Chương 548: Chapter 547: Battle In The Forest III

"You've forced my hand," he growled, and before I could react, the fire along his saber erupted into a feral blaze. Damn it! My heart clenched, dread clawing its way up my spine. This was bad—really bad. I'd barely survived last time, defying all odds by accomplishing in days what Bell claimed would take a year. But now, that victory felt like a curse. I was able to push the aura on the passive skill, Fast Reflexes, and its effects were better than I had thought. My reaction became faster than my body could follow.

This was not the case before. When I acquired the skill, it wasn't difficult for my body to follow it. My training and skills helped me in the past, but I have to face this new problem now. I had pushed more aura into my body to synchronize it with the fast reaction. Still, I could barely move fast enough to match my reflexes, but thankfully, it was just enough to defend against his attacks—even when he started unleashing the arcs. Now, he had brought out a power that terrified me to my heart.

"You shouldn't use such power. The backlash wouldn't be nice," I said, pushing more aura into charm. He had unleashed more power than his body could handle. It was written all over him—the bulging veins snaking across his massive frame, pulsing with a dangerous intensity, threatening to tear him apart from the inside. Making him look scary.

"I will pull back power. If you surrender," he said with a grin, hoping I would comply.

"Do your worst!" I challenged him to bait his anger even more. I really shouldn't have done that—but of course, I did. And wouldn't you know it? My success only cranked up his anger to a whole new level.

"Die!" he said and swung his saber. Immediately, the sparkling faceted wave of fire came at me. It wasn't just an arc this time—it was a wave, a surging, all-consuming force that rippled through the air with terrifying intensity. The arcs he'd flung at me earlier, even the largest and fiercest from the beginning of the battle, seemed insignificant now.

'It will kill me!' I thought in panic. I can't dodge it. It is too fast and big. It will catch up to me. My only option is to defend, but it's too huge. Still, I have to stop it if I want to survive. I have to survive, not only for myself but also for the people fighting to save me and my cities. If I fail, they will all die; my enemies will not let them live. As I accepted that, the realization hit me like a steadying hand in the chaos, sweeping away the panic that had clawed at my mind moments before.

The fear, the racing pulse, the suffocating weight in my chest—all of it dissolved. In its place, a profound calmness settled, like the eye of a storm had opened in my heart. I reached for Graceful Repel, attaching it to my short sword. I can not see it, but I could feel it. I have read about it and know it very well since I have used it many times, but now I will do something I have never done before. I know it could happen; I have seen Bell do it.

Graceful Repel shook before it moved, by my will, with a life of its own. It detached itself from the blade and flew forward. The skill typically needs to be attached to something. It could be a body or weapon, but it is in the air, moving forward right now. The skill isn't breaking the rules. It is attached to something: my aura, which I push in front of me. It didn't only move, but it also began to stretch. With each meter forward, it grew, stretching even bigger. I understand it as a force field.

It could take any shape. I had seen Bell forming it into different shapes, from spheres, cones, pyramids, and many others. I cannot do those complex shapes, nor do I need to. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. A wall of Graceful Repel appeared in front of me. It is big enough to stop the whole wave, but size alone isn't enough. It needs to be unyielding, too. If this was not copied but my own skill.

It would have been more powerful, but it is a skill from Lord Class below Lv. 30. Thankfully, it is a powerful skill from a powerful class. This means that I can strengthen it a lot before reaching my limit. I had to fortify the wall to withstand the oncoming wave and repel it back, defying its sheer force and fury. So, I dug into the deepest part of myself and brought out the aura before pushing it inside the skills.

"Ahhhhh…" A raw, guttural scream tore from my throat as an unbearable pain ripped through me like my very soul was being torn. Every fiber of my being begged me to stop, but I refused. The strain was maddening, the wall itself seeming to push back as if the skill had reached its limit and was resisting my will. Even at this limit, I pushed more aura inside it. A moment passed, and the glittering ravenous wave clashed against the force field.

Suddenly, a force like a truck running a hundred miles per hour crashed into me. Driving back my steps with enough force that threatened to make me unconscious. I looked at the force field, which was holding back the wave, but it was losing. I won't be able to stop it, let alone repel it. If this goes on for another second, the wall will collapse like a cheap cardboard box, and that wave will come straight at me. And my mind flashed images showing me that would be bad on so many levels.

