NOVEL NEXT Chapter 421: Desperation
Yet, none of these prizes registered in Orion's eyes as meaningful right now.
His gaze remained fixed on the enormous serpent mercilessly tormenting the Beastkin and human warriors.
It playfully toyed with them, abusing their futile resistance, shattering defensive barriers with casual flicks of its colossal tail.
Orion's gaze turned far more serious; each strike from the beast carried enough force to reduce Tier 9 warriors to helpless children.
Meanwhile, Rokar, sensing Orion's arrival, turned his head sharply, his eyes instantly filling with malicious hatred.
Without a moment's hesitation, he bellowed furiously toward others, "Lead this monster to Orion! Let him and his people know what it feels like to fight this monster!"
Kazran and Bragor immediately responded to Rokar's call, fleeing toward Orion's position with frantic speed, intentionally drawing the serpent's destructive attention.
Orion's eyes narrowed coldly, a surge of murderous intent flickering briefly across his expression.
Elias cursed venomously, eyes flashing with rage, "Those damned bastards are actually leading that thing here!"
Just as Elias finished cursing, fury boiling within him, he swiftly raised both hands, channeling his mana into a Gravity spell as the surrounding mana entered his body to strengthen the spell while he muttered the chant.
Dark gravitational waves surged from his palms, racing toward the fleeing Beastkin warriors. Rokar, Kazran, and Bragor's eyes widened in alarm; normally they wouldn't even look at him attacking them.
But right now, they were already heavily injured due to the attacks of the serpentine monster. They hastily activated their own protective artifacts.
The resulting clash was violent, sending shockwaves rippling outward as they desperately tried to resist Elias's attack.
Rokar faced the attack first, his face contorting in hatred. "Damn you, humans!" he roared in frustration.
The powerful gravitational surge flung the Beastkin backward, directly into the path of the enormous serpentine monster.
The beast's massive tail smashed mercilessly into their protective barriers, sending them tumbling helplessly across the battlefield.
However, the Beastkin's life-saving treasures barely managed to hold, cracks forming upon them like spiderwebs.
Amidst this chaos, Orion forced himself into calmness, rapidly scanning through his inventory.
Within seconds, his attention fixed on the sole Uncommon Grade Offensive Scroll in his inventory, a precious, last-resort trump card he had carefully preserved. He tried to get another one, but that only resulted in failure from the gacha.
His expression hardened. 'I can't use this just yet,' he thought, deciding instead to first attempt an escape rather than waste such a rare treasure.
At that moment, Asteraxa's voice resonated deeply within Orion's Sea of Consciousness, her tone unusually solemn.
[Orion, this seems to be a Sub Dragon species; this beast has already started to comprehend Law. I don't know which one; it can be Decay or Poison or any other one. You can't fight it head-on at your level.]
Orion's eyes flickered sharply with surprise. He quickly thought about the implications, responding calmly, 'But it hasn't comprehended it enough to use it yet; otherwise, these Beastkins and humans wouldn't have survived for so long.'
Orion didn't hesitate further. Raising his voice, he ordered, "Everyone, rush the portal, now!"
Instantly, Orion's entire group moved as one, dashing with extreme speed toward the shimmering portal at the chamber's center.
Yet, the serpent, finishing its gruesome feast upon one of the human experts and Bragor the Bearkin, sensed their escape and rapidly surged forward with incredible speed.
Its enormous, scaled body appeared like a blur, quickly blocking their path to the portal.
"Damn it!" Orion cursed inwardly, his mind racing for alternatives.
Without delay, Sylvia decisively stepped forward, pulling out a powerful defensive treasure given by her family, her last lifeline.
Activating it without delay, a radiant silver shield instantly formed around her body, just as the creature's tail crashed brutally against her.
Sylvia's mouth immediately overflowed with blood, her expression contorted in pain, yet she stood her ground. "I... can't hold it back much longer!" she shouted, voice trembling with exertion. "Quickly think of something!"
Nyss's eyes hardened as she looked at the monster ahead. She retrieved a shadow-affinity offensive scroll radiating immense killing intent.
Without hesitation, she unleashed it directly toward the creature, her voice cold and resolute. "Die!"
The scroll transformed mid-air into an enormous shadow spear, thrusting violently into the serpent's colossal body.
A deafening roar echoed throughout the cavern, the powerful attack tearing away a significant chunk of the serpent's flesh. Yet despite the grievous wound, the beast remained terrifyingly alive.
Infuriated and wounded, the beast released a deafening, earth-shattering roar. A tremendous surge of oppressive might exploded outward from its damaged body, instantly blanketing the entire area with crushing pressure. Everyone's head lowered, as they couldn't even gaze at the beast due to the pressure.
Orion felt as though a mountain descended upon him, immobilizing even his strengthened physique.
'This pressure—!' Orion inwardly shouted, attempting to quickly release his own Dragon's Might.
Yet, before he could fully activate it, an unknown, mysterious power deep within him surged forth spontaneously, activating all of his bloodlines and shattering the oppressive force around him as easily as glass.
Orion's eyes widened in shock, confusion briefly overtaking him. But now wasn't the time for contemplation.
The massive serpent, consumed by fury and pain, rushed directly toward Orion, moving faster than ever before.
Realizing escape was impossible, Orion decisively threw caution to the wind, immediately transforming into his fiery Draconian Form. Scarlet scales enveloped him, blazing fiercely with intense flames.
Without a second thought, he activated every remaining high-grade defensive treasure he possessed. Numerous defensive barriers formed around him instantly, each gleaming with powerful protective might.
Even so, as the serpent's massive tail brutally collided against him, Orion was thrown violently across the cavern like a meteor, shattering several stone pillars before crashing into the distant wall.
Blood erupted from his mouth, bones creaking with agony as he transformed back into his human form due to consumption, yet his eyes remained clear.
He had been thrown so fast that even some of his bones had broken; he lay there gritting his teeth. 'Fuck, if this isn't going to work then I can only use that.'
Without wasting another second, he reached into his inventory, gripping the Uncommon Grade Offensive Scroll tightly.
On the other hand, the entire cavern had fallen into a grim silence, broken only by the groans of others who were being suppressed.
The serpentine beast's oppressive aura pressed down heavily upon everyone, nearly crushing their very wills.
Arya, Sylvia, Elias, and the others struggled desperately, trembling as they fought to remain upright.
Their mana channels throbbed painfully, and cold sweat streamed down their brows as they fought against the instinctive fear and suppression from a higher lifeform.
However, Nyss felt something deep within her bloodline stir, as if some terror beyond mortal comprehension was about to awaken.
On the other side, Rokar, Kazran, and Myra, now the only remaining Beastkin experts, fared even worse.
Their primal instincts were shrieking warnings of imminent death, forcing them to kneel unwillingly, their bodies betraying them completely.
Rokar's eyes burned with humiliation and rage, his fists trembling as he tried futilely to resist the monstrous aura.
Kazran's face was deathly pale, his proud demeanor crushed entirely, while Myra's slender figure shook violently, her breath ragged and eyes wide with rage.