Chapter 322: Wyvern Faceoff
As Kaida led Canna toward the exit, she kept glancing his way, unsure how to ask what was clearly on her mind. Finally, Canna raised an eyebrow, exasperated by her quiet curiosity.
"Out with it, Kaida. What is it?" he asked, trying to break the silence.
"Well, um… Do you have a plan, Canna-sama?" she asked sheepishly.
Read exclusive chapters at empire
Canna seemed lost in thought, his brow furrowed as though he were contemplating something profound. Kaida, seeing his intense focus, chuckled nervously and tried to ease the tension. "Canna-sama, that must be some complex plan you're cooking up."
Canna blinked, snapping out of his reverie. "Plan? Oh, no, I wasn't thinking about any of that! I was just wondering what Kael will say when he finds out I bought all the wares the sanctuary needed in one go."
Kaida's eye twitched at the anticlimactic response, and before she could retort, Canna grinned, transformed into a bolt of lightning, and shot out of the tunnel exit at a speed so fast it left a trail of static in the air. Kaida and Dravos exchanged a bemused glance before hurrying out after him.
Canna soared above the tunnel's entrance, scanning the sky. Dozens of wyverns flew in formation, their growls and roars echoing through the air. He hovered for a moment, taking it all in. "Why are they all so agitated?" he wondered aloud. After a moment of thought, he shrugged and released his dragonkin form, the air around him crackling with energy as his draconic traits emerged.
A powerful roar escaped Canna's throat, reverberating through the air with an intensity that made the sky tremble. The wyverns, which had been poised to attack him, suddenly hesitated. They flinched at the sound, halting their assault and pulling back slightly, sensing the superior might of the dragonkin in their midst.
Dravos, watching from below with Kaida, was wide-eyed in amazement. "He's a dragonkin?" he muttered, astonished.
Kaida nodded. "Yes, didn't you know?"
Dravos shook his head, a grin spreading across his face. "He keeps surprising me every day."
But just as the wyverns pulled away, another, much louder roar echoed across the sky. Canna turned his head, locking eyes with a massive new arrival. The figure approached, its wings cutting through the air with terrifying speed and strength.
The wyverns surrounding Canna were formidable in their own right. Their scales gleamed like steel, their bodies sleek and muscular. Each ranged between 25 to 35 feet long from nose to tail, with wingspans of up to 50 feet. They were a fearsome sight, mid-calamity ranked beasts, strong and agile, their talons sharp enough to rip through rock and their fangs as hard as iron. Their sheer numbers made them a formidable force, even against strong opponents.
However, the newcomer was something else entirely. Twice the size of the average wyvern, this monstrous creature was easily 70 feet long with a wingspan of 100 feet. Its scales were a dark, almost metallic blue, and its eyes glowed with a cold, calculating intelligence. This was no mere wyvern—it was a great-calamity ranked beast, its power far surpassing that of its smaller kin.
"Oooh, interesting," Canna murmured, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "You're different from the others. I take it you're their leader?"
Before Canna could get a response, the massive wyvern let out a piercing screech, commanding the other wyverns to stand down. Then, with a roar of its own, it launched itself at Canna, claws outstretched and fangs bared.
Canna grinned, his body surging with lightning as he prepared for the fight. The wyvern leader wasted no time, summoning an icy blizzard around it as it charged. Shards of ice formed in the air, coalescing into deadly lances that shot toward Canna with blinding speed. At the same time, the creature's enormous wings beat furiously, sending gusts of freezing wind howling through the sky.
Canna, however, was far from intimidated. With a flick of his hand, he called forth a crackling bolt of lightning, sending it careening toward the ice lances. The lightning shattered the frozen projectiles into harmless shards before dissipating into the sky. He smirked, his eyes glowing with electric energy as he readied himself for more.
The wyvern leader roared again, this time diving straight at Canna with its jaws wide open, frost gathering around its massive fangs. Canna darted to the side with lightning speed, dodging the strike as the wyvern's jaws snapped shut on empty air. But it wasn't finished yet. With a sweep of its tail, it sent a blast of icy wind straight at Canna, forcing him to shield himself with a barrier of crackling energy.
Dravos, watching from below, clicked his tongue in frustration. "Damn it, I can fight wyverns, but not at that speed and definitely not in the air. If only they were on the ground…"
Canna, meanwhile, was having the time of his life. He flew circles around the wyvern, darting in and out of range with lightning-quick precision. Every time the wyvern tried to land a hit, Canna would zap away, leaving nothing but a trail of static in his wake. He fired bolts of condensed lightning at the beast's wings, trying to disrupt its flight, but the wyvern's icy aura deflected most of his attacks.
In response, the wyvern unleashed a powerful blizzard, the air around it turning so cold that even Canna could feel the chill. Massive ice lances formed again, this time more numerous and larger, their jagged tips aimed directly at him.
Canna grinned, summoning his own counterattack. With a flick of his wrist, a surge of lightning exploded from his fingertips, arcing through the sky like a storm given form. The lightning struck the ice lances mid-flight, shattering them into pieces and continuing its path toward the wyvern leader. The beast roared in pain as the lightning struck its side, causing it to falter for a moment in mid-air.
But the great-calamity wyvern was far from finished. It let out an ear-splitting roar and charged at Canna once more, its claws glowing with icy power. Canna braced himself, ready for another round, his eyes alight with anticipation. The battle raged on, the sky crackling with energy as lightning and ice clashed in a deadly dance.
From the ground, Kaida could only watch in awe as Canna and the wyvern continued their duel, each strike shaking the heavens and sending shockwaves through the air. The fight was far from over, and Kaida knew it would be a spectacle to remember.
In the air, Canna smirked as the wyvern let out another ferocious roar, its icy breath swirling around it in a storm. This fight was just beginning.