NOVEL NEXT Chapter 67: Great battle...
Another wave came.
'MANA SLASH!'
'MANA SLASH!'
Time and time again— Ethan swung his sword, each arc slicing through the endless tide like a scythe cutting wheat.
His blade never stopped glowing, his body never paused— mana coursing through him like a river refusing to dry up. Natural mana inn the air surging towards him like a tide...
With every swing, the battlefield grew quieter— because fewer and fewer wolves remained alive to howl.
Even beasts that were normally his equals, Ferals; Rank 1s like him— stood no chance if they got caught in the slash's path. They died instantly, their bodies split before their minds could process the pain.
And even the Rank 2 elites— the stronger Bloodhowls the Alpha had kept in reserve— found themselves injured, their defenses cracked and their bodies torn open, if they dared to block the arc.
This was no ordinary skill. This was a force meant to slaughter. A skill that turned rank and toughness meaningless— if you stood in its way, you died.
The Alpha saw its pack getting butchered; hundreds gone in mere breaths — but its madness refused to let it retreat.
It howled again, ordering more forward,
but the scene only repeated— each surge of wolves feeding themselves into Ethan's endless, merciless arcs.
His sword arm was numb now, his body screaming in pain— but he grit his teeth and powered through.
His mana manipulation — already at Level 4— let him keep drawing from the natural mana around him, even as his own reserves wore thin.
And so he fought. And fought. And fought.
The battlefield was drenched in blood and littered with corpses, the once-mighty pack now reduced to twitching, broken bodies scattered in pieces.
---
Above him; in the sky— the battle between Mia and the Thunderwing Drake raged on.
The Drake dove at her again, lightning crackling along its scales, its massive claws slashing through the air with enough force to tear trees, from the ground.
But Mia was already there.
Her body moved with unnatural speed, her red aura-cloaked daggers flashing out— meeting the Drake's claw with a sharp clang that echoed across the skies.
The force of the collision rippled outward,
sending a shockwave through the air.
Yet Mia held her ground. Not once did her body waver. Her gaze was locked onto the Drake— calculating every move, predicting every strike.
Its tail whipped around like a bolt of steel— but again, Mia twisted midair, her glowing dagger tracing a red line as it intercepted the blow, the resulting clash sending sparks and bursts of mana scattering like fireworks.
Her breathing was calm, focused— her body dancing through the sky, never giving the Drake a clear shot.
She hadn't even used a single skill yet. All of this— was raw technique and control. But even so— her senses were stretched thin.
Because not only did she have to block every lethal strike from the Thunderwing Drake— but she also had to keep her attention split, watching the Skyrazor Crows circling above, waiting for the moment they might descend upon Ethan again.
She couldn't allow them to reach him. No matter what. So she fought— daggers gleaming crimson, body weaving between death and survival, holding back the monsters above, while below, Ethan's mana slashes continued to reap lives without pause.
The battlefield was chaos—blood, lightning, and death all entwined— but both Ethan and Mia stood in the center of it, refusing to fall.
The sky trembled— as the two Thunderwing Drakes dived like twin bolts of destruction, their scales crackling with electricity, their golden eyes locked on Ethan like predators closing in for the kill.
Mia's pupils shrank, her senses flaring as she caught their movements— ignoring her, heading straight for Ethan.
Her fury ignited. Her body blurred— and in the blink of an eye, she flashed into their path, appearing before them like a phantom.
Her dagger, trembling with suppressed force,
gathered her terrifying mana— far denser, far more potent than anything Ethan could produce.
Her red aura flared, and with a sharp, cutting motion— she unleashed an arc of pure destruction.
"Scram!"
Her cold voice cracked through the storm like a whip— and her attack struck true.
The red crescent of mana tore through the air,
targeting the vulnerable joints of their wings with pinpoint precision.
Blood burst out, dark and thick. Their wings were shredded mid-flight.
The two Drakes let out pitiful, ear-splitting wails, their massive bodies twisting in the air as they lost all ability to stabilize themselves.
Their flight crumbled— and they crashed down below like fallen giants, sending up shockwaves of dust and debris as they hit the ground.
But Mia didn't stop.
