Chapter 420 Against the World II (1/2)
CHAPTER 420
AGAINST THE WORLD (II)
Ella was currently furiously shoving Qi into the ever-expanding formation that lit up the somber sky in countless cascading colors. The sheer quantity of Qi could not be visualized by anyone present, even Lino. However, despite that, there were limitations – however advanced the formation was, there was still a delay between her input and the actualization of her intentions. Though she found it frustrating, she didn't have the luxury of ranting about it.
After all, with a part of her attention split and focused on Lino, she followed him all across the sky as he was beaten back repeatedly, cut and sliced, dug at like an animal. What she found strange, however, was that he only occasionally fired back; she didn't believe he couldn't counter-attack at all, though one explanation would be that he was simply buying time for her to open up a passage.
She also quickly realized he killed only enough to maintain a stable recovery of Vitality, while slowly sucking away at the dead and making himself stronger. Though his movement appeared eerily sporadic, it was well-calculated; he had managed to keep a relative distance from Two, Three and Six, though that was only a temporary patch. He did what he could with what little could be done; after all, one-man-army, even one comprised of an Empyrean, was mostly a myth, especially on the higher strata of cultivation.
”—can you temporarily cut the supply to the Defensive Layers?” a familiar voice surprised her as she cried out, turning sideways. Primul had a worried and hurried expression, his eyes shining strangely, droplets of sweat falling down his forehead.
”What?!” she quizzed somewhat angrily.
”I've spotted over a dozen deficiencies that I can improve upon in a matter of seconds,” he quickly reasoned. ”But, there can't be any Qi in the threads.”
”If I drop the Defensive Layers, they'll burn a hole straight through us!” she exclaimed. ”Fix it later and stop distracting me!”
”—he can't hold on for much longer!!” Primul screamed out, pulling Ella's attention back toward him. ”And, even if you burn a hole through them and escape, what of it?! They'll be after us immediately! Part of the deficiency is what allows the link between Ataxia and Ashtar to persist despite all our attempts to block all leaks!”
”… you have a way to end the connection between them?” Ella asked with a strange glint in her eyes, causing Primul to take a step back. ”You do realize the implications of your claim, don't you?”
”… of course I do,” he replied candidly. ”But, I am not ending the connection between them – merely setting up a temporary barrier.”
”—Lucky,” space ripped open in front of Ella as Lucky found herself forcibly flung over to the center of the fortress, somewhat shocked. ”Gather all the Shadows, be they graduates or in training, and surround the fortress. Also, tell Eggor to use the Shield Formation in exactly thirty seconds. Have Hannah and Alison help on the eastern and northern ends.”
”… uh, sure. Why, though?” Lucky asked.
”Because all goddamn Empyreans are just absolutely batshit insane…” Ella grumbled in frustration, causing Primul to smile bitterly as he scratched his nose.
Meanwhile, Lino found himself on the receiving end of another concentrated beam of elemental compendium – barely managing to lift his shield in time to block it, he was nonetheless flung nearly a mile backward, while his left arm was completely shattered to the point he had to cut it off at the shoulder to let it regenerate quicker.
By then, Two, Three and Six had caught up to him, trapping him in a triangular formation. Glancing at the fortress and its surroundings, he realized it was not the time just yet. Cursing inwardly, he looked around and assessed all possibilities – something he rarely did. If it were a literal matter of life and death, he certainly wouldn't have and would have just fought by his gut; but, as it wasn't, he was forced to calculate.
”—you may as well go out in a blaze of glory,” Three said, her hair suddenly beginning to shine in faint golden. ”Since they are not escaping. You've condemned them all to the same fate.”
”I think we've established that your juvenile attempts to piss me off don't really work,” Lino fired back, more than happy to chat with them instead of fighting. ”But, if it's going to get you off my fucking ass, I'll happily play the part of the emotionally-charged cripple whose pride can't take a single hit since it's the basis of my entire ego. And, yes, that was a not-so-subtle insult aimed at Two. I used to be so much better at this, ah…”
”… you could have achieved it all, if only you were patient.” Two said solemnly.