Chapter 158: 3 Women vs the 4 forces
The barrier collapsed in a storm of sparks and shattered vines, but before the invaders could surge forward, the earth itself rebelled.
Shayleaf stood tall at the heart of the broken grove, bathed in an unearthly halo of green, gold, and crimson light. The ground cracked beneath her bare feet as roots, vines, and branches burst upward in violent waves. Interwoven with the forest's surge was a chilling vampiric essence, a power that leeched blood and vitality with every strike.
"Enough."
Her whisper rolled across the battlefield like thunder. The summons obeyed with merciless precision.
Vines skewered squads of cultivators. Towering trees swung their branches like colossal blades. A rain of luminous crimson leaves fell, sharper than forged steel, cutting down elites who thought themselves out of reach.
"Grahhh!!"
"My arm—!"
"R-retreat! What kind of monster is she!?"
Panic spread among the weaker invaders. They fled in droves, only to be torn down by arrows or drained dry by creeping roots.
Yet the strongest experts remained.
The Leopard demi-human leader's aura blazed brighter as he braced himself against the pull. "…This person is completely at the Mortal Shedding threshold. Hmph." His killing intent sharpened.
Beside him, the grey-skinned woman bared her fangs. "Tch. That vampiric filth mixed with her magic… disgusting, but dangerous."
The armored man anchored his stance, his golden energy flaring like a shield. "We don't underestimate her. Move carefully."
The remaining Leopard demi human watched on with a grave expression.
Overhead, the massive winged serpent hissed as its lion-headed rider snarled in frustration, their bodies instinctively holding back from diving too close.
Further back, the badly wounded Priest leader staggered forward. His robes were tattered, his aura chaotic and unstable, yet his glare burned with mad devotion.
"You wretch… to profane this ground with unholy sorcery… Even if my blood spills, I will curse you in our Dark Lord's name!"
The man with the gold-plated staff slammed its end into the earth, his fiery eyes blazing. His barrier was cracked, his robes scorched, but his voice carried defiance. "Elf or demon, you'll find us harder prey than the fodder you've slaughtered!"
Both Golden Lords were forced to grit their teeth against Shayleaf's storm, but unlike their broken subordinates, their eyes were not filled with terror — only grim determination.
Meanwhile, Tongsheng's arrows rained with merciless precision, weaving between Shayleaf's summons to finish off stragglers and pierce openings in enemy defenses.
Christy remained unmoving at Elton's side, her Aka Boshi no Tengan glowing faintly. Any attack that slipped past Shayleaf and Tongsheng was ruthlessly intercepted before it came near Elton.
Shayleaf's voice cut through the chaos as she muttered:
"You dare interrupt Brother Elly's breakthrough? Then be crushed beneath the forest itself!"
The ground split open. Dozens of massive roots surged outward, entwined with glowing crimson runes. They smashed squads into pulp, while vampiric energy leeched blood into the soil. Screams rose as enemies collapsed lifeless, their vitality stolen to strengthen the forest.
The battlefield shifted. For most invaders, this was no longer a battle — it was survival.
Yet among the chaos, the Golden Lords still stood. Bloodied, wary, furious — but unbroken.
The first to arrive were the winged serpent and dark-maned lion, their monstrous roars shaking the village. They tore through vines and tree-creatures like straw, their eyes glowing with raw hunger.
BOOOOM!
The serpent whipped its tail, smashing apart a swath of summoned trees, while the lion landed with earth-shattering weight, flame bursting from its mane as it clawed toward the grove.
Tongsheng's arrows fired in a flash.
Fwooosh! Fwooosh!
One arrow gouged across the serpent's scales, leaving a burning mark, while another pierced the lion's paw, drawing blood. Both beasts roared in fury, their pride wounded.
At the same time, the staff wielder slammed his gold-plated weapon into the ground. Fiery runes spiraled outward, and he roared, "Burn them to ash!"
A towering spear of molten fire formed and hurtled toward Shayleaf's grove.
Shayleaf's plants surged upward, tangling the spear midair. Vines charred instantly, the heat blistering the grove, before the spear detonated in a shockwave that scorched everything nearby.
Meanwhile, the priest leader, battered and bleeding, staggered forward. His aura flickered chaotically, but his eyes blazed with fanaticism. He raised his black scepter high.
"In the Dark Lord's name… be ERASED!"
The black orb atop the staff swelled before bursting outward, spewing countless writhing tendrils of darkness. They slithered across the battlefield, devouring whatever they touched. Several of Shayleaf's plant beasts dissolved instantly, leaving only gaping voids.
"Persistent vermin!" Shayleaf snapped, countering with radiant leaves infused with glowing elven runes. The leaves shredded through tendrils, though the sheer volume forced her back a step.
The Leopard demi-human leader bared his fangs, his body blurring into motion. With a single swipe of his claws, he shredded two tree beasts and charged directly for the grove.
"Whoever hides behind that mask… your life ends here!"
Beside him, the grey-skinned woman darted forward, her corrosive claws hissing with green energy. The armored man advanced steadily, shield raised, smashing vines aside with brute force. The second Leopard demi-human, weaker but still deadly at Gold Tier 4, fired bursts of ki from the flank, trying to break openings for his allies.
Tongsheng's bow thrummed.
Fwooosh! Fwooosh! Fwooosh!
The first arrow struck the Gold Tier 4's blast, detonating midair and hurling him across the dirt.
