Chapter 344 The Hunt for Dragons, A Cat-and-Mouse Game

The sunlight cascaded down like a golden waterfall, but was cut into countless tiny, shimmering spots by the layers of lush, leafy tree canopy, sporadically falling onto the ground covered with decaying leaves and moss.

at the same time.

A huge foot, covered in thick fur but concealing sharp claws, lightly stepped onto a bright spot of light.

The soft, thick pad of flesh made no sound when it touched the ground, as if a ghost had passed by.

And this is just the beginning.

In this dense jungle on the border of the Ironforge tribe, a group of agile and dangerous predators are moving silently.

As the pride of lions passed by, their powerful muscles slid smoothly beneath their fur, suppressing their instinctive roars and heavy breathing, advancing slowly in perfect silence.

The leader was a giant lion with exceptionally strong limbs and muscles that bulged like granite blocks.

Most notably, many key parts of its body, such as the shoulder blades, back, and joints, are naturally covered with a thick, rough, dark yellow rock armor that seems to connect it to the earth.

Each step it takes carries an extraordinary sense of weight and power.

High-level monster - Earth-Splitter Lion.

Unlike those mindless monsters that rely solely on wild instincts, it possesses a rudimentary form of intelligence similar to that of the Earth Bear.

In fact, it's not just this small team.

At this moment, all the lion packs attacking the borders of the Ironforge are led by, without exception, ferocious beasts or demon leaders like the Earth-Splitting Lion, who possess a certain level of intelligence and whose strength far surpasses that of their own kind.

This is why they are able to effectively suppress and lead other lions, making the entire pride behave like an elite force.

The lead earth-splitting lion suddenly stopped its heavy steps and raised one of its front paws.

The pride of lions behind them seemed to receive a silent command and gradually stopped all their movements.

The giant lion leader lowered its massive body, its sensitive nose twitching slightly as it carefully sniffed the air.

A moment later, it raised its head, which was covered by rock armor, and its deep pupils seemed to pierce through the layers of branches and leaves, locking onto the faintly visible molten iron sentry post a kilometer away.

roar……

The Earth-Splitter let out an extremely low, almost inaudible commanding roar from deep within its throat.

The lions behind him immediately lowered their bodies even further, almost completely lying on the ground, using the bushes and terrain for cover, moving stealthily along the ground like hunters, silently approaching their prey.

However, just as they had sneaked out less than ten meters...

The lead lion-headed creature suddenly paused, its neck snapping back to its side, its eyes revealing alertness and wariness.

It suddenly turned around, raised its head and stared intently at the low sky to its side and rear. Its muscles tensed up instantly, and it squeezed out a deep, thunderous growl from the depths of its throat.

Although the other lions were a beat slower, they immediately sensed the abnormality of their leader.

They all stopped in their tracks, baring their teeth and adopting defensive postures, looking in the same direction as the Earth-Splitter Lion.

"To be able to sense my presence... your perception is quite sharp."

With a calm whisper, the thick, hard black body of the Iron Dragon Sorog gradually solidified and appeared in the sight of the lions, as if emerging from the ripples of water.

He had been casting a mind-concealing spell.

The principle behind this spell is not simply visual invisibility, but rather directly blinding the target's perception at the psychological level, causing the target to subconsciously ignore their existence.

However, these lions are of a fairly high level on average.

In particular, the leading Earth-Splitter Lion, with its keen senses, managed to see through the Iron Dragon's concealment through the most subtle changes in the airflow and a trace of almost imperceptible dragon aura.

The iron dragon spread its huge wings and hovered at low altitude.

Despite being outnumbered, he seemed to have the upper hand.

That is indeed the case.

Iron Dragon's eyes shimmered with a powerful spiritual energy, clearly reflecting the silhouettes of several lion-like beasts below.

The next moment, without any chanting or movement.

Mind manipulation!

In an instant, as the invisible spiritual energy spread, a sudden change occurred.

A deafening roar, filled with confusion and rage, suddenly erupted.

A ferocious giant lion located to the right of the Earth-Splitter Lion seemed to suddenly go mad, violently shaking its massive head a few times before turning its target without warning and pouncing on the nearest Earth-Splitter Lion leader.

Not only that.

