Two dragons writhed and tore at each other in mid-air, soaring and diving.
While Wanpi had the advantage in flight, its combat experience was severely lacking.
In the midst of their scuffle, Wanpi found itself in a disadvantageous position, its back to the ground. It could only rely on the brute force of its kicking feet to fend off the clawed attacks of the opponent, known for its "Heavenly Crippling Feet."
"You say Wanpi is strong, yet it's pinned down. You say it's not strong, but even from below, it's still resisting Qianrenlong's assault," Li Fan mused.
Such unfamiliarity with combat was evident in both high and low-trophic level monsters.
Lower-level monsters knew to flee when encountering danger, while higher-level ones rarely faced threats, especially during their juvenile stages.
However, the fact that Wanpi had practiced attacking airships indicated a desire to grow stronger.
The rapid, repetitive kicking soon allowed Qianrenlong to spot a weakness.
Its four-toed, bird-like talons seized the opportune moment, lashing out diagonally to grip.
Wanpi's ankle was locked, and it attempted to grasp the opponent's ankle with its other claw.
But Qianrenlong offered no such chance, beating its wings and retreating backward.
Wanpi tried to break free with brute force, exerting power in the opposite direction.
Even with a strength advantage, Wanpi had locked onto the ankle.
Qianrenlong twisted its body, quickly changing direction, and Wanpi's ankle followed suit.
Two immense pulling forces converged on the joint of the ankle, which was being bent backward.
*Crack!* A crisp sound of bone breaking!
"Roar!!!"
Wanpi cried out in pain, letting out a piercing roar.
*Hoo~*
Wanpi twisted its neck, and clouds of black smoke billowed from its mouth.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
Three fireballs erupted consecutively from its maw.
Having established such a significant advantage, Qianrenlong was unwilling to let go easily.
It quickly ascended a short distance to evade the fireballs, then violently swung its head downward.
*Splat! Splat!*
Two Shredding Scales fell diagonally!
Wanpi's ankle was still being dragged by the opponent. Qianrenlong rapidly ascended, its body naturally hanging lower, its back exposed to the attack.
The Fire Dragon's spine was protected by armor from head to tail, offering considerable defense.
However, its wing membranes, crucial for flight, were far more fragile.
The Shredding Scales struck the light red carapace, shattering and exploding. Several fragments grazed the wing membranes, leaving crisscrossing bloody gashes.
As it flapped its wings, Li Fan saw that the fragments of the Shredding Scales had only scratched the surface, and he breathed a slight sigh of relief.
But if it continued to suffer such attacks, the wing membranes would eventually be torn.
Wanpi's advantage lay in its flight and strength, while Qianrenlong's strengths were the agile use of its talons and its extensive combat experience...
Talons? No matter how agile, it only had two legs.
However, he needed to figure out a way to get closer.
With a plan forming in his mind, Li Fan guided Little Fool to approach slowly.
At a hundred meters, Qianrenlong sensed something and looked up sharply, fixing its gaze.
Its fierce eyes seemed to convey a threat: "After I finish with this Fire Dragon, you're next."
Li Fan searched for the right angle and finally instructed Little Fool to ascend first, then dive diagonally downwards.
Qianrenlong was naturally highly vigilant against such attacks.
"You like watching, don't you?"
Li Fan, hidden behind his back, hurled a spherical object with great force, then clung to Little Fool's neck, covering its eyes with his hands.
*Whoosh!* The sphere flashed with golden light!
Both Wanpi and Qianrenlong momentarily froze, then saw stars from the flashbang's effect.
The two dragons could still hover in the air by sheer instinct.
And they both knew what was most important at that moment.
Wanpi exerted all its strength to fly, trying to break free.
Qianrenlong, disregarding everything else, even its unbalanced posture, was determined to keep its talons clamped tight.
"I wondered why you so fearlessly grabbed Wanpi's ankle. So your ankle is covered in Shredding Scales."
As Wanpi dragged Qianrenlong through the air, their positions relatively stable, Li Fan had an opportunity to observe closely.
"Hmm... then let's aim for the knee."
Li Fan spoke, and Little Fool maintained steady flight, inching closer.
*Whoosh!* A Wirebug was flung in an arc, wrapping around Qianrenlong's knee joint before flying back into Li Fan's hand.
Qianrenlong felt something tugging at its talons and tried to retract them.
Li Fan, unable to resist, released another Wirebug to entangle Wanpi's other ankle, the one not held by the talons.
"Roar!"
"What now!"
Wanpi, sensing something unusual, kicked out in resistance.
