Sword cut

Yerive didn't have much presence on the battlefield with his strength. He found a comparable opponent and more or less exchanged some blows, but no one got seriously hurt.

Suddenly a shout reached his ears. It confused him for a moment, but he was fine as he wasn't the target.

Yerive blocked another attack as he looked towards his left. His eyes shot open in shock. He noticed Tepo tumbling as a sword aimed for his throat.

"TEPO!!"

Tepo was in a bad state. His defense barely worked against the sound-based spell. The tumult of the battlefield hardly registered.

But finally, Tepo experience in chaotic fights came to play. His instincts immediately took over his body as he did a jump backwards.

The sword missed its target. Tepo stumbled. He wasn't able to properly control his body yet. He was just about to fall over when he decisively activated [Chaotic Evasion] and [Time Dilation: Target].

The Red Alliance Warrior cursed inwardly. He didn't expect his enemy do dodge at the last second. But he still saw a chance.

With a large step the warrior hastily kept close to his opponent. He noticed how the latter had difficulties keeping his balance! This was his chance! The warrior stabbed out with his sword, aiming for the heart!

Suddenly though his movements felt sluggish. The warrior frowned. He barely had time to register as his enemy vanished from his vision.

Tepo appeared behind the warrior. His knife stabbed backwards. [Rapid Pierce] carried the knife, ripping through clothes, muscles, flesh, the heart…

At the last moment the enemy's defense activated. A shockwave ran through the man, abruptly pushing everything away from him.

Tepo felt the pressure against his hand. He reacted perfectly, letting the shockwave push him away. With more distance Tepo immediately drew his pistol. He aimed. And fired.

A perfect shot! The bullet accurately entered the knife wound. Blood splashed, dying the train red. The alliance warrior toppled over lifelessly.

"Ahh!"

A scream reached Tepo's ears. He turned his head abruptly, his heart beating wildly.

As Yerive was distracted by Tepo's situation, his enemy punished him decisively. Fast attacks rained down on the young man. With the momentum lost he could only defend hastily.

But eventually he faltered under the pressure. A sword cut deep into his waist.

Tepo's eyes turned red as he saw this situation. He hastily raised his pistol. Two shots threatened Yerive's opponent into retreat.

But Tepo wasn't done yet. He closed the gap. His knife slashed out at inhuman speeds. He didn't even save his force. He only sought to kill the enemy.

The three-circled aspirant wasn't able to hold on for long. Under Tepo's onslaught he succumbed in seconds.

Tepo panted heavily as he turned around towards Yerive. He saw his friend leaning against the train with a pale face.

"Here, take this!"

Tepo didn't hold back as he took out one of his mother's precious pills and handed it to Yerive. With this the young warrior should be able to recover quickly.

With a grim face Tepo guarded Yerive while the battle was raging on around him. What started as a conservative exchange had become a serious war as more people suffered injuries and even the first deaths occurred.

Not far away, Yichén was also firing up. Tepo was impressed as he observed the senior brother. Yichén seemed to get stronger the more he fought.

The warrior's eyes visibly turned orange, matching his fire-red hair and clothes. At another time it would've been easy to suspect him to be a member of the Red Alliance.

Right now, the red warriors certainly would've wished for this to be the case as they were constantly pushed back by Yichén. With every punch the flames surrounding the senior brother's fists grew fiercer.

They shrouded the battlefield, creating a zone hard to endure for his enemies. Another punch shot out. A raging fire threatened to devour a warrior. He could only barely evade it with the help of his comrade.

However, the Red Alliance also wasn't without their own talents. Accurate, silent arrows shot over the battlefield from time to time perfectly aiding the red warriors.

Tepo wore a serious expression. He didn't expect to find himself in a war out of nowhere. His eyes wandered upwards, wishing to observe the battle between the high-ranking warriors.

A large red and black sphere levitated in the air. Within it, the area appeared even more spacious. Raging flames battled against a sharp energy.

Thunderous clashes shook the surroundings. Two elders faced off each other, spear meeting bracers.

"You have become rusty, old man! All the tea drinking doesn't do you any good!"

