Michael didn't rush to the Tekur like a mindless puppet. He observed the Tekur using Roc Eyes and kept on weaving through the charging masses of the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs.
There were less than 20 members in their team but a total of seven Tekur. Under normal circumstances, it would be suicidal to charge at so many Tekur with a group as small as theirs, but none of the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs seemed to care.
Armament Soultraits, Constitution Soultraits, Reinforcement Soultraits, and Aura Soultraits were utilized simultaneously, giving the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs an advantage in close combat. They used the Heritage Techniques they'd been taught by their Tribes to unleash their hidden potential and attain the highest possible combat prowess, even if it was only for a short time.
The Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs were fast. Their rapid movements were even faster than Michael could move with six-fold Enhancement applied to his body.
While Michael was a little surprised about the burst of power oozing out of each of the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs, the Tekur seemed unimpressed. Their Artifacts manifested and their Soultraits erupted.
One of the Tekur summoned a large golden bell. The bell hovered in the air and chimed loudly. Michael's ears rang and he felt a sudden wave of disorientation sweep through him. The Tekur didn't have to use his Soul Technique to affect all enemies simultaneously. The thunderous chiming did not affect the other Tekur, at all. On the contrary, their coordination and teamwork seemed to reach new heights as they began to move simultaneously.
The second Tekur unleashed his Soultrait as well. However, instead of holding back, she used her Soul Technique instantaneously. Michael could tell at a glance that something big was about to happen. Crimson energy burst from the Tekur's body in the form of lengthy threads. The threads connected to the other Tekur and engulfed their bodies, creating a dark and gloomy atmosphere around them. The crimson energy was dark, almost black. It was ominous and increased the tension all over the battlefield instantaneously. It also enhanced the strength, pressure, and energy circulation of the Tekur.
It was an Infernal Aura that inflicted fear in the enemies while also strengthening all designated allies.
The Golden Bell and Infernal Aura were already enough to stir some trouble. The Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs were drastically restrained. Disorientation was already enough hassle, yet the Infernal Aura cranked it up further - it was extraordinary. It intimidated the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs and slowed down their energy circulation, therefore weakening the efficiency of their Heritage Techniques.
Other than the two Tekur, there were five more Tekur with strong Soultraits and even stronger Soul Techniques.
One of the Tekur manifested a Shadow replica of himself, another Tekur conjured close to a hundred light spheres around his body, and the third Tekur manifested a staff that emanated a soothing warmth. Once power was channeled into the staff, healing currents would spread through the surroundings, invigorating all those who were in need of vigor, and origin energy.
The fourth Tekur seemed to disappear from one moment to the next. He used his Soultrait and immediately utilized his Soul Technique to turn invisible to his enemies. Meanwhile, the fifth Tekur circulated origin power through his body in a unique way, enhancing his physical might even further. His muscles bulged and he created a small crater beneath his feet the moment he kicked the ground.
The physically strengthened Tekur was the forerunner. He emerged in front of the leading Warlock Centaur and engaged in a fierce battle. Thunderous sounds reverberated through the surroundings as their weapons collided and the leading Warlock Centaur was pushed back rapidly. His high-ranked armor set artifact was torn into shreds and his thick skin was pierced through with ease.
It was already a wonder that the Warlock Centaur survived more than five seconds against the tremendous power of the physically strengthened Tekur.
Michael observed their first encounter from a distance but didn't rush forward at once. He weaved energy into his brain and shut his eyes using energy to negate the effect of the Golden Bell upon himself. Knowing how exactly the Tekur using the Infernal Aura spread fear and gloominess through the surroundings was also helpful in minimizing the intimidation effect of the Internal Aura to a bearable degree.
This only left the Shadow Doppelganger, the Light Spheres, a Staff, an Invisible enemy, and the Tekur with tremendous physical strength to counter.
Michael used Insert and Enhancement together. He applied two layers of Enhancement on every Berserker and Warlock Centaur in his group. A faint hue of Extraction coated his body to pull the surrounding power in his direction and devour it to replenish his used-up energy as quickly as possible. He used Roc Eyes with several layers of Enhancement to pinpoint the location of the invisible Tekur. Once enhanced, Roc Eyes rendered the Invisibility Soultrait of the Tekur useless. That was great, but it was also something Michael had to play out well.
