Raising his head, he gazed at the Red-Iron Dragon descending from the sky, the trailing Qi behind it flickering like clouds hanging from the heavens.
Bahl's pupils constricted.
He had been on guard against the Red-Iron Dragon the entire time, and because he hadn't used his full strength in the previous battle, he was able to react instantly.
In terms of size, Bahl's shoulder height exceeded eight meters, his body like an iron tower with muscles that seemed ready to burst through his skin. Tall and majestic, he did not look inferior to the Red-Iron Dragon, whose tail accounted for much of its body length; he appeared even more massive, like a Minotaur giant.
But even so...
Faced with the terrifying impact of the Red-Iron Dragon, which had accumulated a massive amount of kinetic energy, taking it head-on was the most foolish choice.
In the moment of danger, Bahl raised his right hoof and slammed it into the ground. As a large area of the surface cracked and shattered, he had already shot forward like a projectile.
Boom!
The ground shook violently.
The shockwave, carrying waves of earth and rubble, swept across the battlefield, flipping and burying a large number of units from both sides. The terrifying momentum caused the entire battlefield to stagnate for a moment.
Suddenly, the thick dust was torn open.
The Red-Iron Dragon's wings vibrated as it skimmed the ground at high speed, rushing toward Bahl, who stood at the other end.
This time, Bahl did not retreat; instead, he stepped forward into the ground.
Three obsidian peaks rumbled up from the ground, stabbing toward the Red-Iron Dragon like the fangs of an abyssal beast.
Garros's body shifted half an inch, his wing-blades grazing the edge of the stone peaks and slicing the rock pillars in half. Amidst the flying debris, his dragon claws were already tearing toward Bahl's throat.
Clang!
The Bloodhoof Chieftain lowered his head, his horns colliding with the dragon claws. Sparks erupted like a torrential rain, and the rock layer beneath Bahl's feet collapsed. However, he used the force to lean back, a cluster of eerie black flames igniting on his left hoof as he swung it toward the dragon's belly like a battle-axe.
However, it failed to hit.
Dark red Qi surged behind the Red-Iron Dragon's wings. After the single exchange with the Bloodhoof Chieftain, it didn't linger and immediately pulled up into the sky.
"Cowardly lizard, do you only dare to stay in the sky?"
A deep, thick voice emerged from the Bloodhoof Chieftain's mouth.
"Come down and fight me!"
He beat his chest and roared.
Garros did not like to speak much during battle.
He remained indifferent to the Bloodhoof Chieftain's provocation, locking onto him with a cold gaze. Circling to accumulate kinetic energy, he once again charged toward the Bloodhoof Chieftain with an unstoppable posture.
Bahl avoided the brunt of the attack, ready to dodge at any moment, refusing to face the Red-Iron Dragon's aerial impact head-on.
As he neared the ground, Garros did not pointlessly strike the earth again. With a beat of his wings, he sacrificed most of his kinetic energy to change direction, diving almost flush with the ground. His wings spread out like hay cutters as he approached the Bloodhoof Chieftain, slicing several blood-crazed Minotaur in half along the way.
At the moment of approach...
Garros suddenly turned, his dragon wings spinning and slashing toward the Bloodhoof Chieftain like giant blades.
Bahl retreated several steps, dodging several consecutive wing attacks. Just as he was about to counterattack, the thick dragon tail whipped through the air toward him.
The Red-Iron Dragon instantly transformed into a terrifying weapon of war.
His wings and tail were incredibly dangerous weapons; his pair of claws moved as fast as lightning with every swipe, striking from cruel and tricky angles. His continuous offensive swept over the Bloodhoof Chieftain like a storm. Though no vital organs were hit, dense bloody gashes were left across his body.
Bahl was no weakling.
Realizing the Red-Iron Dragon's offensive was fierce and that constant retreating would only lead to a beating...
He decisively stopped his retreat and used offense as defense.
Fists as hard as iron struck the Red-Iron Dragon's body, carrying surging power and high-frequency vibrations that could penetrate dragon scales and flesh to damage internal organs. Even the double dragon scales could not completely block it.
However, Garros alternated between close-quarters grappling with Bahl and soaring through the air at high speeds, making his offensive unpredictable.
His mobility surpassed the Minotaur Chieftain's; he was rarely hit, and even when he was, unless it was a vital spot, it was of little consequence.
Boom!
The Bloodhoof Chieftain's heavy fist slammed into Garros's shoulder.
Explosive Scales shattered instantly. Flames, carrying broken scales and sharp spines, licked across Bahl's body, leaving scorched marks and embedding scale fragments and spines into his flesh.
