Putting on the Silk Spinner Ring, Cobweb Ring, Leaper Ring, and Crawler Ring, Nie Yan caressed the blade of Zennarde's Sword. The black flames flickering back and forth burned hot like his fighting spirit.
Even though the Darkwing Dragon was powerful, facing off against 26 flying mounts all at once was still a bit much. Many flying mounts had powerful innate abilities. If they fought, he wouldn't necessarily come out on top.
If Nie Yan waited for Angel Corps' reinforcements to arrive, his odds would drop even further.
At Nie Yan's command, the Darkwing Dragon let out a cry. Flapping its wings, it shot toward one of the enemy flying mounts.
As the Darkwing Dragon's aura swept out, the low rank flying mounts immediately descended into panic and hysteria. They fought the commands of their riders, their every fiber screaming at them to flee for their lives.
The riders hurriedly reined in their flying mounts.
Hunting Fox's lips curved into a cunning smile. "Good, he's taken the bait…" The reason he had his subordinate shout out those words earlier was exactly to lure Nie Yan into attacking first!
"Don't panic! He's no match for all of us! Alpine, Rice Ball, pincer him! Smelter, Bright Cloud, Garfield, attack him head on!" Hunting Fox coldly ordered.
Those called forth glanced at each other. Despite fearing both Nie Yan and the Darkwing Dragon, as well as knowing they were nothing more than cannon fodder, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and go up anyway. They were players of Angel Corps. If they didn't follow Hunting Fox's orders at this moment, they would likely be forced out of the guild.
Five flying mounts closed in on Nie Yan from all directions. He swept his eyes over them, three Achlys Dragonflies and two Wind Serpents. These low rank flying mounts were no match for his Darkwing Dragon, serving only as fodder to shave away at its strength.
Nie Yan ignored them and had his Darkwing Dragon pounce toward one of the Griffons.
Seeing the Darkwing Dragon's steel-like claws coming down on him, the rider of the Griffon lost his wits. If his Griffon was caught, it would be killed beyond a shadow of a doubt!
"Don't run! Attack the Darkwing Dragon!" Hunting Fox shouted.
Hunting Fox might not care since the Griffon wasn't his. But as the owner, how could he willingly send his flying mount to its death!? The rider immediately had his Griffon turn around and flee. He still held onto the hope that it could survive.
It was an ill-founded hope. How could a Griffon possibly be a match for the Darkwing Dragon in speed?
Before the Griffon could even fully turn around, the Darkwing Dragon's claws grabbed its wings, causing it to let out a mournful screech. The Darkwing Dragon's claws dug deep into the Griffon's flesh and tore aparts its wings.
Blood sprayed everywhere as the Griffon plummeted to the ground.
If the rider had ordered his Griffon to attack with everything it had just now, even though it wouldn't have prevented its death, he would've at least dealt some damage to the Darkwing Dragon. However, people were selfish. He wasn't willing to let his flying mount die just like that. Instead, his first instinct was to flee.
This was precisely why Nie Yan dared to face Hunting Fox's group but not a similarly sized flock of flying monsters.
"Shit. That fucking idiot!" Hunting Fox couldn't help but curse.
The Griffon had died for nothing.
The Darkwing Dragon brutally ripped it to shreds!
"One down!" Nie Yan coldly smiled as his killing intent flared.
Seeing this gorey, bone-chilling scene, the other riders flinched in fear, a cold chill running down their spines. The Darkwing Dragon was too frightening!
"Leader, i-it's Rank 7!"
Hunting Fox's heart trembled. "The Darkwing Dragon has ranked up?"
Flying mounts had to be fed Life Cores to grow stronger, which meant the lives of countless flying mounts had to be sacrificed to nurture a high rank flying mount. It was already exceedingly difficult to raise the rank of Rank 3 or 4 flying mounts, let alone a Rank 6 like the Darkwing Dragon! Just how did Nirvana Flame do it?
Now clearly wasn't the time to be pondering this question. With the Darkwing Dragon evolving to Rank 7, they got much more than what they had bargained for.
As the Griffon's lifeless body fell into the fog below, the five designated cannon fodder came rushing over. Nie Yan hurriedly urged his Darkwing Dragon to drop down from the sky.
At the same time, Hunting Fox accelerated forward with his Void Ray. He had it open its mouth and shoot out a bolt of gray lightning toward the Darkwing Dragon.
Void Lightning!
The Darkwing Dragon was already in the middle of evading five other flying mounts. It had no space to evade the Void Lightning. Hunting Fox's timing was perfect. As the lightning came streaking over, Nie Yan's heart sank.
"No choice. We'll just have to tank it head on!"