He manifested Aethyr in the Swordform and used Reinforced Sword Qi with a handful of layers of Enhancement to strengthen it. Michael then watched the remaining Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs clash with their enemies.
The first encounter was disastrous.
The Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs were not physically weaker than the others – other than the Tekur with the Soultrait that reinforced his physique – but they weren't stronger either. The effect of the Golden Bell and the Infernal Aura were enough to strengthen the Tekur, whereas the Mysterious Staff invigorated them.
Michael was about to jump into the fight when his eyes flicked to the not-so-invisible Tekur. The Tekur stealthily sneaked up behind the leading but oblivious Warlock Centaur, who was still engaged in a desperate battle with the physically-enhanced Tekur and was just about to drill his claws through the Centaur's neck when warm blood was sprayed on the Warlock Centaur's back. The leading Warlock Centaur's entire back was drenched in blood in seconds. Startled, the Warlock Centaur turned around just to see a Tekur struggling against a silvery longsword that impaled its chest.
Michael was standing near the Warlock Centaur's rear, looking down at the Tekur and the Warlock Centaur alongside.
"Sorry for jumping on you. I had to deal with this little pest," Michael said lightly, his golden eyes glimmering as he used Spirit Disturbance on the Tekur. He transformed Aethyr into a dagger while his left hand shot forward to catch the Tekur mid-air. The Aethyr Dagger pierced through the Tekur's neck in the next moment, killing the enemy before the Mysterious Staff could invigorate the Invisible Tekur to close his wound and heal him.
The next moment, Aethyr transformed into a guard that was thrown past the Warlock Centaur's head to protect him from the physically enhanced Tekur's attack. The Aethyr shield was pierced through in one go. Its shape dispersed and Michael had to recall it into his War Rune before summoning it once again. Aethyr transformed into a spear, which Michael coated in layers of Enhancement and Sword Qi to aid the Warlock Centaur in the battle against the physically enhanced Tekur.
It took him a while, but the Aethyr Spear scratched the Tekur. It was not enough to make him bleed profusely but it was certainly enough to insert several Extraction tendrils in one go. Michael used the Power of Energy Imprint stored within the Legendary Ring Artifact to refill his energy storage just enough to use Insert on the leading Warlock Centaur to reinforce his might by inserting several layers of Enhancement. He increased the Peak Tier-3 WarlocK Centaur Lord's strength with six layers of Enhancement, allowing him to stand on equal footing with the Tekur.
Michael conjured close to a hundred Glacicles the size of tiny needles to bombard the Tekur and use Insert with Extraction tendrils on him more often before he decided that it was time to leave. He rushed to the two Tekur in the back with a dozen compressed Glacicle Swords appearing around him. The Glacicle Swords shot forward, but the Tekur evaded them with ease. Their movements were graceful as they moved around the Glacicle Swords.
What they didn't expect, however, was the Glacicle Swords to burst apart and turn into freezing mist. The freezing mist transformed into hundreds of compressed Galcicles that shot toward the two Tekur from all directions.
The Glacicles were extremely fast, but interestingly enough only one of them hit the Tekur. The Tekur reacted swift enough to evade the Glacicles and move around majestically. Even Michael was a little stupefied watching the Tekur evading each compressed Glacicle. It was not as if the Glacicles could actually do any significant harm to them. The only harm was caused by the freezing effect, the freezing mist, and the traces of Extraction inserted into Glacicle.
'Can they sense the Extraction traces, or were they taught to evade all attacks?' Michael wondered. He used Spirit Disturbance on the Tekur with the Golden Bell and focused on that one for a while. Hundreds of Glacicles shot toward him from all directions, leaving no space for the Tekur to move.
Finally, some more Glacicles ended up hitting the Tekur, which Michael used to insert both freezing mist and traces of Extraction into the Tekur's body. Unfortunately, Michael was not allowed to move freely all this while. He couldn't strike all the time without receiving some sort of retribution in exchange. Dozens of Light Spheres came flying at him with an incredible velocity.
The real battle was just about to start.
Fortunately, the leading Warlock Centaur gained the edge over the physically enhanced Tekur now that six layers of Enhancement reinforced him.
The downside, however, was that every Tekur unleashed the full power of their Soultraits along with their Soul Techniques.
