The news of Li Fan's discovery regarding the egg-laying situation reached Pazhizhi. As she gazed at the swirling cloud vortex in the sky, she immediately grasped the gravity of the situation.
The guild had decided to launch an offensive despite insufficient personnel precisely to prevent the Wind God Dragon and Thunder God Dragon from breeding.
Now, according to Li Fan's deduction, they were in the final stages of reproduction. Once the Thunder God Dragon successfully laid its eggs and used its wind-rolling abilities to scatter them into the clouds, not only would their mission fail completely, but the consequences would be unimaginable.
Pazhizhi ignited a barrel bomb and, using the wind, hurled it upwards with great force.
She then dispatched a lightly armored hunter to scale the cliff face and relay specific information from the top.
The ignited barrel bomb, propelled by the swirling currents, shot out of the giant pit and exploded high in the sky.
The Hunter, the Eternal, and the eight hunter squads on standby saw the red flare explode, signaling an emergency at the bottom of the pit that required full support from above.
The two colossal airships halted their preparations for evacuation and extended towards the surface of the giant pit.
While stabilizing their hulls amidst the swirling updrafts, they adjusted their orientation to prepare for firepower support.
The hunter squads on standby all descended along the mudslide.
Meanwhile, Puxian's engineering unit, finding the city's defensive structures highly similar to those of Feiye Fortress, quickly identified potential repair methods.
However, the signal flare flashing at the top of the pit and the extension of the two colossal airships still caused Puxian some concern.
In a normal combat deployment, Pazhizhi's progress seemed too rapid.
If the Thunder God Dragon were not being held back, a heavy blow from above could potentially shift its target towards the colossal airships.
What Puxian didn't know was that the Thunder God Dragon had no intention of leaving, and time was running out for everyone.
"Attack!"
Pazhizhi, leading seven others, launched an assault on the Thunder God Dragon.
Upon seeing numerous hunters charging towards the center of the pit from various directions, the Thunder God Dragon let out a roar filled with fury.
The reverberating sound waves seemed capable of shattering eardrums.
However, the more enraged the Thunder God Dragon became, the more it confirmed Li Fan's deduction.
Clang! Clang!...
Li Fan, slightly hunched, held his heavy shield in front of him, each step deliberate and firm.
While blocking with a shield was a standard action for a lance user, Li Fan wasn't wielding a lance. Instead, he advanced with both hands on his shield.
The broad shield's surface revealed nothing except his eyes peering through the observation slit.
"I'm back, meow!"
Dilu leaped from behind and hugged Li Fan's neck.
"Dilu, take this shoulder strap. If anyone gets seriously injured, put them in the ball immediately."
Li Fan handed over the strap and continued to advance, shield raised.
Boom! The Thunder God Dragon slammed its left claw into the ground, and a large area of orange light, accompanied by air currents, spread out from beneath.
Continuously injecting energy into the earth as a medium for attack wasn't solely for increasing the updraft's intensity; it indicated an immature application of energy.
Having witnessed the Wind God Dragon's mastery of wind currents, Li Fan found the Thunder God Dragon's techniques to be quite rudimentary.
This was especially true seeing how it had to inject energy into the earth to fuse and utilize both energies.
However, he had no doubts about its power.
Seeing the orange light spread beneath his feet, Li Fan slightly raised his shield and, planting his feet, exerted force to the side.
Swish! Swish!
Li Fan sidestepped twice with his shield, avoiding the ground where energy was surging.
Boom! Boom! Boom!...
Lightning strikes accompanied by swirling air currents exploded continuously.
Li Fan intended to endure the lateral explosions head-on, but the flying rocks and shockwaves striking his armor were too much to bear. He had no choice but to turn and defend with his shield.
Yudora, approaching from the other side, took an unconventional route.
Timing her move with the explosion of the swirling lightning, she used a Wirebug to leap into mid-air.
While somersaulting in the air, she used the rising updraft to gain even more altitude.
Her body extended without hesitation, and she swung her Wyvern Jaw Greatsword behind her, charging it in mid-air.
The Thunder God Dragon, aiming for wide-area damage, didn't pay attention to a particular hunter. It hurled a large lightning orb accompanied by two lightning rings with its right claw.
The massive lightning orb pushed forward along the ground, while the swirling lightning rings expanded as they circled.
Pazhizhi's squad was forced to scatter and evade.
"Ugh!.... Hiyah!"
Yudora, sword and all, slammed into the Thunder God Dragon's jaw.
*Squelch!* A gash appeared, and a small amount of ichor splattered out.
Yudora landed, retracted her sword, and ran quickly.
She surprisingly noticed that the Thunder God Dragon's only reaction was a slight tilt of its head.
It didn't even care about being injured... Right, where was Li Fan? Ah! He's already behind the Thunder God Dragon!
