Chapter 15: The Brute’s Death Struggle
The beast dragon with black fur on its back gently sniffed the scorched earth beneath it.
The water vapor common in the lower levels of the Ancient Tree couldn’t disperse the scent of the foreign intruder. Its parched mouth decided for it to drink water one last time today.
For unfamiliar intruders, after a nap, it would patrol its territory and see if they lingered.
This wasn’t the first time this happened. The fire dragons from the middle and upper layers of the Ancient Tree always fought over territory. The losers either flew back up to seek another chance or left in disgrace to find new lands.
Giving the defeated some time, if they didn’t leave, it would reclaim its territory from them. Having lived quite long, it had gained a bit of wisdom.
Patrolling the territory, hunting for food, sleeping, waking up to drink water, and the occasional territorial disputes—this was the day of a forest brute.
On the way to the lake for water, the scent of the intruder remained stubbornly at the tip of its nose, refusing to dissipate.
It was ahead, on the same path as itself.
The fresher scent made the Savage Jaw Dragon’s breathing heavier. A little wisdom didn’t mean it could tolerate the scent of other threats on its territory forever.
Looking back at this Savage Jaw Dragon’s past, it had preyed on wing-broken fire dragons before.
Its steps quickened in anger.
Finally, it reached the lake, seeing the Black Wolf Bird almost blending into the night at the center of the lake.
“Roar!”
“Roar!”
A heavy roar erupted from the Savage Jaw Dragon’s mouth. Jié Jié, who had been watching it with eyes wide open, responded with a roar and a fiery ball brimming with rage.
The lake shimmered under the light of the fireball, making the faint glow of fireflies insignificant in comparison.
In the sky, the large monster skilled in flight could feel the temperature changes brought by the fireball, easily dodging it using the ascending air currents generated by the temperature differences.
Jié Jié’s furious strike exploded on the Savage Jaw Dragon, high-temperature heat waves charring half of its body’s skin, burning away large patches of its fur.
“Roar!”
The pain and loss of initiative made the Savage Jaw Dragon’s roar even more thunderous. It opened the cooling membrane on its back, mixing the heat from its usual movements with the heat stored in its flame bag, then sending it up its throat—
A straight column of fire swept towards the Black Wolf Bird.
Jié Jié leapt from the tree roots, only slightly singeing his tail as he dove towards the Savage Jaw Dragon.
Unable to fly, but still capable of gliding, he adjusted his body mid-air, and his sharp beak collided with the face of the Savage Jaw Dragon.
Staggering back in pain, the Savage Jaw Dragon didn’t fall immediately. Jié Jié extended his claws, climbed onto its back, and pecked fiercely at its eyes.
The forest brute was indeed shaking its body violently, but the Black Wolf Bird’s pecks were even faster.
Once, twice, thrice, four times.
Though such frenzied pecking might consume a lot of stamina, the rewards were exceptionally gratifying.
One of the Savage Jaw Dragon’s eyeballs smoothly slid down Jié Jié’s esophagus.
That felt good.
The pain from losing its left eye caused the Savage Jaw Dragon to shake its body even more wildly. It even slammed itself directly against a nearby rock wall.
Jié Jié calmly jumped off the Savage Jaw Dragon’s back, watching as it used its own back to crash into the stone wall.
The rock wall shook, dropping a few chunks of rubble. The right eye of the Savage Jaw Dragon caught sight of the Black Wolf Bird standing aside, turning its body and spewing another jet of fire.
Swiftly, too swift for Jié Jié to dodge entirely; the burning sensation that had been extinguished in the lake water returned, his entire shell feeling like it was about to melt.
And after spitting out that jet of fire, the Savage Jaw Dragon lowered its head, charging at Jié Jié with a Dragon Charge.
This time, Jié Jié reacted. While jumping back to avoid the charge, he rapidly heated his flame bag, landing just in time to evade the Dragon Charge and spitting out a fireball.
Simultaneously, he used the recoil of the fireball to jump back again. As the Savage Jaw Dragon finished its Dragon Charge and raised its head—
A gliding Dragon Charge breaking through the curtain of flames!
Other Black Wolf Birds might have learned this move from fire dragons, but his technique came from a different master—the legendary Nightmarish Wandering Eel residing in Shuredd Ruins!
In the remaining right eye of the Savage Jaw Dragon, the beak of the Black Wolf Bird rapidly grew larger. Just as it instinctively closed its eye, the beak pierced through its brow bone.
The forest brute crashed to the ground with a thunderous boom, its body convulsing. Despite its abundant stamina, it had suffered multiple devastating blows.
Conversely, Jié Jié was nearing exhaustion. After briefly catching his breath, dragging his battered, weary body, he raised his head and struck the Savage Jaw Dragon’s remaining eye with a fierce peck.
Pulling out his beak, it carried the Savage Jaw Dragon’s eyeball and a large amount of nerve tissue, swallowing it before striking again.
The eye socket of the Savage Jaw Dragon was gradually expanding, while Jié Jié fed on the spot to restore his strength.
The two previous fireballs had softened the Savage Jaw Dragon’s facial flesh well, and the pecking carried a hint of charred aroma.
Exhaustion slowed his movements significantly. The Savage Jaw Dragon, with half its head bloody and mangled, stood up again.
But it could see nothing. The blood flowing into its nose interfered with its sense of smell.
Jié Jié crouched low, panting as the Savage Jaw Dragon’s head bit over him, aiming for the opposite direction.
After recovering a bit of strength, he flapped his wings and hopped onto a boulder, quietly observing the Savage Jaw Dragon’s solo dance under the moonlight.
The brute’s death struggle.
The robust body of the beast dragon swung wildly, but each attack missed its mark.
When the Savage Jaw Dragon’s stamina was nearly depleted, drooling where it stood, Jié Jié continued to watch.
He needed to recover more than it did.
The calmed Savage Jaw Dragon expanded its nasal cavity into a white crest, sniffing around to reconfirm Jié Jié’s position, then charged sideways into the rock wall.
Jié Jié flapped his wings, stabilizing himself on the swaying boulder, gliding down towards the Savage Jaw Dragon, spinning his body and delivering a Tail Whip.
The poisonous spines on his tail sliced open the Savage Jaw Dragon’s skin, leaving a dark purple mark.
Folding his wings and lowering his body, the low center of gravity allowed him to side-step the Savage Jaw Dragon’s attacks, maneuvering around to deliver a second Tail Whip.
This time, the poison spine penetrated the seam between the Savage Jaw Dragon’s thigh and body but was quickly broken by its violent leg movements, leaving it embedded inside.
Fortunately, there were no pain receptors on the poison spine. Unfortunately, the Savage Jaw Dragon confirmed his location.
Its thick legs kicked powerfully, its blood-filled mouth slamming heavily towards Jié Jié’s spine.
“Roar!”
The body of the Black Wolf Bird shrank rapidly. Paralysis Gas Frogs inflated their cheeks, squeezing out the last bit of paralyzing gas, which was injected into the Savage Jaw Dragon’s mouth before leaping out of range.
The brute convulsed all over, a few drops of dark purple venomous blood splashing from its mouth.
After Jié Jié transformed back into the Black Wolf Bird and delivered a final fireball, the Savage Jaw Dragon crashed to the ground with a thunderous boom.
