A crisp crack echoed.
The crystalline wall, already webbed with cracks, widened and fractured further under the impact of the cutting beam.
It’s working! It can be done!
Hope surged within Li Fan.
The Valstrax rotated its wing-blades, attempting to propel itself upwards with a blast of crimson flame.
However, with the dragon energy synthesis interrupted, only compressed air was expelled.
Failing to take flight, the Valstrax braced itself on its left forelimb, extending its right forelimb to try and block.
The aerial Zinogre, circling above, saw this and attempted to dive down to prevent the Valstrax from rising.
“No!”
Li Fan quickly intervened.
A stable orientation and position were crucial for the Pafff’s cutting beam to maintain its precise targeting.
Except for primal instinct, it was difficult for monsters of such immense size and combat style to develop highly accurate long-range attacks.
The fact that Pafff could continuously strike the dragon energy orb despite the Valstrax’s struggling and shifting body was already an extreme mastery of precision among monsters.
If the Valstrax’s body were to shift or its orientation change now, Pafff’s attack might not miss, but continuously locking onto the dragon energy orb would become unlikely.
“It’s time…”
Li Fan murmured, then hurled an Adaptability Ball with great force towards the Valstrax.
The Adaptability Ball landed and opened, revealing a Zuzu.
Zuzu looked up at the clear blue sky devoid of clouds, then down at the dim, dark ground.
“Zuzu! Use Frost Storm quickly!”
Li Fan shouted repeatedly, pointing behind him as he ran towards it.
Zuzu turned its head and saw the Valstrax lying on its side behind it, startling it.
Zuzu had participated in some of the Elder Dragon adaptation training, but since it wasn’t explicitly told it would be fighting, it hadn’t prepared extensively.
Seeing Pafff’s cutting beam shooting towards them again, it had assumed they were in combat training.
Its amber eyes scanned the Valstrax’s entire body, and combined with Pafff’s attack location, Zuzu quickly reached a conclusion.
Li Fan wanted it to restrict the Valstrax’s movement without allowing it to shift its position significantly; Frost Storm was indeed the best choice.
*Hoo~* Zuzu took a deep breath of the thin air at the tower’s summit, and as it exhaled, a chilling coldness spread out.
The frost mass rapidly gathered. Zuzu raised its upper body and swung its wings forward powerfully.
The airflow surged, and the swirling frost mass transformed into a storm, surging towards the Valstrax as it expanded.
*Swish! Swish!*…
Countless sharp ice shards struck its armor, producing a dense thudding sound.
Its right forelimb, attempting to block, seemed to freeze as frost continuously accumulated and condensed.
Zuzu intended to launch another attack when it suddenly heard Li Fan’s shout: “Return, Zuzu!”
It then returned to the ball, somewhat bewildered.
“This kind of fight is still too early for you. Now it’s my turn.”
Li Fan said, drawing the Dragon Slaying Greatsword from his back.
*Crack!* The cracks in the crystalline wall extended across its entire surface.
*Crash!* With a sound like shattering glass, countless crystal-clear fragments scattered in an explosion.
Li Fan took half a step back, slightly shifting his body to the left, aiming at the Valstrax’s chest.
He unleashed the first stance of the Spirit Blade Slash.
The edge, enveloped by spirit energy, precisely grazed the surface of the crimson dragon energy orb.
A blinding crimson light flashed.
*Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!*…
Black dragon energy surged uncontrollably across the Valstrax’s body, quickly turning red.
Li Fan quickly retreated upon seeing this.
The cutting beam stopped. Pafff, with its hind legs almost suspended, coughed dryly.
This was the longest and most precise cutting beam Pafff had ever unleashed in its life.
*Boom!* The detached dragon energy detonated violently, sending black smoke billowing.
The Zinogre dove down, flapping its wings to disperse the smoke.
On the small airship, Eudora poked her neck out, tilting her head to gaze at the tower top, which was no longer visible.
Seeing Xick approaching with a modified flying bomb barrel, Eudora tentatively asked, “Can’t we throw this later?”
“I understand how you feel, meow, but at this height, if we don’t signal the ground soon, the detonation of the Sky-Piercing Tower might be delayed.”
