Chapter 426: Chapter 426 - Tamers War - Last Second The process turned out to be more complicated than they had initially anticipated. Even with protective equipment, some accidents happened when people touched golden spores with uncovered body parts... an exposed elbow here, an unprotected wrist there. But thanks to "Mooshito", a nickname both Ren and the mushroom continued using reluctantly because everyone else had adopted it, there were no serious problems. The little mushroom could absorb and control golden spores that accidentally came into contact with people’s bodies, neutralizing them before they could cause adverse effects. "Careful!" Liora shouted when Luna almost touched an open container with her sleeve. "I’ve got it," Ren murmured, taking Luna’s hand and directing Mooshito to absorb the few spores that had escaped. Luna became a moon tomato. After hours of intense work, they had managed to create several dozen golden spore bombs, each capable of affecting an area the size of a large house. "Do you think it will be enough?" Larissa asked, observing their improvised arsenal. "For a first test," Ren responded. "If they work as I expect... And if we need more..." He gestured toward the few remaining materials. "If Pegasus helps us get more materials... We can make another batch." Liora lifted one of the bombs, studying it carefully. "It’s incredible to think something so small could affect high-rank soldiers." While carefully packing bombs for transport, none of them could completely foresee whether the impact of their small improvised workshop would be significant. But they would find out soon. ♢♢♢♢ Sirius looked at the enormous number of monsters launching themselves at him like a wave of death. Especially from behind, Kharzan’s Simurgh and Valdris’s Pyroclast-Shell Bear, two quite powerful Gold-rank beasts cutting through the air with speed that promised to reach him very soon. ’Long-distance jumping is no longer possible for me,’ he calculated desperately, feeling how his mana reserves flickered like a candle about to be extinguished. ’I’ll have to make several short jumps.’ Minor jumps consumed considerably less energy, but would also keep him in recharge for longer periods between each maneuver. He began immediately, disappearing into shadows and reappearing fifty meters back. Then another fifty meters. Then another. Very good compared to other shadow tamers, but very little by the standards of someone like him. Soon he realized the horrible reality: flying beasts were too fast when he didn’t have complete freedom of movement. Each jump left him exposed for critical seconds, and the distance advantage he had was rapidly diminishing. The inevitability of his situation became clear... In the end, he was forced to summon his Celestial Tiger with what little mana remained. The great beast materialized, but it was a pathetic shadow of its former power. It had little available mana and could barely maintain its physical form, almost transparent, like a ghost struggling to exist in the material world. But despite its weakened state, it could carry him and run. Sirius mounted his companion of decades, feeling the familiar synchronization between tamer and beast even in these desperate circumstances. The tiger ran with everything it had left, its paws barely touching the ground as it propelled itself forward. However, it was still slower than the flyers. And in the end, they caught up. The Simurgh arrived first, surpassing the speed of other beasts and descending from above like a feathered meteor of fire and regenerative fury. Sirius’s Celestial Tiger turned to face the threat, but its projected mana form was almost transparent. When it attacked, its claws cut through the air as if made of light striking the bird, but this didn’t stop it with just that. The Simurgh’s blow was devastating. Fire claws pierced through the tiger as if it were mist, and the great beast disintegrated instantly. The tiger’s previous attack, poor in mana, barely managed to scratch the Gold 1 Simurgh a little, which suffered purification in its armor and fire feathers, but being a regeneration specialist, recovered almost immediately. The blow that impacted Sirius sent him to the ground with brutal force, pain from the broken bond shooting through his body like thousands of needles. It was like losing a part of himself. ♢♢♢♢ Through pure force of will, Sirius opened his eyes and managed to get up... drag himself and make a few more jumps in the shadows. But his mana was much worse now, having lost the tiger’s constant contribution. Each jump left him weaker, slower, more unconscious, more vulnerable. The circle of enemy beasts closed inexorably. ’Is this truly the end? Without achieving his promise?’ he asked himself as the Simurgh rose above him once more, preparing for the blow that would end everything. Fire claws descended like final judgment. And then the earth opened. Massive stakes of rock and cristal sprouted from the ground like teeth of some primordial monster, impaling the Simurgh in full descent. The fire bird shrieked in agony as spears pierced its wings and chest, its regeneration struggling against damage arriving faster than it could heal. Some beasts dodged the stakes with desperate maneuvers, but then something even more massive emerged from the earth. An enormous monster, a creature of rock and crystals that seemed to be part of the earth itself, rose directly beneath Sirius and swallowed him completely. ♢♢♢♢ From the creature’s back, Julius emerged with his Qilin’s horns manifested brilliantly on his head, controlling earth with precision that defied comprehension thanks to his two beasts specialized in the only element that synergizes well with itself. His Golden Earth Wolverine had covered itself in earth to move as one with it and had secured Sirius in its large internal space. The vast majority of beasts that had been pursuing Sirius were flyers, and couldn’t follow them underground. Valdris’s bear was closest, but the space advantage it hadn’t managed to cover while running, and earth being half of its elemental affinity, wouldn’t be able to move as fast as Julius’s double-earth combo. In the protective space inside the earth creature, Sirius struggled to catch his breath while Julius maintained the tunnel stable around them. "Are you alive?" Julius asked through the magical space without taking concentration away from controlling his massive creation. "Barely," Sirius murmured, instinctively touching the place where he had felt the pain of temporary loss of connection with his tiger. "My mana is..." "I know. But you’re alive, and while we can’t count on you to stop them longer, at least it means we can regroup and our kingdom doesn’t lose a great tamer." Above, they could hear the sound of frustrated beasts trying to dig downward, but Julius’s creature moved through earth as if it were water, keeping them always one step ahead of their pursuers. Julius had managed to save Sirius at the last possible moment. It was a rescue that had required perfect timing and a small amount of miracle. But now they had to decide what to do next, because while they had avoided immediate death, war continued raging above their heads.