The Thunder-Swift Bird's strength should have been enough to crush the Stone-Helm Spirit.
However, its old injuries were too severe, and only a sliver of energy remained in its body. Its most prized wings had also been crippled during a great battle some time ago.
Forget flying; it could barely even walk properly.
The Stone-Helm Spirit also had old injuries, but they were far less severe than those of the Thunder-Swift Bird.
Most importantly, it could vanish to create distance, while the Thunder-Swift Bird could only stay in place, relying on lightning for attack and defense.
As the two clashed, the situation subtly shifted in the Stone-Helm Spirit's favor.
For the nth time, the Stone-Helm Spirit's round eyes emitted a purple light, and the black ground became like an abyss, dragging the Thunder-Swift Bird into it.
For the current state of the Thunder-Swift Bird, the skill "Night-Spirit Feast" was simply unavoidable.
The Thunder-Swift Bird was swallowed by the black ground for the third time.
"Stone-Helm~"
Every time the Thunder-Swift Bird fell victim to Night-Spirit Feast, the Stone-Helm Spirit would let out a strange-sounding cry, as if it were on some kind of drug.
When the Thunder-Swift Bird resurfaced, its feathers were even duller and more lifeless, looking completely withered.
"Thunder-Swift."
The Thunder-Swift Bird looked up at the Stone-Helm Spirit with resentment.
If it hadn't broken through the encirclement and tanked so much damage back then, how would the Stone-Helm Spirit be allowed to ride over its head like this now?
They were all just a bunch of smooth-talkers, saying things like "reaching the pinnacle of bird-life."
And the result?
After leaving the mountains, it had to fight every single day; if it couldn't win, it would be chased and beaten by a group of people.
Forget eating a good meal—it hadn't even had a single night of peaceful sleep.
Its favorite wings were now bald, and its hardest claws were broken.
Just because it was the latecomer, it had to do all the dirty work and the heavy lifting.
Coming here, that Silver-Tailed Sea Snake could guard the berries and still sleep.
Meanwhile, it had to stay at the signal tower every day releasing electromagnetic waves, told that it couldn't destroy the tower directly, only interfere with it.
It couldn't use skills haphazardly, it couldn't sleep whenever it wanted, and it had to release electromagnetic waves from time to time.
It had truly had enough of this differential treatment!
The more the Thunder-Swift Bird thought about it, the angrier it became.
"Thunder-Swift!"
It let out a long cry toward the sky, gathering the meager energy remaining in its body.
A moment ago, the sun had been blazing and the heat oppressive, but now the sky overhead turned pitch black.
Dark clouds appeared in sheets, and a bolt of lightning stretched out in all directions like strangely shaped branches, its roar echoing across the horizon.
In the next second, several bolts of lightning opened like sharp claws, striking repeatedly around the Stone-Helm Spirit, with massive arcs of electricity exploding in mid-air.
This phenomenon was quickly noticed by the police who were still rushing toward the scene from a distance.
"It's Zhou Xian's Thunder-Swift Bird," the middle-aged woman said with a heavy expression.
How could this happen? Why was there suddenly such a huge commotion?
Who was the Thunder-Swift Bird fighting?
Besides the child who reported the alarm, was there anyone else on the mountain?
"A-Feng, faster!" Ye Ranran patted the Wind-Sculpt Bird.
"Feng-xiu!" the Wind-Sculpt Bird cried, immediately accelerating its speed.
Qiao Sang watched from the side, her heart pounding with fear.
This was her first time being in contact with lightning at such a close distance...
Qiao Sang had clearly forgotten that she had been attacked by a Magnetic-Haughty Rat not long ago.
The attack range of the lightning was vast, yet within a two-meter radius centered around the man, not a single bolt of lightning landed.
The Stone-Helm Spirit dodged in a panic, but because the attack range was too wide, lightning fell wherever it moved.
Soon, a bolt of lightning struck the Stone-Helm Spirit directly, instantly knocking it to the ground.
"Stone-Helm!!!"
The Stone-Helm Spirit let out a shrill, miserable scream.
The lightning continued to fall from the sky without any sign of stopping.
The Fire-Fang Dog was drawn toward the scene of the lightning's devastation.
It forgot to maintain the energy of its Fire Fang, staring unblinkingly at the dazzling lightning before it.
The Fire-Fang Dog's eyes were filled with longing.