Almost simultaneously, the eyes of the three ferocious lion-type beasts, which were known for their physical strength, suddenly became dull and confused.

They all turned against their former comrades, frantically rushing towards them, instantly shattering their previous formation and plunging the scene into chaos.

The Earth-Splitter Lion Head was illuminated by a layer of solid, bright yellow earth elemental light, while displaying an agility that was inconsistent with its heavy body. It used its hind legs to propel itself backward for nearly ten meters.

Surrounded by a halo of spiritual light, the earth's gravitational pull on it seemed to be greatly weakened at that moment.

Its movements became exceptionally swift and agile, dodging the frenzied attacks from its companions.

Clang! Clang!

Claws, like steel daggers, suddenly sprang out from its broad feet, digging deep into the ground.

The Earth-Splitter Lion raised its head and roared furiously, its massive jaws agape.

A highly condensed, dark yellow ray, radiating tearing and oscillating fluctuations—the Earth-Splitting Ray—shot straight at the Iron Dragon in the low sky, its target being his head.

This ray is powerful enough to easily pierce through rocks and tear through steel.

Iron Dragon Sorog reacted even faster; with a slight flap of its wings, its massive body gracefully shifted to the side as if weightless, avoiding the direct trajectory of the ray.

The spell-like rays were having difficulty hitting their target, so the Earthshaker decisively changed its strategy.

Its hind leg muscles bulged and jutted out as if they were exploding, and its thick rock armor seemed to come alive, surging and layering, becoming even heavier and harder.

Immediately afterwards, it used the powerful reaction force of its rear kick to fiercely pounce on the low-flying iron dragon, its raised claws tearing through the air and emitting a piercing shriek.

BOOM!!!

However, it was met with a massive dragon claw that was unyielding and struck first despite being behind.

With a deafening roar of countless rocks and soil exploding and a dull thud, the Earth-Splitter Lion was sent flying back at several times the speed it had come from, like a baseball being hit with all its might, and slammed heavily into the ground.

Its seemingly indestructible rock armor was now covered with spiderweb-like cracks, and many parts had broken off.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Almost simultaneously, two other lion-like beasts, reacting with lightning speed, pounced from the left and right sides at the slight gap when the Iron Dragon had just finished a swing and its old strength had dissipated. Their fangs and claws were already within inches of the Iron Dragon's wing membranes and flanks.

The movements were like a tidal wave!

Iron Dragon Sorog's movements suddenly accelerated, as if breaking free from the constraints of time.

The enormous dragon claws left blurry afterimages in the air and launched a new round of attacks almost without pause.

The swift and precise strikes landed in succession, swatting the two lions that were trying to sneak up on the attack to the ground like flies, the sound of bones breaking clearly audible.

To compensate for the relative weakness of mind warlocks in close combat, Iron Dragon Sorog also studied the Hundred Battles Dragon path.

Although his Hundred Battles Dragon level is not high, he has already mastered several basic but very practical melee skills.

Iron Dragon's wings flapped suddenly, and its hardened dragon body, gleaming with a cold, metallic luster, instantly burst forth with incredible speed, like a heavily armored tank charging along the ground. It directly smashed into the other lion beasts that were trying to surround it, breaking their bones and sending them tumbling away with howls of pain.

On the other side, the Earth-Splitter Lion-Head struggled to get up from the crater.

It stared intently at the iron dragon hovering low in the air, then suddenly raised a forepaw wrapped in rich, earthy-yellow elemental energy and stomped it on the ground.

Buzz—!!!

In an instant, spikes, sharp as spears and as hard as steel, enhanced by magical energy, burst through the ground without warning and swept toward the Iron Dragon Sorog at an astonishing speed, covering a vast area.

Sorog's massive body displayed astonishing agility.

With a flap of his wings, he rapidly changed direction in the air, dodging the vast majority of the ground spikes.

Only a few extremely cunning spikes struck his body, but they shattered into countless fragments on the hardened, gold-like dragon scales, leaving only a few shallow, white dents.

Meanwhile, the Earth-Splittering Lion casting the spell below seemed to be hit head-on by an invisible attack. The rock armor on its chest suddenly collapsed inward, letting out a painful groan, and it spat out blood again as it flew backward.

Mind spell - Damage transfer.

