Savage fireballs licked across the earth, scorching everything to ash.
Like a king, the Purple-feathered Monster Bird looked down with contempt on the figure vanishing amid the flames. A flicker of almost human satisfaction crossed its venomous eyes.
It could already imagine the terror and despair of the human who had ambushed its rear before the flames swallowed him, along with his helpless cries and screams.
Hmm? Why was there no sound?
Just then-
"ROOOAAAR-!!!!!!!!!"
A terrifying dragon's roar, deafening and vast with majesty, suddenly erupted from that churning sea of destructive fire!
Unlike the Monster Bird's vicious screech, this sound was deep and commanding, filled with supreme authority.
The mocking amusement in the Monster Bird's two pairs of savage eyes instantly gave way to shock.
At the center of the roiling flames, a silhouette rapidly swelled and transformed. Rather than burning it away, the flames clustered around it like loyal subjects.
The next instant, a creature bathed in blazing fire tore through the curtain of flames and emerged in all its pride!
A dragon!
It was a relatively "small" dragon, seemingly just over three meters long.
Yet its bearing held an indescribable elegance and power.
Exquisitely fine, neatly arranged scales covered its entire body. Each looked as though it had been cast from the purest molten gold, shining with blinding brilliance in the firelight.
It had a streamlined head, a powerful neck, and sturdy hind legs supporting its body.
A pair of translucent dragon wings, still somewhat immature but already well formed, stretched forcefully amid the flames, stirring searing currents of air.
Most awe-inspiring of all were its eyes, like molten amber.
Brilliant golden slit pupils stared coldly at the Purple-feathered Monster Bird, which had briefly frozen in astonishment.
More than fire burned in those golden pupils. They also shone with the composure and mockery of a highly intelligent creature.
This Golden Dragon Hatchling was none other than Liu Qian, transformed into a dragon.
In the distant grove of dead trees, Jelena fled swiftly with Janice.
Suddenly, Jelena whipped her head around. Her violet eyes fixed on the distant sea of flames, her pupils contracting to pinpoints.
She seemed to have just heard a roar powerful enough to shake the soul. That deep roar definitely did not belong to the Monster Bird. It sounded like a dragon, but dragons had disappeared centuries ago...
Was it her imagination?
Jelena shook her head and gathered herself. She stopped dwelling on it and continued hurrying away with Janice.
So this was... the true dragon body?!
Liu Qian's consciousness surged within his dragon form.
He could distinctly feel the explosive power beneath every scale, the resonance between his wings and the air, and the fire deep in his throat, far stronger than in his human form. Above all, he felt the majesty of a bloodline that stood above mortal life.
But he had no time to revel in it. His enemy was right before him.
"ROAR-!"
The Golden Dragon let out a battle-hungry roar. His winged forelimbs, covered in fine golden scales and tipped with sharp hooked claws, slammed against the ground. His powerful hind legs unleashed astonishing force, gouging two shallow pits in the scorched earth.
His entire body shot from the still-burning flames like golden lightning, lunging straight for the vulnerable neck the Purple-feathered Monster Bird had exposed in its shock.
The Purple-feathered Monster Bird was enormous and terrifyingly strong, but that massive body also made it relatively clumsy.
It had just suffered the severe injuries of a severed head and a wounded rear. Agony slowed its reactions, and the sudden appearance of this Golden Dragon had stunned it!
That single instant was fatal!
"CRACK-!!!"
Liu Qian's tooth-filled dragon jaws clamped savagely onto the base of the neck beneath the Purple-feathered Monster Bird's middle head. His sharp teeth instantly pierced the tough purplish-red feathers and thick hide, sinking deep into muscle and bone.
"SCREEEECH-!!!!!!"
Screeches of indescribable agony burst simultaneously from the Purple-feathered Monster Bird's enormous beaks.
The middle head thrashed wildly in his jaws. Filled with fury and pain, the other head swung around, opened its enormous beak, and spewed another searing blast of fire straight onto Liu Qian's dragon body.
Boom! Boom!
Golden-red flames instantly engulfed the Golden Dragon Hatchling.
Yet the expected sight of melting scales and charred flesh never appeared.
Under the destructive flames, the brilliant golden scales covering Liu Qian's dragon body suddenly lit up with a golden halo barely visible to the naked eye.
When the terrifying heat touched his scales, it seemed to encounter its nemesis. Its power was greatly weakened and dispersed.
This was [Fire Wielder], the passive talent granted by his dragon bloodline, which gave him extremely high natural resistance to fire damage.
At the same time, however, the effects of [Fire Wielder] gradually weakened beneath the scorching flames. The Monster Bird's fire began penetrating the golden halo and reaching his scales.
As time passed, tiny black scorch marks began appearing on his scales under the sustained heat. The edges of several even curled slightly and glowed red, sending waves of sharp pain through him.
Liu Qian's heart sank. He would have to finish this battle quickly.
He kept his teeth locked around the Monster Bird's neck. A vicious light gleamed in his dragon eyes as his jaws unleashed terrifying crushing force.
"CRUNCH! CRACK!"
The grating sound of shattering bone rang out clearly! Under Liu Qian's sharp teeth and brute strength, most of the vertebrae in the Purple-feathered Monster Bird's middle neck were bitten clean through!
"SPLURT-!!!"
As though a high-pressure valve had been opened, thick, scalding red blood erupted from the broken neck like a flood bursting through a dam, drenching Liu Qian's head and upper body.
"HISSS-!"
The instant the foul blood touched the Golden Dragon's still-scorching scales and the heat surrounding him, it evaporated into great clouds of reeking blood mist.
Agony and grievous wounds drove the Purple-feathered Monster Bird completely mad. Its last head let out a hysterical wail and desperately spewed fire again.
Golden light flashed in Liu Qian's eyes. He abruptly released the ruined neck, swept his battered dragon wings, and dodged the flames rushing toward his face.
He kept circling and gliding through the sky, wearing down the Purple-feathered Monster Bird's stamina.
The Monster Bird was drenched in blood
, its wings almost burned bare by the fire spreading from its rear. Unable to flap its wings and pursue him, it could only watch Liu Qian toy with it from the air.
Its strength gradually drained away. Its movements grew slower, and the flames in its throat dwindled.
"ROAR-!!!"
Seizing his moment, Liu Qian spread his wings, dipped his dragon body, and attacked.
Dragonfire Breath, hotter and more concentrated than in his human form, surged from the Golden Dragon's throat.
This blast of dragonfire far surpassed his human form's in both scale and temperature. A pale golden column of fire nearly half a meter wide poured continuously over the Purple-feathered Monster Bird's final head.
"SCREEEECH-!!!"
The Monster Bird's head thrashed frantically, trying to evade it, but at such close range, every effort was futile.
The pale golden dragonfire clung relentlessly to its head like a deep-rooted infection. Its hard, keratinous covering rapidly charred and split under the terrifying heat. Its eyes burst in the flames, and its flesh burned black and peeled away.
The Purple-feathered Monster Bird's struggles grew weaker, its pained cries fading.
Finally, when Liu Qian stopped breathing fire, the last head had become a blackened lump of charcoal trailing wisps of smoke. It drooped limply.
The enormous body crashed to the ground, throwing up clouds of dust, utterly lifeless.
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