The downward strike would infuse the ground with swirling wind currents, causing powerful updrafts to erupt in the attacked area, blowing people into mid-air with a whoosh...
Recalling the intelligence Li Fan had provided, Eudora felt she had spotted an opportunity to attack.
But first, she had to evade the tail hammer strike.
Eudora tilted her head back to watch the Wind God Dragon while quickly running forward.
The Wind God Dragon, which had been circling in the air, suddenly stretched its body, and its tail hammer, equipped with air sacs, descended with a smash.
*Bang!* Earth and stone shattered, and the tail hammer plunged deep into the ground.
Eudora, who had dodged by leaping, got up and stared at the Great Sword floating in the sky. She flung her wirebug, leaned back, and pulled with all her might.
Ascend, grab the Great Sword, adjust posture, charge slash...
Countless details of the action played out in Eudora's mind.
*Crack!* Azure blue currents spread rapidly beneath the ground, and network-like cracks appeared on the surface.
Sensing the vibrations from beneath her feet, Eudora continued to pull harder, and her feet sank into the ground.
*Boom!* Another burst of azure blue energy erupted from the ground.
This time, more swirling wind currents were injected, and with the surface soil and stones already stripped away and blown off, numerous massive rock blocks from the depths of the earth slowly rose into the air.
*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*....
As Eudora ascended, spinning, she watched the world around her constantly flip. Suddenly, she realized something was wrong.
The Wind God Dragon's tail hammer strike this time injected swirling wind currents into the ground that not only rose but also rotated.
It's fine! I have a Tremor Resistance Jewel.... *Gag*...
A wave of nausea washed over her, which Eudora suppressed with great effort.
At this moment, Li Fan was suspended high in the air, holding his Iron Tower Greatshield towards the ground to defend against the impact of various objects spiraling upwards.
In his vision, everything outside the pass was rapidly ascending.
Exposed rock blocks, like sugar cubes from underground, floated up, carried by the updrafts.
Li Fan looked up and saw the sky filled with accumulated dark clouds.
As he looked down to observe, a familiar figure was drifting up from below.
"It's Chief Puxian, meow!"
Dielu reminded him.
Li Fan flung his wirebug, latching onto the other's ankle.
Puxian, with blood on his forehead, was quickly dragged over.
"Uh... it's the Lead Hunter. Thank you. Why are there so many Felynes in this shield?"
Puxian asked in surprise.
"I dragged you in with my wirebug. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. There's not much time. It's going to use the wind to lift things and attack the castle walls. I need to get to the top of the walls quickly to guide the Dragonator."
Puxian said, looking below.
"Alright, you grab the wire with both hands, and I'll send you over."
Li Fan finished speaking, and Dielu used its membranes to ride the wind, quickly sending the shield to the edge.
With a swing of the taut wire in his hand, he flung it downwards.
After Puxian descended diagonally, he flung two more wirebugs downwards.
Upon reaching the top of the castle wall, the swirling updraft immediately weakened, and Puxian successfully broke free.
At this moment, the sky looked like a ring of shattered rocks scattered throughout the universe. Some lighter sand and gravel particles swirled upwards towards the clouds.
Heavier objects like cannonballs, tree trunks, and ballista bolts hovered at high altitudes.
Giant rock blocks, the heads of Dragonators, and single gate panels began to converge above the Wind God Dragon's body, slowly rotating.
"The Dragonator's cannonballs are too heavy, so it can only be fired indirectly. Is the Wind God Dragon doing this because it suffered a loss before and wants to defend against it this way?"
Just as Li Fan noticed the anomaly, the Wind God Dragon curled its body and flipped in the air.
The swirling wind stopped, and apart from the gentle updraft still blowing, all the azure blue currents surged backward, converging into a transparent blue membrane.
As the membrane continuously bulged and expanded, the entire third pass was enveloped.
"Have you found Eudora?"
"She's below, meow!"
Li Fan looked where the cat paw pointed and saw Eudora suspended in mid-air with her wirebug. He shouted, "Hold on tight, everyone!"
*Whoosh!* The wirebug was pulled downwards.
Before adjusting the crank wheel to aim the Dragonator, the village defense captain asked desperately, "Village Chief, are we still firing?"
The protective layer gathered above the Wind God Dragon's body was clearly meant to defend against the Dragonator.
If they fired now, it wouldn't be very effective.
But if they didn't fire, they might never get another chance.
"It won't end here... We'll endure this attack, and the village of Hinomoto will still have a chance..."
Puxian murmured, not so much as a reply to the village defense captain as an attempt to persuade himself.
Realizing that as the combat commander, he could not falter first, Puxian decisively made his decision: "All personnel evacuate the city walls! Wait for the gong to assemble!"