"Hmpf. It will always be enough for you!"

The war of words tried to undermine the enemy's psyche. If even the slightest opportunity could be achieved, the fight might be decided in an instant.

Elder Bursting Holy Fire faced off against elder Wang Guo. He wore large golden metallic bracers, stirring the air with every punch.

His red robe was cut in some places, blood dripping from his skin, barely discernible. His black-grey hair floated behind him. An enormous energy surrounded him as he burned through his force.

Opposite him Wang Guo was in a similar state. His skin showed signs of burning, his red robe dyed black in some places. His massive spear swept through the air, pushing back his opponent.

Suddenly Wang Guo felt that the time for probing attacks was over. He activated a spell. A vague, illusionary image appeared behind him. It was transparent, depicting an incredibly sharp spear tip.

Bursting Holy Fire narrowed his eyes. Immediately the image of a splendid flame appeared behind him. The elder created some distance, not daring to clash with the spear directly.

He punched out. A flaming fist bigger than a house suddenly shot through the air.

Wang Guo laughed loudly. A mix of madness and excitement found its way to his eyes. His spear stabbed out indomitably.

Spear and fist met. Sparks scattered in all directions. The spear tip was instructible. It teared the fist asunder like paper.

But this was not all there was to the flaming spell. The fist immediately reformed. It continued towards Wang Guo.

"Haha, let me see how often you can rebuild your spell!"

Wang Guo wasn't intimidated. His spear stabbed out. Faster and faster. The fist rebuilt. Ten times, twenty, thirty.

After being destroyed thirty-two times the fire finally extinguished. Both enemies looked each other with grave eyes. A short respite ensued.

As if on cue they attacked again. Their cores activated. The sphere shook visibly.

Suddenly out of nowhere a monster appeared in front of Bursting Holy Fire.

Its figure resembled a spider's. Its legs were horribly twisted. Its dark skin showed burn wounds. Flames crept all over its body. It opened its mouth wide, letting out a blood-freezing scream before hurling itself towards Wang Guo.

The latter also wasn't to be outdone. He powerfully swung his spear. Suddenly the weapon vanished from his hand. It appeared in midair, keeping its momentum and slashing at the monster.

Boom!

The sphere shook heavily. Fire burned the air inside. A massive explosion pushed back both opponents. Wang Guo's spear shot towards the side, its tip burying into the red-black boundary.

But with a wave of Wang Guo's hand his weapon suddenly teleported back. He grinned slyly as he stabbed out. His weapon vanished, shooting at the Blue Alliance Elder.

The latter was prepared. The explosion was caused by his own monster, naturally it wouldn't surprise him.

Suddenly a spear appeared in front of his body. The elder opened his eyes in shock as his bracers reached out.

He grabbed the spear shaft. An enormous momentum tried to overwhelm his body. He was pushed backwards. His muscles bulged. The spear tip still slowly advanced towards his face.

Suddenly the elder's back felt hot. He realized that he was touching the boundary. The sphere stretched dangerously. He knew that if he didn't act, the sphere might burst, raining hell on all the weaker warriors below.

"Wang Guo, are you insane?!"

"Just give up the cargo and we can end this!"

"Madman!!"

Bursting Holy Fire gritted his teeth. The vague image of a large flaming bird appeared behind him. Suddenly majestic wings of fire spread from his back.

With a mighty flap, small tornados made of fire formed. A strong power pushed the elder forward. He pushed against the spear.

Gradually the threatening weapon lost its power. The elder panted as he kept it in a tight grip. He stared at Wang Gup. Rage burned in his chest. The fire in the sphere reacted as if oil was spewed on it. It slowly rose more and more like wild tongues out for blood.

"Good, Wang Guo! Good! If this is what you want!"

Suddenly the elder got engulfed in flames. His silhouette was vaguely visible. Like a black shadow it grew in the flames.

When the fire died down, a grotesque giant appeared. It looked humanoid, its hair a white burning flame. It had four arms, fire burning everywhere on its body. A barely humanoid voice came from its distorted mouth.

"Feel the wrath of my holy fire!"

The giant took a step forward as two massive fists approached Wang Guo.