Supreme Magus

Chapter 4120: Frenzied Battle (Part 1)

Friya Blinked away to get some distance and weave more spells while the Upyrs still couldn’t believe what had just happened.

Not only had the human woman’s spell cost them the surprise advantage, but it had also allowed her teammates to scatter around.

’We’ve lost a teammate, and Salanoth’s Captured World is useless now.’ Jorl said. ’Split up and take them down before that woman prepares more spells, or we’ll end up like Cicro.’

The Storm Griffon conjured dozens of hard-light shields, using them to restrict Lith’s movements and field of view as he swung his twin maces, Dusk Wraith.

The Tiamat answered by unleashing a tier five Spirit Spell, Primordial Roar, that sent the constructs flying and robbed the Storm Griffon of his momentum.

The air element created a powerful shockwave whose strength was boosted by the fire element, while water froze Jorl, earth locked his joints’ movements, light needles seeped through the cracks in his armor, and darkness strengthened all other elements.

’Blocking maces with a sword is stupid. Blocking maces infused with Thunder Soul is suicidal.’ Lith thought while lunging at the stunned Storm Griffon.

He infused Ragnarök with all elements and activated the air aspect of the Davross, further boosting the effects of Vital Storm. Jorl grunted and needed to cross Dusk Wraith to stop the blade’s charge, but he succeeded.

"Whatever that golden lightning of yours is, it’s not much. You’re slow, Verhen." Life Maelstrom and the Griffon’s physique made up for the mass gap between them, giving Jorl the speed advantage.

"About that." Lith exhaled a burst of Void Flames from his hand, having it move along the clashing weapons and wash over Jorl’s body.

The black fire and silver lightning negated each other, leaving Jorl as stunned as he was weakened.

"The fu-" A highly compressed Final Eclipse hit the Storm Griffon’s face and cut him short.

The stream of darkness-infused fire threw Jorl off balance, leaving him open to Lith’s thrust to the head. If not for the constructs putting themselves in Ragnarök’s path and Jorl infusing himself with another bolt of Life Maelstrom, he would have died there.

’If only I could use Griffon Fetters, I would never let him escape.’ Lith inwardly cursed. ’But I remember what Grandma taught me. Forcing a Griffon into a slugfest is like planning your own funeral.

’In close combat, weapons are faster than magic, and with the physical gap between us, he only needs Life Maelstrom to kill me.’

Meanwhile, Nalrond was in a pinch. All he could do was to stack his hard-light constructs on himself and release heat rays from his limbs to propel himself out of harm’s way.

He had nothing that could stop a Divine Beast’s rampage, and there was no known protection against Thunder Soul. He extended the bone spikes from his wrists and knees while stretching his limbs in a cross pose.

"Remember this." Dawn’s lessons echoed through his mind. "My tower is not the only reason I faced Thrud and almost defeated her. When I fight a Divine Beast, I always use my equipment as a framework for my constructs.

"It gives them the equivalent of a skeleton. Something that supports my constructs and softens the strain they suffer with every impact. Otherwise, a construct of that mass would require too much mana and collapse under its own weight."

Nalrond conjured the tier four Mage Knight spell that Friya had taught him, Phantom Blade, and combined it with the Light Mastery he had learned from Dawn.

The mystical energy of Phantom Blade used Nalrond’s bone spikes as a template to extend them temporarily, tripling their attack range. The Agni then used Light Mastery to expand the Phantom Blades to a size that could threaten a Divine Beast.

The heat rays he released from his feet allowed him to move like a living missile and be faster than the Life Maelstrom-infused Upyr. That, coupled with the sudden appearance of the Phantom Blade,s took the corrupted Divine Beast by surprise.

Nalrond released a tier five Raging Sun as he punched through the enemy, leaving behind a smoking hole the size of a tunnel.

’This is not barbecue smell!’ The Agni performed a U-turn and noticed that the Upyr’s wound was healing at a noticeable speed. ’This is burned wood smell. The bastard is a plant folk!’

The corrupted Divine Beast bolted after Nalrond, who was forced to escape.

’My favorite elements, light and fire, are useless against plant folk. I need to-’ The Upyr covered the distance with the Agni faster than he could think.

To make matters worse, the corrupted Divine Beast shapeshifted his arms into countless tendrils, each infused with Thunder Soul, and all of them whipped at the Agni.

The tendrils covered an area too vast to dodge them all, and Thunder Soul made them impossible to block. Nalrond released a heat ray from each of his limbs, using the sudden acceleration to escape the death trap.

Alas, it wasn’t enough. Nalrond wasn’t used to flying with Light Mastery, and what he gained in speed he lost in maneuverability. He could only move in an almost straight line, something that didn’t escape his opponent’s notice for long.

While the Agni needed sheer focus to outrun his enemy and conjure a water-based spell, the Upyr had an emerald wall appear on Nalrond’s flight path. The impact broke his focus and stopped the heat rays propelling him forward for a second.

The Upyr’s vines shattered all the hard-light layers with which the Agni had wrapped himself, losing so much momentum in the process that they failed to break past the final Spirit Barrier protecting him.

The Thunder Soul the vines carried, however, had no such problem. It struck Nalrond’s internal organs, making him cough up blood.

’Cheating is a game two can play!’ He channeled what mana he had left in a powerful heat ray that blinded the Upyr and allowed the Agni to ride the momentum of the blow to avoid the second fist that was about to end him.

***

"I’ve dreamed of this moment since I learned of your existence, you traitor!" Akhton snarled, lunging at Crank with his spear, Ashen Dread. "You abandoned your country! You sold yourself for a pile of gold coins while Verendi rots!"

The flurry of attacks hit the Hyperion like a meteor shower, and to make matters worse, all thrusts were aimed at his vitals.

"I didn’t sell myself for a pile of gold coins, kid." Crank’s fur, armor, and Mana Body were all boosted by Vital Storm, allowing him to suffer only shallow cuts. "I sold myself for a shitload of gold coins!"

His Warshackles armor was formed by countless long, barbed hooks that, under normal conditions, overlapped perfectly, giving the impression of a flat surface.

When the armor was hit, the hooks would spring out and stab at the aggressor, trapping them. The hooks had been coated with a short-range but powerful gravity spell that worked akin to a universal glue.

Even if the enemy used a blade, claws, or anything that the hooks couldn’t pierce, they would get stuck anyway. A strong tug was enough to get free from the hooks, and with Life Maelstrom boosting his body, Akhton didn’t notice the trap until it was too late.