Chapter 332: The Current Limit
A massive fist slammed into the side of Kai’s face, causing his grip on the talon to slip.
And when he looked over his shoulder, he saw death.
Below, a thousand Grey Orcs with their elites and Chieftains were waiting for him to fall with their salivating mouths open and their weapons raised. Some were stomping their feet and pounded their chests in anticipation for his fall, a menacing chorus of death chants.
Had it been months ago, the likelihood of his death in this situation was high.
But during these last few months, Kai had familiarized himself even further with his power.
Kai had done many experiments using his Legacy Skill and Imprints.
His mastery over them had reached a terrifying level, and with his bottomless mana, anything was possible for him to do. A Supernal’s strength is dictated by their Patron God and also the number of Divine Locks.
A dangerous Supernal, however, was the one who could make use of their powers effectively.
Most of the time, a Supernal would be stuck with what they have for years.
For them to gain anything new in their arsenal, a Supernal had to either climb in rank or please their Patron God. Both methods demanded time—perhaps years or even decades. But danger never waited.
It remained a constant, an ever-present variable.
So, a Supernal had to keep growing stronger by the day.
And mastering their powers to use them in a myriad of ways is another way to continue to grow.
In preparation for the Second Sky, Kai had trained to become that kind of Supernal.
He had trained to become dangerous.
A hand grabbed his shoulder from behind. Kai twisted it—realizing that it was the Grey Orc that had punched him earlier, he immediately broke the wrist with a satisfying crunch. Then, he swung his scimitar, slicing its head clean from its shoulders.
Another roared and swam towards him mid-air.
But Kai kicked it away before it could come close, and then slammed the base of his scimitar’s handle against his own temple. The impact exploded the nerves around his right eye, and for a second, he was blind.
Soon, a new world opened.
Sensing the reckless damage done to him, the Night Mutation activated.
His own broken eye mutated, and when sight returned to it, he could see more of the world. Not only light and shadow—but the energy flow all around him. The pulse of life and power that moved through every living thing.
Below, the Grey Orcs became outlines that contained the energy flow within.
Simultaneously, he charged his scimitar with Dark Discharge—the blade burned with abyssal black mana, and then he swung. A thick energy arc rushed downward, crashing through the Grey Orcs and then to the ground.
A cloud of sand swallowed the area, blinding everyone worse than the sandstorm.
Except for Kai.
Now, with his broken eye, he could still see them.
Every Grey Orc was visible to him even through the cloud.
Kai fell further, and then he passed a black star. One that he had already summoned from the moment he realized that he was falling. It shot a thick dark lance, and he placed his bare hand in its path.
It pierced through his palm, shooting pain up his arm.
But the momentum carried him sideways, away from the gathering horde.
Kai burst out of the cloud like a rocket, and saw the Guard Angels running out from the barrier to help him. Most of them are Grade-4 Awakened Supernal, no Aspirant Supernals. Going out to help him would be suicide.
Swish—!
He swung his scimitar again, blasting an energy arc right at their feet.
It carved a deep straight line on the sand, stopping them cold.
A signal for them to stop, as even though they wanted to help, doing that would only get them killed. Kai didn’t need their help. Even though it might not look like it from afar—he was still on top of the situation.
Kai’s feet touched the ground again, and he kept sprinting.
He ignored the sting in his left hand as the barrier was less than a mile away.
Above, Feeny croaked and descended. She managed to maneuver over the shamans again.
I really love this bird.
Kai looked up and smiled as it seemed his transportation to safety had arrived again.
But then, two shadows blasted out of the cloud of sand behind.
Swoosh—!
Each one moved with impossible speed, a speed that betrayed their hulking forms.
Both of their bodies seethed with a brown aura that made them stronger and faster. An ability that no normal Grey Orcs possessed—the Chieftains. Aware that another Chieftain was killed, these two were filled with anger and hatred.
A life for a life.
No matter what, they won’t let Kai leave.
Can you stop?! Just give up already!
Kai swiped his hand, summoning ten black stars at his head level before sprinting past them.
Each one flickered with mana and shot out lances of darkness straight at the Chieftains, but the two leaders parried the lances aside, and those that managed to slip past their defense shattered upon impact with their bodies.
It was a sight that caught Kai completely off guard.
A full-powered Scourge-class Star Beast is not to be underestimated.
Kai couldn’t even imagine if the Noble Star Beast of this Sky Gate was among them.
He would have no chance.
Gritting his teeth, he leaped skyward again despite the fatigue that was slowly crawling up to choke him. He stretched out his arm, reaching for Feeny’s talon, but the two Chieftains leaped with him.
