Thalion had changed his plans again, which was almost a habit of his—to want to do one thing and then do a completely different one. Something had changed massively. The sun was about to go down, and he wanted to fly back. Then it happened. The wyvern just disappeared. Probably, it had gone to the next state of the tutorial, if something like this was possible for beasts because they didn’t have a system shop, at least as far as he knew.

The other beasts were surprised, but then it erupted. The manta was leaving its crystal, as was the sky snake and some of the stronger birds on the top layer. It was pure war. The snake attacked the manta, which fired a giant blast of lightning at the snake that sent it down, the body twitching until it regained control and shot up again. But this was just the beginning; massive crystals were free for the taking, and a lot of the birds were now trying to take that new position.

Thalion still had not found out why those crystals were so important for them. The bigger crystals were attracting more of the elementals, but why the birds were always flying around them he hadn’t figured out. The only thing he noticed when flying around one was that it was easier, and his stamina recovered a bit faster, but that was it. Thalion, however, did go for the newfound opportunity. This was his chance to upgrade his eagle form even further. He was still one kilometer below the absolute massacre that was happening above him, but slowly the other birds were also picking up on what was happening and starting their ascent.

The manta was already close to dying, as was the snake, as a group of eagles were attacking both of them. The manta was already barely hanging on and would probably die soon. Thalion couldn’t wait to see what awesome skills that beast had, and he shot up into the sky with glee in his eyes, always keeping his distance from the crystals so none of the birds would pay him too much attention. He was now approaching the upper layers. The tension was visible. One wrong move could mean his death. The power of the birds fighting was far above him, and he could easily be one-shotted. The good thing was that he was not the only one ascending in the sky, and he was by far the weakest that had flown that far up.

The others were fighting for crystals while he was trying to get a hit on the big players and maybe take their form. He still didn’t know how much he needed to contribute to a fight to take the form of a beast or maybe it was enough if he used the skill after the death of one of the big guys. Well, he was about to find out, as the manta just got more and more injured by the second. Its lightning was already weak, and its speed was reduced. One of its wings didn’t function like it should.

The two eagles were both of some fire sort, as they burned the manta with fire breath and cut it open with quick flybys. The question was: Would they ignore the corpse falling down? Normally, those beasts always ate their prey after a fight without exception, so Thalion had an idea—probably not a good one, but good enough if it would work.

He attacked two storm hawks who had killed the previous owner of the crystal they now controlled and shot a lightning bolt at them, hitting one of them in the back and screeching in hope of taunting the bird. Next, he activated Skydive and shot up in the air toward the battling manta. The two birds followed him with angry screeches. He only heard how thunder was now crawling below him as they flew up at him. The next thing he gave a little shock was the big manta in a flyby. The other eagles looked at him puzzled. The situation didn’t get any better as the two hawks were following him trying to kill him. He tried to be as close to the manta as possible while evading the hawks and avoiding getting hit by the manta or the two fire eagles.

The two eagles barely saw him as a threat, but the two hawks were something else, as they ignored the manta, who was almost dead and started to chase the two hawks.

Thalion changed his tactic again. All four birds were occupied for the moment, and he dove down on the manta, landing on it in the form of the umbral predator.

He bit and clawed into the large form of the manta until he got the kill notification, took the form, and jumped off the manta, which was now falling like a stone.

He transformed into the eagle and flew away. He didn’t try to eat the corpse to give the eagle another target. Thalion gambled that the eagles would prefer to devour the corpse of the manta instead of chasing him down to the lower layers. While he dove down, he saw how the two fire eagles were already on the manta’s corpse, eating it pretty fast. The two hawks were nowhere to be seen. While he was diving down away from the action as best as he could, he checked the skills of the manta. The manta even had two epic passive skills; both were, of course, instantly transferred to his eagle form.

Stormborn Resilience (Epic)

The manta passively absorbs electricity, converting any incoming lightning damage into a temporary shield. It also regenerates health more quickly during storms, becoming stronger in harsh weather conditions.

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Electric Glide (Epic)

The Lightning Manta can glide through the air without flapping its wings, using natural electrical currents in the atmosphere. This passive ability allows it to conserve energy while making its movements incredibly difficult to predict, increasing evasion against attacks.

The other spells all looked very promising too.

Tempest Shroud (Epic)

The Lightning Manta cloaks itself in a stormy aura, making it harder to hit while increasing its flight speed. The shroud also passively discharges electricity to any enemies that come too close.