The moment Iron Dragon was attacked, it forcibly transferred a portion of the damage that it should have taken to the caster, Earthshaker Lion, through this spell.

In terms of the proportion of damage transferred, the damage suffered by the Earthshaker is actually far less than that of the Iron Dragon itself.

However, the difference in physical strength between the two sides was too great. What was merely a minor impact on Iron Dragon was a heavy blow to Earthshaker.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Roar!!!

Amidst a series of dull thuds, the cracking of bones, and roars filled with pain and rage, the woodland trembled, dust billowed, and rubble and broken branches flew everywhere.

The lopsided battle did not last long.

Less than ten minutes later.

The surviving lions could no longer contain their fear and began to howl in panic. Ignoring their leader's roars and orders, they scattered and fled.

Iron Dragon Sorog hovered in the air, coldly surveying his surroundings.

Centered on him, nine severely injured lions, incapacitated, lay scattered across the ravaged ground.

Immediately afterwards, the Iron Dragon suddenly flapped its wings, its body rising abruptly into the sky.

His vision reflected the image of the Earth-Splitter Lion-Head fleeing through the dense forest.

The next moment, he swooped down like a hawk locking onto its prey.

Boom!!!

A precise and violent dive strike sent the strongest individual member of the squad, the Earth-Splitter Lion Chieftain, flying through the air once again, crashing through several large trees before tumbling to the ground.

The Earth-Splitter Lion struggled to get up, but its body, covered in wounds and with its rock armor shattered, could no longer support it.

In the end, it could only collapse helplessly to the ground, emitting painful gasps.

Bang!

The heavy body of the Iron Dragon landed beside it, and a sharp claw mercilessly gripped the massive head of the Earth-Splitting Lion. The sharp claw tip pierced through the fur, leaving a deep, blood-soaked groove.

"Reptiles, submit or die."

Sorog's voice resounded directly in the mind of the Earthshaker.

Under the indifferent gaze of the Iron Dragon, the Earthshaker's initial struggles and unwilling roars gradually weakened, eventually turning into a low whimper filled with fear and submission, choosing to surrender.

The other few injured lions who were lucky enough to survive and were desperately fleeing in different directions did not get very far.

They soon ran into the elite troops of the Ironforge tribe, who had already received the signal and were steadily tightening their encirclement from the outside. After a series of futile resistances, they were first severely wounded, and finally captured by specially made steel cables and nets.

The dragons were not hunting alone.

While locating the lion pride high in the air, they will command the nearest Ironclad Familiar troops to surround the pride from the outside, and then personally launch a thunderous attack. In coordination with the Familiar's encirclement, they will strive to wipe out the lions in one fell swoop, leaving no one behind.

Similar scenarios are playing out simultaneously in different areas along the border.

Samantha, the red dragon clad in thick, jet-black armor, which made her appear even more imposing and enormous, excitedly swung her tail, which was covered in spiked armor.

Clang!

As she moved, the sharp, blade-like armor plates on her tail precisely fitted and locked together, instantly transforming into a giant blade-like structure that slashed at the mammoth lion's famously indestructible crossed tusks with a piercing shriek that tore through the air.

Snap! Snap!

With a sickening cracking sound, the pair of enormous fangs, symbols of power and strength, snapped in two.

"Hahaha! Come on! Again!"

"You lowly reptiles! What kind of being do you think you're fighting against?!"

Samantha laughed wildly.

With her own powerful red dragon strength, coupled with the all-around amplification and protection provided by the alchemical armor, she was now like a dragon-shaped alchemical golem born for battle, rampaging through the lion pride.

Every claw strike, every tail whip, every charge carries an overwhelming force.

The once fierce pride of lions was routed, their morale collapsed, and they could only flee with their tails between their legs, howling in despair.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

In the bright sky, a dark cloud, extremely abrupt and churning with lightning, hung low. Within it, electric snakes danced wildly, thunder roared, and thick bolts of lightning struck the earth like whips from the heavens!

The blue dragon Hriam hovered gracefully in the very center of the storm clouds.

He didn't even need to land; he simply and calmly flapped his wings, which were inlaid with lightning patterns, and skillfully controlled the thunder that filled the sky.

