[Screeeech!]
Despite colliding head-on with the Grade-1 Aerial Beast: Sky Megalodon, Horus remained relatively intact.
This was because I had already prepared for the collision by wrapping my entire body with bone tendrils, reinforced with the [Steelization] and [Hardening] abilities obtained from Ouroboros and the Mossback Kupf.
The problem, however, was me.
["Kyaaah! A-Are you crazy?!"]
Esther's scream echoed as I threw myself without hesitation toward the Sky Megalodon.
I knew it.
I knew this was madness.
Clinging to the back of a living beast at this altitude—especially the back of a Grade-1 Flying Beast, Sky Megalodon—was not a sane act.
But a gamble always carries immense risk.
Therefore, the reward from winning the gamble must also be equivalent.
"Janus!"
With my shout, jet-black bone tendrils shot out, riding along Janus.
[Summoning 'Ankelenth's Spear'!]
[Summon duration for 'Ankelenth's Spear': 36 minutes 12 seconds.]
Grabbing the jet-black spear that extended from my left hand, I stabbed it into the Sky Megalodon's fin.
The Megalodon's fin was impressively thick and sturdy, but it was no match for Ankelenth's Spear.
Especially since I had put my full power into the thrust.
[ROOOAAARRR!!!]
The Sky Megalodon thrashed violently after being attacked at one of its vital points.
If my timing had been even slightly off, I might have fallen to my death.
"Hold still!"
As I braced myself using Ankelenth's Spear embedded in the Megalodon's fin, countless bone tendrils extended from Janus.
Swish, swish, swish...
They gripped the Sky Megalodon's fin around the embedded spear, anchoring me firmly in place.
'...I've at least succeeded in getting up here.'
The Sky Megalodon was undoubtedly a threatening beast, but due to its physical structure, once I managed to get on its back and hold on, it became a viable target to hunt.
Of course, when facing the Sky Megalodon from the Ark, it was practically impossible to pull off something like this.
[Kikik! Kiiik!]
Bone tendrils from Janus slithered into the wound made by Ankelenth's Spear, digging deeper to anchor firmly.
[ROOOOAAARRR!!!]
The Sky Megalodon let out a fierce roar, thrashing even more wildly.
How could such a massive creature remain airborne with that body structure?
One of the answers lay in its fin.
Simply put, the Sky Megalodon's fin was its most crucial weakness.
[GUUUOOOHHH───!!!]
The Megalodon's resistance grew more intense as its body flipped upside down.
What Janus was doing now was prying open the wound at the most vital of vital points and driving in a wedge.
Naturally, the pain must have been excruciating.
But the creature was making one critical mistake—by forcibly flipping its body, it was only adding more strain to the fin it was trying to protect.
In other words, it would hurt far more than before.
[GUOOOHHH!!!]
Unable to withstand the pain any longer, the Sky Megalodon found its balance again.
Realizing that forcing its body to flip would only increase its agony, it had no choice but to stabilize.
'It's pointless.'
Even if it briefly avoided the pain, the fact that I was still on its back didn't change.
However, continuously flipping its body would risk tearing off its own fin, leaving the Sky Megalodon no real choice.
[Kikik!]
Once the wedge was firmly set, I dismissed and resummoned Ankelenth's Spear.
Among all the weapons I had, Ankelenth's Spear was the only one that could deal significant damage to the Sky Megalodon.
'Time to get serious.'
Despite its desperate thrashing in midair to shake me off, I had already secured the wedge on its fin.
No matter how wildly it struggled, it couldn't throw me off.
Crrrk, crrrkk...
Muscles all over my body strained around the arm gripping Ankelenth's Spear.
Maintaining balance while the Sky Megalodon flailed was tough enough, but using my weapon with full force made every muscle cry out.
'First strike.'
Raising Ankelenth's Spear high, I drove it forcefully into the Sky Megalodon's back.
"Hup!"
Thud!
Even with Ankelenth's Spear driven into it, the Sky Megalodon's thick hide didn't shed a drop of blood.
But that didn't mean it was ineffective.
[ROOOAAARRR!!!]
A monstrous roar loud enough to be an attack on its own proved that my actions weren't pointless.
'The most exposed weakness of the Sky Megalodon is its fin. Cutting it off would make it crash to the ground...'
For now, I set that option aside.
Even if I made it crash from this height, killing a beast like the Sky Megalodon wouldn't be easy.
Although rendering it combat-ineffective in this war had value, I had to think further ahead.
After the trouble I went through to retrieve the Queen Bee's corpse, dealing with a Sky Megalodon in the middle of a full-scale wave would be even more daunting.
'Besides... the Sky Megalodon's corpse isn't something Horus can carry.'
If it crashed, I would essentially have to abandon its body.
Without Janus and Horus, it might have been different, but I wasn't about to waste such a valuable opportunity.
The conclusion was simple.
I needed to deal enough damage to the Sky Megalodon to incapacitate it without making it crash to the ground.
"Hup!"
I swung Ankelenth's Spear once more, and finally, blood spurted from the Sky Megalodon's back.
At last, I had inflicted significant damage.
[ROOOAAARRRRR───!!!!]
The Sky Megalodon's thrashing became even more violent.
Of course, I wouldn't be shaken off that easily.
Just as I was about to strike down with Ankelenth's Spear again—
["Master!"]
