When comparing the various combat styles that had been shown during the current monster tide, Valyr greatly focused on dealing a great amount of damage through his skills, specializing in burst attacks. On the other hand, Myst focused on longevity, giving her the ability to deal a moderate yet still lethal amount of damage over a long period of time.
Though both of these combat styles had their own advantages and disadvantages when it came to the battlefield, with one shining in short fights while the other shone in fights of attrition, there was one that did not shine in terms of duration, but instead in terms of the number of enemies one fought against.
A combat style that gradually dealt more damage as time passed.
Tristan's combat style.
Naturally, this combat style was highly reliant on his Battle Junkie subclass, specifically the [Battle Mania] skill he had access to, which allowed him to build up power the more enemies he killed. In terms of the duration of fights the combat style specializes in, Tristan's combat style leaned more towards favoring longer battles more. On the other hand, in terms of combat power, his combat style could achieve a great amount of damage similar to the burst attack combat style, especially after netting enough kills.
Of course, a combat style like his also had its own disadvantages, such as not being able to show one's full potential in a short fight, or not being able to reach a high level of strength against a singular foe. Nevertheless, it was still the combat style Tristan swore upon, thinking of his subclass as just an extension of his ideology.
After all, to him, the greatest combat style was the style that allowed him to thrive in battle.
Bang!
Punching both of his fists out with great force, the translucent billowing flame surrounding his body moved in response, traveling through his extended arms before turning into a pair of translucent fists that headed in a singular direction, the force behind the fists gradually growing stronger the more monsters it killed.
"It definitely feels nice to be fighting again." Allowing the energy from the kills to course through his body as the billowing flame surrounding him gradually grew in intensity, Tristan closed his eyes for a bit before grinning, only to move to another section not long after as he sent out yet another [Pinnacle Blow].
Bang!
In terms of how many monsters Tristan's skill was able to kill, it sorely lacked even when compared to Myst's [Perpetual Crescent]. However, with the number of kills he had under in his belt continuing to accumulate, the power behind his skill grew in kind, with the fifth [Pinnacle Blow] he had sent out showing everyone watching the fight unfold something they didn't expect.
Boom!
After mowing down through a great number of monsters that made up the second wave, as if it had a mind of its own, the translucent fists Tristan had sent out seemed to have realized that they had finally gotten deep within the horde, which prompted the energy that they still had within them to burst out in one go.
Not even an instant after, a dome of energy similarly colored to the billowing flames surrounding Tristan's body appeared in the center of the second wave, causing a great portion of the monsters that had just barely missed the dome of terrifying energy to run back to the main tide, the fear of death controlling their bodies once more.
"[Perpetual Crescent]."
Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!
Unfortunately, after having been given enough time to rest and replenish her energy, Myst joined in the fight once more, deciding to focus on killing off the monsters that had the intent to return to the main tide while also helping Tristan kill the remaining monsters that made up the second wave.
"Guess it's time for me to go all out." Of course, Tristan was glad to have Myst fighting together with him, causing a large grin to appear on his face as he let out a loud cackle soon after. Rubbing his fists, he then allowed the energy within his body to accumulate before sending out in one go, punching out multiple times as translucent fists soon bombarded the battlefield, killing all the monsters that came in contact with it.
"[Raging Barrage]!"
"[Eternal Severing Array]!" Wanting to match the energy Tristan had shown during the fight, Myst decided to unleash a move that she had kept for purposes like these, being a skill that Riekan had helped her unlock after she had ascended her Perennial Blademaster subclass to Epic grade.
Thud!
Embedding her blade into the ground, with only a quarter of it being able to go through, Myst soon knelt on the ground as the piercing white light surrounding her blade earlier appeared once more, its energy spreading through the ground like wildfire while illuminating the paths it took.
Naturally, the monsters that had come across the white paths wondered to themselves as to where the white paths had come from, not feeling any malicious intent from them. However, just as their danger senses had alerted them to move away from the paths, it was already too late, with blades made out of white energy appearing out of the ground like spikes, killing monsters en masse.
"Now that's more like it!" Seeing the move Myst had unleashed in response to the barrage of fists he sent out, Tristan let out yet another cackle as he continued to keep up the current energy they had, allowing them to start pushing the monsters back before proceeding to whittle their numbers down.
Eventually, with Tristan's attacks growing more lethal the more he fought, and with Myst supporting him through the [Eternal Severing Array] she unleashed, the second wave had eventually become a thing of the past, finally giving the two some time to rest as they looked at each other with tired expressions, satisfied smiles appearing on their faces not long after.
Rumble…
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me…" With the ground rumbling not even a minute after the two had successfully cleared out the second wave, Tristan and Myst looked at each other with bitter smiles, thinking to themselves whether to retreat and have the others fight them or stay where they were and fight once more as the monsters making up the third wave were already on their way.
"Hey there. Mind if I join?" Fortunately for them, as if already expecting such a situation to happen once the second wave was cleared, a young man had appeared before the two and flashed a slight grin at them, which made them simultaneously let out inward sighs of relief.
"Be our guest," said Tristan in response with a tired chuckle. "We're utterly spent out here."
"Get that well-needed rest, then." In response, Valyr nodded before chuckling as well. "We're gonna need all of the energy we can muster for the last couple of waves, after all."
After saying these words, Valyr took a few steps forward, distancing himself from the two before taking in a deep breath as the expression on his face turned solemn. Then, extending his spear outward, he swung it in an upward arc, causing a wave of dark energy to appear on the battlefield once more.
"[Tide of the Dark Night]."
