Mekhaz didn't have to worry too much about getting injured. He was already a Tier-3 Awakened and his defense was high enough to block most incoming attacks.
The Living Armor covered him entirely, whereas his other Soultraits, Energy Absorption, and Repel could be applied wherever he wanted. He applied several Repel Runes all over his body and connected them with Energy Absorption to increase their storage capacity.
Combining Energy Absorption with Repel made it easier to absorb more of the incoming damage and increase the power output once enough energy had been accumulated within the Repel runes.
Mekhaz accepted most attacks without paying attention to the inflicted damage. He only blocked or evaded the attacks that would cause too much damage to the Living Armor. It would be a hassle if the Living Armor shattered or if he sustained a heavy injury.
He missed some attacks but wasn't injured. As for the Living Armor, it recuperated using origin energy. Combining this function with Energy Absorption and the fact that every incoming attack was weakened and drained of a portion of its origin energy, Mekhaz could ensure that all scratches and minor damage were healed instantaneously.
Mekhaz cut a nearby Rievers' throat while blocking a dozen attacks with the Living Armor. Each attack that hit his Living Armor transferred a portion of energy into his body and the Repel rune, ensuring that he never lacked energy. Mekhaz twisted his body and kicked a Rievers with his hind legs.
The Rievers hurdled through the air and crashed into his colleagues. A moment later, Mekhaz released the power accumulated within the Repel rune.
The rune broke, unleashing a burst of compressed energy toward the enemy he kicked just now. The energy blast did not unleash Repel's full power but it was enough to burst the Rievers' head and injure the Rievers standing right behind his now-dead fellow.
Mekhaz didn't pay much attention to the dead. He accelerated, swung his halberd, and beheaded the injured Rievers with a swift strike.
The Rievers tried to block the attack but it was useless. His morale shattered when his comrade's head exploded before him.
Hiraku appeared next to Mekhaz as he was about to continue the carnage of brute force. However, Hiraku was much better at that game. His physical strength crossed the threshold of a weak Higher Lifeform easily. He blocked some of the stronger incoming attacks with his humongous shield and cleaved through his enemies with the double-bladed war axe like they were weeds.
Some of the stronger Awakened tried to block Hiraku, but their attempts failed miserably. Only one of the Peak Tier-3 Rievers managed to slow Hiraku a little bit. He used his Soultrait, a debuff, also known as Slowness, to slow Hiraku – quite literally.
Hiraku's movement speed slowed down a little bit. It was not more than 10%, at most, but that was more than enough to grant the Rievers an opportunity to strike back.
Unfortunately, slowing down was not enough to eliminate Hiraku. He changed his tactic and used his Creation Soultrait to create a batch of cannonballs. The massive shield and double-headed war axe dispersed. They were replaced with the cannonballs, which lingered in Hiraku's hands like little marbles.
Hiraku used the remaining bits of momentum left within him to take the incoming enemies by surprise. He hurled the cannonballs at the incoming targets with every ounce of strength left in his body.
The cannonballs whizzed through the air with shocking velocity, taking the Rievers by surprise. They tried to evade the projectiles but there were simply too many of them. The cannonballs were too fast as well.
Two Rievers threw their bodies to the ground, barely escaping a one-way ticket to the afterlife, while the others were either too stunned and overwhelmed to think of a solution, or were too confident in their capabilities to block and evade the attack.
The latter didn't end up as well as they expected. Their weapons, shields, and armors were crushed, and their bodies followed swiftly. Their ribs were crushed into smithereens while their innards ruptured in several spots.
None of the Rievers, who attempted to block the cannonballs, died instantaneously. They would bleed to death in the next few minutes, unable to move an inch. Their arrogance and confidence stole their opportunity to be granted a quick, painless death.
Those who didn't move at all were a little bit luckier. Some cannonballs smashed into their heads, cracking their skulls, and breaking their necks, whereas others were even luckier. Their shoulders or legs were hit and crushed into thousands of tiny bone fragments. However, they were still alive and could move. If they responded fast enough, some of them may survive as well. At least, their chances of surviving were not nil.
Unfortunately, Hiraku didn't leave them with a high chance of survival. He was not merciful enough to give them enough time to realize what had just happened and to think of a path to escape. Two large daggers conjured in his hands right after the cannonballs left his hands.
He ignored the energy influxes and kicked the ground. The ground underfoot broke apart, leaving deep imprints behind as he crossed the distance to the injured Rievers in an instant. He might be humongous and covered with bulging muscles, but that didn't mean Hiraku was slow.
He was faster than ever and regained some of his flexibility in his current form. His well-trained dexterity came into play. He slashed one dagger diagonally, slicing through a nearby Rievers' chest and armor, while his other dagger pierced through another Rievers' head, penetrating his skull and brain in one go.
The crunching noises of breaking bones and the clinking of metal colliding resounded in his ears, but Hiraku didn't pay much attention to it. He was more focused on the changes within his body and the tremendous raw power that surged through him right now.
He didn't feel the slightest bit tired and his transformation Soultrait, Titan Spirit, didn't indicate to him that his transformation would end soon either. It was almost like he could stay in this form for several days, maybe even weeks without growing tired.
That was interesting and something worth experimenting with.
The Rievers quickly realized that Hiraku and the Warlock Centaurs were hard to fight. No. It was impossible to defeat them with their small army of 400ish members. Hiraku alone was already enough to overwhelm them.
In mere minutes, Hiraku and his team managed to crush the Rievers' spirits. Their morale was crushed and what followed was a one-sided slaughter.
"That was a good fight," Hiraku praised the Warlock Centaurs emotionlessly.
"You mean slaughter," Mekhaz added, but Hiraku merely shrugged.
It didn't matter if they fought head-on, or if they slaughtered their enemies. They needed to kill them.
Hiraku walked over to the cadavers and stored them in his War Rune. He inspected the goods that had been guarded by the Rievers but didn't think much about it. There was only one confusing part.
"Why are they transporting corpses?" One of the Warlock Centaurs asked, pointing at the insides of one caravan. The caravan was stacked with cadavers of other races.
"They could have stored the corpses in War Runes, spatial satchels, or the like," Mekhaz added, his expression turning sour.
Something didn't make sense.
"We found another army escorting a caravan further north. They're heading in our direction," The Warlock Centaur with the Advanced Compass Soultrait reported before Mekhaz and Hiraku could continue their discussion.
"Merchants?" Hiraku mumbled, tilting his head.
'If they came to trade the corpses…Well, whatever.'
"No need to break our heads about that. Let's kill them and find out what these idiots were trying to trade."
Everyone prepared for the upcoming battle. The fight – slaughter – against the Rievers had been rather boring. It was a warmup, at best. The real fight was waiting for them.
Hiraku and the Warlock Centaurs made a detour around the caravan and inspected it from far away.
"There are more people. One Low Tier-4 High Priest. There is no combat Higher Lifeform in the army."
Hiraku listened to the Warlock Centaur's comment and nodded. He was about to give a comment when he heard the Warlock Centaur mumble, "Something is weird. I can sense a monster…or something monster-alike amid the caravan."
Hiraku raised his eyebrow and glanced back at the caravan that was still far away.
'They're Kaliveras. There is no need to hesitate.' He told himself, before giving the command to attack.
A moment later, they disappeared with a plop and reappeared above the Tier-4 High Priest.
"Good afternoon~" A Warlock Centaur exclaimed, crashing into the ground next to the High Priest right before turning dead serious.
"Die for me, please~!"
**
