All hell broke loose. Multiple creatures emerged from the lake, trees, and bushes to create a chaotic battlefield. Meanwhile, the Feicox shot corrosive bullets toward anything that dared approach their territory.
Khan was just outside the battlefield's range. His butt and back grew cold while he remained on the ground, and a constant stream of information assaulted his senses. However, his injury kept his attention away from the mess.
Mana seeped into the dark-green stain while the broken device fell into the muddy ground. Khan released his energy, turning it into a flare that shot out of his forearm to overwhelm the corrosive attack.
The chaos element did its job, but the process was far from pleasant. Khan's head shook as he closed his eyes and let his mana eradicate that threat. The corrosive liquid fought back, using every second it had to damage Khan's flesh, and almost a minute had to pass before the purple-red light removed any trace of it.
Khan's breathing turned into grunts. He opened his eyes only to see drops of sweat falling from his eyebrows. He had to wipe his face with his left arm to check the injury, and the scene that fell into his view made him gulp.
The dark-green liquid had removed the superficial layer of skin, exposing the flesh and muscles. The latter had also suffered under the attack's corrosive properties, creating an injury that still sent pain to Khan's mind.
'This will leave a scar,' Khan thought before disregarding the issue. His body already carried marks of his many battles. Adding another barely mattered at that point.
Nevertheless, the danger the Feicox posed was more than clear now. Their corrosive properties were scary, and Khan could find a worrying matter capable of topping that. He had used his full speed during the evasive maneuver, but the bullet had still hit him.
'They really are damned turrets,' Khan cursed. He still found it surprising that a mere plant with barely enough mana to match a second-level warrior could achieve so much, but reality spoke for itself.
The mess unfolding behind Khan made him curious enough to peek past the trunk, but an incoming corrosive bullet forced him to retract his head. The Feicox wasn't only keeping track of his position. It also had insane reflexes that truly resembled a machine.
'How do I solve this?' Khan wondered while sitting deeper in the mud.
A distraction was out of the question. The last bullet had shown Khan that the Feicox saw him as the main threat, which wasn't surprising. If he were to look at the battlefield through his senses, he would see himself as a blinding presence, and those plants probably viewed something similar.
Maban's technique could help, but Khan's hands were tied. Without his spells, he would have to approach the Feicox directly, limiting his attacks to his knife and kicks. Besides, he had to mind the extractor, and the poisonous fumes were another annoying variable.
Khan glanced at his backpack. The extractor wasn't too big or heavy, but he couldn't speak for its resilience. He could probably avoid putting it in danger with Maban's technique, but his speed might damage it on its own.
As for the poison, Khan could sense the foreign presence spreading even further, but marks had yet to appear on his skin. His flask of antidotes was still full too, so he could ignore the issue for now.
The idea of giving up never crossed Khan's mind. Only simulations occupied his thoughts, and they didn't look too good.
Going straight for the Dridie was doable. The Feicox were fearsome but remained plants. Khan believed that a single kick in the right spot could kill them.
The aftermath was the issue with that simulation. Killing the Feicox wouldn't fix the battlefield. It would probably make many Tainted animals strive toward the Dridie, turning Khan into its new guard.
That wouldn't normally be a problem, but the Dridie's frailty undermined Khan's confidence. He didn't know if he could fill the Feicox's role without his spells. It was probably better to keep those plants alive until he could safely extract his target.
'So,' Khan thought as he understood how to succeed. He had to take care of the battlefield first.
Khan's incredible senses made him aware of the many creatures that had joined the fray. None was strong enough to be a threat, but they were too many to consider any complicated tactic. Khan could only opt for the most straightforward approach.
'I'll kill them all,' Khan stated inside his mind, and a plan automatically formed.
Khan opened and closed his right hand. The new injury occupied a quarter of his forearm, so flexing his fingers hurt. His grip was also shaky, but everything worked well enough to make it useful.
Standing up came next. Khan left the mud and glanced at the trunk behind him until his eyes reached its crown. That mess of leaves was tall enough to be a safe area, so he kicked the ground to fly toward it.
Khan paid attention not to leave the trunk's cover and dived headfirst into the green leaves almost thirty meters above him. Branches broke and flexed during his passage, spreading a rustling noise that stopped once Khan's landed at the tree's top.
An awkward silence unfolded. Khan stood at the base of a branch in front of a snake-like creature entangled around a chest-sized strange bird. The former had even started gulping its prey, but Khan couldn't leave anything alive.
