1134. In the Skies(2)
Sickle and blade collided, spraying sparks everywhere. The dashing-looking cultivator already had a hard time fending off the attack from the flying striker, he couldn't even react when Bercy leaped off the mount and kicked him in the face with a satisfying crunch, turning his shapely nose into a swollen potato.
With a mighty push, the cultivator tumbled to earth, while she made a back flick to land on the aerial striker. She couldn't help the wolfish grin on her face. She didn't mind that most of the guys in the air were not her match, it just made the hunt more fun.
She was already aiming for the next target when the hair on her neck suddenly stood on end. Crouching down, she evaded the jaws biting at her neck She immediately counter-attacked, but her attack passed through a black mist. Her nose canine nose wrinkled.
"Vampire Scum," she exclaimed, ejecting claw aura to blow away the dark mist. A few meters away, a man wearing a wine-red, intricate coat took shape, floating in the air. He was sickly pale and had a pronounced pair of canines. It was Count Nox, from the first round of the tournament!
"You dirty mutt, you wrinkled my suit," he cursed her, smoothing his coat.
"Not just a bloodsucker, but a spatian rat, too," Bercy spat out aggressively, despite not being too confident in her victory. Vampires were a tricky opponent, when one didn't have an effective attack As it would happen, the werewolf lady didn't possess a holy skill.
The best she could do was to draw the fight out and- Nox's head suddenly exploded into a cloud of fine crimson mist right before her eyes. Some gory pieces of his brain, and skin with hair hit her and got stuck in her fur. She had been barely able to see whips of golden light passing by.
The vampire's body plummeted to the ground, while Bercy looked around for the perpetrator. In the corner of her eyes, she saw another streak of light, taking the life of a cultivator in the air. This time she saw where it came from.
Down on the ground, not far from the Arena's exit stood Ibelin Godfrey. He waved at the werewolf when he noticed her gaze on him. How terrifying. She had not known that the crusader was even more dangerous in extreme long-range battle than in the arena! He had killed Nox in a single shot, and this time the vampire was dead for good.
...
In a different place, Lydia had engaged one of the Alliance Elders. Under her constant suppressive fire, her opponent had descended to a now empty viewing plaza. There was still fighting in the streets, but this place had emptied quickly when the people on the ground saw the big shot approach.
With the sword in hand, instead of floating with it in the air, he blocked her barrage of arrows, at least those he had to dodge to prevent injury. Lydia didn't like it, but she had to admit that her opponent was strong and skilled.
Now that they were in the place, her opponent rushed forward to engage in a melee fight. a sound decision, in close range the bow was not as effective of a weapon, giving him an advantage. What he didn't expect was that following him to the ground was Lydia's plan all along.
The sharp sword, skillfully wielded in a synergy of martial arts and spiritual energy, was crudely smacked away by the violent bash of The Bat. Since the bat came out, Lydia had no intention to show mercy.
Skillfully weaving her divine skill with the power of Gravity Bat and the trait of Kanabo Demon, she unleashed a series of brutal strikes. She could feel her opponent tremble in fear when he tried to block her strikes.
The chosen of Wepwawet didn't aim for him but was deliberately aiming for his sword. Whenever he tried to execute a technique, the bat would strike down. Over and over until the sword finally flew out of his hand.
The blood of his own ripped and torn palm had cost him his weapon. The unarmed opponent quickly faced the horror of the bat, at least it was over quickly. She had no time for recovery, or rather, it was not given to her.
"oh, a contest of blunt weapon? Challenge accepted!"
She had just ended the elder of the whatever-sect when she heard someone talk. Accompanying the sentence was an almost imperceptible strike aimed at her head. The incredible speed made her unable to react in time. She already saw him live shooting by, when the cudgel was stopped right before her eyes.
She looked up to get a clear sight of her attacker. It was a slender cultivator in an uncharacteristically green armor with golden ornaments. His face was hidden by the wooden mask of a monkey face, fitting his wild short hair rising skyward.
In the corner of her eyes, she saw what had stopped the cudgel. A weapon she was very familiar with, despite not seeing it used it battle. A very wide-bellied blade, made for hacking and slashing.
No handle, no crossbar, just one continuous piece of red metal.
The Slaughter's Blade oozing with crimson vapor pushed back against the cudgel. Wielding it was a massive anthropomorphic lion wearing exotic armor. Mike, wearing the Slaughter's set had appeared in her moment of need.
Cudgel and blade started to shake when both fighters put more force into their locked weapons to gain the upper hand. Ultimately, it was the monkey mask that did a flip back to recover its stance and face the two chosen from Minas Mar.
"Be careful, Lydia. This monkey is a level above the other riffraff here. We should work together and end him quickly," Mike whispered to her, suggesting to go all out together with him, to finish the fight quickly.
"What are you whispering? Are you worried for your woman? I will allow the woman to retreat, so we can have a proper battle!" the cultivator offered honorably, as he vigilantly watched the two, ready to react. Lydia shot him a contemptuous look before she turned into the figure of a silver-blue anthropomorphic wolf, not any smaller than the lion.
"W-Wait a moment, 2vs1 doesn't sound fair, right?" Monkey Mask stuttered, visibly losing tension in his stance. it seemed like he just lost confidence in taking on the both of them.
"Too bad, we at Minas Mar never prided ourselves on offering our opponents a fair fight," the Lion said, exposing his big fangs with a grin, before charging at the cultivator, wielding his pair of Slaughter Blades, while Lydia changed to the bow, assuming the place of the rearguard.
...
The sky above the Pythian Village had turned into a battlefield and it didn't look good for the cultivators. Epsilon's fleet that had appeared earlier shot down the flying barges one by one. The swarm of cultivators was under heavy fire, from arrows, magic, and bullets from the ground. The elder of the spirit severing stage and above that could hold their own were fragmented, either fighting the allies of Minas Mar or trying to attack the enemy fleet.
Forced to see his men get decimated in an ambush, the sect leader turned away from the barrier. With hatred burning in his eyes, he slashed the attacking Python with a quick movement, so fast that barely anyone in the audience was able to see.
The Guardian had shown a poor performance, but nobody expected things to just end. The situation above the city had given them hope, but now the only one that kept the immortal in check was gone.
Umi's breath stopped and her heart sank. This was it! In shock, she watched the passive snake, as big as a crown scraper, crumble apart into massive chunks of ice. Python was slain! The guardian of Little Gamma had fallen at the hand of a legendary adversary.
In horror, the whole audience watched the death of Python, except for the Tower Master, who seemed frustrated rather than shocked. After getting rid of what only seemed like a nuisance to him, the sect leader of the Silk River Sect turned to the barrier.
Lifting his translucent ice saber, he slashed at the barrier, crumbling the 20-story-high ice walls. the actual impact could even be heard in the stadium, just moments after it appeared on the screen.
"What are we doing? The city barrier can only hold him back for so long! We can't face a legend of such strength!" Umi finally snapped, giving in to the panic and showering the Tower Master with Questions and worries.
The Tower Master just held her an arm's length away from him and looked at the screen with a disappointed sigh. It seemed like this wasn't part of the plan!