Even if I did not die right away, additional worst-case scenarios darted into my thoughts. First, if the skill breaks, I might suffer backlash; second, the skill might disappear. It is the only thing keeping me safe from the artifact. If it disappeared, and I survived this attack, I would be defenseless for the next. So, I gritted my teeth and pushed more aura into the shield. I dug deeper into myself but also scavenged some from the effort to suppress the wounds holding the artifact's power back.

It made the pain a lot worse, and my mind began to shut down before I stopped it forcefully. I am bearing too much pressure. My mind instinctively wants to shut off to save me, but if I let that happen, I will lose everything. I dug out more and more aura from my most profound depths and put them into the force field. Finally, the immense struggle ended, and the force field was able to push the wave back. As it recoiled, the wave didn't just retreat—it scorched everything in its path.

Trees were reduced to smoldering husks; stones shattered like fragile glass and anything caught in its wake was burned away instantly, leaving nothing but a charred, desolate trail of destruction. I looked at the enemy and saw him looking at me with shock. I looked straight into his eyes, and the next moment, I moved. The aura I brought out wanted to go back badly. Instead, I moved the aura from Graceful Repel into Blitz Steps and Fast Reflexes. With that, I moved toward the enemy.

I am at my limit; I won't be able to last with how the battle is going. I won't receive help soon despite the others gaining some edge over the enemies. So, that leaves me with the only choice, which is to kill my enemy. After seeing the artifact, I had never even considered it, but now I have to. I need to do it. It is the only way I will survive. It is daring and foolhardy, but it is my last option. As he witnessed me moving forward, the surprise disappeared from his eyes, and they became serious.

Immediately, he slashed his saber forward, sending another fiery wave. I leaped to the left, through the burning trees, avoiding the wave. Last time, I wasn't fast enough, but now I am, and I want to kill my tormentor with this speed.

"Bastard!" he cursed and sent another fiery wave. I reacted and dodged, avoiding the wave and the burning trees. I could do that now, with the Fast Reflexes and speed that barely let my feet touch the ground. That's how fast I am moving. He attacked again; I dodged it, and the wave moved, burning everything in its path. Only the sound of pops and the growl of Diamond fire touched me. I am moving through the fiery ground as everything around me is burning.

I am thankful that our duel has moved further away from the ongoing melee, or things would have been dangerous for my people. Even the terrain is becoming dangerous for me. This magical fire is hazardous, not to mention the smoke, which can kill before the fire does. I may be stronger than regular humans, but the smoke would still kill me if I had inhaled it too much. I dodged another wave and was delighted to see its effect on him. He was getting paler, with his veins popping up.

That is why he changed the strategy after I dodged another attack. He stopped the range attacks and moved toward me. His speed is incredibly fast; he hasn't just drawn the elemental power from the artifact but its physical enhancements as well. Increasing his speed, which is unsettling for me. He was slightly faster than me, and he slashed his saber forward as he came close. Immediately, another wave of fire came toward me, which couldn't be avoided. The distance is too short.

I slowed down and again poured all the aura into the Graceful Repel. Bang! The fiery wave clashed against it, and it stopped it, but soon, I realized another danger.

"Now you are dead!" he said as he flashed in front of me like a ghost and attacked me with a sword blazing wildly. I moved my rapier forward, as before, I was slower. A fraction of a second later, it had become really fast. Making his eyes widen. I used the force field to repel the attack. Immediately, I pulled the aura back into my skills. Clang! I was barely able to move the rapier forward to stop his saber. It shook me, and I needed to step back to manage the force.

I didn't even pull half of the aura from the force field. It only took time before shrinking it and bringing it onto my rapier. However, lowering the power to force the field is not without consequences. Some of the power of the wave had leaked through the force field, burning me. It is affecting my body. Especially my hands; it feels terrible. Still, stopping isn't an option. I have to kill my enemy, or he will kill me.

"Why aren't you giving up? You should know your life isn't in danger. You are the host of legacy; they will not kill you."

"Why struggle so much?" he asked.

"Because I can," I replied, thick with defiance, pushing the aura further into my skill and attacking. Surprising him. It was the first time I did it. Since the battle started, I had either defended or dodged, never attacked, but now I did, despite it making me feel my soul was tearing apart. I didn't pull out more aura for this. I don't think there is anything more to give. No, I had just fine-tuned it. I am gaining more control over it than I had before.