...
"Go!"
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Right after Shin gave his order, the Eclipse and Phantom Clones quickly made their moves.
They separated from each other as they headed toward the direction of the two portals where the pack of insects and arachnids were gathering.
The Eclipse Clone put its hands together, holding its sword with both as it turned into a pair of katana. It seemed like it was using a similar power as Shin, but instead of using the Power of Primordial Eclipse, it chose to wield the Powers of the Brilliant Sun and Brilliant Moon.
The Phantom Clone, on the other hand, had chosen to continue using the higher form of mana as it used the sheathed katana while sprinting towards one of the portals.
Shin was rarely using his clones these days due to how taxing it was to control them under the multiple states that he was in. It would be too exhausting to control them even though he had a monstrous willpower.
But this time, he wanted their AI to control the two clones. They had decent fighting capabilities of their own after all. Since they were facing just a bunch of monsters anyway, Shin felt that it was more than enough.
But what surprised him when he summoned them was the changes that the Phantom Clone had. He did not get any extra skills under this secondary combat class since he had been promoted to Tier 3 aside from the 'True Phantom' skill that still needed him to gather the materials to create.
It might be an overpowered skill, but it would still take a lot of time before he formed his True Phantom.
But after seeing the current Phantom Clone, he noticed that it had undergone some changes. It was now more life-like and shared a lot of similarities to the two clones that he fought during the Class Promotion Quest, the Doppel, and the Sword Phantoms.
After watching the Phantom Clone charged right at the center of the group of spiders and mantises with a 'Moonlight Splitter' before creating chaos in the formation of the opposing side, Shin realized that it was much stronger than the Eclipse Clone when comparing their stats alone.
What was even more surprising was that the Phantom Clone seemed to possess skills that he did not have. It looked like it had access to the advanced skills of the Phantom Swordsman Class that even he could not access.
Shin frowned a little but did not put too much thought into it. He then turned to the Eclipse Clone and saw that it was wielding the Powers of the Brilliant Sun and the Abyssal Moon quite skillfully. He even saw it fused the two powers and turned them into the Power of Primordial Eclipse when slaughtering the insect-type monsters.
After watching the two clones fight a little longer, Shin finally turned his attention back to the Grand Centipedeus, which seemed to have finally stopped maintaining the two portals after summoning a horde of insect- and arachnid-types of monsters.
Shin raised his brows a little as he felt more confident facing it this time around. After understanding the Power of Primordial Eclipse: Origin, he felt like he would be able to crack through those tough exoskeletons.
Tilting his head to the side, Shin felt like trying to test a few things. The playful nature of his Battle Genius talent seemed to be kicking in, especially when he now had access to the five elements that match innate attributes.
Unfortunately, he had yet to learn the suitable breathing techniques for the elements of water and wood. Even though he could try using the elemental mana that corresponded to them for this battle, the result that he would get would not be as satisfying.
"I guess I will save it until I find the suitable breathing techniques and awaken them in the real world," he mumbled as he circulated the Power of Primordial Eclipse within him.
Then as if Shin and the Grand Centipedeus had tacitly agreed on something, they simultaneously made their moves.
Shin unsheathed the [Yamato] and swung it forward, sending a crescent wave of energy, while the Grand Centipedeus opened its mouth wide and spat out a cluster of venom.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Bang!
The two attacks met in the air. The venom scattered as it hit the crescent energy and seemed to be trying to reach Shin with its droplets. But the energy from the latter's attack did not end there as a brilliant flame was suddenly ignited upon the collision and spread in different directions, burning the residual droplets of venom that scattered in the air.
Shin had already disappeared at this point before reappearing underneath the head of the giant centipede, preparing for another attack.
The already sheathed sword was unsheathed once again as Shin swung it upwards, releasing a sharp vertical energy that shot straight to the chin of the monster.
The Grand Centipedeus seemed to have expected that attack already and was about to slam its head down, planning to crush Shin with its massive body and hard exoskeleton.
Bang!
