"ROAR—" The flames spewed from the Rapid Dragon's mouth scorched a range of several dozen meters around it—an ocean of fire.
"Ssss~~~"
The fire belching from the Rapid Dragon's maw blazed across the bodies of the four warriors. With the protection of the Ice Guardian Battle Armor and their Dou Qi Shields, the four of them could absolutely withstand the searing flames.
As for the female archer, she had already climbed onto the Griffin's back and was firing arrows from the sky.
Meanwhile, the Bloodthirsty Iron Bull stood like a fortress wall, shielding the two female mages.
"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!" "Whoosh!"
Perched atop the Griffin, the female archer's eyes were cold and sharp, her hands steady as stone. She loosed three arrows in rapid succession, each one aimed at the mysterious mage riding on the Rapid Dragon's back!
"Whap!" The Rapid Dragon's whip-like tail cracked through the air with lightning speed, faster even than the arrows, smashing the archer's triple volley to splinters in an instant. Without pausing, the tail swept back around toward the four male warriors. The shriek of air being torn apart as the tail swung was enough to drain the color from all four men's faces. They scattered like apes, dodging with everything they had.
But the tail's arc was no simple straight line—it undulated up and down as it swept, shifting unpredictably.
"CRACK!"
One of the four warriors still couldn't dodge in time. The tail slammed into his waist with devastating force. The Ice Guardian Battle Armor and Dou Qi Shield shattered almost in the blink of an eye. Then the tail coiled around, snaring the man's body in a crushing grip.
"Luga!" The red-haired brute standing nearby screamed, his eyes splitting with fury.
"N—NO—" Luga shrieked in terror.
The massive tail gave a single violent shake, and Luga was flung straight into the Rapid Dragon's gaping maw. The beast opened its blood-red jaws and clamped down on him. All that could be heard was a sickening crunch and a final agonized howl from Luga before his life ended.
Under the Rapid Dragon's dense rows of saw-like teeth, Luga was ground to pieces. A chunk of his crimson-streaked thigh tumbled from the corner of the dragon's mouth. At the knee, jagged white bone jutted grotesquely from the torn flesh.
"Don't look." Hillman stepped in front of Lin Lei, blocking his view.
That scene had been far too gruesome. Even a grown man would feel terror upon witnessing something like that for the first time, let alone Lin Lei—an eight-year-old boy.
But Lin Lei had already seen it.
"Hah… hah…" Lin Lei felt as though a boulder were crushing his chest. Breathing came hard, and he panted in ragged gasps. But his mind was flooded with the image of that young man called Luga being torn apart and devoured alive.
The ruptured belly. The spilled intestines. The shattered skull. The severed half-leg still clinging to sinew and bone!
All of it made it hard to breathe. His head swam.
This was the first time Lin Lei had witnessed a battle this savage, the first time he had seen a person ground to pulp by a colossal Rapid Dragon. That severed thigh, that single frozen image—it was carved into his mind with brutal permanence.
Hillman, Roy, and Roger exchanged glances, and the worry in their eyes as they looked at Lin Lei was plain.
Could an eight-year-old child endure witnessing a scene this bloody and horrific? Would it plant a shadow in his heart? If he developed a psychological fear of battle this young, his future potential would be crippled.
"Killing… killing is nothing, it's nothing!" Lin Lei urged himself silently. "When I grow up and join the army, I'll have to kill all the same. I have to get through this. I have to get through it."