The second arrow slammed into the armored man's shield, slightly cracking it with a thunderous impact.
The third arrow streaked toward the Leopard leader — but his claws met it head-on, slicing it apart in a violent explosion that blew a crater in the ground.
Even so, his expression grew grim. "Those arrows… each one could kill even a Golden Lord."
The grove was shaking violently under the combined onslaught.
The serpent and lion beasts unleashed another combined strike — flame and wind tearing a swath through the barrier. The priest's tendrils surged again, while the staff wielder conjured more molten fire.
Shayleaf's summoned grove buckled under the pressure.
Christy, still planted in front of Elton, clenched her fists. Her eyes burned crimson as her Aka Boshi no Tengan activated. "I can't just stand here anymore…"
She stepped forward.
With a roar, she released dozens of chaotic red orbs, each sparking with lightning. In the next instant, they detonated into a barrage of beams, scorching across the battlefield.
BOOOOM! BOOOOM! BOOOOM!
The staff wielder reeled, his fiery formation nearly shattered. The priest screamed as he defended against several blast furthering his injuries. The Leopard leader slashed apart incoming beams, but the strain in his arms betrayed the power behind them.
Shayleaf seized the moment, her grove surging forward with renewed ferocity. Tongsheng added another rain of arrows, each strike forcing even Golden Lords onto the defensive.
The battle raged endlessly, neither side yielding an inch.
Shayleaf's grove pulsed with violent life, roots lashing, trees hardening into wooden titans, and vampiric vines draining blood essence from any foe they touched. Tongsheng's arrows screamed across the battlefield, each one a harbinger of death, her precision forcing enemies to scatter and shield themselves with desperation.
And at the very center—Christy stood before Elton, masked and cloaked, her figure unmoving like a guardian statue. But when the Golden Lord leaders pressed forward, her hands began to glow.
Her palms moved in dazzling arcs. Light condensed, sharp and blinding, as she invoked the Bright Brilliance Sword Arts.
—1st Sword: Light Pierce—
A sharp thrust of her palm, focused into a needle of sword-light, smashed through the molten defenses of the staff-wielding Golden Lord, cracking his layered barrier. He staggered, coughing blood, but forced himself upright with fury.
—6th Sword: Divine Gleam Barrier Break—
Her hand swept in a blinding horizontal arc, shattering the chaotic, half-formed shield conjured by the injured priest. His body shook violently as the barrier dissolved, his face paling.
—5th Sword: Radiant Fang Spiral—
She spun with one foot anchored, her palm cutting the air in a spiraling drill of light that met the descending claw of the Leopard demi-human leader. The collision sent shockwaves blasting across the battlefield, sparks of gold and crimson flashing as both slid back, neither conceding ground.
—7th Sword: Beacon Sky Rend—
A sudden vertical strike of light surged into the air, colliding with the descending winged serpent's gale-wrapped dive. The serpent roared as its momentum was severed, veering off course. The Lion beast snarled, pressing forward with burning fangs, only to be smothered by Shayleaf's vines at the last second.
Her movements were clean, her aura sharp—each stance executed with deadly precision.
Yet her enemies were no mere fodder.
The staff wielder, though wounded, conjured a storm of molten constructs to hold her strikes at bay.
The priest, aura flickering with chaos, screamed curses while channeling divine-smite beams to slow her advance.
The Leopard leader, muscles bulging, growled with killing intent as he forced her into direct exchanges, his claws clashing against her radiant palms again and again.
Even the winged serpent and lion circled, waiting for a chance to crush her in tandem.
Each clash shook the ground, but none yielded. Christy's sword-palms blazed like a sun, but the Golden Lords endured her brilliance with grim determination.
All across the battlefield, the struggle reached an eerie equilibrium.
Shayleaf's grove regenerated as fast as it was torn apart.
Tongsheng's arrows continued to rain death, forcing even Golden Lords to dodge or defend at full effort.
Christy's palms blazed with sword light, meeting leader against leader, neither side breaking, neither side falling.
The air trembled with destructive force, but the battle refused to tilt. A true deadlock had descended.
Amid the chaos of the battlefield, Elton finally stirred.
His eyes opened slowly, faint starlight glinting within them as his breathing steadied. No radiant aura burst forth, no shocking power wave to announce his return. Instead, silence. His body was calm—yet inside, a storm of power flowed through his veins.
Elton quietly checked his state.
The wounds that had once left him covered in gauze and pain were gone, knitted together with impossible speed. His flesh hummed with vitality, his blood surged with might. Within his meridians, the once-familiar five rivers of power had expanded into seven—two new flows now threading through him. One carried the serene strength of nature magic, glowing faintly with the essence of the elves. The other pulsed with the dark, intoxicating rhythm of vampiric ki, sharp and ancient, filling his body with a predatory vitality.
He flexed his hands lightly. Sparks of lightning, motes of starlight, and streaks of bloody radiance flickered over his skin before fading back inside.
"…I've grown stronger," he murmured under his breath, a grim expression settling across his face.
His gaze lifted toward the battlefield.
Through the foliage, he saw his companions locked in deadly combat.
His lips curled into a faint sneer.
"They've been buying me time… while I sat here. I won't waste it."
Without another word, Elton's figure blurred.
One moment he was seated calmly in meditation—the next, his presence was gone entirely. The plants around him swayed from the sudden shift of air, but there was no trail, no flash, no sound.