Fighting a Wyvern

Smoke and the stench of blood clung to the air, mixing with the cries of battle that rang across the field.

Soldiers clashed steel against steel, their summons locked in vicious combat alongside them.

Amidst the relentless chaos, a single figure stood watching from an elevated position, his piercing gaze scanning the battlefield with growing frustration. 

General Varian's forces should have been overwhelming the enemy by now and even making their way through the first line of defense, yet something was off. Something was tilting the balance.

His expression darkened as his mind analysed every movement, every shift in the tide of battle. The enemy's summons had been moving differently, fighting harder and lasting longer. 

He saw a sense of coordination in their movement and behaviour… it wasn't just their individual strength… They were employing simple tactics that his soldiers were not expecting and were not ready for.

His grip on his sabre tightened, 'This is not normal…'

His eyes flicked from clash to clash until they locked onto a single point of disruption.

A dark-furred hyena, weaving through the battlefield like a shadow, occasionally glowing purple and leaving a trail of the same colour.

However, it was not the ability of the hyena that caught his attention but it was the way in which the hyena seemed to be commanding the flow of battle in ways that should have been impossible for a mere summon. 

"It's him," he muttered, his voice laced with annoyance, "that summon… it's the reason my forces are struggling."

Varian exhaled sharply, then turned on his heel. His wyvern stood perched on the remains of a collapsed cliff in the distance, its wings perched in anticipation. The beast seemed to sense its master's brewing anger as its reptilian eyes glowing with latent energy.

With practiced ease, the general strode toward it, gripping the saddle's leather as he hoisted himself atop its broad back. The Wyvern let out a deep guttural snarl, its wings spreading wide as it prepared to take flight.

"Let's put an end to this."

With a powerful leap, the wyvern launched into the air, kicking up clouds of dust as it ascended. 

Varian's eyes locked onto his target as he learned forward, urging his wyvern in its direction. The time for observation was over. Now, he would see for himself what this creature was made of.

Meanwhile, Boy, unaware of the looming threat, was still focused on leading his fellow summons when the air around him shifted.

A great heavy object slammed into the ground about twenty metres in front of him, the sound akin to a thunder rumble.

A large cloud of dust filled the area as it slowly cleared to reveal the general and his summon.

"So you're the one disrupting my battle," he mused, rolling his shoulder, "a mere summon… acting like a war tactician…"

Varian's lips curled as the dust cloud settled, "how peculiar…"

His mind was trying to comprehend the beast in front of him as he could sense intelligence from Boy's eyes. They were not filled with simple primal instincts that other summons have but were filled as if the beast was able to think and plan, sentience?

Boy's muscles tensed as he met the man's stare, unblinking. This was not going to be any ordinary opponent. 

'How had the enemy managed to summon something like this?' Varian pondered as he observed the hyena, 'No ordinary summoner could produce a creature with such awareness… It had to be something else.'

The general leaped from the saddle, landing with a heavy thud as his armored boots sank into the dirt as curiosity sparked clearly in his eyes.

"My wyvern is more than enough to handle you," he declared, rolling his shoulders.

Boy barely had a moment to react before the wyvern let out an ear-splitting shriek and lunged as it launched itself into the air. The ground trembled at the force of its takeoff as the displaced wind kicked up dust and debris.

Boy's pupil contracted as the distance between them vanished in mere seconds and before he could fully process it, a crushing force slammed into him like a falling mountain.

Excruciating pain erupted through his ribs as he was sent tumbling across the battlefield, his body skidding against the bloodied earth. 

He barely managed to stand upright as his breathing was ragged. As he lifted his head, he saw that the wyvern was staring at him with pride in its eyes as it contained the bloodline of a dragon. 

'It is looking down on me…' he thought as he regulated his breathing.

All the summons around him immediately saw the attack that Boy had just received and each made their way to Boy and prepared to help him take down the wyvern.