The cannons and ballista turrets immediately ceased firing. The hunters quickly folded their heavy ballistas and slung them onto their backs.
The ranged troops on the city walls rapidly retreated.
The four corners of the transparent blue membrane extended outwards, gradually showing white cracks.
Surging air currents poured out from the gaps, and soon the membrane, stretched to its limit, shattered completely.
A massive white shockwave, carrying all the floating objects in the air, plunged diagonally towards the city walls of the third pass.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*...
Giant rock blocks crashed in, and stone bricks scattered like debris.
The Dragonator head rolled over the top of the city wall after impact, knocking away and destroying numerous heavy ballista turrets and cannons.
The white shockwave surged forward, and then disappeared just as quickly.
After only a dozen seconds, the top of the city wall returned to calm.
*Clang! Crash!*
Several metal fragments and broken stone bricks slid off the shield's surface, which was slightly tilted back and embedded in the wall's passage.
Several Felyne heads peeked out from behind the shield, warily observing the situation.
"Lead Hunter! Thank you for saving the rescue team!"
A Felyne with brown and white fur thanked them.
"Hoo... hoo... You're welcome."
Li Fan, panting heavily, waved his hand and then reminded them, "There should be many injured after this attack. You should start your operations as soon as possible."
"Don't worry, meow. Even without carts, we can carry the injured away. Everyone! Let's get to work!"
Eight Felynes ran out from behind the shield and began searching for the injured.
Li Fan observed the Wind God Dragon and noticed that after enduring so many attacks, its condition was not good.
Not only was its body shaking constantly as it floated, but the wind sacs on its left claw were also completely destroyed.
"Where's my Great Sword..."
Eudora stood up, leaning on the edge of the shield, blood flowing from her hair down her face.
"Eudora, let's treat your wounds first, meow."
Dielu opened her backpack, took out a Honeycomb, and pierced its sac. Green powder immediately scattered around them.
Because it could be directly absorbed through the skin and respiration, the healing effect was particularly rapid.
With her injuries suppressed, Eudora looked left and right at the damaged top of the city wall. Less than ten heavy weapons remained usable.
She asked incredulously, "Did we lose?"
Li Fan glanced at the moonlight reflecting on his feet, then at the sky, and calmly replied, "Not yet."
*Clang!* The twisted and dented metal wall in front of the Dragonator turret was pushed over from the inside.
Puxian rushed out, observed the Wind God Dragon's distance, and noted that only the internal swirling currents were still active.
He righted the gong that had fallen to the ground. Unable to find a drumstick, he picked up a broken ballista bolt and struck the gong heavily with both hands.
*Gong!* The loud sound of the gong echoed throughout the Verdant Leaf Fortress.
"Counterattack! Prepare the Dragonator!"
As Puxian's shout was relayed along the city walls, many members of the village defense force and hunters returned to the top of the walls.
The Wind God Dragon attempted to use its currents to lift a Dragonator head as a projectile, but the internal currents couldn't reach it, so it had to move forward.
*Bang!* The Wind God Dragon placed its left claw on the city wall, and the Dragonator head, deeply embedded in the rock layer, began to be slowly pulled from the ground by the currents.
"Can't fire yet!"
Puxian called out as he watched the Wind God Dragon's movements.
"The Wind God Dragon has moved forward! The previous attack caused the turret to shift! We need to readjust the firing position!"
The village defense captain, busy with the engineering troops, shouted back.
Puxian turned his head, looked at the Wind God Dragon's claw resting on the city wall, drew his Greatsword, and charged forward.
"All out! We must not let the Wind God Dragon attack the city walls again!"
"Li Fan, aren't we going?"
Eudora asked anxiously, seeing Li Fan still looking at his handheld device.
"I have a better plan."
After tapping the screen, Li Fan looked up at the circular cloud hole formed by the updraft entering the clouds.
Eudora saw a red light flash from within, as if she understood something.
Above the clouds, Hui Hui, who had been flying at low speed, suddenly accelerated to maximum with a burst of red flame.
Unlike its usual high-speed flight, Hui Hui's wing-like arms were not fully retracted; the middle wing bones on both sides were extended outwards.
The extended parts were blade-shaped, and due to the intense friction with the air, they quickly turned from slightly red to fiery red.
Hui Hui decelerated and spun, extending one wing-like arm. With the sharpest part of its wingtip, it struck the root of the protruding part on the other side.
*Clang!* *Clang!* *Clang!*...
The root of the high-temperature, softened blade-shaped carapace quickly cracked.
After a brief hover, Hui Hui's wing-like arm erupted with six red flames, shooting straight into the sky.
