Lyswenna appeared beside them.
"Lord is coming in 15 minutes!" she reported.
Both Naelith and Thalvyr nodded before turning their attention back to Ignivorax, who had just finished devouring every last bit of flame. Ignivorax's neck had swollen noticeably, and a fiery crimson glow shone through the scales as though molten fire surged within.
"I'll show you what a real flame tornado looks like!" Ignivorax roared.
HRRRUUUUSSSSHHHHH!!!
He unleashed a massive torrent of flames that all three narrowly dodged.
But the flames didn't simply continue in a straight line. After crossing the island and reaching the lake, they curved, circled around the entire Salamander Water Lake, and within moments formed a gigantic 50-meter-tall fire tornado.
At the same time, a glowing white magic barrier enveloped Naelith, Lyswenna, and Thalvyr, offsetting much of the scorching heat. Lyswenna immediately reinforced it with a second barrier made of water, effectively blocking most of the remaining heat and keeping them safe.
Ignivorax gritted his teeth.
"WHERE IS THAT FUCKING MAGE?!" he roared.
All of a sudden, his snout turned steel-like, and he drove it straight into the ground.
After slightly opening his jaws beneath the earth—
Grrrr—
The entire island trembled violently as deep cracks spread in every direction. A red-orange glow began leaking through them.
GRRRRRRNNNDDD—CRAAAASH!
FWOOOOSHHHHH!! HRAAAAAAAHHH!!
Flames burst through the widening fissures as the island continued splitting apart.
Suddenly, the white barrier surrounding Naelith and the others vanished.
"NO!" Thalvyr's pupils contracted as he immediately rushed in another direction.
At that very moment, Shyra appeared right beside the dragon. Her fangs, claws, and even her eyes burned with violet light.
She drove her claws deep into the dragon's scaly neck, and surprisingly, those seemingly impenetrable scales gave way beneath the force of her strike. She immediately lunged to bite down on the long snout, but upon hitting the steel-armoured surface, her fangs recoiled violently.
It was Shyra who suffered the backlash.
Blood immediately seeped from her mouth.
Thankfully, none of her canines broke.
But she had done her job.
"Fucking cat!!!" Ignivorax roared, though his voice came out muffled with half of his snout still buried underground.
The deep claw wounds on his neck, combined with the searing poison, made the dragon cry out in agony. He immediately withdrew his attack and violently flung Shyra away.
She crashed heavily onto the ground.
Though, her [Tough Hide] trait absorbed most of the impact.
Shyra's predatory eyes never left the dragon as she vanished right before his eyes.
"Fucker!" Ignivorax jerked his head in every direction, desperately trying to spot Shyra, but as always since the battle had begun, he failed.
With his concentration disrupted, the fire tornado began to waver, and even the collapsing island stabilised.
Ignivorax took the opportunity to assess the battlefield.
Lyswenna had once again been severely injured by the flames after the white barrier disappeared and had been forced to retreat.
Only Naelith remained standing.
She calmly notched another arrow and aimed it directly at Ignivorax.
"Hah! Petty arrows. Has even one of them penetrated my scales? What gives you the courage to keep fighting me?" Ignivorax said proudly.
"Don't act mighty. I remember clearly how my Lord humiliated all of you. What gives you the confidence to think his servant will bow to you?" Naelith sneered.
"Fuck your Lord! Once we get out of this realm, my aunt will teach him a lesson. Let's see how powerful his background really is if they dare go against mighty dragons for the sake of a measly human."
"My aunt will repay him 10-fold for what he did to my brothers and me!"
At that moment, the island shook once more.
Naelith immediately prepared herself for whatever attack Ignivorax was planning.
But the dragon himself looked confused.
He frantically looked around, only to realise that the waters of the lake were shaking violently.
No, this wasn't a skill.
It was a real earthquake.
Ignivorax realised.
It was now that the curtain of flame tornado completely vanished, and the sight in the distance became clear.