The black dragon, sensing that Giant Ruined City was merely an empty shell, ceased its flame stream and looked up at the various ancient dragons circling in the sky.
*Whoosh~ Whoosh~*
Its massive wings flapped, and the black dragon ascended into the air.
"It seems they no longer intend to make me their primary target."
While safety was assured, Li Fan couldn't bring himself to be happy.
Although from a tactical standpoint, the enemy's target selection was sound.
However, if the attack target shifted, the danger to the monster squad would significantly increase.
"Scatter!"
Li Fan shouted towards the sky, and the circling monsters dispersed.
The flying black dragon observed for a moment, then locked its pursuit onto Little Foolish and Naughty.
*Boom! Boom!*...
Giant fireballs, trailing long fiery tails, streaked across the sky from above.
Little Foolish and Naughty dodged to the sides, then quickly regrouped.
The black dragon's flight speed wasn't exceptionally fast, but it seemed to possess endless power. With each beat of its wings, it gradually closed the distance to the two dragons.
In pursuit, they soon reached the outer perimeter of Xuleide City.
The Hunter and Clear Sky, deployed in this area, immediately converged at full speed.
*Swish~ Swish~*...
The heavy ballistas on their decks unleashed a volley, and ballista bolts with sharp arrowheads flew towards the black dragon.
*Clang! Ding! Pfft!*...
Except for a few ballista bolts that successfully pierced the wing membranes, the rest shattered and broke, scattering in the air.
"I can't stay here any longer, meow!"
On the deck of the distant Flame Fire, Feri, seeing the battle approaching, decided to retreat.
"That's the one who made Master disappear, meow..."
Pachie watched the black dragon's invincible form, his cat claws clenched. But after a moment, for the safety of the Flame Fire, Pachie ran to the bow and rang the bronze bell, issuing a retreat warning.
The three cats from the chef team, who were still watching the spectacle, immediately scurried towards the kitchen, slid down the cat slide, and hid in the cabins.
*Squeak~ Squeak~*
Little Xi, crawling behind the bulwark and trembling, let out a fearful cry.
Pi Dan and Xiao Mie, with their necks extended, were engrossed in watching the black dragon.
*Roar~ Roar~*...
Pi Dan let out an excited roar, declaring that this was how a dragon should be, and that he would be such a dragon in the future!
*Roar~ Roar~*...
Xiao Mie roared in agreement, stating that he would specialize in dealing with such dragons in the future!
"You two! Hurry back to the cabin, meow! Otherwise, you risk being thrown off at high speed!"
Pachie pointed to the cabin door leading below deck.
Except for Little Xi, who obediently retreated, the other two young ones remained unmoved.
Helpless, Pachie resorted to his ultimate move, fetching a fresh steak and tossing it into the cabin.
*Thump~ Thump~*...
Pi Dan and Xiao Mie sprinted, tumbling down the stairs and falling into the lower cabin.
"Li Fan, Yudora, Dilu, and everyone in the monster squad, we'll be waiting for your return, meow!"
After saying this, Pachie locked the cabin door and then assisted Feri in leading the Flame Fire away.
*Whoosh~*
The black dragon above, seeing it was about to reach Little Foolish, suddenly glanced down and noticed the ring-shaped patterns on Little Foolish's wing membranes.
It raised its wings, braked sharply, and hovered. The black dragon glanced back at Xuleide City, then let out a roar to drive the two dragons away before turning back.
With a head swing and a blast of flames.
The Hunter and Clear Sky, which had already turned to escape with all their might, could not avoid the attack and both plummeted to the ground, severely damaged.
Such immense power filled the hunters watching from the ground with a sense of despair.
In the central area of the city, Xi Xi was using magnetism to pull steel beams from the ruins of Xuleide City, assisting Shan Shan in repairing Captain Mantis.
The returning black dragon scanned the city streets.
The appearance of monsters like Barroth, Cheche, and Gold Rathian caused it to fall into confusion.
*Whoosh~ Whoosh~*...
The black dragon did not pursue further. After circling Xuleide City twice, it finally hovered above the most open square.
"This is terrible... What is the black dragon planning to do?"
Yudora, chewing on an ancient potion, asked in confusion.
"It's probably planning to unleash 'Inferno City,' to eliminate all ground monsters in one go."
Li Fan surmised.
"'Inferno City'... isn't that the perfect opportunity to strike when it's hovering for a long time?"
Yudora said excitedly.
In their previous battle plan, Li Fan had identified this as the moment when the black dragon was most vulnerable.
"Exactly. However, Captain Mantis's damage is beyond what we anticipated. I'm afraid Shan Shan won't be able to hold on."
"I'll stay, meow. If it really can't hold on, I'll retrieve Shan Shan into my sphere."
