Chapter 338
The Zephyr clan leader narrowed his eyes as he too noticed the descending island. The winds around him picked up violently, swirling into a deadly whirlwind. "Focus on the flag!" he yelled to his clan members. "Forget the Harpies, we take it now or it’s over!"
The final phase of the race had begun. As the Terra clan’s island descended into the heart of the storm, a blinding bolt of lightning tore through the dark clouds, striking the edge of the floating rock. The crack of thunder was deafening, and the impact sent chunks of the island flying. One large fragment of rock broke off, plummeting into the storm below, disappearing into the chaos.
Garrok and his team braced themselves, the island trembling beneath them. Another flash lit the sky, and this time, the lightning came closer, grazing the stone just feet away from Garrok. The island was falling apart under the relentless fury of the storm, and they hadn’t even made their move yet.
"Hold steady!" Garrok barked, his voice cutting through the roar of the storm. His team was tense but focused, their feet rooted firmly to the stone beneath them, using their control of the earth to keep the island from crumbling completely.
The winds howled louder, as if the storm itself sensed the Terra clan’s intentions. The Harpies and Zephyr members, both caught in the thick of it, had to fight not only each other but the increasingly violent storm. Lightning struck indiscriminately, and gusts of wind threw them off course.
Another bolt of lightning, even larger than the last, struck the island dead center, shattering a massive chunk from its core. The ground beneath Garrok’s feet trembled violently. A portion of the island split off and was sucked into the storm’s winds, tumbling into the chaotic maelstrom below. It was becoming a race against time for the Terra clan—if they didn’t act fast, their own island would be torn apart.
"Now!" Garrok shouted, urgency in his voice.
His team sprang into action, using their earth magic to stabilize the remaining chunks of the island as they began their final approach toward the flag. They rode atop pieces of stone that shot downward like jagged comets, but even their well-honed abilities weren’t enough to protect them from the storm.
Lightning danced in the sky, striking at the Terra clan’s falling platforms. One of Garrok’s team members, a stocky man named Nara, was nearly thrown off his stone as a bolt struck near him, breaking the platform beneath him into pieces. Nara screamed as he fell, but with quick thinking, he summoned a new pillar of rock from the debris, barely managing to steady himself mid-fall.