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Chapter 72: Fierce Battle
Aiden had already transformed into a burning meteor.
"By This Blade's Glow I Grasp!"
Aiden's second chant echoed, and the flames swirling around his body frantically converged onto his longsword. The high-quality weapon was instantly superheated to the point of melting, but before it could completely collapse, it solidified into a blade of pure, incandescent fire, bearing ultimate heat.
"Roar!"
The two Tepetlisaurus Whelps struck first. Darting from the left and right, they blurred into cyan-grey afterimages, attempting to tear the burning human to shreds with their sheer speed and razor-sharp claws.
However, against Aiden's Everlasting Flames, they were simply too slow.
Aiden vanished from his spot. In the next second, he materialized right beside the Tepetlisaurus Whelp on the left. The blazing sword swung out in a simple, unadorned slash.
Sizzle—
There was no screech of colliding metal. There was no resistance.
The hardened dragon scales—tough enough to deflect steel—were melted and cleaved apart by the superheated blade as easily as a hot knife through butter. The whelp's movements froze. It didn't even have the chance to scream before its massive body was split neatly in two, the massive cross-section charred pitch black.
Without missing a beat, Aiden kicked off the ground and vanished into the distorted air once more, easily evading the second whelp's pounce. Appearing directly behind it, he delivered a backhanded slash, cleaving the creature cleanly from head to tail.
An instant kill!
Two Level 2 dragon-types couldn't even survive a single exchange against Everlasting Flames.
With the fastest threats eliminated, Aiden locked his gaze onto the three Guardian Zombies wielding their giant scythes. They represented the peak of strength and endurance among this horde; they were priority targets.
He moved.
Transforming into a straight streak of fiery light, he clashed head-on with the trio.
The leading zombie swung her giant scythe, bringing down a heavy gale of pressure right at his head. The other two flanked him from the left and right, their three weapons sealing off all possible avenues of escape.
Faced with this lethal, coordinated strike, Aiden didn't retreat. He pressed forward.
The flame sword in his hand seemed to come alive, carving a gorgeous, deadly arc. He didn't attempt to block the scythes head-on. Instead, utilizing exquisite swordsmanship, he struck the connecting shafts of all three scythes with the flat of his blade just a fraction of a second before the trap snapped shut.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Three crisp collisions merged into one continuous sound.
The zombies' attack trajectories were knocked off course by the slightest margin through his masterful deflection. Their previously flawless combo now exposed a fleeting opening.
Now.
Aiden spun like a top, the flaming sword painting a blinding ring of fire in the air. The superheated air hissed and crackled, sending distorted waves of heat rippling outward.
Squeltch!
The flame sword instantly severed the left zombie's scythe. Continuing its unstoppable momentum, it sliced through her neck. A white-haired, golden-eyed head spun into the air, vaporizing before it even hit the ground.
Using the centripetal force of his spin, Aiden dropped his center of gravity into an unnaturally low crouch, sliding right beneath the guard of the middle zombie. He launched an upward slash, bisecting her entirely down the center line.
Finally, without even looking, he thrust his sword backward. The fiery tip accurately pierced the heart of the last zombie trying to ambush him from behind. Furious flames erupted from the point of impact, reducing her to a charred husk from the inside out.
The entire sequence flowed like water—lightning-fast and relentlessly brutal. It was a dance of death that perfectly showcased the elegance of his swordsmanship and the tyrannical power of the flame blade.
However, while Aiden was carving a path of destruction, the backline was under tremendous pressure.
"Heed the whispers at the crossing of dawn and dusk—spirits of the gentle past within the rift of memories, please, descend once more with your cleansing rain, and hold up the clear skies for us!"
Finishing her chant, Hyacine hugged her small pink Pegasus tightly. Soft healing light pulsed like a heartbeat, continuously showering over Aiden and Tifa, applying the Rain Clears to Sun buff.
Whoosh— Little Ica took a deep breath, puffing out its tiny cheeks, and blew fiercely forward.
A visible wall of hurricane-force winds instantly erected itself in front of the party. Ice spikes, lightning orbs, and fireballs from the Whopperflowers, massive boulders from the apes, and flying axes from the Almirajes—every single ranged attack crashed into the wind wall and was violently deflected, unable to cross the threshold.
But a few slipped through the cracks.
Relying on sheer numbers, the Hellhounds and Almirajes squeezed past the edges of the wind barrier, launching themselves frantically at Robin and Hyacine in the rear.
What greeted them was a Level 2 Tifa.
Tifa's figure blurred into a dazzling streak of starlight. She stood firmly in front of Robin and Hyacine, forming an impenetrable bulwark.
A Hellhound lunged with its blood-stained jaws wide open. Tifa didn't even flinch. She delivered a lightning-fast side kick, her reinforced heel slamming squarely into its jaw with bone-crushing force.
With a sickening crack, the Hellhound's entire head was snapped backward. Its massive body was sent flying, bowling over a dozen of its kin like bowling pins.
An Almiraj vaulted high into the air, attempting an aerial ambush. Tifa lowered her stance and threw a brutal uppercut. Though her fist never actually made contact, the sheer, violent force of her punch created a localized sonic boom. The resulting invisible shockwave ruptured the monster's internal organs mid-air, causing it to drop lifelessly to the dirt.
She became a black blur of lightning, bobbing and weaving within the confined space. Straight punches, whip kicks, elbow strikes, knee bashes... every single move was flawlessly executed, accompanied by the muffled explosive sounds of parting air. Any monster that dared step within three meters of Robin and Hyacine was instantly obliterated or sent hurtling backward with the force of a thunderbolt.
Through it all, Robin remained the absolute nerve center of the chaotic battlefield. Her telepathic network tethered everyone's actions together, relaying every threat and opportunity with crystal clarity.
"Tifa, five Hellhounds coordinating a rush from the left. Watch their encirclement."
"Hyacine, there's a gap in the lower-left corner of Little Ica's wind wall. Flying axes incoming."
Under her precise direction, the battlefield transformed into a meticulous game of chess.
After wiping out the Guardian Zombies, Aiden didn't even bother turning around. He simply fired off a backhanded sonic blast.
"Gospel!"
This time, Demon Lord Valion wasn't a mere sonic attack. Fused with the power of Everlasting Flames, the invisible sonic bombardment was wrapped in an outer layer of furious fire, manifesting as a highly visible, devastating flame cannon.
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