Even before the Drakes hit the earth,
her body blurred again, vanishing and reappearing back in front of the original Drake she'd been fighting— her red aura still flaring like wildfire.
Her dagger met the beast's claw in midair with a thunderous clang— mana sparks erupting from the impact— but her instincts screamed at her the next second.
Because— five more Thunderwing Drakes had finally joined the fray.
They shot down like meteors, their combined presence turning the sky black, lightning crackling wildly across their scales, the pressure they exuded enough to make the very air feel heavy.
Mia's eyes widened slightly.
"Damnit—!"
She barely managed to dodge the first one's tail swipe, her body twisting midair, but the second came in with a claw, the third with a lightning breath charging up.
The fourth and fifth circled like vultures, waiting to pounce the moment she slipped.
She was being overwhelmed. For the first time, her defenses faltered, a swipe grazed her shoulder, tearing through her black clothes and drawing blood.
Grinding her teeth, she made her decision in an instant.
Her body flashed— blurring down towards Ethan.
Her hand moved, landing lightly on the shadow beneath his feet— and before Ethan could even react, the world around them twisted.
They disappeared.
In the next instant— they reappeared, nearly a hundred meters away. Their figures popped back into reality, landing heavily on solid ground.
Normally, they would've been excited having being able to give the Drakes some distance, But their hearts sank when they noticed that right there, standing directly in front of them,
was it.
A Thunderwing Drake— larger, more imposing, its scales darker, crackling with an oppressive storm of energy. Its wings spread wide, blotting out the sunlight above them.
Its eyes— were colder, sharper. Not like the others driven mad by Loki's lure. This one… was able to resist Loki's lure to some extent but was stil attracted to Ethan.
Ethan's breath caught in his throat.
Mia's heart sank. Her worst fear had come true— the Rank 4 Dread Stage Thunderwing Drake had finally made its move.
While this was her worst fear, She wasn't surprised. She'd sensed it from the very start, watching from the shadows, waiting for its moment.
Its strategy had been clear— using its weaker kin as pawns, wearing them down little by little until they had no strength left to resist.
But now, with Mia disrupting its plan by trying to escape, it's pawns are not fast enough to catch up, it had no choice but to step in directly. This was what Mia wants
But still.. Gritting her teeth, Mia glanced at Ethan, whose face was pale but still stubbornly defiant.
Her expression hardened. She made her choice without hesitation.
"Ethan—" her voice was sharp but steady.
"Wait here. I must protect you— even if I die, you've got to survive..."
Before he could say anything, her hand lifted— and a wave of her red mana erupted outward.
It formed a dome— translucent but dense,
like a fortress of blood-colored glass, surrounding Ethan completely.
It pulsed faintly, a protective barrier brimming with her power.
The Rank 4 Drake's golden eyes narrowed at the sight— it felt the threat in Mia's mana. And it roared— a deep, earth-shaking sound— before crouching low, preparing to pounce and tear apart everything in its path.
But Mia didn't budge. Her daggers blazed brighter. Her blood boiled. Her aura flared like a second sun— because she knew.
This wasn't just another fight.
This— was life or death.
And she wasn't going to let that monster lay a single claw on Ethan.
The moment the Rank 4 Dread Stage Thunderwing Drake roared— the ground trembled. The very air twisted from the force of its killing intent, and with a deafening boom,
it lunged forward, its massive body a golden blur of scales and lightning.
Ethan's eyes widened, his breath caught. The pressure alone made his bones ache—
if not for Mia's barrier, he had no doubt he would've been crushed under that weight before the Drake even reached him.
But— Mia moved.
Her silhouette flashed— like a black streak streaking across crimson light. Her daggers flared, the red aura surging to new heights, almost solidifying around her.
CLANG-!
The first impact sent shockwaves tearing through the earth— cracks split the ground in every direction, chunks of stone flew like shrapnel, and trees in the distance were flattened as if hit by a storm blast.
Ethan's shield flared brightly— the mana barrier quivering from the force, but holding firm. Even so, he was forced to brace himself,
his body instinctively leaning forward as if the wind alone could throw him back.
His heart pounded wildly, he was inwardly shocked
'—She's matching it blow for blow?!'