32 The Saint Realm Joins the Fray

The guy was writhing in pain but I didn't pass up on this chance.

I aimed another hack to his head. 

With this I can finally be freed up to help them.

But before my sword fell down that blunt Augmented Skill came out of him again.

I jumped back and saw him already starting to stand up. His weapon that should be held by his two hands were now being held by his remaining hand.

"You… I'll kill you!"

What the hell is this cliched line?

If not for that Saint Realm I would've retorted to him. But now's not the time.

This guy, I can defeat him.

I'll finish it and help the others. If the Aura of Enhancement wears off before we face that Saint Realm, we'll be sitting ducks against him.

But will he really wait until his underlings got killed off one by one?

This isn't that kind of show where villains will wait for their underlings to die first before moving!

Like I thought. When he saw me cutting off the arm of that guy, his sight was already set on me.

I'll make sure to finish this opponent first.

I was about to deliver my final blow when my body jumped back by itself.

A crater then immediately appeared from where I was standing earlier

What the hell?!

This is…

My Adaptability helped me dodge just now. It detected the changes around me that my body moved even before my mind processed it.

This meant I improved, unlike that time when the Priest attacked me and I have no way to dodge even if I knew that an attack was thrown towards me.

This time, my Physique was continuously enhanced, leading my reflexes to improve as well. And there's also the Sword Mastery.

But it won't always work this way. Just now was a lucky stroke. Now that I'm aware, it will be harder to dodge it unless I see it first.

He attacked the space between me and his underling. Which means he determined that I'm about to finish the guy.

"C-chieftain?!"

He became terrified instead of overjoyed from what his chieftain did.

"To think that I have these useless underlings. It's a waste corrupting you as well. I should've put you all in that cauldron!"

The first words that came out of his mouth was to berate his underlings. The other 4 Augmented Realms are also not faring well against Erin, Avelin and the tribesmen.

"C-chieftain. This guy. He did something to them!"

The guy whose arm was cut off by me defended themselves.

"Isn't that why I used my Halo on you? But you still lose. Pathetic."

He stopped bothering about him and instead looked at me.

"You're an interesting brat. Won't you join our cause? A 1st Stage cutting the arm of a 5th Stage. That's unheard of. You have a bright future."

Eh? Why is he recruiting me?

Right. The same from the previous world. My Adaptability is masking my true origin. For them, I'm just another barbarian. The Lightning Chief was the only Helper this world asked.

But yeah, I need to act for a bit. At least until my companions finished their opponents.

The enhancement from the orb is better than this Saint Realm's Halo. They can kill them off. I just need to buy them time.

"What cause?"

"Leading this world to a better future."

Better future? Really? You got cut off from the Brute Energy, what's your future?

"Future?"

"This world will soon be conquered and assimilated. When that happened, Barbarians wouldn't only be dependent on Brute Energy. A new and higher type of Energy will fill this world."

Ah. I see. This is their goal. By assimilating this world or any of the 30 Otherworlds, they will have passage to Earth. Not only a passage, this world will be like their own world as well.

Will Brute Energy be replaced? Then won't that cut off their Physique Cultivation path or can the necessary energy be replaced by their own energy after the assimilation?

"What kind of energy?"

"That type of information isn't free. You have to decide. Will you join or not?"

The energy is probably what corrupted them and turned them stronger. But what is a higher type of energy?

I acted to think about it for a few minutes. Struggling to make a choice.

"Sorry. I'm still fond of Brute Energy."

"Fool. Then die."

A dagger flew from him. I saw it and raised my sword to deflect.

The energy explosion abated its force for a bit and the sword deflected it but it pushed me back from where I was standing.

"Erin. Until when will I wait?!"

I shouted. The Saint Realm's patience ran out when I rejected him.

Well, I also need them now.

The clock is ticking. There's only a few minutes before the enhancement wears off. 

Right after I shouted, 3 howls of pain and bodies dropping to the ground rang out from behind me.

I don't know what's happening but judging from those voices, it's from their opponents.

"We're actually waiting for you to end your chat."

Erin answered and right after that another body dropped down.

"This… Chieftain, he was just buying for time by entertaining you."

"I know that!" 

The Saint Realm angrily howled which made the one-armed guy distance himself immediately.

"Useless underlings and a crafty brat."

He clicked his tongue and released his pressure. The Halo from earlier appeared again and this time it enveloped him. His body seemingly buffed up but judging from its effect on the Augmented Realms earlier, it's not a huge increase in strength.

Erin and the others are now standing behind me but they're a bit exhausted. Especially Erin, fighting two enhanced corrupted barbarians must be hard for her.

The pressure he's giving out is now on par with those four at Raiden's welcoming party.

I sent a Psyche Boost to Erin. It might not be as effective if I use it to her but refreshing her mind will make her more alert. Concentrating on battle can also drain mental strength after all.

Now I'm down to 9 charges. 

I still haven't used the Orb of Concealment. It uses a huge amount of World Energy and I don't have unlimited supply of it here, I can only use it as a means to escape and right now is not the time yet.

I had them spread out a bit to prepare. This is a Saint Realm, and a corrupted one at that.

Maybe there will be casualties but it's inevitable if we want to live through this.

I looked at the remaining time for the enhancement.

4 minutes.

We need to end him within 4 minutes. A loss of 10 strength and 10 endurance will really pull us down.