Four Split Personalities

Otherwise, Jadka alone would have been able to blast it away with low-rank magic.

"Ya Ya, retreat!"

Motan barked an order, then forcefully exhaled another breath of dragon breath, faintly echoed with the roar of thunder, aiming directly at Sergei, who was engulfed in flames.

As Ya Ya, about to strike again, heard the command, she quickly leapt aside, only to see Motan’s dark purple dragon breath collide with the flames, creating an ear-splitting explosion.

[Dragon flame and elemental fire are totally different concepts, both in form and nature—mixing the two suddenly is bound to cause an explosion.]

This information, Motan had read in a small Dragon Clan science book in the Salamuen Library. Therefore, he quickly directed a dragon breath towards Sergei, who was still within the range of the fire art, and indeed, it exploded...

There was smoke, but no injury.

As the flames receded, Sergei reappeared unscathed, enveloped by an eggshell-like psychic barrier that protected his body from all angles, unscathed by not even a speck of dust.

[Is this what it means for the higher rank to crush the lower rank...]

Motan stepped forward with a grim expression, shielding Jadka, who had just drawn significant hostility, feeling a sense of helplessness wash over him.

Though he had never intended to win from the start, this outcome still caused him a sense of frustration.

There were still five minutes until the arrival of the reinforcements Jadka had mentioned. Sensing the tangible murderous intent emanating from Sergei, Motan thought the upcoming time would be extremely tough.

Thinking optimistically, he just needed to hold on for another three hundred seconds, less than the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee.

The critical moment to fight with all might had arrived!

Puff!

Accompanied by a barely perceptible soft noise, Sergei suddenly vanished from Motan’s vertical pupils and reappeared a second later behind Ya Ya, gently landing a punch.

Ya Ya, unable to even turn around, felt an intense pain in her shoulder and then lost sensation in her right arm.

The heavy [Ateer Split Blade • Giant Smasher] crashed to the ground with a dull thunderous sound.

The girl let out a piercing scream as she staggered and fell.

But Sergei, expressionless, steadied her... with his fist.

The next second, Ya Ya’s left shoulder shattered in an instant, dangling limply by her side.

"Stop!"

"Ya Ya!"

"Stay away from her!"

Motan, the first to react, shot forth, turned into a phantom with the thrust of his dragon wings, and charged straight at Sergei.

Several twisting trails of Flame Dance followed close behind, merging mid-air into a giant flame serpent that lunged at Sergei with its mouth wide open.

Ji Xiaoge, with only one arm still functioning, half-kneeled on the ground, struggling to pull out a bulky version of Catherine’s Valkyrie from her bag, stuffing it with tealeaves eggs and uranium bomb balls before forcefully pulling the trigger.

However...

"Don’t overestimate yourself!"

Sergei snorted coldly. Holding Ya Ya by the neck with one hand, he used a knee strike to hit Motan’s flank, directly knocking him to the ground, then swung two lightning-fast punches, smashing the flame serpent above his head into sparks. Finally, he flicked the breathless Motan with his toe, kicking him right onto the tealeaves eggs shot by Ji Xiaoge, causing an explosion of flying fragments.

By then, Motan’s health points had finally dropped to 1%. Although his life was saved by the Scale Against state, a ring in his equipment slot had become [Damaged].

"I didn’t expect to be driven to this point..."

The air around Sergei fluctuated extremely unstably, his exposed arms had inexplicably swollen to twice their size, and his expression was grotesque and terrifying. Faint black wisps leaked from his nose and mouth: "But being able to make me use ’Ghost Breath’, you all should die without regrets."

[Ghost Breath], a burst skill developed by a top member of the Viper Chamber of Commerce nearly a century ago, when activated, significantly enhances one’s defensive power, speed, and stamina with no strength threshold. Although it’s applicable only to Martial Monks and its duration varies between 10 to 15 minutes with barely noticeable side effects, it does permanently reduce one’s strength by about one-third. It’s a life-saving trick indeed.

Although Motan and the others had not posed any real threat to Sergei’s life, the dragon-transformed Motan, Ya Ya in Frenzy + Dog Claw state, and Jadka, who could use low-rank fire magic as naturally as breathing, had engendered a deep sense of crisis in him. Thus, this life-preserver, caught between the combined attack of fire arts and dragon breath, had activated Ghost Breath, ensuring his survival and redirecting his diminished strength onto his opponents.

Crack!

Another sharp crack reverberated as Ya Ya cried out in pain once more; most of the bones in her slender left leg were shattered.

"Stop it!"

Motan, left with only 1% health, charged again, only to be kicked in the chest by Sergei, causing his bracelets, belt, and shin guards0 to become [Damaged].

Jadka, wielding a fiercely burning Magic Wand, mounted Motan’s Self-Destruct sheep and, roaring, launched an attack.