With Esther's warning, something rushed toward me at breakneck speed, slicing through the air above my head.
Swwiiish!!!
I instinctively ducked and then aimed my Ark-15 automatic conversion rifle to fire back.
Tat-tat-tat-tat!
But the assailant dodged even my quick response, as if it had anticipated my counterattack.
Raising my head cautiously, I finally identified the attacker.
[Kikik, Kikikik!]
Grade-2 Rock Monster: Demon Statue Gargoyle.
Alongside the Red-Winged Wyvern, it was one of the most troublesome foes in this multi-wave assault.
'I wondered where it was hiding.'
The Sky Megalodon wasn't a leader or commander that rallied other monsters.
It was a destroyer, soaring through the sky and obliterating whatever it saw.
That's why no other beasts had interfered with this fight—until now.
I was, after all, right in the heart of the enemy's territory, so it was only natural to face such situations.
'Have the giant bees mostly been wiped out?'
No, rather, it was impressive that they had held out this long despite being so few compared to the total number of flying beasts.
No matter how many or how strong the giant bees were, the other beasts far outnumbered and outclassed them.
[Screeeech!]
The Demon Statue Gargoyle lunged at me.
'Its outer shell is already cracked. The Ark-15 automatic conversion rifle should be enough to deal with it.'
Just as I loaded armor-piercing rounds and aimed the Ark-15 automatic conversion rifle—
[Screeeech!]
Horus swooped in, snatching the Demon Statue Gargoyle by the nape.
Even I didn't see that coming.
["Nice one, Bone Buddy!"]
...Right. Now that I thought about it, I wasn't fighting alone.
Even though I was far from the Ark, I still had allies here.
["That's right! Good job!"]
Just as Esther said, Horus's power had now reached almost mid-level among Grade-1 monsters.
A wounded Demon Statue Gargoyle, caught off guard, had no chance of resisting Horus.
[Kyak, Kyakyak!]
Countless jet-black bone tendrils shot out from Horus's entire body.
The pitch-black bone tendrils, clearly influenced by Ouroboros's Reverse Scale, easily pierced through the tough shell of the Demon Statue Gargoyle.
Rip, rip—
Was it punishment for daring to attack me?
The Demon Statue Gargoyle, still alive, suffered the gruesome fate of having its flesh and blood torn away by Horus.
[Gyaaah, Gyagyagyak!]
The gargoyle let out horrid screams, struggling desperately, but it was already caught from behind by Horus.
No matter how much it thrashed, there was nothing it could do against him.
[Guuuh...]
The Demon Statue Gargoyle's vitality rapidly drained, its body gradually going limp.
'Looks like that side is more or less handled.'
But there was no time to relax.
Although Horus had completely overpowered and subdued the Demon Statue Gargoyle, the overall situation was still not favorable.
[Screeeech!]
[Kyahhh!]
To prove that point, several flying beasts revealed their claws and charged at me.
They weren't particularly strong monsters, so I could take them down easily, but I couldn't keep this up forever.
'I need to hurry.'
I slammed down Ankelenth's Spear again.
This was my best strike, pulling in not only my own strength but also Janus and Esther.
Thunk!
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
Once, twice, thrice, four times...
Even as my arm spasmed from pushing my physical limits, I didn't stop.
Relentlessly, without pause.
I kept striking with Ankelenth's Spear, over and over.
[Grooooo...]
Maybe because it couldn't cover its back, the Sky Megalodon, unable to endure any longer, staggered heavily.
Then, slowly but surely, it began to descend toward the ground.
Now's the time.
It wasn't a full crash yet, but it had lost almost all will to resist.
Sensing that the opportunity had finally arrived, I shouted.
"Horus!"
Soon enough, Horus, who had finished dealing with the Demon Statue Gargoyle, returned to my side.
Even as Horus approached, the Sky Megalodon showed no reaction at all.
Just as I expected, it had already reached its limit.
"Devour it."
At my command, Horus and Janus worked in unison, thrusting bone tendrils all over the Sky Megalodon's body.
Thud!
Thud! Thud!
Under normal circumstances, the Sky Megalodon would never have allowed such easy penetration by bone tendrils, but now it had lost even the will to resist.
Apart from a few weak struggles, it barely put up a fight.
Since the moment I took control of its back, its fate was practically sealed.
Rip, rip...
Working together, Janus and Horus began absorbing the Sky Megalodon's blood and flesh.
During that time, other monsters and beasts tried to take advantage of Horus and Janus's vulnerability, rushing in to attack.
But unlike them, I remained combat-ready and immediately provided covering fire with my Ark-15 automatic conversion rifle.
Boom!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Although the A-985 explosive rounds seemed less impressive amid the scale of this massive battle, they were more than enough to fend off ambushes.
And finally,
Horus and Janus finished feasting, and the Sky Megalodon's descent rapidly accelerated.
It was time for me to make my escape.
[Grade-1 Aerial Beast: Sky Megalodon, has been slain!]
[You have achieved an incredible feat in the midst of the Beast Legion!]
[Tenacity stat has increased.]
[7 -> 8]
[Trait acquired: 'Ruler of the Skies'.]
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[Ruler of the Skies]
— He who dominates the skies.
— Damage dealt while airborne increases by 20%, and damage received decreases by 20%.
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