Xick replied with a helpless tone.
“What if… they succeed?”
Eudora inquired.
“Them? You mean Li Fan and Dilu, meow?”
Xick confirmed.
“Yes, them.”
“Hmm… that possibility is too low, meow. Although we haven’t observed it, at this time, I estimate they’ve likely already used their gliders to retreat from the tower top.”
Xick offered his speculation.
“I hope so.”
Eudora sighed, gripping the railing with both hands.
Xick ignited the flying bomb barrel, pointing its bottom nozzle upwards, and extended his cat paw over the railing.
As his paw released, the inverted flying bomb barrel, propelled by its jets, plunged towards the sea of clouds below.
At the summit of the Sky-Piercing Tower.
*Hoo~ Hoo~ Boom! Hoo~ Hoo~ Boom!*…
Within the thick black mist, the Valstrax’s roars of intake and energy accumulation could be heard.
“Ah! Did they fail, meow…”
Dilu, seeing the blurry figure still standing in the smoke, covered her head with her paws, looking incredulous.
“Dilu, the team didn’t fail. We won.”
Li Fan responded, gazing at the black smoke.
The Valstrax’s front half emerged from the smoke.
Within its chest, where air and dragon-elemental energy converged, the damaged dragon energy orb had turned dark red.
Every time a small amount of dragon energy was generated, it immediately exploded.
Clearly, its ability to synthesize dragon energy was lost, and its control over it seemed to be out of control as well.
“Huihui, don’t push yourself too hard. Otherwise, when you land, you’ll bid farewell to the sky forever.”
Li Fan said, taking out a Master Ball.
The Valstrax was unconcerned, bracing itself on its four paws, continuing to inhale and accumulate energy.
Li Fan helplessly threw the Master Ball. It opened and landed in front of the Valstrax, but there was no reaction.
Even this severely injured, the Master Ball’s capture attempt was still ineffective…
At this moment, Li Fan noticed that although each dragon energy synthesis ended in an explosion, a small amount of dragon energy was still being produced simultaneously with the crimson flame bursts.
Still persisting in generating dragon energy?
Just as Li Fan was feeling bewildered, he looked up and saw the Valstrax’s indifferent gaze.
It wants to kill me!
Li Fan’s heart trembled as he felt the killing intent.
As for the reason, he speculated that the Valstrax might have sensed that he was the one orchestrating this battle.
*Beep! Beep! Beep!*…
The 10-minute countdown set on the handheld device suddenly sounded.
Below the Sky-Piercing Tower.
Shortly after a flying bomb barrel passed through the gray clouds, a burst of seven-colored light exploded in the sky.
On a distant hilltop, Vega, who had been watching the clouds, lowered her binoculars.
“The civilization that built this tower must have possessed incredibly advanced technology, right?”
Vega exclaimed.
“If you feel guilty, then I’ll give the order.”
Zuda, standing beside her, said, taking a signal flare gun from his pocket.
“I’m not that pedantic. It’s just a pity that the research time was too short, and we have to destroy it before understanding its purpose.”
Vega said, raising the signal flare gun towards the sky.
“The Forgotten Peaks have never seen any Elder Dragons other than the Valstrax. Perhaps this is the meaning behind that once-flourishing civilization building the Sky-Piercing Tower,”
Zuda said leisurely, gazing at the Sky-Piercing Tower that pierced the clouds.
A shrill cry, a fusion of a steam whistle and bird song, erupted from the tower top.
“What did Huihui say, meow?”
“He said… Die!”
“Ah! What do we do, meow!”
Dilu exclaimed.
The Sky-Piercing Tower was about to be blown apart from the ground, the main combat force of the team was severely injured, and Pafff, Zinogre, and Xixi, who still had some strength, were completely incapable of forming an effective fighting force at this moment.
“Dilu! Go rendezvous with Zinogre, retrieve Pafff and Xixi, and evacuate the team immediately!”
Li Fan said, unbuckling the strap laden with Poké Balls.
After a moment of thought, he took out a Master Ball from it, tucked it into his chest armor, and then handed the strap to Dilu.
“This is the only way, meow! … Ah! What about you?”