A purple-red light flashed, killing the snake and the bird to make the crown safe. At that point, Khan removed his backpack and bound it to a few branches before checking the area again. The Feicox appeared unable to notice him at that height, but things would probably change if he got closer.
Still, those plants would have to wait. Khan's focus was on the lake. Strange toads, snakes, birds, and much more had fallen prey to an all-out battle that knew no sides or alliances, and Khan had to bring peace, even if it meant erasing that environment from existence.
Khan checked the area one last time before leaping ahead. He crossed the crowns, savoring a whiff of clean air that carried no fumes or wetness while joining his palms.
The chaos spear took form during the short flight. Then, Khan kicked the air above him to dive back into the crowns and let the lake fill his view. He could see two Feicox from that position, and they also noticed him. Bullets immediately flew in his direction, but he released the spear before rising once again.
Khan crossed the crowns to reappear in the clear night sky, but the incoming masses of mana forced him to kick forward. The attack pushed him backward, allowing him to avoid the three corrosive bullets that clashed in his previous position.
The three bullets fused, splashing a few drops before falling prey to gravity. That dark-green liquid soon returned to the crowns, unleashing its corrosive properties on those harmless leaves.
Only Khan noticed that event since an explosion unfolded at the center of the lake and attracted everyone's attention. A purple-red pillar grew high and unleashed destruction in every direction. Loud cries resounded, even reaching Khan's ears, but he only cared about creating another spear.
The opening created by the corrosive liquid allowed Khan to aim his spear without diving back into the lake area. His precise throw made the spell cross that gap and reach another spot on the battlefield, filling it with its iconic purple-red light.
The symphony added details that Khan couldn't see from his position. The destructive pillars were scaring away most survivors, with many heading toward the Feicox. The latter could easily take care of those threats, leaving Khan with only one side to worry about.
Khan created another spear before diving through the opening. His previous spells had split the battlefield into two main sides, so he threw his attack toward the shore without Dridie.
The third spear landed and exploded, creating another violent pillar that further split the battlefield. Khan could now see five different populated areas alongside the lake's shores, but two were near the Feicox, so he focused on the others.
Khan went upside down and dived at full speed toward the closest shore. The Feicox were too busy with the incoming enemies to mind him, so he flew straight for a large frog-like creature enduring the relentless assault of two small birds.
The three Tainted animals were too busy escaping and fighting to notice Khan, so he stomped the frog and one bird with a single kick. The attack made the two creatures explode, and his knife followed, cutting the last enemy's head.
Khan used what remained of the two corpses to jump to his right, where another battle between two Tainted animals was unfolding. A kick and a slash killed them both, allowing him to sprint toward a third fight.
The spears had caused waves that splashed mud and dirty water everywhere. The various fights only intensified that mess, and the fumes hindered the visibility. In theory, keeping track of individual battles was impossible, but Khan had the symphony on his side, and following it made that chaos his home.
Khan killed almost ten Tainted animals in a short minute before heading toward his second target. His sprint brought him to another battlefield in seconds, and his attacks flew everywhere to optimize his killing time. Yet, his luck ran out soon enough.
A tremor ran through the symphony while Khan was slashing his knife toward an unaware bird-like creature with scales instead of feathers. He needed less than a second to complete his attack, but the incoming danger forced him to sprint ahead.
Two corrosive bullets reached Khan's previous position, with one hitting the previously targeted bird. More attacks threatened to arrive, and time in Khan's mind almost slowed down as he kept track of them.
Activating Maban's technique and flying above the crowns was the intelligent choice. It would allow Khan to escape the Feicox's focus and dive directly toward his next targets. However, the chaos gave birth to a reckless idea, and Khan didn't hesitate to pursue it.
Khan leaped forward instead of rising, flying behind four Tainted animals fighting in the mud. The incoming bullets missed, but the Feicox sent more of them. Still, Khan had a shield now.
The bullets crashed on two Tainted animals, hitting a third with their splashes. Meanwhile, Khan kicked the fourth creature before heading toward a different battle.
Now that Khan knew how fast the bullets were, he could adjust his movements and pace to use them to his advantage. He only needed to sprint right before the firing. That was a dangerous game, but Khan felt unbeatable in that mess.
Khan used Maban's technique as soon as the second battlefield was no more. In the Feicox's perception, he basically teleported into another crowded area before slowing down, almost challenging them to fire again.
The Feicox had no pride or emotions. They existed only to protect their suitable environment, so they didn't hesitate to target the biggest threat again. Khan couldn't even dare to catch a breath since the battlefield and bullets kept him completely busy. He had to wait for that third area to become clear to take a break.
