53 Insane Youth (I)
----
A long, drawn-out and ear-piercing screech appeared from Krone's weapons as an obscure aura formed. At the height of it, he roared as it reached the pinnacle of what he could achieve; a harrowing, murderous feeling could be felt from it creeping up on everyone's back.
"Scarlet Killing Strokes!" Krone as he dashed toward the Storm Colossus Lynx with a frenzied gleam in his eyes. Unfortunately, a second newcomer appeared at the same time.
[Ah, so it is a path derived from killing. However, to cultivate such a thing, one would have to experience murder firsthand and multiple at that. As I thought, this individual isn't a trustworthy person. Remain wary of him, he's also the strongest.]
The scarlet blades made contact with the Storm Colossus Lynx's pelage. However, its durability was not to be looked down upon. Deep gashes formed on its limb but it ignored this damage, glaring at Krone with murderous eyes, and crackles of lightning fluttering in the wounds.
On the other hand, glancing at the Scarlet Killing Strokes, Apollo narrowed his eyes. If he didn't look so intently, he would have missed the slight damage done to the blade. 'That move seems to have adverse effects on the wielded weapon. It's only a matter of time before it is rendered completely useless.'
Meanwhile, Slaid joined the fray while glancing at Apollo from the corner of his eye. There was a slight delay, but he still retrieved large amounts of throwing knives from the dead bodies in the area, but they were controlled unusually.
Each of the knives were engulfed in faint wisps of wind, giving them a slight propulsion. Unfortunately, his eyes widened in shock a few moments later.
"D-dodge!" Slaid roared, alerting Krone of danger. Immediately, Krone reacting with haste by doing to the side.
It was appalling to admit, but the knives' trajectory experienced an abrupt change during their flight. At the same time, a gleam passed through the Storm Colussus Lynx. Needless to say, it was the culprit of this development.
'Tch, it has a higher affinity with the wind element than I do. Long-distance attacks will be useless,' Slaid determined while being forced to switch his tactics. A silver glow appeared around Slaid's throwing knives. Surprisingly, he was amongst a rare variety in rogue cultivators—those who possessed dual-elements!
Not only did he possess the wind element, but he possessed a weaker affinity for the metal affinity as well.
[Those two strengths of his have good synergy.]
'Synergy? I see. That means when mixed together they can heighten one's strength, right?' Apollo asked, seeking some confirmation while also analyzing the new silvery gleam.
[Correct. Unfortunately, his wind element has been rendered useless due to that Spirit Beast possessing an elemental affinity eclipsing his own.]
'Interesting. If it's so then that raises some interesting questions,' Apollo muttered before inching forward. While doing so, the team's actions fell within his view.
Vren retaliated against the lynx by executed a wide slash. It succeeded in knocking away the lynx's paw which gave him confidence. Successfully pushing back the lynx allowed him to charge forward freely and execute a heavy slash covered in a dense yellow aura.
Compared to earlier, it was clear he channeled much more Natural Essence within the blow. Hence, it was incomparable in power.
"Join in! Don't just stand there. This is why we brought you here! Don't tell me fear has fucking overwhelmed you now," Krone roared as madness filled his eyes upon noticing Apollo's idle actions.
This battle was a difficult one, yet the newcomer he brought remained motionless; it infuriated him in addition to their current situation.
'How vulgar of this bitch. They're just lucky it isn't an opportune time,' Apollo thought as all the preparation to make a move. Just as he was about to move, he stopped because of what he and Azridan sensed. Preparing to make his move, Apollo stopped at Azridan's words.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
[I sense an oddly familiar presence incoming.]
With halted steps, Apollo looked down at the second newcomer. In fact, it was their absolute bane in this situation.
"Oh fuck! Is that a Zephyr Wolf? And it's Rank 2?" Slaid cursed as he retreated, focusing his attention on the incoming large azure-colored wolf. Its stampeding paws battered the ground as it turned into a gust of wind.
At this point, Slaid was forced to throw caution to the wind, encasing his lower limbs in a shell of wind as an obscure gleam flashed through his eyes, "Drifting Wind Movement!" His speed increased as he chased the Zephyr Wolf.
'Fast but not overly quick,' Apollo commented whilst finally making his move—darting from the tree he stood upon.
As he descended toward the ground, Apollo calculated the situation, 'Both of them are Rank 2, however, the lynx is a variant. I've already faced off against a Rank 1 Zephyr Wolf, so I hold no qualms going against it. Plus, it might be the easier choice.'
With his decision now certain, Apollo first verified that the others were too busy to take notice of his movements before kicking off the tree's trunk. An instant later, he disappeared under the mantle of the darkness, while keeping the presence of his technique a secret.
Only after traveling approximately 10 meters away did he cancel the state and pounce toward his target. Simultaneously, he rushed past Slaid while sparing him a glance as well as a brief sentence, "Keep it occupied, I'll deliver the killing blows."
