The dragon's roar had barely faded from the air when Erin, exhausted from his earlier efforts to shield the team, leaned heavily on his staff, with his breath coming in short ragged gasps.
"I need... a moment," he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper, as Rocky nodded, allowing him a brief respite, though the urgency of their situation was clear to everyone.
The team had been journeying for 18 hours straight now and had been through countless battles, which had pushed Erin to his limits.
This shield was all that he had left in him, and having blocked the dragon's attacks once, Erin no longer had the strength to continue.
He was feeling dizzy and disoriented, and needed at least a few more minutes to catch his breath before he could even get back to his feet, effectively taking him out of the next battle equation.
With the night growing darker, and the dragon above circling with predatory intent, Rocky's mind raced as he analyzed every movement of the beast, every beat of its wings and every flash of its claws.
He had this gnawing feeling inside him ever since he had mastered the basics of the grand sage style, where he started to look at living creatures differently than before.
Micro-flaws inside them, flaws in their attack pattern, in their movements, became evident to him now, however, he was still not experienced enough to turn that knowledge into a reliable pillar of his strength.
It was like he could feel the rhythm of the battle, the flow of the dragon's attacks and predict them before they happened, however, he still hadn't figured out how to make the most of the knowledge he was able to see now.
Nonetheless, with the time clock of the mission ticking, and the threat on their lives being evident, Rocky came up with a plan to defeat the Green Dragon..... A plan where the team functioned without the help of Erin who needed a break.
"Buhara, create a wall of fire along the dragon's left wing," Rocky instructed, his voice calm and steady. "Kronos, I need you to strike at its right wing but hold back—just enough to draw its attention without overcommitting" Rocky instructed, as the team moved into action, following Rocky's precise orders.
Buhara summoned a wall of flame that erupted on the dragon's left side. The beast roared in anger, veering away from the fire.
At the same time, Kronos unleashed a powerful but measured sword projection, aiming for the dragon's right wing. The strike hit its mark, but with just enough force to cause the dragon to falter without inflicting significant damage.
The dragon, now agitated and confused, began to lash out with wild, uncoordinated strikes, as it poured down dragon's breath all across the land where the team were standing, however, with Rocky constantly aiming sword projections towards its mouth, it was forced to dodge and could not attack the area where the team was standing precisely.
As the dragon lunged, its maw opened wide to unleash a torrent of fire, but Rocky was faster. He moved with the grace of a seasoned warrior, sidestepping the flames and positioning himself directly under the dragon's vulnerable right wing as in a single, fluid motion, he brought both swords down in a precise, cross-shaped strike, severing the wing at its joint.
Not only did Rocky purposefully aim a little bit off, knowing that the dragon would try and veer to the right to dodge. He even timed it perfectly so that when the dragon did try to dodge, it ended up hitting it at the perfect spot where it's wing joined its body, as Rocky sliced it clean off.
*ROAARRRRR*
The dragon's roar of pain echoed across the battlefield as it crashed to the ground, its massive body thrashing wildly. But Rocky was relentless. He pressed the attack, dodging the dragon's desperate swipes and slashes as he continued to exploit the weakness he had found.
*SHUA*
*SHUA*
*SHUA*
Each strike that he unleashed was calculated, each movement intentional, until finally, with a final, powerful blow to the dragon's neck, he ended its life.
It wasn't that he had suddenly grown a lot faster or stronger to be able to perform such a domineering battle against a tier4 dragon, however, it was just that his swordsmanship had began to flow much smoother as he understood the basics of the Grand Sage Style.
Instead of creating openings, he now exploited them with smooth attacks that all linked with one another and although he had no 'Special' powerful blow to rely on like Kronos, his style of fighting gave a whole new edge to him that he did not possess on floor22.
With the decapitated dragon head in his hands, Rocky stood over the fallen dragon's bldg, his second sword dripping with its blood as his chest heaved from the exertion.
The battle was over and the night was silent once more, save for the crackling of Buhara's flames and the labored breathing of his teammates. Erin, having ensured that Kronos was stable, looked up at Rocky with a mixture of awe and relief.
"You did it, Sir Rocky," Erin murmured, his voice filled with admiration as Rocky simply nodded, his gaze still fixed on the dragon's lifeless form.
The Grand Sage style had proven itself, but more importantly, it had shown Rocky the value of patience and of waiting for the perfect moment to strike.... It was like a new dimension had opened for him, as Rocky understood the importance of having a good fighting style for the first time ever.
"Let's rest for a while..... both you and Kronos need some rest and pushing on in this state will only create more problems for us.
Eat your food, drink your potions and sleep if you want to.... We resume our journey in 45 minutes" Rocky said, as he instructed the team to recuperate quickly so that they could be on their way once again.