CHAPTER 110: MYTHICAL HUNT (5)

Daru unhesitatingly dashed to the side, sealing off Kazuraga’s only path of escape.

But the satyr couldn’t spare him much attention, as Iris had already blurred forth again, waving her icy-blue longsword at the mysterious spawn.

"MEGHEKGHEK!" Kazuraga cackled, charging right back with not a dent in his confidence.

While he was unbelievably at a disadvantage in terms of physical attributes against a mere human novice, being in such a situation wasn’t new to the satyrian spawn and, in fact, was quite the common experience whenever he fought other spawns.

Why else would he rely on his cunning and silver tongue to survive this long, otherwise?

Arriving within striking distance, Iris and Kazuraga began yet another heated exchange, waving their swords and seemingly dancing with immaculate footwork.

The former was like the dignified and stoic flower that her sword was, every strike firm, clean, and gorgeous, all while gracefully swaying in the cold winds.

On the other hand, the satyr seemed as though he was performing a ritual while fighting, having only an arm and a leg to work with.

Yet Kazuraga remained a difficult battle for the young woman.

Despite having the unexpected physical attribute advantage, Iris’ offense wasn’t as effective as it should’ve been.

The mythical swordspawn was defending very well, given his situation of being debuffed to the ground.

However, the satyr still had the little grays and Daru to deal with.

This mythical hunt should be in the bag.

Unfortunately, being the tallest tree usually made one a target of heavenly thunder.

The title of most dangerous had just shifted to a new individual a few moments ago.

In the next moment, a hazy, fallen angel dashed forth, followed by a moonlit gray, both deciding to join the battle.

But their targets weren’t the same.

Halphar was going for Kazuraga. Ae’shkar, on the other hand...

*CLANG!*

An ear-piercing clang rang true as a pale gold figure suddenly appeared in front of the moonlit one, clashing swords.

"I thought we had a truce?" Daru asked coldly, eyes narrowed.

Ae’shkar didn’t respond and merely stared right back. They were called the cunning race, but they were not shameless to a fault.

Even someone like Ae’shkar felt slightly guilty about ordering the betrayal of the two humans less than a minute into the temporary alliance.

However, this was the logical move: to take out both Kazuraga and Iris while the two fought.

Edelweiss simply became too much of a threat.

As a matter of fact, it wasn’t only the two. Lothara was nowhere to be found.

Asipha and the other Veshari bladeborns also rushed into position.

They moved like a single unit.

No hesitation, no internal conflict.

Things were getting quite tricky for the human duo. Unfortunately, Iris’s hands were tied.

She knew she couldn’t change target, not until she accomplished her part of the plan.

Snowflower focused only on the mythical swordspawn and nothing else.

Naturally, Daru didn’t plan on letting her down.

He pushed Ae’shkar off, shocking the Veshari by making clear the difference in raw strength between them.

The SS-ranker couldn’t comprehend how he was so outmatched by a mere S-ranker, even after igniting the moon seeds his sword had collected.

Daru, on the other hand, immediately turned and decisively rushed back to where Iris was.

His unrelenting focus he honed his entire life and combat instincts had never failed him.

He will trust it to whatever bitter end.

Swampwater splashed everywhere as Daru exploded into an all-out sprint, showcasing his speed that rivaled, if not surpassed, even Ae’shkar’s.

Noticing a flickering black wisp behind Iris, he decisively jumped, shooting behind the airborne Snowflower, who was busy fighting a now unsettling, purple-aura-covered Kazuraga, and decisively slashing at the air.

Lothara’s eyes widened as she noticed the approaching black yet golden-edged blade, gritting her teeth as she angled her sickle-like sword to defend herself.

*CLANG!*

Yet another metallic noise, followed by a loud thud and the sound of something huge falling into the water, echoed in the wetland cavern.

Following the momentum and rolling off, dripping wet, was Lothara, who could not believe she was sent flying by another bladeborn like herself — one who was a rank lower.

This was a gap that could not be explained by racial biology.

Daru landed firmly, striking an unwavering fighting pose like an ancient warrior from a lost land of honor and dignity a few meters behind Iris, as if daring the Vesharis to come and try.

A few meters from them, another gray crashed with a groan as a nightmarish cackle sounded.

"MEGHEKGHEK! I consume mirages and guzzle phantasms, little gray. Get your inexperienced backside out of here. You’re not qualified."

Then another moonlit bullet shot at Daru, beginning yet another high-intensity exchange that synchronized into a cacophony of clangs, splashes, and grunts.

Lothara soon joined, and Daru had to fight two SS-rankers.

For the first time in his life, he felt slightly overwhelmed, but he never backed down, stoically defending Iris as a general does to his beloved city.

He waved his tachi, repelling the two Veshari top-rankers, his footwork nimble and fleeting yet firm.

Daru utilized every part of his body to its limits, including his brain.

But this was a willing think for him.

His eyes, strained, darted from left to right, processing the movements of his enemies and ensuring to evade when he could but hold his ground if the grays were targeting his comrade.

There was a time Ankara attempted to help, only to lose her left arm to a vicious chop.

Even an A-ranker was not qualified.

Halphar, on the other hand, had a furious and humiliated look on his face as he desperately tried to join Kazuraga and Iris’s battle.

He could accept losing to an S-ranker of an enemy race, but not two.

He definitely wasn’t thinking straight, and unfortunately, the only two people in the room who had the awareness, intelligence, and qualifications to reprimand him were busy, gritting their teeth in frustration as they failed time and again to execute a lone human novice.

A stalemate was reached.

But clearly, this was an extremely fragile one that would break with the slightest misstep.