Steel Dragon's Battle and Xingyan's Fury

One thing that baffled Xingyan was this battle—why would two Steel Dragons fight each other?

Steel Dragons are considered the most common among Elder Dragons, widely distributed across both the Old World and the New World. The Steel Dragons in the New World are mainly divided into two groups: one group consists of individuals nearing the end of their lifespan who have crossed the sea from the Old World, and the other group comprises individuals who use the New World as their breeding and habitat grounds, distributed across several regions.

Otherwise, why would they say the New World is so special? It's not just that all sorts of tempered monsters are clustered here, but even Elder Dragons are clustered here.

And as Elder Dragons, Steel Dragons are generally arrogant and peaceful outside of their molting periods. Uh, those two words together might sound strange, but Steel Dragons often disdain fighting or competing for territory with other creatures. The immense power possessed by Elder Dragons allows them to alter the ecosystem and drive away ordinary dragons without needing to fight.

Let alone fighting their own kind. With the intelligence of Elder Dragons, Steel Dragons basically wouldn't fight each other; this isn't the kind of fighting spirit a dragon that primarily eats ore would have.

Well, take Barroth, for example. Fat guys are so friendly.

The impenetrable curtain of rain prevented Xingyan from seeing the situation at the hunters' outpost further away, but he felt the hunters would certainly not miss such an anomaly.

Those brave hunters, like the great Leader, might already be planning to repel the Steel Dragons and restore the rainy season to normal.

Unlike in games where players kill Elder Dragons on a whim, in the real world, even though there are more Elder Dragons in the New World than in the Old World, their numbers are far from exaggerated—only Elder Dragons like Valstrax, a disgrace to Elder Dragons, have been actually killed by hunters.

And besides Valstrax, hunters can at most repel Elder Dragons when facing them. As for killing them... haha, that's purely a dream.

Xingyan was anxiously pacing, then realized his anxiety was useless. Even if he could overcome his body's instinctual fear of Elder Dragons and go fight the Steel Dragons, they were in the sky. What business did he, a non-flyer, have there?

It felt like Groudon watching Kyogre and Rayquaza battle in the sky, only to be stuck on the ground, looking up enviously. At least Groudon could use Precipice Blades to retaliate, but Xingyan couldn't even reach the sky to retaliate.

Sigh... Not being able to fly means being an incomplete dragon.

Smacking his lips, Xingyan let out a long sigh. He felt discriminated against... Never mind, he'd go gather some eggs for his Kulu-Ya-Ku brother. After starving for so many days, his brother must be starving.

He should finish collecting eggs and go back soon. As a fire-attribute dragon, a little rain falling on his scales was somewhat romantic, but this continuous downpour and the knee-deep accumulated water were torture—he'd rather lie in his dry nest.

In such torrential rain, Carapace Dragons would naturally hide safely in their nests. Their dwelling places were quite elevated, so the floodwaters wouldn't reach them for a while.

After eating a Carapace Dragon and carrying two eggs, one in each claw, Xingyan walked home like he was grocery shopping, stepping through the small rivers.

But before he took a few steps, amidst the pouring rain, he heard heavy, metallic clanging sounds, like blacksmithing, and they were getting closer—BOOM!

The rain curtain distorted. To put it simply, it was blurry before, but just now, Xingyan clearly saw something piercing the rain curtain and landing on a rocky cliff a hundred meters away, making his eyes widen.

That was a gust of wind, or rather... the aftermath of a battle?

BOOM!!!

One silver-gray, one brownish-red. Two heavy, colossal masses of metal descended from the sky at extreme speed, smashing into a place further away like shooting stars. The sound of metal colliding came from them. The two Steel Dragons were entangled, clawing, biting, and slamming into each other—it was an exceptionally primitive and brutal close-quarters battle.

It couldn't be helped. Battles between Elder Dragons usually devolve into clashes of special abilities, but these two Steel Dragons were fighting each other right now.

Their steel bodies were just the foundation; the true ability of Steel Dragons was the free manipulation of the natural phenomenon of [Wind]. Areas where Steel Dragons appeared often resembled the passage of a typhoon, with the gales at the center strong enough to snap thick trees.

They could wrap themselves in whirlwinds for protection and could compress air to unleash high-pressure wind cannons to attack opponents.