ZAPPP! The lightning struck the Darkwing Dragon. Sparks crackled and danced over its scales before quickly fading away.
The Darkwing Dragon was completely unharmed. Its speed wasn't affected at all!
Nie Yan suddenly recalled the Darkwing Dragon had magic immunity. It could ignore all magic below a certain level.
Hunting Fox believed the Void Lightning could at least deal light injuries to the Darkwing Dragon. Then all the other flying mounts could seize the opportunity to gang up on it. However, seeing it completely brush off the attack, his eyes widened in disbelief.
In the face of absolute strength, the Void Ray's most powerful attack looked like a joke.
Executing a barrel roll mid-air, the Darkwing Dragon shot forward and grabbed one of the Wind Serpents by the underside with its powerful claws. The Wind Serpent writhed and struggled to no avail. The Darkwing Dragon clenched it claws and tore its slender body to shreds as flesh and blood rained down from the sky.
What frightening strength!
This was a Rank 7 flying mount!
Nie Yan clearly sensed the Darkwing Dragon's strength had increased many times over compared to when it was Rank 6. It could sweep through everything in its path!
As the four other riders circled in on Nie Yan, the Darkwing Dragon slaughtered a path out, killing two more flying mounts in the process. Even though it had suffered some light injuries in the process, the wounds rapidly healed without leaving a trace.
Seeing a Griffon closing in on him from the side, Nie Yan shot out a web line at its feathers. He then swung over, streaking through the air like a missile.
"H-he's here! Kill him! Kill him!" the Mage on the Griffon cried out in fear.
The nearby Mages raised their staffs and fired their spells at Nie Yan. However, all their attacks missed. He was simply too fast.
Nie Yan clung onto the Griffon's underside with the Crawler Ring. He pulled out a Flesh Biter and stabbed it into the Griffon's heart. "This makes it six!"
PFFSSTH! Blood sprayed out like a fountain. The Griffon let out a miserable shriek. Flailing in the air, it plummeted into the fog below with rider and all.
Nie Yan dropped down onto the head of an Achlys Dragonfly below him. Before the flying mount or rider could react, he stabbed a Flesh Biter into its eyes.
PSSHHHT! A fetid, viscous liquid sprayed Nie Yan as the Achlys Dragonfly thrashed about in agony. He immediately started taking poison damage, a string of damage values rising up above his head. Activating the Leaper Ring, he jumped away while simultaneously downing a Master Antidote.
With the poison cured, Nie Yan landed safely on the Darkwing Dragon's back.
At this moment, a Black Eagle pounced forward. The Darkwing Dragon dodged to the side, but it was half a step too late. The eagle's claws streaked across its belly. However, the scales protecting it were too tough. The claws couldn't get through and only left a superficial wound. Thanks to its powerful health regeneration, the wound closed up within seconds.
The more they fought, the more depressed the Angel Corps players felt. The Darkwing Dragon was simply too powerful. Magic was basically useless against it. Ordinary dragons were already incredibly resilient against magic, but the Darkwing Dragon was even more so. Their magic attacks all showed up as misses. As for physical attacks, most of their flying mounts were a whole three ranks lower than the Darkwing Dragon. Even if they managed to deal a bit of damage, it would only amount to a scratch. Not to mention the Darkwing Dragon had incredible regenerative abilities.
The Darkwing Dragon left them feeling completely helpless.
Angel Corps' casualties were rapidly accumulating. Of the 26 flying mounts, seven had already died, three were heavily injured, and six had suffered light injuries. Meanwhile, after taking more than 20 attacks head on, the Darkwing Dragon was still only lightly injured. At this rate, they stood zero chance of taking it down.
The Darkwing Dragon's scales were covered in bloodstains. The smell of death and gore permeated the air.
Seeing the bloodsoaked and incomparably valiant Darkwing Dragon pouncing towards them, the Angel Corps players lost all will to resist. They despaired and scattered in all directions.
With Angel Corps' forces completely routed, Nie Yan felt even less resistance. He pursued these flying mounts with zeal. Seeing a Wind Serpent getting away, he shot out another web line, swinging through the air and landing on its back. He then drove a Flesh Biter seven inches into it.
Being struck by a Flesh Biter would deal at least light injuries. The more the flying mount struggled, the more the wound would worsen, until its injurious became severe and it was left bereft of all fighting strength.
"HEEEEEEEEEEEH!" The Arcane Mage on the Wind Serpent's back recoiled in fear. But before they could do anything, Nie Yan closed in and slashed out with Zennarde's Sword. A streak of black flames cut across their neck. It was an instant kill!
Seeing that there was no hope of turning things around, Hunting Fox could only helplessly urge his Void Ray to retreat as he fled east.