Dilu offered.
"And what about yourself?"
"I have my Block Armor, meow..."
"Block Armor was useless in that situation,"
Li Fan sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"Trust me, meow. I'm a rare six-star hunter cat, I'll be fine!"
Dilu insisted.
"Alright... Let's move!"
Li Fan hurried towards Captain Mantis, tapping on his handheld device.
The monsters that received the touch commands began to rush towards Captain Mantis.
Although 'Inferno City' had a wide area of effect, it still required a clear target.
Otherwise, if the monsters all retreated, the black dragon would naturally cease its attack.
And the monster that could divert its attention at this moment was Shan Shan, who posed a significant threat.
"Everyone, quickly get into your spheres. Just leave Shan Shan here."
Li Fan deployed.
*Roar~ Roar~*...
Bing Bing Zi, who was constantly dispersing cold air in the sky to attach ice armor to Captain Mantis, offered to stay and resist the attack together.
*Roar! Roar!*
Cheche and Gold Rathian simultaneously declared they would stay as well.
"Bing Bing Zi, I understand. But it's too dangerous for you to stay."
Li Fan said helplessly.
Cheche's eyelids drooped, and he raised his bulging, veined foreleg, indicating he was very useful.
"Fine, since Dilu has the retrieval sphere, don't push yourselves if you can't handle it."
*Roar!*
Xi Xi announced she would stay as well.
"Alright, but I must remind you, you won't only be assisting Shan Shan against the black dragon's 'Inferno City'."
Li Fan warned.
*Roar! Roar! Roar!*...
The monsters firmly stated they would be fine.
*Whoosh~ Whoosh~*...
*Clang~*
At this moment, Hui Hui descended from the sky, hovering behind Captain Mantis and using its tail thrusters to lift it from the ground.
Shan Shan, back in the cockpit, moved every joint of the Giant Ruined City as if warming up.
"Yudora, it's time to go."
Li Fan said, and the two of them pulled on their Wirebugs, ascending to Hui Hui's back.
*Peng!*
Captain Mantis knelt on one knee, using the liquefied metal door panels from the four sides as a shield in front of it.
*Hiss~*
As Bing Bing sprayed freezing mist, a layer of pure white ice condensed on the outside of the door panels.
*Clang! Clang!*...
Cheche and Gold Rathian continuously lifted large sections of the city walls and hurled them, piling them up in front of the door panels.
*Hiss~ Hiss~ Zeng!*
Super thick steel beams flew from the ruins. Guided by Xi Xi, each beam pierced through several sections of city walls at various angles, fixing them together to form a thick, gap-filled barrier.
*Crack! Crack!*...
The constantly bursting ice crystals quickly filled the cracks in the walls.
The black dragon paid no mind to the rapidly improving defenses directly in front of it.
What truly drew its attention was the monsters' behavior of gathering at one point.
On top of the door panel shield, a pair of binoculars were observing the black dragon's every move.
"It's coming, meow! Everyone stop! Hide behind Captain Mantis!"
Dilu, sitting on a wind-filled cloud, gave the warning and quickly floated backward.
*Whoosh~ Whoosh!*
The black dragon inhaled slightly as it turned its head, and then a massive flame stream, as if to incinerate everything, propelled forward in a rolling motion.
Everything it touched ignited amidst the swirling smoke and dust.
*Boom!* A hole ripped open in the clouds.
Hui Hui, ascending vertically, broke through the dark red clouds and continued to soar upwards.
"Is our escape time a bit short!"
Amidst the whistling wind, Yudora shouted.
"It's fine! You have to have faith in Hui Hui's speed!"
Li Fan reassured her.
"Alright! Just make sure to hold on tight to me then!"
Yudora reminded him.
Before long, the temperature dropped sharply, the air thinned, and the mountain ranges on the ground below gradually blurred. The sky above turned black.
*Whoosh! Whoosh~*
The flame stream weakened and then disappeared.
Hui Hui maintained its optimal aerodynamic shape for wind resistance, but as it descended, it inverted its entire body, turning its head towards the ground.
*Whoosh~ Whoosh!*
The sparks from the thruster quickly turned into a stream of blue flames.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*...
Rings of air explosions erupted, and Hui Hui's form began to blur as it accelerated downwards.
Li Fan slightly extended the Thunder God Blade outside his protective aura. The Qi reservoir within the blade instantly filled due to the immense air friction.
Yudora secured herself with Wirebugs and swung the Dragon Heat Machine over her shoulder, charging it.
"My King, your shining moment has arrived!"
Li Fan shouted at the attack sphere in his hand.
*Boom!*
Hui Hui, charging into the dark red clouds, blasted a massive hole.
The sunlight suddenly reflecting off its back and wings made the black dragon's eyes widen in astonishment.