When would it be able to be this powerful...
At that moment, the man on the ground was awakened by the massive noise; he frowned slightly and slowly opened his eyes.
Just then, the Fire-Fang Dog turned its head and locked eyes with the man.
Both human and beast were startled.
In the next second, the Fire-Fang Dog's gaze turned fierce, and it slammed its head into him with all its might.
Before the man could react, he was knocked unconscious again.
The Fire-Fang Dog breathed a sigh of relief.
That almost ruined everything...
Qiao Sang didn't notice the little interlude with the Fire-Fang Dog.
Looking at the two battle-worn pets before her, she had a bold idea.
After nearly half a minute, the lightning finally stopped, and the dark clouds dispersed.
The Thunder-Swift Bird didn't have much energy to begin with, and having been swallowed three times by Night-Spirit Feast, it had almost nothing left.
The Thunder-Cloud Storm it had just released with all its might had exhausted the last of its energy.
The Thunder-Swift Bird's figure swayed, barely holding itself up through sheer willpower.
It felt a surge of satisfaction looking at the Stone-Helm Spirit, which had been charred black and was trying, but failing, to crawl away.
*Little brat, your big brother is still the big brother.*
So what if it was injured like this? As long as it had enough energy, a single ultimate move would still insta-kill the other!
"Thunder-Swift."
"Thunder-Swift."
The Thunder-Swift Bird cried out triumphantly toward the Stone-Helm Spirit.
"Stone-Helm."
The Stone-Helm Spirit looked at the Thunder-Swift Bird with resentment. It struggled to get up, but its limbs had no strength left.
Its vision began to blur, and suddenly it thought of its owner.
The Stone-Helm Spirit ignored the boasting Thunder-Swift Bird and lay on the ground, looking at its owner who still had eyes closed.
It didn't move, but its eyes glowed purple once more.
This time, the black ground began to spread slowly from itself toward Qiao Sang.
Qiao Sang saw the black ground pass the Thunder-Swift Bird without stopping and continue to spread toward her; she had a bad feeling.
No more waiting!
Although she didn't know the limits of High-grade and General-grade pets, seeing them like this, she felt they were at the end of their ropes.
"Stone-Helm Spirit, I'm coming to help you!" Qiao Sang shouted.
The Stone-Helm Spirit froze upon hearing this, forgetting to continue its skill.
Help it?
Help it with what?
"Ya-bao, use Flame Charge on the Thunder-Swift Bird's bald wings!" Qiao Sang commanded.
Even if this attack didn't knock out the Thunder-Swift Bird, it didn't matter.
With her here, she could just summon Ya-bao back into the Beast Codex.
This time, the Thunder-Swift Bird was enraged.
Because of Qiao Sang's words, the range of the Night-Spirit Feast skill stopped shortly after passing under the Thunder-Swift Bird's feet.
"Thunder-Swift!"
The Thunder-Swift Bird ignored the movement on the ground; it wanted to turn and attack Qiao Sang in fury.
Bald?
Who's bald?!
Who is bald!
The Thunder-Swift Bird tried to move its feet abruptly, but its legs gave way and it collapsed.
The Fire-Fang Dog's eyes lit up upon hearing the command.
It had just seen the lightning released by the Thunder-Swift Bird and knew it was a very powerful fellow.
Its own Beast Tamer was telling it to attack that big guy—just imagine how much trust that showed!
"Ya!"
Flames surged rapidly around the Fire-Fang Dog. It excitedly mobilized the energy in its body, and in the next instant, like a flash of red fire, it slammed violently into the immobile Thunder-Swift Bird.
"Thunder-Swift!!"
The Thunder-Swift Bird screamed in pain. It felt extreme humiliation looking at the Fire-Fang Dog, which was barely the size of its own claw.
Its remaining feathered wing moved with difficulty, trying to strike at the Fire-Fang Dog.
"Ya-bao! Use Fire Fang to bite it!" Qiao Sang said timely.
The Fire-Fang Dog opened its mouth, and its flame-wrapped fangs bit right into the wing that was reaching out without any strength.
"Thunder-Swift!"
After one last cry, the Thunder-Swift Bird finally fainted, unwillingly.
When the Wind-Sculpt Bird arrived, this was exactly the scene Ye Ranran and the others witnessed.
(End of Chapter)