Chapter 454: The Hurricane Beast That Came With the Wind and Rain

Raindrops began to fall from the sky, and the wind began to rage.

Before, the wind had been gentle and light, like a kind old soul.

But now, the wind felt to Qi Suian like a raging bull, charging about recklessly.

'No wonder Mi Yun ran off so fast. I didn't expect this storm to arrive so quickly.' Qi Suian watched as the drizzle turned into a torrential downpour in just a single minute.

At the same time, the howling of the wind grew louder and louder.

Fortunately, the natives of the Sky Island World often faced such conditions, so their wind and rain-proofing were excellent.

Their techniques in this area, at least, had surpassed many modern technologies.

This was a result born of necessity. Otherwise, a single storm would cause their houses to collapse, and they'd be completely finished.

KABOOM—

The thought had barely crossed Qi Suian's mind when a startling clap of thunder echoed.

Looking up, he saw the wind and clouds churning in the sky as a faint flash of lightning flickered.

"Smart Brain, retrieve the satellite," Qi Suian ordered.

He was beginning to understand why the Wind King Palace would rather face a hurricane than ascend higher.

The environment higher up was even more hostile. It bordered the hurricane, meaning the Sky Island was enveloped by the storm from top to bottom, and there was also a thunderstorm raging in the sky.

Windwalkers had no way to combat lightning; the only power they could wield was the wind.

In the heart of the thunderstorm, a massive silhouette flashed by. It seemed to have been struck by lightning, for it followed the storm down toward the Sky Island.

It was a Hurricane Beast. If Qi Suian hadn't retrieved the satellite drone in time, its destruction would have been inevitable.

The Smart Brain acted swiftly. The satellite immediately began to descend and move toward Qi Suian's position.

Qi Suian's gaze fell upon the Hurricane Beast. It was a creature that resembled a manta ray, its body crackling with lightning.

This wasn't an innate ability of the manta-ray-like Hurricane Beast. Rather, the energy had seeped into its body because it had been hit by the thunderstorm's indiscriminate attacks.

This was no boon for the Hurricane Beast; it was actually injured.

Upon noticing this, the Windwalkers from the Wind King Palace quickly dispatched personnel to drive the Hurricane Beast away and get it off their Sky Island as soon as possible.

However, due to its injuries, the manta-ray-like Hurricane Beast was extremely wary of its surroundings.

When the Windwalkers drew near, it immediately let out a piercing shriek as a warning.

The Windwalkers naturally understood its intent, yet they did not back down.

An injured Hurricane Beast was extremely dangerous. They couldn't let it get near Flying Fish Town, or it would certainly go on a destructive rampage.

The consequences would be more than they could bear.

If they couldn't drive it off, their only option was to kill it.

As for the consequence of creating a Wind Calamity, that was still a smaller price to pay than the destruction the Hurricane Beast would wreak on Flying Fish Town.

Qi Suian, for his part, set aside his work, his eyes now glued to the imminent battle.

The data from Windwalkers in combat would be far more detailed than the data he'd gathered from those reservists communicating with the wind.

After all, combat required lightning-fast reflexes and precise control over the wind—data that was exactly what Qi Suian needed.

'The life form of a Hurricane Beast is unique. They're more like the primordial form of a multicellular organism.'

'An organism composed of multiple, differentiated cells, where the cells themselves are wind.'

'Wind itself is more like a single cell.'

'So, theoretically, if a Windwalker could communicate directly with a Hurricane Beast, wouldn't that kill two birds with one stone?'

'But Hurricane Beasts are quite intelligent. They probably wouldn't be fooled so easily. Besides, wild creatures are never easy to tame.'

If Qi Suian wanted to acquire the Windwalkers' ability to communicate, using a Hurricane Beast as a starting point could be a viable approach.

After all, the wind itself was a massive entity. Even if Qi Suian tried to communicate with it, given his status, he likely wouldn't be acknowledged.

But Hurricane Beasts were different. They possessed a degree of intelligence. For a Windwalker, they were harder to communicate with than the wind, but for Qi Suian, they were easier to threaten.

Communication wasn't just about language; it also included physical gestures.

For Qi Suian, resorting to threats was no big deal.

After all, his personal charisma and disposition were thoroughly average—plain and unremarkable, like a random face in a crowd.

Therefore, he couldn't rely on sincerity or simply sucking up to communicate, as the Windwalkers did.

In his case, sincerity wouldn't be reciprocated, and sucking up would get him nowhere.

Violent coercion, on the other hand, would be far more effective.

'The attempt to drive it off failed.' Qi Suian's gaze shifted from the Hurricane Beast to the group of Windwalkers.

In fact, not only had the attempt failed, but it had also enraged the manta-ray-like Hurricane Beast.

'Looks like they're about to fight for real now.' Qi Suian shifted into a more comfortable position, casually tucked the World Core back into his abdomen, and settled in to watch.

He was extremely cautious about protecting the World Core. He would never let it out of his hand, unless it was safely tucked away inside his abdomen.

He had to avoid any accidents that could cause him to lose everything.

When it was time to be cautious, one had to be cautious.