Dilu suddenly realized that Li Fan himself was not included in the evacuation.
“In this environment, if Huihui wants to kill a human with the remaining dragon energy in its body, it will definitely use that move. This is my last chance to capture it.”
“But… the Sky-Piercing Tower is about to be destroyed, meow!”
Dilu pleaded.
“It’s alright. As long as Zinogre isn’t affected, even if the entire Sky-Piercing Tower is destroyed, it can save me as I fall. Besides, I have a glider!”
“No, meow…”
Two tears rolled down Dilu’s eyes.
“Trust me, Dilu! Your duty now is to cooperate with Zinogre and lead Xixi and Pafff to safety.”
A moment later, Dilu closed her eyes, nodded, and turned to wave her cat paw towards the sky.
*Click!* Li Fan unlocked the Dragon Slaying Bracer on his left forearm and pulled out a dented, rectangular metal box from his lower back.
He pried the box open forcefully, revealing a Feraligatr Bracer with white fur.
He tossed the single Dragon Slaying Bracer to Dilu, and after donning the Feraligatr Bracer, Li Fan charged rapidly towards the Valstrax.
Dilu rode on Zinogre’s neck and took to the air.
“Xixi, get in the ball quickly, meow!”
Dilu called out.
Xixi let out a reluctant cry, but seeing that the situation was irreversible, it could only fly towards Zinogre and soon transformed into a white light, entering the Master Ball held by the cat paw.
As Pafff was being retrieved, Li Fan had already reached the Valstrax.
The Valstrax immediately stopped inhaling and accumulating energy, and flames mixed with red and black erupted from behind its wing-blades.
Its forelimbs slammed forcefully onto the ground, and its upper body rose, aiming towards the sky.
*Bang!* The airwaves dispersed, and the Valstrax shot straight into the sky.
Above the boundless sea of pure white clouds, the Sky-Piercing Tower rapidly shrank. When it was reduced to a mere black dot, and the azure dome above turned black.
The Valstrax changed its upward diagonal trajectory and began to spiral at high speed.
*Hoo!* The tips of its wing-blades, slicing through the air, glowed faintly red.
*Boom!* A sonic boom exploded.
The scorching airflow washing over its body gradually detached from its armor, rising outwards.
The Valstrax straightened its neck, its vertical pupils slightly lowered and rapidly contracting.
A moment later, its vertical pupils darted restlessly within its eyes, as if filled with horror.
The rapidly spiraling Valstrax scanned every inch of the Sky-Piercing Tower’s exposed surface above the clouds, but it could not lock onto the human hunter.
He’s gone!
In its surprise, the Valstrax suddenly felt a pulling sensation on its forelimb arms.
While minimizing disruption to its aerodynamic shape, the Valstrax slowly lowered its head to investigate.
It discovered three orange threads wrapped around each of its forelimb arms.
The ends of these taut threads were connected to its back.
He’s on my back!
The Valstrax almost stopped thinking.
It simply couldn’t comprehend how such a weak creature could fly with it on its back.
Li Fan, his hands clenched around the insect threads, his feet braced against the bulging carapace, was pulling backward with all his might.
His entire armor was glowing orange-red!
His item pouch, portable glider, sword sheath strap, and even the belt holding his hunter’s knife had all been incinerated.
“Rathalos! Please manifest quickly!”
Li Fan, feeling as if he were being roasted by the scorching airflow, cried out.
The heat immunity marked on his meal’s recipe had provided some protection when the Valstrax hadn’t yet accelerated to its limit.
Combined with the Dragon Slaying equipment with half a high heat resistance, and the extremely fire-resistant Spider Chestplate,
Li Fan could even feel a hint of coolness.
But as it accelerated, the continuously rising temperature had rendered all heat resistance useless.
Li Fan could only place his hope on the Rathalos tail he had eaten for his meal.
After all, it was an Elder Dragon ingredient, and testing its true effectiveness was impossible.
He had eaten it all up after just a few test preparations.
*Hoo~* A ball of fire erupted from his chest armor.
Li Fan thought it was over, but in the next instant, he realized that his chest, which was on fire, didn’t feel as hot.
