NOVEL NEXT Chapter 119: Southern Frontline (II)
The war field, where clashes now brew in conceding tension, lay beneath a sky heavy with unspoken dread. Dust, like the restless spirits of the fallen, swirled in the wind, whispering forgotten wisdom into the ears of those who still stood. Each gust carried the weight of fate, as if urging warriors to heed the logic buried beneath their rage.
Seraphina tried to move, but her legs were already numb, drained of strength and trembling from sheer exhaustion. Her breath hitched, and she swallowed hard, her gaze fixed on the approaching Primordial Rhinos. The beasts' eyes burned like molten embers, their heavy footfalls shaking the very ground beneath her.
Beside her, Kal's body quivered, his sweat mixing with the dust on his face, dripping from his nose as his hands clenched into weak fists. Their bodies screamed in protest, but survival demanded movement. The five beasts unleashed a barrage of energy beams, each one a concentrated force of destruction, rivaling the combined might of three of their kind at their peak.
Luck, or perhaps fate, spared them. The beasts' blurred vision led their attacks astray, their beams colliding with the ground just inches away. The force of impact sent shockwaves ripping through the battlefield, hurling Seraphina and Kal into the air like ragdolls. Their bodies slammed into the earth, tumbling and skidding across the shattered terrain, every bone in their bodies rattling from the impact.
Dazed and aching, they lifted their heads, eyes burning from the dust and smoke. Through the settling haze, they saw the beasts still advancing, their towering figures casting elongated shadows that loomed over them like harbingers of doom. Their trembling hands clawed at the ground, desperate to push themselves away, but their limbs refused to obey.
Kal barely noticed as the energy convergence formation severed from him, a meaningless detail now, with death staring them in the face. The beasts reared back, charging another deadly barrage, their gaping maws glowing with energy. The blinding light of the incoming attack made them instinctively squeeze their eyes shut.
And then. BOOM!
A colossal eruption of molten flame surged past them. The heat licked at their skin, but it did not burn them. A titanic beast, forged from solidified molten fire, charged forward. Its very existence was a walking inferno, liquid flames cascading from its body and vanishing into the air in trails of embers.
The Primordial Rhinos fired, but the molten beast did not falter. The devastating beams crashed against its molten hide, causing chunks of its fiery body to peel away and drop to the ground, smoldering and hissing into oblivion. But it did not stop.
The flame-forged creature surged ahead, colliding with the Primordial Beasts in a catastrophic explosion. Fire spilled across their bodies like a living curse, melting through thick hides as the beasts bellowed in agony. Their roars twisted into wretched cries as their flesh burned away, their towering forms reduced to nothing but charred remnants.
Seraphina and Kal's eyes widened, disbelief washing over them.
"ROOOOOORRR! ROOOOOORRR!" The dying wails of the beasts echoed through the battlefield, their monstrous frames crumbling like unfinished sculptures left to decay.
A figure emerged amidst the chaos, Centric.
Kal's breath hitched. "Boss..." His voice was hoarse, but a small, weary smile tugged at his lips.
Centric returned the faintest of smiles. "You gave it your best," he said, his gaze shifting to Seraphina. "Thanks for holding out this long."
Before they could utter another word "ROOOOOORRR!"
A monstrous bellow thundered across the battlefield, shaking them to their cores. Their gazes snapped toward the distance. Through the swirling dust and embers, the towering silhouettes of more Primordial Beasts emerged, hundreds of them, an unending horde.
The air grew heavy, thick with the scent of scorched earth and impending doom. The molten flame beast Centric had summoned was already flickering, its form struggling to hold.
Kal's lips parted as a chill ran down his spine. His voice barely above a whisper, he muttered the only words that came to mind: "What the hell..."
He slowly rose to his feet, but his body quivered, trembling from the sheer strain of pushing past its limits. Seraphina, too, wavered unsteadily, her knees slightly bent, unable to straighten fully, her body screaming in protest against exhaustion. Yet, her voice, though shaky, carried no trace of fear, only the weight of her dwindling strength.