As Elder Dragons that manipulate wind, Steel Dragons are the embodiment of the phenomenon of storms, and can be considered natural disasters—but the problem was, there were two Steel Dragons here now.

You can control the wind, and so can I. As the two Steel Dragons whipped wind back and forth, it turned into this most pure form of close combat, which actually caused more damage.

In games, you often see information stating that Elder Dragons are natural disasters, but honestly, relying solely on the game's presentation and text descriptions always lacked a sense of reality... until this moment. Right now, Xingyan was witnessing what a true natural disaster was with his own eyes.

To make a rather irreverent comparison, it was like two wild boars tearing at each other and rolling around crazily in a mud pit—forgive me, but that's truly the feeling in Xingyan's head right now.

Even in close combat, manipulating storms had become instinctive for the two Steel Dragons. Thus, as they tore at each other, the spreading storms seemed to have scoured away a layer of the ground, even spreading far away.

The two Steel Dragons fought until the universe was desolate, even grinding away the Great Sand Sea.

Of course, this was an exaggeration, but Xingyan was certain that once these two Steel Dragons left and the weather cleared, the terrain and topography of this area would likely need to be relearned.

What were once tall stone cliffs had been flattened, and what were once sunken canyons were filled with fallen rocks—it was truly astonishing, even the Steel Dragons, symbols of wind, could bring about such changes to the landscape.

It filled Xingyan with longing... One day...

Wait??!!

Suddenly shivering, Xingyan's eyes widened—where were these two heading?!

That's my home!!

Damn legs! Run!

Taking two steps at a time, Xingyan no longer concealed himself but rushed towards his nest. The road, now a river, somewhat hampered his speed, but thankfully, by the time he saw the outline of his cave, everything was—BOOM!!!

Gone.

The aftermath of the two Steel Dragons' battle, the compressed air or protective gales they inadvertently released—whatever it was, a semi-transparent, distorted mass of air tore through the gray rain curtain and landed directly on the cave.

Without even a decent obstruction, the cave, which Xingyan had hollowed out and expanded over time, completely collapsed.

Xingyan: "!!!"

My Kulu-Ya-Ku brother!!

No!!!

Before he could even mourn the destruction of his beloved nest, which held his growth memories, Xingyan's first thought was of his Kulu-Ya-Ku brother, whom he had left in the nest—instantly, his eyes turned red.

Anger surged, and a killing intent erupted!

Even though Elder Dragons themselves had no ill intentions, their very existence and every action could affect the surrounding ecosystem. All weak lives could only passively endure when facing Elder Dragons, unable to even resist...

Xingyan didn't know how many lives in the Great Sand Sea would disappear in the coming days due to the fight between these two Steel Dragons. He didn't care. He only knew that his Kulu-Ya-Ku brother absolutely could not die for such a ridiculous reason, not even leaving behind a single bone.

His mind went blank. No, at this moment, Xingyan still remembered one thing: to charge straight towards the collapsed and flooded cave.

He crouched down and desperately dug with his short claws, but the speed was too slow. Xingyan then used his sword tail, digging like a giant shovel, trying to find traces of his Kulu-Ya-Ku brother.

Thanks to Xingyan's current enormous size and the considerable length of his sword tail, he dug open the collapsed cave in just a few scoops.

"...Gua!"

Before the dirt and rocks were completely cleared, amidst the loud downpour, Xingyan finally heard a weak bird cry—it was his Kulu-Ya-Ku brother!!

He was still alive!!

No, not "still"—it's good that he's alive! It's too good that he's alive!!

The suddenly ringing Kulu-Ya-Ku cry momentarily halted Xingyan's mind, which was filled with rage and sorrow, causing his massive body to stiffen.

This was not only because of the weakness in the cry but also because of what his Kulu-Ya-Ku brother said.

"Gua?" (Is there an egg to eat?)

"Gua..." (So hungry...)

Such foolish bird language. He had just escaped danger, yet all he cared about was food... Xingyan couldn't help but want to curse, but more than that, there was an inexpressible joy—his Kulu-Ya-Ku brother was alive!

A Dragon Slayer doesn't shed tears easily. Xingyan couldn't imagine how lonely his future would be if his Kulu-Ya-Ku brother had died in the cave. As a dragon with human intelligence, loneliness was the sharpest blade that could kill him.