-----------------

Ji Wen stood against the wind and rain, his burning gaze fixed on the Black-winged Shark. It wasn't his first time seeing one in a storm.

This time, however, was worse. This particular Black-winged Shark had been injured by the thunderstorm, so its normally placid, easily-driven-off temperament had become volatile.

He knew that schools of these Black-winged Sharks lived around Flying Fish Town. They didn't eat humans, only other Hurricane Beasts.

They were also one of the few Hurricane Beasts that were favorably disposed toward humans.

In the eyes of a Black-winged Shark, humans were something like cats or dogs; they rarely initiated any harm.

Even if one wandered onto the island by mistake, it wouldn't actively cause destruction.

But that was only if the Black-winged Shark wasn't threatened or injured.

In the current situation, the old methods of driving it away were useless. Their only option was to kill it.

He reached out his hand and clenched his fist. A longbow, formed from coalescing wind, materialized in his grasp.

This was the wind power he had awakened after becoming a Windwalker. Its name was simple: Wind Bow.

At first, its ability was simple. Drawing the bowstring would gather the wind into an arrow, which he could then use to attack his enemies.

Over time, it had gradually evolved a series of abilities like Multi-Shot, Rapid Fire, Storm Arrow, and Arrow Rain.

All of Ji Wen's wind power stemmed from the Wind Bow in his hands, giving him extremely potent long-range combat capabilities.

Of course, he wasn't weak in close combat either. The two ends of the Wind Bow were bladed, allowing it to serve as a makeshift melee weapon.

Combined with the physique and arm strength required of an Archer, he could have been fiercer than a typical melee fighter if not for his weapon being ill-suited for it.

After nocking an arrow and drawing the string, wind gathered on his Wind Bow with incredible speed, forming an arrow of pure wind.

The wind on the arrow's surface intensified. This was no ordinary wind arrow; Ji Wen was concentrating his control to form a Storm Arrow.

His target was the Black-winged Shark.

"After the Storm Arrow hits, it will bind and stun the Black-winged Shark for a short time. You must kill it before it recovers," Ji Wen said to his two teammates.

He hadn't come alone, of course; two other Windwalkers were with him.

Unlike him, an Archer, one of them drew their power from a Wind Blade, while the other wielded the power of a Chilling Wind Heavy Strike. Both were melee fighters.

The two of them nodded simultaneously upon hearing his command.

With their acknowledgment, Ji Wen released the Storm Arrow. It shot from the bowstring, transforming into a roaring gale that tore through the wind and rain toward the Black-winged Shark.

The injured Black-winged Shark was incredibly sharp and immediately sensed the approaching Storm Arrow, but it was too fast to dodge.

The Storm Arrow struck the Black-winged Shark, instantly creating a violent whirlwind around its body that bound it tightly in place.

At the same time, the violent impact of the wind left it dizzy, its consciousness momentarily blanking out.

But that wasn't all. The Storm Arrow wasn't just for control; its destructive power was also immense.

A large chunk of flesh caved in where the arrow had struck the Black-winged Shark. The rotating whirlwind began to slice into its body, sending bits of flesh flying into the wind and rain.

However, because the Black-winged Shark was a Hurricane Beast and not a creature of flesh and blood, the flying pieces of its body dissipated into wind within two seconds.

"Now!" Ji Wen shouted.

His two teammates rode the wind, rapidly closing in on the Black-winged Shark.

The pair formed their most powerful attacks from their own wind and charged through the whirlwind.

One decapitated the Black-winged Shark with a Wind Blade, while the other pierced its heart with chilling wind.

The entire process was incredibly swift. Once the deed was done, the pair retreated rapidly.

The Black-winged Shark's death and decomposition into wind was only the beginning. Next, it would turn into a Wind Calamity—that was the trickiest part.

The decomposition finished within a minute, and a massive tornado began to form where the Black-winged Shark had died.

The wind that formed it was the very same wind that had once been the Black-winged Shark's flesh.

That was why the Wind Calamity was also known among Windwalkers as the "Hurricane Beast's Death Grudge."

The death of any Hurricane Beast would inevitably give birth to a Wind Calamity.

"Split up," Ji Wen warned his two teammates.

The Wind Calamity would lock onto the Windwalker who killed the Hurricane Beast. However, since two people had delivered the killing blows this time, there was room to manipulate it.

Ji Wen didn't flee. Since he hadn't dealt the killing blow, he didn't need to. He had to follow the Wind Calamity and wait for it to subside so he could collect the resulting "wind materials" for building a wind-ship later.

Predation among Hurricane Beasts also produced Wind Calamities, but for them, the Calamity was food, so they had nothing to worry about.

Only humans needed to worry.

His two teammates split up, one fleeing left and the other right. The Wind Calamity seemed to pause for a moment, then chose a target and gave chase.

"A Level One Wind Calamity. It should subside in about an hour," Ji Wen concluded after judging its size and duration.

He then gave chase, heading toward the wilderness.

They obviously couldn't lead the Wind Calamity toward the town. It had to be lured to a place with no people or buildings to minimize the damage.

His teammate was no stranger to luring a Wind Calamity, so he knew exactly what to do.