Chapter 179: Mortal Lord Beast's Roar
Flying at breakneck speeds, Elchris darted through waves of beasts swarming both the skies and the earth below. The falcon's plated wings flared like burning metal, its body weaving with unnatural agility as attacks rained from every direction. Explosions and ki beams flashed in the air, forcing it to dive, glide, and counter with its own fiery strikes just to survive.
On its back, the group fought desperately.
"Barrier, hold—!" Shayleaf cried, both hands stretched wide. Layer after layer of shimmering wards sprang into existence, intercepting blasts that otherwise would have torn into them. Sweat slicked her brow, yet her bright eyes never faltered.
Beside her, Tongsheng loosed a rapid barrage of arrows, each one sparking with ki. Her bowstring sang like thunder as her arrows struck true, piercing through any beast that dared to close in.
—White Lightning Spear Barrage!—
Elton's hands blurred as a hail of glowing spears shot from his palms, piercing the sky like a storm of meteors.
"Damnit! We got caught up in something ridiculous again!" he growled through clenched teeth.
"These creatures have the gall to come after us?!" Christy's voice rang sharp, her Kokon Tengan igniting in a blaze of molten crimson light. She stretched out her hand, and with a crushing pulse of her will, several beasts froze mid-flight, their barriers crumbling. Confused and suffocated by invisible force, they plummeted screaming toward the earth.
For over an hour the battle raged, sky and ground alike set ablaze by back-and-forth bombardments. Finally, Elchris screeched defiantly and surged forward, speeding away until the tide of beasts faded into the distance.
"Sheesh… that was too close," Shayleaf sighed, collapsing back onto her seat.
"It's not over." Christy's eyes sharpened as she pointed ahead. "Look!"
A colossal winged serpent soared into view, its scales gleaming with sickly green light. Behind it came five more, their forms blotting out the horizon.
"Ughhh, not again! One of those damned things?!" Elton cursed.
Christy's Kokon Tengan glowed brighter as she assessed. "It's worse—six in total. One's a Golden Lord, three are Gold tier four, the last two weaker. Troublesome still."
"Then we run first, fight if we must." Elton's voice hardened. Everyone nodded in grim agreement.
Elchris shrieked and surged forward, its body almost glowing with strain as it pushed to match the serpents' speed. But the winged beasts were relentless, their maws opening wide to unleash storms of cutting wind and burning beams of ki.
Shayleaf strained, weaving barrier after barrier, while her three familiars fired volleys of lesser spells. They couldn't pierce the serpents' defenses, but they slowed the rain of attacks enough to keep the group alive.
Christy stepped forward, her gaze blazing.
—Kokon Tengan: Fractured Void Gaze—
Her pupils blazed with molten sparks as she clenched her fist. A Gold tier 4 serpent shrieked as its wind barrier shattered; madness seized it as it lashed out wildly, its attacks striking friend and foe alike.
"Now!" Tongsheng shouted, loosing a special arrow. The shot tore the air apart, striking the serpent's flank and ripping a grievous wound into its scales. The beast roared and spiraled, convulsing in pain, its thrashing strikes sowing chaos among its brethren.
Elton, smirking, thrust both arms forward.
—White Lightning Spear Barrage!—
—White Lightning Ignition Shot!—
Spears of light rained down, detonating across the serpents' defenses. Then a blazing ball of lightning magic formed in Elton's palms, compressed until it quaked. He fired, the cannon-shot exploding into a weaker serpent and searing its body with burning arcs.
The air shook with roars as the six serpents dove harder, their fury driving them reckless. Chaos spread to other essence beasts nearby; the battlefield became a maelstrom of creatures fighting, fleeing, or simply lashing out.
"I'm starting to see a pattern…" Elton muttered, flinging another volley. "Why am I always being chased?"
Christy gave him a strained smile, sweat glistening down her cheek. "Good question. I only ever get into these life-or-death chases when I'm with you, Gege."
"Hahaha! When I first met Brother Elly it was the same! Everyone either loves him and chases him—or hates him and still chases him!" Shayleaf giggled, as if this disaster was a grand adventure.
Her familiars, however, were pale and shaking, clinging on for dear life.
Tongsheng exhaled sharply. "In truth, since I met him, it's been nothing but one chase after another. Master Elton, you attract too much."
"Oh, will you all just shut it!" Elton sighed, unleashing another flurry of spears.
Then Christy froze, her Kokon Tengan expanding wide as her face drained of color. "Careful!! A Mortal Lord beast is coming—and it's about to fire!!"
A thunderous roar split the skies, so loud it shook the marrow in their bones. A beam of annihilating energy carved through the land like a scythe, erasing swaths of beasts in its path. The shockwave alone sent hundreds into freefall.
Elchris barely escaped, veering aside as the aftermath rattled them to their cores. The serpents shrieked, their rage momentarily breaking into panic, but even that didn't stop their pursuit.
The roar came again. The land quaked as something massive pushed forward, tearing through forests and mountain ridges alike.
At last, the beast appeared.
It resembled a wyvern, but its body was distorted—six wings sprouting from its back, six clawed legs driving it forward, its face grotesquely like a fish with beady eyes and a gaping maw. Smooth white scales gleamed faintly with fur-like texture, giving it an almost alien presence.
The Mortal Lord aura it radiated crashed down like a mountain, suffocating the battlefield.
Christy grimaced. "Ugh… what a ridiculous looking thing. An early-stage Mortal Lord beast…"
"This just got dangerous," Elton said grimly. "Elchris, take us down. We'll move closer to the ground and let these monsters clash."
Christy stroked Elchris' feathers urgently. "You heard my Gege. Dive!"
The falcon shrieked and dove low. Around them, the entire region descended into madness as beasts of every kind fled or fought before the overwhelming terror of the six-winged abomination.