When they crossed the devastated battlefield and finally saw the dragon's soul-stirring figure, both were deeply shocked by the sight.
The dragon was currently locked in a fierce battle with three strange-looking, crystal-carved ape-like creatures.
Aila recognized the creatures at a glance as ice demons, the evolved forms of snow monsters. However, the size of these three ice demons exceeded her expectations; they stood over ten meters tall, making them nearly as large as the dragon crouching on the ground.
The aura radiating from them also indicated that they had approached the level of Saint Rank experts among humans.
Although the strength of a single ice demon was insignificant compared to the Blue Dragon, they demonstrated incredible flexibility and coordination in battle, causing the fight to become exceptionally deadlocked.
The dragon's body was covered in dense, deep wounds, and one of its wings was bent at an unnatural angle, clearly having taken a heavy blow during the crash. Flying was out of the question in its current state.
Its originally brilliant blue scales were now covered in bloodstains, losing their former luster.
Even more shocking was the sight of countless small and medium-sized magical beasts surging through the snow like a tide. They clung recklessly to the dragon's massive body, especially at its wounds, which became the targets of their frantic gnawing, as if they intended to completely devour this former ruler of the sky.
Under normal circumstances, the dragon might not even look at these opponents; the claws and teeth of those small magical beasts couldn't even pierce the defense of its scales.
However, after being injured by that massive barrier, its physical condition was abysmal. Combined with the sudden interference of the three ice demons, it had no time to clear away these creatures that were like maggots on a bone.
The three ice demons also clearly sensed the dragon's weakness. Instead of attacking blindly, they patiently circled it, constantly wearing down its strength and waiting for the moment the dragon would be exhausted.
When Midir and Aila arrived, the battle was nearing its end. Even with its incredible vitality, the dragon was at its limit after several hours of hard fighting, teetering on the edge of collapse.
“We can't let it die! Aila, go help it deal with those things in front. I'll clear away the small fry on its body all at once,” Midir said immediately upon seeing the dragon's grim situation.
Aila understood instantly. Her figure blurred as she quickly forged a longbow from her waist pouch. While the ice demons were still focused on the dragon, she fired several arrows in succession, aiming precisely at their heads.
Meanwhile, Midir used instant movement to appear in the air above the dragon's head. A surge of scorching fire quickly condensed in his palm. After expanding to the size of a person, it crashed down like a meteor, striking the dragon's spine.
The moment the fireball touched the body, it seemed to ignite a massive blanket of fire, rapidly spreading across the dragon's enormous frame. It devoured the small snow monsters and other magical beasts clinging to it with incredible speed, granting the dragon a precious moment to breathe.
This flame only brought a slight burning sensation to the dragon, which had extremely high magic resistance, but for the magical beasts of the Valley of Ice that were desperately gnawing at it, it was like a natural enemy. As soon as they touched the fire, they turned into fireballs and vanished amidst screams of agony.
In just a few breaths, the magical beasts clinging to the dragon's wounds were mostly cleared away. Even those that didn't die let go and fell, their greedy biological instincts suppressed by the threat of death.
Not only the small magical beasts, but even the three ice demons were startled by the sudden flash of fire. They looked up at the uninvited guest in the air, and at that moment, Aila's arrows arrived.
Because the ice demons were distracted by the fireball falling from the sky, the arrows struck their eyes with perfect precision. Although they couldn't pierce those stone-like eyeballs, they still caused immense pain, and the ice demons immediately clutched their heads and roared.
Aila seized this fleeting opportunity and quickly closed the distance, using the surrounding boulders as stepping stones to leap lightly onto the shoulder of one of the ice demons. Without hesitation, she slashed her blade across its throat.
Although the ice demon's body was as cold and hard as ice, it could not withstand Aila's lightning-fast attack, and a startling wound was torn across its throat. Just a moment before it could retaliate, Midir threw a spear condensed from the Flame of Destruction from the air.
The white spear of fire accurately pierced the wound on the ice demon's throat and subsequently unleashed a firestorm within its body.
As Aila jumped down from its back, the ice demon's crystal-like body turned into a massive fireball from the inside out. It was burned to ashes before it could even let out a scream.
The other two ice demons, having just recovered from the pain in their eyes, saw their companion die in the platinum flames, and a strong sense of fear appeared in their eyes.
Intelligent as they were, they felt a soul-shaking tremor from the flames in Midir's hand. After a brief internal struggle, they finally abandoned the dragon and turned to flee in the opposite direction.
“Hey! Stop right there!” Aila intended to give chase, but she was stopped by Midir beside her.
“Let them go! Don't chase them. Let's see how that fellow is doing first,” Midir said, pointing to the dragon not far away. By now, the dragon had collapsed to the ground, seemingly having exhausted every ounce of strength it had left.
“Sigh... alright, I'll listen to you.” Aila sighed, put her weapon away, and turned to look at the fallen dragon.
The two cautiously approached the dragon's head, feeling a sense of lament as they looked at its battle-scarred body.
The dragon seemed to sense their presence. It struggled to open its remaining intact right eye and slowly turned its head, its gaze revealing a complex emotion.
However, after seeing the newcomers clearly, an unusual light suddenly flickered in the dragon's golden eyes. Midir clearly read excitement and joy in that gaze.
“Lord... White... so... it's you... thank you...” A broken, low voice came from the dragon's mouth, speaking in somewhat slurred Common Tongue.
Midir couldn't help but freeze upon hearing this. Lord White? This clearly wasn't Aila's name—could it be referring to him? Had he known this dragon before?
Aila gave Midir a thoughtful look, then lowered her head and fell into deep contemplation.
“Are you calling me? Do we... know each other?” Midir couldn't help but take a few more steps forward, standing only a few meters away from the dragon's massive head, even seeing his own reflection clearly in its golden pupils.
“...Yes, Lord White... please go help the Patriarch... it has already... ugh...” The dragon spoke haltingly, but the intense physical pain caused it to stop after only a few words. A large amount of blood surged from its mouth, and its golden eyes gradually lost focus, becoming exceptionally vacant.
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