*Swish!*
The attack sphere opened high in the sky, and Hui Hui, moving at a speed that turned it into a blur, directly struck the black dragon's back.
*Boom! Boom!*
The two falling dragons landed on the ground, and a huge ring-shaped shockwave spread outwards.
*Pfft~ Whoosh~*
Blood spurted from the crushed carapace and scales.
The severely injured black dragon collapsed into a sunken pit. Ignoring its wounds, it twisted its head to look back.
It discovered that besides the Sky Comet Dragon attacking it, there were two humanoid figures descending from the air.
"Urgh~ Heiya!"
"Spirit Blade Slash!"
The charged slash and the Spirit Blade intersected diagonally, forming an X shape that converged at the base of the right horn.
*Pchah~*
The black dragon's remaining horn snapped off and flew away.
*Roar!*
The black dragon let out a pained roar, its head slamming into the ground as it thrashed its neck backward.
The two did not press their attack. Yudora, her armor's wind sacks bulging, floated up. Li Fan held onto her thigh, and they quickly floated away together.
"Cough cough... I survived, meow."
Inside the Block Helmet, whose edges had melted, Dilu coughed heavily.
Facing the black dragon's 'Inferno City,' Dilu had survived thanks to the pit dug by Cheche in the ruins.
However, the impact of Hui Hui's landing caused the pit to collapse. Fortunately, Xi Xi, using magnetism to grab the Block Armor, saved herself again.
"The next attack is from Xiao Ming, meow. You all protected me, and I will protect you all!"
Dilu skillfully removed the retrieval sphere from her shoulder strap and quickly retrieved the monsters to ensure their safety.
*Whoosh~ Whoosh~*...
Massive azure wings flapped in the sky.
Xiao Ming, with the sun reflecting off its back, its draconic form shimmering.
*Roar~*
Gathering so many clouds, it seems you dislike sunny days too...
Xiao Ming sighed, lowered its head, and opened its mouth.
*Hum~ Hum!*
The energy stream, once as thick as a giant pillar, had been compressed into a thin blue beam no thicker than an arm.
However, the attack was not aimed at the black dragon but constantly swept across the ruins.
*Sizzle!*
As the beam passed, deep gouges appeared, and wisps of misty, ethereal blue energy seeped out.
The ruins of Xuleide City, already a desolate place, were instantly transformed into a netherworld under the countless blue lights.
"What should we do, meow! I promised to protect everyone!"
Dilu, running through the underworld, removed her sphere strap, stuffed it into her backpack, and held it in front of her.
"Dilu! Don't run! Come up here."
Hearing a familiar voice, Dilu looked up and saw Li Fan on Hui Hui's back. She jumped up happily.
Grabbing the Wirebug silk, she reached its back, and Hui Hui immediately accelerated, quickly flying away.
"The helmet and armor have melted together. Yudora, hold onto the helmet, I'll cut it."
Li Fan, holding a Hunter's Knife, made several cuts around the neck of the Block Armor, and soon removed the Block Helmet.
"Phew~ I can finally breathe smoothly, meow... Did your armor over-exert its abilities?"
Dilu asked in surprise.
"Armor?"
Li Fan looked down and was surprised to find the golden lightning emanating from the Thunder Dragon Armor intertwined with the swirling airflow from Yudora's Wind God Dragon Armor.
"Uh... that strange activation phenomenon is intensifying."
Seeing this, Yudora attempted to guide the swirling airflow to draw it away, but after a brief moment, the airflow uncontrollably surged towards Li Fan.
"Let's check on Xiao Ming first... Hui Hui, slow down!"
Li Fan turned his head back. Due to Hui Hui's full-speed departure, Xuleide City, now resembling the underworld, appeared somewhat blurred.
*Whoosh~ Peng!*
In the area surrounding Xuleide City, Meow Meow Zi, taking flight from the foot of the mountain, had just cleared the peak when it saw the blue light flashing in the city and immediately descended urgently.
Puff thought the temperature hadn't dropped enough, so it gently sprayed foam water onto Meow Meow Zi's body again.
*Roar~*
Meow Meow Zi indicated that no further cooling was needed.
*Roar?*
Puff couldn't understand and suggested returning to the battlefield.
*Roar~ Roar~*
Meow Meow Zi stated that it would never approach such a scene again, having suffered greatly.
*Roar~*
Puff, disbelieving, insisted on going to see.
*Splash~ Splash~*...
Its serpentine body slid down the mountainside, leaving a trail of foamy liquid.
Before long, Puff's head emerged from behind the rocks.
*Drip~*
The clear sky and earth suddenly darkened. A point of blue light that was impossible to look away from slowly dripped from Xiao Ming's mouth.