Combined Assault: The Eighty-Thousand-Year Foe (Part One)

The Emberwing Lizard King's roar shook the Ashen Hills. Its dark-gold scales gleamed like metal beneath the blazing sun, and its six wings whipped up scorching winds. A breath attack mingling white flame and silver lightning shot straight toward the group, so powerful that the air shrieked under the strain!

"Spread out! Don't take it head-on!" Li Xuansheng shouted.

Thirty figures scattered at once. The blazing lightning breath grazed the edge of the group and struck a hill behind them, blowing its peak apart. The rubble melted, leaving a charred crater dozens of meters across!

"That's terrifying power!" Dongyue Ling sucked in a breath. "If we'd taken that head-on..."

"We can't let it keep breathing fire!" Li Xuansheng's mind raced. "Long Yue, Brother Zhong, Hua Jun! Form a triangular defense and take turns blocking its breath. Give the others an opening! Bing'er, Xuan Bing, Meng Chen! Suppress its flames with everything you've got and weaken its breath! Cousin Huaixin, predict its attacks! Cousin Xueya, boost the whole team!"

The orders came thick and fast, and everyone obeyed without hesitation.

Li Aotian, Li Longyue, Dongyue Zhong, and Li Huajun took the front. The Skin Martial Soul, Mountain Dragon King Martial Soul, Heavenlight Shield, and Profound Phoenix Shield lit up together, layering four sturdy defensive barriers. Almost the instant they formed their line, the Lizard King's second breath attack arrived!

Boom!

Blazing lightning slammed into the barriers. Li Longyue grunted as his feet sank half a foot into the ground, his earthen-yellow glow rippling violently. Dongyue Zhong's Heavenlight Shield creaked under the strain. Li Huajun's Profound Phoenix Shield held the steadiest; dark light flowed across it, distributing the impact evenly among the four of them.

The barriers held, but blood trickled from all four mouths. Even split between them, a full-strength strike