'Oh fuck!'
Tuan cursed as a spiked punch was directed right at his guts. He dodged most of the spikes targeting different parts of his body. But Wilder used his earth-element mana to create more spikes sprouting from the knuckles of his fists. They also had a metallic shine to them now that Wilder had entered the barbaric state.
Tuan's body had already been punctured before the blunt force acting on it, sent him tens of meters away from his previous position. Wilder didn't give his opponent a chance to recover. He followed after Tuan and landed some more punches at him.
Wilder lost himself in his rage. He would react instinctively to the butcher's every move and find the most effective strategy to counter it at the cost of self-harming him as well. As a result, Wilder suffered grievous injuries to his body as well. But his opponent's condition was much more serious than his.
By the time Wilder was kicked out of the rage stage forcefully by his body, Tuan was barely standing on his two legs. He had gaping holes all over his body as a result. Some of the leaked blood had painted him red, making him appear as if he had bathed in a pool of blood.
Tuan and Wilder both maintained a distance from each other after their brief spar that the latter had won. But they knew this temporary truce would be broken by anyone, anytime.
Tuan had prevented the blood from spilling from the wounds with the help of his natural mana defense acting as the barrier. But he knew he wouldn't be able to hold his condition for much longer. But that was still secondary on his list of priorities.
Sedated Perception
Stunning Speed
Total Control
Since Eren was struggling, Alephee cast his go-to time element spell herself to help him. She hadn't done this since his first duel with Renita in the Ranking Wars. The butcher had always been careful not to get himself cornered. He had taken every precaution he could.
But since he wasn't using his lightning-element spells, it translated to him battling with an experienced and exceptional Ace ranker handicapped. He had to face the consequences of his actions.
'Eren, you lost control over your animated spells. That assassin's attack is incoming. 8 O clock. Don't try to dodge it. Deflect it the way I tell you, when I tell you.'
Tuan's blurred mind got some form of clarity as he was forcefully pulled into the near stagnant world by Alephee. Had she not done that, he would have been able to use the lightning element spells and blown his cover. It was a matter of survival for him after all.
Tuan didn't answer Alephee verbally. He handled Lily's attack the way Alephee wanted him to. As a result, the assassin was disarmed before her neck was grabbed by the butcher.
He grabbed both her hands behind her back with one hand. Then he spun her around and made her act as a shield for him. Her back touching the front of his torso.
"You think you can sneak up on me without any consequences, huh? Think I'm only proficient with words, do you?"
Butcher said and slapped Lily's ass hard. He had done it using his hand covered in fire-element mana that tore a bit through her runic suit and inflicted a substantial blunt force on her tush. Her now-slightly-exposed buttock featured a red and slightly burnt hand print over it as a result.
There was nothing erotic about Tuan hitting Lily's ass the way he did. He just thought that he should honor the words that he had stated before the start of the match. He also increased the strength behind his grip on Lily's neck, making her feel like her neck would snap in two before she died of asphyxiation.
Contrary to what Lily had thought, Tuan didn't give her any concession just because she was a female ranker. He treated her with equal fierceness his other opponents were subjected to.
"Wilder, cough cough cough… you bald-headed maniac. You couldn't even take care of… cough cough… I'll give you that artifact you asked for… cough cough… Now help me."
Lily made a deal with Wilder while she was being held by Tuan. He had also placed his other hand over her heat while coating it with fire-element mana. He had one of Arundel's hilts being held by his teeth. The sword's edge was in line with her neck which was covered by his grip.
Tuan didn't wait for Lily to finish her deal with Wilder. He had already started moving in a particular direction, hoping Katalina would be ready for the move. He maintained the reins he had leashed on Lily while moving in that direction to control her movements.
Wilder was utterly exhausted after he had been kicked out of his rage state. His body ached and hurt all over. His mana circuits had been suspended in the hyperdrive for so long that they couldn't be brought back to normal anytime soon. His internal injuries were growing by the moment as a result.
He was planning on letting Lily handle Tuan when he got off the barbarian-class-specific power boost. But he felt disappointed in his raid partner when she was caught so effortlessly. He was planning to save her anyway since she still had some use for him in the coming days. Even so, the offer she relayed to him made her rescue all the more tempting.
Wilder let Tuan create a distance from him willingly. He instead chose to stabilize his condition for the next attack. He didn't want to enter the rage state and make his condition even worse. Plus, his mana storage was almost depleted. So he needed a sure-shot way of taking care of Tuan without burning his or Lily's hands in the process.
Wilder put his spiked gauntlets away and took out his mace. This was an artifact he rarely used because it was used to deliver overwhelming blunt force, killing most of his opponents in the process. As a ranker, he was given a lot of tasks that required his targets not to die. Hence, Wilder limited the use of his main weapon and replaced it with the gauntlets.
Furthermore, now he had much better control over directing his strength at an isolated spot. The weapon made sure that the impact didn't deviate from its intended spot.
Wilder first cast his earth element spells and created walls and spikes in Tuan's path of escape. He didn't have to do much because the butcher stopped retreating as soon as the walls started surrounding him. Wilder thought his opponent was beaten by exhaustion too, just like him.
"Aaaaaaaa!"
Wilder released another battle cry before changing at Tuan with his remaining mana and all that he had.
