SSS Ranked Transmigration: Taming Beauties and The Beasts! - Chapter 208

Chapter 208: Mission
The synergy between the crow and dragon was awkward, and incomplete, but improving like an orchestra with brand-new players slowly discovering a shared rhythm.

Gradually, the tide shifted. The Thunderbirds, panting from their combined attacks, found themselves forced closer together. Their arcs of lightning grew fewer, the sparks not quite as bright.

Nix and Ashvara hovered a short distance away from each other, wings beating steadily as they caught their breath from the grueling second phase of the fight. They were battered and fatigued.

Nix’s scales bore scorch marks and shallow cuts, and patches of his once-pristine wings had torn edges that fluttered in the breeze. Ashvara, the Infernal Sun Crow, had lost some of its glossy black feathers, revealing raw patches of skin scorched by lightning.

Yet, in their eyes glimmered a stubborn determination, not the wide-eyed panic of the early minutes, but the resolute focus of two fighters who had weathered the worst and refused to back down.

Across from them, the two Thunderbirds circled in a wide arc, sharing a piercing cry that echoed through the heated air. Their feathers that were once vibrant, now appeared disheveled and scorched in places.

Tiny sparks of electricity still flickered around their beaks and wingtips, but the typical brilliance was dimmed by exhaustion. Even so, a menacing aura clung to the pair, and Nix could tell they weren’t finished. The synergy that had once shone so brightly might have dimmed, but it still existed.

“They’re not retreating,” Ashvara noted telepathically, his mental voice calm but edged with caution.

“They can’t afford to,” Nix replied, recalling how the Thunderbirds had staked their territory here. If they ran now, their reputations as apex aerial predators would be shattered.

Cain and Veyron watched from the plateau’s edge below. Cain’s expression was a mix of pride and apprehension, while Veyron only crossed his arms as he showed no emotion. Both men sensed that the final stage of this confrontation was at hand.

Suddenly, the Thunderbirds made their move. A harsh crackle tore through the skies louder, sharper than any lightning they’d produced before.

The two birds flared their wings, arcs of electricity igniting into a brilliant web that spanned the space between them. One could almost feel the air churn with tension as the birds funneled every last vestige of their strength into one final gambit.

The larger Thunderbird let out a thunderous screech, pumping its wings with renewed fury. The smaller one mirrored its partner, eyes blazing with raw defiance.

In an instant, they dove toward each other, meeting in midair with a resounding crash that fused their shimmering auras of electricity as they used their Ultimate skill [Storm Convergence]. The swirling mass of lightning formed a large sphere in the sky, swirling with unstoppable kinetic force.

The temperature dropped, the air pressure shifted, and a violent updraft spiraled from the center of that electric vortex, threatening to pull Nix and Ashvara into its lethal radius.

“Now or never,” Ashvara’s telepathic voice hummed with urgency.

“Agreed,” Nix responded.

The crow took a point. Flames roared around Ashvara’s wings, intensifying to an almost blinding radiance. He roared mentally as he used his [Solar Apex] skill, a technique that condensed all of his infernal flames into a laser-like focus.

The blazing aura provided a partial shield against the howling electric wind. Meanwhile, Nix pulled back, inhaling deeply as he summoned the last of his own strength.

With that, they coordinated in a final push. Ashvara soared around the vortex’s perimeter, unleashing a scorching barrage of Flame Shards that peppered the swirling electricity, forcing the Thunderbirds to divert some energy to stabilizing their synergy.

Seizing the moment, Nix shot forward, arching around the vortex from the opposite side. He combined his [Ice Storm] with the finishing technique Mirror Ice in a desperate improvisation.

The swirling storm battered the edges of the Thunderbirds’ electric sphere, while the reflective ice shield served as a conduit to bounce stray lightning arcs back. Seething arcs of electricity scattered across the sky, painting flickers of white-hot brilliance across the swirling mass.

Lightning hammered Nix’s ice barrier, cracks forming after each successive impact. Yet he endured, pressing on with unwavering resolve. Ashvara’s flames continued to eat away at the synergy from the other side, both crow and dragon effectively dividing the Thunderbirds’ attention. Rattled by the double assault, the swirling vortex began to weaken.

