Chapter 470: Battle For Greyfen [ 1 ]

The first warning came from the sky.

A deafening BOOM rolled across northern Greyfen even though there were no storm clouds above the forest, and the pressure that followed swept through the ancient trees hard enough to send leaves spiraling across the ruined woodland. Rowan immediately stopped at the edge of the shattered ridge and raised one hand, his eyes narrowing as another rumble rolled through the distance. They had spent most of the morning following the Stormcrown Basilisk’s territory northwest, but the signs surrounding them had changed during the last mile. The ground was no longer merely marked by the passage of one enormous creature. Hundreds of footprints crossed the blackened soil. Trees bore claw marks from several different species, discarded shells and scales littered the undergrowth, and the remains of powerful Magic Beasts had been stripped to bone. Rowan crouched beside a depression almost four feet across and touched the scorched edge before looking toward Sage. "We were wrong about one thing," Rowan said, his expression becoming increasingly grim as he examined several overlapping trails. "The Basilisk didn’t simply claim the mana-rich territory for itself. Other beasts have gathered beneath it."

Lucan’s hand settled around his sword as he studied the surrounding forest. "How many?" he asked, keeping his voice low while his gaze moved between the enormous trunks.

"At least forty crossed here recently," Rowan answered as he moved to another trail and examined the depth of the tracks. His eyes narrowed further when he discovered another set beneath them. "Probably more. Different species, but they’re moving through the same territory without fighting each other."

Iris stepped beside him and raised her hand. A huge blue Magic Circle unfolded behind her, its outer rings rotating slowly as dozens of smaller runes illuminated around its circumference. "Water Magic: Moonlit Current Perception." Moisture rose from the forest floor in hundreds of glittering droplets before spreading between the trees, flowing through roots, hollows and ravines as Iris extended her perception through them. She remained silent for several seconds before her expression changed sharply. "Rowan underestimated," Iris warned, opening her eyes while the enormous Magic Circle continued rotating behind her. "There are more than fifty mana signatures ahead, and none of them feel weaker than the Elite Beasts we’ve already encountered. They’re spread across the valley around one much larger concentration."

Mina slowly brought her shield forward, and a faint golden glow appeared around her fingers. "So fifty 4th Order Elite Beasts and one 5th Order Commander Beast?" she asked, but rather than fear, anticipation appeared in her eyes.

Sage glanced toward the eleven-year-old and immediately recognized that expression. "Don’t smile like that, Mina. Fifty Elite Beasts aren’t fifty training dummies."

Mina’s grin widened despite his warning. "I know, Uncle Sage."

Lucan drew his sword with a metallic SHING and gave Mina a sidelong glance. "Somehow, her saying that made me considerably less comfortable."

Rowan rose from the ground and unsheathed his own weapon. "Save the jokes. They’re already moving."

The forest ahead erupted.

Trees snapped apart as the first wave came through them. There was no single species among the approaching Magic Beasts. A colossal plated centipede nearly forty feet long crawled across the side of a cliff rather than the ground, its dozens of bladed legs cutting grooves through stone. Two six-legged horned lizards smashed through the undergrowth behind it, their mouths leaking green vapor that killed vegetation wherever it touched. Several enormous crimson-feathered raptors descended between the trees with wingspans approaching thirty feet, while hulking ape-like beasts covered in grey crystalline armor bounded across the broken terrain. Behind them came more shapes: scorpion-bodied creatures with translucent tails, gigantic horned tortoises whose shells glowed with earthen runes, long-necked reptiles covered in razor-like feathers and monstrous insects whose wings vibrated loudly enough to distort the air.

Every one of them was a 4th Order Elite Beast.

And none attacked another.

The reason descended behind them.

BOOOOOOM!

Lightning struck the ridge.

Stone exploded outward as the Stormcrown Basilisk emerged through the blast. Its hundred-foot serpentine body towered over the surrounding Magic Beasts, supported by six gigantic legs covered in overlapping metallic scales. Seven backward-curving horns crowned its skull, but the pale blue crystalline growths they had discovered earlier had spread considerably farther than Sage expected. Crystalline veins covered its neck, shoulders and upper chest, pulsing with concentrated storm mana. Electricity crawled continuously across its body and jumped between nearby trees, while the smaller Elite Beasts lowered themselves instinctively when the Commander Beast appeared.

Rowan stared at them and finally understood. "They’re not its pack," he said, his grip tightening around his sword. "They’re submitting to it. The dungeon’s mana attracted them here, and the Basilisk established dominance over everything that stayed."

The Stormcrown Basilisk raised its enormous head.

Its seven horns illuminated.

Sage’s expression changed instantly. "Spread out!"

KRA-KOOOOOM!

A pillar of blue-white lightning tore through the battlefield.

Sage stepped forward and swept his right hand across his body. A gigantic brown Magic Circle nearly sixty feet across manifested vertically before him, followed immediately by a second and third formation behind it. Thousands of runes rotated through the circles as his mana flooded outward. "Earth Magic: Ninefold Adamant Mountain!"

The earth answered.

Nine colossal stone ramparts erupted one behind another, each thicker than the walls of a fortress. The lightning struck the first and obliterated it with a thunderous BOOM. The second shattered. The third exploded into molten fragments. By the sixth, the ground was trembling beneath the sustained impact, but the remaining barriers redirected the weakened lightning toward the sky.

Before the smoke cleared, Sage shouted, "Rowan, take command of the beasts! Iris, give him the battlefield! Mina and Lucan, follow his calls! The Basilisk is mine!"

The Stormcrown Basilisk answered with a roar that shook the entire valley.

Sage smiled.

Four enormous green Magic Circles unfolded around his arms while two crimson formations appeared behind his shoulders. Beneath each of his boots, however, appeared something different: two brilliant silver-white Wind Magic Circles, each divided into two semicircular formations. The moment Sage brought his legs together, the halves aligned.

The circles became complete.

BOOM!

Wind detonated beneath his feet.

Sage vanished upward in a violent burst, the ground beneath him collapsing from the pressure. He crossed more than a hundred feet almost instantly, separated his legs to interrupt the spell, twisted in midair and brought them together again.

The Wind Magic Circles completed.

BANG!

Another explosive thrust launched him sideways just as a lightning bolt passed through where he had been. Sage raised one hand while flying and a crimson Magic Circle wider than the Basilisk itself spread across the sky. "Fire Magic: Solar Tyrant’s Spear!"

Golden fire gathered.

A gigantic spear descended.

BOOOOOOM!

The Stormcrown Basilisk crossed its reinforced forelimbs as the Solar Tyrant’s Spear struck its shoulder. The impact crushed the ground beneath the Commander Beast and produced an expanding ring of golden flame that incinerated several acres of undergrowth. The Basilisk roared and surged through the fire, its scales glowing red but refusing to break, before launching itself toward Sage with horrifying speed.

Below them, fifty 4th Order Elite Beasts charged simultaneously.

The earth shook.