"Damn right!" Marcus snarled. "You think being a Mythic Beast makes you untouchable? You chased exactly the person you shouldn’t have."
’Just as I’d hoped, there’s no doubt about it.’
With Blackie’s momentum, Temple Cavalry’s burst of speed, and every ounce of strength he could muster poured into Holy Shield Charge, the knockback effect had triggered perfectly.
Even so, a Mythic Beast was still a Mythic Beast. Against an ordinary monster, that impact would have launched it ten meters through the air. The Twin-Winged Thunder Wyrm, however, was simply too enormous. Too heavy. It only slid a little over a meter to the right.
’Damn... this thing’s ridiculously powerful. It’s practically brushing the threshold of a Divine Beast.’
That was exactly why Marcus had planned everything so carefully. He had deliberately circled behind the Wyrm from its left side, timed his charge to meet its forward momentum head-on, and used the monster’s own speed against it. Even after combining every possible advantage, Holy Shield Charge had managed to move it only slightly more than a meter.
’Fortunately... a single meter was all he needed.’
While the Wyrm had been pursuing their ship, Marcus hadn’t simply been running. He had been studying the sea route the entire time.
The left side of the passage was dangerous enough, filled with crashing waves and bolts of lightning, but the tornadoes there were relatively scattered and farther away from the edge of the safe route.
The right side was an entirely different nightmare. Dozens of massive tornadoes churned violently along the boundary, some so close that they nearly brushed the edge of the navigable waters.
That was why Marcus had quietly guided the ship closer and closer to the right side throughout the chase, drawing the Thunder Wyrm into the most dangerous position possible.
The creature’s enormous body, with both wings fully spread, nearly occupied the entire width of the narrow sea passage.
When Holy Shield Charge struck, the Wyrm had been less than a meter away from the nearest tornado.
CRASH! The impact shoved the massive beast sideways.
Just one meter, exactly as Marcus had intended.
The girls aboard the ship stared in stunned silence. A moment ago, they’d thought Marcus had recklessly thrown himself into certain death.
Now they finally understood. Every move he’d made, every risk he’d taken, every command he’d given... it had all been part of a carefully calculated plan.
The confidence he’d shown from the very beginning hadn’t been reckless bravado. He’d known exactly what he was doing.
Their eyes followed him with growing admiration. ’He really is incredible...’
The Thunder Wyrm’s right wing drifted beyond the edge of the safe sea route and entered the storm’s territory.
Unlike Pebble, it wasn’t immediately swallowed by the storm. After living in this region for so long, the Mythic Beast had clearly adapted to its environment.
Even so, the violent winds battered its body from every direction, disrupting its balance and making its flight noticeably unstable.
Then fate dealt it another blow: a colossal tornado drifted past, missing the edge of its wing by mere inches.
For the first time, the Thunder Wyrm panicked.
Marcus saw it instantly. One more hit, that was all it would take.
Holy Shield Charge had no cooldown. The Wyrm’s tail was still recovering from its previous Lightning Spears attack, and the violent winds were already throwing its balance into chaos.
It couldn’t defend itself, and Marcus wasn’t about to let the opportunity slip away.
"EAT THIS!"
Blackie exploded forward once more. The Adamant Shield blazed with holy light as Marcus drove straight into the Wyrm’s side.
CRASH! Another successful knockback. This time the beast only shifted a few centimeters. But a few centimeters were enough. Its wing brushed the tornado.
A horrifying scream echoed across the sea as the cyclone instantly seized the Thunder Wyrm, dragging its massive body upward into the swirling winds. It struggled with all its strength, beating its wings frantically as it roared in rage and desperation, but the tornado’s pull only tightened, lifting the colossal beast higher and higher.
Even so, the Thunder Wyrm didn’t go down without a final act of defiance. As it was pulled away, its enormous tail lashed out one last time.
WHAM! The crushing impact struck Marcus head-on. Critical hit. Instant kill.
"Ding! Stonehaven, you have been killed by a monster. The Ring of Resurrection has activated. You have been revived with full health and all attributes restored. Three seconds of invincibility granted."