What principle was this?
*Hoo~ Hoo~*
Orange flames ignited on Li Fan’s various body parts in succession.
But he felt no discomfort. Instead, the burning sensation from the scorching airflow was rapidly diminishing.
*Whoosh!* The Valstrax sharply turned downwards, its body plummeting diagonally.
To avoid being thrown off, Li Fan leaned forward, wrapping the three converging insect threads around his wrist twice.
Thus, together with the Valstrax, which had transformed into a crimson shooting star, they crashed towards the top of the Sky-Piercing Tower.
*Boom!* The sky turned red!
The scarred Hekstone platform was once again shattered and leveled.
As the smoke cleared, in the center of the Hekstone platform, with its red veins flashing, the Valstrax lay in a deep pit.
After several attempts to rise, it still couldn’t stand.
*Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!*…
Above the platform, the Wirebugs, emitting wisps of smoke from their bodies and flying erratically, finally gave out and stopped flapping their wings.
*Crack! Crash!*
Li Fan fell from a high altitude onto the platform.
*Hoo~ Hoo~*
He lay on the ground, panting heavily, each breath carrying hot air.
As the man and the dragon made eye contact, both wanted to get up first, but after trying for a long time, neither could.
*Creeeak!* With a crisp sound.
The Hekstone platform suddenly tilted to one side.
Li Fan, along with the Valstrax, slid off, tumbling into the air from the edge.
The Valstrax didn’t rush to adjust its posture, but looked at the tilting and collapsing Sky-Piercing Tower with confusion in its eyes.
Its nest, which had accompanied it for who knows how many years, was destroyed today.
*Boom! Thump-thump!*
The Valstrax attempted to blast crimson flames again, but only sparks and black smoke emerged from its nozzle.
Seeing that its remaining dragon energy was also depleted, Li Fan, who was also falling rapidly, reached into his Spider Chestplate and rummaged around.
Soon, he took out a blue crystal and a black and white Poké Ball.
*Screech!* The Valstrax rotated its wing-blades, warily watching Li Fan.
Li Fan said nothing, but with all his might, he swung and threw the blue crystal.
*Crack!*
The Dragonite Crystal struck the silver carapace, shattering and scattering countless blue starlight.
These blue starlight quickly turned into mist and flowed into the silver carapace.
*Hoo… Hoo… Hoo!*
A stream of ethereal blue flames erupted, its dazzling brilliance illuminating both the man and the dragon in blue.
“I’ll take you to become the Azure Star.”
Li Fan said, raising the Master Ball, which was still emitting smoke and was somewhat hot to the touch.
The blue flame spray quickly disappeared, and the man and the dragon, making eye contact, plummeted rapidly.
“Li Fan! Here we come, meow!”
Dilu’s cry came from above. Zinogre was currently in a dive, descending rapidly.
The Valstrax glanced at Zinogre above.
*Screech!* The tip of its wing-blade turned sideways, aiming at Li Fan’s direction, and stabbed forward.
“Ah…”
Seeing this, Dilu fainted directly, slumping onto Zinogre’s neck.
*Clang!* A massive rock formation, detached from the surface of the Sky-Piercing Tower, struck the straight wing-blade, broke into several pieces, and continued to fall towards the sea of clouds.
Li Fan, shrouded in the shadow of the wing-blade, looked up and nodded, saying, “Thank you.”
The man and the dragon then plunged into the sea of clouds.
“According to the information transmitted by the Clear Sky ship! The Valstrax is falling!”
Todd shouted as he ran to the top of the hill.
“Falling! Are you sure?”
Vega said in disbelief.
She had made countless worst-case plans, but she had never dared to imagine such an optimal outcome.
“We should immediately assemble the teams deployed everywhere towards the Sky-Piercing Tower… No, wait. If the Clear Sky ship’s observation information has already been transmitted, then the Valstrax must have already fallen to the bottom.”
Zuda realized something was wrong.
“Todd, did any other observation points spot the Valstrax?”
Vega inquired.
“No, Dean. Even the outermost observation points haven’t detected any trace.”
Todd replied with certainty.
“Could it be… it disappeared?”
Vega mused.