Salokin was the first to make a move as he charged Aurie. As he did so, two chakrams appeared in its hands. These chakrams were shaped like a wheel with three spikes on each side and possessed a foul aura. The chakrams' frame was pitch black, while the spikes were made out of a substance that resembled white flames.
Swooosh!
One of the chakrams left Salokin's hands and soared in Aurie's direction. Its movements were erratic and unpredictable—as if an outside force was controlling it.
Bang!
Aurie waited until the very last moment to sweep her tonfa outward to meet the chakram. Although she had successfully blocked the weapon, Aurie was knocked back a few meters in the process as deep marks could be seen on the ground where she slid.
Ding!
Aurie slightly loosened her hold on the tonfa in her hand as she used her thumb and flicked the grip part of the weapon. This simple action generated enough force to make the tonfa spin rapidly in circles as it deflected a small incoming projectile aimed at her right arm.
When Aurie glanced towards the ground where the object stabbed, she noticed a thin needle sticking out. In an instant, the soil around the needle melted, followed by a puddle of poisonous silver liquid forming at its location. This toxic needle was thrown by Essirie. It was also her poison that disabled Aurie's left arm during the initial ambush.
"Die!" A roar sounded from above Aurie. This voice belonged to Norebua, who had his hands clasped together above his head. As he fell and motioned his hands forward, his two-handed fist doubled in size, then tripled. It grew to the point that it spanned over twenty meters and blocked out the sky over Aurie as it rapidly descended. Then, at the last moment, numerous spikes erupted from the bottom of the gigantic fist—as if its goal was not only to flatten but run its opponent through as well.
"Expanding Smash: Hundred Bone Raze!" Norebua bellowed. He wanted to pay Aurie back for the earlier humiliation he suffered at her hands.
Aurie closed her eyes as she let out a small sigh and tightened the grip on her tonfa. If not for her left arm being disabled because of the poison, how could she allow herself to reach this point? When was the last time someone had looked down on her to this degree?
Swish! Swish!
All of a sudden, the spikes beneath Norebua's fists were shattered into countless pieces as his hands were blown away into the air by an overwhelming force!
Aurie's strikes were so fast that even the afterimages for the blows lagged behind the original attack.
At the same time, two crescent moons appeared side by side behind Norebua that hovered mere millimeters from each other. These moons were constructed from pink and golden energy. They curved away from one another as though they were gazing into a mirror faced with their own reflection.
When Salokin witnessed the formation of those two moons, he warned, "Norebua, fall back!" Salokin halted his charge and redirected his movement to get closer to Norebua. However, it was too late.
"Double-Cross: Savage Moonlit Cleave." The two moons closed the last few millimeters between them, and the moment they touched, a frightening energy was discharged. This energy engulfed Norebua, who was still trying to recover his balance after having his hands blown away.
Despite hearing Salokin's warning, Norebua became swept away by initial the force Aurie's attack generated.
BOOOOM! BOOOOM!
The twin crescent moons swallowed Norebua as two massive explosions erupted in the sky where the moons once were.
Bang!
Norebua plunged into the earth as a large crater formed beneath him in that shape of twin crescent moons. There were visible wounds scattered across Norebua's body as his entire right side had been crippled from the devastating attack!
An outline of dark energy could be seen around Norebua. If not for this energy, it was likely that he would not have gotten away with merely having half his body crippled!
"This human cannot be allowed to live. She is far too dangerous." Salokin's expression darkened as he set his gaze on Aurie. He was the one responsible for placing the dark energy defensive barrier around Norebua. However, forming the barrier so quickly came at a price.
When it came to defensive capabilities among the Skounae, Norebua ranked relatively high. In fact, Salokin's own defenses were in no way superior to Norebua's if one were to make the comparison. Including the advantage of it being night time, it should have been impossible to inflict that much damage with a single attack!
Yet, despite having one of her arms disabled and being poisoned, that human Commander was able to shatter Norebua's defenses as though they were never there. Salokin could not let a human of that caliber roam freely, as they were sure to be a greater threat in the future!
Aurie's calm and deep expression did not change as she met Salokin's gaze. But, if one observed close enough, they could see that her right arm was slightly shaking. However, Aurie did her best to hide this fact from her enemies. After all, she could not afford to display the slightest signs of weakness.
"Performing that attack with one arm may have been a bit much," Aurie said to herself as she tightened her grip on the tonfa.
Double-Cross: Savage Moonlit Cleave—this was one of Aurie's most powerful offensive skills. Using a unique mixture of physical, energy, and magical elements and compressing them into the form of twin moons, Aurie could produce an overwhelming amount of destructive power.
Usually, this skill was taxing to use and required two arms to execute; however, Aurie had forcibly employed it with one arm! Right now, the backlash was slowly creeping up, and it felt as though her arm wanted to burst from the internal pressure.
Her goal was to eliminate one of the three Earls to even the playing field as much as possible. Aurie knew her chances of eliminating Salokin in one shot was too low, as his power was on another level compared to the other two Skounae; therefore, she aimed for Norebua.
However, she did not anticipate that Salokin would turn to save Norebua in time. Aurie wanted to use the fact that they were underestimating her to her advantage. But, it seemed Salokin did not drop his guard down for a moment.
"You are a human worthy of respect, Commander; I cannot ignore this truth. That is why you will have the honor of perishing here today." Salokin stated solemnly. He threw his chakrams towards the ground as they impaled the earth and dug deep into it.
He then continued, "Do you think we are completely ignorant of your abilities? I admit we underestimated you, but the information that can be gathered by the Immortal Umbra Horde is beyond anything you can imagine. For example, you cannot use your domain here because your allies will be trapped in the crossfire. Isn't that right, Commander?"
Aurie did not respond to his question and kept her silence. However, the look in her eyes at that moment could freeze over the flames of the underworld.
The troops that belonged to the Amaharpe War Brigade were currently locked in an intense battle with the Skounae from Malentansium. As for the Captains of her unit, they too had their hands full suppressing the Viscounts—their Skounae equivalents.
Aurie understood that if she ordered a retreat now, not only would they lose the Unsanctioned Zone, but the deaths on their side would be massive.
"Do you think it's a coincidence we chose this place to confront you? I'm sure you've realized, the moment you try to lure us away, we will slaughter every Amaharpe border troop in the area. Tell me, Commander, are you willing to sacrifice the lives of your troops to save yourself? I've heard the greed of humans know no bounds! Ahahaha!" Salokin erupted into a fit of laughter.
Then, out of nowhere, Salokin ceased his laughter and said, "It is your misfortune that such a restriction does not apply to me. Mirror Domain: De-"
Bzzt… Bzzt! Crrrrckle!
Out of nowhere, a cage made of lightning emerged around Salokin.
"?!" Salokin was visibly shocked by the sudden lightning. There was someone other than the human Commander who had the guts to attack him on this battlefield?! How arrogant!
