Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 103 - Taming the Threat of War - 5

”Supervisor!” one of the guards shouted, but they couldnʼt abandon their position. If the golden fire spread beyond the perimeter, the entire academy would be in danger.

The scorpion prepared its final blow. The supervisor, partially paralyzed by the venom, could barely maintain a weak ice barrier.

”Kill him already!” The stinger descended like a chitinous lightning bolt.

He just had to finish off the only silver rank and then the scorpion could help him with the director to clear the path.

But a mass of living rock intercepted the attack.

Professor Yangʼs stone behemoth struck the scorpion, its massive fist absorbing the venomous stingerʼs impact without difficulty, the crystalline substance barely marking its rocky surface.

”Sorry Iʼm late,” Yang helped the supervisor to his feet while his beast kept the scorpion at bay. ”The students are safe, protected by the other professors in the shelter.”

The mercenary clicked his tongue in annoyance. ”More unnecessary interference...”

Yangʼs presence manifested as a wave of silver rank power that made the agent turn his head slightly. His enhanced senses clearly detected the threat level.

ʼAnother silver,ʼ he evaluated while mentally directing his scorpion toward the new threat. ʼThe behemoth is slightly stronger than the penguin, itʼll be a problem for the scorpion, not that there arenʼt more enemies but...ʼ

His eyes briefly moved toward some of the bronze rank guards still containing the fires. He didnʼt even bother tracking them, their attacks would barely scratch his golden feathers.

ʼBut the silvers could pierce my defense, and if they work together with the director...ʼ his wings tensed while calculating. ʼI need to end this quickly.ʼ

The scorpion launched itself against the behemoth, its stinger seeking weak points in the living rock. Yang retreated, dragging the supervisor, coordinating his beast to keep the abyssal creature at bay.

”No more games, Director!” The mercenary beat his wings with more force and urgency, creating a wind gust that reduced Ignatiusʼs golden flames.

The Director was momentarily exposed, his flames unable to reform quickly enough against the cutting wind.

ʼHeʼs mine,ʼ the mercenary smiled. Without the Directorʼs gold rank power, most silvers wouldnʼt pose a threat. He could recover his egg and retreat before the kingʼs aid...

Something was wrong.

The Director was smiling.

It was just an instant, a slight pull of his lips, but the mercenary noticed. His senses tried to expand, to search for the trap, but...

CRACK!

A brutal force impacted against his leg from behind his knee. His legs, transformed with the hippogriffʼs power withstood most of the damage, but buckled under the precise strike.

The mercenary lost his balance, his wings desperately trying to compensate. ʼWhat...? How didnʼt I sense...?ʼ

Lin rolled on the ground, her crane manifested elongating and especially increasing the power of her legs. The kick had been perfect, all her beastʼs strength concentrated in a single impact point.

In the mercenaryʼs fall, Lin took advantage of her low position to execute an impossible spin, her transformed leg connecting brutally with the agentʼs jaw-beak. The impact was devastating, making the mercenaryʼs head violently snap back.

The Directorʼs right hand broke free and his claws descended like a golden lightning bolt.

Through his blurred vision, the agent saw the Director lunge, his golden claws aiming straight for his throat. Consciousness was slipping away, Linʼs strike had been calculated to knock out...

He managed to cover himself at the last moment, though the cost...

Blood and golden feathers filled the air as the mercenaryʼs arm fell severed.

The pain helped him overcome his blurred vision with adrenaline, he saw the Director lunging forward, his golden claws aiming again straight for his throat.

ʼI still have that... But Iʼll fail my mission, should keep this secret... But is my life of lesser value? NO, TO HELL WITH THAT!ʼ

His wings extended with a burst of power, creating a wind wave so intense that both Lin and Ignatius were pushed back at the last moment.

”Damn you!” the mercenary roared while his scorpion dissolved into a sphere of violet light that returned to his body. His wings didnʼt stop beating with great force, maintaining distance while from his bleeding stump emerged a pincer that replaced the wound.

”You asked for it!” his voice sounded distorted by rage and the mixed power of both beasts.

ʼWant to know how I got this far, Director? How I could map the depths without the changing tunnels losing me?ʼ The mercenary thought.

The air began to vibrate with a strange energy while the mercenary pulled out a sphere from his bag that glowed with a purple aura and fed it with mana.

ʼThe abyssal veins never change! And right below gold rank, before beasts reach platinum and can cross the barrier... exists the abyssal layer.ʼ

The earth beneath their feet began to shake. Lin and the Director exchanged worried looks.

Ignatius narrowed his eyes, studying the mana patterns emanating from the mercenary. The energy had a... familiar behavior. Something he had read the theory of in ancient tomes, in the kingdomʼs oldest archives.

”So this is it,” he murmured while intensifying his flames and trying to resist the wind. ”Not only did they tame abyssal beasts... they found a way to navigate the abyss itself.”

The mercenary didnʼt respond, but his smile widened. His wings beat harder while the tremor increased.

ʼOnly we can navigate that 500-meter layer! From 1,500 to 2,000 meters deep, where the endless hordes of monsters make passage impossible for others!ʼ

”The layer between gold and platinum,” the Director advanced, managing to push despite the cutting wind, his flames growing in intensity. ”Where the hordes make passage impossible for those below platinum rank...”

His smile turned savage while the tremor increased.

”Thatʼs how you could map the changing depths and get here,” Ignatius felt how the beasts in the lower levels stirred, responding to a frequency that only they could fully perceive.

”Hahaha, damn perceptive old man... Thatʼs right! Know why? Because they recognize us as their comrades! The abyssals know weʼre their brothers! So say goodbye to your security, weʼll always have ways to reach you when you least expect it!”

The wind intensified while the mercenaryʼs violet aura grew. He no longer tried to hide his connection to the abyss, each beat of his mutations making the earth shake with more force.

Ignatius concentrated all his power, his phoenixʼs golden flames reaching a blinding intensity as he prepared for his most powerful attack. The heat was so intense that the surrounding trees began to wither, their leaves curling and blackening.

He had to stop him no matter what.