Skybolt Barrage (Legendary)

The lightning manta charges the air around it with intense electrical energy, causing the atmosphere to hum with static. After a brief delay, lightning bolts erupt from the charged air, homing in on nearby enemies. Each bolt deals significant lightning damage, with the intensity increasing based on how much electricity has been stored in the surrounding air. This attack is unpredictable and can hit multiple enemies, chaining between targets.

Eye of the Storm (Legendary)

The manta calls forth a massive thunderstorm in the area, generating strong winds and pelting lightning strikes. The storm lasts for a significant duration, providing cover and damaging all enemies caught in its range.

He transferred all the spells to his eagle form. He didn’t want to be a big manta. This form would suck big time when it came to fighting the orcs, and he had already set his goal to upgrade the eagle. Next, he discarded the manta form and made his way back to Kael’s base. He didn’t want to risk his life anymore, and it was already getting dark. Thalion could easily travel long distances with this form, and the next system shop was already close. Maybe he could find a way to change the race of a beast without the evolution to E grade. Maybe something like a mutation.

He liked flying a lot. The feeling of wind pressing against his feathers was great. He didn’t even need to beat his wings to travel with incredible speed back to Kael’s base. He could already see it in the distance. The high perception came in handy. From here, everything looked good. The orcs, however, had built some high towers, but that was it.

Thalion was focused on the electricity in the air. With his passive skill, he was slowly absorbing it, and he felt the tingle in his feathers. Thalion tried the same method as with the body-tempering techniques and attempted to feel the electricity and push it into his feathers. It seemed to work, but he barely absorbed any electricity, so he didn’t feel any improvement. The night was coming faster than he had anticipated. Maybe he could arrive at Kael’s base before nightfall. Hopefully, the orcs wouldn’t attack before he arrived.

<–

Kael had worked very hard the last day. He had hoped that Thalion would find a way to do enough damage so they could break open the blockade, but it never happened. He sincerely hoped that his friend was okay. He asked his patron for help, who assured him that help would arrive soon and he just needed to hold on. The orcs, on the other hand, didn’t seem to care much. They had built their own base and now had strong walls with multiple runes and giant towers that could oversee the perimeter.

Now, no jungle was dividing the bases any longer. They had cut it all down. Not only that, they had also created a giant perimeter around them, which would make a surprise attack impossible. Kael didn’t see a way their helper could break the walls down unless they had something like a mana disruptor. Even then, it would be almost impossible. If the orcs had something, it was strength. Even their mages had much more power.

Kael didn’t see how a group of people could get close to the orc blockade, even with special items. The archers were more like mobile ballistas that killed every human with one hit and when they charged their arrows even more, nothing could stop them. He now also wasn’t sure if they would win after the system shop. At least a few orcs were also blessed by some gods and would have access to terrifying siege equipment. The orcs also got the opportunity to hunt all day while they didn’t level up at all, except for their craftsmen. Kael and the others only had improved their skill in fighting with sparring and practicing, but he doubted it would do them much good.

He needed to calm down. It was just a bit over a day. They were blocked from progressing, but the orcs couldn’t have that much of a lead. The other thing that bothered him was that guy, Michael. It seemed the guy was trying to become the leader of this base. The tales his lackeys spun were urging his people to act against him. Kael just wanted to provide them with a safe harbor and wasn’t charging anything for them to stay here. Yet some just didn’t care for survival that much if it didn’t benefit them.

First Thorwald, now this Michael. Why were so many even listening to that guy? He just spouted nonsense all day and had even lost his first base to Steven, leaving everyone to their fate. Now many saw him as a wise leader. Maybe he should challenge the guy to a duel to get the matter out of the way. Kael could already see the answer of the guy: leadership is not about who is stronger. It is about who can make the better decision for the people. Michael was also spinning a story where he ordered Thalion to attack the orcs and the dumb mage had listened to him and died in the process.

They had ordered the guy to guard duty all day, but it had made it even worse, as now his men added how tireless Michael was working for the well-being of everyone out of the goodness of his heart and that no orc could breach the walls when he was on patrol. He couldn’t wait for the orcs to attack, but it seemed that it would take a long time until the situation was solved. Until then, he needed to stay in power. He was not losing his fortress to someone like Michael or Thorwald ever again.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep