novelraw Chapter 93: "He's So Good at Flying, He Definitely Can't Fight Close Quarters - Advantage is Mine!"
Chapter 93: "He's So Good at Flying, He Definitely Can't Fight Close Quarters - Advantage is Mine!"
The Spinebreaker Hills were shrouded in smoke and flames.
Garoth had shattered the ogre defensive line with seven rounds of bombardment, leaving groups of ogre warriors and several sorceresses severely wounded or completely drained of energy, rendering them combat ineffective.
When the dust settled.
Only Gluttonous Ogre Karu of the Bonegnaw Clan remained standing amidst the ruins.
The monstrous creature was riddled with Explosive Scale fragments, its iron-black skin cracked with web-like burn marks, its belly grotesquely swollen like an enormous leather ball.
Garoth launched his last remaining Explosive Scales at the gluttonous monster.
It raised its arms in defense.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions erupted as the ogre staggered backward several steps, its body accumulating more charred wounds, arms now mangled and bloody.
Despite being at a disadvantage.Gluttonous Ogre Karu showed no fear.
It looked up at Garoth circling overhead and declared, "Dragon, you've exhausted your exploding scales, while I still stand firm on the ground."
It sneered challengingly, "If you've got the guts, come down and fight me close quarters. Let me feel your true strength."
"A weakling dragon relying solely on flight and speed deserves no recognition even in victory."
From Karu's perspective.
Garoth was clearly a dragon specialized in speed, flight, and ranged attacks.
This cunning combat style earned no respect from ogres who worshipped raw power and close combat. Only by overpowering it head-on with absolute strength could one win its fear and allegiance.
"Your words reveal your stupidity."
"But to demonstrate the vast gap between us, I'll indulge your request."
Garoth grinned, his scale armor - now devoid of explosive scales - gleaming like premium obsidian under moonlight, crisscrossed with molten lava-like patterns.
He folded his wings and dove downward.
This time, when Garoth descended to about 300 meters altitude, he didn't pull up but continued straight toward Karu, his outstretched wings slicing through the night.
Facing the diving dragon, Karu stepped forward and roared skyward.
Worm-like veins bulged beneath its iron-hued skin as swelling muscles forcibly ejected embedded scale fragments.
When Garoth entered within 100 meters, Karu suddenly gaped its maw wide.
Not to roar - but to fire a hyper-compressed cannonball.
Boom!
A massive sphere of scale shrapnel mixed with flames and stomach acid erupted from Karu's mouth, hurtling toward Garoth with devastating force at incredible speed.
Despite its brutish appearance, the gluttonous ogre possessed cunning combat instincts - including ambush tactics.
Having pretended to desire only melee combat, it suddenly unleashed this powerful ranged attack as Garoth approached head-on.
Garoth remained unfazed.
Six crystalline bones erupted with blinding crimson flames as he instantly changed trajectory.
The composite projectile barely grazed past him, impacting the hillside behind with enough force to carve a massive crater, shaking the earth.
The gluttonous ogre charged toward the dragon.
Each six-meter-tall stride left bowl-sized footprints in scorched earth as its iron fists tore through air with thunderclap force.
Garoth didn't evade.
He descended near ground level, lowered his center of gravity, right forelimb muscles coiling like steel cables as his claws met the charge.
Crash!
The collision's shockwave hurled debris across dozens of meters.
Karu's finger bones cracked under unbearable stress.
Its body recoiled as if hit by a train, skidding backward with Garoth's relentless push, legs plowing deep trenches through dirt.
Locking Garoth's claw with both arms.
Karu roared, planted its right foot, and pivoted sharply - attempting to use Garoth's own unstoppable momentum against him with a judo-style shoulder throw.
But against such overwhelming strength.
The technique proved futile.
The power from Garoth's claw exceeded the ogre's expectations.
Instead of flipping Garoth, Karu found itself lifted effortlessly before being slammed down, its muscular body tossed airborne like a ragdoll.
Whack!
Garoth spun, his tail whipping across Karu's body with hurricane force.
The ogre went flying like artillery shell, tumbling across terrain for hundreds of meters, bowling over unfortunate ogres too slow to dodge, before finally cratering through a massive boulder.
Garoth advanced methodically.
His muscles bulged visibly even beneath thick dragon scales.
Karu had assumed Garoth excelled at ranged combat.
A fatal miscalculation.
Garoth's true prowess lay in melee - his aerial bombardment was merely attrition tactics.
Night-and-day training and evolution had forged strength surpassing even red dragons of his rank - this powerful physique was no decoration.
The elite warriors had been neutralized by earlier bombardments.
Though Garoth had landed, surrounding common ogres dared not interfere, scattering to give space to the two combatants.
Suddenly a shadowy figure surged from smoky haze.
Before Garoth could approach, the gluttonous ogre came charging with thunderous strides, its bulky frame contracting as veins bulged and blood vessels glowed crimson, the entire body becoming more streamlined.
Crunch!
Dragon claw met ogre fist head-on.
Karu's arm trembled, skin splitting, before it gritted teeth and rammed its horned skull forward.
Garoth didn't dodge - he lowered his head and met the charge.
Clang!
The metallic collision sparked showers of flame.
Karu's horns only left faint scratches on Garoth's facial armor while the dragon's facial spines shredded the ogre's iron-like skin, horns carving deep gashes.
Most dragons have delicate facial scales.
But Garoth was no ordinary dragon.
His training regimen included headbutting solid metal ores - forging an exceptionally durable facial armor.
Bloodied and dazed.
Karu staggered back from Garoth's skull bash.
Garoth raised a wing.
Its blade-like bone edge came down on Karu's chest, shearing through iron-tough hide in a shower of sparks to leave a horrific crosswise gash.
The gluttonous ogre roared in fury.
Pain drove it forward in another charge.
But before closing distance, it met Garoth's spiked tail swinging like a flail.
Thwack!
Karu went flying again, body now crisscrossed with lacerations.
As it rose, Garoth had vanished - only a sudden eclipse of moonlight hinted his position.
Wind pressure descended.
Garoth had circled briefly midair before his Wings of the Celestial Comet ignited, accelerating his meteor-like plunge.
BOOM!
The impact cratered the earth, shattering stone.
Karu lay embedded deep in the pit, Garoth's claws pinning its chest.
With his evolved wings, even without long-distance flight buildup, Garoth could now achieve devastating charge and wing-slash attacks through instantaneous acceleration.