The violent lightning seemed to have eyes, engulfing the pride of lions below.

As time passed, the lion-like beasts and monsters were electrocuted until their bodies were charred and smoking, their manes stood on end, and they collapsed to the ground, unable to move, their limbs convulsing violently.

Rumble!!!

On the other hand, the young and impetuous Cahill chose the most direct approach.

She didn't bother to dodge, letting the lions' sharp teeth and claws fall on her thick-scaled body.

The pain fueled her rage, and the boiling rage, in turn, fueled an even greater power.

The pride of lions soon realized that they were not attacking their prey, but were facing an erupting volcano, being unilaterally overwhelmed and brutally beaten by her!

As her pent-up anger gradually dissipated with her frenzied attacks, she regained her composure.

The ground was littered with severely wounded lions, some with broken bones and barely breathing, and others with lifeless corpses.

at the same time.

Galos's gaze swept across the entire battlefield, quickly locking onto the most numerous and highest-level elite force, which could be considered the pride's ace.

He circled halfway in the sky, adjusted his direction, and then, like a meteor, plummeted down in front of the pride of lions.

boom!

The terrifying shockwave and tremors generated upon landing alone threw the entire elite lion pride into disarray, with more than twenty lions staggering about, their eyes instantly filled with terror.

call--!

The red iron dragon spread its enormous wings, which seemed capable of blotting out the sky, and the resulting gale dispersed the dust and smoke, revealing its majestic and imposing body.

Centered on him, the dragon's might, condensed to a tangible form, radiated outwards like a tsunami, endlessly.

The lions were so overwhelmed they could barely breathe, their limbs trembling slightly.

"Come, reptiles, use your sharp teeth and claws to please me as much as you can."

Red Iron Dragon lowered his head, looked down at the pride of lions, and spoke calmly.

Roar!!!

The leader, an exceptionally powerful beast that appeared to be a mutated individual, lowered its body, bared its fangs, and adopted a fighting stance ready to fight to the death, letting out a fierce roar at Garos.

However, in the very next second...

But the ferocious lion did something that Garus didn't expect.

It suddenly turned around, bursting at full speed, like an arrow released from a bow, and fled wildly away from the red iron dragon.

The retreat was incredibly decisive, without any hesitation or delay.

That resolute stance I just displayed was all a facade to mislead my opponent.

At the same time, the surviving members of the pride instantly scattered and fled in different directions in a desperate manner.

When faced with Galus, they couldn't muster the slightest courage to fight back; their goal from the very beginning was to escape, and they did so with unparalleled decisiveness and speed.

"How do I know I can't win if I don't try? Maybe I should tone down my dragon might next time."

Red Iron Dragon shook his head, and then his body instantly disappeared from the spot.

Even if the pride of lions scattered and fled immediately, in the face of such an overwhelming disparity, all their struggles were futile and could not change the final outcome.

In the time that followed, the dragons continued their efficient hunting of the lions.

After quickly eliminating a small pride of lions, the dragons would leave the task of cleaning up the mess and binding the prisoners to the arriving Ironforge troops, while they themselves would soar into the sky without pausing, flapping their wings.

Leveraging their dominance over the skies, they quickly locked onto the next target area and then repeated the previous attack pattern.

Precise positioning, lightning strike, encirclement by allies...

Under the brutal attack of the dragons from the sky, the lion prides that had previously held the upper hand and were spreading their influence across the vast territory of the Ironforge tribe were quickly transformed from hunters into fleeing prey.

They were beaten so badly they fled in panic, looking utterly pathetic.

With the dragons' demise, the situation completely reversed.

Immediately afterwards, in less than a day, the vast majority of the lions that had invaded the territory of the Ironforge tribe were captured. A few that resisted fiercely and were difficult to capture alive were killed on the spot. Only a very few individuals who were extremely lucky or exceptionally cunning managed to break through the gradually tightening encirclement and escape back to the direction of the Lion King's territory with serious injuries.

The Lion King's first probing attack on the Ironforge tribe ended in complete failure.

"Now, it's our turn."

As night deepened, the dragons soared and circled in the star-studded night sky.

"Assemble the legions, press the attack, and march on Echo Rift!"

Garus gazed towards the Lion King's territory and issued a new order.

(End of this chapter)