NOVPUB
Chapter 336: 336
Garrock’s heart pounded, but he couldn’t afford to mourn the loss. Not now. They were almost at the island.
"Keep moving!" he roared, his voice rough with both anger and determination.
As they finally neared the edge of the floating rock platform, Garrock let out a deep growl. With one last swing of their bodies, they hurled themselves toward the island. The impact was hard—stone meeting stone—but they had made it. Solid ground.
The relief was short-lived. Another screech echoed through the air as a second sky beast—a larger, more menacing creature—dove toward the Terra Clan. Its wings beat fiercely against the air, and lightning crackled from its eyes. Garrock realized it was coming in fast, aiming directly for them.
"We can’t fight it here! Not like this!" one of the clan members shouted.
But Garrock knew there was no running. They had no other islands to jump to, and no time to evade the attack. His mind worked quickly, and a plan began to form. The island beneath them, though small, was made of solid rock.
"Gather close!" he commanded, positioning his clanmates around him. "I have an idea."
They huddled together as Garrock dug his stone-covered hands deep into the island’s surface, his muscles straining as he focused all his strength. The ground around them began to tremble.
"We can’t manipulate clouds," Garrock growled, "but we can still manipulate the earth. And this rock—this is our territory!"
With a mighty heave, Garrock ripped a massive boulder out of the floating island’s surface. His clanmates quickly followed suit, pulling out chunks of rock. Just as the sky beast dived toward them, its talons poised to strike, Garrock and the others launched their stones at the creature with all their might.
The rocks collided with the bird-like beast in mid-air, knocking it off balance. It screeched in fury, its wings flapping wildly as it tried to recover. The Terra Clan didn’t waste a second. They continued to throw boulder after boulder at the creature, using the island’s rocky foundation to their advantage.
Finally, with a pained cry, the sky beast flapped its wings and retreated, disappearing into the clouds.
Garrock stood tall, his breathing heavy but his resolve unshaken. "We may be in the sky," he said, "but we’re not out of this fight yet."
The other contestant teams, meanwhile, were staring at the floating island with a golden flag on it. Their badges informed them that it was worth two points.
The Mermen, after landing gracefully, found themselves unable to do anything in the sky. There was an island favorable to them with a waterfall, but they hadn’t landed on it, as they were disoriented after being suddenly dropped into the sky zone.
The Ripple clan was in a similar situation as the Mermen, as the environment was unfavorable to them. They watched the Zephyr clan, along with the Harpies and a few Apeling students, who were flying toward the island, battling to see who would get there first. Both the Mermen and Ripple clan were thinking of giving up, as it seemed all hope was lost.
Another clan facing the same problem was the Werewolves. Only their leader was in the fourth stage, while the others were in the third stage. It would take a lot of mana to summon enough starlight to create a path to the island with the flag.
Suddenly, there was a change. The Mermen, Ripple clan, and Werewolves looked back and saw a whole island moving, and it wasn’t slow. This island was the one the Terra clan had landed on.
Upon landing, the Terra clan immediately formed a formation specific to their clan, merging with the island as if it were an extension of their bodies. With the will of the entire Terra clan, they began moving the Island to get to the flag.
The Mermen and Ripple Clan watched in stunned silence, their eyes wide as they saw the island move under the Terra Clan’s control. Even the Werewolves, struggling with their own predicament, could hardly believe what was unfolding before them.
A low murmur rippled through the members of the Ripple Clan. "They’re... moving an entire island?" one of them muttered in disbelief.
The Mermen leader, still fixated on the Terra Clan, clenched his fists. "We’ve been fools," he growled to his comrades. "The sky isn’t our battlefield, but they’ve made it theirs. We need to adapt, or we lose."
The Ripple Clan’s team leader echoed the sentiment with his own team. "Adapt? Easier said than done in this forsaken place. But... we can’t just stand here. If we want a chance, we need to act."
