Chapter 62 Pyrrhic Victory

Boom!

A vine slammed into the ground, raising dust while splattering out rock fragments like shrapnel. Even though the vine was only as thick as a human hand, it possessed concentrated firepower, enough to shatter boulders.

That wasn't all, the vines could also grow and regenerate any damage sustained while battle by absorbing nutrients from the ground, their primary advantage.

Thanks to this, the corruption expended by the Blight Human—Commander Goss—was lower than what one might expect for the displayed firepower.

Yihan hovered in the air, staring down at the dozens of vines that had cropped up, observing the figure of Commander Goss hidden amongst them, in safety, thinking, 'If I just fight them head on, I'll only end up exhausting myself.'

After all, unlike him, Commander Goss could sustain himself for longer durations thanks to his vine's ability to regenerate by absorbing minerals from the ground. Though, this process took a longer time than healing using corruption alone.

But, if the intensity of the attacks were to drop down, then they could recover on their own over time. That was why the moment Commander Goss noticed Yihan, he began to grow more vines underground.

This way, he had enough to defend himself with in case of emergencies while allowing the damaged ones to heal naturally. Moreover, he reserved as much corruption as possible, allowing the vines to grow to their full height naturally over time while he waited.

Thanks to that, he had more than half his corruption reserves in his Origin Space. And that wasn't all as Commander Goss clenched a tiny metal container that was within his pocket, held securely.

Contained within it were Blight Cores, harvested from fishes. They were his emergency rations to replenish his corruption in times of necessity. He had only refrained from using them at the moment to see what Yihan would do.

If Yihan refused to engage with him, consuming the precious Blight Cores would simply be a wastage. It was because finding Blight Cores big enough to make a difference in the corruption reserves was hard.

And even if there were seas full of them, fishing them still took time, not to mention the processing and transportation time, resulting in the Blight Cores going for a premium.

Commander Goss had spent more than a month of his wages on acquiring the biggest of Blight Cores, enough to fill up his entire corruption reserves in a matter of seconds. That was what he was holding securely now, staring at the figure of Yihan high up in the sky through the gaps between the vines.

"Fire!" A soldier shouted, launching an arrow at Yihan as many soldiers followed suit. They slowly converged around the vines, using them for protection while launching arrows at Yihan.

"Keep up the pressure." Commander Goss announced coldly as he concentrated, causing a vine to slither before the archers as the thorns growing on it expanded in length, popping out in droves.

The thorns now resembled arrows, no different to the ones they were using, albeit for mild variations. In comparison, these arrows were somewhat better than the poorly manufactured arrows that they could get their hands on.

Originating from a weak company belonging to the Fornol Empire, they didn't have the funds necessary to arm themselves with better equipment. But at least, they wouldn't run short on arrows, the reason Commander Goss dared to attack this fort in the first place.

After all, through his vines, he was able to produce a consistent supply of arrows.

"Commander is awesome!" A soldier shouted in excitement as he grabbed the newly produced arrows, placing them in his quiver as he nocked the first in his bow, aimed at Yihan and shot it, muttering in surprise at the generated sound, "It's better than I thought."

Swoosh!

Yihan raised his altitude, going beyond the range of the arrows as he glared at the opponents. He then observed the state of things on the fort, watching a crow fly towards him as Xuna's voice resounded, "Do you want my help?"

"That won't be necessary." Yihan took in a deep breath as he stared at the enemies, "I was just thinking of a plan of attack."

He then said after a moment, "Be ready to heal me, alright? There's a good chance I'll be messed up pretty grandly after this."

"You needn't worry. My Nacre reserves are full." The crow flew past, circling in the air before heading towards the fort.

Yihan stared at the sky, inhaling the fresh air as he glared at Commander Goss, announcing with an overbearing tone, "Blight Human…surrender! Or, be ready to die!"

Boom!

The wings on his back blurred in an instant, unleashing a jet as his figure blasted towards the vine forest, the sudden acceleration causing the opponents to jerk in response, startled.

Commander Goss caused the vines to coil around him in a protective embrace as the rest of them lashed at Yihan.

Swoosh!

Yihan patted his chest and pulled out his scythe blades, twice longer than usual as his wings flapped at varying frequencies, causing his body to rotate rapidly. His scythe blades flashed around him, shredding apart the vines approaching him.

The impact still affected his flight, the generated shock rattling his internals. But Yihan relied upon his natural regeneration to sustain himself as he sped downward like a drill, cutting through the vines before slamming into the ground with a loud thud, raising smoke in the process.

Bam!

The vines lashed on the ground in droves, resulting in thunderous sounds that drowned out all sounds, causing the crowd to stare at the scene, slack-jawed. Each hit was akin to an explosive, rattling their ears.

And, dozens rattled every second, raising a smoke cloud, hindering the vision of everyone.

Buzz!

Suddenly, intense winds were generated as the dust cloud began to spin, gradually taking shape into a twister at the centre of which were Yihan and Commander Goss, engaging in the fight.

Boom!

A vine jutted out of the ground, from right under his feet as Commander Goss was sent flying like he had stepped upon a spring. The vine too expanded, as a result, taking up a helical shape wound around him in a protective embrace while he passed through the twister.

Another vine sprung out of the ground and grabbed hold of him, making him land gently as he shouted, "Die!"

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Boom!

The vines slammed at Yihan, for he was trapped at the centre of the forest of vines now. The attacks rained down on him, shattering large pieces of his armour as he suffered from fractures at multiple locations.

"Huff…" Yihan inhaled a deep breath before pulling out a couple of chakrams out of his armour that he threw with all his strength, causing them to curve in the air and head straight at Commander Goss who hurriedly sprung up a vine to defend himself.

The chakrams cut through the vine, barely redirected as they scratched his cheek before flying past, hitting a soldier in the forehead, resulting in his death.

Only a second later did Commander Goss feel a stinging sensation as he noticed blood leaking out of his cheek, realising the sheer sharpness attained by the blades Yihan created, shouting in a hurry, "Rain down arrows on the bastard! Destroy him!"

"Shoot! Kill him!" The soldiers shouted as they unleashed dozens of arrows at Yihan.

Though, they meant nothing as Yihan pulled out a shield that he defended himself with, holding a scythe blade in the other hand that he used to cut the vines.

The shied lasted for at least ten hits from the vines as Yihan relied upon his natural regeneration to endure the damage.

Swoosh!

Whenever an opportunity presented, he threw out chakrams, killing the soldiers one after another. Moreover, the vines couldn't regenerate fast enough as every slash from him severed them into pieces.

"Shit!" Commander Goss realised that he didn't have a choice anymore, dodging as the vine helping him was cut into pieces too. He broke the box he held dear and downed its contents, sensing the Blight Cores melt instantly as his corruption boomed.

"Die!" He poured all the corruption into the vines that instantly regenerated, slamming into Yihan from behind, taking him by surprise as his wings were clipped first, followed by his armour that shattered into pieces, causing his battered body to slam into a rock, turning it bloody.

Commander Goss glared, causing a vine to slam into Yihan to deliver the killing blow when the scorpion tail growing on Yihan's back lashed out, deflecting the vine before coiling around it to tug with force.

The tail snapped from the shear tension it unleash in an instant, but that was his plan as the force lashed Yihan's body towards Commander Goss as he turned into the West Guardian once again, pulling out a long scythe blade that pierced through Commander Goss's head.

He crashed into his opponent as his armour wore off, causing him to tumble to the ground, coughing out blood as he lost consciousness, his limbs twisted unnaturally due to all the hits he endured. But, lying next to him was the corpse of Commander Goss, his head pierced through.

It was a pyrrhic victory.