The tiger monster threw itself forward, tail drawing a curve. The screech of wind and bending metal rang out. Ryusei's two short daggers slashed into Argentius's attack. A second later, Argentius used the metal plating on his ears to fire two spinning bullets behind Nathan. Clang, clang. Counter-attack successful.
Ryusei returned to the front, his eyes narrowing in question at the neutralized attack. But immediately after, he smiled with anticipation.
Triggered [Tingling Sense]. One credit given.
Triggered [Adrenaline Boost]. One credit given.
Crackles erupted around Nathan. The explosion points made Nathan realize what was happening instantly.
Lightning Crown Formation. The thing used against Zhanyu.
No. It wasn't that simple. It had a second layer. A plan developed to solve the fatal weakness on that fateful night. The distance had been expanded.
"I know what you are thinking, Nathan," Ryusei said. "I earned my slot in The Shifting Trials myself, just like you, not relying on a Rare Aspect or connections. If not for that bastard Zhanyu, I could have claimed the glory that belonged to me. Just like that day, I knew the best choice was to run. You now must see your situation and come up with the most plausible plan. Am I right?"
Nathan silently cursed himself. He should have paid attention to the opponent's movements. [Improved Pattern Recognition] had given him the answer instantly, meaning it had been working in his subconscious. But the current Berserker state made his thought process lag a beat. Added to the accumulated wounds, his thinking wasn't clear enough.
"That day I gave you the data to defeat Zhanyu." Ryusei spread his arms. "Today, consider giving me a little gift in return, won't you?"
Nathan quickly assessed the situation. Currently, the essence for Lightning Aspect and Aspect Amplifier was nearly gone. The opponent was one recovering mana, one waiting for an ambush opportunity.
He had to get out of here as fast as possible.
Crack!
Lightning from the formation points struck straight down at Argentius. The metal defensive layer flashed, causing electric sparks to dance wildly around.
On the other side of the deadly prison, the Tier 2s began channeling mana. Sand Prison continued to deploy. Both inside and out were just waiting to take Nathan and Argentius to a place of no return.
Argentius extended his protection dome for Nathan. His fur stood on end under the effect of the lightning.
"We need to get out, fast!" Argentius said, finally realizing Nathan's assessment was correct.
The enemy was far better prepared than they were.
Each explosion was like a drumbeat of suffocation in Nathan's chest. His wounds had recovered somewhat. The Berserker state was on the verge of collapse. Once that happened, he would become something worse than useless.
"One move!" Nathan said to Argentius. "One point!"
The tiger nodded slightly.
Nathan stood up straight, his eyes opposing the three Tier 3s looking at him like hungry predators. He clenched his fist, ensuring the passive skills were all ready.
Electricity began to dance on his bright red skin. Blue-white light took over his eye sockets.
"Using lightning against me?" Ryusei's eyes bulged. "That's a desperate move."
"He has a strange way of increasing Aspect power," Ammon said. "Careful!"
Nathan didn't hesitate, burning all his lightning essence with the catalyst from Aspect Amplifier.
Boom! His finger inside the Tier 3 glove focused on a point on the Lightning Crown Formation.
Crackling sounds rose, followed by a series of ear-splitting explosions. Two lightning spears clashed against each other.
Triggered [Amplifying Strike]. One credit given.
Nathan's power exploded far beyond all limits. The combination of Spirit Cultivation, Physical Cultivation, Berserker State, and Aspect Amplifier all poured into one moment.
The sound of cracking bones rang out. Nathan ignored it, fingers curling into a fist. Lightning struck his body. Pain was an eternal companion that couldn't make him blink.
All concentration focused on controlling the energy coursing through the body.
Boom! The first defensive layer of the formation shattered. Mana scattered in chaos. Ryusei in the distance looked like he had taken an invisible punch, clutching his chest and bowing his head.
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
The recoil crushed Nathan. And Argentius flew in at that moment, grabbing him. The two forces enveloping him made everything spin even more.
Argentius rushed out, head forming a sharp, golden metal tip. Wrapping around it were fierce winds blocking the lightning strikes.
The power Argentius possessed far exceeded Nathan's, just as he had once said, peak Tier 3. With a powerful thrust, the world turned into pure white.
The second layer Ryusei created broke.
And then the third layer appeared.
Nathan choked on blood. His action, even with [Healing Factor], was toying with death. He dazedly looked at another membrane of blue lightning forming.
"Hahaha," Ryusei laughed maniacally, raising his head to wipe away the non-existent blood. "Nathan, oh Nathan, the data of you fighting Zhanyu is still there for me to learn from. Your breaking of each spatial protection layer gave me an idea. That is creating barriers that only activate when you seek to destroy the previous layers. Maelivar also contributed. Their algorithms about you helped me quite a lot."
Nathan knelt on one knee, wind from Argentius keeping him from falling. The energy in his body was almost zero. He didn't rate Ryusei's ability highly. After all, the opponent was still only Tier 3, Phase 1. If he still had his best state from before, he could have shattered as many layers as necessary to escape.
Shaking his head, he stood up. His entire body consisted of subjects that wouldn't obey orders, constantly resisting.
His face, carved from blood, swirled toward the opponent.
