Moonlight and the black cat were playing around by the campfire. After spending a few days together, the black cat had clearly beco much more lively, no longer as timid and wary as before.
Raylo had given the black cat a very fitting na: "Coal Ball."
The night passed uneventfully.
In the early morning, before the thin mist had completely dispersed, the Allied Army of the Black Stone and Amber Territories set out on their journey once more.
The rest of the march was relatively smooth. Along the way, they only encountered a few small, unlucky groups of Magical Beasts, which the Knights dispatched with ease.
On the afternoon of the second day, the army arrived at the edge of a rolling mountain range.
Ahead, a majestic and precipitous mountain peak pierced the clouds like a sharp sword. The mountain face was a dark red, with towering, sheer cliffs that exuded an ancient and desolate aura.
"My lord, once we cross this mountain, it should be about another day’s journey to Red Leaf City."
Ed ca to Raylo’s side, pointing at the distant peak.
Suddenly, a sharp, piercing cry echoed from the distant sky.
"What was that sound?"
Lillian looked up at the sky curiously.
Raylo spurred Baofeng, his Storm Griffin King, to slowly ascend, and his field of view imdiately widened.
Near the summit of the dark red mountain, a fierce aerial battle was unfolding.
On one side were five enormous Flying Magical Beasts. Their bodies were long and agile, covered in crimson scales that glinted with a tallic sheen in the sunlight.
Their massive mbranous wings spanned over twenty ters, and each flap stirred up scorching air currents.
Their heads were ferocious, and from ti to ti they spat out scorching Dragon Breath, which looked like serpents of fire painting the sky a shade of orange-red.
"Red-winged Flying Dragons! And judging by their size and power, they’re at least Tier Four Magical Beasts!"
The experienced Alex recognized the ferocious creatures at a glance.
Their opponents, a flock of Griffins, far outnumbered them.
These Griffins were slightly smaller than Storm Griffins. Their feathers were a deep azure, and fine arcs of electricity flickered at the edges of their wings.
They had the agile bodies of lions and the sharp heads and talons of eagles. Every beat of their wings was accompanied by a crackling clap of thunder.
"Thunderboltous Griffins, Tier Three Magical Beasts, but there are a full sixteen of them!"
This was clearly a duel for territory that had erupted between a family of Red-winged Flying Dragons and a flock of Thunderboltous Griffins.
Although the five Red-winged Flying Dragons were outnumbered, their individual strength was formidable.
They occupied the higher airspace, periodically diving down with a perfectly coordinated assault of Dragon Breath, sharp talons, and long tails.
The most powerful-looking of the Red-winged Flying Dragons seed to be the family’s leader. Each of its attacks was precise and deadly. One wide sweep of its thick Dragon Breath forced several Thunderboltous Griffins to scatter in disarray, their feathers scorched black.
The flock of Thunderboltous Griffins, on the other hand, relied on their superior numbers and agility, fearlessly launching wave after wave of assaults.
They condensed blinding bolts of Lightning in their mouths, which they shot whistling toward the Red-winged Flying Dragons.
More than ten Thunderboltous Griffins worked in concert, sotis scattering to harass the enemy, sotis focusing their attacks, trying to tear through the Red-winged Flying Dragons’ defensive line.
ROAR!
A young Red-winged Flying Dragon was careless for a mont and was struck by three consecutive bolts of Lightning. It let out a painful cry as a patch of its crimson scales was blasted away, sending blood flying. Its enormous body faltered in the air, nearly causing it to fall.
Its companions imdiately let out furious roars. The other adult Red-winged Flying Dragons dove down recklessly to provide cover, spitting Dragon Breath even more violently and temporarily forcing the pursuing flock of Thunderboltous Griffins to retreat.
The coordination of the Thunderboltous Griffins was quite exquisite. Their leader had to be formidable.
He noticed that among the flock of Thunderboltous Griffins, there was one whose body was clearly more robust and whose feathers were darker than its kin. It did not readily attack, instead circling high above and occasionally letting out one or two short, powerful cries, directing the rhythm of the entire flock’s offense and defense.
This was clearly the leader of the Thunderboltous Griffins, and it was possibly a King-level Griffin, just like Baofeng.
The soldiers below were already srized by the spectacle in the sky.
Flocks of Griffins battling a swarm of Flying Dragons, spilling their blood across the sky—such a rare sight made their blood boil with excitent.
Dragon Breath and Lightning intertwined, and roars and cries were constant.
The battle grew increasingly intense.
One Thunderboltous Griffin failed to dodge in ti and had half of its wing torn apart by a Red-winged Flying Dragon’s claws. It shrieked as it spiraled down from the sky, slamming heavily against a distant cliff face, its fate unknown.
But the flock of Thunderboltous Griffins was not without its own victories.
They seized an opening as one Red-winged Flying Dragon was spitting Dragon Breath. Seven or eight Griffins attacked at once, and dozens of bolts of Lightning struck precisely at the base of its left wing.
The Red-winged Flying Dragon let out a piercing wail. Its left wing was blasted into a bloody ss, and it lost its balance, gliding clumsily toward the ground.
"Using superior numbers to defeat the few, and the weak to defeat the strong—the key is timing and coordination."
Raylo watched this scene and murmured softly to himself.
Alex nodded from the side. "Although the Thunderboltous Griffins are of a lower Tier, they have the advantage in numbers and their fearlessness of death. That injured Red-winged Flying Dragon is likely dood."
Sure enough, a few brave Thunderboltous Griffins gave chase relentlessly. Soon, the desperate roars of the injured Red-winged Flying Dragon and the excited cries of the Thunderboltous Griffins echoed from the mountain forest.
The battle in the sky continued, but the Red-winged Flying Dragon family was now clearly at a disadvantage.
Having lost two of their companions, the remaining three Red-winged Flying Dragons, though still fierce, were hard-pressed. They had sustained several wounds deep enough to show bone, and blood stained their crimson Scale Armor.
The flock of Thunderboltous Griffins had lost at least three of their own, but their attacks only grew more frenzied.
The leader of the Red-winged Flying Dragons let out a mournful cry of grief and defiance. It suddenly wheeled around, its massive Dragon Tail sweeping out like a steel whip and knocking away two Thunderboltous Griffins that had gotten too close.
Then, it gave up the fight and fled north in disarray with its two injured companions.
The leader of the Thunderboltous Griffins let out a high-pitched, triumphant cry. It led its companions in a few victory laps, declaring its victory and its claim to this airspace, before slowly descending onto the dark red mountain peak.
And so, the Curtain fell on a thrilling battle for territory.
Raylo withdrew his gaze, feeling moved by what he had witnessed.
This was the cruel Law of nature: the weak are prey for the strong, and only the fittest survive. Neither humans nor Magical Beasts could escape it.
"Pass down the order: the entire army is to maintain silence. We will bypass this mountain and continue our advance."
Raylo’s voice pulled everyone’s thoughts back to reality.
The soldiers silently carried out the order. The looks of ease on their faces had long been replaced by a mixture of awe and solemnity after witnessing the bloody battle.
The column bypassed the mountain, which now reeked of blood, and continued their march east.
At dusk, Red Leaf City appeared before them.
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