Anxious, Ronald immediately tried to pilot the Iron Man to follow her, but the black dragon caught up before he could fly far.
Two sharp, silver-glowing dragon claws slashed at No. 23 from behind. Although his rod-type armaments formed a shield to barely block one attack, the other strike landed squarely on its back.
On one side of the Iron Man’s back, several critical thrusters were ruthlessly torn to shreds by the Storm Dragon’s claws. A deafening explosion erupted, and billowing black smoke surged into the sky, instantly obscuring his vision.
Under the force of this blow, Ronald momentarily lost control of No. 23. The machine began to tilt uncontrollably, eventually tracing an irregular arc in mid-air as it plummeted toward the ground.
In the heat of the battle, Midir keenly caught the abnormal sounds and changes coming from behind. Turning his head, he saw that Aila was already in grave danger, falling rapidly and about to vanish into the thick cloud layer.
This sudden turn of events made his heart tighten. No longer caring about the Red Dragon in front of him, he resolutely abandoned the standoff and transformed into a streak of lightning, charging toward where Aila was falling.
After a brief moment of panic during the weightless plunge, Aila quickly displayed her extraordinary composure and wit.
She rapidly adjusted her posture, spreading her body as much as possible into a star shape, similar to a paraglider, to slow her descent.
Meanwhile, her mind worked like lightning, flashing through various possible self-rescue plans in an attempt to find a glimmer of hope in this desperate situation.
In this critical moment, Aila decisively released her internal battle qi, forming a flame-like red light shield over her skin. This not only increased her surface area to further slow her fall but also made her the most dazzling focal point in the night sky.
This sudden radiance allowed Midir, who was above, to quickly lock onto her position through the heavy clouds.
However, just as Midir prepared to go to her rescue, the Storm Dragon suddenly changed its target. It abandoned its pursuit of Iron Man No. 23 and turned to attack him instead.
At the same time, the Red Dragon followed closely behind. Together, they formed a pincer movement, flanking Midir from front and back.
The fireballs and dragon breath from the two giant dragons' mouths wove together into a massive net, blanketing the sky as it surged toward him.
But Midir, relying on his agility, performed a teleportation just as the attack was about to hit. He narrowly avoided the lethal strike and skillfully appeared on the black dragon’s back.
The blade in his hand shimmered with the green light of wind elements as he swung it with all his might toward the base of the black dragon’s wings.
However, the bones at the wing joints were incredibly hard. The blade only managed to cut into the flesh, leaving a shallow wound.
Seeing this, Midir quickly adjusted his strategy, rapidly converting the wind elements on his sword into ice elements.
This time, with his full power, massive ice crystals quickly spread across the Storm Dragon’s wings and body. Half of its frame was soon frozen, causing it to lose its balance and begin a slow fall toward the ground.
Seeing its companion in trouble, the Red Dragon did not hesitate to rush forward. It clung tightly to the black dragon in mid-air, attempting to use its own high temperature to melt the ice.
A faint smile finally tugged at the corner of Midir’s mouth. He knew this was the moment he had been waiting for. With a violent wave of his hand, a sphere glowing with a piercing white light left his palm, landing unerringly where the two dragons were entangled.
“I was just waiting for you two to get together! Since I can’t kill you, I’ll give you a taste of this!”
The two giant dragons were drawn to the sudden white light sphere almost simultaneously. They turned their heads in astonishment, only to see the white orb explode violently between them.
Accompanied by a roar even more deafening than thunder, the white light surged out like a tide, instantly swallowing both dragons.
The blinding glare and thunderous boom acted like a double hammer, striking their senses and causing them to tumble painfully in the air. They flapped their wings wildly like headless flies, struggling to regain control of their bodies.
Midir, however, had already left them the moment he threw the light orb, diving straight toward Aila, who had glided far away.
By now, even with the deceleration from her battle qi, Aila had fallen very close to the ground. The dense forest below was clearly visible.
The sound of the explosion behind her acted like an alarm, making Aila’s heart tighten.
Just as she channeled her War God Battle Qi to form a solid shield around her vital organs, preparing for a hard landing, Midir descended like a god from the heavens. He scooped her up by her slender waist and, using his teleportation ability, lightly leaped away from the spot at a height of about ten meters.
When the two landed steadily in a clearing deep within the forest, Aila finally relaxed from her tense state. She knelt on the ground, her chest heaving violently, clearly still shaken by the experience.
Midir looked up at the sky through a gap in the canopy. High above, the two dragons had just recovered from their disorientation. Seeing that the pair had disappeared, they began to vent their frustration. Lightning and flames fell from the sky like a rainstorm, smashing countless trees and rocks.
Realizing the severity of the situation, Midir quickly pulled Aila up and teleported again, leading her into a hidden valley nearby. Here, they were finally safe from the threat of dragon breath and lightning.
He carefully observed the situation in the sky while asking, “Where’s Ronald? I didn’t see No. 23 when I came down.”
Aila took off the wind goggles around her neck, waved them in front of Midir, and replied.
“He should be fine. He sent me a message on the way down saying that half of the Iron Man’s power is malfunctioning and he can’t control the direction. However, the crash landing shouldn't be much of a problem. He’s probably found a place to hide, just like us.”
Hearing Aila’s words, Midir breathed a sigh of relief and lamented with some helplessness.
“That’s good. I don’t know how much longer those two things will keep rampaging in the sky. Our luck is really rotten. How did we run into two crazed dragons like this? If you guys hadn't stopped me, I definitely would’ve taught them a lesson.”
“Well, when I encountered those disgusting cockroaches in Zhuna City, I said I’d rather fight a dragon! Turns out, I actually ran into them! Is this good luck or bad luck? I wonder where we’ve landed now.” Aila also sighed, leaning against a tree trunk helplessly.
After rampaging in the sky for over ten minutes, the two giant dragons finally seemed to have exhausted their fury. They left behind a scene of devastation and departed unwillingly.
Seeing them finally leave their sight, the two people hiding in the distance let out a long breath. Fortunately, the forest below wasn't too dense; otherwise, the areas swept by the dragon breath would have certainly started a forest fire.
During this time, Aila finally managed to contact Ronald through her wind goggles.
It turned out that Ronald had crashed No. 23 into a lake several kilometers away. The lake water had skillfully masked the smoke from the damaged mecha, preventing the dragons from spotting such an obvious target.
But that was also the problem. Ronald had no way to pull a massive mecha weighing dozens of tons out of the lake by himself. Furthermore, the temperature around them had dropped significantly. An ordinary person couldn't stay in the freezing lake water for long, so he had no choice but to abandon the mecha.
Rate on N.U.