One wasted no time and hurled its axe with a growl rumbling in its throat.
Swoosh—!
A spinning blade of death cut through the air with terrifying speed.
Kai’s hand was inches from Feeny’s talon when the axe screamed past his fingers, forcing him to retract, abandoning his attempt, and fall down again. Mid-air, the second Chieftain already reached him.
It kicked the air, blasting back energy from the sole of its foot, and launched at Kai.
Kai’s eyes widened.
If he’d had his winged boots upon entering the Barbarian Hold—dodging this would’ve been easy. But he’d left them behind for the sake of stealth. Flying around would only expose him as a target, so he didn’t bring them with him.
And now he was paying for it.
Shit! I can’t dodge!
Kai crossed his scimitar over his body as he watched a war hammer swing toward his torso.
A swing that was aimed to shatter his internal organs into mush.
In the nick of time, a membrane materialized.
Boom—!
Bree’s barrier bloomed between Kai and the war hammer. The dull weapon struck it and then rebounded, the force absorbed by the membrane. Kai’s heart thumped inside his chest as this was a good sign.
Since she could help him, that meant the barrier wasn’t far away.
He fell, bounced once against the sand, before finding his feet and running again.
Ahead, about half a mile away, he could already see the others and the barrier.
Just a little bit more and he would’ve been safe.
However, the Chieftains also knew about that, and they pushed themselves even harder.
If earlier their attacks were already precise and dangerous, now they became relentless.
They crashed from the sky, punching the ground with enough force to shatter a big house.
The sand erupted in geysers as Kai rolled sideways before resuming to run. And then the two Chieftains came at him with martial precision, showing another side of the Grey Orcs that he didn’t know.
Dragon sweeps, lock kicks, spinning elbow that rattled his bones even when he blocked.
Kai leaped, twisted, and weaved, but his vision was blurring.
Exhaustion already caught up to him.
In a battle of sheer strength, he wasn’t close to the Chieftains who had monstrous stamina.
Not to mention, even when he managed to dodge an attack, it still hurt him. A simple graze and near-misses left bruises. Just then, a low kick caught his ankle. Kai hissed in pain, frozen for half a heartbeat.
And the second Chieftain already appeared before him.
It was low to the ground, arm cocked back readily, and fist aimed for an uppercut that’d blow his head clean off from his shoulders. Kai already channelled his Deep Slumber into his eyes, but it would materialize too late.
But then, he heard a whistle.
Swish—!
His hand shot up on instinct and caught a scaled shield.
It was Matilda’s shield—the one he had gifted to her. He brought it down in time to block the vicious uppercut. The force travelled through his arms and forced blood out of his mouth, but it launched him backward like a cannonball.
Precisely what he needed.
Kai angled his body to be thrown towards the barrier.
He skidded across the sand, already ready for a follow-up attack, but saw the others instead.
"My, my..." Dorian bent down with both hands on his knees—inspecting the bruises all over Kai’s body that made him look like a beaten-up slave. "You looked pathetic and a bit winded. Do you need a hand?"
"Shut up," Kai groaned as he sat back up.
And then, he immediately snapped his head left and right, searching for Bree.
"Red Prince Kai, are you alright?"
"Instigating a fight against multiple tribes is not a good idea."
Kai ignored the Guard Angels who were worried about him, and then finally found Bree.
"The head." He said after he found her. "Do you have it?"
"Yes—I have it." Bree sighed at the sight of Kai worrying about that rather than his condition. "You don’t need to worry about that. Let Abigail heal you, and we’ll get out of here. I think it is enough fighting for today."
"Okay..." Kai shifted his gaze to look ahead again.
Even though he managed to reach safety, the two Chieftains still stood a distance away.
Both of their forms were covered by the sandstorm, but their silhouettes were clearly visible, along with their eyes. Kai could feel a chill down his spine as any longer, those two would’ve rocked him.
I guess this is my current limit. Going against multiple Scourge-class Beasts is still beyond me.
The Barbarian Hold is quite strong for a white Sky Gate.
So, Kai and the group should be more than ready to enter the second sky at their current state.
Moments later.
Abigail finished healing Kai.
Not because he was already fully healed, but because she was out of mana.
But even then, he already felt a lot better.
Kai sat down for a second, waiting to sign a paper and fill out the report of what happened inside the Barbarian Hold. His gaze shifted towards the severed head. After I submitted this, I should have enough time to deal with the problem in the House of Night. But what am I going to do?