Chapter 124: Majestic and Terrifying

The pressure around Zishan’s soul kept growing as more of his foundation was drawn toward the same place, though he did not get much time to focus on it.

Another Wyvern came diving toward him.

Zishan looked up and cursed. "Can’t you all wait for five fucking minutes?!"

The creature obviously had no intention of doing that. Mana was already gathering inside its mouth while it descended. And Zishan could feel its wings enter the area covered by Frostbound Dominion.

’Tch.’

He pushed more Ice Mana toward it.

Frost started spreading across both wings, though the Wyvern immediately circulated more Mana through its body and broke through part of the freezing before it could properly take hold.

Zishan noticed that and stopped trying to cover both sides. ’Then, I’ll just take one.’

Most of the Frost shifted toward its left wing.

The creature kept descending, but one side gradually became heavier than the other. Its wingbeats lost their rhythm, causing its body to tilt just as the Mana inside its mouth was released.

The attack tore past Zishan, as he had already moved.

Rift Steps carried him forward twice, and he appeared underneath the Wyvern while it was still trying to correct itself. Fire Mana gathered around him as Wildfire Requiem came to mind, though Zishan stopped before letting the Skill form.

’That’s too much for me to use and it costs more Mana than the other skills...’

Ollie was still somewhere behind him inside Elinox’s barrier. Zishan trusted the barrier more than enough by now, but there was no reason to throw Wildfire Requiem around when he had other Skills he could use.

The Fire Mana around him changed.

’Ember Malediction.’

Zishan passed underneath the Wyvern and planted his palm against its body for barely an instant, forcing the compressed ember into its Mana circulation before moving away again.

The creature jerked.

Zishan felt the curse settle inside it. ’There.’

The Frost was still spreading across its left wing, so the Wyvern did exactly what Zishan expected and pushed even more Mana toward that side in an attempt to break free.

Ember Malediction reacted with it.

The ember flared inside the creature’s Mana circulation, and the Wyvern released a pained roar as the Mana it was using against the Frost only made the curse burn harder.

Zishan grinned.

"That works really well together."

The Wyvern’s flight had already become unstable, and Zishan raised one hand before it could recover.

Gravity pulled downward.

The creature crashed into the frozen field and slid across it, cracking several patches of Ice before finally stopping.

It tried forcing itself back onto its feet, but Zishan was already moving the Ice Mana around it. Several thick spikes rose beside the wing he had been targeting and closed around the limb, pinning it against the ground.

The Wyvern struggled.

Zishan ignored it. There were too many others around him to waste time finishing one that could barely move anymore, especially when keeping Silvy away from them was what actually mattered.

He turned back toward the rest of the battlefield while the strange pressure from the First Ascent continued somewhere inside him.

He was fighting Wyverns while protecting Silvy, trying to finish an Emergency Quest, and gathering everything he had accumulated before Level 100 into his soul at the same time.

Zishan stared ahead for a moment. ’Yeah... very normal.’

A much stronger surge of Mana from above pulled his attention away.

He looked up.

Elinox was surrounded.

Several Wyverns had moved toward her from different directions, with some already above Level 400 and two of the larger ones beyond Level 500. One had started releasing a stream of Mana in her direction while the others continued closing in.

Elinox already had her sword drawn.

Lightning gathered along the blade.

Zishan watched from below, initially thinking she was only coating the weapon with Lightning Mana, until Wind Mana joined it.

The Lightning stopped spreading.

Instead, the Wind forced it closer to the blade, compressing everything along the edge until the blue-white light became thinner and brighter.

’What is she doing...?’

The Wyverns were getting closer.

Elinox finally raised her sword.

Gravity spread around them. The approaching creatures suddenly slowed. Their wings continued beating, but each movement became heavier as the Gravity pulled against their bodies, and even the Wyvern firing Mana toward Elinox had its head dragged slightly downward.

The stream missed her.

Elinox moved and muttered, "Heavenfall Thunder Severance."

She swung once.

Zishan almost missed the attack.

A thin streak of blue-white light left the sword and crossed the sky so fast that, for a second, he thought that was all there was to it.

Then, the Wind Mana inside the slash expanded.

Lightning followed with it.

The narrow streak widened as it tore through the group of Wyverns still struggling against Elinox’s Gravity, passing through one after another before disappearing farther into the sky.

Several of the creatures kept moving, and blood sprayed from the first one.

A deep line opened across its chest before its body dropped. Another Wyvern lost one of its wings, while the ones behind them began falling soon after.

Zishan stared. "Fuck."

He had already seen Elinox wipe out groups of enemies before, so this was hardly the first time she had done something ridiculous in front of him.

This one was just...

’Damn... that was majestic.’

One swing. Yes, just a swing, and that was all she had used.

Elinox lowered her sword and turned toward another group as though she had not just cut through several Wyverns at once.

Zishan’s eyes followed her. ’And terrifying...’

A roar from farther above pulled his attention elsewhere.

The Wyvern Lord.

Ernest had already pushed the Level 698 creature farther away from the others, though several more high-Level Wyverns were now gathering around him.

Zishan watched them close in.

He expected Ernest to finally use some massive Sound Affinity-based Skill. Maybe something loud enough to shake the whole battlefield, considering the amount of enemies surrounding him.

Instead, Ernest just looked around. No weapon appeared in his hands. He did not even change his posture much.

Then, he spoke.

"Plummet."

Zishan almost missed the word.

’Huh?’

There was no shout. Ernest had barely spoken louder than normal, yet a vibration passed through the air almost as soon as the word left his mouth.

Zishan felt it reach him.

The sensation passed through his body without hurting him, though for a brief moment, it felt as if something had touched his bones from the inside.

His expression changed. ’Sound Mana?’

The Wyverns reacted before he could think about it any further, and the closest one suddenly dropped several meters.