"Can you use that technique once more?" she asked, her breath ragged. "At least to take down two or three of them."
Centric's gaze remained locked on the advancing horde, his expression unwavering. "The problem isn't the technique," he said, his voice measured yet grave.
Hex interjected, his words cutting through the tense air like a sharpened blade. "The previous attack succeeded because those primordial creatures had been weakened, intoxicated by Thanacrite over time, their strength eroded, their regenerative abilities dulled to a shadow of what they once were. But these new beasts… they are different. Untainted. They won't crumble so easily."
The three warriors fixed their eyes on the approaching creatures. Dust spiraled in submission to their dominance, swirling around their monstrous forms as if the very earth bowed before them.
At the secret route, The morning light had fully claimed the horizon, casting long shadows over the battlefield. Karl and Lunara stood firm, their figures poised against the first beast, while Kola and Theodric squared off against the second. Their grips tightened around their weapons, veins bulging beneath their skin like vines twisting around stone. Each breath was measured, each movement calculated, there was no room for hesitation.
In the distance, Nyxander and his six companions had already vanished from sight, their mission carrying them far from the impending clash.
Then, a deep, guttural sound rumbled through the air, the second beast's maw parted, unleashing an earth-shaking roar. Waves of sonic force rippled outward, distorting the air itself, carrying a frequency so intense it felt like the world was being torn apart at the seams.
Kola reacted first. He lunged to his right, his movement so forceful that the ground beneath him cracked open, leaving a crater where he had stood a mere heartbeat ago. At the same time, Theodric propelled his seven energy-imbued knives into the air, leaping onto them one by one. They formed a staircase beneath his feet, shifting with each step, allowing him to ascend as if walking upon the fabric of space itself.
The colossal beast's horns gleamed with a ghostly white glow, vibrating with raw energy. The air quivered around it, the pressure mounting as the creature prepared to unleash its devastating attack.
Then, in a blur of motion, Kola appeared from its left flank, mid-air, his fists clenched into one, glowing with the sheer force of his energy. He struck. His blow crashed into the side of the beast's head like a meteor, sending a shockwave rippling through the battlefield. The creature's attack veered off course, the compressed sonic energy warping as it discharged, a beam of destruction slicing through the air, an invisible force wrapped in sound and fury.
But the redirected attack surged straight toward Theodric.
Still mid-air, he twisted his body, shifting his knives beneath him in a desperate attempt to evade. But his mastery over this technique was still unrefined. His footing wavered. A moment of imbalance, just a fraction of a second, but it was enough.
The blast struck past him, its sheer force like an unseen titan's palm slamming against his body. Theodric was thrown back, his figure spiraling through the air like a ragdoll caught in a tempest. His body hit the ground, hard. Dust erupted in violent plumes, shrouding him from view. He bounced, his form spinning uncontrollably before slamming into the earth once more, the force carving a deep trench into the battlefield.
Then, silence as the dust hung in the air, veiling his still figure in its embrace.
On the other side, the first beast stirred. "Rooorrrrrr!" A deep, guttural growl rumbled from its throat, rolling like distant thunder. Hot air surged from its nostrils, distorting the air with waves of heat. Its massive form loomed, each breath a reminder of the raw, primal force coiled within.
Karl's grip around his axe tightened, his knuckles turning pale as he lowered the weapon to his right, its edge gleaming with the promise of destruction. Lunara, her twin daggers gripped firm and steady, held them close to her face, their wickedly sharp edges catching the faintest glimmers of light. A single, fleeting glance passed between them, silent yet loaded with understanding. No words were needed.
Then, with the grace of seasoned hunters, they lunged forward. Their movements were light, yet each step landed with crushing force, shattering debris beneath their feet. The wind, once still, now stirred, wrapping around them in a frenzied dance, whispering its approval. It whistled past their ears, urging them onward, its chill battling against the heat radiating from the beast's breath.
Their bodies cut through the resistance like arrows loosed from a bow, their weapons poised, their instincts sharpened to a deadly edge. The air itself seemed to hold its breath, watching, waiting, for the inevitable clash of steel and beastly fury.