The silence that followed the fall of the Taurus Fiend was heavy, broken only by the ragged, painful breathing of the four Heavenly Tribulation sects youths.
Leon sheathed his chipped useless short sword and hurried toward the center of the crater . The adrenaline of the battle was fading, leaving behind a sobering reality. His new companions were completely incapacitated. If a simple gust of wind blew too hard, it might actually knock them out for good.
"Alright alright i accept you guys certainly are flashy in a fight" Leon spoke to alleveate thier spirit. He knelt beside Kael, who was staring blankly at the rainbow sky, both of his arms dislocated and resting awkwardly in the mud.
Leon grabbed Kael by the collar of his pristine, now ruined, white robes. With a grunt of effort, he began dragging the older boy backward toward a half-collapsed marble temple nearby that still had an intact roof.
"For a guy who supposedly can move so fast you certainly are heavy," Leon grunted, hauling Kael over a pile of rubble.
Kael let out a weak, bubbling laugh that quickly turned into a cough. "Muscle, little brother. It's all pure, heroic muscle. Watch the robes, though... they are custom made."
"They look like a mop right now," Leon shot back with a tired grin. He propped Kael against a relatively clean marble wall inside the temple. "Sit tight. Don't go anywhere."
"Wasn't planning on it," Kael wheezed, his eyes fluttering shut.
Leon jogged back out into the courtyard. Next was Elon, who was curled in a fetal position, bleeding from his nose. Leon carefully picked him up, supporting his weight, and half-carried, half-dragged him into the shelter. Sira was next. She was lighter, but completely unconscious. He laid her gently beside the boys.
Finally, Leon went back for Vane. The leader looked the worst out of all of them. His collarbone was visibly fractured, his left arm was shattered, and he was covered head-to-toe in the demon-bull's dark blood.
"You my man are something else entirely ,was that sword intent ? it was awesome ! I actully know someone who can use sword intent ! Good heavens ! Well you guys really don't know the meaning of holding back, do you?" Leon kept muttering as he hauled unconcious Vane's across the pulverized black jade stones.
Vane's eyes cracked open just a sliver. A faint, bloody smile touched his lips. "A swordsman... never retreats. But... I think I overdid it."
"Just a little," Leon chuckled softly, dragging Vane into the ruined temple and resting him next to the others.
Leon wiped the sweat and grime from his forehead, looking down at the four battered swordsmen. They looked absolutely miserable, but they were alive. They had survived an impossible battle purely on their own merit, and Leon thought that he had certainly not seen a fight this desperate in his entire life .
He reached into his bloodstained canvas sack and pulled out the glowing, translucent stems of the Mystillin Maple Herbs. Their gentle, vitalizing light cast a warm glow against the dark stone walls of the shelter.
"Dinner is served," Leon said. He looked at the group. Vane's jaw was clamped shut in pain, and Sira was out cold. Elon was barely conscious. Kael, however, had his eyes open and was watching the herbs like a starving dog.
Leon knelt next to Kael. "Open up. Let's get those arms fixed."
Kael eagerly opened his mouth. Leon carefully placed the glowing leaf on Kael's tongue. The moment Kael swallowed it, a vibrant, emerald-green aura enveloped his body. The profound energy of the supreme herb immediately went to work, knitting his torn muscles and soothing his scorched meridians.
"Oh, sweet heavens," Kael sighed, his face relaxing instantly as the pain began to wash away and his body recovering visibily , suddenly his aura started climing up and his cultivation also broke through reaching Peak True Profound Realm ,climbing a minor realm instantly. "This feels amazing , Mystillin Maple Herb truly are a miracle herb".
Leon smiled and reached into his sack to grab a second herb for Sira.
But before his hand could close around the stem, a strange, chilling sensation crawled up his spine. The temperature in the ruined temple suddenly dropped by many degrees.
Leon froze. He slowly turned his head toward the entrance of the shelter.
The shadows cast by the broken marble pillars outside were stretching. They were elongating unnaturally, creeping across the floor like spilled black ink. From those dark pools, a dozen pairs of glowing, toxic-green eyes opened simultaneously.
Low, guttural growls echoed through the ruins.
Twelve beasts stepped out of the darkness. They looked like massive, sleek panthers, but their fur wasn't solid. It seemed to ripple and smoke, absorbing the dim light of the shelter.
"Phantom-Weave Panthers," Kael whispered, his voice suddenly tense. He was still glowing green, the herb working its magic, but his arms hadn't popped back into their sockets yet. He was still useless in a fight.
Leon stood up, his hand dropping to borrow sera's sword . He quickly scanned the pack. He didn't feel the suffocating, mountain-like pressure that the Taurus Fiend had emitted. In fact, their auras felt surprisingly familiar.
"Nascent Profound Realm," Leon observed, his eyes narrowing.
"Don't underestimate them, Leon!" Kael warned anxiously. "Individually, they are weak, but they are notorious pack hunters. They don't fight fair!"
Leon drew his blade, standing squarely between the Heavenly Tribulation sword sects youths and said . "Don't worry," Leon said, a confident smirk playing on his lips. "I prefer it when my enemies don't fight fair. It makes winning more fun."
Three of the panthers lunged at once.
Leon didn't retreat. His own Nascent Profound energy flared to life. He stepped into the attack, his senses heightened, and swung his sword in a wide, horizontal arc aimed at the lead panther's neck.
But the blade didn't hit flesh.
Right before the steel made contact, the panther simply collapsed in on itself. It flattened completely, transforming into a two-dimensional, pitch-black shadow on the stone floor. Leon's sword cleaved through empty air.
What? Leon's eyes widened in surprise.
