CHAPTER 147: BREAKING THE CROWN

Dawn bled gray over the Forgotten Atlanta Expanse.

The south wall still stood, though barely. Whole sections leaned on nothing but Clayton’s roots. Arrows jutted from cracked stone even as blood stained the moss in dark patches.

And beyond it, the Verdant Warden Thorn Crown Behemoth still waited.

It hadn’t retreated. It hadn’t collapsed. Instead of retreating, it stood in the ruins of the outer field, chest heaving, sap leaking from wounds that should have killed anything else. Its ember eyes burned through the haze of smoke and ash.

It was daring them.

Clayton watched from the parapet, Regalia in hand, his body aching with every heartbeat. His people were battered after the grueling battle against this beast, but they weren’t broken. Not yet.

"We can’t outlast it," Soren said, jaw clenched, his white-hot Emberblade resting against the wall. "It’s not bleeding out fast enough."

"If we continue at this pace, our warriors will pass out long before it even thinks of giving up. For a creature of its size, it shouldn’t have so much stamina, but Behemorphs are not exactly known for following the rules of common sense".

Torren spat blood from his lip. "If we can’t outlast it, then we cut it deeper," his gaze darkened. "I’m ready to lead the charge, I’ll go again."

Clayton shook his head. "No. Torren, you already gave it everything last night. It’ll crush you if you try to go alone."

Like the rest of them, Clayton also had a troubled look on his face. But he was not desperate yet; afterall, there was still a final defensive line of the Rootsite that he was yet to unleash, his Verdant Lord form.

In terms of raw power, the big guy may not have the raw strength of a Verdant Warden Rank Behemorph, but fused with Regalia of the Verdant Warden, Clayton was sure that his Verdant Lord form could deal grievous injuries to this Behemorph if push came to shove.

Veyra leaned her bow against the wall, eyes scanning the creature’s crown. "The spines," she said. "It fires them like arrows. But look closer, see the veins running under its skull? They pulse every time it fires, I think that’s its conduit."

At first, they didn’t understand what Veyra meant until Kaelin smirked, but his smirk was grim. "So we cut the wires, and the machine dies."

Clayton nodded slowly as he also understood what Veyra meant; he had seen the same thing. But raw firepower wouldn’t work. The crown was layered in bark and alloy, hardened by decades of growth.

"We can’t brute force it," he said. "But we can break its rhythm."

As he said that, the seeds of a plan were already beginning to form in his head as he quickly knelt, drawing lines into the ash with a root. His commanders leaned closer as they realized that he just conceived an idea.

Clayton pointed at his drawing. "The crown fires through a pattern. A pulse builds, it releases, then the conduits glow".

He tapped at the specific point in his drawing indicating one of the spines of the Behemorph. "If we strike between the pulses, when the conduits are exposed, we don’t need to break all of it. We only need to break one."

"One spine," Veyra murmured. "One shot."

"Not just a shot," Clayton corrected. "A chain that will lead to a reaction. Torren, you drive fire through its chest again. Harrick, you pin its leg. And Soren, you keep the line steady no matter what happens. Kaelin..."

Kaelin’s grin was sharp as soon as he heard his name being called. "I get close enough to open the gap, right?"

Clayton nodded before turning to face Veyra.

"And Veyra," he finished, "you will deal the decisive blow. Your job is to put the arrow through it when the conduit glows."

"And you?" Torren asked.

Clayton’s voice was calm and steady. "I hold it still long enough for all of you to do your part."

Silence fell. It was madness, but it was a plan.

For a moment, the only sound was the distant growl of the Behemorph shifting its weight. Then Torren slammed his Pyreaxe down on the wall.

"Finally, something clever enough to kill the bastard."

They didn’t wait. The longer the Behemorph stood, the weaker the wall became and the stronger the difference in power, so they executed the plan without a moment’s hesitation.

Clayton lifted Regalia and pointed it at the monster. "Now," he commanded.

The south gate opened.

Torren led the charge, roaring as flames trailed his axe. Harrick and Soren flanked him, shields up, lines steady. Kaelin melted into the smoke, vanishing from sight. Veyra climbed higher onto the Spire, her bow glowing with Genesis Embers.

Clayton walked last, roots coiling from his heels, spreading across the cracked field. Every step anchored him deeper to the city’s heart.

