Chapter 404: Blue Nitro

Chapter 404: The Blue Nitro

Li Wei and his companions pursued the Nitro with frantic haste.

They exhausted every means to blunt its stride, desperate to keep it from shattering the challenge arenas and growing still more formidable.

Where once they had united to slay the beast, their ambitions had now shrunk to merely binding it in place.

The crushing weight of the Nitro’s sheer presence bore down upon them all.

Adaptation was no longer a choice, but a grim necessity.

Yet Li Wei knew it was not a lack of capability that stayed their hands from a killing blow.

It was simply that no one dared to unveil their ultimate trump cards against such a foe.

The more terrifying the prowess the Nitro displayed, the more the surrounding mages gravitated toward the fray.

Before long, twelve sorcerers from disparate factions had coalesced in the vicinity.

A full fifth of all the magi marooned on the isolated island were now gathered here.

"We have no need for illusionists! Illusionists are utterly useless here!"

A summoner’s voice cut through the air, sharp and demanding.

"Their trickery holds no sway over the Nitro. They cannot contribute—tell them to begone!"

Hearing this, Li Wei could only shake his head in silent disdain.

They had assembled to forge a strategy against the monstrous Nitro.

Yet before the counsel could even begin, some were already scheming over how to divide the spoils of war.

The intent of the one proposing the expulsion of the illusionists was transparent.

Since illusion magic could not grip the Nitro, those who wielded it would be passengers in the joint operation.

And those who bore no burden in the battle possessed no right to share in the subsequent plunder.

Better to cast them out from the very start.

The two illusionists present flushed, their expressions souring at the words.

That the Nitro remained impervious to the deceits of the mind was an unassailable truth; they could offer no denial.

But that did not mean they would tamely accept being cast aside.

"Our arts are useless, you say? If our phantoms hadn't provided cover, half your precious summons would be corpses by now!"

Illusions could not master the Nitro's mind, but a well-timed glamour could still deceive its eyes.

A simple trick of light could divert its terrible focus.

Yet, it was nothing more than a momentary distraction.

Seeing the gathering fracturing into open argument, Elfa stepped forward, his voice a commanding roar: "Enough of this bickering!"

"We must bind our strength as one if we are to fell this ancient calamity."

Three magi from the Elemental Tower stood among them: Li Wei, Elfa, and Chloe.

Chloe, a master of the squall, had been trailing Elfa’s steps since the beginning.

The fourth member of their small cabal remained behind, guarding their own arena.

Chloe’s tempests could breathe furious life into Elfa’s flames.

It was precisely for this symbiotic violence that Elfa had brought him along.

Elfa's might was a known quantity, witnessed and respected by many in the throng.

As he commanded the floor, the others yielded to his prestige, offering no voice of dissent.

More than anything, the truth in Elfa's words was undeniable.

Through brief deliberation, the assembly swiftly apportioned their duties.

The summoners and illusionists were tasked with harrying and redirecting the Nitro.

The elemental and spatial magi would unleash the main assault, striving to predict and strike where the beast would tread.

Meanwhile, the alchemists were to race against time, concocting a serum tailored specifically to neutralize the creature.

With their roles cast, the crowd dispersed into action.

Advancing toward its next destination, the Nitro suddenly perceived a sudden multitude of presences blooming around it.

Its heavy footsteps paused for a fleeting breath as it sensed that none of these surrounding entities carried the purple starstones.

Without so much as turning its head, the Nitro pressed onward toward its original quarry with absolute resolve.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

A deluge of summons—some flesh, some mere phantasms—assailed the Nitro from every quadrant.

With a casual backhand, the Nitro shattered a lunging beast.

The creature dissolved into nothingness, vanishing like a popped bubble.

It was but a shadow.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The genuine attacks of the summons rained upon the Nitro's hide, yet they failed to leave a significant mark.

They succeeded only in causing the beast’s stride to falter for a fraction of a second.

