Chapter 120: Boss fight
The path beyond the mountain pass opened into a broad stone basin.
Most of the forest disappeared there, leaving scattered trees between exposed ridges and patches of grass growing through cracks in the ground. Deep claw marks crossed several rocks near the entrance, while old bones lay beneath one of the slopes.
Xiaorou slowed near the edge of the basin and checked their position once. "The boss territory starts here."
Xingluo already had Heavenfall in her hands. Ruan Mei and Xiaorou remained several steps behind her while Wuxia floated near her shoulder, watching the higher ridges.
They continued deeper without speaking much.
The creature appeared near the opposite side of the basin.
It rested beneath a broken ridge with its wings folded tightly along its back, almost blending into the dark stone behind it. Its body was leaner than the enormous drake they had fought earlier, but thick muscle covered its limbs and shoulders beneath layers of overlapping black-grey scales.
Two broad wings rose from its back, while a long tail stretched across the stone behind it. The drake lifted its head as soon as they entered farther into the basin.
A brief interface appeared before Xingluo.
[Ironwing Drake — Level 125]
[Boss Beast]
Then another message followed.
[High-Purity Dragon Lineage Detected.]
Xingluo stopped.
Ruan Mei noticed immediately. "What?"
"This one might work."
Xiaorou looked from Xingluo toward the Ironwing Drake. "That sounds much less reassuring when you're Level 99."
"You watched me fight the Hell Hound."
"I also watched half an army help you fight the Hell Hound."
That was difficult to argue with.
Xingluo looked toward the boss again. "Nobody helps unless I'm actually about to die."
Ruan Mei nodded once. "We'll stay close. If you're about to die, your mission can complain afterward."
Xiaorou sighed. "I suppose that's better than pretending we'll politely watch you get eaten."
Wuxia moved slightly closer.
You heard the mission.
Unfortunately.
Then behave.
That depends entirely on whether you behave first.
Xingluo ignored him and started forward.
Ruan Mei and Xiaorou moved toward the edge of the basin, leaving enough distance that neither would interfere accidentally. Wuxia followed them partway before stopping where he could still watch Xingluo clearly.
The Ironwing Drake rose before Xingluo crossed half the basin. Its head lowered, wings shifting away from its body as its claws scraped against the stone.
Xingluo adjusted her grip, but the drake moved first.
Its hind legs pushed against the ground while both wings snapped open behind it. One powerful beat carried the beast forward much faster than Xingluo expected, and the first claw came directly toward her chest.
Heavenfall met it sideways.
The impact drove Xingluo backward several metres, her boots scraping long lines through the stone before she managed to turn the force away.
The drake landed and continued moving, its jaws snapping toward her immediately after the blocked strike.
Xingluo ducked beside its neck and swung Heavenfall across the shoulder. The blade struck hard enough to split two outer scales before sliding away, leaving a thin line of blood underneath.
She stepped back before the tail reached her.
It passed less than a metre from her waist.
The Ironwing Drake turned and charged again, but Xingluo did not meet it directly this time. She moved toward its left side, forcing the beast to adjust halfway through the charge as one wing opened slightly.
Xingluo saw the movement too late.
The thick leading edge of the wing struck her shoulder and threw her sideways. She landed on one knee, rolled once, then raised Heavenfall before the drake could follow with its claws.
Metal struck scale, and Xingluo gave ground again.
Xiaorou watched from beside Ruan Mei. "She really isn't letting anyone help."
"She can't."
"That boss doesn't seem interested in making the mission convenient."
Ruan Mei kept watching. "Neither is she."
Xingluo pushed the drake's claw aside and moved beneath its neck. Heavenfall cut upward, scraping across the lower scales and opening another shallow wound before the beast twisted away.
Its tail followed the turn.
Xingluo jumped over it, but the Ironwing Drake used the same rotation to spread one wing and force itself sideways through the air. Its shoulder caught her before she landed properly and threw her across the stone again.
The drake did not wait.
Its wings beat twice and lifted it several metres above the basin. Xingluo stood while tracking it, watching the beast circle once before folding its wings and dropping toward her.
She moved away from the landing point before its claws struck the ground.
