78: Chapter 78 A King Descends from the Sky!

The setting sun, like molten gold, dyed the sky of the secret realm in a glorious orange-red.

The rugged outlines of the mountains cast long shadows in the afterglow of the setting sun. High in the sky, gusts of strong wind blew, sweeping past the drifting clouds and ruffling the ink-black feathers of the Four-Winged Iron-Feather Vulture.

Lin Chen sat steadily on the broad back of the Four-Winged Iron-Feather Vulture, holding onto the stiff feathers behind its neck, looking down at the mountains and forests flashing by below.

The strong wind blowing against his face was smoothed out by an invisible force field naturally emitted by the Four-Winged Iron-Feather Vulture; sitting on it was unexpectedly steady, with no sense of turbulence.

In this world, flying mounts are very common.

Any city offers services for riding flying mounts, and Lin Chen had also ridden a flying mount on his way from Qiming City to the academy.

"Being able to fly is just so convenient—" Lin Chen sighed inwardly.

Those who cannot fly are naturally at a disadvantage.

Looking down from a high altitude, the terrain of the secret realm is unobstructed. One can anticipate in advance which areas have dense forests that might hide dangers, and where there are water sources or special landscapes.

"It seems that when I have the chance, I really need to contract a pet beast that can carry people while flying." Lin Chen kept this thought in mind.

Whether it is for traveling, scouting, or dealing with special terrain, the advantage of air superiority is simply too great.

But he had to think carefully about which Digimon were suitable for carrying people while flying.

While his thoughts were drifting, the Four-Winged Iron-Feather Vulture beneath him let out a short cry, adjusted its flight posture, and began to dive towards a valley area filled with jagged rocks diagonally below.

"Found it?" Lin Chen's spirits lifted, and he immediately focused his gaze downwards.

As their altitude dropped rapidly, the scene in the valley below became increasingly clear.

This was a land that seemed to have been repeatedly scorched by flames; the exposed rocks were gray-black, and the air was filled with a faint smell of sulfur and heat waves that distorted the view.

And in the very center of this area, two violent crimson figures were chasing after a few tiny human figures.

This was precisely the most important target of Lin Chen's trip—the Molten Armor Dragon Lizard!

The larger Molten Armor Dragon Lizard was over eight meters long, looking like a heavy tank from afar. Its entire body was covered in thick, armor-like dark red scales, with lava-like crimson light faintly flowing between the gaps of the scales.

It crawled on four legs, a long tail extended from behind it, and there was a row of sharp protrusions on its back.

Most eye-catching was its chest, which had a giant diamond-shaped scale with a color like the purest ruby.

Lin Chen's eyes lit up.

"Good, good, good, finally found you."

This diamond-shaped scale was the tyrant dragon heart needed for the Flame Claw Beast to evolve!

Every time this Molten Armor Dragon Lizard took a step, the ground trembled slightly, and its thick tail swept across, shattering the scorched rocks like tofu.

Its aura was violent and scorching, and its size was immense. It was clearly the leader-level Molten Armor Dragon Lizard marked in the guidebook, and also one of the most powerful pet beasts in the secret realm.

The other Molten Armor Dragon Lizard was slightly smaller, but still five or six meters long, with slightly lighter scale colors and a similar scale on its chest.

And the ones being crazily chased by these two giant beasts were three people Lin Chen was very familiar with.

Su Qingyuan was running in the front, her expression unchanged, her pace steady.

Zhang Xiaoxiao and Zhou Ming were following closely behind; both were full of panic and panting, their condition much worse than Su Qingyuan's.

Apparently, they had provoked these two giant beasts for some reason and were in the middle of fleeing.

But without mount pets, how could the speed of ordinary humans compare to pet beasts? The distance between them was rapidly closing.

Su Qingyuan, running in the front, suddenly stopped, turned around, swept her eyebrows, and her gaze became stern.

