Chapter 146: Split Strategy
To the right, a tall, jagged hill stood like a silent guardian.
Raven's eyes narrowed as he looked up.
A pack of monstrous flying lizards glided lazily in the skies above. Some flew in circles. Others clung to the rocky cliffside, screeching quietly.
"Strange…" Raven muttered. "I see a lot more wyverns."
Beside him, Jovie's pupils glinted blue as she activated a detection skill.
She peered into the distance for a long moment before finally speaking.
"They are not Wyverns but Wyrms. Although a dozen Wyrms seem to have joined the pack, they are not Rank-3 Magical Beasts."
Raven nodded, but his expression remained grim.
As they spoke, movement stirred from the center of the convoy.
Nash and the four other Expert Knights had begun changing into different armor.
They removed their standard silver and black sets and donned full emerald-colored armor instead. Everything gleamed beneath the sun, from helms to boots, pendants to rings. Their weapons were also changed—new blades and spears engraved with complex runes and glowing enchantments.
After a brief look, Raven took the monocle from his inventory, put it on his left eye, and activated it discreetly.
Stats and descriptions appeared before his eyes.
'Oh? Protective spells like Stonewall Skin and Ward of Warding are engraved into chestplates… Feather Steps, Blink, and Lightning Flash embedded into rings and boots… weapons are enchanted with Sharpness, Bloodbane, and even minor Curse Runes…'
His eyes flicked up to the helmets.
'Eagle's Sight. Piercing Gaze. Whisper Sense. Clarity of Thoughts…'
Raven's brows lifted slightly. 'So this is the power of full Rare-grade Aether Sets…'
Then came Nash's voice, firm and commanding.
"Radiant Knights! Focus on protecting Lord Count from the Lesser Wyrms!"
He unsheathed his long sword and pointed it toward the valley.
"Dear Wizards," he added, turning to the three Expert Mages behind Count Alden, "please cast spells on the Wyverns and cripple them when they try to escape."
The Wizards gave a silent nod.
Without another word, Nash and the other four Expert Knights dashed forward, leading the charge towards the hill on the right side.
Nash moved four hundred meters ahead of the convoy, his boots landing precisely on the sloped terrain.
From the edge of a shallow ridge, he paused and looked down. A massive canyon sprawled before him, cracked and uneven, filled with sharp rocks and dust clouds rising with every breeze.
His eyes drifted right.
A jagged hill rose above the canyon wall like a crooked fang. Dozens of flying creatures perched on the crags and ledges—Wyrms. Some hovered lazily in the sky, their wings stretched wide, screeching to mark territory.
Two nest-like structures were built on flattened cliff parts, each separated by around two hundred meters. A Wyvern sat curled around something large and pale in the nearest one.
Nash narrowed his eyes. The monocle in his helm flickered softly as it zoomed in.
Three large eggs—each nearly the size of a carriage—sat inside the nest.
A smirk slowly formed on his face.
'Wyvern eggs... so that's why they're staying grounded.'
The two Wyverns near the nests kept their heads low, wings folded, watching over the eggs like sleeping dragons. The Wyrms around them didn't dare get too close, guarding the perimeter like disciplined sentinels.
Further back, three more Wyverns stood on the tallest rocks a few hundred meters beyond the nests. They seemed half-asleep, occasionally glancing toward the hill, but didn't move.
Without hesitation, Nash touched his armor and activated the protective rune.
"Kael, Veyra, Doran, Elion," he said in a calm, clipped tone. "We're using the Split Strategy. Get the Wizards in position and wait. I'll move first."
Then, he moved.
In one breath, Nash vanished from the ridgeline and reappeared halfway up the hill, dashing at an inhuman speed. The moment his foot left the rock, he activated a skill.
"Feather Steps."
A faint shimmer pulsed beneath him.
The air hardened momentarily, becoming solid enough to bear his weight. He stepped again—this time two meters higher—then again, and again. Each leap took him further into the sky, almost gliding as he sprinted on invisible stairs.
The wind howled around him. Rocks and dirt flew past. The hill blurred below.
High above, the Wyrms reacted.
Their screeches grew sharper. Wings flapped violently.
A heartbeat later, they spotted him.
The nearest Wyverns raised their heads. One hissed, its throat bulging slightly, nostrils flaring. The other flapped once, shifting its weight.
Farther away, the three resting Wyverns glanced toward the commotion but didn't move.
"Tch." Nash pulled a long spear from his spatial ring.
A blood-red aura flared to life around it—Advanced Aura, compressed and sharpened into a deadly coil. His arm tensed.
