Chapter 90: Heat and Cold 1
The recoil of miniaturization being gigantification, what a concept.
My body had grown even larger than before.
Of course, it wasn’t as dramatic a change as when I had used miniaturization.
Just a little bigger, a little heavier.
But that “little” was different when the standard was set by Komodo-Lania.
“Grrrr….”
I growled softly and looked down at the Megatherium.
It was still gigantic.
I had grown larger, but it wasn’t like it had shrunk.
The Megatherium expanded its size as much as possible when it saw me.
It must have been trying to show that it wasn’t intimidated.
Like a frilled lizard spreading its frill.
It was a laughable display.
Trying to appear larger was a survival tactic for the weak.
“Gwoooaaa!”
While it was inflating itself, the Geckos moved swiftly.
Fortunately, it seemed there were no unfortunate incidents of them losing consciousness at the sight of me.
They quickly retreated from the battlefield with the Gecko that had been standing against the Megatherium.
The Megatherium couldn’t stop them.
All its attention was focused on me.
My arms, legs, and tail.
It was paying close attention to my every move.
And it was also assessing the condition of my body.
Shwaaa.
The rain continued to fall, washing away the blood.
The heat and cold contained in the Dragon’s Blood blocked the rainwater, but I immediately retracted my internal energy to turn it back into ordinary blood.
Because right now, it was advantageous for the blood to be washed away.
Even though the miniaturization was undone and I was enjoying the effects of gigantification, the situation wasn’t great.
The injuries inflicted by the Megatherium remained.
My head was still dizzy.
It was hard to move because of the broken bones.
I couldn’t move like I did before.
I couldn’t even stand on two legs, so using the martial arts that contained the essence of the Soaring Dragon technique like before would be difficult.
“Grrrr….”
But did that matter?
I had only used those moves before to compensate for my shrunken body.
Now, even a regular attack from me was equivalent to a special technique.
“Kraaaah!”
I stepped on the ground with my broken leg.
I pressed down on the broken bone with Dragon Scales to support it.
It was a crude first aid.
But it was enough to reach it.
Thud!
Thump!
“Gwoooaaa!”
The Megatherium chose not to dodge, opting instead to confront me head-on.
It stood on its two legs, and its already massive size became even more colossal.
Bang!
Crash!
Before I could even reach it, it slammed the ground with immense force.
Rumble….
The earth trembled.
But it had no effect on me in my current state.
The Megatherium knew that, too.
Yet it still did it, as if to warn me.
A warning that if I charged in, I would be hit by that attack.
That I would be slaughtered by it, with its inflated size.
“Gwoooaaar!”
That’s why it was laughable.
What kind of predator warns its prey?
“Kraaaah!”
I kept charging toward it.
No, saying I was “charging” might be misleading.
Who would think I was charging in my current state?
It was far too slow to be called a charge.
Yet I kept moving toward it.
The Megatherium didn’t avoid me.
It stood its ground, continuously slamming the earth to intimidate me.
Boom!
It seemed like it was recklessly pounding the ground, but it was like a barrage of bombings.
To attack it, I would have to walk into that relentless bombardment.
In my current condition, there was no way I could avoid it.
The only choice I had was to push through the attack and get close.
[“Dragon’s Reverse Scale LV1” has been activated.]
With the remaining MP, I could probably manage just one more attack.
[“The Reverberating Aura That Covers the World” has been temporarily acquired.]
Rumble.
A powerful force pressed down on the Megatherium.
Its strength was formidable enough to resist to some extent.
But it must have dispersed some of its power to withstand the Reverberating Aura.
Now was the time.
Crrk.
I put strength into my broken leg and approached it as quickly as possible.
Its claw came crashing down as if it had been waiting for me.
No matter how much I restricted its movements, it wasn’t so limited that it couldn’t attack at this distance.
**Father-in-law, it’s a misunderstanding**
The King of Birds felt uneasy.
Why was that old man so calm?
Did he perhaps have some hidden defense against this attack?
Of course, what the King of Birds had sent wasn’t his strongest trump card.
The Fiery Phoenix, the Naga Bird.
