Chapter 28: Chaotic Battle Against Demonic Beast 2
The battlefield, once chaotic, now teetered on the brink of annihilation.
At the far end of the basin, fourteen Silver-Tier 5 demonic beasts stood in eerie formation, their eyes glowing with unnatural synchronization. Their combined aura distorted the air, pressing down on every cultivator present like a mountain of invisible iron. Their roars harmonized into a haunting rhythm, dark energy swirling above them as if the heavens themselves were trembling. They were moments away from releasing a combined technique capable of slaughtering hundreds in an instant.
But they were not alone in their power.
With thunderous determination, the elite Silver-Tier 5 cultivators from the major sects surged into action.
From the Fighting Brawlman Cultivation Sect, crimson-robed warriors charged forward, their bodies wrapped in hardened Ki armor. Each strike of their fists detonated like cannon fire, shaking the ground and breaking monstrous limbs. Their style was brutish yet effective, a storm of muscle and raw Ki.
The Iron Fang Sect descended like steel comets. Their bodies were fortified through secret steel-essence arts, their battle cries reverberating with lethal intent. Palms struck like iron hammers, and jagged blades tore through scales and bone.
The Bright Brilliant Blade Sect moved as if their bodies were swords themselves. Their strikes split the mist with radiant arcs, sword energy slicing into beast flesh with surgical precision. Their unity was terrifying, their movements like a single storm of light.
Then the Night's Light Devouring Church entered the fray. Silent, precise, and steeped in shadows, their disciples unleashed curses and blackened halos. Their spells bent reality, corrupting matter and breaking bones from within. Each step carried the weight of death itself.
Each faction claimed two or three demonic beasts, yet even combined, their numbers fell short. The sheer enormity of the threat threatened to overwhelm them all.
Suddenly, rogue cultivators burst from the sidelines. Hardened criminals and wandering mercenaries, they hurled unstable techniques with reckless desperation. Some targeted beasts, while others exploited the chaos to settle grudges with sect disciples. Firestorms, jagged stone blasts, and collapsing formations followed in their wake.
Demonic cultivator experts soon descended into madness, faces twisted with fanatical glee. Blood sigils burned across their bodies as they unleashed forbidden arts stolen from ancient heretical scrolls. They attacked indiscriminately—beasts, sects, rogues—everything was fuel for their frenzy.
The basin became an apocalyptic warzone. Explosions shattered the cliffs, shockwaves knocked weaker disciples into the air, and Ki mixed with magic to suffocate the sky. Death was no longer a possibility but a certainty for many.
The synchronized attack of the demonic beasts never fully formed. It had been shattered before release. Yet the price paid was blood, burned flesh, and broken lives.
Now, the battle spiraled into pure attrition. Monsters, sect elites, rogues, and demonic cultivators clashed in every direction.
The roar of destruction rumbled across the land like the world itself was breaking.
Far from this slaughter, Elton Solman and his companions pressed forward through twisted terrain. Though they were removed from the center, the oppressive spiritual pressure still rolled over them like waves. Their breathing sharpened with every distant explosion.
Without warning, the brush ahead exploded. Trees splintered, birds scattered into ash-filled skies, and the ground shook from a massive impact.
The Silver-Tier 4 demonic beast staggered into their path. Once proud, its black fur was torn and its skeletal frame burned with green fire spilling from its joints. One eye hung ruined from Christy's earlier strike, its tail bled from Zoro's relentless katanas, and Cedric's flames still seared across its cracked hide. Yet its fury had not dimmed.
Elton wiped blood from his brow, chest heaving. "Hold the line! It's close to breaking!"
For ten minutes they had poured everything into the fight. Zoro's twin katanas carved relentlessly, Christy's palms disrupted the beast's rhythm, Cedric's burning dagger struck with precision, and Elton unleashed bursts of Star Lightning like thunder given flesh.
Behind them, three Night's Light Devouring Church disciples had supported with curses and suppressing beams. Their aid had felt… convenient. Too convenient.
The beast collapsed to one knee, its labored breathing echoing through the trees. Victory seemed within reach.
Then betrayal struck.
The Church disciples moved in perfect unison, their focus snapping from the beast to Elton's squad.
The first hurled a dark spear toward Cedric's exposed side. The second blinked behind Christy, blade poised for her spine. The third unleashed a blazing beam directly at Zoro's chest.
"AMBUSH!" Elton roared, lightning bursting across his arms.
Cedric twisted but cried out as the spear grazed his ribs, blood spraying. Christy spun, but the blade carved her shoulder, tearing through flesh. Zoro braced with both katanas, blocking the beam, but the force still hurled him into a tree, bark shattering, blood dripping from his mouth.
Elton barely caught his assailant, lightning clashing against cursed light with a deafening crack. His arm shuddered violently under the pressure.
"You cowards," Cedric gasped, staggering as blood stained his tunic. "You waited the whole time…"
One disciple sneered. "You softened it up for us. Now die where you stand!"
But arrogance earned him death.
The demonic beast, half-blind and maddened, roared in outrage. Forgotten and wounded, it lunged. Its claw swept wide, tearing through the boasting disciple mid-sentence. His body shattered against a boulder, his laughter ending in silence.
The three survivors froze for a heartbeat, shock in their eyes. Then rage twisted their faces.
Now, chaos consumed the clearing.
The three disciples split wide, weaving between Elton's wounded group and the berserk beast. They fought with deadly coordination, striking at their targets while baiting the monster into tearing through the battlefield.
Elton's team regrouped with bloodied resolve. Cedric, pale and gasping, still traced traps of fire into the dirt. Christy's injured arm trembled, yet her palms redirected attacks with chaotic precision. Zoro, battered but unbowed, spun his katanas in a whirlwind of shadowed steel. And Elton stood at the heart, lightning searing across his body as his will hardened.
The beast no longer cared who its enemy was. Its claws tore the ground, its fangs snapped wildly, and its green fire rained destruction without reason.
Blood sprayed. The ground cracked. The clearing shook under the madness of three enemies fighting as one storm.
Elton's group.
The surviving three disciples.
And the frenzied demonic beast.
None would retreat. None would yield.
In this cursed place, only survival mattered.