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Chapter 299: A Decisive Victory, Harvesting Destiny Points
🕑 Added 2024-10-06 05:12:54 +0000 UTCThud.
However, when the claw finally struck, the expected sensation of crushing the opponent’s heart didn’t occur. Instead, Haim’s hand easily plunged into Rett’s chest, but there was no satisfaction of tearing through flesh—it was as if… it had sunk into a pool of quicksand.
At that moment, the triumphant smiles on their faces froze.
Before they could react further, the terrified expression Rett had been wearing vanished, replaced by a cold, calculating smirk.
“Damn it, the enemy also knows the Dispersal Profound!”
Facing Rett, Haim’s heart sank. In that instant, a sharp pain shot through him. A spike had suddenly “grown” from Rett’s chest, piercing directly through Haim’s silver-scaled armor at such close range.
Haim’s face twisted in shock, but before he could react, the spike, imbued with a terrifying seismic force, obliterated all of his internal organs.
The Draconian who had just been laughing so arrogantly was now drained of all life in an instant, his eyes losing focus as he collapsed to the ground.
“Well done!”
Not far away, Laidros and Freya, who had “arrived too late” to assist, both wore satisfied smiles of victory. As they descended into the valley earlier, the three of them had quickly assessed the battlefield and concluded that once Rett revealed his mastery of the Profound, the Draconians would undoubtedly target him first.
Thus, they deliberately avoided protecting Rett closely, allowing him to lure the enemy in for a decisive strike. The plan was simple but effective, with the only requirement being that the bait had to be exceptionally strong. And Rett had proven to be more than capable.
At that moment, the smiles vanished from the faces of the two remaining high-ranking Draconians, replaced by a growing sense of dread.
Meanwhile, Laidros and Freya moved in unison, closing in on the two Draconians with determination. Their expressions were grim, each wielding their weapon—a greatsword in Laidros’s hand and a thin longsword in Freya’s—both intent on leaving no survivors among the elite royal beasts.
Quicksand Spell! Rett attempted to use a control spell to slow the Draconians and prevent their escape, but the two were on high alert. The moment they sensed the earth shifting beneath them, they deftly dodged out of the way.
At that very moment, Vice Commander Locke, who had been cutting down beasts within the horde, seemed to have regained his composure. Locking onto Kumi in the depths of the battlefield, he transformed into a sharp, blue arrow of light, shooting towards him at high speed.
Locke, embodying the swiftness of the wind, was almost invisible as he dashed toward the Draconians. It wasn’t until he was right upon them that they even noticed.
Wind Slash!
Though fatigue was evident in Locke’s eyes, deep within, there was still an unyielding killing intent. His sword traced a graceful arc, like a laser, carving a line across the Draconian’s silver scales. A thin line of blood appeared, seeping from the narrow wound.
But the Draconian’s robust physique showed its resilience as the wound quickly sealed itself, halting the flow of blood.
It wasn’t that Locke’s attack was weak, but his state was too depleted—his energy drained, his strength exhausted. To even manage this one lower-level combat skill was a stretch, yet it still inflicted some damage on the Draconian.
“You fool! You think you can take me on in your condition? I’ll send you to the underworld!”
Taking advantage of Locke’s failed retreat, Kumi, seething with rage, grabbed Locke’s limp arm and, with a fierce pull, tore it off, hurling it into the air as an outlet for his frustration.
Locke merely grunted and quickly retreated, moving to another position to recover and look for another chance to strike.
The battle was happening at an astonishing speed, and Laidros and Freya finally arrived. Though a step behind Locke, seeing the heavy price Locke had paid to keep the Draconians occupied fueled their anger, and they unleashed their full strength.
Ice Wheel Slash!
Laidros’s wide-bladed greatsword trembled slightly, its blade glowing a deep blue as frost spread outward, freezing the moisture in the air into tiny, sparkling ice crystals. Under his control, the greatsword flew through the air like a massive, blue spinning wheel, leaving a trail of icy mist as it sliced toward Kumi’s waist. He had identified Kumi as the more vulnerable target, having lost both his arms and tail, making him easier to take down.