Or the mythical Beihj bird, such creatures were in his arsenal.
Compared to them, the Megatherium he had sent this time was a bit lacking.
But even so, it was not an opponent to be underestimated.
In terms of sheer strength, it could be compared to a mythical creature.
Moreover, the target, the Snake Queen’s mate, had been reduced in size.
It didn’t make sense that the Megatherium couldn’t handle a small lizard.
“What exactly are you hiding?”
Boom!
Once again, a destructive beam shot from the Imoogi Bird’s beak.
It was just a probing shot, but its power was enough to obliterate several trees at once.
Hunhwi calmly dodged the attack.
The situation wasn’t unfolding as the King of Birds had expected.
Even the King of Birds would struggle to defeat Soaring Dragon without expending significant effort.
That’s why he had tried to shake his resolve, but it didn’t work.
If it were the Soaring Dragon he knew, he would have faltered long ago.
His attitude suggested he was confident that the small ones within his domain were safe.
The King of Birds couldn’t understand it.
Could it be that the Snake Queen had already made an alliance with him?
Since the Snake Queen’s mate had entered his territory, it wasn’t entirely impossible.
But even so, that didn’t mean his territory was safe.
The Snake Queen’s mate was in the territory, not the Snake Queen herself.
Moreover, its size had shrunk, meaning it had lost most of its power.
The Snake Queen couldn’t enter the Soaring Dragon’s domain.
Just as the King of Birds couldn’t enter it recklessly.
For her to act, she would have to send someone else, not herself.
And the conditions were strict.
Anyone who believed in the Snake Queen’s faith could not enter Hunhwi’s territory.
That’s why the Imoogi Bird sent the Megatherium, which wasn’t a mythical creature.
It wasn’t made to believe in the King of Birds’ faith but was instead subdued through brainwashing.
For the Snake Queen to intervene, she would have to use the same method as the Imoogi Bird.
But she didn’t have that kind of brainwashing ability, so it wouldn’t be easy.
In other words, it was safe to assume that the Snake Queen’s intervention was unlikely.
So what on earth was that old lizard relying on?
“Do you seriously think that small creature can defeat that beast?”
There’s a saying that you can’t know the outcome until you try.
But in this case, the difference was so stark that there was no need to try.
Soaring Dragon only smiled in response to the Imoogi Bird’s question.
“Krara!”
A single roar.
Soaring Dragon flew into the sky.
It had no wings, and it didn’t possess any mystic powers, so there was no way Hunhwi could fly.
Soaring Dragon’s Ascension Step.
It meant a small dragon stepping into the sky.
At that moment, heavy rain was pouring down.
Soaring Dragon, having reached the peak of Soaring Dragon’s Ascension Step, used the raindrops as footholds and leaped into the air.
The King of Birds was astonished.
Even during miniaturization, how could it step on raindrops with that body size?
His master was still formidable.
But that didn’t mean he couldn’t be defeated.
Screeech!
The King of Birds flew at high speed, evading Soaring Dragon’s attack.
Zzzzzz!
The heat generated was enough to evaporate all the surrounding raindrops.
Soaring Dragon’s Ascension Step could be neutralized by utilizing a destructive beam.
It was a bit taxing on the body, but Soaring Dragon had no way to reach the Imoogi Bird now.
Of course, if it used explosive power to leap, it might reach it, but the King of Birds wouldn’t stand by and watch that happen. It had also increased its altitude.
Neither had dealt a fatal blow to the other. But there would be no doubt that the longer the fight dragged on, the more the advantage would shift to the King of Birds.
Both of them knew that better than anyone else.
Yet Soaring Dragon didn’t falter.
Instead, it launched an even more aggressive offensive.
The Imoogi Bird’s goal was to capture the Soaring Dragon.
But ironically, Soaring Dragon’s goal was the same.
To capture the King of Birds.
The King of Birds realized this.
That old lizard was convinced the small creature could defeat the Megatherium.
“Do you think that’s possible?”
Swoosh!
Swish!
Hundreds of feathers shot out from the Imoogi Bird’s massive wings.
Each one was like a gigantic blade.