578 Holy Sword
A pained groan escaped one of the Holy Knights' mouths as a black blade pierced through his thick armor. His chest was pierced in an instant, but he didn't scream out in desperation. His gaze was firm and filled with determination. The grasp around his weapon loosened and he felt the strength in his body disperse slowly.
He instinctively knew that he had only seconds left before the darkness of eternal death would engulf him, however, the Holy Knight was not afraid. His trembling hands grasped the black blade, its razor-sharp edges cutting into the Holy Knight's flesh.
"Kill…him…." The Holy Knight gargled, blood trickling down the corner of his mouth.
The Holy Knights around their fallen comrade grit their teeth. They executed the Sacred Sword Style, and the holy movement technique taught by the Sacred Knight Temple Master, and circled the three-armed Awakened, whose blade was stuck in their comrade.
The Awakened had two more arms to move and two more black blades to wield, but that was not all. An eye the size of a head conjured from darkness manifested overhead. The Holy Knights slowed down and it was increasingly more difficult to observe the enemy.
Their focus was intercepted, allowing the three-armed Awakened to shake the black blade stuck in the Holy Knight. He twisted the blade and used his superior physical strength to hurl the dying body away.
Unexpectedly, the Holy Knight died the moment the black blade was ripped out of his body, and the remnants of his accumulated Holy Power were unleashed in the surroundings. The Holy Knight's comrades received a temporary boost in strength from the Holy Power's Blessing and the influence of the Darkness Eye decreased considerably.
The three-armed Awakened didn't expect a shockwave of holy power to impact the moment he killed one of the Holy Knights.
His eyes flicked around, keeping an eye on all directions. Simultaneously, responded to the holy power shockwave by coating his body and weapons with his dark-attributed origin energy. A moment later, he cut through the holy power shockwave.
The three Holy Knights took advantage of the three-armed Awakened's hurried actions. A dozen fireballs conjured around the Holy Knights as they raised their weapons high into the air.
Their weapons glowed vibrantly. Their Holy Sword technique was unleashed, draining their holy power rapidly as they plunged their weapons down at the Awakened. The fireballs were unleashed simultaneously, putting heavy pressure on the three-armed Awakened. The Darkness Eye overhead shook, destroying half of the fireballs instantaneously, but the remaining fireballs impacted heavily.
Simultaneously, the three-armed Awakened tried to block the incoming Holy Swords. He managed to block one attack and redirect the second Holy Sword to interfere with the strike of the third Holy Knight. However, his movements were too large. He managed to evade getting sliced apart, but it was impossible to evade the incoming fireballs.
The fireballs reached him as the last Holy Sword cut past him. The fireballs impacted, three hitting the Awakened's writs and two exploding right in front of his eyes.
The Awakened didn't die, and he didn't sustain any mortal injuries as he managed to close his eyes and coat his eyelids with a tremendous amount of dark-attributed origin energy in time, but closing his eyes was a fatal mistake.
The moment he opened his eyes, the Awakened realized his mistake. Another foe appeared in front of him, his Holy Sword thrust forward.
The Awakened didn't know when the fourth Holy Knight appeared, and he didn't have enough time to react. The razor-
sharp tip of the Holy Sword was already in front of him.
The tip pricked the Awakened's throat, drawing a droplet of blood, and the blade's momentum was still at top speed.
All the Awakened could do was curse and unleash the remaining bits of strength inside him in a desperate attempt to evade the fatal attack. However, it was to no avail. The Holy Sword pierced his throat, and a fountain of blood erupted.
The Holy Knight twisted the blade and ripped it out of the Awakened's neck, his eyes following the three-armed Awakened. The light in the Awakened's eyes lost their luster. They went dull. The Awakened was dead.
A massive energy influx flushed through the Holy Knight, but his expression remained stoic. He grit his teeth, his eyes landing on the dead body of another Holy Knight…his friend, and colleague.
They had been Starless Summons of the same batch. Their decision to join the Sacred Knight Temple had been simple. They desired strength and they hoped to help the territory to prosper. Immortal Knight, the Captain of the Forest Elves, and their Lord told them more than once that it was dangerous in the wilderness, that they might die in battle against other Lords, and that they should choose carefully whether they wanted to join the military, or if they were more fit to become the Guardians of the Untamed Jungle, the defenders of their Lord's territory.
