The Frenzy Virus—according to the lore of this world, creatures infected by this disease gain exceptionally hardened bodies and seem to possess bottomless stamina.
In reality, however, the situation is slightly different. It is simply that the brain is overstimulated into a state of continuous frenzy, making the infected creature appear tireless. Simultaneously, its nervous system becomes paralyzed, making its perception of pain extremely dull, allowing it to forcefully endure all manner of trauma.
...
Driven by immense explosive power, Logan's massive body—weighing nearly forty tons—reached speeds of 100 kilometers per hour in an instant. The kinetic energy he carried was like a fully loaded freight truck slamming violently into the Yian Garuga.
BOOM!!!
The colossal collision shook the world. White scales and purplish-black carapace ground against each other, spraying brilliant sparks. The Yian Garuga's 15-meter-long body simply couldn't withstand such force; its powerful legs left the ground instantly, and its entire frame was sent smashing into the massive tree behind it.
Another earth-shattering explosion followed. Coarse bark flew in all directions, mixed with splatters of pale green sap. The Yian Garuga hung against the trunk like a decorative painting, embedded so deeply it didn't even slide down for a moment.
The violent impact left it completely dazed. Before its brain could process a reaction, a blinding white light reflected in its eyes. Instinctively, it tucked its head; a split second later, a massive tail-blade swept over its crown, carving a deep gouge into the tree trunk.
Missing the strike, Logan intended to follow up with a spinning slash, but the Yian Garuga suddenly beat its wings, jarring itself loose from the trunk. Its lean but developed legs kicked off the ground as it extended its long neck, pecking fiercely with its shovel-like beak.
Seeing this, Logan halted his turn. He raised his powerful right claw high and delivered a thunderous palm strike forward.
His palm—covered in soft pads and fine scales—collided head-on with the Yian Garuga's hard beak with a muffled thud. Then, his five splayed fingers curled inward, firmly gripping the Yian Garuga's upper mandible.
The Yian Garuga is a medium-to-large Bird Wyvern with an average length of about 14 meters. Though agile, powerful, and a top-tier predator among its kind, its relatively light weight remains a fatal weakness—especially when facing a creature like Logan, whose forepaws are as flexible as human hands and have mastered the "grasping" style of combat.
As Logan's muscles surged and his red skin pulsed beneath his flared scales, his thick forelimb exerted massive force. The nearly 20-ton Yian Garuga was instantly swung into the air and slammed violently into the ground.
Another boom resonated as a deep crater appeared in the soft humus soil. A massive surge of electricity flowed like a tide toward Logan's claw, continuously paralyzing the Yian Garuga's nerves. Then, with a backhand motion, he swung the monster up again.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The impact sounds were relentless. In Logan's grip, the Yian Garuga was like a tattered ragdoll being thrashed at will.
Frenzy Virus or not, "fighting without retreat" or not—under the suppression of absolute strength and weight, once caught, it all became meaningless.
Just as the Yian Garuga seemed on the verge of being thrashed to death, Logan's claw suddenly felt light. The bird, which should have hit the ground, instead went flying, tumbling into a nearby thicket of shrubs.
The shrubs, which remained stubbornly green despite the low temperatures, were instantly crushed. Branches snapped and leaves were pulverized into a mess.
Logan looked at his empty claw. Inside his hooked talons remained fragments of dark grey keratin and bone meal; the tips of his nails had even been ground down. Turning to look at the Yian Garuga, its beak was marred by several deep, jagged gouges.
This could be considered a unique form of "shedding a tail to survive." Unfortunately for the Yian Garuga, this move was a mere drop in the bucket, only slightly delaying its inevitable death.
Logan flicked his claws, shaking off the dust from the gaps in his nails. He didn't pursue immediately, but watched quietly as the Yian Garuga struggled to crawl back up.
Those slams were no joke. The heavier a creature is, the greater the impact force when falling. Even if the flesh is tough enough to endure it, the internal organs are likely to rupture or shift, leading to fatal internal hemorrhaging.
Yet, the Yian Garuga before him seemed not to have suffered catastrophic trauma. Though its initial movements were shaky, it quickly regained its footing.
Blood seeped from its broken scales, but with a fierce flap of its wings, the bird shook the droplets into a mist and took to the sky.
Its intense battle lust, fueled by the Frenzy Virus, prevented any thought of escape. It opened its shovel-like maw and spat a barrage of fireballs downward.
Inside the flames were fist-sized globs of oil packed with combustible dust. Upon hitting the ground, they exploded into fireworks of sparks, turning the area into a sea of fire in the blink of an eye.
Thick smoke billowed upward. The Yian Garuga's eyes, bloodshot and crimson, tracked Logan as he dodged below. Suddenly, it tucked its wings and dived like a goshawk.
Normally, flying creatures attacking from above use their powerful legs to stomp or their tails to lash out. However, this Yian Garuga took a strange, head-down approach, plunging like a sword falling from the heavens.
Fortunately, Logan used echolocation to keep the monster locked. Even with his vision obscured by smoke, he tracked its movements perfectly. He kicked off the ground, sliding his body backward. The Yian Garuga's beak grazed the flowing mane on his chest before plunging straight into the earth.
BOOM!!!
The sound was like a massive industrial pile-driver hitting the ground.
The Yian Garuga's entire head was buried deep in the earth. The soft soil exploded outward, forming a crater over three meters in diameter.
By scientific calculation, the impact force of that hit surely exceeded hundreds or even thousands of tons; it was hard to imagine what kind of spine could withstand it. Yet, the Yian Garuga seemed completely unaffected, pulling its head out of the ground in one swift motion.
Is it because Bioenergy forms a protective field upon impact? Or do flying creatures in this world have unique organs that reduce their weight, making impact forces less massive than they seem?
As the wind and grit lashed his face, Logan narrowed his eyes, unable to quite find an answer.
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