"T-This level of strength is impossible!" Saint Garmd bellowed in horror, in disbelief as he coughed out blood.
Kekumi Xetuka had targeted his chest from afar, using a portal to transmit the attack to him. And unlike the portals used by Pseudo-Saints and below that wielded Space Mana, she actively altered the portal's shape and size, ensuring her opponents wouldn't be able to target her through the portals.
Portals existed as a two-way street. Meaning, if she were to attack them, then they were capable of doing the same in reverse. But with the portals being small enough to only encompass the shaft, the three Giant Saints were unable to retaliate.
Clang!
Saint Garmd raised his defences as a tank, causing a clanging sound to resound when another sword intended to pierce him. He also extricated himself from the spear piercing his chest, taking out a leafy wrap that jumped out of the water tunnel and ate it, watching his injuries heal rapidly.
He also fed the remaining two Saints, helping them recover.
But of course, since she dared to reveal her entire power, Kekumi Xetuka intended to kill her opponents once and for all.
And upon the thought, she thrust forth, causing spears to peek out of nowhere and stab the Giant Saints at speeds beyond what they could prepare. And with every stab, she melted through their defences.
Earlier, her attacks consisted of Fire and Wind mana, those that she unleashed in a head-on confrontation, allowing the Giants to focus their mana on the targeted spots to defend better.
But now, each of her thrusts were condensed using a Metal Mana spear first, layered with fire and lightning that was seamlessly fused into a whole, followed by a layer of wind that protected the spear against external harm.
And using her Space Mana, Kekumi Xetuka thrust forth such attacks, targeting them at their least guarded locations to result in maximum damage.
Boom!
A spear targeted Saint Gult's right eye, causing it to burst in response as he screamed in pain. But suddenly, a leafy wrap made way into his mouth, rapidly jumping out of a hole that formed in the ground below his feet, thrust into the mouth by an earth spike.
'How many of these leafy wraps have they hidden here?' Kekumi Xetuka frowned, expanding the range encompassed by her mana but still failed to detect the leafy wraps. But they were definitely there as the Giant Saints were using them to regenerate their wounds nonstop.
'The Herbalist should be taken care of first. Otherwise, this battle will never end.' Kekumi Xetuka thought, smiling as she raised the intensity of her attacks, causing the entire region to be covered by smog.
And hidden under its veil were a team of five, all princes of the Xetuka Kingdom, Pseudo-Saint Mages that wielded the elements of Wind and Fire.
Everyone from the Xetuka Kingdom's royalty had an affinity to Wind and Fire Mana, the majority of which became Warriors, with a few becoming Mages instead.
The group of five were reared in secret, a punitive squad created with the sole intention of taking down enemy figureheads.
Currently, the five were speeding through the air using the cover of the fog. The one at the front held a map created by a Cartographer, one that displayed the location of Saints in their vicinity.
"The Herbalist Saint is hiding three kilometres away by disguising himself as a hill." The leader of the squad said in all seriousness, "Aunty Kekumi cannot last on her own for long against the three Giant Saints. Let's finish our task."
He stopped a kilometre from the hill, covered by the smog as all five began to chant in unison, riling up both their Wind and Fire Mana, fusing them into a unity.
This was the Xetuka Kingdom's trump card, researched and developed by their Saints over the course of many centuries.
Fusion Enchant—Blazing Sky Phoenix!
A sphere formed before them, akin to the sun as it unleashed intense heat. It unfurled a pair of wings before a pair of eyes glared at them, causing them to tremble at the might it exuded, despite being the ones that created it.
The fire bird turned into a streak and headed straight towards the rocky hill in a matter of seconds, the heat it unleashed beginning to vaporise the plant life growing on the hill.
"Protect the Lord!" Four Pseudo-Saint Giants posted as bodyguards for the helpless Herbalist screamed in fright, hurriedly erecting multiple walls of earth to stop the fire bird.
But unfortunately for them, their earth walls were casually pierced through like a hot sword poking through butter.
The firebird's strength actually reached a Saint's in terms of power, the reason it was the Xetuka Kingdom's trump card. Boosted by the wind that continued to raise its speed, the fire bird slammed into the hill and pierced through it, entering the hollow section within as it slammed into the Herbalist within.
"Aaargh!" The Herbalist Saint screamed in pain as the firebird wrapped around his body and began to burn him, managing to kill him after grilling him for an excruciating two minutes.
Following that, it still had enough strength to burn up more as it headed straight towards the water tunnels, vaporising the water rapidly to spike the pressure building up within the tunnels, immediately leading to multiple explosions.
Water spilled out in large volumes as many tunnels were destroyed one after another, stopping the flow of water.
"What the…" Saint Garmd was shocked to see the volume of water he could draw out from the tunnels continue to reduce at an alarming pace.
But before he could take action, a spear pierced through his neck, wounding him severely as the defensive capabilities of his Tank Profession continued to wane.
Moreover, the leafy wraps began to reduce in number, no longer being replenished using the water channels as the Herbalist was no more.
And with the water streams being cut off, their supply was cut short, causing their injuries to pile up before soon, the first casualty arose.
"Gult!" Saint Garmd stared in shock upon witnessing Saint Gult's head be riddled with dozens of holes, melting it in a matter of seconds, leading to his death.
He didn't even have time to mourn the loss of his comrade as Saint Garmd grunted in pain, watching his right hand being severed by a sword hack.
