A little over a mile away from the main battlefield, Wukong – battered and bruised – was in the middle of the most challenging fight of his life.
"So much for the so-called pride of a dragon," the ape-like warrior snorted as he was forced to block Yasha's tail with his staff. "You're nothing but a shameful little lizard!"
Sparks of electricity were flickering around his body which was now covered in burns and dried blood as he was sent flying further away from the battlefield. Yet despite the wounds, his eyes burned with electrifying battle intent.
All he could do was dodge and block each attack that came his way, but he remained composed.
All three understood that they were at somewhat of an impasse.
Whilst Wukong was the fastest of the three, that was only when it came to movement. Yasha's tail tore through the air at a speed that was too fast for even Wukong to evade at such close range.
They also knew that if Wukong was hell-bent on escaping, there was little they could do to stop him, but Wukong knew that they would return to the battlefield the moment he did. If even one of them returned, it'd be over for the forces of Silverlight, let alone both.
The soldiers of Silverlight being slaughtered was bad enough, but he had promised Ace's mother that he would keep her son safe, and that was one promise he fully intended to keep.
As frustrating as it was, he knew that all he could do was bide his time and hope reinforcements came sooner rather than later.
Yasha was no less frustrated than his opponent. He was fighting someone at the eighth rank, yet no matter how hard he tried, he remained unable to kill him and to add insult to injury, Wukong's taunts were lethal.
The only thing that kept him from losing control was knowing he couldn't afford to fail here today. Wukong's potential was like nothing he'd ever seen before. If he were allowed to mature fully, the humans would gain another powerhouse he could only look up to.
Thankfully, although they seemed to be deadlocked, the truth was that Wukong was the one on the losing side. Every time Yasha's tail connected, though Wukong successfully blocked each one and jumped back to reduce the impact further, the damage was slowly starting to build up. It was only a matter of time before one of his attacks connected cleanly, and at that point…
A bloodthirsty grin suffused the dragon's maw as he pictured the moment he could finally tear this annoying man-beast limb from limb.
Almost as if the heavens were directly answering his prayers, Wukong was slow in evading Yasha's whip-like tail from crashing into his sides.
"ARGH!" Wukong grunted in pain as he was sent flying head-first through several trees.
As if that wasn't painful enough, he looked up just in time to see a blast of jet-black flames near enough on top of him.
"PIERCING THUNDER!" Wukong roared as he channelled as much of his battle qi as possible to coat his staff and body.
As the two attacks met, the whole world seemed to go deathly silent before an earth-shattering explosion rang with Wukong at the centre.
The explosion was so devastating that even Zarconix – the newly promoted saint-level dragon-scaled bear – was swept off his feet.
Even those on the main battlefield, whether it was man or beast, stopped what they were doing as the earth shook violently beneath their feet.
As he got to his feet, Ace couldn't help but worry as he turned to face the direction of his recruiter's battle.
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Though he hadn't known him for long in the grand scheme of things, the man had left a profound impact on him. Not only had he been willing to offend the representative sent by the War God's college when recruiting him, but he had also been monumental in his rapid growth in power over the last half a year or so.
Unfortunately, his [Observation] couldn't reach that far to see if he was alright. He wanted to go over to help, but he knew that even if he did, he'd only end up getting in the way in a fight at that level, and even if he did have a way to help, he would still have to battle his way through an army of beasts, many of which were still too strong for the current him.
As the dust cleared, Yasha roared with laughter as he saw his opponent's state. "Hahaha! What's wrong? Nothing to say now?!"
Though Wukong was still alive, he was in no condition to fight any longer. His robes had been incinerated, and his body was a charred mess. If it weren't for the crystal white bo-staff in his right hand resting against the floor, he would've been completely unrecognisable.
Despite his earlier reaction, Yasha was beyond shocked by what he was seeing. That last dragon's breath was his most powerful technique. Forget a mere mortal combatant; that attack would've been more than enough to incinerate most early-stage saints. Though Wukong was incapacitated now, the fact that he was even alive was mind-blowing!
It was at that moment that the black dragon realised that not only had Wukong begun to comprehend the profound mysteries of the laws of nature, his comprehension was actually deeper than his.
Though they were enemies, he couldn't help but respect the "man" before him. Talent on this level was superior to anything he'd ever seen or even heard of. Still, it was also for this very reason that he couldn't let him live, especially not after so thoroughly offending him.
He was just about to put an end to this when he noticed the corners of Wukong's burnt lips crept upwards as if he were actually smiling.
"What, are you in so much pain that you're actually looking forward to death?" Yasha asked.
Wukong completely ignored the dragon as he looked straight passed him. A wave of relief washed over him when he saw the couple floating in the sky behind the magical beast.
"This king will leave the rest to you," Wukong said softly as he allowed his consciousness to finally fade. "Senior brother."
Upon hearing Wukong's words, Yasha's head snapped back, only to find two humans floating in the sky.
On the left was an enchanting violet-haired woman with a pair of fiery violet wings slowly flapping, allowing her to hover in the skies. She would've appeared angelic had it not been for the burning wrath in her violet eyes that seemed able to raise the temperature to the point where it looked as though space itself was being burnt, but as she was merely a warrior at the ninth rank, Yasha wasn't too threatened by her presence.
The same couldn't be said for the man to her right. He was a burly man that stood at a height of almost seven feet, donning a sleeveless, unbuttoned white haori that swayed with the wind, showing off his herculean chest and a pair of baggy black trousers, the bottom of which was wrapped in bandages that went from his shins to his ankles, just above his plain black sandals.
He had curly unkempt hair that covered half of his face. From the half he could see, the man showed no visible emotion, but his presence put a horrifying pressure on both magical beasts. It was as though they were a couple of mice looking up at a lion.
As a saint-level dragon, there were very few creatures that could pose any sort of threat to Yasha, let alone make him feel like mere prey. Even amongst the dragons – arguably the most powerful race of magical beasts – the number of his fellow dragons from the pit capable of making him feel like this could be counted on one claw.
He couldn't help but wonder how and why all these terrifying humans kept popping up all of a sudden.
"Who…
Who is your excellency?" Yasha asked, his prior arrogance and overbearing demeanour vanishing without a trace.
Seconds went by without a response, and whether it was Zarconix or Yasha, neither dared make a noise.
The man seemed to have no interest in responding to them. In fact, since his arrival, he hadn't even looked at them once. He simply floated in the skies, indifferently resting his Great-Axe-Cleaver on his shoulder as he looked at his unconscious junior brother.
"You deal with the beast tide. I'll handle them," The dark-haired man said indifferently.
As soon as his gruff voice entered Yasha's ears, the dragon, not wanting to be put on the back foot, struck out with his whip-like tail, hoping to crush both newcomers.
Just like when using it against Wukong, his obsidian tail was unbelievably fast. Unfortunately, whether it was the emotionless man or the fiery-winged woman, both appeared to be no slower than Wukong.
Turning his head, he saw the violet-haired woman streaking through the sky like a meteor, heading straight towards the main battlefield. As for her partner…
"There you go. That should keep you stable until we get back," The man said as he slipped a green marble-sized pill into his junior brother's mouth, where it dissolved as soon as it touched his tongue.
Wukong, who had just been breathing laboriously whilst unconscious, suddenly relaxed, and although his body was still severely burnt, he appeared to at least be stable.