Chapter 163: Chapter 163 Battling the Guardian Part 02.
Leon tried to ease his body, puffing his chest out to fill his lungs, but in that single moment, the figure of the guardian disappeared from his sight, and his body shuddered as the tingling fear that assaulted his spine came from behind him. Then, he reflexively turned his back, seeing the guardian raised his right leg up before stomping it to the ground.
A huge roaring boom resonated on the land, piercing Leon, Eijii, Eri, and Lydia's ears as they saw a tremendous might from the guardian's mere foot. The flat land cracked, making a unnatural spider-web while raising a cloud of dust that covered the surrounding are.
Leon, who kept his gaze intently at the students' place, felt his breath taken away by the sheer power the guardian unleashed. A gust of wind passed their way and blew away the dust accumulated on the battlefield. There lay many unconscious Students' some of them unlucky, while bathed in their blood.
"...You!".
Seeing the students sprawled on the ground, Leon's body tensed as blood began to rush toward his head. He summons a single longsword from his storage, trying to engage the guardian. Eiji and Eri are also ready for their respective ways of attack. Meanwhile, Lydia, whose knees are weakened, dropped to the ground, sitting with a pale face, looking at the imposing figure of the guardian.
Leon grips the blade hilt tightly before the guardian once again vanishes from his sight. His body tensed as he raised his sword up front to block the incoming kick aimed at his abdomen.
The sword cracked before it shattered into a speck of fine dust scattered in the air, glittering like stars. The force of the kick still remains as it is embedded into Leon's stomach, making the air in his lungs blasted and his body being flung away from the place.
"Gahak!".
With swift movement from the guardian, he took care of Eiji, Eri and Lydia, simultaneously separating them while holding their ached abdomen.
The guardian turned his gaze sideways, seeing many unconscious people and the battle that ended in his overwhelming victory.
In one of the corners of the crater, Soma, who had already woken up from his momentarily lost consciousness, looked toward the battlefield where the guardian stood there straight, victorious as he watched the mother star.
He began to open his status fast and allocated his gained extra points into his Mana and Physique.
[Stats Raised:
- Physique: 79 > 94
- Soul: 95 > 110]
[Remaining Extra Points 20 > 0]
With the sudden increase in his strength, his blood boils as it sends through the course of his veins a new awoken power invigorating his tired body. Soma saw the guardian shift his attention to Leon, trying to approach him.
"...Not so fast!".
Soma, who saw what happened, reached the point of no return as he activated his last resort skill.
[Oni Wrath activated]
[100 mana will be consumed in a second]
[Remaining Time 22 seconds]
An ominous aura began to leak out from Soma's entire body, attracting the gaze of the guardian as he bloated his eyes, not believing that the power Soma had seemed familiar.
"This is not enough!".
[Martial Saint First Technique - Three steps of Heavenly Lightning Tribulation]
"First step - Lightning Scatter".
Soma's body was enveloped with new power as hundredths of crimson tiny bolts began to dance across his skin and slightly raise his languid hair, making the black color gets mixed with a shade of crimson.
All Soma five senses had been enhanced, and he could see the world more clearly and in more detail. The seemingly bright world filled with color turned gray as soma accelerated toward the guardian.
Maybe because the guardian was still dumbfounded by the power Soma leaked, his response got delayed for a moment, and that moment was Soma couldn't miss out. He delivered a straight punch toward his left jaw, making the guardian's body twitch as he moved one of his legs to support his crumbling stance.
"...Even with my all. This is what he got, huh". Soma retreated toward Leon's side as he kept his gaze on the guardian.
"Leon, are you alright?".
"Yeah, somehow".
Leon, whose lungs were on fire and his abdomen felt like it was torn, clutching his abs, Leon forced his body to sit. He cast his gaze toward the two figures who stood before him, with a slight taste of bitterness in his lips and unconsciously bit his lips.
"Here, take this?".
A shadow descended before Leon's dumbfounded face. An item just got thrown before his eyes. It let a clicking sound as Leon's eyes bloated in shock upon seeing the item.
"This?!".
The item Soma throws was of a black hilt, a golden guard with intricate hippogryph, plus a third of its blade still attached to its hilt. This was the item or relic Leon lost in the auction, and he could only pray to god to give him another chance to find the hilt.
"Soma, Are you perhaps?".
"Talk later. Use that first and then help the other students regain their consciousness while I hold that man!".
Soma, who didn't want Leon to get involved in the fight, dashed forward, confronting the guardian head-on. With their roles reversed Soma was being pressured by the sheer overwhelmed feeling of his depth of martial arts, making Soma's body shudder in slight delight and fright.
However, Soma uses this as a chance that wouldn't come often. So Soma, while doing his absolute best to dodge, deflect, or block all the guardian's incoming attacks, does not forget to pry open his eyes and force his brain to remember every move perfectly.
A multiple combination of strikes begins to be unleashed by the guardian. A tiger form for power and might, a Crane for agility and flexibility, a Tortoise for its defence and stance, and a Dragon for ultimate moves.
The guardian with fluid motion combines all those factors in an engaging battle with Soma.
[Remaining time 9 seconds]
The appearance of the translucent window before Soma's eyes, its distracting his mind and blocking his sight, creating an opening for the guardian to land a clean strike.
"Bukh".
A heavy blow toward his abs jolts his brain out and sends an excruciating agony across his veins, making him kneel on the spot. The guardian stood in front of Soma while maintaining his serene gaze.
Leon, who saw the fight that ended faster than he thought, began to feel restless as sweat accumulated on his forehead. His gaze landed on the broken sword in his hands. He heard what kind of sword was in his possession right now from his grandfather. Leon's grandfather also gave him one of the sword pieces before he passed away.
However, as much as he knew about the story about the sword, the sword itself was practically useless right now.
"What should I do?".
At the same time as Leon said those words, the orange sun that peeked its remaining eyes at the land submerged slowly as the light from the horizon shone brightly, giving the land its final farewell before changing its shift. The warm ray basked the land as its light aligned in a horizontal line.
"What?!".