Chapter 160: Sylphflare Attack

Zafron rushed towards the source of Lucien's screams, his heart pounding in his chest.As he rounded a corner, he saw Lucien sprawled on the ground, his face contorted in terror as he pointed frantically in one direction.

Following Lucien's gesture, Zafron's eyes widened in shock. "What is that supposed to be?" He wondered.

It resembled a dragonfly, but was very large and pitch black with ominous reddish spots dotting its thorax. Its tail were unnaturally long, coated with spikes and faint saliva drooled from its mouth.

The creature's reddish compound eyes were fixed on Lucien, filled with a predatory intensity.

Without hesitation, Zafron sprinted closer to Lucien, aware that Cassandra was some distance behind him, also rushing towards the commotion.

In that split second, the creature leaped towards its prey, its large wings sending it airborne. Zafron's instincts took over.

With no time to think, he threw himself forward, colliding with the creature mid-air. The impact was jarring, knocking the wind out of him, but he managed to redirect the beast's trajectory.

They crashed into a nearby cluster of plants, crushing delicate flowers and foliage under their combined weight.

As they crashed into the nearby plants, a startled cry rang out from a bystander who had been examining the flowers.

"Help! It's a Sylphflare! Someone must have messed with its nest!" the person shouted in terror before bolting away, his cries alerting others in the vicinity.

Soon, shouts for the garden guards echoed through the area.

"Run for your lives people!"

"Alert the guards immediately!"

Zafron immediately rolled away, before he quickly jumped to his feet, placing himself between the creature and Lucien, his body tense and ready for the next move.

The creature snarled angrily, its gaze fixing on Zafron as it recognized him as a new threat. One of its wings had broken off from the impact, further fueling its fury.

In the background, Zafron could hear Cassandra's approaching footsteps and Lucien's whimpers of fear. But he dared not take his eyes off the monstrous creature before him, knowing that any distraction could be fatal.

Realizing the immediate danger, Zafron called out to Lucien without taking his eyes off the beast.

"Lucien! Stand up and run! Now!"

Noticing Lucien still frozen in shock, Zafron yelled again, more forcefully this time.

Finally, Lucien scrambled to his feet and stumbled away, leaving Zafron alone to face the Sylphflare.

Zafron knew he couldn't wait for the guards to arrive—every second counted. He had to incapacitate or kill the Sylphflare before it could harm anyone nearby.

The creature roared angrily once again, till a faint smoke emated from its mouth. The power behind the roar even broke some plants close by.

As soon as Cassandra arrived at the scene, she was shocked to see Zafron facing the Sylphflare head-on. 'Isn't that a.... Sylphflare? Zafron needs to be careful. The creature is very dangerous.'

The creature lunged at him once again. Zafron had to counteract the attack as he rushed towards the beast, he heard Cassandra's voice calling from behind. "Zafron be careful, it's very dangerous."

He heard her and shouted back before the impact, "I've got this, just stay back."

With that, he jumped and met the creature midair, sending it backwards, both of them crashing to the ground once again.

He quickly jumped up and grabbed the Sylphflare's head, trying to pin it down with one hand while holding its wings with his leg. But the creature was strong, thrashing and spinning wildly, yet Zafron held his grip firm.

The spikes on the creature's tail found their way into Zafron's skin as they struggled, but Zafron persisted.

With a resounding punch to the head, the creature was momentarily disoriented. The force behind the punch made the soil in the ground give way a bit.

He raised his hand to land another punch when he noticed the eyes of the Sylphflare increasing in intensity. 'Is it....'

Before he could finish his line of thoughts, he heard Cassandra shouting from behind, "Watch its mouth, it breathes..."

Before she could finish, Zafron saw a very thick smoke that appeared in its mouth. With his quick reflexes, Zafron grabbed its jaw in an attempt to direct whatever was coming out and keep it away from both his face, Cassandra, and anyone around.

With a sudden burst of energy, fire gushed from the creature's mouth, burning the plants that stood in its path, before it finally ceased.

Zafron struggled as he tried to control the creature, now on its back as he fought to swing himself around.

Its massive, iridescent wings beat furiously, kicking up clouds of dust and pollen that threatened to blind him. The creature's elongated body thrashed violently, its segmented form twisting in ways that defied Zafron's attempts to hold it down.

The Sylphflare's head whipped around, its compound eyes gleaming with predatory intensity.

They rolled on the ground, a tangle of limbs and wings. The Sylphflare's uninjured wing continued to flap erratically, stirring up more dust and debris.

The air grew thick with particles, momentarily obscuring Zafron's vision. He blinked rapidly, trying to clear his eyes, 'It's getting hard to see but I need to focus, a second's distraction and this thing could have me for lunch,'

Despite the chaos and his own rising fatigue, Zafron sensed an opportunity. Summoning strength from reserves he didn't know he possessed, he cocked back his fist, into this one, decisive blow.

'Fuck this!!' he thought and with a roar that surprised even himself, Zafron brought his fist crashing down onto the Sylphflare's jaw.

The impact was thunderous, the sound of the collision echoing through the garden. He felt bone and chitin give way under the force of his strike as his hand went right past it's hardened jaw and straight into a gooey mess of internal liquids.

*Eiieeeeeerrrkkk!!!*

The creature's shriek of pain pierced the air, a sound unlike anything Zafron had ever heard before.

Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the shriek cut off, replaced by silence.

Panting heavily, Zafron pushed himself up.The Sylphflare lay motionless beneath him, its broken jaw at an unnatural angle. The creature's once-fierce eyes were now dim, the fight quite literally knocked out of it.

As the dust began to settle, Zafron became aware of shocked gasps and murmurs around him. He looked up to see a crowd of onlookers, including Cassandra and a pale-faced Lucien, staring at him in disbelief.

Cassandra suddenly rushed towards Zafron, her face etched with concern.

"Zafron! Are you alright?" she called out, her eyes scanning him for injuries. S~eaʀᴄh the nôᴠel Fire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Despite his labored breathing, Zafron managed a nod. "I'm... okay," he panted, trying to reassure her.

Cassandra's gaze fell on the angry red marks dotting his arms and torso where the Sylphflare's spiked tail had made contact. Her brow furrowed with worry as she examined the wounds more closely. "But you are wounded..."

"No, it's nothing," Zafron replied reassuringly, but she wasn't convinced. Her eyes searched his body for something, not trusting his words.

"No, no.... this is bad...."

Just then, the garden guards arrived on the scene, weapons drawn and ready for action. They looked around in confusion, seeing only the aftermath of the battle.

Cassandra turned to them, her voice urgent. "Quick! We need medical kits immediately. The Sylphflare's tail spikes are poisonous. We need to treat his wounds right away!"