She waved her hand, and the Green Feather Wind Bird circling in the low altitude let out a high-pitched cry, turning into a cyan lightning bolt, and actively flew towards the leader-level Molten Armor Dragon Lizard!

The Green Feather Wind Bird exerted its speed to the limit, leaving only streaks of afterimages in the air. Relying on its speed advantage, it circled rapidly around the Molten Armor Dragon Lizard's massive head and eye area.

At the same time, it flapped its wings repeatedly, and blade after blade of wind, like a violent storm, cut at the relatively fragile parts of the Molten Armor Dragon Lizard, such as its eyelids, nostrils, and ear holes.

However, the sharp wind blades, which were enough to cut through rock, landed on the Molten Armor Dragon Lizard's thick lava scales, mostly just splashing sparks and leaving shallow white marks, failing to cause substantial damage.

Only when its soft facial parts were attacked could it be made to shake its head in pain, let out an angry roar, and spit out sporadic sparks: "Roar~"

But this also successfully attracted the attention of the leader-level Molten Armor Dragon Lizard.

The leader-level Molten Armor Dragon Lizard temporarily gave up chasing the other two and turned to pour its fury onto the Green Feather Wind Bird.

It raised its hideous head, opened its giant mouth filled with dagger-like teeth, and a thick, scorching flame breath was sprayed out, sweeping across the sky.

The Green Feather Wind Bird dodged narrowly; the scorching breath grazed its tail feathers, scorching a few of them.

In the face of an absolute gap in power and defense, even with Su Qingyuan's command, the Green Feather Wind Bird could only manage to barely maneuver and delay.

On the other side, Zhou Ming and Zhang Xiaoxiao also stopped and fought the other, slightly smaller Molten Armor Dragon Lizard.

But their strength was far inferior to Su Qingyuan's. Even with cooperation, facing a Tier 2 Molten Armor Dragon Lizard, they could only barely hold it off and were completely unable to stop the beast's advance; the situation was precarious.

When the Flame Eagle was knocked back again, Zhou Ming, panting heavily, cursed: "Damn, this is too insidious. Who knew there were two Molten Armor Dragon Lizards here!"

Zhang Xiaoxiao tucked back the hair on her forehead that was soaked with sweat, her tone somewhat helpless: "No choice, who told us to run into them during their mating season."

Outside the secret realm, the monitoring center.

The huge screen was clearly displaying this scene, and the attention of all the teachers was drawn to it.

"It's too much of a stretch."

A middle-aged female teacher couldn't help but shake her head, her tone filled with worry: "Student Su Qingyuan's command and the performance of the Green Feather Wind Bird are already perfect, but the opponent is a Tier 2, Rank 9 leader-level Molten Armor Dragon Lizard. The gap in strength is too large. Her being able to hold it off is already the limit."

"Indeed, this freshman's performance is truly impeccable. Her command level and combat performance definitely belong to the undisputed first place among this year's freshmen, but unfortunately, her luck is not very good."

Another teacher continued, shaking his head, "It's a pity they encountered Molten Armor Dragon Lizards in their mating season."

As a powerful pet beast with a strong sense of territory, an adult Molten Armor Dragon Lizard usually lives alone, but when the mating season arrives, it will stay with a member of the opposite sex until a new life is conceived.

If disturbed during this period, the consequences would be very serious.

"Do we need to intervene?" Someone looked at Zhao Honggang.

Zhao Honggang stood with his hands behind his back, his expression calm, and he slowly shook his head: "Let's watch a bit longer. Although they are no match, escaping shouldn't be a problem."

A teacher suddenly asked: "Dean, is it too overpowered for these leader-level pet beasts to appear in the secret realm? No freshman can defeat them alone."

Zhao Honggang didn't change his expression, his voice loud and clear: "Why do they need to defeat them alone?"

"The purpose of holding this Freshman Grand Competition is to test the comprehensive quality of the freshmen, and teamwork is also a part of that comprehensive quality."

