"Watch out!"
Janos cast his wind-element spell over him and Rey. The two were covered in a semi-transparent dome-shaped layer that was erected just before they were surrounded by a sea of fire.
"Kreeeeehaaa!"
The woodland creatures cried in agony and pain when they were surrounded by the fire the flying snakes breathed on them. The sheer amount of fire mana generated in the attacks left Janos stunned.
"What… what kind of summoned creatures are these?"
Janos and Rey were safe inside the dome-shaped wind-element defensive spell he had deployed. But they were safe only because he was an Expert ranker and the grade of his spell was better. If he only had Adept-rank mana at his disposal, there was no doubt in his mind that the fight would have tilted toward Eren's victory in about two seconds after it was started.
Even Rey could tell that there was something extraordinary about the way Eren was using his summoning spells. This was the kind of finesse he expected from high-ranking entities. His clan had a B-Rank summoner.
"Even Master Birmond couldn't do this when he was an Adept ranker."
Old Rey mumbled to himself as he watched the sea of fire almost eradicating his summoned creatures. The woodland creatures in E-Rank had already been burned to death by fire. Even the green parts of their bodies caught fire when they were subjected to such intense flames.
The most frustrating thing for Janos and Rey was the fact that they couldn't do much against Eren's summoned creatures because they were airborne. The woodland creatures could only hurl their wood-element spells at them.
However, Eren's summoned creatures were as cunning as the real-life mana beasts. When spells or wooden shrapnel were thrown at them, the flying snakes dodged them effectively before countering the woodland creatures with fire breaths and fireballs.
"How… how the fuck can this guy sustain this much mana consumption?"
Janos couldn't help asking. He was no summoner because he hadn't been provided with the resources to become one, courtesy of being born in the side branch of the house. As a result, he only knew the basics of the class.
"His fire-element attainment is way too high for his rank. In that regard, the maniac has surpassed his rank. But that is not the whole thing.
The various spells he is deploying through his summoned creatures don't have separate mana fluctuations. It's as if the creatures were summoned with those spells in their arsenals."
Rey didn't care about the summoned creatures that were getting destroyed. He could summon new ones anytime he wanted. He just wanted to see the extent of Eren's capabilities with his eyes for the time being.
"This… this is spell integration! What kind of monster is he? Even Master Birmond is only starting to dabble in spell integration and this kid has already achieved it?
What the fuck is going on? Aren't WE supposed to be the experts in summoning classes?"
Rey almost pulled his white beard off in surprise when he figured out Eren's spells were so strong. He also figured out how he could sustain them for so long with minimal mana consumption.
Janos was about to say something to an agitated-looking Rey when he felt his mana signature getting wiped off his ring. Next, he felt a distinct presence just outside his deployed shield. In the next moment, his shield was broken by the tip of a Kusarigama.
This was Kirin's weapon. A lethal weapon set named dual Kusarigama. It had two spearheads connected by a runic chain. Janos's defense had been shattered in a split second by the Oni princess. Using the same ring he was used to wearing.
Dual Kusarigama could be used for close and mid-range combat. It had high maneuverability and terrifying penetrative power if the ranker knew how to handle it well.
Kirin's dual Kusarigama had been with her since a very young age. She had been training with the weapon all her life. So even with her sheltered childhood and adulthood, she was quite a skilled weapon handler.
The runic chain that bound the two spearheads could be extended and retracted. The spearheads themselves could change their lengths and shape to a certain degree, depending upon Kirin's needs.
As a result, in Kirin's hands, the weapon would get crazy momentum before delivering high penetration power with one of its heads. The spearhead that hit Janos' shield had such incredible momentum and compressed fire-element mana imbued into it that it broke Janos' shield as soon as it made contact with it.
'This bitch….'
Janos couldn't help cursing Kirin in his head when he looked at her stone-cold pretty face. If he was meeting her under different circumstances, he would have praised her unblemished beauty and presence. But she had become his nightmare by first piercing his heart and then chopping his finger. A wound that no longer bled but he didn't have his finger.
Kirin wanted to appear inside the wind-element dome Janos had deployed. But she couldn't control the newly acquired artifact she was gifted by her husband. As a result, she appeared just outside the shield and decided to attack it.
Eren had coordinated with Kirin. He had controlled his fire and made it easy for her to attack the pair.
"Come…."
Janos took out his sword and looked at Kirin with non-maskable anger. She had tried to attack Rey as well using her chained weapon. However, her attack failed when Janos intervened.
Janos and Kirin exchanged a few moves with each other in a fraction of a second. It was clear to the Oni princess that she couldn't harm Rey as long as Janos was with him.
Janos had immediately cast a wind-element pulse that repelled Eren's sea of fire and kept old Rey safe from its clutches. The wind-element pulse was strong enough to push Eren's fire back out and allow the two Remus clan members some breather.
However, Kirin had proved her mettle by displaying that she could be an assassin and a close-range fighter equally well. She could also function as a mid-range fighter using the weapon she had.
Kirin's stay on the battlefield was as detrimental to Rey as Janos's stay was to Eren. she needed to be led elsewhere if Janos wanted to keep Rey safe. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to sack Kirin and defend Rey at the same time.
"Lord Rey…"
Janos warned Rey and the latter understood.
"Go. I'll handle this brat."
