The Serre Wilderness, a vast and primordial land, has always been a haven for various ferocious beasts and magical creatures.
Compared to the massive groups of ferocious beasts and magical creatures scattered across the wilderness, the outposts painstakingly established by the Federal nations and the clans difficultly formed by intelligent beings were merely a few scattered embellishments in this wild land.
However, the vast majority of ferocious beasts and magical creatures lacked intelligence, acting and hunting solely based on primal instinct.
While the dangers they posed were continuous, they were ultimately dispersed and limited.
Yet, once a powerful and exceptionally intelligent Beast King emerged in the wilderness, the situation would become drastically different.
Under the Beast King's command, the previously disorganized ferocious beasts and magical creatures of the wilderness would be marshaled into terrifying beast groups, their threat level skyrocketing to a chilling degree.
This was especially true for the lion predators, which already occupied the middle to upper echelons of the wilderness food chain.
Different types of powerful lion beasts gathered in groups, astonishing in number and producing many elites. Their ecological niche in the northwest region soared wildly, and they had already forged a fearsome reputation with their bloody claws; now, the ambitious Lion King was driving his legions, extending fangs and sharp claws, to attack the Molten Iron Tribe's adjacent borders, attempting to devour more territory to expand his lion group kingdom.
What needed even more vigilance was that the lion group's attacks were not reckless charges, but carefully planned lightning guerrilla warfare.
"Roar—!!!"
In a Molten Iron outpost located at the foot of a border mountain range, accompanied by a deafening roar that seemed to tear the soul, more than a dozen lion-type ferocious beasts and magical creatures, varying in size and distinct in features, suddenly leaped down from the side ridge of the mountain.
Among them were ferocious beasts that relied purely on terrifying physical strength for slaughter, and magical creatures capable of manipulating elements and casting spell-like abilities.
Leading the charge was a colossal Mammoth Lion, like a moving fortress.
The two huge, curved tusks protruding from his mouth gleamed with cold light, transforming into a furious battering ram. He withstood the dense ranged attacks from the outpost, boldly smashing through the sturdy wall defenses.
His heavy body, still gaining momentum, crashed into the center of the outpost camp, carrying rubble and smoke, stirring up a sky full of dust and shattered wood.
Inside the camp, an agile Centaur archer reacted swiftly, instantly drawing his bow and nocking an arrow, his sharp gaze fixed on the Mammoth Lion's eyes.
Powerful magic energy was highly condensed and compressed on his arrowhead, poised to strike.
However, just as the arrow was about to leave the string, a shrill, piercing whistle, cutting through the air, suddenly rang out.
Rip—!!!
Not far away, a lion-type magical creature, over three meters long with a dense, greenish mane, crouched low.
The air around him violently twisted, and countless visible wind element energies furiously gathered and intertwined. Immediately after, a giant wind blade, several meters long, thin as a cicada's wing yet gleaming with deadly cold light, instantly formed.
It flew through the air at an extremely high speed, slicing towards the Centaur archer's slender neck.
The Centaur archer had no choice but to awkwardly duck and roll, narrowly avoiding this fatal sneak attack.
His hastily shot magic arrow, due to his distorted movement, missed its mark, merely striking the Mammoth Lion's iron-hard skull, sending up a shower of sparks and leaving only a negligible scratch, causing only a superficial wound.
"Damn beast!"
A tall Ogre Warlord let out an angry roar, brandishing his door-sized giant battle-axe, seizing the opportunity to charge forward and fiercely hack at the Mammoth Lion's flank, tearing a huge, bloody wound on him.
But the next second, his roar abruptly ceased.
Three lion beasts arced through the air, pouncing simultaneously from different, tricky angles.
Their sharp claws ripped open the Ogre's heavy iron-studded leather armor, and their ferocious fangs pierced his throat, joints, and other vital areas.
Roar! Roar! Roar!
With roars proclaiming victory and death, more lion beasts poured through the breached wall, or simply leaped over the not-so-high outer wall of the outpost with astonishing jumping power, rushing into the camp like a breaching flood, unleashing a massacre.
The guards inside the outpost hastily met the attack, attempting to organize a defensive line.
However, the lion group's surprise attack came too fast, too viciously, and there was a significant disparity between the two sides.
