Driving Away, the Hatchling Dragon Had Grown Up

That was right. In the Poisonous Bird's eyes, this Female Fire Dragon was completely insane. She was clearly smaller than it, yet she dared to drive it away—and when that failed, she even dared to charge at it.

As everyone knew, the Poisonous Bird judged Combat Power by size. If something was smaller than it, it believed it could win. If something was bigger, it would turn around and leave, immediately admitting defeat.

Because of this, Poisonous Birds in some regions would even proactively attack Golden Lions that could threaten certain smaller Elder Dragons. The price those Poisonous Birds paid, naturally, was getting effortlessly beaten senseless by the Golden Lions.

If Poisonous Bird meat were not so unpalatable and poisonous, they might even end up as someone else's dinner.

That was also why, despite being a herbivorous Bird Wyvern Species, it continued fighting Ya Ji even after suffering such injuries.

If it had been the old Luo Yun, relying solely on Speed Boost, he probably could have only scratched the Poisonous Bird once. Whether that scratch could break its skin was uncertain, but there was a good chance his claw would break instead.

But the current Luo Yun was different. Huge Power combined with the boosts brought by Speed Boost, along with his highly deceptive identity as a young dragon, could give anyone who underestimated him a huge surprise.

For example, this Poisonous Bird, which had spread the feathers around its neck to appear more intimidating while completely exposing its back to Luo Yun, would pay for its mistaken judgment.

One claw!

Just one claw!

Its exposed back was viciously raked open, leaving a long wound. Flesh split apart, and scales were forcibly torn away.

The ripping pain made the Poisonous Bird's frog-like eyes bulge wide. Its stance, originally meant to defend against Ya Ji's charge, shifted—and Ya Ji slammed it flying.

It had to be said that the giant beasts of this world possessed incredibly strong muscles and bones after being nourished by Earth Vein Energy.

After taking Ya Ji's full-force Dragon Charge head-on, the Poisonous Bird actually scrambled back up quickly and launched a countercharge at Ya Ji.

Luo Yun, who had yet to land after clawing it, rapidly beat his wings. After gliding for some distance, his entire body rose into the air again.

One of his talons throbbed faintly, but once the battle began, he simply ignored pain of that level.

His mind was exceptionally clear. If he fought head-on, he would only hold Ya Ji back. Only by staying in the air and occasionally swooping down to claw the enemy, using harassment tactics, could he truly help her.

Below, the two giant beasts clashed once more—close combat, biting, venom, tail swings, Dragon Charges.

Every collision was a contest of raw strength. The Poisonous Bird's venom was potent, but the Female Fire Dragon's resistance to poison was not weak either. Ya Ji's flames could threaten it, but this Poisonous Bird was experienced. It kept entangling Ya Ji in close combat, never giving her time to gather power.

Thus, their battle became a pure melee fight. But unlike before, amid the fierce exchange, there was always one sneaky bastard swooping down like a crow hunting prey, occasionally striking the Poisonous Bird before immediately taking to the skies again, never giving it a chance to retaliate.

Luo Yun could not deal damage with every dive, but every time he swooped down, he aimed either for its neck or its eyes—weak points like those. This forced the Poisonous Bird to defend every time.

Then Ya Ji would seize the opportunity to hit it hard.

In this righteous two-against-one fight, even though the Poisonous Bird had abundant stamina, tenacious vitality, and extensive battle experience, its repeated setbacks made it realize the danger.

So after one collision, the Poisonous Bird forcibly endured Ya Ji's tail swing, opened its jaws, and directly spewed out a mouthful of Poison Mist.

In an instant, Ya Ji and the Poisonous Bird were engulfed by thick Poison Mist. Luo Yun, flying in the sky, lost sight of his target for the moment.

Then, in the next second, the Poisonous Bird rushed out from the other side of the Poison Mist and fled in panic into the depths of the forest.

Clearly, it was done fighting. It had admitted defeat and directly abandoned this territory.

The Poisonous Bird still had strength left. If it was determined to flee, neither Luo Yun nor Ya Ji could possibly kill it in their current state, so Luo Yun had no intention of chasing after it.

Below, Ya Ji flapped her wings and dispersed the Poison Mist. Poison of this level was useless against her; it could only obstruct her vision.

She looked around, and after confirming there was no trace of the Poisonous Bird, Ya Ji let out a roar to declare victory.

But when she spotted Luo Yun diving toward her, her expression became somewhat complicated.

Luo Yun was excited. This was his first genuine battle. Even if he had only played a supporting role, it was still a real battle.

It also meant that he would no longer be chased around by a Diablos like he had been a month ago. He now had the ability to survive in this world.

He had originally thought this would be a touching reunion. Ya Ji would affectionately nuzzle him and celebrate their victory with him.

But after he landed, Ya Ji greeted him with hostility.

"W-What's going on?"

Luo Yun did not understand. Why was Ya Ji acting hostile toward him?

Whenever he approached, Ya Ji would let out a low growl. She even lowered herself into a stance meant to drive him away.

"Ya Ji."

Luo Yun moved closer, only for a fireball to explode directly in front of him. Ya Ji, who had spat the fireball, stared coldly at Luo Yun. When she saw his disbelieving and confused expression, a trace of struggle flashed through her icy eyes.

But it was immediately replaced by resolve. After giving Luo Yun a cold glare, she turned and left without hesitation.

Seeing this, Luo Yun instinctively followed, only for Ya Ji to suddenly turn around and roar at him. That roar carried rejection and expulsion.

Luo Yun seemed to understand something, but he still refused to give up and followed far behind Ya Ji.

He watched Ya Ji effortlessly hunt down prey despite dragging her injured body along.

He watched Ya Ji eat the prey clean by herself, leaving not a single bite for Luo Yun.

He watched Ya Ji begin to accelerate, returning to her territory and reaching the woods above the nest.

There, a Poisonous Bird slightly smaller than Ya Ji, with a pair of intelligent-looking wide eyes, came face-to-face with the returning Ya Ji.

After freezing for a second, the Poisonous Bird was terrified. It even spat out the poisonous mushroom already in its mouth and fled in blind panic, without the slightest intention of fighting.

"So this is the Poisonous Bird I know? Then who was that one just now?"

Ya Ji was stunned too. She had seemingly, perhaps, mistaken the wrong dragon.

But no matter what, the fight had happened and the territory had been taken. So what if she had mistaken the wrong one?

Most importantly, her Hatchling Dragon had learned how to fly and could live independently.

He no longer needed her care.