The Broken Spine Hills were shrouded in gunpowder smoke and flames.
Garros used seven rounds of bombardment to tear through the Ogres' defensive line, leaving groups of Ogre Warriors and several warlocks heavily injured or depleted of energy, having already lost their combat effectiveness.
When the smoke and dust dissipated.
Only Gluttony Demon Karu of the entire Bone-Chewing Clan still stood tall in the center of the ruins.
This monster was covered in Explosive Scales fragments, his iron-like skin cracked with spider-web-like scorch marks, and his abdomen was highly distended like a giant ball.
Garros shot the last of the Explosive Scales on his body toward the Gluttony Demon.
He raised his arms to block in front of him.
Boom, boom, boom!
Explosions erupted, and the Gluttony Demon staggered back a few steps. More scorch marks appeared on his body, and his arms were a bloody mess.
Despite being at a disadvantage.
Gluttony Demon Karu showed no fear.
He raised his head, his gaze sizing up Garros circling in the sky, and said, "Dragon, you've run out of those exploding scales on your body, yet I still stand upon the earth."
He sneered and said provocatively, "If you have the guts, land on the ground and fight me in melee. Let me feel just how strong you really are."
"A weak Dragonkin who only shows off by relying on the advantages of flight and speed will never earn my recognition, even if you win."
In Gluttony Demon Karu's eyes.
Garros was a dragon who specialized in speed, flight, and long-range attacks.
Such a clever way of fighting was not recognized by Ogres, who worshipped strength and loved melee combat. Even if he lost, he wouldn't follow; only by being struck down from the front with absolute power could one earn his respect and awe.
"Your words expose your stupidity."
"However, to make you realize the vast gap between us, I shall grant your wish."
Garros grinned. His scales, now stripped of the Explosive Scales, gleamed like top-grade obsidian in the night, with lava-like patterns crisscrossing them, shining brightly.
He folded his wings and dove downward.
This time, when Garros descended to about three hundred meters above the ground, he didn't turn to climb back up but continued to charge straight toward Gluttony Demon Karu, his spread wings cutting through the night.
Facing the rapidly approaching dragon, Karu stepped forward and roared with his head held high.
Earthworm-like blood vessels bulged under his iron-colored skin, and his bursting muscles forcibly ejected the scale fragments from his body.
When Garros's dive trajectory entered the hundred-meter range, Karu suddenly opened his massive mouth.
Instead of another roar, he spat out a highly compressed projectile.
Boom!
A giant sphere formed from a large number of scale fragments mixed with flames and stomach acid erupted from Karu's mouth. Carrying destructive power, it shot toward Garros at extreme speed.
This rough-looking Gluttony Demon was quite quick-witted in battle and even knew how to pull off a sneak attack.
He had previously acted as if he only wanted a melee fight, but when Garros flew toward him, he suddenly used a powerful long-range attack.
Garros's expression remained unchanged.
His six Crystal Bones burst with blinding dark-red flames, and he changed direction in an instant.
The mixed sphere flew past, nearly brushing his body, and hit the hillside behind him, blasting a huge crater and shaking the ground.
The Gluttony Demon began charging toward the dragon.
Every step this six-meter-tall monster took left a bowl-sized footprint on the scorched earth, and his iron-like fists tore through the air with a muffled, thunderous bang.
Garros did not dodge.
He lowered his altitude close to the ground, shifted his center of gravity, and the muscles in his right forelimb tightened like steel cables as his dragon claws met the attack.
Bang!
The shockwave from the collision of two forces of brute strength sent pebbles flying for dozens of meters around.
Karu's finger bones made an overburdened cracking sound.
His body felt as if it had been hit by a train; he was pushed back rapidly by Garros, his legs carving two deep furrows into the ground.
His arms clamped around Garros's dragon claws.
Karu let out a roar, his right leg kicking the ground hard while he turned and straightened his back. He was actually trying to use Garros's unstoppable momentum to perform an over-the-shoulder throw, hoping to toss Garros away.
However, under the massive disparity in strength.
It was ineffective.
The power coming from Garros's claws was beyond the Gluttony Demon's imagination.
He failed to throw Garros; instead, Garros lifted his claw and swung it violently, sending Karu's sturdy body flying like a ragdoll.
Crack!
Garros spun his body, his dragon tail whistling as it lashed against the Gluttony Demon.
He was sent flying like a cannonball, rolling continuously across the ground and plowing a furrow several hundred meters long. Along the way, he knocked aside Ogres who couldn't dodge in time like bowling pins, finally stopping only after smashing into a thick mountain rock.
Garros approached at a leisurely pace.
His muscles were so strong that their outlines were clearly visible even under his thick dragon scales.
The Gluttony Demon thought Garros was strong at long-range.
This was a misjudgment.
Garros was strong in melee; for him, long-range air-to-ground bombardment was just a simple way to wear down an opponent.
Day and night of training and evolution had made his strength so great that even Red Dragons of the same level couldn't hope to match him. This powerful body was not just for show.
The elite warriors were already unable to get back up after the previous bombardment.
Garros landed on the ground, but none of the surrounding ordinary Ogres dared to approach and interfere. They all scattered, leaving the field to Garros and the Gluttony Demon.
A tower-like dark shadow suddenly leaped from the murky smoke and dust.
Before Garros could get close, the Gluttony Demon roared and sprinted toward him with long strides. His broad-shouldered, thick-waisted body gradually contracted, veins bulged, and blood vessels glowed red as his entire physique became leaner and more powerful.
Bang!
Dragon claws and the Gluttony Demon's fist collided head-on.
The Gluttony Demon's arm trembled, the skin on it splitting. He then gritted his teeth and viciously swung his head in a headbutt toward the dragon's head.
Garros didn't dodge; he lowered his head and slammed into him.
Clang!
In the crisp sound like clashing metal.
The horns on the Gluttony Demon's head rubbed against Garros's faceplate, sending sparks flying but leaving only shallow marks.
His own iron-armor-like skin was torn by the spines on Garros's dragon face, and deep bloody gashes were left where the dragon horns had grazed him.
A dragon's faceplate consists of small scales and isn't particularly hard.
But that's for ordinary dragons.
In Garros's daily training, one exercise involved using his head and faceplate to strike hard metallic Ores. He had long since developed a thick and hard faceplate and skin.
With his face covered in blood, his head spun.
The Gluttony Demon staggered back from Garros's headbutt.
Garros raised a dragon wing.
The sharp wing bones, like hay cutters, landed on the Gluttony Demon's chest. Colliding with that iron-like skin, they tore through skin and flesh amidst a shower of sparks, leaving a terrifying horizontal wound.
The Gluttony Demon roared in anger.
Stimulated by the pain, he continued to charge toward Garros.
But before he could get close, that long, thick tail covered in blade-like dragon scales came sweeping toward him.
Thump!
The Gluttony Demon was sent flying by the tail strike, his body now covered in dense cutting wounds.
He had just stood up when Garros's figure vanished from his sight. He only felt the surrounding light suddenly dim, as if something had blocked the moonlight.
Wind pressure descended from the sky.
Garros circled briefly in the air, the Wings of the Heavenly Comet spewing streams of flame as he accelerated his dive, his body crashing down toward the Gluttony Demon like a meteorite.
Boom!
The ground collapsed into a massive crater, with countless rocks and soil shattered into pieces.
With Garros treading on his chest, the Gluttony Demon's iron-hard body was deeply embedded into the bottom of the crater.
After the evolution of his wings was complete, even if the altitude was insufficient and he hadn't built up momentum through long-distance flight, Garros could still use instantaneous acceleration to significantly increase the power of his charges, wing slashes, and other attacks.