Chapter 55: Insane Youth (I)

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A long drawn out, ear-piercing screech appeared from Krone's weapons as an obscure aura formed. At the height of it, he roared as it reached the pinnacle of what he could achieve; a harrowing feeling of murder could be felt from it creeping upon everyone's back.

"Scarlet Killing Strokes!" bellowed Krone as he dashed toward the Storm Colossus Lynx with a frenzied gleam in his eyes. Unfortunately, a second newcomer appeared at the same time.

[Ah, so it is a path derived from killing. However, to cultivate such a thing, one would have to experience murder firsthand and multiple at that. As I thought, this individual isn't a trustworthy person. Remain wary of him, he's also the strongest.]

The scarlet blades made contact with the Storm Colossus Lynx's pelage. However, its durability was not to be looked down upon. Deep gashes formed on its limb but it ignored this damage; glaring at Krone with murderous eyes crackles of lightning fluttered in the wounds.

On the other hand, glancing at the Scarlet Killing Strokes, Apollo narrowed his eyes. If he didn't look so intently, he would have missed the slight damage done to the blade. 'That move seems to have adverse effects on the wielded weapon. If so, maybe I'll be able to capitalize on that fact.'

Joining the fray, Slaid glanced at Apollo at the corner of his eye before retrieving large amounts of throwing knives from the dead bodies in the area. Engulfed in faint wisps of wind, the knives traveled forward. Unfortunately, his eyes widened in shock.

"D-dodge!" roared Slaid alerting Krone of danger. Reacting with haste, he kicked off to the side. During their flight, the trajectory experienced an abrupt change. At the same time, a gleam passed through the Storm Colussus Lynx. Needless to say, it was the culprit of the change.

'Tch, it has a higher affinity with the wind element than I do. Which means…' switching his tactics, a silver glow appeared around Slaid's throwing knives. Surprisingly, he was amongst a rare variety in cultivators—those who possessed dual-elements!

[Oh? It seems this fellow isn't the weakest link after all. Although his control of this metal element is rather weak in comparison to his main element it is still astonishing to find a dual-element. Furthermore, even though his affinities vary greatly; they exhibit great synergy.]

'Synergy? I see. That means when mixed together they can heighten one's strength right?' questioned Apollo while his eyes remained glued to the silvery gleam.

[Correct. Unfortunately, his wind element has been rendered useless due to that Spirit Beast possessing an elemental affinity eclipsing his own. Meaning his combat ability has been effectively cut in half.]

'Interesting. If it's so then..' turning his head Apollo, inspected the team's actions while spreading his attention.

Waving his sword, Vren retaliated, knocking away the lynx's paw. Charging forward, he executed a heavy slash covered in a dense yellow aura. Compared to earlier, it was clear he channeled much more Natural Essence within the blow. Hence, it was incomparable in power.

"Join in! Don't just stand there. This is why we brought you here! Don't tell me fear has fucking overwhelmed you now," roared Krone as madness filled his eyes upon noticing Apollo's idle actions. This battle was a difficult one, yet the newcomer he brought remained motionless; it infuriated him in addition to their current situation.

Frowning Apollo, scoffed. 'Vulgar. They're lucky it isn't an opportune time.' Preparing to make his move, Apollo stopped at Azridan's words.

'Thump!' 'Thump!'

[Incoming, it's an aura we're entirely familiar with.]

With halted steps, Apollo looked down at the second newcomer. In fact, it was the absolute bane in this situation.

"Oh fuck! Is that a Zephyr Wolf? And it's Rank 3?" cursed Slaid as he retreated, focusing his attention on the incoming large azure-colored wolf. Its stampeding paws battered the ground as it turned into a gust of wind.

Throwing caution to the wind, Slaid was encased by a shell of wind as an obscure gleam flashed through his eyes, "Drifting Wind Movement!" His speed increased as he chased the Zephyr Wolf.

'Fast but not overly quick,' pondered Apollo whilst finally making his move—darting from the tree he stood upon.

As he descended toward the ground, Apollo calculated the situation, 'Both of them are Rank 3, however, the lynx is a variant. I've already faced off against a Rank 3 Zephyr Wolf. I hold no qualms going against it. Not to mention… Alright, I've made my choice.'

Kicking off the trunk, Apollo disappeared under the mantle of the darkness. Of course, the others didn't realize this as they were too occupied with their respective confrontations. Their slightest misuse of attention could result in a dire situation. Hence, Apollo got away scot-free with utilizing his movement technique he kept secret.

