Fun and Games
Though their journey was made exponentially easier due to Ganyu casting an enchantment that gave the carriage shock-absorption properties, Paul would be lying if he said he wasn't bored. Venti and Xinyan helped to keep everyone's spirits high by singing songs and playing their instruments, but the journey was a lot less 'exciting' than he had anticipated.
When they had initially set out, Paul expected large groups, potentially even hordes of monsters, to assail them. Instead, they had to go out of their way to track down prey as Ei's aura, even when heavily suppressed, was more than enough to scare away the average beast.
To pass the time and alleviate their boredom, Paul had come up with a game that involved Ghislaine trying to 'attack' the carriage while he, Eula, and Xinyan defended it. Her speed had exploded ever since she obtained an Anemo Vision, so it was excellent training for people whose techniques revolved around the Water God School.
"I don't think so...!" shouted Xinyan as she moved like a red and caramel-colored blur to intercept one of Ghislaine's attacks. Her arms were devoid of any noticeable muscles, and her body was incredibly lithe, but she was able to swing around a Claymore nearly as long as she was tall to deflect Ghislaine's attack.
Instead of allowing herself to be forced back, Ghislaine flipped her body the moment Xinyan repelled her. In the same motion, she gathered bright green Anemo Energy around her feet to create a cushion of air, using it as a springboard to bound back with even greater speed.
Borrowing a word from Paul's vocabulary, Xinyan exclaimed, "Shit...!" as she barely managed to pull her sword across her body. Obtaining her fifth Constellation had drastically increased her speed and strength, but years of neglect had left her swordsmanship more than a little rusty.
Before Xinyan could smash into the wind barrier formed by Venti, Paul intercepted her comparably tiny frame as Eula dashed past them to repel Ghislaine. When she did, the latter immediately leaped, bounced, and flipped backward to create some distance as she had learned the hard way that her skills weren't quite up to par with Eula's.
"Too slow...!"
Taking advantage of the fact Ghislaine was briefly in the air, the muscles of her thighs appeared to swell before she propelled herself forward with extreme speed, her body low and nearly parallel to the ground.
Instead of landing where Eula was expecting, Ghislaine created another cushion of air that allowed her to change direction without landing on the ground. She managed to leap over Eula, but the latter was able to change direction nearly as quickly, meeting her head-on as she attempted to turn around and initiate a strike.
Despite being blessed with strength and senses that far surpassed other members of the Beast Race, Ghislaine was forced to grit her teeth under the strain of Eula's blow. The Sword God Style focused on overwhelming your opponent with extreme speed, so it was the worst among the Three Schools regarding defense and receiving blows.
With Ghislaine's feet sinking into the ground, Eula took advantage of her opponent's reduced mobility and recently acquired blind spot by twisting her body to land a graceful yet powerful kick to the former's right side. It felt like kicking a tree trunk, but the power behind the blow was enough to send Ghislaine crashing and rolling to the side before she caught herself and bounded to her feet.
Though she was annoyed by Eula's 'underhanded' tactics, Ghislaine didn't blame her for taking advantage of her newly acquired eyepatch. Instead, she darted past Eula to catch up to the carriage, which, since the start of the 'game,' had been moving forward at a steady pace of around 60km/h.
Matching Ghislaine's speed, Eula was able to keep her body between the former and the carriage until she abruptly activated her Elemental Ability, bounding high into the sky as Anemo Energy began to gather around her body like a Tempest.
Clicking her tongue, Eula raced to join Paul and Xinyan before Ghislaine reached the peak of her ascent and descended toward the carriage like a luminous green meteor. This was a combination of her Elemental Ability, which allowed her to create up to three air cushions in quick succession, and her Elemental Burst, an ability that surrounded her body in a tornado-like swirl of Anemo Energy that allowed her to penetrate massive boulders while simultaneously protecting her from attacks.
Though Venti could dissipate the Anemo Energy swirling around Ghislaine with relative ease, she opted to continue tuning her lute as Paul, Eula, and Xinyan stood their ground against the seemingly unstoppable attack. This wasn't the first time they had seen Ghislaine's Elemental Burst, so Xinyan and Eula leaped into the violent tempest without fear while Paul used his Dendro Vision to create a steel-like wall from vines thicker than his waist.
Ignoring the wounds it left on their bodies, Xinyan and Eula read the flow of Ghislaine's attack and sliced through the thinner sections of the wind barrier. Neither of their attacks was able to impact Ghislaine's body, but they were able to shave away at her momentum before being flung away.
As Ghislaine's attack impacted Paul's impromptu barrier, briefly stopping her in place, Xinyan and Eula landed on the ground and charged back at her. At the same time, Paul exhaled a breath, his expression calm even though cracks were quickly appearing across the barrier separating him from Ghislaine's fierce attack.
Though they were ultimately sent flying a second time, the efforts of Eula and Xinyan had a noticeable effect on the Anemo Energy swirling around Ghislaine's body. By the time she managed to pierce Paul's barrier, most of the energy had dissipated into motes of green light, leaving behind a disoriented Ghislaine to perform a swift yet completely silent attack that Paul calmly backstepped before changing direction and stepping into the gap between her body and blade.
