The Rigordile rode the waves, using its streamlined form to its advantage. The Steel Porcupine sat on its back, hissing as they neared the Lava Turtles. The Lava Turtles were busy resisting the waves, preventing themselves from tumbling and rolling over like a piece of log.
The Hunter Clams shaped their jelly-like tentacles into paddles of all shapes to row the water and balance the Lava Turtles. Even then, the River Whale's repeated churning of the waves disrupted them each time.
Now, without any extra burden to carry, the River Whale could move at its usual speed, revolving faster and faster as the height of the tides increased, reaching as high as four metres. The currents in them grew stronger while faint wind accompanied them.
The rumbling sound they produced soon become as loud as the sea waves on a beach, making it resemble nature's might slowly but steadily. Jyorta felt his vision spin due to the motions, using his psychic energy to maintain his inertia and keep his senses wired in order.
The commotion garnered the attention of the other Lava Turtles that gazed at the River Whale and shot geysers at it. The geysers travelled more than 40 metres before slamming into the River Whale, disrupting it, preventing it from affecting the water on the surface any longer.
If it still persisted in continuing with its efforts, then it would be swatted to the ground. Jyorta controlled its actions, making it fly towards the attackers. He watched three geysers fly his way; the River Whale consumed a greater portion of its psychic energy, activating its Trait to the limit.
The geysers bent in the air, curving away from it. The River Whale was unaffected, moving forth as the attacks were slightly redirected.
Kuoong!
The River Whale let out a long, powerful shout as it arrived above a Lava Turtle was still trying to regain its balance. Without any delays, it moved over the Lava Turtle's head, making its film of water overlap it.
It allowed the Lava Turtle's head to move into the film of water before constricting around it. The water held the Lava Turtle, moving down its neck as it seeped into the gaps in its shell. Everything happened in the short window the River Whale passed above it.
The water pulled the Lava Turtle along s the River Whale groaned in pain, feeling a lot of strain throughout its body. Lava Turtles were heavier than the Rigordiles. Adding onto the additional weight they carried on their backs, they were bulky targets to pick up.
Jyorta was controlling the River Whale's actions, making it thing and use something it hadn't ever tried. the Lava Turtle let out a thin roar, most of its shout absorbed by the film of water; ripples formed as a result, showing the intensity of the shout.
The Hunter Clams on its back tried their best to hack and slash at the water to rip it off thew River Whale's control. But for some reason, the water behaved like a live body part, moving and coiling around the Lava Turtle, retaining its connection through numerous coils and windings.
The Lava Turtle felt a lot of strain in its neck, for it was all the River Whale was trying to lift. The Hunter Clams coiled their tentacles around its neck and held the shell, reducing the strain it felt.
The River Whale struggled, hiccupping in its flight as it pulled up the Lava Turtle, steadily increasing in altitude. The Lava Turtle tried to break free, slamming its legs onto the film of water, unable to enter it.
The Hunter Clams slammed at the film of water, spilling out parts of it while causing its entirety to ripple. The ripples were becoming bigger and bigger. Jyorta felt the currents within the ripples slam into his psychic arm barrier, cracking it under the pressure.
He expended more psychic energy to mend it while commanding the River Whale to take action. The River Whale took curved manoeuvres in the air, beginning to spin, adding the centrifugal force into the Lava Turtle.
Its psychic energy was expended at a massive rate while the film of water surrounding it began to thin out. The Hunter Clams tried their best to keep the Lava Turtle's neck attached to its body while the Lava Turtle could only shout in pain.
The River Whale moved forward while revolving; Jyorta calculated based on the spin and their forward motion, calculating all the forces into play before deriving a point of target based on his instinctual reasoning.
He gazed at the Lava Turtles there were beginning to get up as the waves died down, making the River Whale continue with its motion before aligning with his calculations, bellowing, "Release it!"
The River Whale let go of the portion of the film of water, watching the Lava Turtle catapult towards the ground. The Hunter Clams on its back extended their jelly-like tentacles, trying to grab hold of the film of water. But, it was just water, and under the River Whale's control, it was a fluid substance that the Hunter Clams couldn't grab hold off.
