A boulder hurtled through the air.
Saga looked down, neither dodging nor avoiding, suspended mid-air as if struck dumb, secretly observing that the guardian dragon was ready to make a move.
However.
The boulder's speed plummeted under the pressure of an invisible hand as it neared Saga, hundreds of meters away, losing all upward momentum until it hovered before the golden hatchling dragon, about to fall.
"Down."
Saga slapped it back with the back of his hand.
The boulder plummeted instantly, its speed greatly accelerated by the influence of the supergravity field, like a small meteorite falling from the sky, crashing down on the creature that had hurled it.
Boom!
A black, hairy arm swept across, shattering the falling boulder.
Debris scattered in all directions.
The fist at the end of the giant arm was only slightly grazed.
Roar!
The creature standing on the hilltop roared skyward, its voice filled with uncontainable fury, a raging fire that could only be unleashed in the hunting grounds upon countless hatchling dragons.
Saga narrowed his eyes, his golden dragon pupils reflecting the creature's face and posture below.
This was a massive ape, eight meters tall at the shoulder with arms nearly as wide, its body covered in black fur, muscles beneath like forged steel, possessing four huge and powerful arms, even stronger than its legs.
Roar!
It roared to the heavens, hatred in its eyes nearly tangible, its four arms pounding its chest, fists clashing together with a deafening boom.
The four-armed savage ape.
A powerful lifeform that could rival giants in strength.
A high-ranking creature's oppressive aura emanated from it, like a fierce storm passing through.
Saga, hovering mid-air, remained unafraid, his dragon face calm and serene.
He smiled, his gaze sweeping over the hulking four-armed savage ape, whispering, "I do love a big target like you."
In Saga's perception, there were more high-ranking creatures in the hunting grounds.
The closest to him was a high-ranking shift beast, also known as the Six-Headed Serpent Leopard, a creature resembling a normal leopard with six snakes on its shoulders, capable of using spells like cloning, illusions, blinking, and domination, agile and dangerous.
Knowing his strengths, Saga chose the four-armed savage ape as his target.
This brute was not a magical lifeform, for it wielded no magic, possessed no spell-like abilities, and was classified as a savage breed—a creature that had undergone physical mutations due to elemental energy, larger and more dangerous than ordinary beasts, with powerful animal instincts.
Saga fixed his gaze on the four-armed savage ape.
His body suspended, dragon wings flapping furiously.
Buzzing!
Giant horizontal gravity waves, tens of meters long, sliced through the air, crisscrossing and descending from the sky, slashing towards the four-armed savage ape.
When they first left Saga's presence, the gravity blades were barely visible, only faintly seen due to the compressed air. As they neared the hill, the immense gravity lifted dust, leaves, and debris, adhering to them and forming murky giant blades.
Skills based on fundamental forces were growth-oriented.
They would grow stronger as Saga grew stronger.
Roar!
The four-armed savage ape swung its fists, creating a blur of punches, striking the descending gravity blades.
Crash!
The ground beneath the ape collapsed, dust billowing, obscuring its massive form, leaving only a vague shadow.
Whoosh!
With a roar, the dust was blown away by a strong wind.
The four-armed savage ape stood on the battered ground, its eyes bloodshot, a dense network of veins surfacing.
Much of the fur on its powerful arms had vanished, leaving crisscrossed marks, and the skin beneath was torn, but no blood flowed, instead revealing patches of terrifying muscle with a black metallic sheen.
Saga's current gravity blades were not enough to crush the opponent's body.
Enraged, the savage ape picked up nearby boulders, hurling them at Saga with brute force. It moved quickly, and there were many boulders on the hillside. In the blink of an eye, a barrage of boulders rained down on Saga.
"The same trick, just more of them, and you think it'll work on me? Foolish."
Saga twisted and turned, weaving through the barrage of boulders as if dancing.
The boulders around him lost their threat and were slapped down by him, falling faster than they had risen, crashing back onto the giant ape.
The giant ape, furious, smashed the boulders with its fists.
Moments later, it shook its body, scattering the dust and debris from its fur, glaring angrily at the sky.
The last and largest boulder came head-on, and the giant ape swung its fist again. Countless cracks spread across the stone, shattering it into dust, blurring the surrounding air.
At the same time, a golden dragon shadow lurking behind the stone, now close to the savage ape, came into view.
Golden dragon claws reached out from the swirling stone dust, tearing across the four-armed savage ape's cheek.
In an instant, the ape's black face was marred with bloody wounds.
Pain enraged it further, and with a gusty palm, it viciously swatted at Saga.
However, after landing his strike, Saga had already flipped back to avoid the counterattack, which hit nothing but air, emitting a dull boom.
"What a formidable little one, and so courageous and wise."
The guardians murmured in awe.
