Moon waited until his mana had fully regenerated and Mirage's stamina was completely restored. Then they rode back toward the crater.
The turtle wasn't resting this ti. It stood at the center of the basin, neck extended, black eyes already fixed on them.
It had been waiting for their arrival.
'So it knew I would co back…huh?'
The mont Mirage's hooves hit the slope, the turtle rushed forward. It moved frighteningly fast for its size, completely committed to the charge.
Moon cast [Lightning Raiju]. The blue wolf flashed across the distance and the turtle instantly withdrew into its shell.
~Crackle~
After striking the shell, lightning crawled over the jade surface for several seconds before fading out. A few new cracks joined the old ones but that was it, the turtle was mostly unhard.
Moon's frown deepened at the sight. The damage from the first fight hadn't weakened the shell that much. If anything, the turtle was reacting faster now since he was locked in the battle.
Choosing a more destructive attack, Moon began channeling [Ignite].
At the sa ti, beside him, Mirage's right eye glowed purple. A duplicate split off from his body and both horses charged toward the turtle from different angles.
After defending against the attack of Moon, the turtle erged from its shell and went straight for him. It didn't spare a single glance for either Mirage.
The turtle was a smart creature and it knew that killing the rider was more important.
It had seen that play out dozens of tis before. Humans ca to challenge it, their mounts fled the mont the rider dropped dead. Why would this one be different?
Unfortunately for the turtle, ignoring Mirage turned out to be a critical mistake.
Both Mirages struck the turtle from opposite sides at the sa ti. Their hooves found the gaps between the shell plates where soft blue flesh of the turtle was exposed.
The impacts were heavy enough to knock the massive creature off balance.
'Oh? The clone can hit too?'.
Moon hadn't expected that. Against the Dingo, the duplicate had died from a single hit. But it had just staggered a Supre creature alongside the real Mirage. 'Interesting.'
The turtle recovered and spun toward the nearest attacker, snapping with jaws that could crush bone and armor alike with no resistance to speak of.
Poof!
Its bite caught empty air. The duplicate dissolved on contact and the real Mirage had already retreated to a safe distance.
The turtle was left turning into nothing, its montum spent.
Moon released [Ignite].
The fireball reached the creature almost instantly. It sensed the spell and pulled back into its shell.
Moon watched the fireball close the gap. This was his strongest destructive spell due to its nature.
~Boom~
The explosion engulfed the jade surface, as sand, dirt spread through the air.
When the dust settled, Moon stared at the result. The shell remained tough, but it now had more cracks and a faint scorch mark.
Two rounds of using his strongest attacks and the turtle was still standing behind that wall of jade like none of it mattered.
"Damn this shell! Why is it so durable?" Moon cursed through his teeth. "These are Epic-Rank skills I'm casting, but they feel like Common-Rank attacks against this thing!"
The turtle erged from its shell and fixed its black eyes on Moon before charging straight at him.
Before it could close the distance, Mirage galloped forward to intercept. The two collided head-on. Mirage sprung up and kicked with everything he had, both hooves slamming into the turtle's face.
But the turtle was prepared this ti. It braced into the impact, held its ground, and shoved forward. Mirage was knocked back, his hooves scraping against the dirt as he stumbled out of its way, releasing a pained neigh as a result.
With Mirage out of balance, the turtle saw its chance. It snapped its head toward the stumbling horse, jaws wide open, going for the kill.
It was no longer aiming for the rider alone…it was aiming to kill them both, whichever ca first.
Moon's hand was already moving. He cast [Lightning Raiju] before the thought fully ford in his mind. The lightning flashed through the air, streaking towards the turtle in a jagged line.
The turtle sensed the incoming spell. Realising it had no ti to complete its attack before the spell struck, It abandoned its attack on Mirage and retreated into its shell a heartbeat before the blue wolf crashed into it.
~Crackle~
"Mirage, run!"
Mirage didn't need to be told twice. He pulled away from the turtle and bolted back toward Moon, who leapt onto his back the mont he was close enough.
"Let's go. Sa strategy."
Mirage darted away from the crater. The turtle left its shell and gave chase, its big size and heavy body doing little to stop it from closing the gap.
Moon didn't let the turtle get close. Unlike last ti, the turtle gave chase at a closer starting point, and it was really dangerous to keep it at such a short distance. Moon cast [Lightning Raiju] and sent the blue wolf charging toward the creature.
A streak of blue lightning flashed, and the turtle sidestepped it gracefully without much trouble. The wolf sailed past, missing by re inches.
But before the turtle could press forward, sothing made it freeze. Its eyes went wide and it wrenched itself back into its shell.
From behind, the Lightning Raiju that Moon had redirected mid-flight slamd into the jade surface.
~Crackle~
Moon clicked his tongue in frustration. He had expected the attack to work, but unfortunately the turtle seed to sohow know.
"This turtle is trouble." He muttered, watching the lightning fade across the shell yet again. "It sensed my attack from behind. It didn't see it, but sohow knew."
His grip tightened on his staff, "I haven't landed a single hit on its actual skin. That shell has taken everything I've thrown at it."
Although the attack failed, Moon still managed to achieve his second goal of delaying its advance and increasing the distance between them.
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