Li Fan, nearly flung off by the other end of the wire, quickly lowered himself onto Little Fool's neck.
"Tell Wanpi we're helping!" Li Fan shouted.
"Roar! Roar roar! Roar!"
Little Fool let out a few rapid roars.
The agitated Wanpi immediately ceased its resistance, allowing itself to be guided by the wire.
"Bring! Them! Together!"
With a wire on each side, Li Fan pulled with all his might, trying to bring the talons and the knee closer.
*Sizzle!*
The tips of the talons scraped sparks along the side of Qianrenlong's knee.
Alert, Qianrenlong immediately retracted its talons. Li Fan, exhausted, had to let go temporarily.
"Roar?"
Although the first attempt failed, Wanpi's talons clearly felt the scraping sensation, and it actively probed in the direction of the guidance.
After several attempts to grip, it successfully latched onto Qianrenlong's knee joint.
Now, with both dragons locked by one leg each, the situation took a sharp turn.
As its vision returned, Wanpi dived briefly, then ascended rapidly.
Unable to break free, Qianrenlong was forced to perform an aerial loop with it.
The two dragons tumbled and fought again. This time, Wanpi, in the superior position, twisted its neck and lunged to bite.
Qianrenlong, using the sharp point of its broken horn on its head, managed to restrict Wanpi.
Seeing that neither side would back down, Qianrenlong suddenly released its grip.
*Thwack!* The hooked claw tip pierced Wanpi's grasped foot.
Enduring the pain, Wanpi tried to follow suit, but its broken ankle joint hung uselessly, its lower claw unable to pose any threat.
"Ultimately, too young," Li Fan sighed with a touch of helplessness.
Qianrenlong seized the opportunity to grip the other ankle, intending to twist and break it.
However, because its other knee was also held by Wanpi, it couldn't rotate to change its angle.
It temporarily let go and began to rake its talons.
*Splat! Splat!*
Blood spurted continuously!
Wanpi did not release its grip to gain a brief respite.
Its chest cavity contracted suddenly, and flames appeared in the air.
"Flame Breath!" Li Fan exclaimed in surprise.
According to ecological data, typically only adult Fire Dragons could master Flame Breath.
This time, Qianrenlong wanted to distance itself, but it was too late.
*Whoosh!*
Orange-red flames bloomed in the air, engulfing half of Qianrenlong's body.
However, the raging flames lasted less than three seconds before dissipating into smoke.
"This... a forced release?" Li Fan was truly surprised that Wanpi dared to unleash a move it hadn't mastered in a real fight.
Releasing its grip, Wanpi turned its body and rapidly escaped.
But upon seeing Little Fool ahead, it roared and changed direction.
As for Qianrenlong, due to the prolonged Flame Breath, it spun twice, and the lingering embers on its body extinguished.
Externally, there was no visible damage, but its skin was coated in a layer of black ash.
Qianrenlong didn't even hesitate before pursuing Wanpi.
Seeing Wanpi flying further and further away, Little Fool finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"We must go after it immediately!" Li Fan suddenly warned.
"Roar?" Little Fool seemed unable to comprehend.
"Wanpi's two feet are severely injured. It won't be able to land normally in this condition," Li Fan explained.
He felt that Qianrenlong had likely noticed this as well, which was why it decided to pursue.
Little Fool flew straight ahead.
Due to the continuous aerial combat, both dragons' flight speeds had slightly decreased, allowing Little Fool to barely keep up.
The pursuit lasted for about three minutes. The exhausted Wanpi seemed to have given up running.
It executed a U-turn and charged directly at Qianrenlong.
Qianrenlong, feeling it had the upper hand, was not in a hurry and ascended to evade.
Little Fool, having missed its target, hovered and panted, trying to conserve energy for further engagement.
However, the opponent had no intention of giving it that opportunity.
"Roar!"
A sharp cry echoed. The Qianrenlong above folded its wings and began a spiral dive, its feet tensed with talons.
*Whoosh!* Qianrenlong spun rapidly in a circle. Even with Wanpi's synchronized movements, it couldn't keep up.
When it glided to a height slightly above Wanpi, Qianrenlong extended both its talons straight forward and attacked.
*Bang!*
Wanpi was sent flying. The retreating Qianrenlong flipped its body, its neck whipping around to unleash three Shredding Scales.
*Chop! Chop!*
The shattered fragments inflicted dozens more lacerations on the wing membranes.
*Hoo~ Hoo~*
Wanpi struggled to stabilize its flight, panting heavily.
"Roar!"
Qianrenlong flew to a high altitude and roared, as if declaring victory.
