After finding it couldn't catch up, it turned around in a rage and headed back toward Crescent Moon Valley, wanting to take its anger out on the werewolves just like last time.
However.
Unlike last time.
Garros did not leave.