Chapter 545: Battle In The Forest I

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Bang!

A deafening roar shattered the night as my blade collided with the surging arc of diamond fire.

It was powerful.

So much so that it threatened to push me back. I did not let it. Instead, I drove more of my aura against the attack.

Finally, it snapped. The diamond fire recoiled, its predatory light twisting as though in pain before hurtling back toward the enemy ranks.

For a breathless moment, silence hung heavy in the air.

Then I saw it—the widening eyes of my enemies, their expressions twisting from smug triumph to raw disbelief. The arc tore through their defences like a vengeful spirit, obliterating the volley of arrows and spells they had unleashed, leaving only destruction in its wake.

Graceful Repel.

It is a skill from Bell, and since it’s from her Lord Class, I am glad I had copied this skill instead of Focus. It helped me a lot in the battle of Panar, but I don’t know how much it will help me against the elemental artifact.

That artifact is powerful and unlike Stone’s. The saber is not broken, making it far more dangerous.

“I have to admit,” he drawled, his smirk cutting deeper than his blade ever could, “your little show of skill is… surprising. Really, it is.” His steps echoed as he closed the distance, slow and deliberate, like a wolf savoring the scent of cornered prey. “But let’s not kid ourselves—it won’t save you.”

His steps were slow, but his people moved fast. They cast spells that destroyed every obstacle before attacking my people.

Clang!

The clash of steel rang out, far too close for comfort. The rogue struck, her movements a blur, but Jon was there to meet her blade.

She had seriously injured Jon last time; this time, it would be even worse, as she knew everything about him—his every skill while she might be hiding some of hers.

It wasn’t just Jon. Now, it was all of us. They knew our every move, every weakness, every one of our skills.

It didn’t stop us from forming our plans, and one of them was to have Leila, Lena, and Zela finish their opponents as soon as possible and come to help me.

We know that task wouldn’t be easy.

Still, I am keeping hope because I don’t think I can handle him with that thing in his hand for long.

In the last battle, I was barely able to survive.

I might have lost it if it had lasted for a minute or more. So, the bandits using a teleportation scroll was a blessing for me.

Though he will not make a mistake now, in this attack, he took out the artifact to finish the job.

“We shall see,” I said, forcing every ounce of defiance into my voice,

To which he grinned and appeared in front of me before swinging his saber.

It blazed with living diamond fire cascading along the blade in a brilliant, searing dance, making my heart lurch and shudder.

I controlled my emotions and swung my rapier with the power of Blade of The Gale, Mauling Strike, and Rapid Strikes.

I powered them with my aura because without it. I won’t be able to last even a single exchange.

Clang!

Our weapons clashed, and I activated Quick Parry, but he broke it and sent the diamond fire toward me.

Bang!

Immediately, I activated Graceful Repel with the power of aura. The fire resisted and repelled it while I stepped back to manage the force.

I didn’t hold back on my counter.

Using the full power of the aura on me and my skills, he was still able to push me back.

It might be an elemental artifact, but it still offers other enhancements.

As for how much can be accessed depends on the user.

Artifacts have immense power, but how much one can draw out depends on the person. Moreover, the more power one draws out, the more strain one would suffer.

This pressure is so great that people have died, but it is challenging to draw out enough power to be killed by the backlash.

“I must admit,” he said, his voice laced with a grudging respect that only made him more terrifying, “you’ve surprised me.”

Then he moved. His saber sliced through the air faster than before, each swing unleashing blazing arcs of fire that roared like living creatures. The heat surged toward me, and my breath hitched; my expression couldn’t help but become serious.

They are dangerous; a single one of them had the capacity to kill me, and there are tens of them coming at me.

The distance makes them even more dangerous. He was launching them from close range, and I needed to respond immediately.

Bang Bang Bang

My blade clashed against the first arc, repelling it before responding to another and then the third.

With the Blitz Steps, I had to move three steps to defend the fourth arc, two steps left to defend the fifth arc, and five steps right to defend the sixth.

I defended each as they came. I couldn’t let any arc move past me. They might hit my people.

He is willing to take that risk, but I am not.

Bang!

I defended against the last arc and saw him flashing behind me at incredible speed.