The Behemorph roared as soon as it saw them move outside the walls. Its crown rattled, spines glowing.

"Hold," Clayton said. His voice was calm. "Wait..."

Then, the spines fired.

BOOM!

Dozens of spears screamed across the field. Clayton’s roots rose in a wall, catching half. The rest shattered shields and split stone. An Initiate screamed as he fell, pinned to the ground, but the line kept moving.

"Closer," Clayton said.

Torren was already sprinting. His axe blazed, heat warping the air as with a roar, he leapt and slammed it into the Behemoth’s chest. Flame spread across its bark armor, forcing its head back.

The Behemorph howled, swiping. Harrick’s spear braced, catching its claw, veins bursting as vines coiled around the beast’s wrist.

The ground shook, but the line held.

"Kaelin," Clayton whispered.

Smoke shifted and Kaelin appeared behind the Behemorph, blades flashing.

He darted up its leg like a shadow, slicing tendons as he climbed. The monster screamed and twisted, but Torren and Harrick’s pressure held it just long enough.

Kaelin reached the base of the crown. His blades stabbed twice, fast and sharp as a section of the armor cracked, sap spraying like steam.

"There!" Kaelin shouted, then he leapt free as the Behemoth thrashed.

Clayton’s eyes flared. Roots surged from the ground, coiling around the beast’s ankles and chest. They dug deep, glowing with his Heartseed’s fire. The Behemoth strained, but for a heartbeat, just one, it was pinned.

The conduits glowed.

"Veyra," Clayton called. "Now!"

Time slowed as Veyra took aim.

Veyra’s world narrowed to the pull of the string, the weight of the arrow, and the glowing conduit in the Behemorph’s crown.

Her breath steadied and her arms trembled as every lesson, every failure, and every moment of survival came down to this one shot.

She released.

WHOOSH!

The arrow blazed green, streaking across the battlefield. It pierced the cracked armor, struck the glowing conduit, and sank deep.

For a heartbeat, nothing happened.

Then the Behemoth screamed.

Its entire crown lit up at once, glowing veins bursting like overripe fruit across it’s frame as the spines shuddered, then cracked, one after another, exploding in bursts of light and sap.

The monster thrashed, slamming into the ground, claws tearing trenches into the earth. Roots snapped and walls shook.

But the crown was broken.

Clayton didn’t hesitate. He surged forward, Regalia blazing, and drove the spear through the monster’s chest.

The Heartseed within him roared as he poured every ounce of his Genesis Embers into the strike. Roots followed the spear, digging into the monster’s veins, drinking its life, tearing it apart from the inside.

The Behemorph gave one last scream, a sound of rage and despair that echoed across the city. Then it collapsed, its body convulsing, its crown shattered, and its ember eyes dimming.

Silence reigned.

The dust finally settled as roots uncoiled. The south wall still stood, and the Verdant Warden Thorn Crown Behemoth was dead.

For a long moment, no one moved. Then cheers erupted across the wall as fighters slammed weapons together, voices rising into the dawn.

Torren leaned on his axe, coughing blood but grinning. "Told you it would bleed."

Kaelin reappeared from the smoke, smirking through a cut on his cheek. "Not bad for a suicide run."

Soren held the line steady, but his shoulders loosened. Harrick pulled his spear free with a sigh of relief. Veyra lowered her bow, her eyes shining. For the first time in a while, she smiled without reserve.

Clayton stood over the corpse, Regalia still buried in its chest. His breathing was heavy, his arms trembling, but his eyes were steady.

The crown shards pulsed faintly, Genesis Embers leaking into the air.

He reached out, touched the broken thorn, and absorbed it.

DING!

~----~

[Verdant Warden Thorn Crown Behemorph slain!]

[Genesis Embers absorbed: +3,200]

[Aspect Amplification: +Crownbreaker]

~----~

Clayton’s veins lit up green for an instant, power surging through him. His Aspect swelled, stronger than before.

He pulled Regalia free and turned to his warriors.

"This," he said simply, "is why we endure. Not because we are stronger, but because we are smarter, and because we stand together."

The Rootsite roared in answer.

And as dawn broke fully, Clayton knew one thing... this was only the beginning. Trial III was coming, and this victory had bought them the time to prepare.