Yudora saw Li Fan's position and hurried to join him.
Clang! Clang!... *Squelch!*
Li Fan, wielding his Diablos Lance and thrusting it upwards diagonally, managed to pierce the Thunder God Dragon's hide after eight consecutive stabs into the gap between two plates of armor.
Yet, even as the lance penetrated deeper, the Thunder God Dragon remained unfazed.
"It's not reacting to the hunters' attacks!"
Yudora ran behind the shield and warned him.
"Perhaps it no longer cares about itself..."
Li Fan could do nothing but continue his assault.
Boom! Boom! Boom!...
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!...
Countless cannonballs and heavy crossbow bolts rained down from high above.
However, with the updraft in the pit intensifying, heavy crossbow bolts could barely break through, and their impact was minimal.
As for the cannonballs, they floated in mid-air before even reaching the ground.
*Crack!*
The Thunder God Dragon released several small currents into the air, detonating the suspended cannonballs one after another, denying them even the chance of a chain reaction.
"It's even calculated the attacks from the colossal airships..."
Li Fan felt that the bottom of this pit was entirely the creature's chosen domain.
The only flaw in the situation was the premature demise of the Wind God Dragon.
Otherwise, with one defending with wind currents and the other attacking with lightning, combining their powers when facing danger would make it impossible to stop their egg-laying in the pit.
*Roar!* A roar echoed.
Li Fan heard it was Brother Lei's roar and moved his shield to observe.
"What is this..."
Li Fan's face showed surprise.
At that moment, Xixi was dragging Brother Lei into the air with her claws.
"Is it a monster fusion technique?"
Yudora speculated.
"Yes. Although Brother Lei is now closer to a Brachydios, he still has lightning resistance, and Xixi is even more so. Therefore, this pair is immune to lightning-based attacks. The swirling lightning explosions that fuse both abilities are a result of the Thunder God Dragon's inexperience, forcing it to inject energy into the ground to condense and release them. But Xixi can carry it off the ground! In that case, the Thunder God Dragon can only resort to physical attacks to resist."
"Does that mean there's a chance to change the Thunder God Dragon's stance?"
Yudora exclaimed with joy.
"Very likely, but it will be a test of Xixi's aerial capabilities, as she isn't particularly outstanding in terms of carrying capacity with her claws or flight control."
Li Fan said with some concern.
Xixi flew in circles, ascending with the swirling updrafts.
Seeing it dragging a Brachydios, the Thunder God Dragon immediately became wary.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!...
Numerous intertwined lightning rings flew towards the sky.
Having to adapt to the air currents while dodging lightning rings put an immense strain on its flight capabilities.
Xixi weaved through the attacks, getting closer and closer. When it was just a hair's breadth from the ventral pouch, it decided to ram through a lightning ring to advance.
*Crack!*
Golden lightning flashed across its emerald carapace.
Xixi paused briefly, then its transparent, crystalline wing membranes flapped again as it dived.
Whoosh! Both its claws released simultaneously.
Brother Lei, falling from above, wrapped his claws around the tail of the Thunder God Dragon's inverted, curved hammer. With a push of his hind legs against the forked, pincer-like tail hammer, he finally climbed to the top and gained a foothold.
The Thunder God Dragon's eyes widened to their limit, appearing somewhat flustered.
*Clack! Clack!*...
*Sizzle!*
The Corrupted Dragon Bugs, being struck down amidst the crisscrossing electrical currents, were now contributing their last reserves of energy to Brother Lei.
Countless red and black electrical arcs converged on Brother Lei's left claw.
"Attack the ventral pouch! It doesn't care about its tail!"
Brother Lei, raising his claw to strike down, heard Li Fan's shout and understood, following the direction of the lance.
However, he was momentarily unsure how to proceed with the attack.
"Do a somersault downwards! Swing your claws!... Dilu, you demonstrate."
Dilu stood on top of the shield and performed a demonstration on the spot.
For a Raging Brachydios, performing a somersault was no difficulty at all, especially when leaping through the mountains.
Brother Lei glanced back, retreated to the tip of the tail, and leaped up with a push of all four claws.
Whoosh! As its body stretched out in mid-air, its claws, imbued with a large amount of dragon element, swiped with full force.
To protect its ventral pouch, the inverted Thunder God Dragon could only twist its body to the side and raise its left claw to block.
*Crack!*
The ventral pouch, continuously emitting golden electrical sparks, turned towards the ground and appeared before Li Fan.
"Hah!"
Li Fan bent his knees slightly, channeling power from his upper body, and thrust the Diablos Lance forward.
*Puff!* The Diablos Lance pierced the ventral pouch, and yellowish-orange fluid spurted out from the breach.