Even when hit by the Bloodhoof Chieftain's attack, the Red-Iron Dragon could inflict recoil damage on him.
Furthermore, Garros's own attacks were extremely sharp and swift—claws, wings, tail. On the Bloodhoof Chieftain's body, there was more than one wound deep enough to see bone.
Sidestepping slightly, he narrowly avoided a tail whip, though the tip of the tail grazed his chest, opening a bloody gash.
Bahl's eyes flashed with ferocity as he reached out and grabbed the Red-Iron Dragon's tail, attempting to swing and slam him down.
However, the moment he grabbed it, a sharp, tearing pain shot through his palm.
The scales on Garros's tail were also like blade edges, tearing through the skin and flesh of Bahl's palm, leaving it bloodied and making it impossible to maintain a grip.
While the grapple failed...
Garros turned around, his dragon wing slapping a Minotaur warrior who was trying to reinforce the chieftain to death. His claws alternated left and right, repeatedly striking Bahl's body and knocking his tower-like frame backward, until finally, Garros used his dragon horns to gore his chest and toss him into the air.
Then came a blast of Flame Dragon Breath.
Bahl's body was propelled into the sky by the lava-like flames, tracing a parabola before crashing heavily onto the ground. His skin was almost entirely charred, and his aura weakened significantly.
"Did I overestimate him?"
The Red-Iron Dragon's eyes narrowed slightly as they fell upon the charcoal-like Bahl.
Both were equally skilled in melee combat.
In a fierce close-quarters fight without other fancy skills, who was stronger and who was weaker was clear at a glance. If it wasn't a match between equals, the stronger one could always quickly subdue the weaker one.
Reviewing the previous battle...
While Bahl's attacks were threatening and the accompanying piercing vibrations caused his internal organs to ache, they did not constitute a true danger.
His counterattacks had shattered nearly eighty percent of the Explosive Scales on Garros's body and broken many spines.
But that was all.
The Explosive Scales were just a layer of defense for Garros, and the spines could be regenerated.
Now, aside from some physical exhaustion and the loss of Explosive Scales, Garros's actual injuries were not serious.
"Something's not right. The other leaders of the Bloodhoof Clan didn't react much to the Chieftain's condition."
Garros noticed the reactions of the other Minotaur. They were still fighting fiercely with the Molten Iron Legion, and their morale hadn't dropped in the slightest. This was clearly abnormal; a leader being heavily wounded should normally destroy the will of most warriors.
"Regardless, I'll kill him completely first."
Garros took another deep breath and exhaled scalding flames, intending to turn Bahl into ash.
The charred Bahl suddenly moved, his speed very fast as he dodged the Dragon Breath attack.
Crack, crack.
Bahl's scorched body suddenly cracked like pottery. Countless crimson granulation tissue sprouted from beneath the charred skin, like tens of thousands of venomous snakes intertwining, weaving a new pitch-black epidermis in an instant.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Molten blood flowed from the cracks in Bahl's skin, instantly igniting into surging, rolling black demonic flames. His body swelled once more, muscles rising in layers, and his skin turned a metallic color like black iron.
Finally...
A demonic monster with a shoulder height exceeding ten meters, looking as if it had stepped out of the abyss, appeared before Garros. A sense of danger rushed at him, a feeling completely different from before.
"Demon Bloodline activated. This is his true power."
"But is ordinary demon blood atavism this strong? This guy is a bit abnormal."
Garros ascended into the air, gazing down at the abyssal-monster-like Bloodhoof Chieftain.
Standing on the ground, his pitch-black eyes staring at the Red-Iron Dragon, Bahl's voice was deep and thick, like a giant boulder rolling down from a mountain peak. He said solemnly, "To be able to force me into the state of Boiling Demon Blood, I acknowledge your strength."
He continued, "Now, let us truly begin."
"I will wring your neck and use your life to pave the stairs to greater power."
Having entered his second phase, Bahl felt the surging power filling his body, full of confidence.
He gave a low growl, his face twisting in what seemed like pain, his body slightly hunched.
His shoulder blades suddenly pierced through his back muscles, and pale white bone fragments grew and extended at a visible rate, finally transforming into bat-like demonic wings with a wingspan exceeding twenty meters.
Immediately following that...
Bahl flapped his demonic wings, kicking up a wild wind. In an instant, he left the ground battlefield and shot into the sky, charging toward the Red-Iron Dragon.
On the surface, the Molten Iron Legion and the Bloodhoof forces were still crushing and slaughtering each other, while the Bloodhoof Chieftain and the Red-Iron Dragon fought intensely in the higher reaches of the sky.