“I’ll kill all of you,” a blizzard began to rage around Ragar.
Behind him, the ghostly silhouette of a huge snow wolf appeared. It was only his second time seeing such a thing, but Hadjar knew that when a cultivator summoned their spirit, their powers were tripled.
“I think we need a new plan.”
Einen and Shakh stood on either side of Hadjar. They were mere practitioners, and wounded as well, but now they had to fight and defeat an enraged Spirit Knight.
Chapter 408
Hadjar glanced at the witches and the sorcerer. Fortunately, they were smart enough to move away from the battle. Despite their exhaustion from casting the powerful spells, they were still relatively okay, but they wouldn’t be of any use for the next few hours.
Ragar was trying to regain his focus. At the level of a true cultivator, having control of his emotions was as important as his power. In order to control such vast amounts of energy, not to mention use such horrific Techniques, one had to be in control of themselves. Any cracks in their ‘soul armor’ could lead to not just them wasting power, but them even experiencing backlash from their own power. Arliksha’s death hadn’t just cracked Ragar’s ‘armor’, but torn it to shreds. When Hadjar looked at their foe, he didn’t see a giant brimming with power, but a man bleeding out, the pain of loss nearly overwhelming him. Energy seeped out of the northerner’s soul wounds, spilling like liquid ice onto the stone floor and covering it in a layer of bloody frost. Ragar was already mortally wounded, even before the true fight began, which was the only thing that could help the three practitioners win.
“I’ll cover you,” Einen said in the same calm manner he always had, unchanged even in the face of mortal danger.
The northerner let out a truly bestial growl and struck the space in front of him. The wolf spirit behind him howled. Ragar’s energy condensed into a gigantic ice fist. It was ten feet in diameter, and could’ve easily destroyed a small hill.
Einen slid through the shadows and stood in the way of the attack. His skin was once again covered in iridescent scales. The shadow ape didn’t attempt to block with its bare paws this time. It now held a shield made of the same iridescent light as the scales on Einen’s body.
“Ape Shell!” Einen cried.
Hadjar doubted apes had shells, but he couldn’t exactly argue with the creator of the Technique right now, whoever they were.
The ice fist didn’t just break through the rainbow shield. It ignored the defensive Technique as if it hadn’t even encountered an obstacle capable of stopping a mid-stage Heaven Soldier’s attack, but a sheet of paper. The rainbow shield wrapped around the gigantic fist, the shadow ape burst apart in a spray of ink, and at the last moment, Einen brought his spear-staff up to block.
Hadjar didn’t know what material the weapon was made of, but it was definitely impressive. Where the Technique backed by his Inheritance had failed, the artifact succeeded. With a deafening clang, the ice fist crashed into the spear-staff. Weakened by the Technique, it couldn’t even lift Einen off the floor. However, the islander was still dragged at least fifteen feet across the ground, and when he did finally stop, blood flowed from his mouth. Fortunately, he’d managed to buy enough time for Shakh and Hadjar to prepare a counterattack.
In the months following the battle at the caravan, Shakh had managed not only to harden his character, but he’d also made an incredible leap along his path of cultivation. Now on the verge of becoming a true cultivator, his power over sand was frightening. He disappeared into it, riding a desert dog, and appeared behind Ragar. His daggers flashed, leaving two shallow cuts along the Spirit Knight’s back. The attacks that could instantly kill any practitioner at the Transformation stage had only been capable of scratching the Spirit Knight.
Turning around, Ragar spread his left palm and swung it in a backhand strike. The wolf behind him howled, and his energy condensed into an ice hand. It was as powerful as his ice fist had been, and it sent the unsuspecting Shakh flying back. If it hadn’t been for the sand that had covered him like thick armor, he would have died on the spot.
Hadjar, who had done nothing up until this point, had been waiting for the moment when Ragar would turn his back to him. While the Spirit Knight was finally focused on Shakh’s sudden attack, which had lasted no more than a second, Hadjar could finally act.
In his mind, he awakened the slumbering little dragon. Ragged wisps of black fog fell across his shoulders. The same fog started emanating from Mountain Wind. Still in his mind, Hadjar summoned the black blade. This time, he didn’t merge it with his physical blade.
Inside his soul, he used the ‘Spring Wind’ stance, while in the physical world, he used the ‘Falling Leaf’ stance. This combination, with the addition of the Call and the black sword, was his strongest Technique. Four illusory leaves landing on Ragar’s body was his limit.
His four sword strikes merged into one. Hadjar’s hands moved so quickly that the two slashes and two thrusts left afterimages behind. They looked like blurred mirages made up of black fog.
His fused knowledge of the Sword Spirit and the ‘Falling Leaf’ stance gave rise to an eight-pointed star. Blue on the inside and black around the edges, it generated waves of such crushing energy that, even without touching the walls, it left deep cracks and cuts in them. The stones on the floor, the ones that had survived the battle until now, were reduced to fine dust.
Ragar, who was still distracted and recovering from his loss, suddenly felt a threat that might’ve come from a Heaven Soldier at the peak of that level, but definitely not from a mere practitioner. This time, despite the risks involved, he had to use not only his ice spirit, power, and knowledge, but also his Technique.
“Winter!”
There was so much cold power in that simple word that a cloud of steam rose from Hadjar’s mouth. Behind Ragar, the snow wolf spirit lowered its head and growled softly. It seemed to pour all the cold of its ephemeral body into Ragar and his Technique.
Just the word being spoken froze the surrounding area. It started snowing. The floor, walls, shelves, books, scrolls, and even the distant ceiling — all of them were suddenly covered in a layer of ice.
The eight-pointed star that had been created by the four sword strikes slowed. The streaks of blue light frosted over. Ragar reached out and grabbed the center of the star, clenching his fist. Hadjar’s strongest attack was simply crushed, broken into a myriad of icy shards. These fragments, driven by Ragar’s will, rained down on Hadjar.
Seeing the hail of ice spears flying straight toward him, Hadjar didn’t dodge or use the ‘Calm Wind’ stance. He’d received the nickname ‘Mad General’ for a reason, and even in this situation, he saw an opportunity to improve his understanding of the essence of the Sword.
Hadjar thrust his blade forward and spun among the ice shards. He moved quickly, but at the same time, smoothly and gracefully. As he cut through and deflected the ice spears, he managed to dodge the ones whose speed exceeded his blade’s ability to parry.
While Hadjar was dealing with the ice, Ragar was slowly regaining control of his emotions. He was recovering from the shock of his loss. Less energy was seeping through his soul wounds. They shrunk and scarred over.
With each passing second, the ice on the walls thickened, the cold increased, and Ragar’s aura became stronger and more complete. The opportunity to defeat the Spirit Knight was slowly disappearing, and everyone knew it.