"Only by understanding teamwork can one go further in a strange environment filled with dangers."

"Just like Su Qingyuan and the other two, if there wasn't another Molten Armor Dragon Lizard, they would have the full ability to defeat this leader-level Molten Armor Dragon Lizard."

"This is the function of teamwork."

He paused, watching the screen, his voice low: "But if anyone ignores teamwork and attempts to defeat them alone, they will surely pay a painful price."

As soon as he finished speaking, the technician who had been staring at the screen seemed to have discovered something and manipulated the screen to zoom in quickly.

High above, a black dot was approaching the battlefield at an extremely fast speed.

The afterglow of the setting sun outlined the massive figure of the Four-Winged Iron-Feather Vulture. Lin Chen stood on its back, his expression calm, his clothes fluttering.

"It's him!"

Teachers had been paying attention to the performance of the key student, Lin Chen, so they recognized him immediately: "He is riding the Four-Winged Iron-Feather Vulture over here!"

Everyone's attention was immediately attracted, and they all cast their gazes in unison.

When they saw Lin Chen riding the Four-Winged Iron-Feather Vulture rushing into the air above the battlefield, a teacher was immediately puzzled: "Is he also going to join this subjugation battle?"

The teacher next to him leaned forward, looking focused: "With his help, the four of them working together might really have a chance."

"And he even tamed a Tier 2 Four-Winged Iron-Feather Vulture."

Recalling the entire process of Lin Chen taming the Earth-Shaking Violent Bear and the Four-Winged Iron-Feather Vulture, a burst of laughter rang out.

In mid-air.

Lin Chen's eyes were bright, and a dazzling summoning light bloomed. The Flame Claw Beast stood firmly on the back of the Four-Winged Iron-Feather Vulture.

Lin Chen pointed to the smaller Molten Armor Dragon Lizard below, then looked down at the Flame Claw Beast: "Do you know a move that descends from the sky?"

"Gagu?" The Flame Claw Beast tilted its head, looking completely puzzled.

Outside the screen, the teachers only saw Lin Chen seemingly instructing the Flame Claw Beast, and soon they saw the latter's eyes light up, eager to try.

The next moment, accompanied by a gasp, the Flame Claw Beast leaped down from the back of the Four-Winged Iron-Feather Vulture.

Falling, accelerating.

It twisted its body in mid-air, adjusted its posture, its chest expanded violently at a speed visible to the naked eye, and its dark green eyes were stern.

The rapidly descending Flame Claw Beast locked its gaze tightly onto the smaller Molten Armor Dragon Lizard. Violent wind whistled in its ears, and the scenery on the ground was rapidly closing in.

The afterglow of the setting sun outlined the figure of the Flame Claw Beast. Its gaze was like a torch, and extremely dazzling orange fire light was rapidly surging in its mouth.

Boom!!!

The next moment, a surging orange pillar of fire erupted suddenly, carrying rolling heat waves, tearing through the air, whistling from the low altitude.

Sensing the huge movement from the low altitude, the Molten Armor Dragon Lizard looked up in confusion, its dark red vertical pupils gazing upward.

The moment it raised its head, its field of vision was completely swallowed by a rapidly expanding, blazing radiance.

Focusing again, a surging flame came whistling down from above. In that instant, the surging flame visually overlapped briefly with the setting red-gold sun at the end of the horizon.

Rumble!!!!

The violent explosion resounded throughout the area.

This was a Small Explosion that the Flame Claw Beast had brewed for a long time while falling from high altitude. Once it erupted, it hit the Molten Armor Dragon Lizard, which could not dodge in time, and unleashed unimaginable, terrifying power.

The shockwave raised by the explosion violently pushed the surrounding rubble and heat waves in all directions. Zhou Ming and Zhang Xiaoxiao were pushed back staggering by this blast of air, almost falling down.

"Roar!"