Since he obviously wouldn't cut down one of his lovers, Paul ended the fight by knocking away Ghislaine's blade. The Sword of Silence created a powerful vacuum in its wake, so even if he unleashed his counter after the fact, the apparent lack of friction and almost magnetic pull of Ghislaine's attack allowed him to reach his maximum speed in an instant.
Despite anticipating Paul's counter, Ghislaine could not hold onto her sword. She did her best, but all she got for her trouble was an intense jolt of pain, followed by a familiar numbness as she instinctually wrapped her powerful arms around Pual's body.
Smiling wryly, Paul asked, "Didn't we agree the battle ended when you lost your weapon...?"
With a completely serious expression on her face, Ghislaine nodded her head and replied, "I know. I'm just a little annoyed right now..."
Without giving Paul a chance to respond, Ghislaine gave him a mighty bear hug that raised him from the ground and caused the bones in his back and arms to crack loudly. Ghislaine's form had 'softened' over the past few months, but her raw power had continued to increase under the influence of her Vision and a full-body exercise routine that involved feats of acrobatics no ordinary human could hope to emulate.
Discarding his sword, Paul responded to Ghislaine's bear hug by forcing a smile and grabbing her ass. Her tail briefly straightened as he did so, but she didn't immediately release his body. Instead, she flatly remarked, "I'm not in heat right now..."
Maintaining his smile, Paul began to massage Ghislaine's firm yet pliant ass as he replied, "I am well aware. But that doesn't make your ass any less springy. I could squeeze these cheeks all day..."
"..."
Though it wasn't the sort of praise most women fished for, Ghislaine's tail began to sway in response to Paul's words. She often felt self-conscious due to her height and somewhat muscular appearance, so it always made her happy to hear Paul 'compliment' her features.
With Ghislaine invariably releasing her hold on him, Paul took advantage of the situation to press his face into her breasts. She had sprouted up to 198cm over the past couple of months, roughly six and a half feet tall, so her breasts were the perfect height to nuzzle without needing to pick her up.
Instead of attempting to stop Paul's actions, Ghislaine reached up to envelop his shoulders and caress the back of his head. She knew the exchange wouldn't last long, especially with the carriage continuing to move further away from them, so she wanted to savor it while it lasted.
"You two sure seem to be having fun."
After healing her wounds and retrieving Ghislaine's sword, Xinyan made her way over alongside Eula. The latter had reached Paul and Ghislaine first, but she just stood stoically off to the side rather than interrupting the duo's moment of intimacy.
Pulling his face from Ghislaine's increasingly soft breasts, Paul wriggled his eyebrows and asked, "Jealous~?" in a playful tone.
Without missing a beat, Xinyan replied, "A little." before haphazardly tossing over Ghislaine's sword. The latter managed to catch it with ease, but she had to let go of Paul to do so.
Adopting one of his characteristically wry smiles, Paul spread his arms in an attempt to coax Xinyan into them. In response, she playfully rolled her eyes and said, "Maybe later. We should hurry and catch up to the others."
As if prompted by Xinyan's words, the horizon suddenly darkened before a large explosion assailed them with intense light and a powerful tremor. Then, before they could even process what happened, a dark purple tear erupted from the center of the explosion, seemingly cutting it in two.
After a moment of pause, Paul, Xinyan, Ghislaine, and Eula immediately ran towards the site of destruction with grim expressions and weapons drawn. They reached their destination in seconds, but even that was too slow as Ei had effectively ended the fight the moment it began.
Seeing the proud and noble Archon standing over the bisected body of a middle-aged man with silvery hair, a full beard, red eyes, and nearly pitch-black armor, a hint of incredulity appeared in Paul's expression as he remarked, "That's one of Atofe's men."
Hearing Paul's remark, the silver-haired man directed a stern and slightly venomous glare toward him as he questioned, "Who gave you the right to refer to our Master in such a casual manner?"
Seemingly oblivious to the fact he had been cut in half at the waist, the man attempted to right himself until Ei placed the tip of her sword at his forehead, stating, "Stay down." in a cold, bone-chilling tone.
"Hmmm..."
Though he looked like he had a lot to say, the somewhat elderly-looking man remained on the ground, his entrails slowly but visibly retracting into his body. It was a disgusting and incredibly disconcerting sight to behold, but Paul did his best not to let it bother him as he asked, "Is this the only enemy that appeared? If I'm not mistaken, there should be four of them."
Answering in Ei's stead, Venti calmly explained, "There was a featureless fellow with transparent blue skin, but he split into several smaller versions of himself before fleeing in multiple directions~."
Unsurprised by Venti's response, Paul exhaled a sigh and remarked, "As I thought..."
Believing the middle-aged man to be one of Atofe's 'Four Heavenly Kings,' Paul stated, "Unless I'm mistaken, this man is Moore, the Silver Lion. The one that ran off should be Aldrich, the Devourer. He has a slime-like body, so he is impervious to most physical attacks and is able to split himself at will."
As they had already been briefed on the Four Heavenly Kings, none of Paul's companions were too surprised by his words. Even Moore didn't so much as bat an eye. Instead, he remarked, "You're well-informed." before falling silent as Ei narrowed her eyes at him...
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