…
After Hakros joined the battle, a lot of pressure was removed from some of the stronger celestials who had to deal with multiple members of the ancient races.
The Celestial of Stride, Tox, maintained his distance and provided long-range support with his bow and arrow. As a result, he managed to suppress many of the ancient races who specialized in attacking, greatly limiting their movement and options.
As for the Celestial of Ripples, Kyamakri, she was still locked in an intense battle with Vagelrio, one of the strongest of the ancient races present.
Despite his large physique, not only did Vagelrio possess abnormal physical strength, but he was also quick on his feet. Kyamakri also found his defense difficult to penetrate due to Vagelrio’s thick hide-like skin.
In addition, while Vagelrio did not have the brightest of minds, he made up for it with raw animalistic instinct.
Swoosh! Bang!
Kyamakri thrust the spear in her hands forward with great momentum; however, it was intercepted by Vagelrio as he blocked the incoming blow with his heavy battle axe.
Currently, Kyamakri had a few bruises and a wound on her right shoulder that looked serious. But, despite its appearance, the injury itself was merely a flesh wound. She was in a much better state than Vagelrio.
There were several wounds scattered on Vagelrio’s body, the worst of which was a deep gash that ran along the side of his left thigh made by Kyamakri’s spear.
Since both parties specialized in head-on combat, there was extremely little breathing room in between blows and none at all for errors.
Suddenly, a wave of ripples formed on the surface of Vagelrio’s axe. The following moment, the battle axe started to tremble as the structural integrity of its blade weakened significantly.
It seemed that one more push would be enough to completely shatter the battle axe!
However, Vagelrio frowned and immediately noticed that something was wrong with his weapon. It was the same thing he felt happened to him earlier when Kyamakri first attacked.
“Strange waves again! I’ll blow it away!” Vagelrio roared as he tightened his grip on the battle axe and drove forward with a powerful force!
“This beast…” Kyamakri muttered with furrowed brows as the waves of ripples dispersed.
Most opponents would have already succumbed to the effects of Kyamakri’s ripples. However, since Vagelrio had a stronger physique than normal and the weapon in his hands was not ordinary, he managed to hold out much longer than Kyamakri anticipated.
The way her ripples worked was that it divided whatever it came into contact with into multiple sections. It did not matter if the target was something physical or intangible, its power would be diluted into separate layers.
Once this occurred, Kyamakri could target each layer individually and destroy them one by one, permanently cutting the overall power of whatever was caught in her ripples. And, after every layer was taken care of, its original source would cease to exist.
Of course, the stronger her target, the more layers were created, increasing the amount of effort required to eliminate the original source.
“To be able to resist up until this point—I can’t afford to let my guard down.” Kyamakri internalized.
As Vagelrio attempted to overpower Kyamakri, she met his force with a gentle touch. She used a minimum amount of movement and strength to slightly alter the path of the battle axe before swiftly withdrawing her spear.
Simultaneously, Kyamakri displayed a set of highly-technical footwork, slipping under Vagelrio’s left arm, around his side, and to his back—right into his blindspot.
BANG!
With nothing to stop its drive forward, Vagelrio’s battle axe crashed into the ground, creating a small fissure that traveled several meters in front. Also, because of the subtle adjustment made by Kyamakri to its trajectory, Vagelrio was temporarily thrown off balance as his stance weakened significantly.
“In the end, you only know how to rely on your brute strength to gain an advantage. From the way you move and fight, I can tell—this is your first time fighting an opponent who does not attempt to meet your strength with their own. But, strength alone is not always enough to emerge victorious in battle.” Kyamakri said as a series of ripples formed on the surface of the spear in her hands.
However, these ripples were different from typical ripples that expanded outward from their origin point. Instead, the ripples around Kyamakri’s spear appeared to be in reverse—as if it began from the outer ring and was collapsing in on itself.
Vagelrio released a mighty battle cry as he prepared to pull his battle axe out of the ground and swing around with all his might; however, he was too late.
“Styles of Thirty-Two Inverse: Pressed Ripple Overflow.”
Shrieeeeeeeeek!
Without warning, an ear-piercing ring was emitted from Kyamakri’s spear as the weapon shook violently in her hands.
At the same time, Kyamakri brandished her spear and swung it upward with full force.