After all, how could he squander this sublime chance?
Although he felt contempt, Slaid ultimately nodded and continued to utilize his movement technique, keeping the Zephyr Wolf at bay. At that moment, Apollo made his deadly move.
〈System: 2.7 Stat Points have been exhausted. [Action: Agility: 62.3 → 65.0]〉
Slaid fostered some thoughts after witnessing Apollo's abrupt burst in speed, 'Has he been hiding his true speed? Or is he perhaps straining himself to reach the extremes of his capabilities? I feel it's the latter, but afterward, he'll be a sitting duck. Good... good... put yourself in a precarious situation.'
Slaid chuckled darkly towards the end, believe Apollo's actions to be done in the well-being of the team.
Pucht!
Apollo's knife formed a deep gash on the side of the wolf's torso. Despite withholding the use of his technique, just utilizing all of his speed already turned Apollo into a frightening adversary. Based on this attribute only, he could give a Rank 2 Spirit Beast in the early to middle stage a challenge in escaping.
Furthermore, due to Apollo's agility and Slaid keeping its movements restricted; Apollo was able to unleash an unabated stream of deadly attacks.
Each slash opened the flesh of the Zephyr Wolf causing its eyes to turn crimson with fury. On the other hand, each slash caused indiscernible nicks in the Dark Cutter. Luckily, this beast didn't specialize in defense; if so, there was a chance of this weapon flat out breaking.
"We can't hold this thing much longer aye! Hurry the fuck up!" Vren roared desperately as he struggled to reconcile with the outrageous strength of the Storm Colossus Lynx. The veins in his arms swelled as he utilized all the strength he could muster. He began dreading the fact that his talent wasn't higher. If so, he wouldn't be in this situation.
"Damn those Shaanti brutes! If I ever get the chance, I swear I'll kill you," Vren snarled as his indignation swelled to new heights. Surprisingly, he was able to channel this fury into strength.
Meanwhile, like a hyperactive feline, Apollo blitzed back and forth. Amid delivering cuts that annoyed the wolf, he thought to himself, 'Shaanti? Why does that sound familiar.' Pushing the thought to the back of his mind, Apollo didn't dwell on the matter any further.
Soon after, the movements of the Zephyr Wolf became sloppy. Slipping up, it began to fail at evading Apollo's knife. At the same, Slaid capitalized on this matter.
He unleashed a flurry of throwing knives aimed at its joints. The attacks lowered its speed further, now allowing Apollo to land even more traumatic cuts. A few instances later, numerous cuts littered its physique.
A look of excitement appeared on Apollo's face as he licked the blood of the wolf off his knife. The sensation of overpowering something minutely stronger was delightful! 'This is what I crave! Power! More...give me more!'
[Spoken like a true demon! Kill!]
Azridan's words resonated with Apollo, causing him to increase the frequency of his brutal attacks. Apollo turned into a nearly indiscernible blur as he stabbed the wolf's eyes out, followed by slicing out its tongue. Being robbed of its sense, painful whimpers soon sounded.
'This kid is vicious!' Slaid thought to himself as he witnessed the youth before him disfiguring the wolf's body to such a degree. Needless to say, its painful yelps soon ceased falling to the ground—lifeless.
〈System: Congratulations for killing a Rank 2 Spirit Beast (Early Stage Zephyr Wolf).〉
〈System: 5,000 [2,500+2,500] Experience gained.〉
〈System: Experience: 17,180/87,900〉
With a small smirk, Apollo dashed towards the Storm Colossus Lynx without pause. At the same time, Slaid followed suit turning into a gust of wind.
Peng!
A metallic noise was heard as the lynx defended against Apollo's sneak attack. A human-like disdainful expression appeared. However, while it was too focused on Apollo, the other three launched a three-pronged attack each with their strongest blows.
"Earthen Obliteration!"
"Lucid Piercing Winds!"
"Murderous Tides!"
A myriad of Natural Essence aimed at the lynx bombarded its body. In response, violent winds and arcs of lightning burst from its body. Within its eyes, large amounts of purple lights flickered which made the others widen their eyes, whilst one thought flooded their minds.
'Is this not enough? It's three blows of maximum output from Zul Warriors for god's sake!' Krone thought with reddened eyes.
On the other hand, Apollo's train of thought diverged from theirs, 'I'll definitely claim it's life!' An obstinate gleam birthed within his eyes as he dashed forward unabated.
'It's just pain—I've felt it before,' thought Apollo as his skin was lacerated by the fine arcs of lightning then seared from its heat... Yet even then he remained undeterred.
[Are you going to use that? If you do so, you'll expose your arsenal.]
'I know, but this is a Rank 2 Variant.'
[Then, I have a solution.]
