In that split-second moment, Klaus' eyes turned as black as ink, and a dark aura quickly spread throughout his body. And when the distance between the wyvern's mouth and himself was only a few inches, he swung his sword.
Slash!
SPLAT!
KIREEEEEEKKK!
The wyvern screamed as the [Dark Force] coated metal tore into its mouth. Flesh tore, and fresh blood spurted, but Klaus continued to cut through its mouth until the incision marks extended five centimeters.
While the flying monster was in pain, he stepped into its mouth and sprang up, darting away to avoid the oncoming attack.
"Boss!"
Akio shouted as he watched Klaus freefall. Instinctively, the man summoned the strength to leap high and catch him.
However, Akio changed his mind.
Like a feather, Klaus' fall rate decreased as his body approached the land. Eventually, Klaus made a smooth landing.
Akio and Michael dropped their jaws. These two men were experienced awakeners. They had been through many battles, and this was the first time they had seen a man without [Gravity Manipulation] or [Levitation] talent land like a god after falling from a height of 700 feet. They were even more convinced that Klaus was an F-Class.
But they didn't have time to think about that. There were two wyverns they had to take down.
Akio and Michael quickly drew their weapons as they stood next to Klaus.
"You ran faster than Sonic and took on two wyverns simultaneously." Akio grinned as he said so.
Michael looked more worried. "Are you alright, boss?"
They came in sweaty and out of breath. Klaus realized they were trying their hardest to keep up with his speed.
"I'm fine. Where are the others?"
At that very moment, Klaus heard a woman calling his name. He looked back and found Sylvia and Olivia running side by side towards him. Other Rays of Hope members ran just a little behind them.
"Oh, my God! What's wrong with you?! Why are you giving orders all of a sudden?" Olivia complained in annoyance when she arrived in front of Klaus.
"Sorry, I'm late." Sylvia rubbed her chin as she said so. Her breathing sounded a little breathless.
Instead of being happy to see the reliable people in his party gathered for him, Klaus hissed in annoyance.
"Goddamnit, why did you come here? You—" Klaus paused.
Olivia and Sylvia shouldn't have come. The two had to protect the rear guard to ensure no monsters attacked from behind. But the main reason why Klaus was upset was because they left the party in a vulnerable state.
Taking a deep breath, Klaus calmed down, trying to keep his head cool.
Not long after, the other members arrived. They were drenched in sweat, and their breathing was ragged. It was crystal clear they had to exert themselves to get this far. The casters and supporters really looked exhausted, especially Joanna.
"Shit... why did you two leave us behind!" Justin was furious at Olivia and Sylvia.
"Calm down, Justin. Save your breath for later."
Klaus knew what Justin was concerned about. But there was a better time. They still had two wyverns to deal with. He could save this problem for later.
KRRRRRIIIIEEEKKK!
And Klaus was not wrong. One of the wyverns with torn wings screamed, and its sound echoed through the misty air, shaking the hearts of anyone who heard it. The two wyverns spread their wings, indicating they were not in a good mood.
The awakeners were visibly trembling. Some of them gulped. They were eventually facing a monster with a higher level. The same monster killed dozens of awakeners who were left behind.
Tension and fear began to rise in their minds. But before these negative feelings overwhelmed them, Klaus took action.
"Raise your heads!" He shouted loudly, and his men were surprised to hear it.
"I know you're scared. I've felt it before. The two monsters before you are the creatures that killed our comrades. No doubt they are very dangerous, but to hell with it! We didn't come to die! We came to kill them and go home with monster cores! We came to win!"
The awakeners were stunned. Their hearts moved after hearing his words. Fear still hung in their chests, but they began to find the courage deep down.
"Grab your weapons! And we will win this battle! You heard me!"
"Yes, we do!" they replied.
"Where's your voice!" Justin shouted, helping to raise their spirits. "Yell, I can't hear you! Are you fighting or not!?"
"Yes! We want to fight!" Now, they answered in a louder tone.
"Let's go!" Klaus exclaimed.
"YEAH!"
Klaus grinned. The morale of his men rose.
"Laplace, tell me their battle power?"
A light appeared in front of his face. Klaus pursed his lips when he saw their status.
[Wyvern 2 - average battle power 610,402]
They were facing monsters equivalent to A-Class awakeners.
On the other hand, the two wyverns spread their wings and flew through the air. One of the wyverns couldn't fly high because one of its wings was torn off, while the other could fly high, but its mouth couldn't close.