When the tip of Kyamakri’s spear grazed Vagelrio, the ripples on the surface of her spear came to a grinding halt. Then, in the blink of an eye, the flow of the ripples reversed with extraordinary vigor.
Vagelrio cried out. The intensity of the inversed and then abruptly reversed ripples was enough to split his body down the middle, tearing him in half!
Kyamakri closed her eyes as she whipped her spear to the side and turned her back, walking away from the scene.
Thump! Thump!
As she walked away, the sound of Vagelrio’s divided body hitting the ground entered her ears.
Kyamakri took a brief moment to calm herself and control her breathing. She then opened her eyes and scanned the battlefield to see where she was most needed.
However, when Kyamakri opened her eyes, they did not stop at a look of calmness. They continued to widen as an expression of shock slowly set in on her face.
“This—Just what is going on here…?!” Kyamakri thought to herself as she was greeted by an unbelievable view.
Kyamakri had been so caught up in the fight against Vagelrio just now, that she could not afford to let her attention slip to those battling around her. But, what was this? Could this even be called a battle anymore?!
“That’s it! That’s it! Show me everything you got! Don’t hold back or—you’ll die!” Hakros’ voice boomed as he grabbed two members of the ancient races by their face with his bare hands and slammed them into the ground, dragging them across the earth before tossing them into the sky.
At the same time, two enemies charged at Hakros from the left and right sides.
However, before they could approach him, a few cherry blossoms fell in front of each of the enemies and entered Hakros’ line of sight.
“Blossom Sword Twelfth Outlook: Scattered Blossom.” Sychia’s voice sounded.
The next moment, a cascade of cherry blossoms in mid-bloom burst forth, covering the two enemies.
Not too long after, a single cherry blossom bud materialized on their foreheads before fully blooming.
Phhtk! Phhtk!
Suddenly, a deep cut formed on the foreheads of the enemies as well as several vital areas of their bodies!
“Tch, hey, flower girl, don’t get in my way. You just have to stand there and be protected.” Hakros snarled.
Hakros had been asked by Izroth to prioritize Sychia’s safety. Naturally, this was Izroth’s way of having an extra safety net when it came to the Thousand Blossom Maiden’s safety. After all, he had multiple quests to focus on.
“I did not ask for your protection, nor do I require it. But, if you wish to assist me, I will not stop you.” Sychia responded with a carefree expression.
“Tch, that damned expression—why does she look like that stone-faced guy?” Hakros grumbled to himself.
“Whatever, just don’t go stealing my prey,” Hakros growled before he resumed his rampage.
“I will do what is needed, that’s all,” Sychia replied as she, too, joined back in on the action.
Needless to say, when Kyamakri witnessed the two mowing down enemy after enemy, she was left in a state of disbelief.
How was it that two mortals, without any Ethos whatsoever, were capable of fending off not one, but multiple beings from the ancient races?! Even the strongest of mortals should not be capable of such a feat! Yet, it was transpiring right before her eyes.
“Mortals? Lower celestial? That’s not possible! Who are these people and where did they come from?” Kyamakri said to herself.
Of course, Kyamakri was not the only celestial who was left dumbfounded.
Every single celestial present was stunned to their core. However, they did not have time to process their thoughts and make sense of the unbelievable sight before them in the middle of battle.
But, perhaps the most startling scene was the strange beings made of some type of purple energy that appeared on the battlefield out of thin air.
The strange beings resembled ancient soldiers that wore black armor and wielded a remarkable battle aura.
Though even the ancient soldiers could not compare to the one who commanded them.
Among the ancient soldiers was one being in particular that stood out from the pack. The armor it wore was an even deeper shade of black and more refined. And, the battle aura that it emitted made the ancient soldiers seem weak by comparison.
At the moment, that figure stood next to the person Kyamakri recognized as the one invited to their group by Astratis, Izroth!
“Help them clean up the rest, Sagarus,” Izroth said calmly.
“I have received your order, my lord.” The being next to Izroth, Sagarus, responded as he stepped forward.
‘I wanted to test it out, but… The results are even better than I imagined. As expected from a Unique-grade weapon forged by master Blacksmiths. My old weapon can’t compare.’
〈System Alert: You have 28 Minute(s) 43 Second(s) remaining on the skill «Great Lightning Army»!〉