Quickly clearing away the rocks pressing down on his Kulu-Ya-Ku brother, Xingyan pulled him out of the ground with one claw, followed by a powerful embrace that almost made his brother cry out.

You're not dead!!

"Gu, gua!!"(Quick, I can't breathe!)

Releasing his claws at his Kulu-Ya-Ku brother's plea, Xingyan looked him up and down. The guy was covered in mud, but the mud was quickly being washed away by the downpour. In just a few seconds, the Kulu-Ya-Ku brother looked as clean as if he had just shed his scales.

After all, he was a dragon. Even a small dragon like his Kulu-Ya-Ku brother had a sturdy body. So, even though he was dazed by the falling rocks while hiding in his nest, he wasn't injured.

And now, his Kulu-Ya-Ku brother was gazing at him expectantly, looking for the eggs he had brought back.

The bird was starving to death!!

As for the eggs... they had been casually discarded by Xingyan when he saw the nest being attacked and rushed back in a panic.

Fortunately, the area had accumulated enough water to form a small pond. When Xingyan led his Kulu-Ya-Ku brother back, both eggs were still floating in the water, undamaged.

Startled by the sudden collapse of the cave, the Kulu-Ya-Ku brother hadn't even realized what had happened in the Great Sand Sea until now. Instead, he quickly pecked open the eggshells and ate nonstop.

He was truly starving, and his mind was solely focused on eating.

But being able to eat was a good thing... a very good thing.

Watching his Kulu-Ya-Ku brother slurping away, Xingyan felt an inexpressible emotion.

"Roar, roar, roar!" (I'm so glad you're okay, brother!)

"Gua? Gaga!" (What's wrong? Let's eat together!)

Completely misunderstanding Xingyan's worry, his Kulu-Ya-Ku brother pushed the half-eaten egg towards Xingyan, but Xingyan pushed it back.

"Roar? Roar! Roar!" (I'm not eating. You eat. After you finish, find a safe place to stay.)

Overwhelmed by both immense sorrow and joy, Xingyan felt his brow twitching. The anger from the destruction of the nest, the vigorous desire for battle and slaughter from his Dragon Slayer bloodline.

He really wanted to slash something.

Elder Dragon, was it?

Was an Elder Dragon that powerful??

Could an Elder Dragon do whatever it pleased???

Just as the Gold Rathian once forcibly pulled off the Kirin's horn, the Dragon Slayer would now slay the Steel Dragon!!

"Gua gua?" (Let's run away together, kid, let's go to the desert!)

Still holding the egg in his claws, his Kulu-Ya-Ku brother called out eagerly. In his mind, as long as they escaped to the desert, they would be safe. At least they would be far away from this dangerous place, where even its mere aura made his stomach ache.

At this moment, the Kulu-Ya-Ku brother slowly noticed the two Steel Dragons fighting in the distance. Honestly, just looking at them made his legs tremble.

"Roar! Roar!" (No, you go first. We'll meet here again when the rain stops.)

"Gua?!" (What are you going to do!)

"Roar!!" (Hurry and go!!)

Urging him again, Xingyan pushed his Kulu-Ya-Ku brother away with his claw and watched him run off quickly into the rain, looking back repeatedly. In just a few seconds, the bird's silhouette disappeared from view.

Turning back, Xingyan strode directly towards the two Steel Dragons. His powerful hind legs kicked up huge splashes in the river. Although the temperature had dropped significantly in the past few days due to the downpour, at this moment, the temperature around Xingyan was slowly rising.

The dense raindrops fell on Xingyan's carapace and quickly disappeared. Wisps of white steam rose from the heat-dissipating shells along his back. He had entered a combat state, his body temperature rising rapidly, and his dormant muscles were gradually awakening. From a distance, Xingyan looked as if he were enveloped in a cloud of white mist.

A demon in the rain.

Meanwhile, the two Steel Dragons were still immersed in their own world, entangled and biting each other, oblivious to heaven or earth.

Elder Dragons possessed pride befitting their kind, and the Steel Dragon's nature was even more arrogant. The only dragons they acknowledged were other Elder Dragons. As for ordinary dragons... in their long lives, ordinary dragons were simply not worth mentioning.