Michael had to move instantly to avoid the incoming bombardment of projectiles, spells, and debuffs.
He teleported twice in a row, once to move with the Hyuman into the center of the encirclement created by the Tritan Alliance’s powerhouses and a second time alone to escape. It was close, an earth spike nearly piercing his back, but Michael escaped the attacks.
He appeared above the battlefield where Giuliana Seraph, Mother of Maria Seraph, levitated to apply her Healing Soultrait if necessary. She precisely controlled and compressed energy underneath her feet, allowing her to stay in the air.
Giuliana noticed Michael but didn’t say anything. She had a lot to say to Michael, good and bad. However, now was not the time to complain about her daughter’s broken heart, the fact that Michael was Maria’s Primal Amplifier, or that Michael’s contribution to the Civil War was why Giuliana and her husband could see their daughter again.
The Blaze Patriarch kidnapped her daughter to blackmail the Seraph family, forcing them to do things they weren’t proud of. Fortunately, they overcame most issues without causing too much damage to society before reuniting with their daughter. Still, the aftermath of their actions was long-lasting and would probably affect the relationships within the Tritan Alliance for a while. Humanity would take time and effort to regain the Berserkers’ and Warlock Centaurs’ trust.
Fighting the Hyuman together was one way to regain trust and strengthen companionship within the Tritan Alliance.
Several highly compressed earth spikes shot out of the ground around the Hyuman. However, before they reach the Hyuman, the earthen spikes split into several thinner spikes, transforming into serpent heads. They coiled around the Hyumans’ legs before an obsidian-colored spike emerged from the ground underneath the Hyuman.
Simultaneously, wind blades, energy beams, charged pristine arrows, and more projectiles shot toward the Hyuman from all directions. The attacks were only the beginning, but they were enough to put the Hyuman under pressure. Some of the incoming projectiles wouldn’t harm him as he exerted the Primordial Bloodline technique when he noticed something odd about Michael.
His skin was tougher than most attacks a Tier-5 Awakened could throw at him. Only some special attacks, which naturally ignored an Awakened’s physical resistance, would be able to inflict harm on him. Even Tier-6 Awakened should have difficulties harming him.
Therefore, the Hyuman didn’t have to do much as the bombardment of projectiles ensued.
The only problem was the assault on his Mind and Soul – or the volley of Soultraits used to strengthen the incoming attacks and weaken the Hyuman.
The Primordial Bloodline technique at the mastery displayed by the Peak Tier-6 Hyuman was strong enough to weaken the effect of most Soultraits attempting to weaken him. However, his mastery wasn’t enough to nullify the effects. Not even the gap in their Tier was enough – on top of the Primordial Bloodline technique – to nullify the debuffs.
The Hyuman’s defense lowered. His sight grew hazy, and he was having a much harder time controlling the energy that was residing within him. Not only were his energy paths narrowed suddenly, but it felt like the origin energy inside him started resisting the Hyuman. That was only the beginning.
The Hyuman’s body grew heavier as if gravitation around him intensified all of a sudden. He nearly stumbled to the ground when he first noticed the drastic changes in the surrounding gravitational force.
Despite being dulled, his senses picked up the strengthening of the surrounding projectiles right before they impacted.
The Hyuman clicked his tongue and started to retaliate. He unleashed his Soultraits, Field of Domination, and an extensive grayish aura burst forth from his body. The slithering earthen snakes coiled around his legs shattered while the obsidian spike slowed down. It cracked as it closed into the Hyuman’s lower body, but all the Hyuman had to do to get rid of the obsidian spike was to kick it.
A light kick was all it took to shatter the obsidian spike. Meanwhile, the impacting projectiles either dissolved or were drastically weakened and unable to inflict any serious harm as they impacted.
Only the debuffs remained on the Hyuman, refraining him from utilizing his entire strength.
“You betrayed the Supreme Human Alliance and abandoned your Gods? Okay… Okay…That’s totally okay! You aren’t afraid of anything, you fools! May the sword of justice and supremacy strike you!” The Hyuman roared, his presence changing all of a sudden.
If he focused on blocking most attacks beforehand, the current situation could only be considered a switch. The Hyuman switched from defense to offense. A thin metal armor appeared. It was as gray as his aura and amplified his Soultrait’s effect considerably. The armor covered most of his vital points, leaving only a handful open to attack. A set of similarly grayish daggers manifested in his hands a moment later.
He threw one of the daggers to a nearby human, piercing the dozen shields that appeared before the young powerhouse, only for the dagger to pierce the shields and the human awakened’s chest in one go. The Awakened would have survived if his body hadn’t compressed and exploded a quarter of a second after the dagger pierced him. Not even half a second later, the dagger returned to the Hyuman’s hands.
