Earth Dragon

The Earth Dragon is a boss battle in Sonic and the Black Knight in the level Dragon's Lair. Strangely, it has mainly fire-based attacks, even though its name is Earth Dragon. It is an enormous creature approximately the size of a large elephant. It is covered in a lumpy red and yellow hide. Presumably to fit into the underground caverns that make up Dragon's Lair, it lacks the wings seen on the Mist Dragon.

Strategy
After running through a short passage and automatically jumping off a cliff the dragon will appear in a hole on the other side of cave. Dodging enemies and large fireballs that are shot from the dragons mouth, Sonic must reach the other side of the cave and leap on the dragon's head. After slashing its nose spike a few times (assuming it has not thrown Sonic off) it will retreat to another cavern. Sonic must carry on as before another two times to defeat it. Each time Sonic encounters the dragon it becomes more resistant to his attacks, requiring more slashes to defeat it. In the second cavern the fireballs become more defensive, being positioned near to the dragon and releasing smaller fireballs continuously before disappearing. In the third cavern it uses both types of fireball for attacks with both short- and long-range advantages. Similar to the previously seen Mist Dragon, the Earth Dragon is vulnerable to the special abilities Dragon Slayer and Dragon Slayer+1, making it quicker to defeat. There is also a large pillar on the right side of the stage near the dragon which, if attacked enough times, will defeat the dragon in one hit, regardless of its health. The dragon seems to know of this weakness, however, as it will roar and drive Sonic backwards if he remains near it for too long.