Chương 65: Chapter 64 The Fall of the Drake

"GRAAAAAH!" The enormous quantity of water released from the compressed well spread violently in every direction inside the drake's skull. Only a single narrow stream struck the roof of its mouth. Even so, the force lifted the massive creature's head into the air. Karath continued releasing the pressure. Water vanished from the well at a terrifying rate. The stream tore through flesh, bone, and brain tissue without slowing. The drake thrashed above him.

Its claws tore through the earth, and its tail struck the ruined walls and surrounding ground. The monster's enormous body possessed strength capable of crushing stone, yet none of that power could protect it from the blade already cutting through the inside of its skull. The attack did not challenge its scales. It ignored the armour completely. Karath had aimed through the open mouth because it offered a path to the softer tissue within.

The creature's own attempt to swallow him had exposed the only opening he needed. The concentrated jet continued drilling upward. The pressure Karath had built through the well was finally escaping, and once released, it could no longer be controlled gently. It behaved like a blade with no regard for whatever stood in its path. The drake's roar twisted into a shriek. Its head jerked backward as the stream carved through the skull from within. Karath remained seated beside the shattered well.

Blood flowed from his nose, mouth, eyes, and ears. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. His body trembled uncontrollably beneath the strain of manipulating an amount of mana far beyond his natural capacity. The mana stone continued releasing energy into his hand. Karath forced every remaining trace into the spell. There could be no second attempt. If he stopped too early, the wounded monster might survive.

If it survived, the mana stone would already be empty, and the settlement would stand open before an enraged drake. Karath could not allow that. The Bloodclaw Tribe had already done everything within its power. Krog had planned the hunt. Kurdan had risked his life to lure the creature. The warriors had dug the enormous pit through the monsoon. The women had sharpened countless stones and bones. Kaden had struck the scale between its eyes with all the strength the village possessed.

Every tribesperson had contributed to creating this final opportunity. Karath would not waste it. The well emptied further. When nearly half the water had been discharged, the pressure inside the drake's skull reached its conclusion. BOOM! The back of the creature's head exploded. Scales, blood, fragments of bone, brain matter, and water scattered across the settlement. For one grotesque moment, the dying drake became the centre of a horrifying fountain. Its vast body froze.

The jaws that had been descending toward Karath remained open. The light faded from its reptilian eyes. Its legs gave way. The massive creature collapsed beside the destroyed well with enough force to shake the village. Karath watched it fall through vision blurred by blood and exhaustion. The mana stone in his hand had lost its brilliant colours. The enormous energy sealed within it was gone. Every pattern Karath had struggled to maintain collapsed with the death of the target. The remaining pressure dispersed.

The trembling in his body worsened. He could no longer feel his fingers. The ogre femur lay nearby, cracked from the earlier explosion. The stone wall surrounding the settlement had been broken. The well had been half emptied and stripped of its protective barrier. Mud, blood, and pieces of the drake covered the ground. The cost had been enormous. Still, no flames had consumed the tribe. The warriors had not been slaughtered.

His mother, the children, the elders, and every other member of the Bloodclaw Tribe remained alive. Karath had found a method. It had been dangerous, inefficient, and possible only once. It combined primitive infrastructure, a rare magical resource, First and Second Circle patterns, and knowledge from a world that had never heard of mana. It was not a traditional spell. No mage in Renstein's books had described such an attack.

Karath had dismantled magic like code and rebuilt it into a weapon suited to the problem before him. A magical waterjet cutter. The result had killed a creature that stone weapons, monster bones, traps, and ordinary spells could barely wound. Karath's second life had begun inside a freezing hut as a helpless infant. He had once been unable to move, speak, or understand the orcs surrounding him. Now a monster powerful enough to destroy the entire settlement lay dead at his feet.

The world called creatures like Karath monsters. Yet it was Karath who had protected his family from something truly monstrous. His body leaned forward. Strength abandoned every muscle at once. Even remaining conscious required more energy than he possessed.

"Die... you damned lizard..." Those were Karath's final words. Then blood continued flowing from his nose, mouth, eyes, ears, and countless damaged vessels across his body as he collapsed unconscious beside the well.