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The sandworm reacted immediately to the attack.

It opened its enormous mouth, revealing ring upon ring of long, serrated teeth. Its throat began to writhe violently, and then it spat out a huge rock in retaliation.

Seeing the rock hurtle toward them, Redd had already ordered Ehm to be ready to dodge rather than meet it head-on with Dragonfire, drawing on his earlier experience.

Ehm displayed astonishing agility, evading the rock with an effortless, fluid movement.

Redd silently marveled. The black dragon's reaction speed and control were truly extraordinary.

Redd clearly remembered that after spitting out one rock, the sandworm needed a considerable time before it could spit out another, with an interval of roughly three to five minutes.

He decisively ordered Ehm to attack with Dragonfire again, and the black Dragonfire lashed about like a wildly thrashing python,

burning the sandworm's exposed body beyond recognition. Charred, carbonized flesh peeled away, and an even stronger stench of burning filled the air.

Redd kept track of the time in his head. When he felt it was about right, he quickly ordered Ehm to gain altitude and watch out for the sandworm's rock attack.

Sure enough, after briefly gathering its strength, the sandworm spat out another massive rock.

This time, the rock came at a trickier angle, but Ehm still easily evaded the attack with superb flying skills.

Redd gripped his longsword tightly, his sharp gaze fixed on the sandworm below.

He knew this battle had only just begun, and the sandworm's counterattacks would only grow fiercer.

But he also understood that as long as they made good use of the intervals between its attacks, they had a chance to eliminate this threat completely.

Ehm circled in the air, waiting for the next order to attack.

Redd took a deep breath, readied himself, and decisively ordered Ehm to attack with Dragonfire.

The Dragonfire proved effective once again, burning the sandworm's head beyond recognition and exposing its outer ring of long, serrated teeth, making it look especially hideous.

Delighted, Redd directed Ehm to keep drawing back and attacking, planning to finish the sandworm with a lethal blow after another two rounds.

However, this sandworm was clearly smarter than the previous one. Instead of stubbornly fighting to the end, it actually hid away like a turtle retreating into its shell, burrowing underground and refusing to emerge.

Looking at the pitch-black hole, Redd dared not let Ehm get too close. After all, the sandworm's ability to retaliate was not to be underestimated.

Keeping a safe distance, he ordered Ehm to breathe Dragonfire into the hole.

The black Dragonfire surged toward the opening like a fiery dragon. Even the soil around its edges showed signs of melting, yet the sandworm still did not emerge.

Growing a little anxious, Redd checked King Ghidorah's hatching progress on the system and found that it had not increased.

It seemed the sandworm had probably hidden deep underground and would not come out again anytime soon.

Redd knew continuing would be pointless, so he could only abandon this target for now.

He took a deep breath and ordered Ehm to climb, intending to find another place shrouded in black mist.

Ehm beat his enormous wings powerfully, carrying Redd into the distance.

After flying several miles, they found another area filled with black mist.

Without hesitation, Redd ordered Ehm to disperse the black mist with Dragonfire.

Ehm let out a low growl and swooped down, breathing a stream of scorching Dragonfire. The black mist rapidly dispersed under its force, revealing the scene below.

To Redd's disappointment, however, there was no sign of a sandworm here.

Redd could not help wondering where this black mist came from.

And what connection did it have to the sandworms?

Could there be other unknown threats hidden in this land?

Despite the questions filling his mind, Redd did not lose heart.

He patted Ehm's scales, signaling for the dragon to keep moving and search for the next target.

He did not know whether they had used up all their luck, but in the time that followed, although Ehm kept dispersing the black mist with Dragonfire, they never spotted another sandworm.

Redd looked up at the sky and could not help wondering, Could it be that the sandworms have all retreated underground because it's daylight?

Redd shook his head helplessly. It seemed continuing to hunt sandworms was no longer much of a possibility.

So he decisively changed targets, deciding to ride Ehm to hunt other creatures.

Redd gave the order for the black dragon Ehm to maintain low-altitude flight while releasing pitch-black Dragonfire, burning the ground into a vast expanse of white.

Whenever he spotted anything moving on the ground, Redd generously bestowed a baptism of Dragonfire upon it.

Whether they were animals twisted beyond recognition by magical corruption or strange creatures he could not even name, Redd mercilessly burned them all to ash.

After all, there was not much time left before King Ghidorah hatched, and he had to redouble his efforts.

And so, for an entire day, Redd rode the black dragon Ehm, continually sweeping the surrounding area with Dragonfire.

Finally, when night fell, Redd rode Ehm back to the Dragonpit.

The day's efforts had not been wasted. The hatching progress displayed by the system had reached 93%-a tangible achievement!

If both man and dragon had not needed rest, Redd would probably have continued grinding without hesitation until the progress bar was full.

Today, the sun had not yet set and the sky was still bright when Redd finished work early and leaped lightly down from the dragon's back.

He stretched his limbs and, feeling somewhat tired, decided to eat some roast meat to properly replenish his strength.

The black dragon Ehm lay nearby, his massive body taking up a large stretch of space.

Ehm's eyes were tightly shut, his leathery wings folded up. He was clearly exhausted.

After all, he had worked hard all day, not only flying at low altitude but also breathing Dragonfire constantly.

Still, one look at his bulging belly made it clear that he had eaten plenty of good things today.

Many of the animals he had burned to death had ended up in his stomach.

Redd walked over to the fire and looked at the nearly finished tiger meat, which gave off an enticing aroma.

He could not help marveling at how lucky he had been today to actually come across a tiger.

Although corruption from magical energy had made this tiger quite ugly, it was still a tiger!

In his previous life, he had never tasted tiger meat.

Redd eagerly picked up a piece of tiger meat and took a bite.

Its tender, juicy texture left him entranced.

As he enjoyed the food, he thought that although it was a pity he had not obtained a tiger hide, getting to eat such delicious tiger meat was some compensation.

After eating and drinking his fill, Redd felt refreshed.

He picked up his sword and began to practice.

He mainly practiced basic movements such as downward cuts, straight thrusts, and upward slashes, all of which were the foundations of swordsmanship.