A thunderous roar shook the heavens and the earth.
The King of Birds revealed his true form.
And facing him was the largest small dragon, Honhui.
Honhui was originally an ordinary dinosaur.
In fact, you could say he was the smallest dinosaur—a Compsognathus.
That was his true identity.
Aside from his peculiar appearance, where white and black mixed together, there was no difference between him and other Compsognathuses.
He was just a very ordinary, small dinosaur.
And even now, he looked like nothing more than a normal dinosaur.
Of course, his size had grown to be larger than even the true form of the Serpent Queen.
But that was it.
He couldn't fly, nor did he have horns or anything of the sort.
He was neither the Eastern nor the Western kind of dragon.
Yet, he was called a small dragon.
"Groooar..."
The power of the black-and-white-mixed small dragon burst forth.
Crash!
It was a thunderous noise, reminiscent of the Eastern dragons known to control the weather.
But it wasn’t some mystical power of the small dragon.
It was simply the result of him swinging a hand infused with internal energy.
Swoosh!
With every swing of the small dragon’s hand, massive trees fell helplessly.
"As expected... Not a single hint of frailty."
The King of Birds dodged Honhui’s attacks from the sky.
Even for the King of Birds, soaring high, the terrifying leap combined with the small dragon's overwhelming size and mastery of the Soaring Dragon's Sky Step technique was burdensome.
Looking at the current situation, one might think the battle was flowing in Honhui's favor.
But both combatants knew who truly held the advantage.
The King of Birds hadn't attacked Honhui even once.
The only time he used an attack was to occasionally fire destructive rays to break supports.
"You know how this fight will end."
Boom!
The King of Birds flew through the air, spewing flames from his mouth.
Once again, the attack only served to keep Honhui in check.
If the King of Birds used all his power, he could probably bring down Honhui.
But he didn’t want that.
It wasn’t out of some bond with his master.
In fact, he wished for his master’s death.
What he didn’t want was to use all of his strength.
After all, with Gogaduri dead and the Serpent Queen appearing, the blow had already been dealt.
The cunning Serpent Queen wouldn't leave the King of Birds alone if he used up all his power.
For the King of Birds, the best strategy was to drag out the fight and achieve his goal.
That goal was to capture the mysterious lizard.
If Honhui retreated recklessly to save that creature, it would be the perfect opportunity to strike a fatal blow.
The King of Birds' plan was to keep stalling and drive Honhui into impatience.
The longer the stalemate lasted, the more the situation would tip overwhelmingly in favor of the King of Birds.
The old lizard would grow more and more anxious as time passed, eventually making a mistake.
Even if he didn’t manage to kill Honhui, it didn’t matter.
"Your victory condition is to defeat me and return to your territory."
The King of Birds looked down at Honhui with a pale face.
"Meanwhile, I just need to keep you here to win."
He openly declared his objective.
It’s incredibly foolish to reveal your plan to the enemy.
But even that was calculated by the King of Birds.
There was no way that old lizard hadn’t realized his intention.
In fact, by stating the truth, he hoped to shake his opponent's psyche.
To get him to falter, even for a moment.
So that he would turn his body around and retreat to his territory.
Boom.
Flash!
Honhui's fierce assault continued.
Crash!
The King of Birds dodged his attacks with ease.
The strikes were powerful and fast, but hitting the airborne King of Birds was no easy feat.
"Surely, you aren’t expecting anything from your disciples?"
Currently, all of Honhui’s disciples were insignificant.
Though there were a few stronger ones among them, by the King of Birds' standards, it was all the same.
Honhui only ever took in the smallest creatures as his disciples.
Small creatures defeating invaders.
The old master must be deluding himself.
The King of Birds smirked viciously.
If he shattered that delusion, the old master's will would break as well.
"I sent a particularly strong one. Stronger than Gogaduri. You should know of that monster’s power."
That monster.
Although the King of Birds’ words seemed casual, Honhui knew exactly what he was referring to.
For a brief moment, he hesitated.
His words struck home.
The King of Birds secretly rejoiced.
In the slightest lapse of concentration, the tide could turn overwhelmingly.
Flash!
An enormous light burst forth.
It was one of the King of Birds' abilities—mind control.
It was nearly impossible to control someone like Honhui, who had profound internal energy.
But amplifying the emotions buried within him? That was possible.
The King of Birds amplified the anxiety that Honhui harbored.
The small dragon's body momentarily faltered.
Swoosh!
The King of Birds' beak grotesquely opened wide, unleashing a devastating ray of light.
There was another reason why he hadn't struck directly before.
If he continued to attack the surroundings, then suddenly switched to targeting the real body...
The chance of landing a hit would be much higher.
Boom boom boom boom boom!
The King of Birds' destructive ray tore through the earth’s surface.
Though his goal was to stall, when a clear opportunity presented itself, he had to take it.
"...Is it over?"
There was no way he could have dodged it.