[His daggers dominate and overcharge the energy path system with ‘Domination’ – if I’m not mistaken. I have to figure out what that ‘Domination’ is and how it is put together, but pay attention when you’re cut. He will dominate your energy path system, compress and expand it rapidly following the compression!] Michael shouted in each minds except the Hyuman, using Whispering Energy.
[His Soultrait is an aura of the same Domination. Control your bodies and don’t let the Domination enter you. He already has control of the encircling space, blocking my spatial-type Soultrait, but I think it won’t be possible to utilize low-ranked Soultraits to manifest projectiles inside his aura of Domination!]
Michael tried analyzing everything with Spirit Eyes, but he was not proficient with the type of energy and power used by the Hyuman. All he could tell was that the Hyuman’s power contained lifeforce, soul power, and energy. He made use of that and the obvious fact that the Hyuman’s focus was on the Tier-5 and Tier-6 powerhouses around him to utilize Extraction with Enhancement and the Soul Grimoire’s augment before applying Insert to infuse traces of Enhanced Extraction all over the aura of Domination.
There was some resistance to his manifestation of Extraction within the range of the Hyuman’s aura of Domination, but Extraction was already a 7-Star Soultrait, strengthened with 10 Enhancement Layers, and augmented with a Soul Tear. It was barely strong enough to pierce through the restraints cast upon all foes of the aura of Domination and infuse neatly into it – without the Hyuman’s notice.
After that, Michael started draining the Hyuman’s soul power, energy, and lifeforce within the aura of domination. It was a slow process to evade the Hyuman’s attention, but it was fast enough to drain their enemy slowly.
‘If I wanted to attract his attention, I could use the Cursed Seals to drain him faster.’ Michael complained quietly but continued watching the battle.
Palika, Niechos, and the four other Tier-6 powerhouses emerged in front, beside, and behind the Hyuman. The six Tier-6 powerhouses unleashed their Soultraits and tapped deeper into their power reserves than ever. Niechos glowed in pristine light and gained a tremendous boost in power as he fired at the Hyuman as the Tritan Alliance’s main tank.
Simultaneously, Palika gave his utmost. After the battle with the Bloodhound, Palika started preparing for the next battle against a Divine Lifeform. Fortunately, that wasn’t necessary as the firmaments tore apart. Afterward, Palika was ready to unleash everything at his disposal to deal with the Blaze Patriarch. However, once again, it wasn’t necessary.
But now he could. Palika’s palm glowed vibrantly when he materialized behind the Hyuman, pressing it against the back of his head. He unleashed the full fury of [Energy Palm] with the power he’d accumulated in his Main Soultrait [Hoarding Power] over the last few months. Gaining Energy Palm and another Soultrait called Compression from Michael skyrocketed his combat prowess. After all, he could compress the power within his main Soultrait, Hoarding Power, to channel it through Energy Palm.
Niechol’s Unstoppable, alongside the Soultraits and brute force applied by the other Tier-6 powerhouses, and the Soultrait unleashed by the dozens of powerful Tier-5 powerhouses, who had gathered to obliterate the Tier-6 Hyuman, were enough to restrain the Hyuman for a moment.
A moment was each it took.
‘He underestimated the Tritan Alliance.’ Michael realized, a smile forming on his lips as Palika’s Energy Palm burst into the back of the Hyuman’s head, cracking his skull.
A primal roar eluded the Hyuman’s lips as the cracking noise reverberated through the surroundings. A mere moment later, the entire area was coated in a bright light. The full power of Energy Palm had been unleashed upon the Hyuman.
Palika roared in pain as his entire hand was blown into smithereens, unable to withstand the power he’d unleashed to kill the Hyuman. However, that was fine. Losing his hand was nothing compared to killing a Peak Tier-6 Hyuman. In the first place, the Tritan Alliance’s strongest healers were present to tend to his wounds. His hand could regenerate in the next few days.
At least, that was what Palika hoped before he realized something.
“I didn’t obtain his energy influx!!” Palika roared, only to hear a whisper in his ears.
“Yeah, ’cause I’m not dead, you disgusting parasite!” The Hyuman, the back of his head blown apart, growled.
He was not dead yet. They failed.
“That’s okay,” A familiar voice materialized behind the Hyuman. He spun around, only to see Michael coated in gold and over a hundred Curse Seals. He smiled at the Hyuman, his hand pressing against the Hyuman’s face, “Because I’m here.”