The surface waters had been thoroughly boiled. Everywhere you looked, they bubbled and roiled. Even more striking was the nearby beach, where the sand had melted under the intense heat into thick, orange-red liquid that spread in uneven patches.
The sun Teostra had conjured had nearly wiped out everything on the surface. While Xingyan surveyed the scene, dead fish rose to the surface in vast numbers, boiled alive. Big and small, they drifted shoreward with the churning water, then collided with the molten sand near the coast, sending up clouds of white steam.
The retreating waves washed over the shore again, cooling the orange-red liquid. After a few passes, it turned a murky gray.
It was a brutal sight, and the whole coastline was filled with an aroma that made a dragon's mouth water—fish.
The dead fish, boiled and then carried ashore by the waves, gave off an enticing fragrance that made Xingyan hungry. Especially when they hit the molten sand after washing ashore, sizzling loudly as though they were being fried on a hot griddle.
The creatures of the sea had been lucky enough to survive the last Elder Dragon disaster, but they hadn't escaped this one. If the battle weren't so urgent, Xingyan might've wanted to eat every dead fish the waves had washed ashore before joining the fight.
Nergigante and Teostra had tangled up again. Using their special abilities took energy, even for the Ancient Dragon Species. Teostra couldn't keep detonating himself, releasing explosive powder, or breathing fire without pause. He was like a man endlessly swinging a flyswatter, trying to drive off a fly—he couldn't kill Nergigante, no matter how many times he swatted. He was only wasting his strength.
The sheer madness Nergigante displayed made Xingyan's scalp crawl. No wonder hunters had recorded him as