While Maximus did his best to match up to Tilis, Ria was having the same problem against Raka.
Her body was covered in bright red aura, her fists flashing in a flurry of destruction.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The water around her exploded with the pressure of her punches, littering the surroundings with imploding air bubbles. She threw hundreds of punches with every spark of time, her scaled fists enough to shatter the bones of any early 4th class that was struck by them.
To Raka, however, these punches were still child's play. His body moved without wasting the slightest bit of energy. Every minute change in his position led Ria's fists to miss by a large margin, leaving her body riddled with openings.
Raka didn't attack even though he bought himself plenty of opportunities. Rather than acting like an enemy on the battlefield, his demeanor was just that of Ria's former teacher.
"Your punches carry good weight, but you are still attacking the present. Haven't I already told you? You must battle the future instead."
Ria's eyes hardened. Just as he said, she always had a problem with foresight. Her battle instinct allowed her to fight with precision and never worry about energy usage and efficiency, but her tendency to get too absorbed in combat usually ended with her losing track of the fight. She attacked not while predicting her opponent's moves, but instead while attempting to force them into stillness.
This strategy worked on those she could overpower, but failed miserably against those at her same level or higher.
In fact, the reason she couldn't soundly defeat Zara before their bloodlines were revealed was partially due to this weakness.
Nonetheless, Ria continued attacking. She acted like she paid no attention to Raka's words, but the way her eyes darted around unlike before clearly countered her facade.
She was trying. She wasn't able to control herself perfectly, but she at least found herself on the right track.
Raka's movements didn't change, but Ria's fists got closer and closer to hitting him. At some point, the rapid exchange of punching and dodging transformed into one of punching and blocking.
Ria's fists were met by Raka's open palms. Each punch's energy was dispersed into the ground or redirected back into Ria's fists.
Bang!
Ria felt her bones rattle as her own force was multiplied and sent back into her body. Gritting her teeth, she sent out another punch.
Raka blocked it as always, but in that instant, he found a foot directly in front of his chest! Ria's body had spun without him noticing, her leg snapping like a whip as its power concentrated and shot towards Raka.
Boom!
Raka's body was pushed back. Two thick lines were dug in the sand below as he slid.
When he finally halted his momentum, he patted his body clean and smiled.
"Good, it looks like you still know how to improve. Now come at me again. Let's fix those bad habits of yours one by one."
***
With Ria and Maximus occupying the two Great Elders, the remaining forces of the Tephit Clan actually weren't that much of a problem.
Once the Sanctuary group made their way out of the defensive formations, they directly confronted the tens of High Elders populating the Tephit Clan.
They were already gathered, after all.
The 5 Sanctuary leaders and 5 helpers from the Ruvia and Oga Clans faced the group of 30 or so High Elders without fear.
In fact, the second they arrived in front of the group, Elvira snatched a bead from her pocket and threw it into the air.
A wave of spatial mana spread through the area. Within seconds, space was sealed off by a Dimensional Cage, trapping the entire group inside.
This bead was made by Damien, carrying the same concept as the pocket dimension he created to transport the Sea God Clan troops during the day. It was an extremely intuitive item that could greatly benefit its user if utilized properly.
After all, Damien didn't use much of his own comprehension to fuel the bead. Instead, he set down the groundwork that allowed the Dimensional Cage to form, leaving the rest of the process for the user themself.
The more powerful the user, the sturdier the Dimensional Cage.
With Elvira being the most powerful of the Sanctuarians, her usage of the bead ensured that their range of combat wouldn't spread to an unmanageable degree.
"Attack!" She roared. Unlike Maximus and Ria, this group had no reason to converse with the enemy.
Elvira charged without waiting for the rest to follow. The seafloor burst open as terrifyingly thick vines of seaweed and other aquatic plants manifested and tore towards the High Elders.
BOOM!
The vines slammed into the ground, creating massive shockwaves that pushed the elders away from each other. At the same time, these vines divided the battlefield in a way most beneficial to the attacking force.
After her work was done, she shifted her trajectory and shot towards the elders with the strongest mana signatures. Her hands balled into fists, and covered in light green mana, they hurtled forward at frightening speeds.
Even water didn't seem to inhibit Elvira's movements.
Catastrophic explosions rang out every time her attacks made impact. Elvira's destructive power was terrifying, especially considering her racial qualities as an elf.
Aside from that, the new terrain she was experiencing allowed her to not only utilize many different plant species she'd never seen before, but also to heighten her comprehension through this same method.
The current Elvira…was nothing like the small Elf Queen who resided in the 3000 Beast Mountain Range.
"Haaa!"
A spirited shout left her mouth. She jumped in the air, raising her leg above her head and slicing it down with precision!
Bang!
An elder's arms were shattered instantly as he attempted to block. His body shot backwards from the momentum, but before he could fly too far, a vine burst forth from the ground and caught him.
The life essence remaining in the body was slowly being squeezed out, used as fuel to strengthen the surrounding plant life.
But could the elder allow this? Even without his arms, his legs were still just fine!
A mana-infused kick tore through the vine holding him captive. The elder panted for breath, his face pale. Despite his escaping so early, the vine still managed to suck a good portion of his life essence away.
He was no longer fit for combat.
Luckily for him, Elvira was occupied by another two elders before she could chase after him. As she forgot his existence, the elder backed away slowly, attempting to flee from the battlefield. Until…
BANG!
His body was squashed into paste by the White Dragon King's petrifying fist. Rather than a direct attack, this elder was killed as collateral.
Bai Yuxuan charged light mana into his body and accelerated to untold speeds. The white draconic scales covering his body forcefully raised his bodily strength to another level, turning his fists into weapons of mass destruction.
Bai Yuxuan didn't even attack the now-dead elder. Merely, the residual force from his fist was something the already crippled elder no longer had the power to resist.
Feng Yuxiang and Bianca worked together in a flurry of fire and ice, rapidly heating and cooling the surrounding water to create pressurized explosions that filled the air and blocked off any escape route for the besieged elders.
Lucius and his maid dashed around the battlefield like flickering shadows, rapidly decapitating any elder hanging on the verge of death.
The combination of the Sanctuary's six 4th class beings was ferocious to the maximum, leaving little to no room for the Sea God Clan members to act.
This fight was supposed to be long and grueling. It was supposed to be a fierce struggle of life and death that was barely winnable even with their extreme power levels.
Yet, how come these outsiders made it look so easy?
