Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 828 - Taming the Fifth Year - Spirit of the Torch - 4

It could see the mana signatures clearly.

But when five identical signatures surrounded it from different angles, all moving with the same fluid grace, all carrying the same light-infused scythes, the spirit couldnʼt determine which to target.

Lioraʼs eyes widened as she recognized the problem.

Her beast was being overwhelmed not by superior power but by superior tactics.

The field filled with multiple mantises, dozens of copies moving simultaneously in patterns that werenʼt synchronized but deliberately varied.

And the real mantis was hidden somewhere among those clones, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Some jumped through shadows as the original had been doing.

Others ran physically using speed amplified by wind.

Several remained immobile in threatening positions, suggesting preparation for ambush.

The Will-oʼ-Wisp, which had been relying on its capacity to track energy directly to counter the mantisʼs invisibility, now faced a completely different problem.

It could see all the mana signatures clearly.

Too clearly.

The information overload made it difficult to process which target should be prioritized, especially when all the copies moved convincingly and all seemed equally threatening.

Liora attempted filtering information through her connection with the spirit, trying to identify which mantis carried real physical mass versus which were pure energy without substance behind the appearance.

But Ren had been careful in how he structured the clones, giving them sufficient presence that the distinction wasnʼt obvious even under focused scrutiny.

The true mantis took advantage of the confusion immediately.

While the Will-oʼ-Wisp hesitated trying to decide which target to attack, the mantis positioned itself for an attack that would exploit the temporary opening.

Its scythes glowed with concentrated light it had been accumulating during the spiritʼs moment of distraction, preparation for a cut that would carry all the power it could channel in a single blow.

And it attacked from an angle that three different clones were also approaching simultaneously, making it impossible for the Will-oʼ-Wisp to know with certainty which was real until the scythes were already connecting.

The cut penetrated deeply into the spiritʼs mass, dispersing a considerable portion of its form and causing damage that made Liora feel sharp pain through the bond.

The mantis was pressing now with the advantage the illusions provided, forcing the Will-oʼ-Wisp to defend against multiple threats when only one was real but all seemed equally dangerous.

Each second the spirit spent verifying if a target was genuine was a second where the real mantis could reposition for the next attack.

It was psychological warfare as much as physical combat, mental attrition that accumulated even when physical damage was limited.

The Will-oʼ-Wisp managed to connect a solid blow, burning mass enveloping one of the clones and discovering it was false when it dispersed without resistance.

But by the time it completed that verification, another attack from the real mantis was already connecting from a completely different direction.

Liora observed with growing frustration as her most versatile beast was forced into defensive position against an opponent that should have been overcome by the advantage of base strength and faster teleportation.

The mantis had found a way to neutralize that advantage using a combination of shadow jumps and clones that converted the Will-oʼ-Wispʼs pure speed into disadvantage when each movement could be toward a false target.

And the mantis managed to press hard enough to cause additional damage with each successful exchange, slow but consistent accumulation that reduced the Will-oʼ-Wispʼs effectiveness as spiritual essence was eroded by light-infused cuts.

But Liora hadnʼt reached this point without having her own resources saved for emergencies.

Sheʼd been avoiding using her secret weapon because the cost was considerable.

But present circumstances left no option if she wanted to secure victory here.

Liora channeled a specific command through the bond, instruction the Will-oʼ-Wisp immediately recognized as the signal to execute a technique theyʼd been perfecting for months but that had never been used in real combat before an audience.

The next time the mantis attacked, scythes cutting toward the spiritʼs mass, the Will-oʼ-Wisp became untouchable.

Not a conventional dodge or block but fundamental transformation of its state of existence.

The fire stopped being a semi-solid mass of spiritual energy and became something more ethereal, a form that existed at the boundary between materiality and pure energy.

The mantisʼs scythes passed through the spirit without encountering resistance, cutting empty air where a moment before there had been a solid target.

And in that instant of confusion when the mantis tried to understand what had failed, the Will-oʼ-Wisp exploded.

Not gradual dispersion or controlled energy release but massive detonation that liberated a considerable portion of the spiritʼs mass in a point-blank explosion.

It was a deliberate sacrifice of its own substance and energy to cause devastating damage to an enemy that was too close to dodge when the attack manifested without prior telegraph.

The explosion engulfed the mantis completely, spiritual heat penetrating defenses that had resisted the fireʼs conventional attacks up to this point.

Because the mantis had a prodigious attack that made it capable of damaging opponents much stronger than itself when its blows connected appropriately.

But its defense was mediocre compared to beasts of similar rank, thin exoskeleton optimized for speed instead of resistance to damage.

When the explosion dissipated sufficiently to see the result, the mantis was on the ground.

Its body showed extensive damage where the fire had burned through sections of the exoskeleton, blackened areas communicating how much energy had penetrated its inadequate defenses.

It was at deathʼs door, barely conscious through the bond that Ren felt fracturing under the weight of the accumulated damage.

Liora hadnʼt wanted to use a technique so costly.

But sheʼd had no other option when the mantis had proven more problematic than sheʼd anticipated.

It was a choice between spending resources now to secure victory or risking defeat while that wouldnʼt matter if she lost anyway.

The mantis attempted to rise, battle instinct pushing it to continue fighting despite damage that should have left it completely incapacitated.

It managed to half-raise itself, one of its front legs trembling with the effort of supporting weight while it tried to reorient toward the Will-oʼ-Wisp floating several meters distant.

But the effort was too much.

Its body wasnʼt responding appropriately to commands, neurological damage from the spiritual heat had interrupted connections that allowed coordinated movement.

And before it could even begin a final desperate attack, Liora finished it.

It was merciful in a certain sense.

The Will-oʼ-Wisp enveloped the mantis completely but without additional explosion this time, simply applying constant heat that forced Ren to sever the bond before damage became permanent.

The mantis disappeared into light particles.

Ren felt the emptiness where the bond had been, that familiar but never comfortable void that came from losing connection with a beast.

Now he only had the wolverine left, his third and in many aspects most versatile creature.

And although the Will-oʼ-Wisp was spent, mass reduced and energy clearly depleted after using such a costly technique...

He still had to face the Bashe.