Before the conversation could continue, the unmistakable screech of a sky beast rang out again. But this time, it wasn’t targeting the Terra Clan. The Harpies and Apeling students, still locked in their frenzied aerial battle above, had drawn the beast’s attention.
Meanwhile, inside the moving island, Garrock was formulating a new plan with his team. Moving the island might have seemed like a monumental task, but for them, it was far from exhausting. As a clan attuned to earth elements, merging with the island’s soil replenished the mana they expended to move it. However, it still wasn’t enough for them to secure a victory, as the other teams were closing in on the flag.
"Lift it," Garrock said abruptly.
The Terra Clan members turned to him, confusion spreading across their faces. "What?" one of them asked.
"Lift the whole island!" Garrock barked. "We’ve been pushing it forward, but we’re not thinking big enough. If we lift it and throw it, we’ll be there before they even touch the flag!"
His clanmates exchanged uncertain glances. The plan was reckless—bordering on madness. But Garrock’s eyes were filled with unwavering determination.
Outside, the other teams could see the island rising higher and higher into the air. 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝒑𝙪𝒃.𝒄𝒐𝙢
Back with the Mermen team, the Sharkmen took a deep breath as they glanced at the clouds. The team leader, eyes focused on the sky, muttered, "They’re not exactly water, but they’ll do."
The tattoos hidden beneath their armor began to glow as their already imposing figures grew even larger. The spell they cast absorbed the moisture from the air, bolstering their strength. With their naturally immense power, this gave them an overwhelming boost.
A thunderous sound followed as the Sharkmen made their bold move, leaping from the island they were on to another. They left the Mermaids and Murlocs behind.
"They’re... pulling water from the clouds?" one of the commentators outside asked in disbelief.
His astonishment quickly turned into admiration. "Clever bastards."
The Ripple Clan, renowned for their mastery over water, watched in shock as the Sharkmen of the Mermen team surged through the air, defying the very environment that had initially put them at a disadvantage. The Mermen had adapted, using the clouds themselves as a source of power.
"Well, if they can manipulate the moisture," murmured Drea, the leader of the Ripple Clan, her eyes gleaming with sudden inspiration, "then we can use the air and clouds to our advantage too."
Ripples of shimmering water began forming around the Ripple Clan members as they channeled their magic. They had been hesitant at first, stuck in the sky, far from their natural element. But now, seeing the Mermen tap into the atmospheric moisture, Drea saw potential.
"Focus! There’s water in the air, and there’s plenty of it," she called out, her voice cutting through the winds. "We can’t move islands like the Terra Clan, but we can move ourselves!"
The Ripple Clan members nodded in understanding. With graceful motions, they began weaving streams of water from the surrounding mist and clouds, shaping them into long, winding ropes of liquid. These ropes lashed out like tendrils, connecting one floating island to the next. The Ripple Clan wasn’t about to leap blindly through the sky like the Mermen, but they had their own method—one born of precision and finesse.
"We’ll create bridges," Drea instructed, moving quickly. "We can control the flow of the water and use it to swing from island to island. Stay close, and don’t lose focus!"
The first member of the Ripple Clan grasped the water rope and swung toward the nearest island, their body flowing like the water they commanded. As they touched down, they formed another rope, allowing their teammates to follow. One by one, they began slinging themselves across the islands with practiced grace, moving steadily toward the central floating island with the golden flag.
Korak narrowed his eyes at the Mermen’s airborne surge and the graceful arcs of the Ripple Clan. His packmates stood ready, their breath misting in the cold air, their icy blue eyes gleaming with anticipation. They had hesitated earlier, unsure of how to deal with the floating islands that kept them far from the solid ground they were used to. But now, Korak had a plan.
"The air is thin, but it holds enough moisture for us," Korak growled, his voice a deep rumble. He raised his hands toward the sky, sensing the dampness in the clouds. "We’ve got the cold. We’ve got the ice. We’ll make our own path."