Fangs easily bit through the sentries' throats, sharp claws fiercely ripped open the guards' chests... the smell of blood instantly permeated the air, screams intertwined with the roars of the lion group.
In just a few minutes.
The once relatively peaceful outpost camp was completely bathed in blood, and a few broken guards and sentries scattered and fled.
Soon after, when the elite support troops of the Molten Iron Tribe, having received the distress signal, rushed to the scene, the attacking lion group had already receded like a tide, disappearing without a trace, leaving behind only widespread devastation, wreckage, and gradually cooling corpses, telling of the previous brutality.
Looking at the entire border battle.
The total number of the lion group was undoubtedly at an absolute disadvantage compared to the Molten Iron Tribe's massive guard legion.
But their individual average level was higher, their bodies more agile and swift, possessing mobility and individual combat skills far exceeding those of ordinary Molten Iron guards.
The lion group attacking the Molten Iron Tribe's border was not a colossal legion concentrated in one place.
They were dispersed into dozens of independent combat teams, each consisting of ten to twenty powerful lion beasts.
They precisely selected relatively weakly defended outposts, guard posts, or patrol teams, launched lightning-fast surprise attacks, and once successful, regardless of the outcome, immediately retreated far away, never lingering in battle.
This behavior pattern was not like unintelligent beasts, but rather more like elite special forces.
Clearly, the Lion King, who had not yet appeared, had an extraordinary level of control and command over his massive beast group, possessing considerable intelligence.
The Molten Iron Tribe's guard warriors were by no means weak; they were well-trained and well-equipped.
However, facing the lion group's exceptionally fierce, flexible, hit-and-run guerrilla tactics, the elite guards, despite their strength, found it difficult to catch their targets. For a time, they were caught in a passive situation, with smoke rising from various outposts, suffering much destruction.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The Red Iron Dragon circled high in the sky, and the biting wind whistled beneath his wings.
His gaze swept over the outposts below, where smoke signals rose one after another, damaged by the lion group's attacks.
"These scuttling insects, I will turn them and their territory into ashes and dust!"
Samantha, positioned on Galos's left flank, let out a low growl, suppressing her anger, and two scorching lines of fire shot from her nostrils, the surrounding air slightly distorted by the high temperature.
Moreover, the Red Dragon was different from before.
On her already strong and agile dragon body, covered in crimson scales.
On her chest, back, limbs, tail, and the base of her wings, among other important parts, an additional layer of heavy, metallic-sheened, pitch-black armor was covered.
The armor's surface was inscribed with complex and profound alchemical runes, with sharp lines, appearing extremely sturdy and heavy.
Even more striking was that many angular points were covered with sharp metal spikes, and some edges were forged to be as sharp as an unblunted great blade, the overall style being very powerful and domineering.
It is also worth mentioning that.
The Red Dragon Samantha, wearing this ferocious alchemical armor, had an outline that, at first glance, bore some resemblance to Galos.
In fact, it was precisely because she greatly admired Galos's incomparably powerful body that she used Galos as a template, applying her increasingly profound knowledge of alchemy, spending a massive amount of materials and countless hours, to forge this armor for herself, hoping to mimic and unleash power similar to Galos's through it.
Galos slightly turned his head, his gaze carefully sweeping over Samantha's new equipment.
This full-coverage armor even encased her lower jaw in heavy steel, revealing only her gleaming, fierce dragon eyes and nostrils, exuding a suffocating sense of heavy oppression.
Indeed, visually, it possessed some of Galos's mighty demeanor.
"This armor looks very good, Samantha. Both the craftsmanship and the design prove that your alchemy is becoming increasingly powerful."
Galos did not stint on his praise.
He was always happy to affirm the growth and progress of his kin.
Upon hearing this, the Red Dragon opposite him subconsciously puffed out her armored chest, an undisguised look of pride and smugness on her face, her thick, spiky-armored tail swaying left and right.
Galos withdrew his admiring gaze, his eyes returning to the smoke-filled land below.
"These sights before me feel somewhat familiar."
He turned his massive head, looking at the Iron Dragon, who maintained a calm posture on his right, and asked:
"What do you think, Sorog?"
The Iron Dragon Sorog nodded his massive head slightly, saying, "I feel the same."
