Chapter 514: Wind versus Wind 1

After inheriting the Law of Wind, Nero finally opened his eyes.

The green world disappeared.

His consciousness returned to his body.

He remained seated exactly where he had begun his meditation.

For several seconds, he didn’t move.

The surrounding pocket world was quiet.

Snow-white mist drifted between distant mountains, while the two Shadow Slaves he had left behind remained several meters away.

The black dragon stood motionless.

The White-Horned Wolf watched the surrounding landscape.

Neither had detected anything unusual.

Nero slowly opened his eyes.

A faint green glow flashed within his crimson pupils before disappearing.

He stood.

His strength had increased again.

The difference wasn’t merely in his raw power.

He could feel the Wind Law flowing naturally through his body.

The surrounding air was no longer something invisible.

He could feel it.

Every current.

Every disturbance.

Every change in pressure.

Even the slightest movement several hundred meters away created a disturbance he could perceive.

Nero looked toward the deeper regions of the pocket world.

A faint smile appeared.

Just like Darkness—

He needed to test it.

He raised his hand.

A gentle breeze moved across his palm.

Then he lowered it.

"Let’s see what you can do."

His voice was barely audible.

The two Shadow Slaves followed him as he began walking deeper into the pocket world.

But after a short distance, Nero raised his hand.

The two creatures stopped.

He wanted to test Wind alone.

No Darkness.

No Lightning.

No Fire.

Only Wind.

The Shadow Slaves returned to the black star.

Nero continued alone.

He didn’t have to search for long.

Something entered his perception.

A powerful presence approached from above.

Nero stopped.

The air changed.

A large shadow passed across the ground.

He looked upward.

A gigantic creature descended from the clouds.

It had the powerful upper body of a lion.

Massive golden-brown wings extended from its back.

Its head belonged to an eagle, complete with a sharp hooked beak and piercing golden eyes.

A Griffin.

But this wasn’t an ordinary monster.

Its aura was enormous.

An Upper Rank A monster.

And unlike most creatures Nero had encountered—

This one was a master of Wind.

The Griffin hovered several hundred meters above him.

Its wings remained completely still.

Yet it didn’t fall.

It simply floated.

Nero looked at it.

The Griffin looked back.

Neither moved.

Then—

The monster roared.

ROOOOOOOAR!

Its wings spread.

The atmosphere exploded.

Countless blades of compressed Wind appeared beneath its body.

The Griffin folded its wings.

The blades descended.

SHING! SHING! SHING! SHING!

A rain of invisible death covered the entire area.

Nero didn’t move.

His eyes followed the air.

He could see them now.

Not with his eyes.

With the Wind itself.

Every blade created a disturbance.

Every disturbance had a direction.

Nero took one step.

A blade passed beside his shoulder.

Another passed behind his head.

He turned slightly.

A third missed his chest by centimeters.

Then another.

And another.

Nero moved between them.

He didn’t use Darkness.

He didn’t strengthen his body.

He simply listened to the wind.

The Griffin’s eyes narrowed.

It increased the attack.

Hundreds became thousands.

The sky itself seemed to fall.

Nero continued walking.

His movements were calm.

A step.

A turn.

A slight lean.

A crouch.

The wind blades passed around him.

Then Nero stopped.

He looked upward.

A small smile appeared.

The Griffin had made one mistake.

It was controlling the Wind around itself.

But Nero was controlling the Wind around him.

He raised one hand.

The air beneath his feet suddenly became dense.

Then—

His body rose.

The Griffin’s eyes widened.

Nero continued ascending.

He wasn’t creating wings.

He wasn’t flying in the conventional sense.

He was controlling the air.

He compressed the atmosphere beneath his body, creating a platform.

Then another.

Then another.

Each burst of pressure pushed him higher.

Nero accelerated.

BOOM!

His body shot into the sky.

The Griffin’s eyes widened further.

Nero reached its altitude in an instant.

The two faced each other.

The monster’s expression almost looked surprised.

Nero’s hair floated around his face.

He stood in midair.

No wings.

No platform.

Nothing visible supporting him.

He simply remained there.

The Wind obeyed.

The Griffin roared.

Its wings moved.

A gigantic gust erupted.

Nero was thrown backward.

Instead of resisting—

He followed the current.

His body spun through the air.

He extended one hand.

The wind caught him.

He changed direction.

The Griffin attacked again.

A massive blade of Wind formed beneath its wing.

It swung.

Nero raised his hand.

The two currents collided.

BOOOOOOM!

The explosion of compressed air spread across the sky.

Nero was pushed backward.

The Griffin charged.

Its claws tore through the air.

Nero twisted.

The claws passed beneath him.

He raised his sword.

Wind wrapped around the blade.

SHING!

He swung.

A crescent of compressed air shot toward the Griffin.

The monster tilted its body.

The attack passed by.

The Griffin countered.

Its wings generated dozens of smaller blades.

Nero didn’t dodge this time.

He raised his hand.

The blades stopped.

For a fraction of a second, the entire sky became silent.

Nero’s eyes narrowed.

Then he moved his fingers.

The wind blades changed direction.

They turned around.

The Griffin’s eyes widened.

Its own attack returned toward it.

The monster flapped its wings violently.

A powerful current swept the blades away.

Nero’s expression remained calm.

He had discovered another possibility.

Wind could be redirected.

Not just created.

He could take an existing current and alter its direction.

The Griffin suddenly disappeared.

Nero’s senses expanded.

Behind him.

He turned.

The Griffin’s claws came down.

Nero raised his sword.

CLANG!

The impact sent a shockwave through the sky.

The Griffin pushed harder.

Nero’s feet remained suspended in the air.

The Wind beneath him adjusted automatically.

He wasn’t resisting the monster’s strength.

He was allowing the surrounding air to carry him.

The Griffin attacked again.

Nero slipped beneath its claws.

His sword swept upward.

The Griffin twisted.

The blade missed.

Its tail struck.

Nero was thrown sideways.

He recovered instantly.

Instead of stopping—

He accelerated.

Wind exploded behind him.

He shot toward the Griffin.

The monster opened its beak.

A compressed sphere of Wind formed.

Nero’s eyes narrowed.

The attack fired.

He didn’t dodge.

He raised his hand.

The air in front of him became dense.

The projectile slowed.

Not completely.

But enough.

Nero moved his fingers.

The sphere changed direction.

It passed beside him.

Then—

He released the pressure.

The projectile continued into the distance.

The Griffin stared.

Nero vanished.

He appeared above it.

His sword descended.

The Griffin raised its wings.

CLANG!

The blade struck.

The monster was forced downward.

Nero followed.

They fell through the sky.

The fight fight was becoming more intense.