Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 918 - Taming the Crystal Hearts - 2

Selphira was considerably more affected by what was happening than sheʼd anticipated would be the case.

Sheʼd faced multiple crises. Situations where lives depended on her decisions and where failure resulted in catastrophe. Sheʼd learned through many errors to maintain an appropriate emotional distance. Separation between personal feelings and tactical necessities permitting her to function effectively under pressure that would paralyze those less disciplined.

But today was different…

And the Ashenway matriarch realized with uncomfortable clarity that she cared about Victor and Siriusʼs inherited mission considerably more than sheʼd expected permitting herself to feel.

Victor was her grand-nephew technically. Family connection coming from marriages rather than blood… Perhaps little blood shared between them through some of those marriages.

Family nonetheless. The boy sheʼd watched grow from child into prince. Whoʼd trained under her observation and who represented the future of the kingdom if by normal succession.

And Sirius... Sirius had been her most difficult student. The quietest and then most annoying as an adult.

In life sheʼd come to avoid him. Treated him as a nuisance many times because his reserved attitude and stubborn independence frustrated her teaching methods that required open communication.

But investigating his tragedy in the last years, looking back and considering his reserved attitude being only a facade hiding pain and isolation, sheʼd realized something that hadnʼt been obvious while he lived.

When he didnʼt return from that cave, it had left a wound that had never healed appropriately. Because sheʼd never had closure…

Never had a chance to say things that should have been said, an opportunity to understand him properly before it was too late.

And now Orion was playing with both memories simultaneously. Victor and the Light Heart in his power. That manipulation was touching nerves Selphira normally kept well protected behind a cold mask and implacable professionalism.

Now she needed to know what was happening with Victor. Needed seeing with her own eyes what Orion had done with Victor whose mana she couldnʼt sense. Mana that should be immense and easy to perceive. His mana signature should be blazing like a bonfire visible from kilometers away to anyone with perception abilities.

But there was nothing...

Waiting patiently while the situation developed at the slow pace Orion climbed the stairs was no longer an option sheʼd tolerate when her instinct screamed that each second could matter for survival of a ʼlittle birdʼ that, whether she admitted it or not, sheʼd come to consider as genuine family.

Not just the overindulged prince that his mother pampered and spoiled rotten. Not just a political asset to be protected for strategic reasons. But someone who mattered personally in ways that transcended duty or calculation.

That spoiled brat mattered a lot to her. Maybe it was Leonelʼs loss or maybe she was finally getting too old.

Selphira absorbed her Black Tortoise in a decision that was more emotional than calculated.

The massive creature was withdrawn to her core where the energy it contained could be accessed without needing to maintain the enormous physical manifestation limiting her speed.

The tortoise had been a devastating weapon. Crushing mutants by the dozens with each movement. Creating a defensive anchor that enemies couldnʼt easily bypass. But it was slow and somewhat ponderous. Not suited for rapid repositioning toward a new objective.

And she needed speed now more than raw crushing power.

She launched forward now mounted on her White Serpent that was considerably faster. Acceleration converting the distance into a blur as she closed the space between her current position and the army.

The serpent moved like flowing water. Fast in ways that her massive tortoise could never match. Not as durable perhaps but mobility had its own defensive value when you could simply not be where enemies expected you.

She had to reach the rear guard soon. Place where Orion would appear when he emerged from the ruin.

She created an enormous ice wall in her path. Structure rising from the ground in seconds and extending laterally to cover more than a considerable area.

Not simply a defensive barrier but a weapon eliminating mutants getting in her way. Creatures being crushed or frozen when the thick wall manifested in the space they occupied.

The ice didnʼt grow gradually… It erupted. An explosive formation that gave no warning and permitted no escape for anything caught in the manifestation zone. One moment there was empty space and the next moment there was a solid ice wall several meters thick and dozens of meters high.

Mutants caught in that zone were frozen solid if they were lucky or crushed between the fast forming ice masses if they werenʼt. Bodies preserved in crystalline structures or reduced to paste depending on exactly where theyʼd been standing.

It was a casualty result that would have taken several minutes of careful combat... Though in a certain way much less efficient than more sustained elimination methods would have been.

But efficiency wasnʼt a priority now, speed was. And the wall bought her that speed by creating a barrier that would slow mutant advance even after she left this position.