When approximately 10 meters away, he canceled the state and pounced with his unaugmented speed. Peering away at Slaid, he uttered a brief sentence, "Keep it occupied, I'll deliver the killing blows." After all, how could he squander this sublime chance?

Squinting with slight amounts of contempt, Slaid nodded and continued to utilize his movement technique, keeping the Zephyr Wolf at bay. At that moment, Apollo made his deadly move.

'Increase Agility by 2.7' thought Apollo as his speed experienced an abrupt increase.

«Agility: 62.3 → 65.0.»

Noticing this small change, Slaid fostered some thoughts, 'Has he been hiding his true speed? Or is he perhaps straining his muscles to reach the extremes of his capabilities? I feel it's the latter, but afterward, he'll be a sitting duck. At that moment, I'll take action.' Towards the end of his ideas, he smirked.

'Pucht!'

65 Agility, it was approaching the prerequisite of an experienced Zul Warrior. Furthermore, due to Apollo utilizing it properly and Slaid keeping its movements restricted; Apollo was able to unleash an unabated stream of deadly attacks.

Each slash opened the flesh of the Zephyr Wolf causing its eyes to go crimson. On the other hand, each slash caused indiscernible nicks in the Vantablack Knife. Luckily, this beast didn't specialize in defense; if so, there was a chance of this weapon flat out breaking.

"We can't hold this thing much longer aye! Hurry the fuck up!" roared Vren as he struggled to reconcile with the outrageous strength of the Storm Colossus Lynx. The veins in his arms swelled as he utilized all the strength he could muster. He began dreading the fact that his talent wasn't higher. If so, he wouldn't be in this situation.

"Damn those Shaanti brutes! If I ever get the chance, I swear I'll kill you," roared Vren as his indignance swelled, channeling it into his strength.

Meanwhile, like a hyperactive feline, Apollo blitzed back and forth. Amid delivering cuts that annoyed the wolf, he thought to himself, 'Shaanti? Why does that sound familiar.' Pushing the thought to the back of his mind, Apollo didn't dwell on the matter any further.

Soon after, the movements of the Zephyr Wolf became sloppy. Slipping up, it began failing to evade Apollo's knife. At the same, Slaid capitalized on this matter.

He unleashed a flurry of throwing knives aimed at its joints. The attacks lowered its speed further, now allowing Apollo to land even more harrowing cuts. A few instances later, numerous cuts littered its physique.

Licking the blood off his knife, Apollo enjoyed this feeling. He felt strength! It was coursing through his and he felt ecstatic, 'This is what I crave! Power! More...give me more!'

[Spoken like a true demon! Kill!]

Resonating with Azridan, he augmented the tempo, Apollo turned into a nearly indiscernible blur as he stabbed the wolf's eyes out followed by slicing out its tongue. Being robbed of its sense, painful whimpers soon sounded.

'This kid is vicious!' Slaid thought to himself as he witnessed the youth before him disfiguring the wolf's body to such a degree. Needless to say, its painful yelps soon ceased falling to the ground—lifeless.

«Congratulations! You have killed a Middle Stage Rank 3 Spirit Beast.»

«5,000 (2,500 + 2,500) Experience has been received.»

«Experience: 17,180/87,900»

'It's a shame my experience hasn't risen too much. It seems I don't receive experience from beasts I didn't deal the last strike on, but…'

With a small smirk, Apollo dashed towards the Storm Colossus Lynx without pause. At the same time, Slaid followed suit turning into a gust of wind.

'Peng!'

A metallic noise was heard as the lynx defended against Apollo's sneak attack. A human-like disdainful expression appeared. However, while it was too focused on Apollo the other three launched a three-pronged attack each with their strongest blows.

"Earthen Obileration!"

"Lucid Piercing Winds!"

"Murderous Tides!"

A myriad of Natural Essence aimed at the lynx bombarded its body. In response, violent winds and arcs of lightning burst from its body. Within its eyes, large amounts of purple lights flickered which made the others widen their eyes, whilst one thought flooded their minds.

'Is this not enough? It's three blows of maximum output from Zul Warriors for god's sake!'

On the other hand, Apollo's train of thought diverged from theirs, 'I'll definitely claim it's life!' A resolute gleam birthed within his eyes as he dashed forward unabated.

'It's just pain—I've felt it before,' thought Apollo as his skin was lacerated by the fine arcs of lightning then seared from its heat... Yet even then he remained undeterred.

[Are you going to use that? If you do so, you'll expose your arsenal.]

'I know, but this is a Rank 3 Variant.'

[Then, I have a solution.]