The King of Birds was certain.
Honhui had shown a brief expression.
That expression had been reminiscent of the moment when the Serpent Queen, the King of Birds, and the small dragon had parted ways.
There was no way Honhui in that state could have dodged the attack just now.
The King of Birds was confident in his victory.
He had dealt a fatal blow to the old master, and now he just had to wait patiently for the lizard to be cooked.
That’s what he thought.
Boom!
A thunderous sound echoed.
Swoosh!
A terrifying strike, the Soaring Dragon's Sky Assault, grazed the King of Birds’ forehead.
The King of Birds couldn’t believe his eyes.
Surely, that strike had hit directly.
The small dragon, who cherished even the smallest of creatures.
And the creature that was a monstrous, unmatched force.
The King of Birds had amplified Honhui's anxiety without a doubt.
But how had he dodged?
A smirk appeared on the small dragon's face.
And then, he mimicked the cry of a certain creature he had in mind.
"Geh-geck!"
The old master stared blankly at his disciple.
For a moment, the King of Birds was perplexed by the master's gaze.
There was no trace of anxiety in his eyes.
It was as if he was confident in something.
Swish.
Suddenly, rain began to fall from the sky.
Rain. It’s been a while.
The last time it rained was when I first met the Caiman.
As my body got drenched, I became sentimental.
Back then, the Caiman’s size seemed similar to now.
Back then, the Caiman looked so big.
It seemed like an insurmountable wall.
If it weren't for the Tail Shear, I would have been eaten long ago.
This content is taken from fгeewebnovёl.com.
...Right, Tail Shear.
I had almost forgotten about it.
No, saying I forgot wouldn’t be accurate.
The mysterious skill, Tail Shear, always made its presence known when I was about to forget it.
Well, I’ll stop complaining.
This skill has saved my life more than once.
If I leave it alone, it will surely come in handy again.
Next time I get tangled up in spider webs, you better help me, okay?
Just as I was thinking about that...
Boom!
Thunder rumbled in the distance, as if lightning had struck.
Boom!
The thunder continued to roll.
That massive thing glimpsed through the sky must be lightning.
If I get hit by that, I’m done for.
Even with Gomoto-Rania's body, I couldn’t be sure I’d survive.
It’s a relief that it’s a natural phenomenon. Just imagine if someone could control that.
Just thinking about it is terrifying.
I continued to play hand games with the Gecko family sitting beside me.
...No, I was training.
I hoped that maybe I could undo the miniaturization.
Sigh, but when is that old Compsognathus coming?
At his speed, he should have circled the entire jungle by now.
I don’t know, I’m sure he’ll show up eventually.
It was while I was admiring the sleekness of the Gecko lizards...
Swoosh.
My body tingled.
It was a sensation I had felt countless times before.
Killing intent.
Someone, filled with murderous intent, was approaching.
"Geh-geck!"
I cried out urgently.
I was warning the lizards prowling around me.
At first, they tilted their heads, confused by my sudden outburst, but a few of the more perceptive ones began to echo my cry.
"Keh-keck!" "Geh-rurck!" "Geh-keck!"
The lizards moved in perfect unison.
It seems the old Compsognathus had been training them.
The Compsognathus disciples, including Coilophysis, began evacuating the lizards.
There were a few disciples who had been dinosaurs.
If they released their miniaturization, they would become formidable warriors compared to the lizards.
But look at that murderous intent. You could feel it from a distance.
There was no way their strength could overcome such a gap.
With the old Compsognathus gone, the forces here were pitifully weak.
The strongest disciple was probably Coilophysis.
The lizards were far stronger than normal ones, but they wouldn’t be much help in this situation.
"Geh-geck!"
The Geckos grabbed my arm with their tiny hands.
They wanted me to run away with them.
"Geh."
I shook my head.
While everyone was running away, I walked in the opposite direction.
The faith in the small dragon was utterly dependent on the old Compsognathus.
Just look at them all running now that he’s not here.
It wouldn’t have been a problem normally.
The old one would have always been here.
Maybe it’s because my body is smaller, but the closer I got to the source of the killing intent, the harder it was to breathe.
If I were still with the Green Geckos, I would have grabbed one of their hands and fled without looking back.
An enemy arriving, waiting for the old master to be gone.
And the reason the master left, was because of me.
What an ironic situation.
The old one must have left, feeling reassured because I was here.
He must have thought that I would be able to replace him to some extent.
And he knew I wouldn’t just run away without looking back.
...What a crafty old man.
This wasn’t a fight I had planned, but I had no choice.
Unknown invader.
Reveal yourself.
"Geh-geck!"
“Grooooaaar!”
【Megatherium lv40】
【Megatherium】
Megatherium is a type of ground sloth that can reach a maximum body length of 6 meters, a shoulder height of 2 meters, and a weight of up to 4.6 tons. It rivals the African elephant in size, and its scientific name means "giant beast."
...That’s a bit too big.