Online Game: Starting With SSS-Ranked Summons-Chapter 556: The Wind Hawk’s Death [3]

The weapons punched through bodies and wings, dropping birds from the sky in droves as the Winter Beast protected its master from the overwhelming numbers.

"Flamingo—water pressure blasts! Don’t let any through!"

SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH!

High-pressure water jets erupted from the Flamingo’s twin beaks, each stream powerful enough to shatter bones on impact. The aquatic attacks tore through the suicide waves, reducing the Wind Hawk’s followers to broken corpses that plummeted toward the ground below.

With both legendary summons providing defensive coverage, Arthur continued his primary assault without interruption. His katana found the Wind Hawk’s injured wing again, this time cutting deep enough to sever critical tendons.

SLASH!

SCREEE!

The hawk’s agonised cry reflected genuine desperation now. Its left wing hung uselessly, barely responding to neural commands as catastrophic damage overwhelmed its constitution.

Next to their battle, the situation for the Wind Hawk’s forces had deteriorated into complete collapse.

ROAR!

The Mane King stood atop a pile of dead birds, his golden fur matted with blood as he continued his slaughter. Any creature that landed within his reach died instantly, crushed by paw strikes that pulverised skulls and shattered spines.

"Yesss... more minds breaking... more wills shattering..." Bloom’s psychotic whispers accompanied his expanding mental control. Nearly twenty birds now fought for him, their minds completely dominated as they turned on their former comrades with berserker fury.

"AHAHAHA! They’re dropping like leaves! Beautiful dead leaves!" The Cackle Queen’s hysteria reached a fever pitch as her mental paralysis continued freezing birds mid-flight. The ground around her was littered with broken bodies that had crashed after losing motor control.

"Look, Master! We are winning super lots!" the void dragon said excitedly. "The bad birdies are all getting defeated and falling down!"

The numbers told the story clearly. Of the hundreds of superior-rank followers the Wind Hawk had commanded, fewer than half remained combat-effective. The rest lay dead or dying across the battlefield, victims of overwhelming legendary-rank opposition they had no capacity to overcome.

The Wind Hawk’s golden eyes reflected the terrible realization that its carefully built aerial empire was being dismantled in real-time. Decades of dominance, years of training loyal followers, all collapsing within minutes against an enemy who commanded multiple legendary forces simultaneously.

For the first time in its long existence, the Wind Hawk felt genuine fear.

Not the instinctive wariness of facing dangerous prey, but the existential terror of recognising its imminent death. This human possessed power that transcended anything the hawk had encountered—multiple legendary summons, domain contestation capabilities, and personal combat skills that made level differences irrelevant.

Staying meant dying.

The legendary creature’s mind made the calculation with brutal clarity. Pride meant nothing compared to survival. Territory could be reclaimed. Followers could be replaced. But death was permanent.

SCREEE!

The Wind Hawk released a piercing cry—not of challenge or fury, but of retreat. Immediately, it channelled the last reserves of its mana into its wind manipulation, creating powerful air currents that would carry it away from this catastrophic battle.

WHOOOOOOSH!

Despite its injured wing and accumulated wounds, the hawk began accelerating with supernatural speed. Wind currents formed specifically to enhance its flight velocity, pushing it faster than normal aerodynamics would permit.

The legendary creature was running away.

Arthur watched the Wind Hawk’s desperate escape attempt with a smile of satisfaction spreading across his face. His katana remained drawn, blood dripping from its blade as he stood on Aetherion’s back amid the contested domain space.

How times change, Arthur reflected with genuine amusement. Second-order beasts that were incredibly difficult to deal with are now running away from me.

He remembered when encountering even a single legendary-rank creature had represented a life-threatening challenge. The Winter Beast fight had required the use of a lot of his power.

Now? A level 27 second-order beast with hundreds of followers was fleeing in terror, recognising that staying meant certain death.

"Should we chase it, Master?" Aether asked with eager anticipation. "I can taxi us super close before it gets too far!"

Arthur smiled briefly, watching the Wind Hawk’s form grow smaller as it fled across the sky. The creature’s survival instincts had kicked in at exactly the right moment—a few more exchanges and its injuries would have prevented any escape attempt.

But Arthur had no intention of letting such valuable experience escape. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"Aether, let’s go."

The void dragon’s eyes lit up with understanding, a mischievous grin spreading across his small features. "Ooh! Sneaky surprise chase! Aether loves surprises!"

Aetherion’s spatial energy erupted outward, wrapping around Arthur and all his summoned creatures in a cocoon of energy. The Winter Beast, Flamingo, Bloom, Cackle Queen, and Mane King were pulled into the teleportation effect simultaneously.

WHOOSH!

Reality folded around them as Aether executed a long-range spatial jump that covered several miles instantaneously.

The Wind Hawk flew desperately through the sky, wind currents propelling it forward with every ounce of remaining mana. Its injured wing screamed with pain, but survival instincts overrode physical suffering as it focused entirely on escape.

A few more miles... just need distance... then I can hide and heal...

The legendary creature’s mind calculated sanctuary locations—hidden caves, dense forest canopies where aerial pursuit would be difficult, and territorial boundaries where other powerful beasts might inadvertently provide cover.

The hawk’s golden eyes scanned the horizon with desperate hope. The human’s spatial manipulation had range limitations, surely. No teleportation ability could track targets across an unlimited distance. It just needed to gain enough separation to break line of sight and—

Thump.

Something landed on its back.

The Wind Hawk’s entire body went rigid with shock as it felt the unmistakable weight of multiple presences settling onto its spine. Its heart, already racing from exertion and fear, began hammering with pure terror as recognition dawned.

No... impossible... how...

Slowly, dreading what it would see, the hawk turned one of its heads to look at its own back.

Arthur stood there casually, as if standing on a flying legendary beast’s back was the most natural thing in the world. His katana was already drawn. His expression carried the cold satisfaction of a hunter who had just cornered wounded prey.