His speed was faster than he had been when we had fought last time.

I do not doubt that this is a power of the artifact, and now I have to defend against it. If I fail, it will be game over.

So, I poured as much aura as possible into the Blitz Steps and turned while swinging my blade.

As I did, I saw his blazing saber in front of me. He skillfully avoided my rapier and came toward me with a grin blooming on his face.

I immediately retreated backward with a force that would have broken some bones, but I had passive skills that made it easier.

His saber was faster, and it reached me.

Bang Rip!

A deafening sound rang out as the blade clashed with the Graceful Repel covering my body, but that wasn’t enough; the saber cut me.

That is why I prefer the skill over just my rapier.

I could use the physical blade to stop the attack, which the repelling field couldn’t.

The cut wasn’t big, but it wasn’t small either.

Most worriedly, the skill wasn’t able to repel all the fire. Some had entered inside me, and now it wants to burn me.

It is as powerful as wildfire and heavy as a rock and wants to consume me.

Immediately, I focused my aura on the wound. It had already dyed black, and it shimmered as it spread.

I do not want to spread inside my body.

The fire may be only 10% of the attack, but it held the power to burn me badly. Enough, I would become incapable of fighting.

The aura is stopping from spreading, but that’s not enough.

I need to whittle its power away so that nothing would remain.

I was focusing on the wound when I saw him coming at me with another attack. This one is faster than earlier, and I moved to dodge while moving my rapier forward.

His saber avoided my blade and came at me.

Bang Rip!

It once again clashed with the Graceful Repel. This time, he was cutting me across my stomach.

The cut isn’t as big as earlier, but the attack has more blaze, and now it wants to spread over me and burn me to ashes.

I moved my aura to stop it but saw another attack approaching me.

Clang!

I stopped it, but I had to move two steps back, and he used that chance to attack again even faster.

Bang Rip!

He cut right below the chest armor with his saber, cutting through and touching the bone.

I moved the aura toward it immediately and went to defend against another attack coming at me.

My head had started to hurt terribly as I began to use the aura to manage the artifact’s power into my wound, the skills, and the suppression of him.

With the last battle, my aura control had improved significantly. I used the day and a half to digest the concepts of aura control that I had read about and improve them further.

I had confidence that if we fought again. I would be able to defeat this man, but the artifact had changed things completely.

Now, I am at a more significant disadvantage than I had been at the first battle.

More wounds tore across my body, each one burning. If this kept up, it wouldn’t just be pain—it would be my undoing. The energy trapped within one of those wounds was already unstable, and the moment it slipped free, it would end me.

I could feel the power of the artifact in the wound. It is hazardous; the slightest slip-up will kill me.

I want to destroy them, but I am focusing on the aura of so many things that it has become more challenging for me and will become even harder.

Bang Rip!

I had just thought that when a cut appeared on my shoulder, I had moved the aura toward it. It increased pressure and intensified the headache I was feeling.

Clang!

While retreating, I defended the next attack and used this chance to appear behind the tree.

His saber cut through the tree cleanly, giving me the chance to dodge the attack successfully.

Bang Rip!

I wasn’t so lucky the next time. The enemy was able to cut me at the waist, increasing the pressure on me further.

He is too powerful. It is too hard to defend against his attacks.

I am pushing an aura into my body and my skills and onto him, but this time, it barely affects him.

The artifact is providing him protection against it.

I want to move my aura from him, but it’s not just suppressing him. It also showed me his every moment, helping me react faster to his attack.

Though not fast enough, even though I have the skill of Fast Reflex,

It will be challenging to increase my power further with aura. I will try; it will help if I can react faster than I am now.

I do not want to kill him, nor do I believe I could, but it would make defending easier if I could react faster.

It would be enough to defend, but I am already reacting with Fast Reflex.

If I want to react even faster, I must boost the Fast Reflexes’ power. It is hard.

I use aura on every skill except for the passive skills. It’s beyond hard; there seemed to be a wall stopping it.

Many times, I tried to breach it but failed.

Bell had said I would need at least a year or more to achieve that. With how things are going, I don’t have a year, I don’t even have a minute.

I will have to do it. Make it stronger. It was the only way I could survive against this powerful enemy.

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