"Formation 6! Aerial battle!" Klaus instructed.
The awakeners closed ranks. They lined up in a circle formation with the fighters on the outer ranks and the casters and supporters in the circle's center. The melee weapons were sheathed, and the Elemental Guns were taken out.
They turned the gun switch to elemental lightning. Those wyverns were air-affinity monsters. They were weak against earth and lightning and became strong when dealing with fire.
As the pair of wyverns flew closer, Klaus ordered his men to fire.
SWOOOSH! SHUSSSH! SHUUUSS!"
Dozens of lightning bolts struck the wyverns. They screeched in pain.
KKRRRIIIEEEK
SHUUUSH! SHUUUSH! SHUUUSH!
Blue flashes brutally lashed out at them like whips. The awakeners poured a lot of mana into the Elemental Gun and continued to pull the trigger without any pause.
However, it was not enough to stop the wyverns.
Seeing them drawing closer, Klaus immediately gave instructions to his men.
"Formation 19!!!"
KRIIIEEEEKKK!
As a wyvern was about to land, the entire crew scattered. They ran in various directions so that they wouldn't be trampled. The wyvern was confused as to which target to choose.
At the same time, the awakeners aimed their weapons at the wyvern and pulled the trigger.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Once again, the wyvern was showered with lightning from the awakeners.
"Good! Akio, Olivia, attack that damn thing!"
The two former members of the House of Blacksmith bolted after Klaus gave instructions.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Splat! Splat!
They inflicted wounds on the flying reptile monster. Unlike drakes that had thick skin, wyverns were quite the opposite. Olivia and Akio had no trouble getting them wounded.
"I'll take the right wing and you the left, Akio!"
"Aye, aye!"
The two of them moved freely on the wyvern's body. Wounds and red liquid seepage filled the monster's body.
SPLAT! SPLAT!
Blood poured out as two wings fell to the ground.
Seeing that the monster could not move, Klaus took the initiative. He ran and darted.
"Hyaaa!"
Splat! Kyaaaa!
BAM.
The ground shook for a moment as a wyvern's head fell. The awakeners were instantly excited. They managed to kill a monster equivalent to an A-Class, though they didn't contribute directly.
However, there was still one more wyvern left.
"Klaus! Look up!" Justin's voice echoed in the middle of the battle.
Another wyvern with a nearly severed jaw flew in circles above their heads. The creature was dodging lightning strikes from the Elemental Gun.
KIRRREEEEK!
The scream signaled the beginning of The wyvern's attack. It swooped down, and the awakeners fired at it.
"Damn it! Not again!"
However, no matter how they shot at the wyvern, it continued to fly, swooping down.
Justin quickly gathered the mana accumulated in both hands in the split second before the wyvern stepped on him. With a calm expression, he created a round ice crystal the size of a basketball and shot it out.
"Eat this shit!"
SPLASH!
KRIEEEEEKKKK!"
The ice ball hit the wyvern squarely in the eye. Naturally, it screamed in pain as one of its eyes was blinded. However, the surprises did not stop there.
The ice traveled quickly and froze a quarter of the wyvern's body. It couldn't control its wings and fell to the ground.
THUD!
Brown dust scattered in the air, and a boom echoed momentarily. The awakeners quickly bombarded the creature with lightning.
KRRRRIIIEEEK
The damn flying monster could only scream. Olivia and Akio took their turn. They both dived in without worrying about lightning striking them.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Splat!
Amidst the onslaught, the wyvern's eyes suddenly glowed. No one noticed but Klaus.
"Olivia! Akio! Get out of there!"
The two awakeners could not hear him. They continued to inflict wounds on the wyvern.
KUAAAAAARRRRG!
An eardrum-shattering scream echoed out, and the awakeners quickly covered their ears; because of this, Olivia and Akio lost their balance.
"Arrgggh!"
Akio was accidentally hit by lightning, and Olivia fell from a height of 80 feet after climbing the wyvern.
Suddenly, the monster raised its foot above them.
"No!" Justin screeched. But his voice didn't reach them.
Neither of them had a chance to dodge.
But in that crucial moment, a yellow lightning bolt struck the wyvern, and it collapsed with a burnt smell wafting through the air not long before.
Olivia and Akio escaped death.
The awakeners were sure the lightning hadn't come from them. And Klaus knew it too.
Over the charred corpse of the wyvern, a man with long hair and gray robes appeared before them. The man looked at Klaus from a distance as if he knew him well.