He hurled the spear straight at the nearer Wyvern with a single breath.
The air cracked.
The aura-coated spear cut through the wind like a bolt of red lightning, aimed directly at the Wyvern's head. It screeched and twisted, flapping its wings in a panic. The beast shot upward, then veered left to avoid the projectile.
But at the last second, a strange gust of wind pushed from the left.
It was a wind spell!
The spear deflected slightly mid-air, just enough.
Instead of piercing the Wyvern's eye, it grazed its neck and continued toward the nest. A split-second later, a wet crunch echoed across the hill.
The spear smashed through all three eggs.
The Wyvern shrieked—high-pitched and furious!
Its body tensed, and the next moment, it lunged forward, wings wide, eyes blazing with hatred.
The second Wyvern followed half a beat later, its cry a raw blend of rage and sorrow. Both beasts took off toward Nash, while the one in front let out a guttural screech toward the three in the distance.
A signal.
Now, five Wyverns were in play.
But Nash was already in motion.
As the enraged beasts stormed toward him, he twisted in the air, flipped backward once, and launched himself away from the hilltop.
His cloak snapped behind him as he landed smoothly on another air step—his speed unhindered.
Below, the four Expert Knights were already moving into their assigned formations.
Nash shot from the tree line like a loaded arrow, boots skimming the uneven ground. The forest blurred around him. Behind, two wyverns took to the sky, their enormous wings tearing the air apart with every beat.
The first to reach was the wounded one, over four meters tall and eight meters long, its neck marked by a brutal gash. Its wings stretched wide, casting a shifting shadow that swallowed the trees beneath.
Nash didn't slow.
A blur crossed his side—Kael.
His boots ignited mid-air.
Flame Leap Skill.
Fire erupted from beneath as he rocketed upward, rising past Nash like a missile. In one clean motion, his broadsword ignited. Flames wrapped around the weapon like a coiled serpent.
He appeared above the wyvern's head the next moment.
Then came the devastating strike.
Steel slammed into the scaled skull, and a dull thud rang out. Fire burst outward in a spiral, momentarily engulfing the wyvern's crown. The beast roared, shaken—dazed but alive.
A second flash.
Veyra stepped through the shadow.
She emerged at the beast's left flank, driving her spear through its eye. No pause. No cry. Just a clean thrust—straight and deep. The wyvern jerked, disoriented.
Its right eye lit up—too late.
Elion blinked in like a ghost. His blade stabbed through the socket before the beast could react. It screamed—a long, broken screech.
Three seconds. Both of its eyes were gone.
It tried to take off, flapping its Wings.
But a black-haired wizard with amber eyes raised his hand and cast a spell.
The air twisted.
Mist gathered, and Water swirled. Then froze mid-motion, forming jagged chains of translucent blue. They wrapped around the beast's limbs, shoulders, and wings—then hardened with a crack. The wyvern buckled and bound.
The second one arrived.
It landed hard, talons digging into the earth. Its jaw opened wide, throat glowing orange.
"It's going to breathe Flame!" Nash yelled. Although Wyverns weren't powerful enough to breathe fire like the dragons and burn cities, they could still mimic the dragon's spell and release a lesser version of the firebreath spell.
It was more like a fireball spell!
Before the roar came, a voice shouted from the rear.
"Wind Aegis!"
It was Wizard Ariel!
A green wall of spiraling air burst forth in front of the formation. The second wyvern's flame slammed into the shield like a flood. It held—barely. Cracks formed. Nash's hair whipped in the wind.
Wizard Ariel didn't stop.
"Wind Slash."
Two massive wind blades formed in the woods behind him, silent and nearly invisible.
They cut through the air, then through the blind wyvern's wings.
One. Two.
Blood sprayed in thick arcs. The wings dropped with a heavy thump. The creature collapsed, screeching like a wounded demon.
Nash and Doran didn't wait.
They ran fast, directly. The second wyvern was mid-snarl when Doran activated his skill.
His form surged upward from the ground, propelled by pure strength.
His nickname was 'Ironheart Knight.'
He crashed into the wyvern's underbelly from below, gauntleted fist glowing red.
Then the hit landed.
Not a punch—but more like a cannon. A concussive blast echoed through the ridge as if the sky cracked. The wyvern reeled, screaming. Its whole body twisted mid-air.
Above, Nash had already leaped.
He passed through the damaged Wind Aegis. His spear shimmered, emerald-tipped, the mithril edge burning with red runes.
He dove straight toward the beast's exposed side.