SSS Ranked Transmigration: Taming Beauties and The Beasts! - Chapter 214

Chapter 214: Going all out
Though smaller than his full-powered version, it served as a quick projectile. He hurled the spike upward. The falcon barely avoided a direct hit, letting out a startled shriek when the ice clipped a few feathers.

Nix landed heavily, cracks forming beneath his claws as he steadied himself. For the first time since the battle began, he sensed the momentum shifting in his favor. The falcon could still move swiftly, but its pattern felt somewhat disrupted. The thin frost on its wing and the small injuries it had sustained were adding up. Its once-effortless aerial maneuvers looked just a fraction slower now.

“Got you.” A determined grin tugged at Nix’s maw, steam rising where his breath met the cold aura radiating from his scales.

He inhaled, amplifying the protective chill of his [Frost Armor] skill around his torso. The battered ice plating along his arms and shoulders re-formed, faintly glowing with renewed energy.

The falcon soared above him, making a wide arc. Despite the wounds it bore, the thunderous energy crackling through its body indicated it had plenty of fight left.

With a sharp caw, it channeled swirling air currents into a spinning vortex beneath its wings with wind that was so dense and forceful that small stones lifted off the ground, dancing in the gale. A faint flicker of lightning wove through the vortex, turning it into a lethal storm of wind and thunder.

“Not again,” Nix growled. He could already guess the falcon’s plan: hurl that swirling maelstrom of wind and lightning down at him, then close in while he was staggered. He braced himself, focusing intently. If he couldn’t dodge, perhaps he could redirect it.

The howling winds suddenly funneled downward, spinning in a chaotic cyclone that churned rock and earth. Nix set his jaw, raised both hands, and invoked his [Mirror Ice] skill. A shimmering sheet of ice formed overhead, angled like a massive shield.

The swirling thunder-wind slammed against it with a deafening roar. While the barrier deflected most of the onslaught, the sheer force splintered off shards of ice, raining down around him like frozen daggers.

Nix staggered back, arms shaking from the strain. Yet he managed to keep his makeshift ice barrier intact long enough to dissipate the brunt of the thunder-wind.

As soon as the swirling air lost its cohesion, the falcon dove in for its follow-up strike—just as Nix had expected.

“Now!” he snarled. Dismissing his [Mirror Ice] skill, he spun sideways and whipped his tail in a broad arc. A sudden hail of ice shards that were the remnants of the shattered barrier were propelled by his tail strike, pelting the falcon and forcing it to shield its face with one wing. In that brief instant of vulnerability, Nix closed the distance.

His claws glowed with frosty light. He drove them deep into the falcon’s side, piercing feathers and flesh alike. The bird screeched, raking its talons across Nix’s forearm in retaliation.

Sparks of lightning flickered, sending jolts of pain up Nix’s arm. Still, he maintained his grip for a moment longer, pumping as much ice energy into the wound as he dared.

At last, the falcon wrenched free, leaving a trail of fresh blood and a dusting of icy crystals in the air. It fluttered back, wings beating erratically as it struggled to maintain height.

A hiss of victory escaped Nix’s throat as he had inflicted a major injury and he felt the scales tipping further in his favor.

“Stay down,” Nix rumbled, though he doubted the proud creature would heed him. Lightning still sparked in the falcon’s eyes.

Gashes and frost marred its once-pristine plumage, but the bird’s will to fight hadn’t diminished. Its chest rose and fell in ragged pants as it glared at him.

Nix braced for another exchange, adrenaline pounding in his ears. He could sense the falcon gathering power once again as more wind, more thunder.

He realized with sudden clarity that the next assault might be more than just a simple thunder-wind blade or vortex. That sure, unwavering glint in the falcon’s gaze spoke of something bigger.

A gust swept through the battlefield, swirling dust and cold air. The tension was palpable. Nix caught his breath, forcing his exhaustion under control.

He had to stay alert since this fight was far from over, and if the falcon was resorting to a do-or-die technique, he’d need to muster all his strength to survive it.