"This reminds me of the early days of the tribe's rise, when we were still weak, we used very similar tactics to deal with the Gold Tooth Tribe."
Back then in the Borderlands.
The Molten Iron Tribe, relying on the agility and swiftness of their monster dependents as elite individuals, adopted a guerrilla strategy of multi-pronged attacks and constant harassment, leaving the Gold Tooth Tribe, whose overall size was larger than their own, in a state of disarray and exhaustion.
Ultimately, they forced the opponent, in their anger and impatience, to make the mistake of gathering all their forces to fiercely attack the Wotu Plain. As a result, they were instead completely wiped out by the well-rested main force of the Molten Iron Tribe, laying the foundation for the Molten Iron Tribe's rise.
Now, times have changed.
The powerful Molten Iron Tribe had become the attacked party, while the enemy adopted a similar strategy they had once relied on for victory.
To be fair.
The Molten Iron Tribe's current dependent legions comprehensively surpassed the attacking lion group in overall strength, organization, and equipment.
However, in terms of the average life level of individual elites, the tribal warriors were somewhat lacking.
The lion group consisted of ferocious beasts and magical creatures at least level seven or eight, with more than half even exceeding level ten. In the rugged, complex, and movement-restricted wilderness environment, relying on their powerful individual strength and natural agility, they launched dispersed attacks on the tribe's border outposts, indeed causing no small trouble and losses to the Molten Iron Tribe in the short term.
"To earn the reputation of a Map King in the cruel and chaotic wilderness, this Lion King indeed has some skill and means."
The Red Iron Dragon's gaze slowly swept across the smoke-filled land, his voice low: "Guerrilla warfare and lightning warfare… this is no longer a lion group in the usual sense. We must strike hard and utterly crush their delusions."
He paused slightly, then continued: "Since they are so keen on guerrilla tactics, viewing speed and agility as their winning formula… then we shall grant their wish and play this game of chase and hunt with them."
On the other side, the Iron Dragon Sorog also gazed at the surface.
He stretched his broad, massive wings, baring his fearsome fangs: "It truly surprises me that these lowly ground beasts can employ such practical tactics."
"But that is all it is."
"They have overlooked one most important, most fatal fact."
The Iron Dragon's voice was sharp, he said in a deep tone: "The outcome between ordinary dependent soldiers holds little meaning in this war."
"Their true enemies are us! The noble beings who rule the skies! The Dragons who command the heavens!"
"To attempt to play guerrilla warfare with the true overlords of the sky, relying on speed of running on the ground? A foolish and ridiculous approach!"
Lightning warfare and guerrilla warfare were almost the most frequently used combat strategies by Dragons.
Facing any large ground organization or nation, the Dragons' most classic and favorite tactic was to rely on their unparalleled mobility and powerful individual strength to conduct lightning-fast guerrilla raids, continuously striking the enemy's weak points until the opponent completely collapsed or surrendered.
The lion group's mobility on the ground might be considered powerful, there was no doubt about that.
However, that also depended on who they were being compared to.
When the opponent was the absolute overlord of the sky, the lion group's boasted land speed, their so-called agility and swiftness, became an utterly ridiculous joke.
Even with ravines and dense forests, no matter how complex the wilderness terrain, it posed little substantial obstruction or impact for Dragons who possessed a commanding, panoramic view from above.
Every dash, every concealment, every relocation of the lion group on the surface.
Under the keen gaze of the Dragons' sharp eyes, they were almost impossible to hide.
"Roar! I will make these arrogant ground beasts understand, with their blood and wails, how insurmountable the chasm of difference is between a mere lion group and us, the Ignas Dragon Group!"
Samantha, clad in heavy armor, let out an eager growl.
Her dragon claws clenched tightly, as if holding an enemy's head within them.
Immediately after, with a brief command from Galos, including the Blue Dragon Heliam, who had been waiting on the side and rear, and the young and warlike Red Dragon Kahir, the Ignas Dragon Group attacked once more.
Giant wings shadowed the sky, dragon shadows swept through the air!
The Dragons instantly scattered, stirring up howling winds that tore through the clouds, like arrows of death released from a bow, boldly flying towards the battle-scarred areas in different directions along the border.