Chapter 144 Flow Once More

Chapter 144 Flow Once More

[1350 GTs bonus]

This was the first time Sylas had seen someone fight and truly felt in awe of their skill. He realized that stats or not... the Browns were on an entirely different level.

Bloom had already appeared in the path of the beast the moment it dodged Sylas' kunai, almost as though she had already read and predicted it.

Her spear swept from the ground up, drawing a gorgeous arc through the air. Fluttering cuts of severed grass followed her stroke as though nature was blessing the sweep of the blade.

The dire wolf swiped a paw at it, and blade and claw clashed for but a moment before Bloom's wrists twisted.

The spear seemed to become akin to a slithering snake, curling around the beast's claw and cutting spiraling patterns through its limb.

Tendons were cut, and the beast's front leg fell limp.

Bloom retracted her spear, her stance shifting like lightning. She slid her body to the side of the injured paw, giving the wolf no chance for rebuttal at all as she furiously swiped out.

The blade cut so deep into the wolf's neck that its head almost fell off entirely.

Seemingly not finished with her tirade, Bloom's steps didn't pause as she pivoted to the last beast being blocked by Mark's shield. She found a perfect gap between the swing of his ax and the pause of the wolf and thrust her spear once more, skewering the animal right through the ribcage and rupturing its heart in a single strike.

From one attack to the next, and then the third. Every one of her movements was perfect, and Sylas felt that it was almost... beautiful.

'That's where that feeling is coming from... it feels like the flow of battle...'

His ax and shield moved as one, and he became the anchor that made all their lives much easier. Sylas never had to overextend himself, especially with Bloom by his side. They all seemed to assume that his Physical stats were lacking, and he had no intention of correcting them.

At some point after the three-hour mark, the portal's expanding size settled down. By now, it had swallowed up half the town and felt satisfied.

The number of beasts was stabilizing somewhat, and that left Sylas curious. What was the stabilizing force? Logically, it felt like the stream of them should only be increasing.

"The portal's stabilized," Lucius' voice boomed loud enough for them all to hear. "Get ready, we'll be entering. We'll be setting up a City Stele, but because this is no longer the Trial, we'll have to face the Judgment. We move out in 20 minutes."

Sylas' gaze narrowed. 'Judgment?'

He walked toward a few of the wolves and sacrificed them to the Madness Key. From an outsider's perspective, it looked as though he was trying his luck Genes, something everything was doing.

'I see. So the Judgment is a form of balance...'

Those that set up cities later had an advantage. If you chose a City Stele among the three awards, in all likelihood you wouldn't be able to choose your location because it was the only method through which you could protect yourself. Plus, your militiamen would all start off as Level 0, just like yourself.

If you set up a city at a later stage, your advantage was huge. Not only would you be able to pick a location, but you'd, assumedly, be of a higher Level and you'd be able to quickly catch up with a city that started off with a weaker foundation.

It seemed that there was a penalty for choosing this route, that being the so-called Judgment. It was essentially a challenge you had to pass, a lot like a Quicktime Event. If you failed, you would lose your City Stele as well.

'Interesting... the system doesn't seem to be something that cares about "fairness," though... So why the insistence on early cities?'

Sylas' heart skipped a beat as he recalled something.