Almost at the exact instant they burst out of the sand, the Sandstorm Worm King, its enormous body filled with accumulated fury charged toward them again with even more ferocious momentum, like a moving hill crashing straight at them!
Its rotating maw emitted a piercing screech, while the sandstorm it stirred formed a yellow shockwave that rushed forward first, bringing with it a suffocating pressure.
"Fire Punch!"
Lin Xia gave the order sharply without the slightest hesitation.
A calm glint flickered in his eyes. This was the perfect opportunity to test the results of the hard training he and Larvitar had undergone during this period!
Although firearms possessed tremendous power, one's own strength was the true foundation. Therefore, Lin Xia did not use a gun to end the battle directly this time.
After undergoing tempering by the Sun Essence, reinforcement from the Phoenix Divine Runes, and especially after absorbing the power of so many mineral resources, he had absolute confidence in both his own strength and Larvitar's.
With the physique of a Soul King powerhouse, why would he fear a seven-thousand-year Soul Beast?
"Larvitar!!"
Larvitar erupted with an unprecedented battle roar. Its small body released a violent aura completely disproportionate to its size.
Facing the colossal monster crushing toward it, it did not retreat in the slightest—on the contrary, it charged forward to meet it head-on!
Its two claws clenched into fists. Within the cracks of the molten armor covering them, the crimson-gold Phoenix patterns ignited like fuses, instantly bursting forth with dazzling golden-red light!
Boom!
Blazing flames erupted out of thin air. They were not ordinary orange flames, but crimson-gold fire carrying the pure high temperature of Solar Essence and the divine nature of nirvana!
The flames wrapped around Larvitar's fists, leaping and surging, burning the surrounding air until it twisted and distorted.
The temperature of the fire was so intense that even the sand beneath their feet began to melt silently and glow.
Bang!!!
Larvitar's fist, burning with divine flames, slammed fiercely into the thick sand-crystal armor near the front of the Sandstorm Worm King's maw!
Hiss—Hiss—Hiss—!!!
A teeth-grinding sound instantly exploded, like red-hot iron being plunged into icy water.
The Sandstorm Worm King's proud sand-crystal armor hard enough to rival refined metal, became as fragile as paper before the ultimate flames infused with Phoenix divine power!
At the point where the punch landed, the sand-crystal layer dozens of centimeters thick, rapidly turned red, softened, and melted at a speed visible to the naked eye!
The extreme heat instantly destroyed the structural stability of the sand crystals, causing them to collapse and liquefy despite their heavily compressed form!
Even more terrifying was that once the molten sand crystals left the core range of Larvitar's flames, they were rapidly cooled by the surrounding air and sand, instantly solidifying again.
This formed a hard, transparent crystalline layer like glazed glass, tightly covering large portions of the Sandstorm Worm King's body!
"Roooar—!!!"
The Sandstorm Worm King let out a world-shaking scream of agony! This was not only the pain from the physical impact, but also the double assault of burning flames and the forced destruction and crystallization of its sand-crystal structure!
Larvitar's terrifying brute strength was pushed to the absolute limit by the eruption of Fire Punch.
The massive body of the Sandstorm Worm King was actually knocked off the ground by this punch containing both flames and immense power, sent flying backward and upward!
For a brief moment, the gigantic worm lost its balance in midair, exposing the underside of its abdomen covered in sand-crystal armor.
The area that had been melted and crystallized by the flames glittered under the sunlight with a dazzling glass-like sheen, as if it had been forced into wearing a clumsy and fragile "glass armor." This greatly restricted the flexibility of its body and severely weakened both the defensive and regenerative capabilities of its sand-crystal armor.
"Good chance! Larvitar, Flamethrower! Maximum power!"
A sharp gleam burst from Lin Xia's eyes. Opportunities in battle were fleeting, he would never give his opponent time to recover!
"Larvitar—!!!"
Larvitar landed on the ground, its four short legs firmly planted in the sand.
It suddenly took a deep breath, its small belly rapidly swelling like an inflating balloon. Across the molten armor covering its chest and abdomen, every Phoenix Divine Rune shone at its brightest, as if magma were flowing and gathering beneath them!
A heart-pounding wave of scorching energy spread outward from its body. The surrounding air twisted violently, and the sand beneath its feet began to melt silently, forming a small molten pit.
The charge lasted only an instant.
In the next moment, Larvitar suddenly opened its mouth!
Boom—!!!
A crimson-gold pillar of fire over a meter in diameter, so condensed it was almost solid erupted forth like a torrent of magma from the earth's core, or like divine flames of judgment cast down by a phoenix. Carrying a terrifying might capable of incinerating everything, it tore through the air with a deep roaring sound and struck the Sandstorm Worm King, still suspended helplessly in midair with flawless precision!
The target was precisely the large area on its body that had just been melted and crystallized by Fire Punch!
Sizzle—!!! Boom!!!
The moment the crimson-gold fire pillar collided with the glass-like crystalline armor, the sound that erupted was no longer that of melting, but a violent explosion like red-hot iron being doused with cold water!
Under the relentless bombardment of extreme heat, the crystallized layer could no longer maintain its form. It shattered and exploded apart!
Countless translucent shards of glass-like crystal—each with blade-sharp edges—mixed with sand grains instantly vaporized by the heat, shot outward in every direction like shotgun pellets!
The flames did not slow in the slightest. They surged violently into the Sandstorm Worm King's comparatively vulnerable flesh, now stripped of its protective armor!
"Aooo—!!!"
This time, the shriek was no longer merely one of pain, it was mixed with bone-deep terror and overwhelming hatred!
Crimson-gold flames burned and spread wildly across its yellowish-brown, heavily wrinkled yet tough skin. The air was instantly filled with a thick stench of scorching and the nauseating odor of burnt protein.
Its massive body was blasted by the flames, tumbling through the air before crashing heavily onto a sand dune dozens of meters away, kicking up clouds of sand and dust.
Large portions of its body were charred black, thick smoke billowing upward. The Sandstorm Worm King's once-proud sand-crystal armor defense system had been nearly completely destroyed by Larvitar's two consecutive fire attacks infused with Phoenix divine power!
However, the counterattack of a seven-thousand-year Soul Beast was the most deadly of all!
The Sandstorm Worm King's scream, filled with hatred and sounding like the wailing of a ghost from the abyss, suddenly rose to a frequency sharp enough to pierce eardrums!
This sound wave was not merely a sonic attack. It contained the core ability of its sand manipulation.
Quicksand Abyss!
Buzz—!!!
The sand beneath Lin Xia and Larvitar's feet instantly changed, as if it had transformed from a slumbering beast into a greedy quicksand swamp!
The sand layer that had previously been fairly solid lost all support the instant the sound wave touched it, becoming heavy and viscous like liquid mercury.
An enormous and irresistible suction force surged upward from beneath the ground, madly pulling their bodies downward!
"Damn it!"
Lin Xia's heart tightened.
His legs felt as though countless cold, slippery tentacles had wrapped around them. In an instant, they sank down to his knees!
He immediately exerted force, unleashing the physical strength of a Soul King powerhouse in an attempt to break free. Yet the suction from below far exceeded his expectations, it felt as if the weight of the entire desert was pressing down upon his legs!
Larvitar's situation was slightly better. Its weight was astonishing, and its four feet were deeply embedded in the sand. However, its sinking speed was also increasing, and the glow from the molten armor on its body was gradually covered by the flowing sand grains, becoming somewhat dim.
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