But the Thunderbirds refused to let up. The larger one cawed in a shrill note, signaling the smaller to funnel more energy to the core of the vortex. The swirling mass intensified momentarily, a culminating surge meant to annihilate any foe still too close.

“Brace!” Ashvara warned, an edge of panic in his mental cry.

Nix gritted his teeth, his wings trembling as shards of ice fell from his battered scales. The electric detonation hammered him from the front, bright arcs sizzling across his frost-laden chest.

An agonized growl tore from his throat, but through the haze of pain, he forced himself to keep going, channeling his final reservoir of frost energy.

Ashvara was reeled from the force too. Fire wreathed around the crow’s body, crackling in a precarious dance with the outward torrent of lightning. He let out a piercing caw that resonated like a war cry, refusing to be flung away.

Then, all at once, the synergy snapped.

One of the Thunderbirds faltered, screeching as the swirling vortex lost form. The last spasm of the Storm Convergence fizzled out, leaving both birds momentarily exposed. Recognizing an opening, Nix and Ashvara unleashed their final attacks in perfect unison.

Ashvara channeled all his molten aura into his [Corona Flare] skill, releasing a superheated beam from the blaze that crowned his head and wingtips. The scorching attack cut across the skies, engulfing the smaller Thunderbird.

The unfortunate bird let out one final, stifled cry as flames seared its feathers and burned away its flesh. In seconds, it plummeted to the ground in a trail of acrid smoke.

Simultaneously, Nix roared as he used his [Ice Spike] skill to shape an enormous Frost Spear. Wings folding for a swift dive, he hurled the spear downward with all the momentum he could gather.

It found its mark in the center of the larger Thunderbird’s chest, piercing through layers of vibrant plumage, muscle, and bone.

The bird’s eyes widened in shock, crackling arcs of lightning scattering uselessly from its half-finished retaliation. A strangled croak escaped its beak before it spiraled downward, limping in death.

With that, the sky fell silent, as if exhaling relief after the chaotic display of elements. Thin wisps of smoke and steam rose from the battered forms of the fallen Thunderbirds. The last echoes of lightning fizzled out, leaving only the drifting final wisps of flame from Ashvara’s aura.

Hovering unsteadily, Ashvara turned to Nix, who likewise hovered in midair with trembling wings. They shared a mutual sense of respect and relief because, while not the flawless synergy of longtime partners, it was synergy enough, forged in sweat, blood, and the crucible of a lethal aerial duel.

They descended carefully, each wincing from the pain of their accumulated wounds. On the plateau, Cain and Veyron welcomed them with quiet nods of approval, understanding how precarious the fight had been.

Panting, Nix felt a swirl of satisfaction warming his chest despite the sting of bruises. He had soared with Ashvara and lived to tell the tale, and in doing so, discovered a new dimension to his combat potential.

Meanwhile, the Infernal Sun Crow cawed softly, acknowledging that while Nix had begun, he’d proven himself a worthy comrade in that frantic dance above the clouds.

[Ding! Nix and Infernal Sun Crow have killed the two Thunderbirds.]

[Ding! Nix’s experience at King Rank Beast has increased to 30%.]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining 150 million Evolution Points.]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining 500 Gacha Points.]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining 1x Random-level Lottery Pool.]

Cain merely looked at the experience Nix received before asking the system about Nix’s next mission so that he could upgrade him again after Nix’s experience had reached 100%.

“The mission would be simple yet time consuming this time, because you need to let Nix upgrade his rank naturally from the Low-level King Rank Beast to the Peak-level King Rank Beast.” The system replied without even showing its face.

When Cain heard it, he raised an eyebrow as he hadn’t expected that the time where he needed to upgrade his contracted beasts in a normal way had finally come, even though it was probably just this time since it was from a mission.

At this rate, he needed to find the MC’s companion as soon as possible since he needed to copy his talent so that he could upgrade Nix faster in a normal way.

Subsequently, he asked his subordinate to gather the young geniuses who have awakened their talents around the whole kingdom later since that’s the only way to find him.