After reaching the highest point in the air that the rebound force could bring him, Vaan twisted his body and fired needles at multiple strong targets to ease the struggling Senior Witchs and Aura Grandmasters.
His targets were all wolf-men.
Some saw his attack coming, and some didn’t. But, regardless of whether his attacks struck them, he still attracted all of their hostilities.
“Arghh, bastard! I’ll kill you!” a Peak B-rank hunter furiously roared after being struck in the neck, which briefly paralyzed him long enough to lose an arm to a Rank 3 Aura Grandmaster.
After finding an opportunity to kick the Rank 3 Aura Grandmaster away, the Peak B-rank hunter directed his hatred at Vaan and rushed towards him along with several other wolf-men.
“Careful! They are all close to Peak-level Rank 3 in strength!” one of the Rank 3 Grandmasters quickly warned while feeling grateful for Vaan’s assistance.
Nevertheless, the Rank 3 Grandmasters and Senior Witches all felt like Vaan was asking for death by attracting so many powerful opponents towards himself.
They weren’t exactly wrong.
Without relying on his magical abilities or undergoing Lycan Transformation, his physical abilities were only roughly around Low-level Rank 3.
On the other hand, they were all Peak-level Rank 3.
However, he had seen most of their abilities while they knew little about him. At the same time, the name Van Helsing was still relatively unknown among the people in the punitive expedition.
Thus, while they do not know what physique he possessed as a witch descendant, it was fine for the alias Van Helsing to have a special ability.
‘Among the known special physiques, the Lightning Sparrow Physique is supreme for its speed talent.’
Kinetic Energy Manipulation!
Swoosh!
As Vaan increased the kinetic energy in his movements, his speed was raised to a whole new level.
Coupled with his High-rank movement skill, which included Earth Acceleration, he easily evaded the Peak B-rank hunters’ attacks and escaped their encirclement.
“Fast!”
Several Peak B-rank hunters were immediately shocked by Vaan’s burst speed.
However, it wasn’t just the wolf-men pursuing him that were stunned. Even the other aura users and witches also got distracted by the exclamation and glanced over—only to be shocked by Vaan’s speed as well.
“A speed-talent special physique! No, a speed-talent special physique and a high-rank movement skill!”
Many aura users quickly guessed with amazement as they ruled out other possibilities due to their limited knowledge.
“Don’t waste this chance I gave you!” Vaan shouted in his veteran voice.
The Rank 3 Aura Grandmasters’ eyes flickered before they quickly regrouped with the others, reorganizing their ranks to fight with better coordination.
As they tried to break out of the goblin horde’s encirclement, the Peak B-rank hunters chasing Vaan realized they were being lured away from the others.
At the same time, there was no point in pursuing someone they could not catch.
“Dammit! Give up on this bastard! Don’t give the others a chance to make a comeback!” shouted Lethal Dagger, one of the Peak B-rank hunters.
“Fuck! Just you wait, bastard! I’ll catch you next time!” one of the Peak B-rank hunters at the forefront of the chase quickly cussed before turning around with the others.
However, the moment they gave their backs to Vaan, he immediately dashed toward them in the same instance.
Earth Manipulation!
Puchi!
A sneaky earthen spike stabbed through the sole of a Peak B-rank hunter’s feet, prompting the person to look down at what hurt him immediately.
However, that temporary moment of distraction was all it took for Vaan to close the distance and cut off the person’s head with his spear.
By the time the Peak B-rank hunter registered the pain in his neck, the world was already rotating in his eyes. His head flew off his body, following Vaan’s spear slash.
“Arghh, sneaky bastard! He got Fleeting Wind! Be careful of his sneak attacks!” Lethal Dagger furiously roared, alerting the others.
The death of Fleeting Wind made them unsure of what to do.
If they went after the others, Vaan would attack them from behind. But if they went after him, he would continue running away.
Nevertheless, their hesitation only lasted a moment.
“I’ll go after this bastard! The rest of you focus on the others!” Lethal Dagger ordered as he chased after Vaan.
At the same time, the Rank 3 Aura Grandmasters briefly witnessed what happened before one of them roared with laughter.
“Well done, Van Helsing! Kill those dog-men, hahaha!” the Rank 3 Aura Grandmaster’s laughter resounded.
…
…
…
Meanwhile, Astoria and Ember continued to fight Fallen Witch Elvira together.
Everywhere they fought, destruction was left in their wake. Even the caged creatures in the fields were caught in the crossfire of their battle.
Fallen Witch Elvira was too strong for Ember alone. But with Astoria added to the picture, they worked well to exhaust Fallen Witch Elvira’s mana.
“I can’t believe a Mid-stage High Witch can be so much stronger… The Fallen Witch must have absorbed a huge Realm Fragment! Still, how did she reach Mid-stage High Witch with just that?”
“Kekeke, wouldn’t you like to know? If you willingly become a Fallen Witch, I might tell you.”
As Ember wondered out loud, Fallen Witch Elvira responded with a sinister chuckle.
Nevertheless, Ember shot another blast of scorching-hot flames in Fallen Witch Elvira’s direction with a cold and serious look.
“And become hunted by the kingdom like you? No, thanks!” Ember replied coldly.
“Kekeke, you can only say that now because you still have a long life ahead of you. But the day your lifespan runs out, even you will do anything to prolong it,” Fallen Witch Elvira snickered.
She casually dispelled Ember’s flame magic with her black water spell and conjured a water shield to block Astoria’s greatsword.
Boom!
Fallen Witch Elvira was forced to retreat a few steps even though Astoria’s sword strike failed to break her water shield spell.
“Kekeke, as expected of the Battle Maiden. Your brute strength is truly something else. Of everyone here, only you pose the greatest threat to me,” Fallen Witch Elvira mentioned without the slightest concern.
“I’ll deal with you first!”
“Watch out, Headmaster Astoria!”
For a moment, Astoria was distracted when she overheard the name Van Helsing mentioned on the other distant battlefield, forcing her to suffer a hit from Fallen Witch Elvira.
Puchi!
A black water lance broke through her light barrier and penetrated her shoulder.