Siege on Yongtein: Breakthrough (16)
Little Sword grunted and twisted his sword, pulling Benedict's sword along with it to disarm him, but Benedict saw through it. The two swordsmen danced. While he would have loved a battle of pure skill, he had no time to spare. Summoning his Martial Energy, he prepared to execute the Cloud Sea Style. He would breakthrough with brute force! That was when the bald Perception Realm Expert stepped in. With footsteps as light as a feather, he attacked with perfect timing! That one attack was enough to terrify Benedict. It seemed like the world was falling down. It would kill him if it landed! The knight had no choice, but to focus his energy on his Bloodline Ability to block it. Bang! A massive impact slammed into his back, causing him to stagger. Little Sword did not miss this chance and redoubled his offensive. With him leading, and the bald man attacking from behind, the pressure on Benedict mounted. His situation was not looking good!
At the same time, Shirley unleashed her Mock Perception to sense everything around her. She dodged Lord Xu's first dagger using Energy Acceleration, as her halberd whipped around to meet the Tiuxan couple. Bang! Her speed was even faster, thanks to her superb combat instincts. She had no need to think. However, her opponents were superior, even amongst their peers. They would not let her trump them! Lord Xu's second and third dagger cut off her escape routes, while the Tiuxan couple elegantly shifted positions and reengaged. Their seamless transition was the scariest thing. It felt like everything was under their control! No wonder their combined strength could contest a Perception Realm Master. Shirley could not envision their defeat. Despite dodging the first attack, she found herself in a worser position.
Benedict and Shirley cursed in their minds since their opponents were stronger than expected. Although they had the upper hand with regards to Martial Energy, they could not use it. They kept on getting interrupted by the non-stop chain of attacks. They had no time to breath! That was the solution that their enemies arrived at, and it worked beautifully. As expected, it was not that easy to surpass Perception Realm Experts. They stood near the top of the human world for a reason! Furthermore, their battle would only attract more enemies. With the strain on their stamina ever-increasing, they were fighting against time. If things continued like this, they would lose! Therefore, they decided to take a gamble. Rain Weaver Arc! Energy Acceleration! Using their strongest defensive and mobility techniques, they broke free from the encirclement. Benedict gestured to Shirley, who understood, as he began to circulate his Martial Energy and she used her Bloodline Ability to copy. Their opponents unleashed a hectic assault just as their techniques bloomed!
Whoosh! Lord Xu's four remaining daggers pierced through Shirley's head, throat, heart, and chest in quick succession. The Tiuxan couple brandished their swords and sliced through Shirley's arms and legs, before decapitating her in one quick blow. Meanwhile, Little Sword slashed Benedict a dozen times, thoroughly shredding every part of his body. The bald man concluded by bisecting the knight's body in a single strike. No one saw his weapon at all. Benedict and Shirley's bodies were thus reduced to a mess in an instant, but the five Perception Realms did not spare them a glance. They immediately charged into the forest in a specific direction. A few seconds later, the two bodies dissolved into mist and vanished. This was the same martial technique Benedict used to escape Lord Xu: Summer Mist!
Two figures charged through the forest at high speed, leaving behind a storm of wind in their wake. Shirley could feel the killing intent of the five Perception Realms on her skin alone. It was enough to drench her back in sweat! Bang! She blasted off the dirt with increased strength. She could not let them catch up! Benedict felt regretful. His new technique, Summer Mist, was composed of two steps. The first was acceleration: by generating a huge pool of Martial Energy in the feet, the technique would produce an instantaneous, extreme burst of speed. Although the expenditure was high, and the range was short, its speed was nearly unmatched. The second was illusion: by generating a mist-like shell of Martial Energy, the technique would produce a realistic 'afterimage', reminiscent of a mirage in the desert. It sounded good, but the technique was incomplete. He had created in the spur of the moment, using the inspiration from his breakthrough into Perception Realm. It might have fooled Lord Xu the first time; however, the same trick would not work again. It was basically a glorified escaping technique…
Still, with Benedict's Moon Flash and Shirley's Energy Acceleration, they soon left their enemies in the dust. Their speed had long since transcended mortal limits! It was not that easy to escape a Perception Realm Expert though. Their powerful Martial Perception remained focused on them, despite the large distance. It felt impossible to truly evade their notice. The only way to do that would be to widen the distance even more. Thinking this way, Benedict and Shirley brandished their weapons. Shirley's halberd whipped out and toppled multiple trees in one swing. When Benedict released a flying strike, he was pleasantly surprised to discover his Martial Energy became much more tangible and denser. It was no longer an attack with wind pressure, but an actual cutting blade of energy! Dozens of tall trees were sliced through in an instant. Furthermore, there was a very faint element of water wherever he cut. His Martial Energy was finally beginning to manifest an element, like his master and senior martial brothers. This was one of the benefits of stepping into Perception Realm!
In the next instant, these towering trees, which were on the order of hundreds of years old, began to slam into the ground with incomparable force. Boom! A huge shockwave rippled out, as the entire forest shook, and a dust cloud rose. Benedict and Shirley used that shockwave to accelerate even faster, while Lord Xu and the other Perception Realms were forced to dodge. Coughing, they looked at the scene amazed. Despite suffering the joint attack of five Perception Realms, who were near the peak of the human world, their prey actually managed to escape. Although Martial Energy was a factor, this was still an unbelievable feat! Remember, Shirley was a Half-Perception Realm, and Benedict was a newly advanced Perception Realm Novice. Such a miracle would probably never happen again.
Meanwhile, powerful waves of Magic Energy radiated from Freon, as he stood in disbelief. He could clearly sense that at the center of his Core, there was no longer that light illusionary fog, but a dense droplet of pure energy. This was Low Condensed Drop! He actually managed the impossible and became a Condensed Drop Arcanist today. All those pent-up emotions over being mocked, being scorned, and being ashamed came bubbling to the surface. Today, he had proved everyone wrong! It was almost enough to make him tear up, except he did not forget where he was. He would sort out his thoughts later. Currently, he needed to survive this battle first! Magic Energy erupted from his Core like a tsunami, startling Freon. The difference between Half-Condensed Drop and Low Condensed Drop was far larger than he imagined. No matter the Ten Dawns could perform such sophisticated and powerful spells. It was not just the quantitative difference, but a qualitative one too!
He remembered how hard it was to activate his Bloodline Ability before, so he prepared for a struggle, but it was almost effortless this time, leaving him surprised. The reason was that he had finally reached the minimum requirement for using a Bloodline Ability, that of Rank 2 Lord. This meant that his Magic Perception had grown strong enough to handle it. Otherwise, he would have failed to condense his Gaseous Fog Core into a Condensed Drop. It represented an evolution in his Magic Perception! Thousand Core Resonance! On the frontlines, the Imperial Sentinels clashed with the Royal Guards in an ever-increasing storm of sparks. When Freon activated his Bloodline Ability and empowered his Three-Pointed Barrier spell, the Imperial Sentinels suddenly found themselves unable to breakthrough the barriers. However, the Royal Guards could not take advantage of this either, since Freon removed his Verdant Apathy. The accumulated fatigue and pain began to catch up to them. Both sides fell into a standstill, but this was exactly what Elizabeth and Freon hoped for. Freon then recast Verdant Apathy on the remaining Ten Dawns. They would be the key to breaking out of this situation!