Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 916 – Taming the Fifth Year – Attrition – Final Battle – 15

Everything was going perfectly for Orion because on his side the creatures kept converging toward the academy and other strategic locations like the castle. Directions serving multiple purposes in the broader plan he had prepared.

But it wasn’t 100% perfect, just because his brothers complained extensively in the message about what constant crystal operation had implied for them personally. Headaches coming from sustained concentration in maintaining a hard balance between the opposed elemental hearts.

It was a litany of complaints filling a good initial portion of the message. Protests about difficulty and demands for recognition for the huge sacrifice they were making in service of their older brother’s plan.

Orion set those sections aside with a disdain he didn’t attempt at hiding when alone.

He thought with irritation that he could continue operating control over seven crystals for considerably longer than the simple day both his brothers had endured. And his task as leader was objectively heavier in terms of mental complexity and mana load than what they faced with only four crystals.

“Lazy idiots,” he murmured aloud with a tone having both criticism an fraternal exasperation.

It was a characterization he applied freely when the brothers didn’t meet the standards he considered minimum acceptable for those sharing with him the blood of a family supposed to produce only exceptional individuals.

But then, after a moment of permitting his criticism to express itself unfiltered, he admitted with reluctant honesty that Magnus and Dorian were genuinely useful when truly needed.

They could complain, protest and require annoying supervision… But they executed when it mattered.

They’d kept Julius contained for a complete day despite the difficulties they claimed having. A result justifying the tolerance of their minor deficiencies.

It was a balance Orion had learned to accept during years of working with many other individuals who rarely reached standards he imposed on himself except for his late brother Sirius.

Perfection was unattainable when depending on others inferior to you. So you had to settle for sufficient competence and manage their weaknesses through appropriate supervision to get at least some secondary work done.

The twins were adequate tools…

Not exceptional but functional. And in operations of this scale, having functional tools in critical positions was worth tolerating their whining.

Orion rose from the position where he’d been seated for hours monitoring the information flows the crystals provided. His movements revealing stiffness coming from prolonged immobility.

He stretched briefly to relieve tension in his muscles that had remained static too long. Then began walking toward a deeper section of the ruin.

He descended through the only possible passage. Steps confident not requiring light to navigate the stairs perfectly.

He eventually arrived at the penultimate chamber. An area that had been designated for a specific purpose that few even of his followers knew.

There they had Victor. The older brother of Arturo and Julius.

It was an important piece Orion had captured. Had taken considerable resource investment to secure but that now would provide the leverage he needed to force a favorable outcome when the final confrontation occurred.

Elite soldiers he’d assigned to “care for” Victor, or what remained of him, straightened when Orion entered. Recognition of the authority he now commanded thanks to the crystals without needing any more explicit demonstration.

They’d been executing instructions given to them with diligence coming from knowing failure would result in consequences that could be seen in front of them… consequences they preferred avoiding.

Orion observed the situation briefly. An evaluation confirming everything was as he’d ordered.

Victor’s body remained in a state serving the purposes Orion had established. Not necessary to verify any specific details now. Only confirm he was still in one piece and in a form where it could be utilized now that the appropriate moment had arrived.

The prince had tried escaping with all his strength. Had been struck down by the light-darkness beam. And since then had been kept in a condition that would maximize the psychological impact on his rescuers when revealed.

Victor was his tool too now. A weapon to be deployed against his brothers’ and teacher morale at a precisely calculated moment.

Orion had decided sufficient time had passed.

One day of continuous combat against the endless mutant flow would have left even tamers of Selphira and Arturo’s caliber with considerably low reserves. Not to the point of complete incapacitation certainly. But sufficient that a direct confrontation would favor Orion who had the crystals in his power.

It was time to personally go verify if the old woman and middle brother were sufficiently tired to show them what remained of Victor. Give them the final morale blow that would finish their resistance faster and permit the plan’s next phase to proceed without additional obstacles.

If by some reason Julius freed himself and added reinforcements, things would be more complicated. Better to hurry things slightly.

“Prepare to transport him. I want him visible,” he ordered the soldiers with a tone permitting no questioning. “We’ll take him outside. And make sure his rescuers can see him clearly.”

He turned to begin the ascent toward the surface. Anticipation grew as he contemplated the confrontation he’d been planning for months.

Selphira and the princes had been persistent obstacles. But every obstacle could be overcome with appropriate force application at the moment of maximum advantage.

And that moment had finally arrived.

The soldiers moved to execute his orders. Lifting Victor’s body with care that wasn’t compassion but rather the preservation of a valuable asset. Preparing for transport that would carry him to the surface where he’d serve his final purpose in Orion’s design.

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Selphira continued eliminating mutants with an efficiency coming from centuries of perfecting her control to the point where each movement was optimized for maximum impact with minimum expenditure.

Especially when she set aside things like Yano’s practice pride and let her beasts act outside her body. Something becoming more common each day for many tamers thanks to its utility demonstrations seen more often in recent years.