Some decided to become Guardians of the Untamed Jungle. They decided that it was more secure to become a Guard rather than joining deadly battles outside the Untamed Jungle.
While that was certainly true, Guardians didn't receive certain benefits that were given to the remaining Combatants.
The Untamed Jungle's Guardians enjoyed a lot but would never grow as strong as their colleagues who chosen to join the Savannah Expedition. The Guardians exchanged their benefits for higher safety. That was fine, but it was not what everyone wanted. It was certainly not what the Holy Knight, who'd slain the three-armed Awakened, and his comrades wanted. They desired more.
The Holy Knight grit his teeth and grasped his Holy Sword tightly, wondering if he'd done something wrong, At that moment, another Awakened emerged in front of them. Thick, spiked roots burst out of the body of the Awakened. The roots slithered around the Awakened like they were alive and lunged forward, ready to reap the lives of the four Holy Knights in an instant.
However, before the roots could reach the Holy Knights, silver flashes filled their surroundings. A quarter of a second later, a silver figure burst past them, azure mythical flames coating her silver fur.
The azure mythical flames burned down the spiked roots, instantly turning them into cinder, whereas Tiara appeared in front of the Awakened, her spear gracefully spinning around her body. Mythical flames coated the spear blade as she thrust out, piercing through the Awakened's armor and chest in one go.
The Awakened coughed up blood and a burst of mythical flames erupted within his chest, but Tiara didn't pay any attention to the Awakened. She used Inner Force to redirect her spear's momentum and retract it at once. A second use of Inner Force was enough to change her momentum once again and move around the Awakened, whose body collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
"Holy shit," One of the Holy Knights blurted aloud, their wide-
open eyes following Tiara's dashing figure.
Tiara's Silvarean Tiger transformation was fully intact. Her eyes turned into dangerous slits that inflicted fear in the hearts of those who were daring enough to look into her eyes, whereas silver fur grew out of her body. Zeroa's body covered Tiara, transforming the youthful woman of the Silverfang Tigerfolk into a replica of the humanoid Netherworld Sabertooth Tigerfolk.
Her movements were dangerously fluid as she moved through the rows of enemies. Inner Force was used a dozen times in a matter of seconds, her spear severing limbs and heads without losing a fraction of her momentum.
Tiara left behind a terrifying carnage, however, she had yet to lose her reasoning. Her wild instincts didn't overwhelm her mind yet.
She was still in charge of her body and made full use of that.
Tiara protected her comrades with all her might. She knew that most Holy Knights were not yet experienced enough to deal with Awakened, or Elite Summons, who had accumulated more combat experience than them. They may be strong enough to fight most enemies based on their combat prowess, but their combat awareness and strategic minds have not developed that well yet.
They had a lot more to learn, and Tiara wanted to give them the opportunity. She gave her utmost to ensure that they survived and that they could use today's battle as an experience for future ordeals.
However, Tiara was not undefeatable either. She was not yet a Tier-3 Awakened and her combat prowess was certainly not high enough to deal with several enemies at Tier-3 either.
Fortunately, she had the Elemental Empress by her side. Zeroa was her partner, and together they were able to do much more than they could manage alone.It was not enough to defeat some of the Peak Tier-3 Awakened that led the Council's army to the Laprix Lord's main settlement, but that was not necessary.
The Super Elite unit of the Valyrians was doing that much already. The Valkyr and their Super Elite Unit burned through the enemies. The Trilance breached through the enemies' defense mere seconds after the azure-blazing pillars had erupted.
Their timing was perfect.
In record time, the Valkyr reached the center of the council's army where the Awakened with Support and Healing Soultraits had retreated.
However, the Valkyr and the Valyr's Super Elite Unit were not the only ones who managed to invade deep into the enemy's rows.
10 Berserkers and 18 Warlock Centaurs had been released into the center of the council's army when Immortal Knight noticed that most Awakened with Healing, and Support-type Soultraits retreated to more secure grounds. They mistakenly believed they could focus on their Soultraits to aid their allies.
Stinger worked with the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs to send the frantic monster-like Awakened into the center of the combat zone where they didn't have to hold back anymore.
The Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs didn't have to pay attention to their allies. They could go all-out and fight to their hearts' content!