Wanpi still refused to yield, its eyes filled with determination. It gathered its breath and roared back.
"ROAR!!!"
With a thunderous roar.
Herbivores charged desperately, and Velociprey scattered in panic.
Two small bird-like monsters, pecking at Shield Bugs like balls, looked up at the sky in terror.
Before they could realize what was happening, a Great Bird Monster snatched them with its massive beak and carried them to its nest.
Little Fool, arriving on the scene, paused for a moment.
Although Wanpi was covered in wounds, Little Fool felt that it completely lived up to the title of "King of the Skies."
The Qianrenlong hovering high above was clearly intimidated.
But soon, it shook its head in anger, its frustration stemming not from Wanpi.
But from why it had been intimidated.
"Let's try to have Yeye join the fight..." Li Fan muttered, formulating a plan.
Wanpi still had the will to fight, but its current combat strength was severely limited.
Only by having Yeye and Little Fool fight together might they have a chance to repel Qianrenlong.
Li Fan not only sought victory but also the minimization of damage.
The best approach now was to create a situation where one fought against many.
However, coordinating monsters in combat had always been a difficult task.
Therefore, Li Fan's strategy had always been to rotate combatants, maximizing each monster's strengths while avoiding friendly fire due to coordination errors.
But given the current crisis, Yeye had to be brought in first.
Li Fan finished his tactical analysis and took out the Elite Ball containing Yeye.
"Roar!" Little Fool roared.
"You're saying you can do it?" Li Fan asked tentatively.
"Roar!" Little Fool let out a high-pitched cry.
"Alright then. At this altitude and facing this enemy, Yeye isn't suitable for this fight, especially a chaotic one. But don't push yourself too hard." Li Fan warned.
"Roar!"
"Yes, I'll provide support too!"
*Whoosh!* Little Fool ascended and then dived rapidly.
Li Fan felt its body still trembling, seemingly unable to shake off its fear.
At this moment, Qianrenlong, having seen Wanpi's inability to defend against the previous dive attack, prepared to ascend and repeat the maneuver.
But halfway through its acceleration and rotation, it suddenly noticed that the female Fire Dragon had also joined the fray.
"Roar?"
Wanpi, seeing Little Fool approaching and then hovering back-to-back, was momentarily bewildered.
"Stop looking. Qianrenlong's attack is coming." Li Fan warned, seeing Wanpi's attention completely diverted from the enemy.
"Roar?"
"Who am I? I'm your father-in-law."
"Roar? Roar?" This time, not only Wanpi but also Little Fool looked confused.
"It's normal if you don't understand. But if you stay so close, won't you hinder each other in combat?" Li Fan inquired.
When it came to monster coordination, excessive size was a significant obstacle.
Puff and Zhan Zhan, without combat coordination, required at least a twenty-meter distance just for movement synergy to ensure adequate space.
Otherwise, if suddenly attacked, a simple turn or tail swing could lead to severe entanglement.
Li Fan had never seen a gap between Little Fool and Wanpi this small.
"Roar... Roar... Roar roar." Little Fool informed him.
"Male and female Fire Dragons naturally cooperate in combat..."
Naturally? Meaning they could coordinate without tacit understanding or training, just directly?
Li Fan blinked, recalling similar accounts in ecological data.
However, without actual case studies, the credibility was indeed low.
The coordinated combat I've been longing for, Little Fool and Wanpi can do it naturally. Is this also a form of innate talent?
Qianrenlong, in its accelerated spiral dive, couldn't resist the urge to kill and extended its talons to attack.
The target it chose was also wise: Little Fool.
To reduce the impact force, Little Fool swept its wings back and leaned its body backward.
In a backward-hovering posture, it extended its talons forward.
*Clang!*
Little Fool was sent flying backward. Wanpi, its back pressed against its flank, flapped its wings, using the wind pressure to push backward.
Intending to continue attacking Qianrenlong, its talons hadn't even extended when Little Fool rammed it back with its own talons.
Li Fan was still contemplating how to help when his head was cast in shadow by Wanpi, which was accumulating fireballs in its mouth.
The two dragons flew straight ahead in unison.
Qianrenlong, seeing this formation, seemed to find it troublesome and quickly retreated.
Li Fan noticed that as Wanpi and Little Fool flew, even the frequency of their wing beats became synchronized.
Perhaps male and female Fire Dragons coordinate by sensing airflow changes through their wings, Li Fan speculated after observing for a while.
Other monsters, their wing-beat frequency, the strength of their wind pressure.
Fire Dragons might not know about others, but they certainly knew about themselves.