With a thunderous caw that echoed through the mountain pass, the falcon spread its wings wide. Churning currents of wind and electricity coalesced around it, forming a radiant sphere of swirling storm. The bird’s eyes burned with fierce determination as it prepared to unleash its ultimate skill.

Nix narrowed his gaze, the hair along his spine prickling with anticipation. He could sense the explosion of energy building in the falcon’s core. This was the decisive moment since if he could endure or counter the falcon’s unleashed power, the path to victory would be his.

He slid one foot back, digging claws into the dirt for traction. Frost crystallized around his arms, reinforcing his battered [Frost Armor]. A cold, quiet resolve settled over him, intensifying his focus.

‘Come on, then,’ he thought, feeling the ice in his veins thrum with raw power. ‘I won’t go down without a fight.’

A shrill cry split the air as the falcon poured every ounce of wind and thunder energy into its final attack. Fierce gusts tore across the battlefield, scattering loose rocks and bits of ice.

High-voltage arcs danced along the falcon’s wings, igniting a brilliant corona of crackling electricity that seemed to distort the very air around it. Overhead, the sky darkened with gathering storm clouds, drawn by the creature’s potent aura.

Nix narrowed his eyes, bracing himself against the turbulent winds battering his body. The falcon’s wings flared wide, and in that moment, the churning sphere of storm energy surged out from its chest.

Lightning flashed within the swirling mass, and the falcon unleashed a blinding burst of power, a skill that combined the fury of thunder and the sharp pressure of compressed wind, like a cannon shot from the heavens.

The impact was immediate and brutal. A deafening roar echoed among the crags as the swirling storm barreled straight toward Nix, tearing up chunks of earth and stone in its path. The force was so intense that Nix felt his feet skid despite digging his claws into the ground.

For a split second, he thought of using [Mirror Ice] skill again to deflect the blast, but he quickly realized that this ferocious ultimate skill was on a wholly different scale from the falcon’s earlier attacks. A partial reflection might only buy him a fraction of a second; it would not dispel the onslaught.

Instead, he made a snap decision as he activated his [Ice Storm] skill. As swirling winds of his own design spun around him, the ambient temperature plummeted, and shards of ice formed in a violent vortex.

Ice-laden gusts clashed with the falcon’s thunderous whirlwind, briefly slowing its advance. Lightning forked in all directions as the two storms collided, sizzling arcs striking random points on the ground. The resulting shockwaves shattered nearby boulders and threatened to throw Nix off his feet.

Through sheer will, he stood firm. ‘I can’t let it overpower me,’ he thought, every muscle in his body trembling from the magnitude of the falcon’s final assault.

The edges of his vision flickered with the brightness of continuous lightning strikes. The swirling conflict of energies churned around him as ice shards colliding with thunder, gusts of wind colliding with swirling frost.

Yet as powerful as the falcon’s skill was, it was also draining, and the bird’s battered state meant it could only sustain the whirlwind for so long. Nix sensed the pressure letting up, just slightly, as the gale lost a fraction of its momentum. Heart pounding, he saw his chance.

“Now!” he roared, voice straining over the howling din of wind and thunder. Dispelling his [Ice Storm] skill, he summoned his energy for one decisive strike.

He had already tested the falcon with a smaller [Ice Spike], but this time he would commit all of his remaining strength as a massive spear of ice, large enough to run through even the toughest hide.

Frost condensed at his fingertips in a frenzied rush, coalescing into a glittering spear taller than he was.

Spidery veins of subzero energy crawled across its surface, and the air temperature around Nix dropped abruptly, forming steam-like wisps from his scales. The moment he raised the colossal spike overhead, he could sense its overwhelming power pulsing like a living force.

The falcon, perched high on a swirling updraft to maintain its vantage, locked eyes with Nix. A mixture of alarm and defiance burned in its electric-blue gaze.

It tried to summon one last wave of wind to knock him back, but it was too late as Nix hurled the [Ice Spike] with all his might.