Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 840 - Taming the Fifth Year - Biggest Eater - 5

Liora never showed her concerns anyway…

Her grandmother had taught her well. Never panic, never show weakness. Even when hurt… especially when hurt, display control.

But this time there was a better reason for that confidence.

The roots that seemed to be absorbing energy from the Bashe withered after a relatively brief period of activity.

The spiritual miasma the serpent constantly emanated wasnʼt simply an aesthetic aura but an active armor and weapon that corroded life itself. Plant life attempting to parasitize it was no exception.

The roots dried and died, green turning brown turning black turning to ash. And the stake itself began to be absorbed bit by bit into the serpentʼs skin as the Bashe reversed the drainage process.

What had been taking became giving. What had been a weapon became food.

The attack was eventually absorbed, mana composing it being consumed and converted into sustenance. The Bashe grew a bit more, visible expansion adding additional meters to a length that had already gained from absorbing the previous wind attack.

Maybe 15% larger now than at the start. Maybe 20%. The growth was becoming harder to dismiss as insignificant.

”Itʼs not working,” someone muttered in the stands.

”Everything just feeds it. Itʼs like fighting an infinite hole.”

”Patinder needs a new strategy.”

Ren observed results with a neutral expression, but his mind processed information at maximum speed.

Not discouraged nor panicking. Still calculating.

He didnʼt give up but instead fired a rapid succession of 3 more stakes, the projectiles launched one after another with precise timing barely leaving seconds between each one.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The three embedded near each other in the serpentʼs body, triangular formation that wasnʼt accidental but deliberately designed for the next step of his strategy.

The crowd watched, confused. Why repeat an attack that had just failed? Was Ren wasting mana? Was he panicking despite his calm expression?

The first stake began withering under the miasmaʼs assault just like the initial one fired.

But before it could die completely, the roots from the other two stakes linked with it, creating a triangular network of elemental wood in the end forming between the three impact points.

The connection allowed energy transfer between the stakes, fresher roots feeding the one being attacked most strongly and distributing the burden of resisting miasma through larger structures. It was like a living circuit, power flowing from healthy nodes to support damaged ones.

And not just that.

The network began purifying the miasma zone considerably, the area around the three impact points clearing visibly as elemental wood countered corrupt spiritual energy.

It was genuine progress suggesting that with sufficient volume of coordinated attacks, Ren could overcome the Basheʼs spiritual defensive capacity and cause permanent damage.

The purple fog thinned. The air became clearer. The Basheʼs permanent smile definitely looked strained now, edges tight with something approaching discomfort.

”Itʼs working!” someone shouted from the stands.

”He found it! The counter!”

The excitement rippled outward. Maybe this wouldnʼt be so one-sided after all. Maybe…

They were costly attacks, complex constructions requiring significant mana investment. But with a bit more time, he could launch another volley and…

However, in the end, the miasma returned with force too soon, concentration increasing as the Bashe channeled more spiritual energy into defending the attacked area.

The serpent wasnʼt passive. It could adapt too, redirect power, concentrate defenses where needed most.

The absorption battle reversed again, wood losing ground against spirit in a conflict of wills manifested as opposing elements. And when Renʼs beast was ready to fire again, it was too late. The roots died completely. The 3 stakes were absorbed just like the first.

The Bashe grew a bit again, expansion carrying it to a size now comparable with Selphiraʼs serpent that part of the audience had seen in the past.

No longer a disappointingly small serpent but a creature justifying some of the respect that legendary reputation suggested.

”Gods,” someone breathed. ”Itʼs massive now.”

”And itʼs still growing.”

”How much bigger can it get?”

It seemed like a lost case, considerable effort resulting in nothing more than feeding the enemy and making it more dangerous.

But Ren didnʼt get discouraged at all because the exercise had served to calculate exactly what would be needed to overcome the Basheʼs defenses appropriately.

His mind worked through the mathematics with cold precision.

According to the area affected by the 3 stakes operating together and what heʼd observed in the ”earth seed” behavior when they activated and grew, he calculated that with 10 stakes the effect would be sufficient to completely clear the miasma and bring down the Bashe.

The serpent couldnʼt float like that without spiritual miasma sustaining it in the air, and on the ground it would be much easier to finish trapping it with terrestrial techniques that were the wolverineʼs specialty.

A sufficiently wide network of absorbent wood mana distributed through 10 connection points wouldnʼt let the Bashe recover. And the rootsʼ total body would regenerate in feedback loops, each stake supporting the others in a cycle that would eventually overcome whatever amount of miasma a Gold 1 rank serpent could generate.

The Bashe would need to overcome all 10 simultaneously, and it simply didnʼt have that much power output.

Theory was sound. Numbers checked out.

Just one problem…

The problem was how to fire them in time.

Each stake required 3-4 seconds to construct properly. Compressed earth, mana infusion, dormant wood core and in the end the wind and fire propulsion system another 3 seconds… all carefully balanced to create maximum impact.

10 stakes × 3-4+3 seconds = 60 seconds minimum to 70.

And the Bashe wouldnʼt just sit there and let him work. Liora had already demonstrated she could anticipate his moves, counter his strategies. If he started obviously preparing for a massive volley, sheʼd finally attack and disrupt the process.

Even 30 seconds if only making the propulsion system on the go after preparing the stakes in advance was still an eternity in combat. More than enough time for half a dozen different disruptions.

Renʼs eyes narrowed slightly, the only outward sign of the rapid calculations occurring behind that calm facade.

He needed a way to compress the timeline. To create all 10 stakes and shoot simultaneously or at least in such rapid succession that the Bashe couldnʼt interfere.

The problem was how to fire them in time.

That was the question that mattered.

Everything else was just theory until he solved the timing issue.