Chapter 121: Freezing Everyone

From a distance, the red-skinned girl watched the intense battle alongside her group. Her eyes were sharp as she carefully scrutinized each participant, especially those who would prove difficult to deal with.

Their initial plan was simple: wait for the Awakened to take down the beast, then swoop in and finish them off when they were at their weakest. The red-skinned girl was eager to complete this mission swiftly, rendezvous with her team back at base, and claim her rewards.

However, as she observed the escalating fight, her gaze narrowed on a dark-haired boy with unnervingly lightless eyes. Although she had seen him before, she hadn't paid him much attention. But now, after witnessing him move at the speed of light and summon a beast to aid in the fight against the Elemental Beast, her curiosity was piqued.

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Meanwhile, the swirling vortex of purple, green, blue, crimson, and gold energy continued to grow, yet Thirteen pressed on with his assault. With each punch that struck the air, the vortex expanded, pulsating with power. The others could feel it too, their eyes filled with hope as they watched the panda.

Perhaps, it could truly defeat the powerful Elemental Beast?

Reyes and Captain Bofan watched anxiously from the sidelines. Captain Bofan had a nagging feeling that he had seen this skill before, but couldn't quite place it.

Sensing the wild power of the swirling colors, the Elemental Beast began to struggle, desperate to free itself from the binding winds. However, Captain Bofan was no pushover. If he didn't possess strength, he wouldn't be a military captain in the first place. He maintained the swirling winds for a few more minutes, beads of sweat dripping down his forehead.

Fortunately, at that moment, Thirteen expertly directed the vortex to engulf the Elemental Beast. The task was demanding, requiring intense focus to control the energy, even for a beast as powerful as Thirteen.

Soon after, the Elemental Beast, now suspended in the air, was completely engulfed by the swirling colors. The vortex revolved around the creature with such intensity that it seemed determined to devour every fiber of the beast. Then, it imploded!

A thunderous sound echoed, and a devastating shockwave rippled outward, slamming into everyone like a tsunami. The fierce wave was so strong that it sent everyone flying like ragdolls.

'That's it! I refuse to believe this kid is just a mercenary!' Reyes thought as he skidded to a stop. He and a few others managed to control their landings, but the rest weren't so lucky, crashing through the frozen trees and injuring themselves.

'Someone with a beast like this could easily solo a dimensional rift,' Captain Bofan thought, his mind racing as he looked at the panting panda, clearly exhausted after the powerful attack.

'I've never heard of a class like this. Is it from a new patron god?'

"Good job, time for you to rest," Nox said, approaching Thirteen and gently patting the beast on the forehead. After using Requiem, an extremely thick snowstorm had enveloped the spot where the Elemental Beast had last been seen.

[No! Panda fight!] Thirteen shook his head vigorously. He could still fight; this was nothing!

"But," Nox glanced at the Panda's stats.

[Thirteen]

Dragon Requiem had consumed a tremendous amount of energy. It was meant to be a trump card, but the dire situation had forced Nox to use it early. After all, if they all died, there would be no point in saving the skill.

'Alright then, but if your mana drops lower than this, I'll definitely put you back in the taming space.'

Nod! Nod!

[Is the beast dead?] Fluffington asked as he approached, in far better condition than Thirteen.

"I doubt it," Nox replied. He hadn't received any notification of the beast's death, which meant it was likely injured at best. But to what extent? That was a question that would only be answered when the fog cleared.

'Though that attack was strong, the Elemental Beast is still alive,' Reyes thought, frowning. He had been hoping for a miracle, but now, thinking more clearly, he realized: how could a panda easily defeat a beast that had overwhelmed them for hours?

'At least it should be badly injured.' Sёarᴄh the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Everyone hoped it was badly injured.

But reality proved crueler than expected. At that moment, everyone heard the slight shuffling of feet. They stared at the snowstorm, anxiety tightening their chests. After what felt like an eternity, the beast's head finally emerged from the storm.

'Its head is fine, which means its body must have taken the brunt of the attack,' Nox thought, his gaze fixed on the beast, which hesitated to reveal its entire form, as if afraid.

Each second dragged on, the tension squeezing everyone's hearts. It had only been a few seconds, but to them, it felt like hours had passed.

"Should we just attack it and end this already?" Brokky whispered anxiously, more nervous than he'd ever been in his life.

"No, wait," Reyes whispered back. And as if on cue, the Elemental Beast fully emerged from the snowstorm, leaving everyone speechless.

"Impossible!" Bofan shouted, his gaze darting between the exposed beast and the little panda.

"I knew there was a slight chance of something like this happening," Reyes muttered, a bitter smile tugging at his lips.

Nox wore a confused expression. 'I thought it would be badly injured, but this... this is crazy! It didn't even sustain any damage! Dammit, we underestimated this creature!'

Indeed, the Elemental Beast stood before them, perfectly fine. Everyone struggled to believe what they were seeing. They were so stunned that they failed to notice something peculiar.

The spikes running along the beast's spine glowed with an ethereal blue light, and even its eyes began to shine brightly, illuminating the dim night. Then, the beast slammed both feet into the ground.

As it did, several thick ice columns emerged from the ground in a circular formation. The columns extended outward before converging in midair, forming a dome.

"A dome!" Reyes exclaimed, but it was too late. Dome-related skills allowed the caster to become immensely powerful for a short duration while within the dome. The already powerful beast had just become more formidable, Reyes realized in horror.

But the most horrifying part was that his legs wouldn't move; they were stuck to the ground. Glancing around, he saw he wasn't the only one.

Trapped inside the dome, the beast merely waved its arm, and a blizzard surged forward, turning everyone it touched into frozen statues.

'This bastard has been toying with us all along. Did we ever even have a fighting chance?' Nox thought as he raised his hands. 'Maybe I have no choice but to use this.'

But using this skill at such close proximity wouldn't just hurt the Elemental Beast; it would also severely injure Nox and everyone else inside the dome. It could even kill them. Was it worth it?

Shadow Oblivion was most effective when the target was far away.

However, before Nox could cast the skill, the Elemental Beast seemed to sense his intent and glared at him, momentarily paralyzing him. The blizzard struck him as well, and like the others, Nox turned into an ice statue.

The beast didn't lunge forward to destroy the statues of its enemies. Instead, it did something unexpected.

The beast studied the frozen statues, then walked away. It didn't harm any of them, as Nox had anticipated. Shouldn't the beast kill them? They were in a fight, after all.

Instead of killing them, Nox noticed something else. Within the pale blue eyes of the Elemental Beast, he saw... disappointment. The beast's blue gaze locked with Nox's for a moment, then it vanished.

'None of this makes sense.'

But why was it disappointed? Was it upset that they couldn't kill it?

Meanwhile, the red-skinned girl smiled as she looked at the countless frozen statues within the transparent dome. "It seems the Elemental Beast just made things much more easier for us."