Stone cracked beneath the impact.
Xingluo rushed toward the exposed flank, but the drake's tail swept behind it immediately. Heavenfall came up in time, though the strike still launched her backward several metres.
She remained on her feet.
This time, instead of rushing back in, Xingluo watched the wings.
The pattern was becoming clearer.
Every sharp change of direction began with one side of the torso shifting before the wing opened. The movement was small, but it appeared early enough to matter.
The drake charged again.
Xingluo waited for that shift and moved before the wing fully opened. The claw missed, allowing her to step inside the beast's reach and drive Heavenfall beneath the base of its right wing.
The scales there overlapped more loosely.
The blade entered deeper.
Blood ran across the drake's side as Xingluo pulled the weapon free, and the beast roared before twisting toward her.
She had already moved.
The drake immediately reversed again, trying to catch her with the opposite wing. Xingluo saw the torso shift this time and dropped beneath the strike before it fully opened.
She cut across the same joint while passing underneath.
The blade did not enter as deeply, but another scale split beside the first wound.
The drake snapped its head down toward her.
Xingluo stepped toward its chest instead of retreating, making the jaws pass behind her, then struck the inside of its foreleg before escaping around the opposite side.
For the first time, the drake had been forced to turn twice without touching her.
It lowered its head and followed more carefully instead of charging immediately.
Wuxia's mouth lifted slightly from the edge of the basin.
The Ironwing Drake spread both wings and took to the air again. It climbed higher this time, circling above the basin while Xingluo followed its movement across the ground.
Xiaorou looked upward. "That's annoying."
Ruan Mei crossed her arms. "You aren't the one underneath it."
"Still annoying."
The drake folded one wing and dropped toward Xingluo from an angle. She moved sideways instead of backward, letting the claws miss before turning Heavenfall toward the wounded wing joint.
The drake planted one foreleg and pivoted around it faster than she expected.
Its tail struck first.
Xingluo blocked, but the force lifted her from the ground. She hit the rocky slope behind her and slid several metres before forcing herself upright again.
A narrow cut had opened across her cheek where broken stone caught her during the impact.
Wuxia moved half a step forward before stopping himself.
I'm fine.
I didn't say anything.
You moved.
You hit a mountain.
She lifted Heavenfall again.
Still fine.
The Ironwing Drake landed near the centre of the basin and lowered its body for another charge.
Xingluo stopped trying to meet its strength with strength.
Star Energy gathered more heavily through her arms and along Heavenfall, while the force of the Star of Ruin settled into the blade.
The drake rushed forward.
Xingluo waited until the first wing shifted, then moved inside the claw instead of away from it. She turned with the drake's momentum and drove Heavenfall into the already damaged base of its wing.
The Ruin-enhanced strike broke through several scales at once.
Blood splashed across the blade, and the wound finally opened deep enough to make the drake stumble.
Xingluo pulled Heavenfall free and tried to follow with another strike.
The boss recovered faster.
Its jaws snapped toward her shoulder. She avoided them, ducked beneath the neck and turned toward the open wound again, expecting the drake to carry forward with its own momentum.
Instead, both forelegs planted against the stone.
The drake twisted sharply and threw one wing sideways.
Xingluo barely raised Heavenfall before the wing hit.
The impact smashed her away.
She landed hard, rolled across the basin and struck a low stone outcrop with enough force to crack part of its edge.
Ruan Mei took one step forward, then stopped herself when Xingluo pushed onto one knee.
Xiaorou had already shifted her grip on her sword. "How close to dying counts as too close?"
"Not yet," Ruan Mei answered.
Xingluo coughed once and pushed herself upright using Heavenfall.
Her arms ached from repeatedly receiving the drake's attacks, and a bruise had already darkened beneath the torn fabric around one shoulder.
Across the basin, the Ironwing Drake turned toward her.
Several scales along its side had cracked. Two shallow wounds marked its shoulder and lower neck, while the deeper cut beneath its right wing continued bleeding.
That was all.
Xingluo tightened both hands around Heavenfall.
The drake spread its wings again.
She had finally hurt it properly.
Judging by the way it lowered its body for another charge, the fight had only started becoming serious.