Lyra and the remaining healers reacted in an instant. They rushed over to the kneeling Procka and checked her vitals. Thorne remained still; he knew that she was alive and well; energy overuse was a common occurrence in cultivators—maybe not always leading to unconsciousness like Proca, but it was still standard and generally harmless.
Instead of going to Procka, Thorne remained standing. His heart beat rapidly as he looked out toward the enemy. His eyes traced the grade tow. The man stood so confident, so constant. Thorne hated him. ‘Suicide bombers, slaves, Moravian. This bastard must die.’ Thorne thought with a mean glare.
For some reason, the man seemed to sense Thorne’s aggression. He turned his head and locked eyes with Thorne. His silver irises shone in the sunlight, and a light, mocking smile played across the man’s smooth skin.
Thorne twitched as he met those eyes. Not out of fear but from anger. “Is that not enough!” He roared—drawing the attention of all the gathered people. “She incinerated your man. In no reality would he have stopped the attack. Is that not enough to gain the right to challenge you, city lord!”
Thorne glared at him with an unruffled challenge. Nothing would sway him from this man. If Procka did not kill him, then he would.
City lord Kroll looked back at him with a raised brow. “No, it is not.” He said, almost in a taunting manner. “That attack would pose me no harm, and she cannot even stand after casting it. She is not worthy.”
“Is the only way to challenge you if one of us destroys one of your commanders?” Thorne queried, barely able to restrain the anger in his voice.
“Yes.”
“What if one of us managed to take down multiple commanders and remain standing.”
The city lord snorted, “I highly doubt that you or the little blue one will manage that considering your peer’s performance.”
Thorne grimaced. He was right; while they did win their duels, Zal and Procka were in horrible condition afterward. However…
“I will challenge two of your commanders.” Thorne stated, holding his head up high, “After I win, you will fight me!”
The city lord peered at him with amusement. “If you say so.” He said with a chuckle. “I presume you will take the role of the little blue one then?”
“Yes,” Thorne said.
“But Thorne,” Lyra shouted, rushing over to him.
Holding up a hand, Thorne silenced her and leaned into her ear. “If I die, you will need to lead the others. Also, that bastard won’t accept if you will still fight; you’re too valuable, and he wants to keep you.”
Lyra pursed her lips but nodded.
“All right then.” The city lord smiled, “Once that beast is hauled off, you may choose your opponents.”
Thorne looked over to the battlefield where Procka still knelt. The many healers and helpers were having trouble picking her up and placing her on the stretcher—if the stretcher could even hold her.
Thorne sighed, but impatient as he was, he stalked his way over to them and picked up the massive Grandorian. She was heavy, but his strength was immense; It was his second-highest stat after all. He heaved Prock to the edge of the army and rested her on the ground before returning to the battlefield.
He had created sheaths for his twin blades so as to not arouse suspicion of his advanced technology. He retrieved his two gleaming sabers and lumbered his way to the edge of the battlefield. He did not care who he picked and simply pointed his blades at two random opponents.
The two he had pointed out stepped forward. The first was a man who was so short that he could barely reach Thorne’s chest. He was of the amber spectrum, and despite his lack of height, his bulging muscles that shone through his uniform gave Thorne pause. He had bright amber eyes, which contrasted against his dark skin. He gave Thorne a hard look before opening his mouth; “I accept.”
The other cultivator that stepped forward was almost the complete opposite of the amber spectrum man. It was a lanky man with practically no muscle definition. He walked with a slight hunch, and his oily hair fell to his back. His crimson spectrum crystal twinkled, and as he stepped closer, Thorne noticed that the man had a strange look In his pale red eyes. It was a look of malice and fervor.
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Thorne shivered but managed to hide it. ‘This man is unhinged. It’s good that I have the opportunity to kill him.”
“I accept.” The crimson cultivator said with a thin-lipped smirk.
Nodding, Thorne stayed his course and held his blades in an offensive stance. One was held above his head, pointing downward, while the other was held straight in front of his chest. Thorne had never received extensive training in the sword, so all he really knew were the basics and what the wilderness had taught him. Luckily for him, instincts took one a long way.
His two opponents sized him up as they retrieved their own weapons. The amber cultivator wielded a large two-handed shield. It was crafted of heavy steel and looked like it could deflect a mortar shell.
The crimson cultivator ostensibly wielded nothing. He grinned at Thorne while holding up both his empty palms.
‘I’ve never fought a crimson cultivator. I need to be careful.’ Thorne thought with knitted brows, ‘I should eliminate the amber cultivator first then I won’t have to worry about the defense that he brings.’
