Chapter 175. [Second Energy Cycle] Powerhouse.

The Stormriders that were around saw Flor managing to snatch Eldric, and their faces sank. The battle situation was chaotic enough because of the five giant serpents roaming the place and the Rose Fairies using their wind attacks to block their ability to move. Now, their leader was captured by the enemy.

If Eldric died, they would die as well. 

However, from the second they were attacked the first time until now, the enemies had surprisingly managed to break their formations and create chaos between them continuously. 

By the time Flor managed to get a hold of Eldric, there were no people left to help. Eldric's face grimaced when the sharp wind in Flor's hand materialized, and together with his scream of regret, a burst of wind blasted him flying as blood burst everywhere. 

The Stormriders saw Eldric's state and rushed toward him, wanting to recover him before he smashed against the ground and died. Yet, as the ones that managed to shake off their enemies rushed to help, the ring of flowers around Liu Shu lit up again, and several beam-like attacks covered the sky. The World Tree's aim was impeccable thanks to her super spatial awareness, allowing her to miss Eldric completely.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! 

As the barrage of projectile seeds blocked their descent, the flying snakes arrived and blocked their way with several lightning and fire aether attacks. 

Knowing that recovering Eldric before he landed on the ground was impossible, the Stormrider group gritted their teeth and turned around, trying to flee. During all this time, their numbers had decreased from 25 to 14. In the meantime, they could damage their enemies. However, they only managed to score three lucky kills on a few Rose Fairies using range attacks. 

The Sylvan Stormrider that was facing off against Tempestria shouted. "Retreat! Sir Eldric is lost!"

The others who were fighting off the serpents and Rose Fairies frowned, yet they knew that they were in a disadvantaged position. While, in general, the Stormrider group wouldn't have had so much trouble fighting them, the shots that came from below at first thoroughly destabilized the formation. Then, thanks to the surprising strength of the Serpents and the wind-attributed expertise from the Rose Fairies, they could continue to disrupt and gain aerial superiority.

Flor saw their intentions and looked around. She could see that the snakes were somewhat hurt, each of them having lost between 10 to 20 thousand Phoer Body Shards. On the side of the Rose Fairies, those that were struck were flying wrongly, and between them, Clavel and Amapola were heavily injured from covering for other Rose Fairies.

After a moment of hesitation, she shouted. "Retreat!"

They all descended, and both groups separated. 

Eldric, falling to his death, looked at the past and regretted many things. 'I shouldn't have been so greedy. My path to becoming Lord Stormrider was almost guaranteed. I needed to be better than my cousins, half-siblings, and blood siblings.'

Eldric saw the Stormriders trying to reach for him, but a yellow light swallowed his surroundings, pushing them back. 'Level 19s were too weak… The growth of this place is completely outside the norm…'

In the past, perhaps this group would've been enough to raze this place to the ground. But now, it is not possible. 'And soon… I am going to die…'

Turning around, he could already see the ground approaching at a very high speed. He closed his eyes, tears slipping from the corner of his eyes. 'I don't want to die!'

And then, he landed. 

However, he didn't die. He felt his body falling onto a strangely bouncy surface. 'Huh?' Opening his eyes, he noticed his body enveloped in a vine net. 'What happened?'

"Well, we caught quite a big bird."

Eldric looked to the side and saw Verdantia leaning on a tree and looking at him. "V-Verdantia!? Release me! You don't know what you are doing!"

Verdantia sighed. "Look, Eldric. You were already getting on our nerves, and now you've guided a high-level person from the Nexus toward us. Do YOU understand what you've done?" 

Verdantia approached and kicked his face. "You are disgusting, Eldric. Nexus people are evil without any redeeming qualities! They cut down forests; they enslave World Trees; they mistreat all races that are not human; they are even against considering flora as sapient beings! They are crazy people!"

Verdantia approached and grabbed the vines, pulling him toward the town while Eldric struggled. "Release me!"

Verdantia ignored him. "I don't understand. Is getting our tree so important? I mean, I understand the benefits. However, even if you dominate this place with the help of the Nexus, could you have been at ease with them as an ally!? I don't think so!"

"Then again, he might've been lured in by a beauty on the other side." Eldric looked toward the new voice and saw Cinderielle looking at him with a cold expression. 

Thinking back, everything started because he fancied Cinderielle. Therefore, he tried to investigate her, discovering the World Tree hiding in the forest. Feeling desperate and wanting to vent, he shouted at her. "If you were obedient and allowed me to capture you, nothing like this would've happened! Why were you so adamant not to be with me!?"

Cinderielle deadpanned. "Did he hit his head when falling from the sky? I mean, his Phoer Body Shards are quite low."

Verdantia shrugged as she continued dragging him away. "Whatever. Even if he is crazy, it's not my problem. He will die in a few hours at most."

Suddenly, Liu Shu's rushed voice reached them. 'Verdantia, Cinderielle, run back!'