”Arturo!” she shouted toward Victorʼs brother with an amplified voice to reach through the distance and battle noise. Communicating this wasnʼt a suggestion but an order expecting immediate obedience. ”Youʼre in charge of mutant containment supported by this wall. Keep them contained and eliminate as many as you can.”

Arturo didnʼt agree with the decision... That was obvious in the expression he adopted when processing what Selphira was doing.

Dividing forces when facing three separate threats was more than risky. And permitting her to charge alone toward the second threat was madness violating basic operational principles theyʼd followed during the last hours of cooperative combat.

His mouth opened to protest, to demand she reconsider splitting their force when coordination had been key to survival so far.

But he didnʼt get a chance to voice any objections. Because Selphira was already moving. Decision made and executed before he could effectively protest.

And someone had to keep the mutants contained or the flow would reach the city without resistance. Someone had to maintain the line theyʼd been holding for the past day of continuous fighting.

Heʼd have to trust that Selphira was much more skilled than Victor. That even with a similar rank power she could handle the army and Orion simultaneously in ways Victor apparently hadnʼt managed.

It was an unexpected situation of conflicting necessities where the perfect answer didnʼt exist regardless of which configuration they chose. Divide forces and risk being overwhelmed separately. Maintain combined position and let Orion keep doing whatever he was gaining time for in the ruin.

Neither option was good. Both carried enormous risk. But a decision had been made and now there was only good execution left.

So Arturo gritted his jaw with frustration having no appropriate outlet and re-focused on the task assigned to him. Consolidating defenses that now depended mainly on him and his 35 soldiers maintaining the new wall rather than the powerful giant tortoise that had been dividing the beastsʼ advance.

Heʼd do his part. And hope Selphira succeeded at hers. Because if she failed…

♢♢♢♢

Selphira arrived at the range where the rebel army of still more than 3000 soldiers had entrenched itself in front of the building guarding the underground entrance.

Her approach was observed immediately…

Hard to ignore that giant white serpent approaching at high speed. Hard to miss the killing intent radiating from the rider whoʼd just demonstrated willingness to create massive ice constructs without apparent concern for mana expenditure.

They began launching desperate attacks in response to the scary intrusion. Elemental missiles converged toward Selphiraʼs position from multiple directions while tamers coordinated fire and wind supposed to overwhelm any defense through pure volume.

Dozens of attacks… Then hundreds. Organized volleys that lit the sky with elemental energies and that would have instantly killed anyone even with Gold-rank defenses.

When hundreds joined their mana, the fire blasts were hot enough to melt stone and wind blades turned sharp enough to cut through steel. Combined techniques that magnified effects beyond what individuals could achieve. All focused on a single target with intent to eliminate the threat before it could close distance.

It was a textbook response to a solo attacker. Overwhelming firepower applied before they could engage at close range where the numbers would be a nuance too.

But Selphira wasnʼt any ordinary solo attacker.

She responded with the same combination of evasion and defense sheʼd perfected during centuries of facing exactly this type of assault.

The White Serpent moved with huge speed, its zigzagging making it difficult for attackers to predict its trajectory. Serpentine paths converting precise aim into an impossible task when the target changed direction with frequency defying any prediction.

And when attacks that couldnʼt be completely dodged converged toward her position, she manifested conical ice shields sheʼd used in several previous wars. Protections not simply blocking but deflecting projectiles at angles that dispersed energy without permitting it to penetrate her defense directly.

It was geometry applied to survival under siege. Understanding of how force behaved when encountering inclined surfaces that redirected most of the impact rather than absorbing the hit directly.

And projectiles that glanced off continued traveling away from the target rather than remaining a threat.

Simple principle. Devastatingly effective when executed near thousands of enemy soldiers by someone who understood the dynamics of combat at an intuitive level that came from surviving hundreds of battles.

She was doing what sheʼd initially decided avoiding to not leave the enemy in her rear. And she was doing it without activating her fusion.

For her it would be considerably easier making a frontal assault if she used fusion right now.

The power that the duplicated Genbu would provide would be sufficient for destroying even the combined attacks from dozens of soldiers together without needing to evade or deflect individually. She could advance straight through the front through absolute superiority, converting the enemy army into an irrelevant obstacle.

Could simply penetrate everything without worrying about minor damage accumulation because amplified capabilities would make that type of wear negligible compared to massive resistances fusion would unlock.

But she feared that if she revealed all her power now, Orion would retreat.