A small smile blinked across Thorne’s face before disappearing almost instantly, ‘I should also do this quick.’
Moving his feet, Thorne activated the Phantom Leap skill! He intended to fly toward the amber cultivator and pierce his exposed chest with his runic sabers. Thorne prepared his bales in the ideal position as he felt the skill take purchase. He traveled through space with the skill, arriving…a few feet from where he started—tumbling to the ground.
Thorne looked up with wide eyes, perplexed. ‘My skill failed. How?’
It was not time to think, however; the massive shield of the amber cultivator came crashing down on top of him! Rolling out of the way, Thorne kicked specks of sand into the short man’s eyes as he stood up!
Gathering himself, Thorne backpedaled to a safe position. The first blows had been fired, and Thorne knew that he came out slightly on the bottom.
‘It has to be that damn crimson cultivator.’ Thoren realized as he looked toward the tall man. He was smiling wide, his perfect-white teeth gleaming. ‘He didn’t move to attack me when I was down, so he probably uses ranged attacks.’
Thorne scowled as he came to a dreadful conclusion, ‘Did he alter my blood to stop the Phantom leap? It can’t be.’
Thorne paled as he looked toward the man. He had no knowledge of what he could do and if his conclusion was correct… ‘No. Don’t thin like that.’ Thorne berated, shaking his head. ‘I have to concentrate.’
Now in the same position as before, Thorne decided to approach his opponents more cautiously. He circled the two of them, but he was disadvantaged even in probing due to numbers. As he walked, the two split up and cut away at Thorne’s space. It may have seemed unimportant to the spectators, but Thorne knew every advantage counted.
A quick check of his energy reserves yielded sobering results. ‘I used more energy on an incomplete Phantom leap than a successful one. What happened?’
Gritting his teeth, Thorne decided to wait for them to make a move and regenerate his energy. Attacking them without information on their abilities and moves was not wise—especially when he was already at a disadvantage in numbers.
Unfortunately, it seemed that the two cultivators had come to the same conclusion. The amber cultivator rushed forward; he held his head down and shielded in front—it was a full charge! Behind him stood the crimson cultivator—seemingly doing nothing.
Thorne was confident as he was about to dodge. ‘Dodge to the right, and then stab out with my blade. He won’t be able to block due to the momentum.’
Awaiting the charging cultivator, Thorne prepared himself. He held his blades up in an X-pattern as if he would try to physically halt the charge. When only five feet away from him, Thorne stepped aside, or he tried to. ‘WHAT?’
Thorne’s legs stopped working! He couldn’t move. Immobile, Thorne struggled to channel amber energy into his body while enduring the onslaught of the colossal steel shield!
He was shoved backward by the force of the attack, and just as he was about to be trampled, Thorne felt feeling return to his legs. Praying that the Phantom Leap would work, Thorne used the skill and sped away from the incursion.
Thorne trembled as he looked back toward the crimson cultivate. The man had not moved, but Thorne knew that he was the culprit behind the changes in his body. ‘I need to kill that bastard.’ Thorne growled.
As he surveyed the crimson cultivator, Thorne did notice one change though. He was slouching more than usual. He tried to play it off and smile at Thorne, but that only revealed his pale face as well. ‘So, this isn’t easy for him. Let’s just confirm it.’
Thorne quickly checked his energy reserves. ‘Perfect, I have enough for two more.’
The amber cultivator was still barreling forward. He had used so much momentum that even after Thorne had disappeared, he could not stop himself. Thorne charted the man’s speed and estimated where he would be in a few seconds. Then, Thorne activated the Phantom Leap and held his sabers out—ready to skewer the man.
He had dropped his shield low, as holding it up was strenuous on the muscles. As Thorne leaped, he felt some resistance in his body, but it was not enough to stop him. Batting away the intrusive crimson energy with his own amber energy, Thorne completed his skill and awaited the charging cultivator with sabers extended!
Thorne fought back the temporary dizziness and caught his bearings. ‘Perfect.’
The cultivator looked up with terror in his eyes. He tried to lift up his shield. He attempted to circulate energy to his body, but it was too late. He accessorized Thorne’s blade like a marshmallow on a stick.
Thorne kicked the short man and used his remaining energy to use Phantom Leap one more time. The leap was a success once again, though this time it was probably because the crimson cultivator was more focused on running away from his partner’s body than hindering Thorne.
Likewise, even after using the Phantom leap, Thorne broke out into a sprint and prepared his amber energy. Just as he felt the body self-destruct, Thorne cast an Energy Bubble and fell down to the ground. Holding himself close for dear life.