What the mana had accomplished in the blade-arms of Ren's beast was sothing she'd never witnessed in other creatures at comparable rank. There were beasts that managed developing powerful natural weapons that allowed them to injure opponents one rank higher through specialized evolution... But this exceeded those rare cases by a significant margin.
Selphira didn't know that Ren was testing theories systematically, and that part of this unlikely success ca from Liu's vampire having very little physical defense for a Gold rank while Ren's mantis was a specialized creature with enormous attack potential. But undoubtedly the new knowledge about runes and the precise mana control had much to do with bridging the impossible gap.
And Ren still hadn't tested everything he wanted to verify.
♢♢♢♢
The vampire attacked again with renewed aggression. This ti using wind gusts to accelerate its descent toward the smaller target.
The mantis counter-attacked with its own wind manipulation. The currents collided in mid-air and partially cancelled each other with advantage going to the insect through superior control.
The vampire had air control as a natural ability. Could manipulate currents, generate gusts that enhanced mobility and offensive options.
But the mantis had more than basic proficiency. Approximately double the elental control precision.
And in critical monts when it mattered most...
The mantis cancelled the vampire's wind completely through the overwhelming elental superiority.
The vampire tried using currents, the mantis dispersed the currents with an explosion of contrary wind that scattered the attack.
It attempted creating vacuum to suction the mantis closer into grappling range where its absorption would matter. The mantis filled the space with pressurized air that equalized pressure instantly.
Each ti the vampire tried using air tactically or for positional advantage...
The mantis neutralized the attempt through superior elental manipulation.
The combat beca an aerial dance with both beasts moving in three dinsions that terrestrial fighters couldn't access. Ascending, descending, rotating and dodging in patterns that made observers dizzy trying to track their movent.
The vampire launched sonic attacks in rapid succession. The mantis evaded them by a few ters.
The mantis counter-attacked with its blade-arms whenever opportunity presented itself.
When hits connected, when the blades reached the vampire and opened new wounds that sprayed blood...
They closed in seconds through blood manipulation.
Every single ti without exception.
The vampire was a Gold-rank beast with a regeneration that wasn't a minor ability. It was a fundantal capability that made it extrely difficult to kill through pure physical damage accumulation.
But Ren had been testing different approaches systematically... And although he already knew the theory behind most of them, he still wanted to observe the practical effects in real combat.
He thought about his recent training with weapons over the past weeks. The last several sessions practicing with his arsenal. Imbuing elental power into them for enhanced effects.
The bow hadn't worked well yet. Too complex to maintain stable elental energy in a projectile that was fired and separated from direct control.
But the spear... that had responded better to channeling. The dagger especially showed promise. He could channel fire, wood, and other elents directly into the edge with good stability.
And the mantis...
The mantis had blade-arms that functioned identically to weapons in terms of mana channeling. And the sa way the mimic ability worked to help him… It could easily go the other way around.
This was why Ren didn't change beasts.
He ordered the mantis to use concentrated water mana in the next attack.
The cuts that connected dealt minor damage that healed almost instantaneously too, water doing nothing to slow regeneration.
Earth elent next. This created small layers in the wound that absorbed blood slightly and interfered with flow.
The vampire destroyed them rapidly through sheer gold rank strength.
Wind elent next… Created wider cuts with sharp air blades that enhanced the physical damage.
The vampire found itself enveloped in strange currents after the attack too but dispersed them with its own air control and power. Inferior to the mantis's mastery, yes, but sufficient for defending against basic elental attacks that ultimately remained physical damage in a certain sense.
Each attempt failed to produce a lasting effect. The vampire regenerated from everything. The mantis couldn't achieve durable damage that would accumulate into victory.
And the longer the battle continued without resolution...
The more opportunities the vampire had to close distance. It just needed to hit once… Or to trap the mantis in range where its blood absorption would beco a decisive factor that turned the tide.
In the stands, students observed with growing tension that made conversations sparse.
"Can it actually win?" soone murmured with doubt clear in their voice.
"Nothing's working. Nothing it does lasts long enough."
"The vampire's going to wear it down eventually. Going to force an error and then..."
They didn't need to complete the sentence. Everyone knew what would happen if the mantis committed a single mistake that left it vulnerable.
The vampire could heal from any of the attacks by the beast that miraculously could damage it despite the huge rank difference. But if the Bronze-rank beast received a direct hit from the Gold-rank opponent...
It would be over in a single exchange.
TACTICAL SHIFT
Ren observed the latest cut closing on the vampire's side with analytical mind.
His mind worked through observations, analyzing in detail what his curiosity had pushed him to test systematically.
'Physical cuts are indeed useless. Water, earth and wind... don't interrupt regeneration at all. I need to start using sothing that blood control can't simply close. Sothing that persists. That damages in a way regeneration can't ignore.'
It was ti to stop playing with experintal approaches and commit to his known solutions.
"Enough gas… Imbue fire," Ren ordered in a voice low enough that only his beast could hear through their bond while giving the mimic pattern to the mana.
The mantis responded instantaneously without hesitation.
Its blade-arms began glowing with inner light. Orange first. Then red as temperature increased. Flas manifesting around the chitinous edge in ways that suggested the fire was part of the weapon rather than an external coating.
User Comments
0 comments from readers