CHAPTER 75: WHEN THE MOUNTAIN ROARED

Velren tightened his grip on the wooden frame of the carriage, his mind racing through the possibilities. The wyvern was relentless, and unlike a dragon, it couldn’t rely on elemental breath to attack from afar. That meant it had no choice but to get close.

Close enough to kill.

That was its weakness.

Velren exhaled sharply, glancing at the barrels of black powder. There was only one way to make this work, and it wasn’t going to be pretty.

He hesitated for just a fraction of a second, Harven’s words surfacing in his mind."No weapon is equal to a person’s life."

His jaw tightened. "Tch... Sorry, old man."

There was no other way.

He moved fast, grabbing one of the barrels and dragging it toward the edge of the carriage. With a grunt, he lifted it, his muscles burning under the weight, and threw it overboard. The heavy container crashed onto the dirt path, the impact splitting the wooden top slightly. Dark powder spilled from the opening, trailing behind the speeding carriage like an ominous, winding snake.

Nico’s eyes darted back for a brief second. "Kid—what the hell are you doing?!"

"Just drive!" Velren barked, already reaching for another barrel.

The wyvern shrieked above them, its massive wings hammering the air, sending violent gusts rolling through the pass. It was getting desperate now. It had realized its attacks weren’t working, and with every failed strike, it was closing the distance.

Good.

Velren’s fingers curled, his breath steady as he placed a hand on the next barrel.

Gravemaw.

The semi-null void flickered into existence for a split second—just long enough for the barrel to disappear into the abyss. Velren gritted his teeth, feeling the strain of maintaining the ability as he controlled its reappearance.

A few meters behind them, in the wyvern’s direct path, space distorted violently—

SHOOM!

The barrel materialized once more, only this time, it was right next to the wyvern’s side. The beast barely had time to react as it nearly collided with the sudden obstruction, its wings snapping backward in an attempt to maneuver around it.

But Velren wasn’t done.

He repeated the process. Another barrel vanished. Another reappeared in the wyvern’s flight path. Again and again, he placed them in staggered positions, forcing the creature to weave erratically to avoid smashing into the floating black powder barrels.

The wyvern snarled, its golden eyes flashing with raw frustration. Its movements grew more erratic, less controlled.

It was working.

The trail powder behind them stretched further and further, a winding fuse of destruction waiting for a single spark. The moment the wyvern made its final push, Velren would set it all off.

A roar.

A flicker of movement.

The wyvern made its move.

It folded its wings inward, angling its body as it prepared to dive one last time—no more feints, no more testing. This time, it was going for the kill.

"Now or never—!" Velren hissed through clenched teeth.

In one swift motion, he drew his katana. The blade gleamed under the dimming sunlight as he pressed the steel against a jagged rock protruding from the carriage. With a forceful drag, sparks erupted.

The first spark died instantly, snuffed out by the wind.

"Fuck!"

The second flared, only to flicker away.

"Shit!"

Velren growled, his pulse hammering as he struck again—

FZZT!

The third spark caught.

The fine line of powder behind them ignited in an instant, blue-white flames racing across the trail like a serpent set ablaze.

A heartbeat later—

BOOM!

The first barrel exploded.

Then the second.

Then the third.

A chain reaction of deafening eruptions tore through the mountainside, the shockwaves sending violent tremors through the pass. Flames burst outward in violent bursts, engulfing the wyvern’s immediate path in an inferno of smoke, fire, and force.

The beast shrieked, wings snapping outward in a desperate attempt to escape the blast zone. But it was too late. One of the explosions detonated just beneath its left wing joint, sending a vicious shockwave tearing through the membrane.

A guttural, pained roar filled the air as the wyvern faltered, its once-graceful flight turning into an uncontrolled spiral.

But the worst wasn’t over.

The force of the detonations had shaken the already unstable cliffside.

Velren barely had time to register the deep, rumbling groan of shifting rock before the mountain itself retaliated.

A massive section of the cliff face fractured, cracks spreading like veins of destruction before—

CRACK—BOOM!

An avalanche of stone collapsed onto the wyvern mid-fall, burying the beast in an unforgiving cascade of boulders and debris.

Smoke curled upward in violent tendrils, lingering in the fading sunlight as the echoes of the explosion finally began to die down. The mountain pass, once filled with the deafening chaos of the chase, was now eerily silent.

Velren’s breath was ragged, his muscles taut with lingering tension as his grip on his katana tightened. His gaze remained locked onto the crumbling landslide where the wyvern had been swallowed by the violent collapse of stone and flame.

’Is it over...?’

Nico’s frantic voice cut through the ringing in Velren’s ears.

"Kid?! Did we—"

BOOM!

A thunderous blast of force erupted from beneath the rubble, sending shattered rock flying in every direction. The entire mountainside quaked as a deafening screech tore through the air.

"You’ve got to be kidding me," Velren muttered under his breath.

Through the dust and settling debris, the wyvern emerged. Its once-pristine scales were now battered and scorched, patches of its thick hide marred by burns and deep gashes. One of its massive wings dangled uselessly at its side, the membrane torn and bloodied from the explosion. It could no longer fly.

But it could still chase.

With a guttural snarl, the beast pushed itself forward. Its powerful limbs, though wounded, drove its massive frame into a lurching, staggering sprint. Its talons gouged deep into the earth, its body dragging forward in an awkward yet terrifying pursuit.

"YOU’RE FUCKING SERIOUS?!" Velren yelled in exasperation.

The wyvern’s golden eyes burned with pure hatred, its body running on nothing but instinct and desperation. It was no longer a hunter—it was a wounded beast fighting to the bitter end.

Velren didn’t hesitate.

"Old man! Just keep driving and find somewhere safe!"

"Somewhere safe?! Are you out of your damn mind?! We’re on a godsdamned mountain—there IS no—"

Velren didn’t wait for the rest of the argument. Without another thought, he leapt from the carriage. The wind howled past him as his boots hit the ground in a controlled roll.

And the wyvern’s golden eyes were locked onto him.