Chapter 545: Battle In The Forest I

Chapter 545: Battle In The Forest I

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!

Bang!

A deafening roar shattered the night as my blade collided with the surging arc of diamond fire.

It was powerful.

So much so that it threatened to push me back. I did not let it. Instead, I drove more of my aura against the attack.

Finally, it snapped. The diamond fire recoiled, its predatory light twisting as though in pain before hurtling back toward the enemy ranks.

For a breathless moment, silence hung heavy in the air.

Then I saw it—the widening eyes of my enemies, their expressions twisting from smug triumph to raw disbelief. The arc tore through their defences like a vengeful spirit, obliterating the volley of arrows and spells they had unleashed, leaving only destruction in its wake.

Graceful Repel.

It is a skill from Bell, and since it's from her Lord Class, I am glad I had copied this skill instead of Focus. It helped me a lot in the battle of Panar, but I don't know how much it will help me against the elemental artifact.

That artifact is powerful and unlike Stone's. The saber is not broken, making it far more dangerous.

"I have to admit," he drawled, his smirk cutting deeper than his blade ever could, "your little show of skill is... surprising. Really, it is." His steps echoed as he closed the distance, slow and deliberate, like a wolf savoring the scent of cornered prey. "But let's not kid ourselves—it won't save you."

His steps were slow, but his people moved fast. They cast spells that destroyed every obstacle before attacking my people.

Clang!

The clash of steel rang out, far too close for comfort. The rogue struck, her movements a blur, but Jon was there to meet her blade.

She had seriously injured Jon last time; this time, it would be even worse, as she knew everything about him—his every skill while she might be hiding some of hers.

It wasn't just Jon. Now, it was all of us. They knew our every move, every weakness, every one of our skills.

It didn't stop us from forming our plans, and one of them was to have Leila, Lena, and Zela finish their opponents as soon as possible and come to help me.

We know that task wouldn't be easy.

Still, I am keeping hope because I don't think I can handle him with that thing in his hand for long.

In the last battle, I was barely able to survive.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

I might have lost it if it had lasted for a minute or more. So, the bandits using a teleportation scroll was a blessing for me.

Though he will not make a mistake now, in this attack, he took out the artifact to finish the job.

"We shall see," I said, forcing every ounce of defiance into my voice,

To which he grinned and appeared in front of me before swinging his saber.

It blazed with living diamond fire cascading along the blade in a brilliant, searing dance, making my heart lurch and shudder.

I controlled my emotions and swung my rapier with the power of Blade of The Gale, Mauling Strike, and Rapid Strikes.

I powered them with my aura because without it. I won't be able to last even a single exchange.

Clang!

Our weapons clashed, and I activated Quick Parry, but he broke it and sent the diamond fire toward me.

Bang!

Immediately, I activated Graceful Repel with the power of aura. The fire resisted and repelled it while I stepped back to manage the force.

I didn't hold back on my counter.

Using the full power of the aura on me and my skills, he was still able to push me back.

It might be an elemental artifact, but it still offers other enhancements.

The cut isn't as big as earlier, but the attack has more blaze, and now it wants to spread over me and burn me to ashes.

I moved my aura to stop it but saw another attack approaching me.

Clang!

I stopped it, but I had to move two steps back, and he used that chance to attack again even faster.

Bang Rip!

He cut right below the chest armor with his saber, cutting through and touching the bone.

I moved the aura toward it immediately and went to defend against another attack coming at me.

My head had started to hurt terribly as I began to use the aura to manage the artifact's power into my wound, the skills, and the suppression of him.

With the last battle, my aura control had improved significantly. I used the day and a half to digest the concepts of aura control that I had read about and improve them further.

I had confidence that if we fought again. I would be able to defeat this man, but the artifact had changed things completely.

Now, I am at a more significant disadvantage than I had been at the first battle.

More wounds tore across my body, each one burning. If this kept up, it wouldn't just be pain—it would be my undoing. The energy trapped within one of those wounds was already unstable, and the moment it slipped free, it would end me.

I could feel the power of the artifact in the wound. It is hazardous; the slightest slip-up will kill me.

I want to destroy them, but I am focusing on the aura of so many things that it has become more challenging for me and will become even harder.

Bang Rip!

I had just thought that when a cut appeared on my shoulder, I had moved the aura toward it. It increased pressure and intensified the headache I was feeling.

Clang!

While retreating, I defended the next attack and used this chance to appear behind the tree.

His saber cut through the tree cleanly, giving me the chance to dodge the attack successfully.

Bang Rip!

I wasn't so lucky the next time. The enemy was able to cut me at the waist, increasing the pressure on me further.

He is too powerful. It is too hard to defend against his attacks.

I am pushing an aura into my body and my skills and onto him, but this time, it barely affects him.

The artifact is providing him protection against it.

I want to move my aura from him, but it's not just suppressing him. It also showed me his every moment, helping me react faster to his attack.

Though not fast enough, even though I have the skill of Fast Reflex,

It will be challenging to increase my power further with aura. I will try; it will help if I can react faster than I am now.

I do not want to kill him, nor do I believe I could, but it would make defending easier if I could react faster.

It would be enough to defend, but I am already reacting with Fast Reflex.

If I want to react even faster, I must boost the Fast Reflexes' power. It is hard.

I use aura on every skill except for the passive skills. It's beyond hard; there seemed to be a wall stopping it.

Many times, I tried to breach it but failed.

Bell had said I would need at least a year or more to achieve that. With how things are going, I don't have a year, I don't even have a minute.

I will have to do it. Make it stronger. It was the only way I could survive against this powerful enemy.

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