The Titan Ape, with its 4 arms, ran forward, each step trembling the ground.

Meanwhile, the dragon kept making small movements. It neither charged nor stayed still, as if weighing its options, right until the moment the small mountain-sized stone staff crashed down on its head.

BOOM!

The impact cracked the ground again, splitting hard rock and opening a deep fissure as shockwaves rippled outward.

It was not only the sheer weight of the Tower of Worth. Liora had also driven Seismic Pulse through it, giving the strike the properties of an earthquake. Under the blow, the Blood Dragon's 4 legs buckled. Its claws bit into the ground to hold balance, and it struggled not to topple into the newly opened rift.

Even so, its blood-red scales looked almost untouched. Only on its head, where the strike had landed, were the plates slightly warped and hairline-cracked, pressed inward. Nothing else showed, unless there was internal damage like a brain bleed.

"That shell really is thicker than before," Liora muttered, frowning that she had not hurt it the way she had before.

The good part was that she had not hurt herself either. This time, she was not using her bare hands but a weapon that absorbed the recoil, sparing her from self-inflicted injury.

"Earthshaker, make it open its mouth, not close it," Zephan called from the flank, standing atop his giant Silver Whale.

Throgar was also waiting on top of his Giant Eye on the other side. Both were holding for the right moment to create an opening so Adyr could throw the explosives down its throat.

But when they looked at Liora, she seemed to have forgotten the mission and was simply striking like a batter swinging a club.

"Yes, yes, I know," Liora answered dismissively. She reset her stance, lowering the massive column with all 4 arms, this time angling for the side of the dragon's head to force its jaws open.

She chose not to use Seismic Pulse again. It burned too much energy, and at this point only shattered the terrain without helping.

With her plan set, she swung the column.

The dragon still offered no real counter, and the blow knocked its balance out once more. It toppled sideways and hit the ground with a thunderous crash. "Open your mouth, you overgrown lizard." Seeing its jaws still clamped shut, Liora snapped and kept hitting. She hammered its head again and again, thunderous bangs rolling across the field.

From a distance, she looked like a primitive ape trying to crack a coconut with a stick, yet no one felt like laughing. They were thinking about something else.

"Why is it giving no response?" Adyr asked from the air.

Liora's attacks did not seem to harm it or even truly sting. The Rank 4 Spark lay there, letting her pound away as if receiving a light massage to the skull.

"Liora, stop," he called out, but his voice was lost under the pounding. But thanks to Throgar, the message was relayed mind-to-mind.

With the command echoing in her head, Liora paused before the next strike and turned. "What?"

"Pull back for a moment," Adyr said now that the noise had eased.

Liora looked again at the unresponsive Blood Dragon, understood what he wanted, leaped back to open distance, and watched.

With the steady blows ceased, the Rank 4 Spark gradually stirred.

Its muscles tightened, and it rose back onto its feet.

Seeing it stand, everyone braced for attack and defense once more, but the expected charge did not come.

"What is it doing?" Liora said, dropping the stone staff a notch and relaxing her footing.

The dragon was only watching them with lifeless eyes, waiting like a region boss that refuses to leave its arena, lingering for players to come for loot.

Seeing it like that, Adyr felt a sharp temptation to subdue it.

If he managed a Rank 4 evolution using this unnaturally strong Blood Dragon,

the gains alone were sufficient to turn his thoughts greedy.

But it looked too easy, suspiciously easy.

"Do not let it fool you. My advice is the same. Kill it," Throgar called from the flesh-floating Giant Eye, catching Adyr's thoughtful expression.

If only I could see its system description, Adyr thought silently, then made his decision.

"Alright. We do not have much time. Make it open its mouth," he said.

Hearing his decision, Liora let out a quiet breath of relief. She dropped the Tower of Worth from her hands and walked straight toward the still unresponsive Blood Dragon.

"Soulforge, Silverlight, hold it so it cannot move."

Understanding what she wanted, the two Titled Practitioners acted.

Zephan invoked his Spark skill, and thick metallic chains formed in the sky, winding around the dragon's body.

Throgar layered his own arts, pushing the already dulled Spark into deeper darkness so it would not react to anything.

Liora stepped in and, using all 4 arms, seized its massive jaws. She ignored the razor rows of teeth and began to force its mouth open.

"Here you go," she said, calling the signal that everything was set.

Adyr, seeing how easily it was going, felt a flicker of disappointment. He still beat his wings and flew toward the gaping maw.

He unfastened two missiles lashed to his shoulder with thick cords, pulled them free from the rig, and shoved them into the dragon's throat. He watched them tumble into the deep, black stomach.

Now all that remained was to let the last 40 seconds tick down.

"I hope this was the right decision," he murmured, regret threading his voice until his eyes narrowed at the sudden, unexpected development.

He snapped his wings and shot away from the Blood Dragon, then called out while staring at a fixed point on its head.

"I did not know you were so good at hiding" His tone carried a teasing lilt, and the smile on his face was openly provoking.

The three Titled Practitioners looked at one another, confused about whom

Adyr was addressing.