"But relying on this alone to successfully hunt the four-armed savage ape is still not enough."
Thud, thud, thud!
Wounded and in a rage, the four-armed savage ape stood upright, its four massive arms pounding its chest, its heart pumping rapidly, blood coursing faster, its muscles engorging.
Its already imposing body swelled even more.
With a punch thrown.
The air vibrated with the force, a white stream of energy bursting forth like lightning, smashing towards Saga, dozens of meters away.
"Danger, prepare to intervene."
The guardian dragon was poised to act.
But with a flap of his wings, Saga was pushed back, dispersing the high-pressure air, seemingly unharmed.
"Eh? A fifth-tier body, so casually blocking a high-ranking attack?"
"There seems to be an invisible barrier around him, a formidable defense."
Saga was not taking it lightly.
The four-armed savage ape's attack hit the deflection field, consuming much of his power essence.
Suddenly, the golden hatchling dragon flapped its wings fiercely, retreating.
Boom!
A massive shadow pounced, and the spot where he had just been exploded with debris, leaving a huge crater in the ground.
Without hesitation, facing the rampaging giant ape, Saga took to the air to avoid its fury.
Meanwhile.
As Saga battled the four-armed savage ape.
Golden Mountain was confronting an armored rhino.
The sixth-tier armored rhino possessed the strength to shatter walls of iron and copper. It gathered its might, charging towards the abnormally developed golden hatchling dragon.
The golden hatchling dragon did not move, waiting in a tight formation.
Only when the opponent was inches away did it suddenly sidestep, precisely locking its arm around the rhino's neck and, with a twist, flung the charging behemoth into the air.
Elsewhere, in a forest.
The little silver dragon, Ilyaga, stood leisurely atop the tree branches.
Below, a dozen diverse fifth-tier monsters were besieging a sixth-tier feathered serpent.
Boom!
The feathered serpent lashed out with its tail, sending a monster's head flying.
Yet, not far away, new monsters emerged from a strange silver portal, joining the fray, replacing the fallen to continue the assault on the feathered serpent.
Little silver dragon Ilyaga, by nature, had a strong perception of the many outer planes and could easily form contracts with creatures from those planes, summoning them to the prime material world to fight for her at a much smaller cost than a typical caster.
It wasn't just her social skills that allowed her to befriend many well-known hatchling dragons on Dragon Island; she had participated in a hatchling dragon competition at just six years old and made it into the top ten.
In the world of dragons, without sufficient strength, everything else is as fleeting as duckweed.
As for Yekaterina, like Saga, she chose a high-ranking creature as her hunting target.
Yekaterina was locked in a tough battle with a fiery red lion, its mane like burning flames. With her red dragon bloodline, Yekaterina had some immunity to the lion's fire-based attacks, but the high-ranking fiery lion also possessed great strength, agile speed, and sonic spells like the lion's roar, making the fight quite challenging.
Yekaterina kept retreating under the lion's fierce onslaught.
During the intense battle, radiant golden threads, present between her scales and even in her pupils, began to brighten.
At the same time.
In the territory of the four-armed savage ape in the hills.
Saga circled in the air, attacking the four-armed savage ape with ranged methods while also subtly influencing its emotions with psychic abilities.
Boom!
After being hit in the head by a fireball, the already furious ape lost its last bit of reason, unwilling to endure Saga's relentless harassment from the ground.
It crouched, gathering strength.
Thunderous!
The ground beneath it cracked, sunk, and shattered.
The four-armed savage ape leaped fiercely, like a cannonball, directly into the kilometer-high sky, its four palms stacked together into a massive fist, viciously smashing towards Saga.
"Hey, this is what I've been waiting for, you're my sitting duck in the air."
Saga's eyes gleamed.
For the first time, the supergravity field descended upon the four-armed savage ape.
The immense gravity changed the ape's expression, its body uncontrollably falling, unable to reach Saga.
At the same time.
Saga flew close to the ape, controlling the force field to chaotically switch between supergravity and weak gravity, disrupting the ape's balance in the air.
Inhaling deeply, he unleashed the Annihilation Dragon Breath.
The unbalanced giant ape couldn't dodge in mid-air and, sensing danger, could only raise its arms crossed in front of its head.
The outcome was predictable.
The strong ape's arms were pierced, and the head behind them was engulfed by the Annihilation Dragon Breath.
Thud!
Under the astonished gaze of the guardian dragons, the headless body with maimed arms fell to the ground, creating a deep crater.
"Impressive, what kind of dragon breath is that? It broke through the defenses of a high-ranking creature so easily."
"This little dragon is truly remarkable."
At the same time, including Saga, the other guardian dragons suddenly looked towards another location.
A destructive force suddenly erupted.
Proofreader & Editor: Lotas