Chapter 74: Storm Bringer’s Wrath

It seemed that the creature had used the crystal shards covering its body as weapons.

“Ugh, urgh…”

“Uh… guh… sa…”

Those with their arms and legs pierced were somewhat fortunate.

However, those whose stomachs or chests were impaled were spewing dark red blood and entrails as they perished.

At that moment, the Crystal Dragon roared ferociously once again.

[Craaaawww!]

The surrounding mana surged wildly, converging toward the Crystal Dragon.

The gathered mana began condensing on its body, causing crystals to grow with a cracking noise.

“Damn it!”

At that moment, Selion charged forward.

As her upper body moved, a streak of blue light stretched out behind her.

Clang!

[Craaaargh!]

The Crystal Dragon screamed and staggered backward as it took Selion’s strike head-on.

The crystal covering part of its face shattered and fell.

Selion’s assault marked the start of the humans’ counterattack.

Balder and the other team leaders led the charge, relentlessly pressuring the Crystal Dragon, while the rest of the team followed up with an onslaught of attacks.

After hesitating for a brief moment, I strapped the sword in my hand back onto my back and unsheathed the Storm Bringer hanging at Nightmare’s side.

Its weight was hefty in my hands, but even without reinforcing my body with mana, I managed to swing the Storm Bringer with ease.

“Let’s go!”

As I tugged on Nightmare’s reins, the beast, sensing my intent, surged forward.

Its speed was incredible, and on the flat, unobstructed ground, it reached its maximum velocity almost instantly.

Thud-thud-thud!

With the sound of heavy hooves echoing, the distance between us and the Crystal Dragon closed rapidly.

As we neared the beast, I swung the sword with all my strength.

The mana coursing from my heart instantly enhanced the power in my waist and hands.

Crunch!

The blade of the Storm Bringer struck the Crystal Dragon’s head and sliced through.

[Craaawwwr!]

The moment the attack landed, I immediately yanked on Nightmare’s reins.

The Crystal Dragon’s body, writhing in pain, started to glow once again.

Flash!

As the beast’s radiance intensified, my shadow—and Nightmare’s—stretched long across the ground.

Biting my lip, I leapt off Nightmare’s back.

No matter how fast Nightmare was, it wouldn’t be able to evade an attack launched this close.

And my judgment was spot-on.

Blinding flash!

As a massive flash of light erupted, dozens of crystal shards shot toward Nightmare and me.

As my heightened senses detected attacks from all directions, my muscles contracted and relaxed explosively, granting me incredible speed.

The mana coursing through my body erupted outward, creating a strong gust of wind that enabled swift changes in posture.

From the left to the right.

As I swung the Storm Bringer wide, all the incoming crystal shards in front of me shattered.

But I didn’t stop moving—there were still plenty of shards targeting both me and Nightmare.

The mana-infused swing of the Storm Bringer abruptly shifted directions, creating an intense pressure wave.

The blade now aimed at the upper left.

Crash!

Again, the scene repeated.

The wide sweep of the sword shattered incoming shards, and I swiftly moved to intercept more.

As the shattered fragments of white crystal scattered like snow, one particularly thin shard came speeding toward me.

Moving too fast to dodge, it grazed my cheek before flying past and embedding itself into Nightmare’s hind leg.

Thud!

Whinny!

“Ha…”

As the downpour of crystal shards finally ceased, I turned around.

Despite having a crystal as large as my forearm lodged in its hind leg, Nightmare remained steadfast.

Red blood trickled down its trembling hind leg.

Though Nightmare let out heavy breaths as if to signal its readiness to fight, it was clear to me that it had reached its limit.

We exchanged silent glances several times.

Finally, Nightmare snorted and limped off the battlefield.

I took a deep breath and glared at the Crystal Dragon.

The creature, now warily scanning its surroundings, was gathering mana to regenerate its crystals.

I couldn’t let that happen. If its crystals grew back, it would rain them down upon us again.

The moment I reached that conclusion, my body moved.

As my legs kicked off the ground, the scenery stretched and blurred, the space between us shrinking in an instant.

My mind turned blank with a brilliant intensity.

My superhuman senses, combined with my knowledge, proposed a new method of attack.

The image of the attack solidified in my mind. I exhaled softly, extending my hand.

It wasn’t the Storm Bringer’s blade I offered, but my small, bare hand.

Yet, in this moment, it was the most effective weapon I had.

As my slowly approaching hand touched the Crystal Dragon’s body, the massive mana rotating within my heart surged down my arm and into the beast.

Mana with opposing properties naturally repels each other.

This was why I had formed a mana circle instead of absorbing nature’s mana directly.

The Crystal Dragon’s expression contorted as it sensed the anomaly within its body.

But it was too late.

The moment the two opposing mana types mixed, a violent repulsion erupted.

It caused a massive explosion.

Boom!

The massive body of the Crystal Dragon was hurled backward.

Within the starry inner world, a faint star emerged.

The star formed the blurry silhouette of a man, and through his lips, the name of the technique flowed.

[Wave Strike]

As the Crystal Dragon’s body, now airborne, crashed back to the ground, the vague image of the man vanished along with the starlight.