At this moment, the Vice Commander was caught in an absolute desperate situation. The massive silver claws of the high-ranking Draconian were closing in on him, each barbed spike clearly visible and terrifying.
However, in his world, everything felt different from what a normal person might imagine. In this desperate state, with all hope seemingly lost, his gaze was indifferent, as if he were a machine executing the final command of the late Commander—to protect the regiment and relay the vital information…
Now, he had only one thought in his mind: he must stop that Shadow Tiger, he must catch up to it! The ferocious Draconians, his own injuries, and the obstacles in the terrain all faded from his awareness. It was as if his entire perception had become a filter, discarding anything unrelated to the Shadow Tiger.
As he frantically pursued Dazmi, he instinctively channeled his battle energy. Unconsciously, the world before him began to shift. As he abandoned all distractions and focused his entire will to an unprecedented degree, the wind-elemental energy within him surged, achieving an unparalleled harmony with his body.
It was as if he had truly become one with the wind—free and unrestrained. Just as the wind is formless, in the crucible of desperate circumstances, this subconscious attunement allowed him to grasp the rhythm of the wind…
It was as if the very essence of the world had opened a tiny crack for him…
At that moment, his battle energy suddenly contracted. The azure glow on his body was no longer as intense as before, instead subtly spreading around him in a natural yet intricate pattern, accelerating his movement.
In an instant, he seemed to vanish from where he stood. The faint azure light transformed into a dim blue streak, rapidly closing the distance with the Shadow Tiger. Seizing the moment when his enemy had yet to react, he drove his sword straight into the creature's back!
"Argh!"
A heart-wrenching scream erupted from Dazmi. It hadn't even realized what had happened before the sword pierced its back.
As it attempted to turn around—
Shing! Shing! Shing!
In quick succession, several sword strikes, as swift as the wind, crisscrossed in a precise pattern, slicing the Shadow Tiger into multiple pieces!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Chunks of flesh, enveloped in blood, hit the ground, making a sound like fish flopping on dry land. The fierce energy had utterly destroyed Dazmi's life, leaving it no chance to even glimpse its assailant.
At this moment, the fleeing soldiers were all stunned, and the knights who had been covering their retreat came to a halt.
This action seemed to snap the Vice Commander back to his senses, like a soul returning to its body. The deathly pallor in his eyes quickly faded, replaced by a glimmer of clarity and reason. Seeing the soldiers who had stopped ahead, his face twisted in anger. He sent a wave of energy slashing at the ground in front of them, shouting:
"Move! Anyone who stops is a traitor to the Ninth Regiment!"
As his words echoed, he turned around, as if guided by instinct. His sword moved like a shadow, slashing toward the neck of the Draconian who was advancing on him.
The high-ranking Draconian, already on high alert, barely managed to pull its neck back, staring with incredulous eyes at the ground where Dazmi's body lay, and then at the Vice Commander, who had regained his composure. The Draconian stammered:
"Y-you… you just comprehended an Elemental Mystery?!"
Seeing the disbelief in his enemy's eyes and the puddle of purplish-red blood staining his boots, the Vice Commander showed no sign of joy. "Is that so? I have you to thank for it."
"As a token of my gratitude, please die under my sword, and accompany our fallen Commander in death…"
"Hmph, it's too early to say that. You're already severely injured. Even if you've just grasped the rudiments of an Elemental Mystery, you're no match for us!" The high-ranking Draconian eyed him warily. Despite its fear, it was determined to eliminate this new threat—a Sky Knight who had grasped an Elemental Mystery would be a formidable enemy to the beastmen. Although the Vice Commander was injured, they still had three high-ranking Draconians. The advantage was still theirs!
Shing!
The Vice Commander responded with action. Despite the blood flowing from his chest, he radiated unstoppable vitality. Wind-elemental energy exploded around him, scattering the dust in all directions.
Amid the swirling dust, the Vice Commander appeared behind a six-star Draconian in an instant. With a swift slash, he severed its head. The sword, narrow and sharp, hummed as it sliced through the Draconian's scales. As the head rolled, he quickly turned and slashed off the tail of another six-star Draconian.
Having executed these moves with fluid precision, the Vice Commander kicked off the ground, springing out of the battlefield. He landed on a rock nearby, looking down at the Draconians from above. A strange feeling stirred within him—so this is the power of an Elemental Mystery… incredible!
Meanwhile, Kumi, watching two of his comrades fall in the blink of an eye, felt a surge of fury, but he had nowhere to vent it. His tail lashed the ground furiously as he roared at the approaching Shadow Tiger forces: "All troops, abandon those stragglers and surround this Sky Knight!"
The combined forces of Shadow Tigers and Night Cats heeded the command, halting their chase and surging toward the Vice Commander like a black tide!
Seeing that everyone was converging on him, the Vice Commander felt a slight relief. His men were safe for now. If he could hold them off for a little while longer, he might just make it out of this battle alive. But the thought of facing such a large number of elite beastmen alone weighed heavily on him. Three high-ranking Draconians, dozens of mid-level Shadow Tigers, and hundreds of Night Cats and Minotaurs—if they surrounded him, the pressure would be immense.
In truth, he could probably escape right now without too much difficulty, but he couldn't do that yet. He had to buy time for his men to escape; otherwise, these beastmen would catch up to them in no time.
"At least… I need to hold out for half an hour…"
The Vice Commander murmured to himself as his gaze turned cold once more. Before the hundreds of beastmen could fully encircle him, he charged straight at Kumi, the Draconian leader.
