“Xuanxi, dodge!” Hildegrifa’s lightning light struck the Dragon lizard’s face directly, hitting its neck. Scales burst apart. The lizard flinched in pain, its head tilting to one side.
The breath swept past Xuanxi’s side and struck the rock wall behind her. The wall exploded, sending gravel flying. A fist-sized stone slammed into Xuanxi’s back. She stumbled a step, then steadied herself.
“Attack together!” The three of them struck from three directions at once, trying to drive back the Dragon lizard, but its scales were too thick.
Flames could only leave a black mark on the surface. The ice spikes shattered into pieces as soon as they hit the scales. The earth wall was crushed with a single claw swipe.
“Fall back!” Xuanxi shouted.
Hildegrifa didn’t retreat. She stood to Xuanxi’s right, lightning light jumping between her fingers. The other three didn’t fall back either.
“Together!” Reginald shouted.
All five struck at once. Hildegrifa’s lightning light blasted from the front, Reginald’s earth wall pushed in from the side, Elsa’s flames and Valeris’s ice spikes attacked the Dragon lizard from above and below, while Xuanxi’s water curtain spread before the lizard, trying to hide their attacks.
The lizard’s thick scales covered its eyelids. Lightning light, flames, and ice spikes all hit its face but couldn’t deal any damage.
The Dragon lizard’s tail swept across. Reginald’s earth wall shattered on impact. Gravel flew, and a piece hit Elsa’s shoulder. She let out a muffled groan, and her flames dimmed.
The tail continued sweeping toward Elsa. Seeing this, Reginald blocked in front of her, taking the blow on his back. His spine slammed into the remnants of the earth wall, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
“Reginald!” Elsa’s voice changed.
“I’m fine.” Reginald wiped the corner of his mouth. Blood mixed with dirt left a dark red streak on his face.
Xuanxi looked at the Dragon lizard. Even Xige’s lightning light could only scratch it. And Reginald’s earth wall couldn’t even hold for a single round. She looked down at her own hand. With a thought, ink-blue scales instantly emerged from her fingertips.
Water flowed out from between the scales, condensing above her fist into a water blade. No good. This water blade could pierce the scales of a lake swamp dragon python, but against a Rock-armored Dragon Lizard, it was still not enough.
“Xuanxi.” Hildegrifa’s voice came from beside her. “Don’t tough it out.”
“I know.” Xuanxi clenched her teeth.
The Dragon lizard opened its mouth. A blazing white light gathered again deep in its throat. This time it didn’t spit it out, but held it in its mouth like a small sun about to hatch. Its dark red eyes fixed on Xuanxi, her reflection in its pupils.
“You’re just like that woman.” The Dragon lizard’s voice was low, as low as a tremor from deep in the earth. “Both of you are annoying.” It paused. “But she had the strength to hunt me, to toy with me. Do you think you have that kind of strength?”
Xuanxi didn’t answer. She rushed forward. Ink-blue scales covered her entire forearm. Water poured out from between the scales, forming a one-meter-long water blade above her fist.
“No!” Hildegrifa’s voice came from behind.
The Dragon lizard lowered its head. The blazing white breath erupted from deep in its throat like a white lightning bolt, heading straight for Xuanxi. There was no room to dodge. The canyon was too narrow, with rock walls on both sides.
Xuanxi didn’t evade. She dispelled the water blade, raised both hands, and hastily spread a water wall in front of her. The water wall collided with the breath. Steam rose. The recoil was so great that it sent Xuanxi flying backward.
When Xuanxi’s back hit the rock wall, she felt like she heard the sound of her own bones. Her right shoulder blade slid half an inch in the wrong direction.
The pain came later—first her whole body went numb, then pain surged up from her back like a tide, flooding over her spine, over her ribs, all the way up to her throat.
She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Only a rusty taste rose from under her tongue.
The gravel hadn’t finished falling. A fist-sized chunk hit her left shoulder. Another scraped past her cheekbone, tearing a gash across her face. Blood dripped from her chin onto her neck, warm and sticky, completely different from the sweat she usually shed.
“Xuanxi!” She heard Xige’s voice, but it sounded like it was filtered through a layer of water. Tinnitus. The Dragon lizard’s breath had shattered not only the rock wall but also her sense of balance.
She tried to stand. Her right arm pushed against the ground—no good. The dislocation of her right shoulder made her entire arm useless. As soon as her fingers touched the ground, they slipped away. She dropped to her knees.
The Dragon lizard didn’t pursue. It was enjoying the pleasure of watching its enemy struggle for survival before its eyes. It stood there, looking at Xuanxi lying on the ground, and let out a satisfied sound from deep in its throat.
Just then, a bolt of lightning light struck it.
The Dragon lizard’s head snapped to the side. Its scales were too thick. The lightning light only left a charred mark on its eyelid.
Hildegrifa stood twenty paces away, her right hand extended horizontally. A few sparks of electricity still clung to her fingertips, emitting a faint crackling sound.
Her silvery-white hair was tousled by the scorching wind kicked up by the Dragon lizard’s breath, a few strands sticking to her forehead.
Her expression was calm, but her amethyst eyes glowed unnaturally—carrying worry for her best friend’s injury and anger toward the Dragon lizard that had hurt her friend.
“Annoying,” she said.
The Dragon lizard’s single eye turned toward her. Its pupil contracted. Xige didn’t avoid that gaze. Her back was straight, her breathing steady—though casting lightning-type techniques continuously had drained a good deal of her mana, her stance showed no signs of fatigue.
This was a habit trained into her since childhood as the family heir: no matter how tired, you can’t let others see your weakness.
“Who are you now?” the Dragon lizard asked her.
Xige disdained to answer that question. She was looking at Xuanxi.
Xuanxi knelt in the pile of rubble, her right arm hanging at her side. That blow from the Dragon lizard hadn’t hit her directly, but it had shattered the entire rock wall behind her.
The gravel and shockwave had left her dazed. Her right hand fingers trembled slightly, and her entire arm was losing sensation.
She raised her head. Her ink-blue hair was covered in gray-white stone dust. Blood trickled down her jawline to her neck. Her breathing was rapid, and every breath came with the sharp sting of her wounds.
Her eyes were still bright, carrying a certain determination.
“Xuanxi, can you still stand?” Hildegrifa’s voice came from beside her. She had already walked over to Xuanxi, crouched down, and used her body to block the Dragon lizard’s line of sight. Not deliberate protection—instinct.
“Yes,” Xuanxi said through clenched teeth.
Xige didn’t wait. Her left hand grabbed Xuanxi’s right arm hanging at her side. The dislocated bone ground against her palm for a moment. Xuanxi’s face went pale for an instant, but she didn’t make a sound. Xige used just the right amount of force.
The sound of the bone popping back into place was like snapping a branch. Cold sweat immediately broke out on Xuanxi’s forehead. Her lips turned white from biting them, but she swallowed back the scream.
“Breathe deeply,” Xige said. Xuanxi obeyed. She sucked in a breath. Her entire right arm, from shoulder to fingertips, felt like it was on fire, burning and numb. She moved her fingers. They could move. So she could still fight. Xige pulled her up from the ground.
The movements weren’t gentle, but every step was perfectly timed. Xuanxi leaned on her for only a second before she could stand straight on her own.
“Now, it’s our turn!” Xuanxi declared.