After Rhydian killed the serpent, she didn't stop her attacks and instead switched targets. Now that she was no longer bothered by it or the spider, and since two out of the three enemies were stuck on land for the most part, she was free to turn her attention to the Eagle!
Truthfully, this one was physically the weakest out of the group, but its razor-sharp claws and speed made up for its lacking strength. Thus, in a 1v1 scenario, it stood no chance against Rhydian.
*SWOOSH!*
Spitting out a few chunks of flesh, she stared at the Eagle with eyes full of killing intent. She wanted nothing more than to rip its guts out and tear off its head, and that's what she aimed to do!
The Eagle, who felt Rhydian's gaze wash over her, felt its blood run cold. Its instincts screamed, "DANGER, DANGER, DANGER!" knowing that if it didn't flee now, it would die. Therefore, without hesitation, it turned around and fled.
Seeing this, Rhydian snorted coldly, wrapped her body in golden lightning, and shot after it! The panther on the ground jumped after her, but it was no match for the flying wolf.
In just a few seconds, the two of them traveled a few dozen kilometers before Rhydian caught up to it.
"SCREEEECH!"
The Eagle cried out as the feeling of death invaded its very being. It knew that Rhydian was right on its tail and closing in fast. However, it was already traveling at max speed! If it wanted to fly more quickly and have any hope of surviving this situation, it had to do something drastic.
It had to burn its Blood Essence!
Doing so would reduce its lifespan, potential, and even cultivation if it went on long enough, but none of that mattered. It was going to die anyway!
Just like how one would expect a Rank 8 beast to act, once it came to a decision, it didn't hesitate to act on it and began to burn its Blood Essence to boost its power.
*FWOOSH!*
Power filled its veins as the Eagle ballooned in size, trying to contain the overflowing strength. With its newfound power, the Eagle flapped its wings harder than its ever flapped them before and shot off into the distance.
Rhydian narrowed her eyes, watching the Eagle get further and further away from her. She thought about letting it go and returning to the two remaining foes, but she was a little unwilling to do so.
It just tried to kill her! How could she allow it to live after that?!
'Do you think you can come and go as you please? After you caused so much trouble for Master and me?' Rhydian sneered in her mind and increased her speed using more of her Qi combined with the Wind Element.
The Wind Qi wrapped around her body, making her feel not only lighter but more aerodynamic. She felt that instead of fighting against the wind to fly, she was one with it, facing no resistance ahead of her.
Having gained the extra speed, she caught up to the Eagle within a second and latched her mouth around its neck!
"SCREEEEEEE-!!"
*Snap!*
The Eagle cried out in shock and pain, but before it could struggle, Rhydian twisted its neck, killing it instantly, then ripped off its head with a plop.
Now that she had finished off the third Rank 8 beast, she turned around and returned to the mountain Mira was under, with the Eagle's corpse still in her mouth. She couldn't let such precious food go to waste, after all.
A few seconds later, Rhydian appeared over the final two beasts, the Earth Titan Bear and the black panther she could barely sense. These two were the ones Rhydian was the most worried about.
While she wasn't quite as wary of the Earth Titan Bear, as he was just a giant target for her, the panther was a different story. Even if she disregarded its strength, its smaller size and thin presence made it a formidable enemy.
Neither would be so bad to face alone, but the main problem was the bear. Its attributes clearly leaned heavily toward physical strength, meaning her attacks will be less effective against it. She also can't disregard the power contained within its body, as a few slaps from those thick, heavy paws and she'd be in trouble.
Her only saving grace right now was that she had air superiority. Since the two of them were Rank 8, they could also "fly", but because they don't have wings nor are they a unique species that can travel through the air, hovering is about all they can do.
Rhydian flapped her wings above the two of them, ensuring she stayed out of range as she contemplated her options.
'I don't want to fight the two of them if possible. They won't be as easy as the other three. Our fight will undoubtedly attract the attention of even more beasts. Not to mention, it would disturb.' Rhydian thought, staring at the bear and panther, 'But how do I get them to leave without them making a fuss?'
As she was deep in thought, the bear growled, annoyed that its prey was flying in the air, out of reach. It raised its two front paws and slammed them into the ground!
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*
The impact caused the surrounding earth to quake for kilometers in every direction and flattened out another portion of the mountain, but the bear wasn't done yet. Reaching down and grabbing a handful of boulders, it stared at Rhydian and hurled them into the sky!
*FWOOP!* *BOOOOOOM!*
The boulders shot at supersonic speeds, reaching the flying wolf in a split second.
Rhydian, who was still contemplating her options, sensed danger and hurriedly moved out of the way, but because she reacted too slowly, one of the boulders slipped her wing!
"Arf! (Ouch!)"
She squealed in surprise and dropped in altitude just enough for the panther and bear to attack her with ease. To which they did. The bear stood up and swatted the air like he was smacking an insignificant fly, while the panther exuded a black smoke before disappearing.
Rhydian sensed this, and her wings gave a few powerful thrusts, launching her in the air out of harm's way.
Although their attacks missed her, they didn't let up on the aggression. The panther disappeared with a poof and hid somewhere on the mountain while the bear kept chucking boulders at her!
Suddenly, Rhydian's connection with Mira was overwhelmed with irritation and rage, and she came back to her senses extremely quickly. She stared at the incoming rocks, her eyes wide in horror but not at the danger of the attack, but because that big hunk of meat finally ran Mira's patience thin. After that last attack, she could feel Mira making her way up to the surface!
'This idiot! Why couldn't he have let me kill him before he went and shook the mountain?!' Rhydian complained, but there wasn't anything else she could do in this situation. Since she couldn't kill both of them before Mira arrived, her next best option was to wait for her so they could deal with these two together.
She shot high up in the air, completely out of their range, and hovered there, not daring to come down.
The bear saw this and roared at her in anger, trying to get her to come down, but Rhydian didn't budge, increasing its fury. The bear pounded into the ground in rage, causing the mountain to sink in more, then began chucking anything it could fit in its paw at her.
However, after around 10 seconds of this, it stopped. No, it'd be more accurate to say that it froze. And the bear wasn't the only one. The atmosphere around the mountain seemed to come to a screeching halt as if all remaining life in the vicinity sensed its inevitable demise.
All the bear's hair stood on end as death slowly entangled itself around its large body, wrapping the bear in its sweet yet dreadful embrace. The panther wasn't any different. Its body stiffened as it felt a terrifying aura approach them.
"Fucking hell." A charming voice full of killing intent rang out, causing the hearts of anyone who heard it to drop, "Why are you taking so long to kill these brutes, my little wolf? Have I been too soft on you recently? If that's the case, I'll need to put you back on a training schedule so you're not so useless."
Rhydian's body shook, and her eyes were filled with terror as soon as Mira said the "T" word. Flashbacks of when Mira used to train her passed through her mind, which caused her expression to sink further.
'How can you call that training?! It's clearly just murder with extra steps!' Rhydian felt like crying but had no tears!
"Alright. Enough of that." Mira said, her body finally reaching the surface. She looked around, glancing at Rhydian, the bear, and the panther, then waved at her beast companion, "Come down here and help me deal with these guys so I can go back to what I was doing."