Khan used Maban's technique again when he couldn't find Tainted animals in his immediate surroundings anymore. The sprint brought him above the trees, outside the Feicox's range, but the symphony told him that his job was far from over.
The lake had dried up in a few areas. The spears had left three huge holes with fuming terrain rather than mud, and the Feicox's many bullets had worsened the rest of the environment.
That area wasn't suitable for life anymore, and its previous inhabitants had understood that. Most had died during the escape and battles, but the trees around the shores were still safe and viable.
That wasn't even the end of it. The survivors had occupied those trees, but other Tainted animals had already claimed them as their territory. Battles soon unfolded again, and they remained too close to the Dridie for Khan to ignore them. He simply couldn't focus on his target just yet.
'A forest isn't easy to tame,' Khan sighed. He had miscalculated that environment's resilience, but his plan didn't change. He had mana, and strength still ran through his legs. He had no reason to stop now.
Since the battles had spread past the lake's shores, Khan could rely on more destructive methods. He had to limit the number of chaos spears before, but that distance from the Dridie gave him unrestrained freedom.
Khan went up and down the crowns, throwing a chaos spear whenever the path ahead became clear. His superior firepower became evident in that phase, and explosions resounded everywhere as bright pillars replaced trees and ground.
The wet environment couldn't take fire, but grey and dark columns of smoke rose everywhere. The flourishing forest turned into a scorching wasteland under the relentless assault of Khan's spells. He had to throw more than ten of them to clear everything, and the Feicox took care of vanquishing the remaining threats.
Khan returned above the crowns once the symphony grew emptier. His air support and the plants on the ground had wiped out an entire ecosystem, but the mission was far from over. Humidity even reached the air past the trees, forcing him to inspect his surroundings.
'Can I finish in time?' Khan wondered, glancing at the incoming dark clouds in the distance. It had taken him almost an hour to clear the entire lake, and the rains had never stopped advancing.
The sight of the clouds forced Khan to focus. He turned himself upside down, and the mana in his surroundings flowed toward his legs while his feet stomped the air.
The Feicox couldn't see much among that mess of smoke, but missing Khan's arrival in their range was simply impossible. Those plants' branches flexed to point at that incoming blinding presence, but the latter teleported before they could shoot.
Khan landed above a scarlet flower, shattering it and destroying a part of the branch below in the process. Time slowed down at that point. That was the closest he had been to the Feicox, and his eyes finally caught a glimpse of his true opponents.
Three fully-grown Feicox encircled the small Dridie, and a fourth was growing in an empty spot nearby. Trees surrounded them, but Khan only looked for the red color. Except for the newborn, each plant had four flowers.
Khan noticed the two pale-red buds growing from the newborn but moved before it was too late. The mana around him flowed toward his legs, giving him abnormal speed that made him crush two flowers during his evasive maneuver.
A series of corrosive bullets flew everywhere, but Khan was too fast for them. He jumped toward the Feicox again as soon as he landed on a trunk, and Maban's technique activated when more attacks converged toward him.
Khan destroyed three flowers with that second sprint, but bullets suddenly shot out of the newborn's buds, forcing him to retreat. The messy escape maneuver interrupted his offensive and put him at the center of the Feicox's assault. He used a tree as cover, but the corrosive liquid that fell on it destroyed the trunk.
As the trunk fell, Khan went upside down and used it as a path that shielded him from incoming bullets. The crown eventually appeared in his view, and Maban's technique pushed him past the leaves and outside the Feicox's range.
Khan ended up behind another tree, with his butt in the mud again. His hands quickly went on his left shoe since a few drops of the corrosive liquid had fallen on it. He didn't hesitate to throw it away, and his bare foot soon disappeared in the mud.
'The buds broke,' Khan thought, recalling the previous scene. 'They shouldn't be able to fire anymore, which leaves six flowers.'
Khan took a deep breath and prepared himself for his next sprint, but the discomfort inside his body suddenly intensified. He opened his uniform to check his chest, and a sigh escaped his mouth when he saw that purple spots had appeared on his skin.
The flask with the antidote immediately fell into Khan's palm, and he opened it to gulp one of the pills. Khan stored the container right afterward, but his chest grew heavy before he could peek past the tree.
Khan wanted to breathe, but his chest grew heavier and heavier, preventing him from sending air to his lungs. Cold sweat accumulated on his face and back as he did his best to remain behind the tree, and the arrival of retches eventually put him on all fours.
The mana inside Khan surged through his throat and converged into his mouth. Khan puked saliva mixed with violet shades that reminded him of the pill, and intense dizziness took control of his mind.