The 2D shadow rapidly slithered across the floor, bypassing Leon entirely, and popped back into a 3D beast right behind him, its jaws snapping at his ankle.
Leon instinctively kicked backward, his boot catching the panther in the jaw and sending it tumbling. "Okay, that's a neat trick," Leon muttered, stepping back to keep all of them in his line of sight. "They turn into actual shadows."
"They merge with the darkness on surfaces to dodge physical attacks!" Kael shouted from the wall, practically vibrating with the desire to join the fight. "You have to hit them when they attack! That's the only time they materialize!"
"Got it. A game of timing," Leon said, shifting his stance.
The remaining nine panthers realized Leon wasn't going to be an easy meal, so they changed tactics. They all flattened into two-dimensional shadows simultaneously, turning the floor of the temple into a shifting, swirling pool of black shapes. It was incredibly disorienting. The flat silhouettes darted around his feet, circling him like sharks.
Suddenly, a shadow popped up on his left.
Leon reacted instantly, thrusting his sword. Schwing! The blade sank deeply into the panther's shoulder. The beast let out a screech of pain, its blood spraying dark against the marble.
Before Leon could pull his sword out, two more shadows materialized on his right and aimed for his throat. Leon abandoned his sword, letting go of the hilt, and ducked under their claws. He grabbed a loose, heavy chunk of marble debris from the floor and smashed it directly into the side of one panther's head, crushing it against a pillar.
He smoothly ripped his sword back out of the first beast and spun around to face the rest. He had two down, but ten were left, and they were angry.
They swarmed him.
Leon moved with frantic precision. The fight wasn't dark or desperate like the battle against the demon-bull; it was a high-speed, chaotic dance. The panthers would flatten into the floor, slither behind him, and pop up with snapping jaws. Leon dodged, parried, and struck back, using the uneven rubble of the ruined temple to trip them up.
"On your left, Leon!" Kael cheered from the sidelines, acting as a highly enthusiastic spectator. "Duck! Nice footwork! Now hit him with a spin!"
"Are you going to narrate the whole fight, or are you going to help?!" Leon shouted back, laughing breathlessly as he kicked a panther squarely in the chest, sending it flying out the door.
"I need two more minutes!" Kael replied cheerfully. "The herb is fixing my shoulders! You're doing great, though! Very stylish!"
Leon rolled his eyes, parrying a claw strike. He was getting a few scrapes on his arms and legs, his tunic tearing in several places, but the Nascent Profound vitality in his veins kept him moving fast. Still, fighting ten agile beasts at once was incredibly taxing. They were slowly backing him into a corner, cutting off his angles.
Four panthers flattened into shadows and merged into a single, massive puddle of darkness right at Leon's feet. They were preparing to materialize all at once and tear him apart.
Leon braced himself, gripping his chipped sword tightly. He wasn't sure he could dodge all four.
Suddenly, a brilliant, blinding flash of silver light illuminated the entire temple.
The intense light instantly banished all the shadows on the floor. The four panthers, violently ripped out of their 2D state by the sudden absence of darkness, popped into existence prematurely, stumbling and disoriented.
"Alright, playtime is over," a confident voice rang out.
Leon looked over his shoulder. Kael was standing up. The green aura of the Mystillin herb had faded, replaced by the surging, razor-sharp aura of the True Profound Realm. He rolled his shoulders, a satisfying series of cracks echoing through the room. His dislocated arms were perfectly healed, and his silver sword was drawn, glowing like a shining radiantly.
The panthers, realizing a True Profound cultivator was back in the fight, instantly lost their appetite. They screeched in panic, turning to flee out the temple doors.
"Oh no you don't," Kael grinned. "Nobody ruins my nap time and gets away with it."
Kael didn't even step forward. He simply swung his sword horizontally through the air. A massive, crescent-shaped wave of silver Sword Qi tore across the room. It was effortless, elegant, and overwhelmingly powerful.
The wave of energy caught the fleeing panthers before they even reached the door. The Nascent Profound beasts were instantly cleaved in half, their bodies dissolving into harmless wisps of dark smoke.
The temple was quiet once again.
Leon let out a long, dramatic sigh, dropping his chipped sword and leaning against a pillar. "Took you long enough."
Kael laughed loudly, walking over and slapping Leon on the shoulder. It stung, but Leon didn't mind. "Hey, you held the line beautifully, little brother! I didn't know a Nascent Profound cultivator could dance like that. You actually made it look fun!"
"It's not fun when they try to bite your ankles from the floor," Leon joked, wiping a smear of blood from his cheek. "But I have to admit, that silver light trick of yours is pretty handy."
"That's how the disciples of Heavenly Tribulation Sword Sect move , this move is called radiant sword ," Kael beamed, striking a heroic pose. Then, he looked down at the unconscious bodies of Vane, Sira, and Elon. His smile softened into something much more genuine and grateful.
"Seriously, though... thank you, Leon," Kael said softly. "You dragged us all to safety, and you stood your ground to protect us when you could have just run. We owe you our lives."
Leon smiled, picking up his sack of herbs. These people were one of the best he has ever met , certanily contrasting the people in the palace . Although he started the venture them on deciet but now he felt he could even stake his life for them , he was this grateful ".
"We're a team," Leon said simply. He walked over to Sira and gently placed a glowing leaf into her mouth. "Now, let's get the rest of these geniuses awake. Otherwise i'll have to do all the heavylifting , my physician has adviced me strictly against it ".
Kael laughed, kneeling down to help Leon feed the herbs to Vane and Elon. As the gentle green light began to envelop the rest of the group, the dark, oppressive atmosphere of the wetlands felt miles away. They had survived everything the ruins had thrown at them so far, and they had done it together.