Freya, in sync with Laidros, also charged at Kumi. Her standard longsword suddenly turned pitch black, utterly devoid of any shine, yet this deep hue emitted a strange aura. The ice crystals in the air vanished instantly, and the surrounding space darkened as an imperceptible arc of black light emerged, silently aiming for Kumi’s lower body.
“You vile woman, going for that spot!”
Kumi roared in anger, using his head to lunge at Freya’s chest while twisting slightly to avoid the dark blade targeting his groin.
In this desperate situation, Kumi’s blood boiled. “You think you can defeat me like this? I’ll show you why I’m the strongest Draconian warrior! Witness the ultimate skill I’ve honed!”
With a fierce bellow, despite having lost his primary weapons—his arms and tail—Kumi planted his foot firmly on the ground and began to spin rapidly. His arms, bent at the elbows, turned into blades, the one-meter-long spikes on his elbows becoming deadly tools as he whirled like a silver tornado.
The terrifying physical prowess of the Draconians allowed him to pull off such a feat, though at the cost of immense energy. But at this point, Kumi had no other options—kicking his enemies would limit his mobility, making him too slow to evade their attacks.
The powerful spinning motion generated tremendous inertia, turning the silver whirlwind into a deadly force. Laidros and Freya, wary of its sharp edges, didn’t dare confront it directly. Instead, Laidros controlled the ice wheel to slice at Kumi’s waist, but Kumi easily blocked it with his elbow spike before leaping high into the air, aiming for Freya, who wore only light armor.
Dark Wind!
Freya called out coldly, her sword dancing through the air, leaving behind a chaotic pattern. The dark energy she channeled flowed like mist, surging forward with a hiss.
Zzzt, zzzt, zzzt, zzzt.
As the dark wind made contact with the spinning silver whirlwind, its glow dimmed immediately. The Draconian’s scales were being corroded, causing Kumi to grunt in pain, too focused on the agony to notice the high-speed rotation of the earth elements below him. Soon, a quicksand field covering several hundred meters had formed.
“Damn it!” Kumi’s mind snapped back to reality, realizing he was in grave danger. He tried to retreat, but a blue spinning wheel shot from another direction, slicing into his left leg!
“Argh!” he roared in pain. It wasn’t the pain itself, but the fact that the sword was too heavy and thick, inflicting serious damage.
Even so, the sword didn’t sever his leg completely but cut through his scales, lodging itself in his flesh.
Laidros felt a surge of excitement—he had finally found an opening to deal a significant blow. Now it was up to Rett!
At that moment, not far away, Rett refrained from adding the seismic resonance to his Quicksand Spell, as both Laidros and Freya were also within the spell’s range. To avoid friendly fire, he instead cast a Ground Spike at Kumi.
This time, nothing could stop it. Trapped by the quicksand and with one leg incapacitated, Kumi had no way to dodge. The ground spike pierced his heart with precision, and he died bitterly under Rett’s spell.
The remaining Draconian didn’t fare much better. Though not seriously injured, it relied on brute strength to evade Rett’s ground spike in the quicksand. However, it couldn’t escape the cone spike that fell from the sky, piercing its skull. The seismic resonance erupted within, causing it to explode like a bomb, scattering brains and blood, which froze into glistening ice crystals under the frosty aura emitted by Laidros. The Draconian’s body stiffened instantly in death.
“Whew, it’s finally over!”
Locke, who had been anxiously watching Rett and the others fight the Draconians, finally let out a sigh of relief when he saw the three high-ranking Draconians dead.
He turned to survey the battlefield behind him, where the humans were clearly dominating. The soldiers’ encirclement was tightening, and with the Draconians’ morale crushed by the trampling of the Earth Dragon and the constant harassment from the human forces, their casualties were skyrocketing at an alarming rate.
Noticing this, Rett furrowed his brows slightly. The Draconians were dying too quickly, leaving only about three to four hundred of them, most of whom were already wounded. He quickly dispelled the Earth Dragon and rushed to the back of the formation, where he saw Tuck positioned in the northeastern part of the encirclement. Rett cast several weaker Quicksand Spells in that area.