After ascending to a sufficient height, its body suddenly reversed.
At this moment, the cloud hole above the third pass was just a small black dot in the dark clouds.
Hui Hui hovered, its vertical pupils contracting as it observed. After completing its aim and lock, it unleashed red flames and charged downwards.
The protruding blade-shaped carapace softened again with heat, and as the entire carapace turned fiery red, the cracks at its root continued to extend.
*Screech!*
Hui Hui's wing-like arm continued to propel forward with flames, while the other wing-like arm unfolded and rotated.
*Whoosh!* The blade-shaped carapace detached from the wing bone and, with the swirling air currents, shot directly towards the ground.
After the other blade-shaped carapace was launched in the same manner, Hui Hui immediately reduced its propulsion and began to decelerate with all its might.
On top of the city wall, the Dragonator head had floated up from the ground.
The Wind God Dragon sensed an attack on its front claw and began to gather air in its mouth, intending to sweep the top of the city wall with its gale breath.
At this moment, two red lights, one in front and one behind, fell into the cloud hole.
The Wind God Dragon suddenly felt something, but just as it tried to look up.
It saw a flash of red light, and then its left front claw, resting on the top of the city wall, was completely pierced by a blade-shaped carapace.
*Boom!*
The Wind God Dragon's body lowered, and its left front claw, under the immense impact, scraped a claw mark along the surface of the city wall and was pinned to the ground.
The other blade-shaped carapace, originally aimed at the right claw, was deflected by the Wind God Dragon's body as it was attacked.
This carapace ended up piercing its back, sticking out deeply.
*Crackling!*
Dragon-elemental red and black lightning surged outwards.
Many people on top of the city wall stared blankly at the cloud hole, completely confused about what had happened.
"Dragonator ready! But it will affect the city wall top! Please evacuate immediately!"
A report came from the village defense captain below the turret.
Puxian, standing by the firing lever, watched the evacuation situation while gripping the lever tightly.
Seeing that everyone had evacuated from the edge of the city wall, Puxian pushed the lever forward with all his might.
*Hum... Hum...*
The giant cannon barrel, angled towards the sky, emitted a low rumble, like a suppressed growl, making people feel extremely oppressed.
*Boom!* Fire and thick smoke erupted from the cannon's muzzle.
A massive spherical black projectile flew out, tracing a short curve in the sky before immediately beginning to descend.
Li Fan was quite curious about what the Dragonator's explosion would look like.
However, due to the proximity of the explosion, even after retreating to the mountains behind the city wall and leaning against the rock face to brace for the impact and ensure their safety, they couldn't see it with their own eyes.
*Boom! Hum!*...
While the scale of the explosion's firelight couldn't be seen, the flying sand and rocks dispersed by the shockwave, along with the intense tremors, allowed them to judge the terrifying power of the explosion.
As the wind and sand gradually dissipated, the team rushed out to observe the situation.
At this time, the outer edge area of the third pass city wall had completely disappeared.
Heatwaves and firelight covered the top of the city wall.
Before the team could even reach the edge, an updraft emerged, and a Dragonator head suddenly rose.
*Bang! Bang!*
The Wind God Dragon, with its cracked front claws, placed them on the top of the city wall and began to try to climb over the wall.
"This Wind God Dragon is too resilient."
Eudora said incredulously.
"Don't be careless. Even Elder Dragons are formidable with just their physical strength."
Li Fan felt that the city defense forces had a significant advantage at this moment, as long as they didn't get swept away by the Wind God Dragon's breath and wiped out.
"Let me pass... I will bestow upon you a fortunate kin..."
Who was speaking? Li Fan looked curiously at Dielu.
"I'm ready, meow!"
Dielu raised its paw and responded agilely.
Huh? This time it was really telepathy!
Li Fan looked at the Wind God Dragon, whose eyes were fixed on him.
"I will bestow upon you a fortunate kin... You have a way... to help me..."
The voice in his mind reappeared.
"I don't believe in metaphysics, so cut the act!"
Li Fan retorted, earning curious glances from Eudora and Dielu.
"You shouldn't have come... Neither should we..."
A faint voice, as if a sigh.
"All units attack!"
Puxian shouted and charged forward. However, after only a few steps, the wound on his shoulder suddenly split open, and blood gushed out uncontrollably.
After forcing himself forward a few more steps, seeing that he was truly unable to participate in the battle, he took off his Greatsword.
"Li Fan! Catch!"
Puxian said, throwing the precious sword.
"It's in your hands!"
*Clatter!* The precious sword slid across the ground, coming to rest at Li Fan's feet.
Li Fan slammed his Iron Tower Greatshield to the ground to prop it up, turned around, and picked up the precious sword.