The headache persisted after Liu's sonic attack, but Harold ignored it through sheer willpower as his transford body moved with supernatural speed. The tallic floor beneath his feet humd with energy as he darted between his opponents.
His two beasts gave him an overwhelming advantage against the lower-ranked guards, who were clearly trained for support roles rather than direct combat. Even against five opponents, the battle remained evenly matched, though only through his monstrous power.
Luna's wolf and the Giant Goat charged in a coordinated pincer attack, their movents perfectly synchronized.
Harold spun, his chitinous segnts gleaming in the strange light while his antennae captured every movent. His transford arm struck the wolf, sending it crashing against a wall while he dodged the goat's charge.
The beasts rose more slowly than before, accumulated damage beginning to show in their labored movents and dulled reactions.
"Containnt!" one of the guards shouted, her voice echoing off the curved crystal walls.
The Antenna Venus extended more of its roots, creating a network of vines attempting to limit Harold's movent space. Simultaneously, the Bubble Coral generated strategically positioned crystalline barriers, forming an improvised labyrinth.
'They're trying to buy ti,' Harold analyzed while his antennae mapped each obstacle with inhuman precision. 'But their vanguard is trapped in the ruins...'
The Ambush Firefly took advantage of the Coral's reflective surfaces to multiply its light attacks. The rays bounced between barriers, creating a network of luminous energy that would have been lethal to a normal opponent, each beam ricocheting through the improvised arena.
But Harold was far from normal. His chitinous armor, hardened by abyssal energy, barely showed surface marks where the rays impacted, the attacks dissipating harmlessly against his supernatural defense.
The wolf attempted another attack, erging from a shadow to bite his leg. Harold kicked it with brutal force, his antennae already detecting the goat trying to capitalize on the distraction. He spun using the montum from striking the wolf and connected a punch to the transport beast's side.
"We can't contain him!" the Coral guard shouted while creating more barriers, her voice tight with strain.
The Venus's roots extended more aggressively, trying to create zones where Harold couldn't move freely. But his chitinous claws cut through the vegetation like paper, green fragnts flying in the air around him.
The Firefly increased the intensity of its attacks, making the crystal barriers practically sing with bouncing energy. It was a beautiful and lethal spectacle, light fragnting and multiplying through the crystalline maze, but still insufficient against Harold's supernatural defense.
Luna directed her wolf trying to capitalize on every opening her guards created, but each successful attack barely scratched the surface of Harold's armor. And with each exchange, their beasts showed more signs of exhaustion, their movents becoming slower and less coordinated.
'If this were about escaping,' the Antenna Venus guard thought while Harold destroyed another barrier, 'we'd be far away by now.'
But she couldn't abandon her companions trapped in the seed nor her protection mission.
While the guards couldn't defeat him, Harold also couldn't simply ignore them and continue his way, a mont of carelessness against five opponents, however individually weak, could be fatal.
The wolf erged from another shadow, this ti targeting his neck. Harold caught it mid-air with one hand, but had to release his grip when the goat ramd his side. The Venus's roots took advantage to entangle his legs while the Firefly concentrated its attacks on his eyes.
Harold broke free with a burst of strength, but the pattern repeated itself, for every offensive movent he made, the guards responded with a combination of defensive tactics and opportunistic counterattacks.
It was an exhausting stalemate, where the only real difference was that the guards' beasts gradually tired while he maintained his monstrous power practically intact.
♢♢♢♢
Luna watched as her wolf retreated from another failed exchange, its fangs having barely scratched Harold's carapace.
It was frustrating, her bites were effective when they connected, but getting close enough was increasingly dangerous as damage accumulated in her wolf.
"Your light attacks!" she called to the Firefly guard. "If they were more powerful..."
"I know!" the guard responded while her bronze rank 1 beast continued firing rays that bounced uselessly off Harold's armor, sweat beading on her brow. "But his defense is too strong!"
Luna observed how the light rays reflected off the crystal barriers, and an idea began forming in her mind.
"Let's use light and shadow synergy!" she shouted while her wolf rged with darkness. "If we combine our energies...!"
The guard caught the idea but seed reluctant. "It's a difficult attack to set up, the preparation is slow and with that monster's speed..."
"Let's try it!" Luna began extending shadows behind Harold, creating a zone of denser darkness. "If I can trap him, hit him with everything!"
Harold, however, had been sensing the mana. His antennae vibrated, capturing the increase in shadow energy behind him.
When Luna tried to manipulate the darkness to trap him, he simply leaped forward, his chitinous claws destroying another crystal barrier. The impact sent crystalline fragnts scattering across the tal floor.
The Firefly's concentrated ray passed harmlessly through the space where Harold should have been.
"Damn it!" Luna gritted her teeth. "He's too fast!"
But the Giant Goat guard had been observing the exchange. Her eyes followed Harold's movents, calculating each dodge and counter.
"Again!" she shouted while her beast positioned itself. "But this ti...!"
Experience more content on My Virtual Library Empire
She quickly shared her plan with Luna and the Firefly guard, their eyes lighting with understanding.
Luna began expanding the shadows again, this ti creating multiple smaller dark zones. Harold responded as they expected, his antennae extended while analyzing each shadow area for the real trap.
The Firefly began charging its most powerful attack, luminous energy accumulating as it bounced between crystal barriers, amplifying with each reflection until the air itself seed to hum with power.
Harold saw the pattern coming and dodged... or so he thought. When Luna tried to trap him with the shadows, he jumped again...
Directly toward the goat that had been silently moving into position.
The impact was brutal. The goat connected with all its strength, driving Harold toward the densest shadow zone. For an instant, his perfect balance shattered.
"NOW!" Luna shouted while her wolf erged from the shadows, its fangs finding purchase on Harold's leg, holding him in position for one crucial fraction of a second.
User Comments
0 comments from readers