Chapter 28 - Phoenix Squadron Part 3

The arrow burst forward from the strength of the bow, beginning to drop as its velocity decreased. It arced perfectly into the center of the back of one of the Blood Vein Sect members. Due to the technique's incorporation, the arrow howled as it sailed through the sky, piercing a boy’s chest. He coughed blood once before collapsing forward, dying before hitting the ground. Agemo quickly nocked and fired another arrow as the remaining five turned to see who was attacking. This time, he targeted the person holding the phoenix egg.

“No! Fourth Brother!” they yelled, Agemo only hearing it faintly as the arrow pierced the upper chest of another boy.

The boy dropped the egg, which crashed onto the ground. Agemo smirked and shot another arrow, but the leader deflected it with his sword. The sword resembled the curved blades of the Egyptians, and a boy with shining white hair and a pale complexion glared at Agemo with crimson eyes.

“Get him! Kill him!” the leader shouted.

“Kairi and Jasper should be able to handle the others with the ambush,” Agemo thought as he raced back to the left of the mountain toward the cliffside.

“Not yet,” Jasper warned Karen as Agemo burst into view. “We need to wait for them to get closer. We all saw him turn into a trail of shadows. He won’t get hit by our landslide.”

“Just let me know when,” Karen shouted as she spread her mana into the rocks.

“Closer... closer... Four people are chasing him! Wait, one of them seems to have lightning crackling over his body! It must be him! The leader,” Jasper said, seeing them begin to ascend and trap Agemo at the base of the cliff.

Jasper and Karen, not on top of the cliff with Bakura and Kairi, moved to the top of the slope of the mountain to the right of the cliff’s base. Jasper yelled at Karen, who made her mana explode within the rocks. The ground trembled as the mountain slope turned into a rockslide. Large pieces of rock and clouds of dust accelerated downwards. Agemo nocked another arrow and shot before using his dark spirit technique to weave through the rockslide.

Jasper and Karen watched as the leader focused lightning on his feet to evade the landslide while it crashed into his subordinates. He howled in rage, watching the event unfold in slow motion. He focused lightning into his hand and threw it at Agemo. Condensing lightning into a ball in one’s fist defies the laws of physics; some would call it a feat of the gods. That’s why people of the third stage form bodies of an Archon.

Agemo could move fast, but even he wasn’t as fast as lightning. It struck him in the chest, sending him crashing against the cliffside. The leader was enraged. He and his subordinates had succeeded in their plan and had enjoyed their time before the girl offed herself last night. Now, they were ambushed and all dead!

“I’ll kill you!” he roared as Agemo got up. Agemo threw his bow into his storage bag and drew Rain Slayer. The leader wrapped his lightning around his sword and slashed at Agemo. Agemo deflected the sword and tried to punch the leader. The leader smartly let his body pulse with lightning. Agemo was shocked and pushed back by the sudden counter.

“You think you can kill me? I’m not like that dumb fool you beat! I know who you are! Your technique isn’t enough to escape lightning!” he roared. “You’re not the only one with movement techniques! Now, die at my hands, Balmus!”

Balmus roared as he appeared next to Agemo in a flash and brought down his sword. His eyes widened as the sword clanged against Agemo. Agemo quickly leaned forward, grabbing Balmus by the side of the head and seizing his right arm to prevent escape. He thrust his thumb into Balmus’s left eye. The boy screamed in pain, and a lightning bolt fell from the sky, blasting Agemo away.

“Argh! My eye! MY EYE!” Balmus screamed as he rolled on the ground.

Agemo turned into wisps of darkness and sped toward his katana. He grabbed it and faced Balmus, who stood before him, seething with rage. Balmus went berserk, hacking mindlessly at Agemo. Agemo remained calm, blocking or deflecting each strike, which only further frustrated Balmus. Agemo leapt back as Balmus began consolidating lightning spirit energy into his sword, preparing a technique to end it all.

“Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill! I’ll kill you!” Balmus screamed as lightning crackled violently.

Agemo roared in response, preparing to use his living spirit technique, Radiant Howl. Since the technique was part of him, he could utilize it as he saw fit. It didn’t need a sword to perform; all it required was an edge, like that of a katana or an arrow. He could manipulate it not because he mastered it but because it was one with him. Nine crescent blades of water sprang forth from his slash, followed by a tenth, larger blade. Balmus roared and slashed at the water blades, creating a massive explosion of lightning. The nine crescent blades neutralized most of the lightning, while the giant, tenth blade cut Balmus cleanly in half.

“Agh!” Agemo screamed as the remaining lightning bolts struck him and buried him into the mountain.

“Agemo!” Jasper and Karen screamed, rushing to help their friend.

They were too far to assist, and Balmus moved too quickly to track. Agemo was deeply buried in the mountain. Karen used her magic to carefully remove the earth, hardening it around Agemo to form a cave. Slowly, she pushed the soft earth away, and Agemo rolled out of the mountain as a cave formed. Agemo was unconscious, and Jasper carried him on his back while Karen carried Rain Slayer.

“Whoa! You guys made it back! All of you!” Bakura grinned excitedly as they returned to the others. “What happened?”

“Agemo managed to kill a few, and the plan worked. The landslide took out the minions, but the leader escaped and even managed to throw a lightning ball at Agemo. Despite his movement technique, he got hit. The fight was fierce, especially when Agemo poked the guy’s left eye out.”

“Damn hardcore,” Bakura said, looking at Agemo.

“What happened to him?” Kairi asked.

“He got hit by a lot of lightning bolts. They were more concentrated than the others. He was knocked a few feet into the mountain. It took Karen a lot of work to get him out without collapsing the hole he formed as he went in,” Jasper said, patting Karen’s shoulder.

“He needs a lot of healing. I’m sure those monsters killed some third-rank magical beasts. Kairi and Jasper, you two go collect them and come back. I’m sure the proctor can verify them if we ask. It’s not interfering with the trial as he has to inspect them anyway for them to count,” Karen advised. Jasper and Kairi left after laying Agemo on a blanket.

“I feel so useless. I didn’t get any action,” Bakura sighed, watching Karen begin healing Agemo. “He’s going to be okay, right?”

“My earth magic may not be that powerful, but I’m confident in my healing and barrier magic. I’m a White Mage, after all. Well, an apprentice anyway,” Karen shrugged, holding her staff over Agemo as she healed him.

“I don’t understand why those siblings would make the tournament so hard this year. I saw my elder sister participate two years ago,” Karen sighed. “Such monstrous people weren’t allowed to participate then.”

“What can we do? One is an Arch Mage and the other is a Spirit Master. They are like gods among men in the Mortal Realm. Spirit Sages don’t even care about the world. Who knows if they’re still here anyway?” Bakura shrugged. “Once I become a Spirit Knight, I’ll be considered an expert and finally be able to contend with others.”

The two remained silent as they brooded over their powerlessness. Jasper and Kairi returned an hour later, bringing three rank 3 demonic cores. One of the people Agemo shot had them in his storage bag. Jasper and Kairi didn’t mention the body, having buried it before returning. Agemo woke up at sundown, and the four Practitioners began cultivating while Karen went on watch at the entrance of the cave.

They stayed in the cave for the last day and returned to the dormitories after turning in the three rank 3 magical beast cores. Several people thanked them for avenging their loved ones. They saw from the crystal mirrors that they didn’t take the storage bags, and some of the more powerful guardians went into the hunting grounds to retrieve them. In the end, only a hundred and five people passed: twenty-one groups.