The next day

A group of five slowly made their way up a small hill around the outskirts of the forest. In front of them were several nests, and the occasional sound of avian life could be heard. The mists were thick, but flying creatures could still be seen.

Ju reflexively rubbed his arms together; it was a cold morning. Tylen had suggested setting out early to avoid complications or human interference. Oberon, Aron, and Zabel were beside him as Tylen unfolded a large paper parchment.

“Have any of you heard amount Formations before?” Tylen asked with a mysterious smile.

Ju frowned a bit; Aron's eyes flickered imperceptibly while Oberon and Zabel shook their heads straightforwardly.

“I saw something relating to it in the library; it was used in ancient wars between Essence Artists. By adopting some position, the warriors could form a much more powerful channel of essence to enhance their offensive or defensive power.” Ju stated briefly.

Tylen nodded his head.

”But formations are quite rare and valuable, and just like meditation techniques, they are tightly controlled by powerful forces. How did you have contact with such an item?” Aron asked curiously.

“Yes and No. I purchased a one-time use from an Essence Artist I am familiar with; this formation is incomplete even, but still very, very powerful. It is called the Sun Chasing Arrow Formation. You might have guessed what it does from the name. Using this piece of paper, we could temporarily summon the formation and channel our Essence to Zabel, who would have the power of the sun chasing arrow for around 15 minutes. Our main goal is to kill the leader of the Falcons; doing that would make the rest of the work easy after that. Tylen explained with excitement.

”Since I was solely responsible for purchasing this, I would take 30% of our total profits later.” Tylen continued solemnly.

Ju and the others didn’t need to think long before nodding in agreement.

Tylen smiled and instructed them to sit cross-legged and told Zabel to stay at the center.

Tylen placed the parchment and slowly chanted in an obscure language. Ju's eye flicked. Essence arts were not just directly using Essence; there were other ways to manifest essence, including techniques, spells, and skills.

The book didn’t define these terms, but Ju guessed that what Tylen was doing now was some spell. Techniques generally didn’t need to be accompanied by words.

The atmosphere became tense; everyone could feel the Essence in the area getting agitated.

A low cackling sound occurred, and Ju’s eyes hardened. The falcons were also agitated now.

One by one, flashes of blue light appeared in the air. The falcon's size was about the same as that of a normal one. But there was a difference: their wings were blue in contrast with the white of their body.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

The wings shimmered with light. Right in the center of the crowd, Ju spotted one particular falcon. It was bigger than the rest, and its wing span was more significant than the others. There seemed to be a bulge on top of his head. Massive spiritual pressure emanated from its body, which appeared to be short of an essence artist.

On sighting the Falcon Leader, Tylen started chanting faster; the parchment of paper soon began to dissolve around them into specks of yellow light. The yellow light soon began to form into a circular disk with a pointed end.

“Zabel, prepare your bow and stay on that pointed end. Aron, Oberon, and Ju start gathering your Essence; the formation will do the rest.” Tylen hurriedly spoke while taking out a bottle and drinking its contents. His figure seemed to be enlarged suddenly, and Tylen's hands glowed with red light.

“I would stand guard, Zabel. It's up to you to make sure to kill the falcon!”

After seeing the threats below, the falcon let out a loud cry, like a signal. The others also let out their own shouts.

Opening their mouths, the falcons shot large blue blasts towards the formation.

Ju's face turned ugly as he felt Essence leave his body steadily; no matter what happened once he saw the situation threaten his life, he would go at once. The pressure that particular Falcon gave was enormous; Ju was not sure all of them together could defeat not to talk about its minions.

Zabel took out her bow as the yellow light gathered near her. The woman drew her bow. Previously, simple white arrows formed, but now they were golden and emitted such intense heat that Zabel’s skin felt pain.

She let out the arrow. Even Ju, with his sensitized eye, could not properly make out the arrow because of its speed. However, the falcon leader was alert. The spiritual beast quickly twisted its body, and the arrow flew past it and headed toward the smaller falcons.

A low explosion sounded. The falcon bodies soon flew to the ground, sensing the threat. The falcon leader's cries became louder and fiercer. The birds, sensing their leader's killing intent, fired more blasts toward the formations.

Tylen snorted, bringing his arms together; he formed a large seal in front of the formation.

No matter how much the blue blasts were, they dissipated once they made contact with the seal.

Zabel took a deep breath and drew her bow again. The sun-chasing arrow once again formed. This time, Zabel didn’t immediately release the arrow; instead, her eyes shone with intense light as she observed the movements of the falcon leader.

The spiritual bird also sensed it had been targeted, sending another signal. Other falcons rapidly converged in its direction, acting as decoys. Zabel didn’t seem to mind this as she let out the arrow; this time, her aim was true.

The arrow shone a bright light as it pierced through the bodies of two smaller falcons; the arrow found its way into the wings of the Falcon leader. It let out a cry of pain, but it was apparent it would take more than one arrow to bring it down.

Cycling around in the air, the falcons became much more aggressive; in addition to the blast, the minions started to make actual contact with the Tylen seal.

Tylen was close to becoming overwhelmed when he shouted.

“Half the time has already been used up.”

Ju and rest tensed up, further mobilizing even more Essence, and the formation shone even brighter.

Starlight converged around her hands as Zabel was about to continue attacking, but she formed two arrows this time. Her figure seemed to shake due to the stress, but she held on.

The two arrows were released with hot air, intertwining as one. They made their way to the falcon leader. Once again, however, it was still the wings and not a particularly vital spot.

The falcon leader's eyes turned red as a burst of essence converged into the body; the falcon leader flapped its wings as numerous blue lights shone from its feathers. The attack was aimed at the formation, but Tylen stood in its way,

After sensing the intensity of the attack, the young man's eyes grew solemn. He rapidly made strange movements as the seal grew enough stronger and more resilient.

Ju's eye flickered when he saw this.