The Lava Turtle shouted as it flew like a canon ball, accelerating to a tremendous speed thanks to its bulky mass. The momentum it carried continued to increase alarmingly. The target of its impact was a group of four Lava Turtles there were flustered at its appearance.
The they opened their mouths to unleash the geysers when the Lava Turtle slammed into them, its hard shell making the contact in the impact. A thunderous sound reverberated as the water was spilled high, creating a large tide that proceeded towards both the ends of the path.
The impact, the hardness of the shell, and its body weight made it a powerful slam that shattered the defences of the victim Lava Turtles. Their shells shattered while their broke, piercing their internal organs. The Hunter Clams had their shells broken into tiny fragments while their soft bodies were squished between the giants.
The Rigordile jumped on them in this situation, aiming at their necks with its claws. Even after such a powerful impact, not one Lava Turtle had died. But, they couldn't move for the time being, suffering from critical injuries. The Hunter Clams were still recovering from the impact when the Rigordile and the Bundle Flea jumped on them.
The Rigordile brandished its claws and severed the head of a Lava Turtle. The Bundle Flea bound its hair around a Lava Turtle's neck and tightened it, using the sharpness of its hair to dig into it and sever. Its hair began to burn the moment the Lava Turtle's blood spilled on it.
The Bundle Flea hissed in pain as it finished severing the Lava Turtle, shedding the damaged hair before jumping towards another. The Rigordile shuddered, watching blood leak out from the roots of its nails.
Despite the Shoe Fish covering the part, it too was affected by the heat. The bodies of the Lava Turtles were just too hot that it suffered damaged every time it attacked.
The River Whale oriented itself, looking a bit exhausted as it dodged numerous geysers flying its way. It was acting as the bait while the Rigordile and Bundle Flea killed the injured Lava Turtles. Whenever it dodged an attack, Jyorta retaliated with an aura beam of his own.
Unfortunately, the aura in the air resisted his aura, decreasing its potency greatly. The greater the distance it had to travel, the more the aura in it was helplessly expended, decreasing the power behind his attacks. As the enemies were numerous and also possessed powerful strength, Jyorta dared not unleash a full powered aura beam.
It was in fear that he wouldn't be able to timely reach to their retaliation. The River Whale scuttled all over the air, mostly sticking to the ceiling to obtain more reaction time. many boulders began to float on the water, approaching their area.
Jyorta noticed the severity of the situation, fishing out the Tier 3 Artifact—Dynamic Brethren Bait. If he didn't use it, then the situation would progress beyond his capability. He made the River Whale fly closer to the Lava Turtles, using most of the power in its Trait to bend the geysers away from it.
As the number of geysers increased, the distance and angle it could bend them reduced. Soon, even when it tried to bend them, a portion of them still struck its film of water. The high-paced battle prevented it from filtering them out.
His psychic energy expenditure further increased as the water around him turned yellow. The pollution in it was getting concentrated as the River Whale was attacked from all sides. His two Soul Corneas siphoned energy from the River Whale's soul, replenishing his reserves as he activated the Tier 3 Relic.
A colourless mist seeped out from hollow end of the tube, heading towards the Lava Turtles as the River Whale neared them. Thanks to the proximity, it was unable to dodge the attacks, its film of water getting shaved with every attack. Soon, it bore the brunt of the attacks with its body.
A portion of the water fell on Jyorta, eating away at his psychic arm. As he was seated atop the River Whale, and positioned right behind its horn, he didn't face the brunt of the impact. Otherwise, his psychic arm barrier wouldn't last for an instant.
Still, his barrier cracked at many places as the water fell on his armour, damaging it. It looked like it wouldn't last long. Jyorta could feel the heat and aura trying to seep into him as he watched at the colourless mist with anticipation. The colourless mist slowly spread through the region. He had expended almost 80 percent of his psychic energy reserves in activating the Relic.