Howls and roars
The chaotic cries of the beastmen filled the air. As several Shadow Tigers and Draconians closed in on him, the Vice Commander spun rapidly as he ran, his sword tracing circular arcs in the air. A fierce wind picked up, the wind-elemental energy swirling around him, rapidly forming a cyclone of razor-sharp blades.
Advanced battle technique—Cyclone Ripper!
What little battle energy remained within him surged out, fueling a massive storm. The approaching Shadow Tigers and Night Cats were shredded into mincemeat, their blood and flesh swirling high into the air, tainting the azure cyclone with a tinge of red.
In the past, he had rarely used this technique despite its wide range and considerable destructive power because of its high energy consumption and the fact that it wasn't as nimble as other wind-based techniques. But now, with the boost from his newfound speed Elemental Mystery, he had overcome this weakness.
The three high-ranking Draconians crouched low, their muscles swelling under their scales. They launched themselves like missiles, their explosive force turning them into silver streaks. Kumi's fingers spread wide as he pushed forward, seemingly gripping something solid. The next moment, the wind-elemental energy's slicing power hit him hard, causing intense pain!
The Vice Commander hadn't anticipated that the Draconian would be so reckless, trying to stop his technique barehanded. His sword was blocked, and the cyclone ended with one final slash. But the Draconian paid a heavy price for it.
Two severed hands flew into the air as Kumi's face twisted in agony. Driven by sheer battle instinct, Kumi swung his tail at the Vice Commander's waist, attempting to crush him in one powerful strike.
In the nick of time, the Vice Commander slashed downward, a blue arc of light slicing through the air, severing the giant tail.
But suddenly, a massive silver claw appeared behind him, slamming down with lethal force. If it connected, his skull would be crushed instantly.
With barely a moment to react, the intricate energy patterns around him shifted, allowing him to narrowly dodge the fatal blow!
Thud!
However, the claw still struck his left arm, shattering the bones. While it didn't tear his arm off, the bones and joints were almost entirely crushed, leaving his arm useless.
The Vice Commander quickly retreated, escaping the encirclement. His expression darkened as he eyed the Draconian leader. He hadn't expected his opponent to be so ruthless, sacrificing its own hands to trap him in a deadly exchange.
In the past, such behavior among royal beastmen on the Frozen Stream Front was rare. They had always been cautious, avoiding fatal injuries or severe wounds. But the invention of the extinction poison had drastically altered their approach, making them more willing to fight to the death. This reckless, do-or-die attitude had become increasingly common.
Feeling the intense pain in his left arm, the Vice Commander sighed inwardly. "I was overconfident. I've only just begun to grasp the Elemental Mysteries, but I still lack precise control in actual combat..."
Learning from his mistake, he decided to take a more cautious approach. Now wielding his sword with only one hand, he quickly turned and faced a charging Minotaur, piercing its throat with a single thrust.
Immediately, more beastmen surrounded him from all sides—Shadow Tigers, Draconians, Night Cats, and Minotaurs—each more savage than the last, launching wave after wave of ferocious attacks.
Utilizing the newly acquired Elemental Mysteries, the Vice Commander moved like a blur within the encirclement, leaving trails of blue light in his wake, making it nearly impossible for the beastmen to track him. Occasionally, he would send out a flash of blue sword energy, taking the life of yet another beastman.
The battle turned into a chaotic melee in the Karva Valley.
The valleys echoed with the roars of beastmen and the intermittent screams of the dying...
The three Draconians moved seamlessly through the formation, coordinating their attacks with precision. They maintained just enough distance to ensure that if one were attacked, the other two could provide immediate support, adhering to a strategy where, at worst, one might fall, but the opponent would be taken down with them.
The battle raged on for over ten minutes.
The once brilliant blue light began to dim, while the beastmen, driven by their savage instincts, fought with increasing ferocity. This was a species that grew more frenzied the longer they fought, their reason giving way to madness unless their stamina was utterly depleted, or their morale completely shattered by overwhelming force.
It was clear that the Vice Commander's strength alone was insufficient to overcome such a tide of enemies. The beastmen surged like a relentless ocean, their numbers rising and falling like waves. He was a lone boat in this storm, struggling to stay afloat. His condition steadily worsened as he continued to fend off the unending onslaught.
Facing an endless stream of beastmen, each individually weaker than him, but overwhelming in their sheer numbers, he occasionally found himself unable to parry an attack in time. Adding to his challenge, the three formidable Draconians required constant vigilance. Gradually, he accumulated more and more injuries. His armor was now in tatters, and his reserves of battle energy were nearly depleted.
At that moment, Kumi weaved through the ranks of beastmen, his eyes glinting with a sinister light as he spoke in a deceptively enticing voice:
"Human, stop this pointless struggle. If you surrender, I promise you won't be tortured, and I'll keep those female beasts from laying a hand on you."
"How much longer do you think you can last? The Elemental Mysteries may be powerful, but they consume a lot of energy, don't they? And you've only just begun to grasp it—you're no match for our army! If you stop resisting and provide us with valuable information, you might even get a chance to live..."
"Dream on!"
The Vice Commander's cold words dripped with contempt as a blue blade of sword energy shot towards Kumi.
"Hmph, then get ready for the torture feast that's coming your way..." Kumi growled, barely containing his rage. Despite his deep-seated hatred for the human who had severed his hands, he had extended the most generous offer he could, only to be rebuffed.
He lashed out with a powerful kick, but with a flash of blue light, his target was already gone, the Vice Commander using his speed-enhancing Elemental Mystery to swiftly reposition himself.
"Let's see how long you can keep running!" Kumi sneered, his muscles rippling like writhing worms beneath his skin. He roared loudly:
"All troops, listen up! This human is out of strength and barely holding on. Whoever lands the fatal blow will be handsomely rewarded!"