"You see?" Adam smiled broadly, pointing at Risha, her aura actively growing to a level quite close to Adam's.
Vorx shook his head in disapproval. "You just got lucky this ti. Moreover, just because she's about to open the third lesser gate is no guarantee of her victory. You could have handled those worms before your leap in strength."
"Well, I have no doubt she can easily deal with the rock worms. If she's not capable of killing two wounded S3 monsters at this stage, she should go ho right now. Kreyna won't leave her any chance, will she?"
At the ntion of Kreyna, an unpleasant shiver ran through Vorx's body.
"Even now, our chances are slim. Let's see what kind of power she got to begin with. Only after that will I conclude."
At the sa mont, two rock worms attacked Risha, eager to finish what they had started. Their instincts told them that this was their last and only chance to win. No, not only that - they had to kill Risha to survive.
Risha t them with a devious smirk as she opened her eyes returning from her inner space.
From the look in her eyes, Adam saw that she did the sa thing he did. She created the Foundation Artifact she wanted.
Adam leaned forward. "Co on, don't disappoint . If it's a wreath I will personally strangle you to death."
Crackle.
A bright flash illuminated the cave as red flas covered the wrist of her right hand. A wide bracelet covering part of her hand slowly ford, erging from the fire.
The first to appear was a skull on an iron bracelet with intricate carved patterns, its eyes glowing and its mouth missing like a silent killer.
Adam scratched the back of his head trying to guess the function of Risha's artifact.
'Hmm... Now that I see it. Isn't the Foundation Artifact just like the Nexus? I an, only Nexus and the Foundation Artifact have a physical form, don't they?' his eyes narrowed. 'This skull. I sll a strong odor of blood. Does it have sothing to do with regeneration? Maybe it's berserk mode?'
He didn't have to guess for long, for Risha needed to respond to the monsters' lunge, or only death awaited her.
She smirked, clutching her axe tightly. At the sa mont, bloody lines ran along her bracelet, covering the skull.
Whooooooooooooosh.
At the next swing, a shockwave ca out of the axe not at all like the energy blades that Risha had launched before.
Furious energy and the screaming silhouettes of skulls filled the wave, tearing the rock worms to pieces in an instant.
All that was left of the worms were their tails, they were below the level of the attack and survived even though the monsters were already dead.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Applause erupted from outside, causing Risha to turn around and see a smiling Adam.
Vorx only sighed heavily scrutinizing the aftermath of Risha's sweep.
"Not bad at all. Her artifact isn't as powerful as yours, one lightning strike was enough to practically kill , even though I'm one of the strongest S4 monsters. To accomplish the sa she would need to apply that wave two or three tis, but..."
Adam nodded deeply. "She can use her artifact much faster and more often. If my opponent had been an S5 monster, my lightning strike wouldn't be able to send it to the brink of death. I, on the other hand, was severely exhausted, which ans I was taking a risk to so extent as well. She has less power, but higher speed and less risk."
"That's correct. Her aura has increased greatly as well. As a monster, I can sense it much more clearly than you can. Perhaps we can defeat Kreyna if she opens the fourth gate."
"Agh?" Adam raised an eyebrow in confusion. "So you were just kidding before?"
"Sothing like that."
Then, Vorx's tail quivered quickly heading for Risha. Before she could react, he grabbed her and placed her on his head.
"Hey! You should warn about this kind of thing!" Risha shouted, hitting him irritably on the scales.
"Shut up. You've wasted a lot of energy on your evolution. Better just enjoy the road in peace. We'll be arriving at the castle soon."
With that, Vorx moved forward with redoubled speed.
Deep inside, he didn't expect anyone to attack them, especially so worms, weak S3 monsters.
'Ghm...' he internally grumbled. 'We should be more careful. The worms probably sensed I was hurt. Maybe they thought the Phantoms on my head were my enemies. After all, they attacked us by our auras rather than seeing us.'
Whoooosh.
Vorx roared forward, streams of lava rushing along his sharp edges, not far from Adam and Risha.
After a few minutes, Risha gulped, turning uncertainly to Adam.
"So, what do you say about my artifact? I decided to go all in on power and a wide impact zone."
Looking forward with deep eyes Adam nodded.
"Yeah, that was the right decision. I don't know what your other abilities are, but it suits your fighting style. If you get strong enough, you can use your artifact to take down units of the Light Legion."
He looked at Vorx.
"Am I right?"
"Maybe... At the Light Legion, not all units are equal to each other. But, if Risha reaches the next stage while training for the rebellion, then I believe it is possible."
Adam and Risha exchanged a glance, a faint smile, gentle and happy reflected on her face. She had long struggled with sticking in one place, and Adam's decision to go after Vorx helped her overco her limit.
...
Nearly an hour later, while Adam and Risha sat quietly on the serpent's head as if in a deep sleep, Vorx's voice bood out.
"We're almost there. Keep your eyes peeled. This is my ho and I will do anything to get it back."
With the next burst of lava, the outlines of two great spires, towers, and an ancient castle appeared in the distance.
A great ring, the left part buried in the ground and the right still hovering over the land, surrounded the castle grounds, reminding every serpent of their defeat.
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