'No. Those of you that are injured,' he telepathically spoke to them, 'Go team up and fight the other summons. Those who are still fit, I will need all of you.'

In that instant, the huge horde that Boy had behind him began to split off into smaller groups as they each began to pursue their own battles.

"You really can control them…" Varian commented with wonder at the sight of the other beasts obeying Boy as they moved away from him in unison.

The number of beasts that were by Boy's side rapidly dwindled as they were all filled with fear and had been injured. In a very short amount of time, the number of beasts by Boy's side numbered less than ten.

Boy looked at each of them with gratitude as he bowed, 'Thank you for sticking by my side. This is going to be a really hard fight. I hope you are ready for this.'

Each of the eight summons took in a breath as they stood tall and came by Boy's side and roared defiantly at the wyvern.

Roar!

Growl!

Witnessing such defiance, the wyvern snorted, releasing a breath laced with status energy. It's amber eyes gleamed with predatory hunger, locking onto Boy, as it crouched low, muscles coiling, then-

With a deafening shriek, it lunged!

Each of the other eight summons alongside Boy also charged forward, flanking the wyvern. 

One of the summons, a Duskfang Panther, dashed forwards with extreme speed, striking the wyvern from the side, claws aiming to slash at the wyvern's hind leg.

However, the wyvern saw the attack coming as it jumped with its hind legs, swinging its tail up before bringing it down aiming straight for the panther.

Kakaw!

At that moment, a clean screech could be heard as a giant Warhawk could be seen swooping down at an extremely fast speed, its razor sharp talon opened ready to slash at the wyvern. 

The attack had caught the wyvern off guard as it hurriedly turned its head, narrowly avoiding the attack.

The hawk flew right past it but as it did so, it caught the panther, rescuing it and bringing it back a safe distance away.

In this short exchange, after dodging the blow, the wyvern had used this opportunity to attack Boy!

Its talons struck first, a deadly blur of razor-sharp claws aimed straight for Boy's head.

He barely managed to twist his body in time, the wind pressure alone enough to ruffle his fur. And he immediately countered.

Shadow Bite!

His teeth sank themselves into the wyvern's exposed leg, but its thick, scaled hide dulled the impact. It did not seem to even do damage as instead of flinching, the wyvern roared and lashed out with its powerful tail once again, slamming it into Boy's side, sending him tumbling once again.

At this moment, a crackle of energy surged through the air as a Stormclaw Wolf darted in, lighting sparking from its claws as it slashed at the wyvern's hind legs. 

The beast snarled, jerking its leg away, but that brief moment of distraction gave Boy a chance to recover.

Regaining his footing, Boy charged forward again, dodging under a sweeping tail strike. The wyvern snarled at this, as it opened its mouth opening its maw to unleash a burst of energy. 

But before it could fire, the Warhawk dove down from above, raking its talons across the wyvern's snout and causing its head to snap back.

Boy was not going to let this opportunity go to waste. He activated Shadows of the Pack, summoning his spectral clones to flank the wyvern with one darting left, forcing the beast to twist its body, while the other leapt high, snapping at the wyvern's exposed throat.

The wyvern roared in frustration, its attacks thrown off-balance by the coordinated assault. Its maw opened wide, revealing rows of jagged fangs as a huge burst of energy flew out in the form of a beam. Boy rolled just in time, feeling the heat singe the tips of his fur.

He activated Spirit Dash, darting underneath the beast's wing before leaping up, his teeth glowing with shadow energy as he bit down hard across the wyvern's side, aiming for the sensitive joint of its wing.

The creature howled in pain as its flight was momentarily disrupted. It retaliated with a brutal snap of its jaws, nearly crushing Boy's hind leg who used Spirit Dash to dodge once again.

…

Boy panted as he circled the wyvern, his mind was now racing as both sides took a quick breather. The wyvern was faster than it looked and was almost impossible to take down through brute force alone.