"Roar—!"

After its claws bit empty air several times in succession, the Nitro’s jaws split wide to the ears.

It unleashed a roar that seemed to tear the sky and shake the foundations of the earth.

A terrifying gale of sound erupted from its maw, transforming into visible shockwaves that rippled outward with devastating speed.

The tempest struck every tree and summon within a hundred-meter radius.

Boom!

The illusory summons were instantly unraveled by the sonic gale, dissolving into the atmosphere.

The true beasts fared little better; it was as though a colossal hammer had struck their skulls.

Stunned into immediate helplessness, they collapsed into the dirt, their bodies trembling violently, limbs twitching in agony.

The surrounding forest fared worse, the trees exploding into a blizzard of splinters and debris.

Even the earth buckled, forming concentric rings of raised, broken soil.

The sheer destructive power of the Nitro’s sonic wail was staggering.

In a single breath, it had grievously broken every beast arrayed against it.

Heartsick at the sight of their battered companions, the summoners hastily recalled them to the safety of their pocket dimensions.

The Nitro snapped its massive jaws shut. Having swept the irritation from its path, it resumed its march.

It moved with the cold, unyielding purpose of an automaton.

Its sole directive was the accumulation of the purple starstones.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

As Nitoro moved, the ground trembled and groaned beneath his feet.

Suddenly, with a sickening *squish*, his right foot sank deep into the earth.

"Magic Quicksand Trap!"

Nitoro tried to pull his foot free, but the more he struggled, the deeper he sank.

The magical mire slowly swallowed his form.

*Gurgle, gurgle!*

Bubbles began to rise around him.

His lower body was now completely submerged in the enchanted bog.

This quagmire had the power to absorb Nitoro’s strength, rendering his immense physical might useless against its yielding grip.

Purple markings along Nitoro's body flared with dazzling light.

*Buzzzz!*

Magical energy from the surroundings surged toward him.

His brown fur gradually shifted to a brilliant blue.

An aura of bitter cold radiated outward.

*Crack, crack, crack!*

The magic mud froze solid, turning to stone.

With a single powerful motion, Blue Nitoro broke free from the hardened trap.

Onlookers nearby gasped in astonishment.

"Nitoro can use magic?!"

They knew little about this ancient calamity beast.

To see it wield ice magic—freezing the very trap meant to hold it—left them stunned.

After all, that magical quicksand had been carefully chosen by their finest minds.

It was considered the most effective means of subduing Nitoro.

And just as they'd expected, Nitoro’s terrifying brute force proved utterly futile against such a yielding snare.

What no one could have foreseen was that Nitoro possessed the ability to transform—assuming a new form, becoming Blue Nitoro, and gaining mastery over frost.

*Crack, crack, crack!*

Frigid air spread rapidly in every direction.

Trees were instantly encased in ice, transformed into frozen sculptures.

Li Wei felt a chill emanate from Nitoro and sensed something stirring within himself.

He launched a fireball at the creature.

*Whoosh!*

*Boom!*

The fireball struck true.

Ice met flame in a violent collision, erupting in a tremendous explosion.

When the smoke cleared, Li Wei saw that Nitoro had taken damage.

It was minor—a mere scratch—but it signaled a shift.

Blue Nitoro’s defenses had weakened.

Its resistance to fire magic had diminished.

Without needing prompting from Li Wei, the others realized what this meant—and excitement surged among them.

Elfa, beside himself with joy, shouted, “Quick! While its defenses are down—attack with everything you’ve got!”

He unrolled an Elemental Pact.

Binding the essence of fire, he amplified his own pyromantic abilities.

Curious, Li Wei glanced at Elfa’s pact—it looked like nothing more than an ordinary scroll.

But once the bond with fire was sealed, Li Wei immediately felt the ambient fire elementals rushing toward Elfa on their own accord.

Elfa’s power soared.

(End of Chapter)