The sandy yellow quicksand silently appeared beneath the feet of some of the beastmen. The area it covered was quite small, so they didn’t even realize they were being ensnared. When they tried to escape, they nearly stumbled.
Seeing the situation around him, Tuck's eyes lit up. He knew it was his father’s doing and boldly rushed forward, finishing off the beastmen one by one.
[Family Member Slays an Enemy One Level Higher: Destiny Points +1]
[Family Member Slays an Enemy Two Levels Higher: Destiny Points +2]
The notifications began to appear frequently in front of Rett, and his destiny points steadily increased.
Soon, the frequency of the notifications slowed down, and when Rett scanned the battlefield, there were only a few beastmen left alive…
Seeing that the cleanup was nearly complete, Rett lightly cleared his throat and ordered, "All units, cease your attacks, regroup, and squad leaders, take a headcount!"
As his words fell, the soldiers, who had an overwhelming numerical advantage over the beastmen, seemed to freeze in place. They stopped advancing and began retreating like a receding tide. Though still full of battle fervor, they knew that orders came first, and the joy of a decisive victory filled each of them.
"Tuck, stay behind and finish off the remaining beastmen," Rett said softly. In his quest to harvest destiny points and reach the Holy Domain sooner, he no longer cared if his slightly strange actions raised any suspicion among others.
On the way to the Kava Valley, every time they encountered beastmen and engaged in battle, once they had gained the upper hand, he would give this same order—to let Tuck finish them off. Of course, he had made it clear in advance that this was not about taking credit for the achievements but rather to ensure that the contributions would still be recorded for all participating soldiers.
Ground Spike
Earth Piercer
As sharp spikes shot out, the remaining fifty or so beastmen had their limbs severed, leaving them completely incapacitated, allowing Tuck to systematically finish them off.
Once again, notifications began to appear frequently before Rett’s eyes, putting him in a good mood. He glanced at the family panel; considering the beastmen executed by Tylers and those harvested by Tuck in recent days, his destiny points had already surpassed nine thousand and were close to crossing the ten thousand mark!
Just then, after taking a short rest, Locke walked up to Rett and greeted him warmly, "Hello, I’m Locke, Deputy Legion Commander of the Ninth Legion. It’s a pleasure to meet you, and I’m very grateful for your timely assistance."
Rett returned the smile, "No need to thank me. We’re all on the same side, fighting on the same front. Helping each other is a duty we all share."
"That’s true, but I’m still very grateful!" Locke insisted, his gratitude genuine. After a brief pause, he asked, "You must be part of the joint forces from the Fourth and Sixth Legions, right? I’ve met Laidros and Freya before. Though our outposts are quite far apart and we haven’t seen each other much in recent years, we’ve fought side by side in the past, so I know which legions they belong to. But your face is unfamiliar; you must be a recently recruited extraordinary from the Coldstream Front? If you were a veteran Archmage here, I would have recognized you!"
"Haha, Locke, you guessed right! Rett here is the Marquis of the Southwestern Frontier, who responded to the call for reinforcements," came a hearty laugh. In the next moment, Laidros joined the conversation. He glanced at Locke’s left arm, his expression suddenly becoming complex as he said, "You’ve been through a lot, holding out for so long. Losing an arm might affect your combat ability in the future."
Locke shook his head and replied, "In a way, it’s a blessing in disguise. I may have lost an arm, but I’ve comprehended the Profound of Extreme Speed. My actual combat strength has risen rather than fallen!"
"That’s true. Congratulations, Locke. After this, you should be in line for a promotion to Legion Commander," Freya chimed in with a light laugh as she approached, having finished organizing the troops and counting their numbers. But when she saw Locke’s face darken at the mention of promotion, she quickly realized her mistake and apologized, "I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought that up. Artis’s sacrifice was truly heroic, and I know none of us wished for this outcome. My deepest condolences."
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