But the energy that was released from the [Yamato] seemed to be much stronger than what it had expected.
Its pointed tip accurately hit the chin of the monster, creating a noticeable crack on its surface. At the same time, the force behind the attack sent the giant centipede bouncing toward the air, lifting the upper part of its body.
Clack! Clack!
Sounds of the sharp legs of the Grand Centipede could be heard as they dug into the ground and clutched into it hard, preventing the rest of its body from being lifted into the air.
Swoosh!
Then Shin saw the giant centipede move the lower part of its body, swinging its tail toward him. He felt like a massive train got off the rails and swept toward him after seeing the incoming attack.
Shin wanted to dodge at first since it was what his instincts were telling him. But he wanted to test his current powers.
He took a stance and covered his entire body with the Power of Eclipse. With both of his hands holding the sword, he raised it over his shoulders and inclined its blade upside down.
He focused the mana on his feet, arms, and sword as he waited for the incoming massive body of the monster to come at him.
Then, all of a sudden, a spark was formed. It might be brief, but it was more than enough for Shin. He had already achieved what he wanted.
Boom!
Dodging yet another stone spike that flew out from the ground, Shin suddenly executed one of his advanced movement techniques.
Shin formed multiple afterimages as he flashed through different places, moving around the giant centipede.
'Yin-Yang Arts: Ghost Evanescent'
Then he shifted with another movement technique when a bold idea flashed through his mind.
'Yin-Yang Arts: Mystic Movements'
This movement technique was much faster than the previous one as it contained no illusionary technique. It was also similar to his favorite sword technique that he had, the 'Infinity Edge' or 'Sword Transmigration', which was gradually getting stronger the more it was used.
The movement that he had was gradually getting stronger as Shin continued to move. Then he circulated the energies within him and applied what he had learned just now.
Crackle! Crackle!
The sounds of electric sparks could be heard as Shin covered his body with the Powers of the Brilliant Sun and Abyssal Moon that were circulating and clashing with a certain rhythm.
His speed grew faster as electric sparks could be seen lingering in the air behind him.
It was an original art!
"Let's call this 'Mystic Lighting Steps' then," he smiled
After familiarizing himself with the process, he suddenly gathered more energy into his sword. That was when something unexpected happened.
Boom!
A thunderclap could be heard as was forced to stop.
In his hand, the [Yamato] was releasing a powerful and violent energy. Lightning sparks could be seen crackling around the blade of the sword along with the black and white energies circulating through it.
He had gotten ahead of himself and starting to lose control.
But he was quite stubborn as he forcefully controlled the rampaging energies, suppressing and containing them in the sword.
The Grand Centipedeus saw this an opportunity and suddenly gathered its venom in its mouth before spatting a torrent of green liquid at Shin.
That was when another unexpected thing happened.
The Powers of the Brilliant Sun and Abyssal Moon merged once again and returned to being the Power of Primordial Eclipse.
But this time, it was releasing the black and white sparks dancing on its surface.
Shin was caught off guard, but he did not hesitate to use this energy while following his instincts. His body seemed to move on its own as he performed the advanced sword technique that he could not use from the Jade Kirin Scripture before.
Crackle!
'Jade Kirin Scripture: Sevent Movement – Thunder Eclipse'
Boom!
The attack came a little too fast he swung the sword at the torrent of acidic venom heading his way. It was so fast that even Shin, who performed the sword movement, could not believe that he did it.
Moreover, there was a huge crescent lighting energy that flew toward the acidic venom and cut through it. This energy continued to fly forward, splitting the torrent in the middle before heading toward the giant centipede.
Shriek!
The monster cried in pain as the crescent lighting energy cut one of the pincers that it had at the corner of its mouth before proceeding to hit its body, exploding and shattering its exoskeleton which caused a huge injury and left a massive wound.
Boom!
(-20,524,555)
(-71,023,562)
Then there was a pair of massive red numbers that appeared above the head of the Grand Centipedeus, chunking a huge portion of its Health Bar.
"Woah!" even Shin was impressed at what just happened.
...