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.
Rocky observed its movements closely, his mind working through the chaos to identify a pattern, a weakness, and he saw it in the way the dragon flinched whenever it had to turn sharply away from the fire or when its wing was struck—its right wing was slightly weaker, less responsive, likely from an old injury or an inherent flaw, which made the beast always prefer dodging an attack towards the right, as it flapped it left wing harder to make a turn.
'There!' Rocky thought, his eyes narrowing as he focused on the slight hesitation in the dragon's movement. 'It's weaker on its right side… I can use it to predict how it will dodge, which will help me create an opening.' Rocky thought, as he issued a fresh set of instructions.
"Buhara, keep that wall of flame strong,"
"Kronos, hit the right wing again, but this time, aim lower. We need to cripple it." Rocky instructed, as Kronos, feeling frustrated from the slow progress, decided to ignore Rocky's commands.
"Don't worry, I've got this," he reassured the team, his voice filled with confidence.
"I'll pour enough vitality into this next strike to slice that dragon in half, there is no need to do this measured dance–." Kronos said, as he raised his sword high, and began channeling an immense amount of his vitality into the blade.
The air around him crackled with the sheer force of the energy he was gathering. The sword glowed with a blinding light as Kronos prepared to unleash his attack.
But as the sword projection formed, Kronos pushed too far. The energy within the blade surged beyond his control, and instead of releasing a devastating strike, the force backfired.
*Bzzzz*
Kronos's body convulsed as the overwhelming power coursed through him, and with a final, futile attempt to maintain control, he collapsed, the sword falling from his grip as he lost consciousness.
"Kronos!" Erin shouted, rushing to his side as Buhara and Rocky held their ground.
Unfortunately, there was no time to tend to Kronos now as the dragon, sensing a moment of weakness, turned its attention back to the group, preparing to unleash another fiery onslaught.
"Oh shit!" Buhara cursed, as he felt scared for his life, however, despite the clear danger, Rocky's mind remained clear and focused.
He could see the dragon's intent in the way it coiled its body, preparing to strike, and somehow he could see a path to countering it successfully.
"Erin, stay with Kronos. Buhara, cover me," Rocky ordered, his voice firm, leaving no room for hesitation as he moved swiftly, with his dual swords gleaming under the moonlight as he advanced toward the dragon.
The Grand Sage style was all about precision, about knowing when and where to strike to turn an enemy's strength into a weakness and right now Rocky could feel the rhythm of the battle, the ebb and flow of the dragon's attacks, and he timed his movements perfectly to them.
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.