Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons - Chapter 839 - Taming the Fifth Year - Biggest Eater - 4

Chapter 839 – Taming the Fifth Year – Biggest Eater – 4

The Bashe had made itself bigger…

Not dramatically. Not a huge transformation doubling its size instantly or anything exaggerated. But there was an increase in length and circumference that communicated the serpent had gained real physical mass from consuming mana that didn’t originally belong to it.

Perhaps 5% larger. Maybe 10%. Hard to judge precisely from the stands, but definitely noticeable to anyone paying attention.

The purple coloration seemed slightly more vibrant. The miasma flowed more densely. The spiritual glow in its eyes burned brighter.

The audience began processing the implications of what they’d just witnessed.

Murmurs spread through the stands as connections were made and concerns articulated aloud. The volume rose quickly, hundreds of conversations starting simultaneously as people turned to neighbors to verify what they’d seen.

“Did it just…”

“It ate the attack. It literally ate it.”

“I’ve never seen anything like that.”

“Wait, so it can absorb the wolverine’s ranged attacks? Isn’t that its biggest benefit from the previous battle?”

The question rippled outward, picked up and repeated in different words but always expressing the same core concern.

Wasn’t that precisely the fundamental strength of Ren’s creature, the capacity to control elements from a safe distance and bombard opponents who couldn’t close the gap effectively? The wolverine had dominated every previous match by staying out of reach and overwhelming enemies with superior ranged firepower.

Wasn’t this a perfect counter to that strategy? A massive disadvantage that converted the wolverine’s most effective weapon into a liability that literally fed the enemy it was trying to combat?

“This is bad for Patinder,” someone in the noble sections observed. “He’s built his entire approach around ranged superiority.”

“And now he’s facing something that eats ranged attacks for breakfast.”

And even more concerning for those contemplating long-term implications of the exchange…

How far could that thing grow if it continued absorbing attacks during an extended battle?

Was there a physical limit to how much it could expand, or would it continue feeding and growing until it became a monstrosity that completely exceeded its original rank?

The Bashe was already Gold 1. If it grew by 10% from each absorbed attack, and Ren threw 5 attacks at it, that was already 50% larger than baseline. “It could become bigger than Selphira’s White Serpent,” someone whispered, voice tinged with fascination.

“In the middle of the battle? That’s insane.”

“Look at it. It’s already larger than it was 30 seconds ago.”

In the stands, even those who’d been disappointed by the serpent’s initial appearance now leaned forward with renewed interest.

Disappointment transformed into anticipation. Skepticism into concern. Boredom into rapt attention.

Because perhaps the rumors about the Bashe’s capabilities hadn’t been so exaggerated after all.

They’d just been incomplete in describing exactly how those capabilities manifested in real combat.

The serpent that could “swallow bull elephants” didn’t need to be large enough to do so at the start of the battle.

It just needed to grow large enough by the end.

And watching it feed on the wolverine’s attacks, that suddenly seemed entirely possible.

♢♢♢♢

Ren didn’t get discouraged by the absorption of the first wind attack that demonstrated area size basically didn’t matter.

Instead, he used the obtained information to refine his next approach, adjusting tactics based on what he’d learned about the Bashe’s defensive capabilities.

This time he launched a compressed earth stake supercharged with mana, a projectile shaped with extreme care to maximize density and structural stability.

The wolverine worked for several seconds on the construction, compacting earth particles until they achieved a density approaching stone. Then it infused the structure with concentrated mana, saturation that created the stake glow faintly even to those without mana sight.

After a moment that made everyone with mana vision open their eyes wider at the accumulated quantity…

It fired.

The shot traveled at a tremendous speed, air whistling around its passage in a sharp sound that cut through the ambient noise of the arena. It followed an almost perfectly straight trajectory demonstrating the wolverine’s enormous control over the elements it manipulated.

No wobble. No deviation. Just pure, directed force.

It wasn’t simply an earth projection but a complex construction incorporating multiple elements working together.

The wolverine had also used wind and fire to increase velocity, a “small” controlled explosion at the stake’s base launching it forward with more force than earth alone couldn’t generate. It was a refined technique combining different elements into a single cohesive attack.

Three elements coordinated in perfect timing. Wind channeled to reduce air resistance. Fire detonating to maximize acceleration without destabilizing the projectile. Earth maintaining structural integrity through forces that would shatter ordinary stone.

The stake flew through the space between the wolverine and the Bashe in a fraction of a second.

Fast. Too fast for the serpent to dodge even with its spiritual nature allowing unconventional movement.

It managed to hit the Bashe’s body directly before the serpent could react appropriately.

CRACK

The impact echoed across the arena. The Bashe’s body jerked from the force, coils disrupting as the stake punched through scales that should have deflected ordinary attacks.

The serpent received visible damage, the projectile having impacted with considerable force. A crater appeared in the Bashe’s side, purple ichor leaking from the wound. The serpent’s permanent smile seemed to twitch, almost like a grimace.

First blood to Ren.

And not just that.

The embedded stake “exploded” in growth when roots began sprouting from it, elemental wood manifesting from the projectile’s core and extending through the serpent’s body like an aggressive parasite.

He’d used 4 elements in the attack, not 3.

Earth for the projectile body. Wind and fire for propulsion. And wood hidden inside, dormant until impact, now awakening and spreading.

The roots sought energy to fuel their growth, and the Bashe’s body rich in spiritual mana was an ideal source. They began absorbing energy from the serpent directly, a drain that should have weakened the creature significantly if allowed to continue unobstructed.

Some spectators leaned forward with hope kindling in their eyes. Maybe Ren had found the answer. Maybe this was the counter that would…

However, Liora smiled upon seeing the attack develop, an expression communicating confidence rather than concern.