That action moved all three Tier 3s, becoming serious.
Argentius opened its mouth wide, shooting a blinding golden sphere from its massive throat. Metal and wind like a winning pair coordinated to tear apart Ryusei's third defense layer. Not stopping, it pierced straight through, continuing forward. Layer after layer.
"You..." Ryusei's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Your teammate taught me," Nathan whispered but was sure they all heard, "once you strike, you need to be three steps ahead. When you think I'm focusing on one point, in reality, I've spread all the Lightning Aspect around, attacking the integrity of your formation. I'm not a formation master, but I learned your formation, Ryusei. Since hearing the news of Obsidian Fang Sect rebelling, I prepared. How should I say it? The data of you fighting Zhanyu is still there for me to learn from."
Ryusei's face turned pale as Argentius flew straight out of the formation at breakneck speed. Though not as fast as Lightning, the Wind Aspect still brought formidable effects.
Nathan's blood vessels burst again. The full Berserker state pushed the Physical aspects to a new height, carrying unimaginable pressure. But if not for it, his maneuver just now couldn't have succeeded.
The superior power output had helped him find a way out.
The dry air and desert sand scraped against his skin. He couldn't believe there was a moment he rejoiced to receive the thing that had defeated all of Caelindor.
Behind, Ammon cursed, "Idiot!" Then he immediately pursued.
Ryusei grimaced for a beat, ordering the black-robed disciples below to join the attack formation.
Projectiles piercing the air found Argentius. Nathan sat clutching the tiger monster tight, eyes relying on [Kinetic Trace] to send information to his companion. Argentius followed, dashing from side to side as if jumping from platforms in the air. The difficulty lay in projectiles with tracking features, requiring mana to block.
Nathan contributed thanks to timing his mana bullets, supporting Argentius.
But before going far, Ammon's preparation arrived. While Ryusei took the stage, the other two Tier 3s hadn't stood watching. They had secretly moved troops to the sides. Nathan saw but could only let it happen.
Sand Prison formed a massive net. The remaining Tier 3 from Obsidian Fang Sect launched black plates. They spun, mana supplying ceaselessly. An illusion of a fang appeared.
A lesser version of Obsidian Fang stabbed straight at Nathan's position.
Thinking he and Argentius had to stop to intercept, a loud shing crashed in. The sound represented death from sharpness. But to Nathan, it was no different from melodious sound, the sound of water flowing on a hot summer day.
A sword that required squinting to see clearly stabbed straight into the tip of Obsidian Fang. The clanging sound happened immediately after, flying in all directions. Sharp Aspect formed thousands of small needles infiltrating toward the enemy. The Tier 2s behind all collapsed, faces scrunching in discomfort, blood splashing out, staining a wide patch of sand red.
Argentius seized the opportunity, piercing through the net, tearing it apart to continue moving.
Nathan looked to his left, mouth smiling. He seemed to see a young, handsome, cool man responding to him.
Zeryn Valtaris's long-range attack shattered the last layer of the Mirothea and Obsidian Fang Sect army's plan.
Nathan lay paralyzed on Argentius's back as the wind rose, carrying both flying fast forward. Argentius proved to Nathan how terrifying a monster's resilience was. It flew and jumped continuously as if not knowing fatigue. Monsters could save mana thanks to their superior constitution. Argentius possessed abundant mana as well as a body even monsters had to crave. At the same time, it could withstand each attack without harm.
"If not for their Aspects," Argentius grumbled, "I would have put them all in my mouth."
Nathan could only agree. Lightning and Sand were two things Argentius had no specific advantage against. Victory was possible, but that was if it didn't have to protect Nathan.
"Just get to night," Nathan said. "I might not be your burden."
Food and drink were all used up, he could only rely on pure mana and Lunar Aspect.
"You must be dizzy from fighting too much," Argentius scolded. "You're losing your madness state."
Nathan startled. Berserker was drifting away from him.
He frowned, saying, "Keep running."
Ryusei showed anger by attacking relentlessly at close range. Each slash unleashed was fatal, each stab ignored capturing the target.
Nathan struggled to defend by sparingly using the remaining lightning essence. At the same time, he chose to let attacks find a landing spot. His body was still a fortress, so he should use it.
The remaining Tier 3 used a type of black stone to attack, causing huge pressure on Argentius. So he used Physical Cultivation to resist.
Ammon showed signs of slowing down, unclear whether from exhaustion or planning something.
The chase on the desert lasted for an hour.
The Berserker state vanished. Abruptly, Nathan was unprepared for the total exhaustion it brought.
Triggered [Efficient Sleep]. One credit given.
He jolted awake.
"Thanks, buddy," Nathan said, face wincing at the stab wound on his arm from Argentius.
He was no different from a puppet swaying uncontrollably lying on Argentius's back. Even keeping him from falling required the tiger monster's help. His skin had returned to its original state, revealing his own dried blood streaks. He was tattered beyond measure.
His mind told him he had gone very far, reached this point. He was already very strong. And all gained in less than a year. Withstanding Tier 3, facing an entire army, surviving until now.
I can even go further!
Triggered [Self-Emotional Support]. One credit given.
This is not the end.
And to answer his words, a horn sound echoed from the high sky.
PsiLink message popped up.