Without a second of hesitation, both women shot back toward the town, arriving a few seconds later. When they were close to the wall, they felt a chill of fear running up their spines and quickly accelerated further. 

They looked back for a second, and a person appeared from the forest as they crossed the wall's narrow opening. There, a man with a terrifying aura stood, looking at them with a cold expression. 

The man leaned forward and crouched, pushing against the ground while creating an explosive sound.

Boom!

The walls trembled and deformed when the man's fist landed. The blow was strong enough that it made Liu Shu grunt in pain. 'That punch almost blasted the wall open! Attack!'

The Flower Field aimed and used their space attributed seeds.

The man on the other side, Finnian, clicked his tongue as he felt a small threat coming his way. 'As expected, I can't stroll here without caring.'

He used his Aether mana to cover his arms and blocked the invisible attacks that he perceived through his energy-sensing abilities. 

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! 

[-214]! [-327]! [-208]! [-474]! [-241]! [-297]! [-358]! [-347]! 

Finnian hummed. 'Not bad, this attack took around 4000 Phoer Body Shards… Although, with my 2 Phoer Body Cores and 84 thousand Phoer Body Shards, it's nothing but a scratch.'

HISSS!

'Hm? Giant serpents? These are the ones that pushed the Stormriders back?'

Liu Shu ordered, her voice commanding. 'Ophion! Hold him back!'

Ophion was the first Arboreal Winged Serpent that Liu Shu invoked from the other side. He was the strongest, with nearly 200,000 Phoer Body Shards after receiving all the buffs. His Physique stat was also nearing 700. 

Adding the natural resistance of his scales and body, he could fight physically powerful enemies almost without any problem. 

When Liu Shu called Ophion, he descended from the sky, his eyes locked on the enemy.

Finnian looked upward and squinted. 'Little Snake is too confident.' 

Finnian waited until Ophion was closer, and then, he jumped. His body shot several meters into the sky and kicked Ophion's head. "Crash down, flying worm."

BANG!

A shockwave shook the area, and Ophion's head was blown sideways. The rest of the force in that kick threw the giant serpent's body down like a meteor. Finnian did not come out unscathed, and Ophion's blow was able to push Finnian away.

While Finnian was landing back down, he noticed that two of the serpents that were similar to Ophion were rushing at him. 'Hm. There were five in total. Where are the other two?' 

Hearing a spark from the sky, he looked upward and noticed a powerful wave of Aether Mana surging above him. 'There they are…'

The instant he landed on the ground, the attacks of the two Aether Serpents were shooting down at him while the two Physique Serpents were on top of him. 'Stronger than expected. No wonder those Level 19s were defeated.'

Unsheathing his sword, he moved in a second, releasing four quick strikes toward the four serpents. "Back off! <Four Earth Slash>"

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Finnian lightly grunted as his body uncontrollably took a few steps back. 'Tsk. The rest of the people are gathering and starting to get courage. Sigh… I can't save the boy by myself. I need to retreat.'

Not wasting a second after that, he turned and shot away from the town. Ophion looked at him, but he didn't pursue. He understood that this person was too strong to try and stop. 

Still, Flor and the other Sylvans wanted to try to stop him because they thought they had a chance, so they started approaching. Nevertheless, Liu Shu's voice boomed in their heads before they did something silly. 'DON'T!'

Flor and the rest instantly stopped and looked over. They could see that Finnian had his hand tightly wrapped around the handle of his sword, but when he saw that they weren't coming anymore, he clicked his tongue and further accelerated. 'A shame. I thought I could bring one of them with me. Still… The World Tree didn't move? Or, the supposed World Tree, because that over there is a Life Tree.'

Then, he disappeared into the forest.

Everyone looked with severe faces as the giant serpents slowly stood up, clearly in pain. They all moved and climbed the wall, going toward the Temple Of Summoning to recover quickly. The battle was far from over.

The Arboreal Serpents being in pain and not heavily injured came as a surprise to many, though. After all, they just received the attacks of a <Second Energy Cycle> powerhouse. However, thanks to their heritage, their defense was terrifyingly high.

Flor and the Sylvans heard Liu Shu's voice in their heads. 'Never even DARE to come close to that person. He is too strong. One hit, and he can kill you.'

Flor looked at the indented area in the wall, which looked like a giant had punched it with fear in her heart. 'She is right. I was too rushed. While the wall is less sturdy than Liu Shu's main body, it's not that far off… if Liu Shu received that punch, it would already be bad, but if I receive it…'

Meanwhile, one of the human explorers stuttered. "I-Isn't that <Earth Sword Finnian>? We are fighting against him!?"

Morrigan barked orders, his face scrunched in frustration. "Stop being in a daze! Someone must go back and call Lord Wert before we are annihilated!"

Simultaneously, Eldric laughed when he saw the reactions around him. "You are all doomed! Hahahaha! Once Lord Finnian arrives with the help of his army, you are done for!"

Everybody looked over with frowns, and Flor flew over, carrying him toward the middle. "Even if he does, you won't be alive by then."