Many combatants in Arx had been itching for a fierce battle for a while. The Untamed Army trained tirelessly for weeks without taking any big breaks to rest. They did the bare minimum to allow their mind and body to recuperate just enough to generate the most benefits from training. Other than that, they trained tirelessly since they'd been summoned a few weeks ago.
The Combat Summons desired to leave the training ground and show everyone how much stronger they had become in the last few weeks. They wanted to show Michael that they were strong enough to face their opponents head-on and that it was time for them to gather more real experience on the battlefield.
Michael didn't like that, at first, but he sensed the perfect opportunity to give the Combat Summons what they wanted.
In the first place, most new Combat Summons were Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs. Of course, they desired to jump straight onto the battlefield.
Michael granted their wish and allowed them to charge out of the Untamed Jungle to charge at the tired forces of the 10 rivaling Lords.
He used Cosmic Stride to teleport behind the Lords' forces and waited patiently for their response. Thereafter, he observed the Valyr Lordess and her subordinates as they appeared a few hundred meters to the armies' left, while Hiraku alongside the Berserker and Warlock Centaur Awakened popped out to the armies' right.
The paths of escape had been sealed. All the Lords could do was stop fighting against each other to face the incoming danger together. Unfortunately, the call for a truce came too late. No one was willing to fight side-by-side with the enemy who slaughtered their comrades just a moment ago.
There was no trust between the Lords. They had to pay attention to their backs to avoid getting stabbed in the back while facing the force of the Untamed Army head-on.
The Valyrs charged ahead, their bodies shrouded in fierce flames. The Warlock Centaurs spread out and charged ahead, followed by the Berserkers whose towering figures inflicted fear in the hearts of the defenders. Hiraku's body expanded to close to eight meters all of a sudden, taking the defenders by surprise. He accelerated and conjured a few throwing spears in his hands. He threw them one after another, impaling some Combat Summons before they could react.
The spears whizzed through the air with terrifying velocity. Not even the exhausted Peak Tier-3 Summons managed to move fast enough to evade them. Hiraku defeated a few powerful enemies even before he entered melee range. His kill count increased exponentially as he reached melee range. Maces manifested in his hands and steel shrouded his boots. Large spikes resembling claws protruded from his boots, increasing the deadly force of his kicks drastically.
Hiraku's Soultraits combined with his Inheritance Technique of Creation and the Soul Technique created by Michael were more than enough to transform him into the incarnation of the God of Slaughter. His maces squashed the enemies near him all while his spiked boots pierced his enemies, killing them by breaking their rib cages and piercing their hearts and internal organs.
Sometimes, Hiraku ignored his enemies and stomped them to death. He didn't even acknowledge their attempts to face him head-on and proceeded to slaughter a path to the strongest forces of the 10 Lords.
The other members of the Untamed Awakened acted similarly. They used their newly acquired and upgraded Soultraits to unleash their strongest powers, just to squash their exhausted enemies. It was simple. Too simple. And way too easy.
It was almost like their enemies weren't even trying to resist.
That wasn't the case. It was just that the Untamed Awakened were growing stronger much faster than their enemies. They procured powers that were impossible to attain by others, yet they didn't stop training tirelessly to gain some mastery of their powers. Their desire to grow stronger had been heard.
The Untamed Awakened weren't satisfied by the fight. They overwhelmed the exhausted enemies way too easily. Therefore, they charged deeper into the enemy rows to face several Awakened simultaneously.
All of this was seen by the Untamed Army and the Valyrs. The Untamed Army's morale skyrocketed as they watched the deadly slaughter that unfolded in front of them. They pushed forward and put more pressure on their enemies, forcing them to take a step back. Meanwhile, the Valyrs were shocked to the core.
It was known that Michael was powerful. They also knew that the Untamed Awakened were decently powerful. However, they never expected that the Untamed Awakened would grow so much stronger in the short period that passed since the Untamed Awakened had been deployed to aid the Trilance.
Was it that easy to grow stronger? It wasn't.
If it was easy to grow stronger, the Council of Xylon would have more than 200 Higher Lifeforms. However, many Lords of the council didn't have a single Higher Lifeform in their territory. They worked hard for years, some even decades, yet not a single Higher Lifeform appeared in their territory.
Despite the difficulty of growing stronger, Michael had several Subordinates at the Peak of Tier-3, who possessed enough power to hold themselves against Higher Lifeforms.
"What the hell is this guy feeding his people in the Untamed Jungle?" One of the Valyr's Higher Lifeforms asked, only for Zira to blurt out her thoughts aloud.
"Whatever it is…I want it too…"
The Valyr Lordess eyed her daughter for a moment. A profound sigh escaped her lips. She didn't wish to grow much stronger anymore, but her daughter was not the same. Her daughter was ambitious and desired to attain enough power to hold herself against powerful enemies. Unfortunately, her Soultrait held her back.
Her Soultrait was part of the reason why Zira hadn't been given the Valyr Lordess' territory until now. She was not strong enough.
"Is it just me, or is everyone using two–... No. Three Soultraits? All of them are using three or more Soultraits!" Another High Valyr pointed out. The Valyr Lordess observed the Untamed Awakened while charging into the first defense line of the weakened enemies.
"And there is not a single weak Soultrait…" She mumbled, "What is going on here?"
Michael popped out a few hundred meters before the Valyrs. He levitated above a Lord and a dozen Awakened. His expression was neutral, but the corners of his lips twitched, curling upward slowly.
Qi Extraction Swords conjured from True Extraction manifested around him. They plunged down instantly, killing the Awakened protecting their master, leaving the Lord alone and helpless.
The Elemental Empress coated his body, acting as a second layer of his armor and an augmentation to his Elemental powers. Azure fireballs were conjured in the air. There were dozens of them, but none of them looked the same. They transformed and changed their colors as elemental-attributed energy fused into them. Some transformed into black fireballs, others were coated in ice, whereas the shape of others was altered by the addition of the wind element.
The fireballs transformed into swords, spears, and wind blades, coated in mythical flames.
The Lord stared at the scenery overhead in horror. He raised his weapon, circulated origin energy through his body, and executed his strongest Martial Arts technique. He took a profound breath, cursed his fate inwardly, and faced the multitude of elemental projectiles overhead even though he was not ready to face them. The terror of the mythical flames was simply too much for the Lord to handle after he witnessed his Awakened die in such a simple manner.
Michael wasn't even trying to make it look like he worked hard to kill the Tier-3 Awakened. He just did it.
The projectiles didn't care about the Lord's fears and descended, nonetheless.
However, just as the projectiles descended and the Lord was ready to fend for his life, Michael used Cosmic Stride to appear behind the Lord, piercing his chest with the Aethyr Blade. The attack was too unexpected for the Lord to react in time.
The mythical flames dispersed as the True Dome of Extraction erupted, absorbing the energy used to manifest the projectiles.
Michael broke into a bright smile, his head flicking to the Valyrs. He winked nonchalantly and stored the lifeless bodies in his War Rune storage.
The Valyrs stared back at Michael as he turned around.
They found the reason the Untamed Awakened were so powerful.
The culprit had been in front of them all along.