Yudora wasn't sure how long the ventral pouch would remain exposed to the ground. Fearing her charged attack would miss, she opted for a direct smash.
However, before her blade could even strike the bulging surface, several golden electrical currents emanating from the ventral pouch conducted through the sword and into her hand.
*Snap!*
Yudora was sent flying backward. When she got up, golden sparks continuously erupted around her.
"How could this happen?"
Yudora looked at her numb hands and said.
"The lightning attribute in the ventral pouch might be too strong, and it conducted through the sword to you!"
Li Fan, still engaged in his assault, explained.
"I should have used a bone weapon."
Yudora was frustrated that she couldn't attack the exposed weak point.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!...
A barrage of pierce shots rained down, creating a dense shower of sparks on the surface of the ventral pouch.
"Careful!"
Pazhizhi, drawing her Diablos Hammer and bowing her body to the side, warned as she ran over.
She wasn't warning Li Fan about the Thunder God Dragon, but about her own heavy hammer.
"Don't mind me!"
Li Fan retreated with his shield, then changed direction and slammed his heavy shield onto the ground.
While the Diablos Lance could easily pierce the ventral pouch, the hammer was far more potent for burst damage.
Moreover, the attacker was Pazhizhi, a Seven-Star Hunter.
"Hah! Ah!"
Pazhizhi stopped abruptly, swung her Diablos Hammer behind her, and then brought it down with full force.
Hoooom!
The ground struck by the hammer cracked in a spiderweb pattern, radiating outwards from the point of impact.
The ventral pouch, struck by the downward swing, contracted violently under the immense impact.
The Thunder God Dragon quickly inverted itself again.
"It's going to roar!"
Pazhizhi warned, raising her hammer to her side.
As the Thunder God Dragon's massive jaws opened, a roar of sound waves dispersed.
Pazhizhi seized the moment and struck out with her hammer. The faint blue ripples created by the hammer striking the air synchronized with the sound waves, and the two collided, canceling each other out.
The Thunder God Dragon, looking at its severely damaged ventral pouch, had its eyes filled with boundless hatred.
As it raised its tail hammer, numerous purple electrical bolts appeared on the surface of its ventral pouch.
*Sizzle!* Several strip-shaped purple light beams erupted, striking deep into the ground.
Unlike the fleeting golden lightning, the purple beams could not only attack continuously but also change direction, sweeping across the ground in all directions.
Four melee hunters from the guild squad were all hit. Amidst the crisscrossing beams, only Pazhizhi, holding her hammer in a charging stance, continued to advance by weaving through.
"It's no use! It's too much!..."
Clang! Li Fan tried to intervene, but as the light beams swept across his shield, the immense impact sent him flying backward.
Hoo~
Pazhizhi leaped lightly, passing through the gap between two converging beams of light.
Her feet landed on the Thunder God Dragon's right claw, and she climbed up its arm.
Gazing at the ventral pouch spraying purple light beams from above, victory seemed within reach.
She was able to climb and rush at a vertical angle, swing her hammer in mid-air, and maintain her charge without it dissipating midway.
This high-difficulty hammer technique was likely only fluidly executable by a handful of hunters.
And Pazhizhi was one of them.
"I win!"
A smile flickered across Pazhizhi's lips.
However, the next moment, she sensed a gaze fixed upon her and couldn't help but glance down diagonally.
The Thunder God Dragon's cold eyes were locked onto her, moving upwards with her actions.
Impossible! It shouldn't have any more attack methods!
Pazhizhi immediately dismissed any thought of retreating.
*Sizzle! Sizzle!*...
However, at this very moment, the light beams swept across the Thunder God Dragon's body, leaving behind scorched-like marks on its surface.
Facing the converging beams of light, Pazhizhi paused for a moment.
Knowing that evasion was impossible, she simply swung her hammer down with all her might.
"Ah!"
A muffled thud from the hammer strike and a scream rang out simultaneously. Pazhizhi fell to the ground.
"I'll go get her!"
Yudora said, darting out from behind her shield.
The Thunder God Dragon hovered upside down for a moment, then stretched its entire body out and landed on the ground, arching its back.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
After burying both its claws and tail hammer into the ground, the Thunder God Dragon, as if still not satisfied, injected a large amount of wind current into the ground, causing itself to sink even deeper.
Boom!...
Feeling the high-frequency tremors from beneath her feet and the orange-yellow light gradually covering the ground, Li Fan realized there were no safe areas left.
Whoosh! Clang!
Seeing a giant rock float up from the ground, Li Fan quickly shot out a wire and swung himself to the top of the boulder.
Yudora, carrying Pazhizhi, also found a nearby floating rock.
"What kind of move is this, meow?"
Dilu asked fearfully.
"I don't know, but I doubt we can block a iaijutsu strike."
Li Fan sighed.