27 From Support Type to Combat Type (1/2)
The battlefield had a quite different aspect in comparison to how it looked like before the fighting started. The entire castle had been turned into just piles of rubble, the floor was uneven, fire could be seen almost everywhere, and even the surrounding towering trees were sliced into pieces.
By this point, Cure Song and Fou Tre were battling each other in the middle of the forest, far away from where everybody else was.
Although the disparity between Cure Song's and Fou Tre's cultivation was big, the dullahan had yet to receive a single wound.
On the other hand, the gargoyle was hovering between life and death. In fact, his body was already dead and only his soul was still hanging on.
Yes, Fou Tre continued fighting even though he was now just a corpse.
At the Ninth Level Energy Core Evolution stage, one's Complex Energy core became a soul container. Basically, a second brain, but this could only control one's Complex Energy body and not one's physical body. It wasn't eternal though. At the Ninth Level Energy Core Evolution stage, this second brain could survive for only 1 minute after the physical body death. At the Basic Build stage this time increased for a few minutes.
Fou Tre was at the Eight Level Basic Build stage, so he could last quite a long time.
However, through the entire combat, Fou Tre had been growing weaker and weaker, so much so that since quite a while ago he had lost even his capacity to flee. This was because his wings and legs had been crippled. Another reason was that the Water Element Awakened Skill wasn't suitable for boosting his movement speed in the middle of the atmosphere.
Due to all of this, Cure Song had him within his grasp.
Fou Tre desperately threw water attack after water attack at the invisible dullahan. He knew very well that such actions were of no threat to his opponent, but he couldn't think of anything else other than to deplete Cure Song's Complex Energy while using the impulse of his attacks to move his crippled body.
Cure Song once again slashed at Fou Tre with both of his Ryyk Blades. As always, neither the trees nor the air could slow down his attack. His blades traveled through everything unhindered.
When the tips of the Ryyk Blades reached the inside of the gargoyle, they materialized and severed yet more arteries within Fou Tre's brain.
While it was true that those attacks were meaningless since Fou Tre physical body couldn't be deader, Cure Song didn't want to give him any leeway.
After what it seemed like an eternity of torture to Fou Tre, his Complex Energy core finally broke.
The ruins of the castle.
Thorn was still worried about Rose's situation. She might be a troublesome burden to him, but he was in debt to her and couldn't help but think that the reason for her to make the reckless decision of starting a fight with Arnold Alch's gang was his presence. So he felt responsible for the dangerous situation she had gotten into.
As his worry began to show on his face, Rose finally woke up. At the same time, Arnold Alch's Aura disappeared.
*Sigh*...
It was Thorn's soft sigh of relief.
After which, Thorn felt that the situation was amiss. (What's wrong with me? Getting worried to this extent… when did she become so important to me? This has no sense. We've met each other for only a couple of days!) He shook his head in self-derision. It was at that moment when he suddenly noticed something. (Mmm?! H-her Complex Energy core, i-is evolving…?) Thorn was so shocked he almost fell head-butt right there and then!
When one reached the First Level Basic Awaken stage, one's Complex Energy core would start to form. Thanks to this, the cultivator obtained an Awakened Skill and its Energy Signature. At the Full Awaken stage, this core was completely formed; and at the Ninth Level Energy Core Evolution stage, the core evolved to gain the capacity to contain a soul.
However, the evolution Thorn was witnessing wasn't this evolution. It was a more specific evolution that could be a Complex Energy core evolution or a Mystical Energy core evolution. This specific core evolution didn't give the core the capacity to contain a soul, but transformed one's Awakened Skill!
It was indeed possible to evolve one's Complex Energy core in this way, but such a thing was far too rare and far too incredible. Considering the entire world, it might only occur once in between dozens of millenniums, and that was if there was luck. And yet Rose was doing precisely that right in front of him!
Although Thorn's surprise was immense, Rose's was greater. After all, she was the one experiencing this change with her own Complex Energy core; in addition, her understanding of the implications of a Complex Energy core evolution was deeper than Thorn's.
The entire evolving process only took a few seconds. After which, Rose began to asses her condition. The first thing she discovered was that she couldn't feel nor move her arms. She knew this had nothing to do with the evolution. (It seems like the damage to my soul will be permanent…)
Although this situation saddened her a little, it didn't surprise her too much.
Next, she tested her Awakened Skill. She used her ability to conceal the heat to cold down the fire around her.
*SSssszz…*
*SSssszz…*
*SSssszz…*
The result was amazing. Her skill not only cooled down the fire, it completely devoured it in an instant!
A wide smile appeared on Rose's face as her eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. (My Awakened Skill has evolved from support type to combat type!)
*Boom!*
She was so excited she wholeheartedly kicked down the wall between herself and the Intermediate Awaken cultivators!
As the wall crumbled; spikes of ice, bullets of energy, needles of solid air, crystal darts, metallic shurikens releasing lighting, and even a huge blanket of mud were approaching her at high speed!
It was evident that, from the instant Arnold Alch's Aura disappeared, the six cultivators were waiting in ambush for Rose.
Still, Rose's expression didn't change at all. She easily dodged the attacks using her ghost-like footwork!
Obviously, thanks to her acute hearing senses, she had perceived those attacks long ago and had been prepared to avoid them.
*Brrrkk* *mmss* *zzzz* *crack* *rumble*...!
The attacks crashed noisily behind her.
Shockingly, not even a single strand of hair of hers had been damaged, and even the happy and relaxed look on her face seemed harder to erase now.
The only attack left was the slowest one: the big mud blanket.
To defend herself against it; Rose manipulated the air and created a spherical, spinning barrier of wind around her. She could now control chemical substances in such a way!
The mud blanket fell heavily, like a sky-covering wave with the might to completely pulverize an iron battleship; but the only thing it could accomplish was to block Rose's line of sight for a few seconds.
The instant her barrier finished throwing off the mud, Rose saw among his opponents a shadow human holding up a gigantic dome made of crystal.
*Pom!*
The dome fell onto the ground, successfully trapping Rose within.
The other cultivators then moved like one to firmly hold the dome down. They were totally sure that not even Rose's mind-blowing martial art could outmatch them in strength when they all were working together.
Activating his Crystalloid Element Awakened Skill, the shadow human, little by little, turned the crystal dome thicker and smaller.
Inside the transparent dome, Rose could clearly feel the pressure of the air becoming stronger and stronger. She also knew that, with her strength, her martial art wasn't enough to lift up the dome or break the crystal it was made of. And yet, her calm smile never left her face, not even for an instant.
Such fact raised a sense of foreboding in every one of the six cultivators' hearts.
Rose sauntered forward, and stopped in front of the shadow human. \”I let you trap me on purpose.\” She softly confessed.
Although the shadow human could not hear her words, due to the insolation effect of the dome, he still could read her lips. \”Eh...?\” He muttered, his expression utterly dazed.
In the next instant, the space around Rose's right foot vibrated violently.
She then performed a Side Kick, her foot drawing a trail of blood-colored mist.
*Crack!*
The crystal in front of her was shattered into fist-sized chunks by the strike.
The shadow human did not even have the time to react. The crystal chunks slammed into his body and penetrated deep into his muscles and bones. There was even a long fragment that perforated his throat.
*Thud*
His corpse collapsed to the ground, his eyes still opened and his face still dazed. From the corpse, a puddle of blood started to expand little by little.
Watching this scene, the other five cultivators couldn't help themselves from remaining paralyzed on their places while holding their breaths. They could not comprehend how Rose had been able to destroy the dome so easily.
To understand how it was possible, it must be remembered that sounds were vibrations, essentially, mechanical waves.