A flash of golden light enveloped Marcus. The next instant, he was alive again, completely unharmed.
The Thunder Wyrm, on the other hand, had no such luxury.
Marcus and Pebble remained mounted on Blackie, hovering safely above the sea as the girls watched from the ship.
Far above them, the gigantic Mythic Beast was helplessly tossed about inside the raging tornado, spinning violently as the storm carried it farther and farther away.
’Perfect. Everything had unfolded exactly as Marcus had predicted.’
The Thunder Wyrm had adapted to this region’s harsh environment; it could survive the surrounding storms. But surviving the weather and resisting one of these monstrous tornadoes were two completely different things.
That had been the gamble Marcus was betting everything on, and he’d been right.
While the Wyrm had been chasing them earlier, Marcus had noticed something that didn’t quite add up. With its speed, the creature could have cut straight across the storm and intercepted the ship. Instead, it had stubbornly followed the winding sea route, avoiding the tornadoes even though the detour took much longer.
That was when the realization struck him. ’It fears the tornadoes. It can live here... but it can’t withstand them.’
That single observation had become the foundation of his entire plan: lure the ship toward the right side of the passage, use Pebble to lock the Wyrm’s attention elsewhere, circle behind unnoticed, then finish everything with Holy Shield Charge.
Every step had been calculated from the very beginning. Watching the Thunder Wyrm disappear into the distant storm, Marcus couldn’t help smiling to himself.
His gamble had paid off, and honestly, it was only logical.
According to Silas’s map, these tornadoes possessed enough destructive power to tear apart even Divine Beasts.
The Twin-Winged Thunder Wyrm was still only a Mythic Beast; there was no way it could fight against the force of nature itself.
Sometimes... the battlefield was the strongest weapon of all.
Marcus guided Blackie into a wide turn and flew back toward the ship. The moment he landed, the girls rushed toward him.
"Marcus!"
Amber and Jade reached him first, throwing themselves into his arms without hesitation. They hugged him tightly, relief washing over their faces. Tears still clung to the corners of their eyes, but now they were smiling.
For all the excitement of defeating a Mythic Beast, what had truly terrified them was nearly watching Marcus lose his life.
"You were amazing," Amber said softly, looking up at him with unmistakable pride.
Jade nodded vigorously beside her.
"I knew you’d think of something... but I still couldn’t help worrying."
Marcus laughed, wrapping an arm around each of them.
"I told you to trust me."
Feeling everyone gathered safely around him, Marcus couldn’t help but smile. This was why he’d taken the risk.
No victory felt better than coming back alive to the people waiting for him.
Among everyone present, however, Icefall and Firebrand were the most shaken.
They had heard countless stories about Pebblehaven before joining his guild, stories of impossible victories, stories of unbelievable accomplishments. Some of them had sounded almost exaggerated, the kind of tales people embellished over time.
Now... they had witnessed the truth with their own eyes.
The First Knight of Dominion. His strength. His composure. His ability to read the battlefield and seize opportunities that no one else could even see.
At level 50, he had stood against a high-tier Mythic Beast well over level 80 in one of the deadliest environments imaginable.
Most people would have frozen in panic. Marcus had calmly observed his surroundings, discovered a weakness, and turned the environment itself into his greatest weapon.
He hadn’t defeated the Mythic Beast through overwhelming stats; he’d defeated it through intelligence, timing, courage, and flawless execution.
Icefall remained as expressionless as ever, though the respect in her eyes had grown noticeably deeper.
Firebrand was another story entirely. The normally energetic sorceress felt her eyes sting as emotion welled up inside her.
She stared at Marcus, unable to look away. The admiration she felt had quietly become something more.
’What kind of person is he...? And if he’s this remarkable inside the game... what is he like in the real world?’
Marcus, meanwhile, watched the distant tornado carry the Thunder Wyrm farther and farther toward the horizon before letting out a slightly regretful sigh.
"What a shame."
The girls looked at him in confusion. Marcus scratched his cheek with a grin.
"If that tornado had actually torn it apart, the experience alone would’ve pushed all of you straight to level 49 with full experience."
He chuckled to himself. Now that would’ve been a sight worth seeing.