Only a shrill howl could be heard. The massive body of the Molten Armor Dragon Lizard was violently slammed to the ground by the massive force of the explosion. The seemingly indestructible scales on its back were blown to pieces, revealing the charred, blurred flesh underneath.

It rolled and twitched in pain, trying to get up, but it only kicked its legs in vain, and finally its head tilted to the side, and it fell into a complete coma.

[Defeated Tier 2 pet beast, gained 6 EXP]

[Flame Claw Beast Level: Tier 2, Rank 6 (6/72)]

This sudden, terrifying blow not only stunned Zhou Ming and Zhang Xiaoxiao, but also caused all the teachers watching this scene to fall into a brief state of stupor.

They had never heard of such a move that descends from the sky.

At the same time, the Flame Claw Beast, having released its skill, was falling rapidly due to inertia.

But the next second, the Four-Winged Iron-Feather Vulture had already made a nimble diving glide, precisely appearing below the falling Flame Claw Beast.

"Gagu!"

The Flame Claw Beast landed on the back of the Four-Winged Iron-Feather Vulture and stood steadily, as if it had practiced this thousands of times.

"How does it feel?" Lin Chen asked.

"Gagu~" The Flame Claw Beast tilted its head, seemingly thinking seriously, but after thinking for a long time, it couldn't describe its specific feelings.

Finally, it waved its claws, its mouth grinning: "Gagu!"

Awesome!

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the Four-Winged Iron-Feather Vulture carried Lin Chen and the Flame Claw Beast down to the ground.

When Lin Chen landed, the excited Zhou Ming was the first to rush over: "Brother Chen, such a cool entrance, I knew it was you as soon as I saw it!"

Hearing this, the corner of Lin Chen's mouth twitched.

This was the second time he had saved Zhou Ming.

According to the basic law of "all good things come in threes," there shouldn't be a third time to save him.

Lin Chen nodded at Zhou Ming, his gaze quickly scanning the still-shaken Zhang Xiaoxiao, confirming that both were just frightened and had minor abrasions, with nothing serious.

Immediately, his gaze passed over the two and looked towards the more intense battlefield not far away.

The Green Feather Wind Bird was trying its best to dodge in the air. Streaks of wind blades cut into the thick armor of the leader-level Molten Armor Dragon Lizard, but could only leave shallow marks, with sparks flying everywhere.

At this moment, the leader-level Molten Armor Dragon Lizard was completely enraged by the fall of its partner, its attacks becoming increasingly violent. Its scorching breath almost sealed off most of the Green Feather Wind Bird's dodging space, making it precarious.

If it weren't for Su Qingyuan's extremely high command level, making the most correct choices at the most critical moments, the Green Feather Wind Bird would likely have been injured long ago.

Lin Chen aimed his energy detection bracelet at the leader-level Molten Armor Dragon Lizard: "Species Name: Molten Armor Dragon Lizard."

"Attribute: Fire, Dragon"

"Species Grade: Medium Elite"

"Power Level: Tier 2, Rank 9"

Lin Chen's eyes flickered.

This was the big Boss of this secret realm. Not only did its species grade exceed that of the vast majority of freshmen's pet beasts, but its power level was also far ahead, and it had an extremely powerful Dragon attribute.

Even for the current Flame Claw Beast, the possibility of defeating this leader-level Molten Armor Dragon Lizard alone was slim.

To want to defeat it and get that rich amount of points, there was only one solution: team up.

But at this moment, Lin Chen had a second solution.

"Student Lin Chen."

Zhang Xiaoxiao's suddenly ringing voice forcibly pulled Lin Chen's thoughts back. Her voice was anxious: "Let's help Yuanyuan together!"

Lin Chen did not answer immediately, but instead cast his gaze onto the fallen Molten Armor Dragon Lizard.

The tyrant dragon heart was embedded in its chest like a ruby, faintly emitting an abundant aura.

Lin Chen withdrew his gaze and held up one finger.

He said: "Give me one minute."