CHAPTER 109: MYTHICAL HUNT (4)

Daru locked eyes with the mythical spawn for a second and a half as his momentum and strength, together with the seemingly even clash, kept him in the air.

He then pushed himself back, skidding to a halt a few meters from where he had lunged.

[-3]

The exchange wasn’t as equal as it appeared on the surface.

Meanwhile, Kazuraga momentarily ignored Daru, glancing at where Lothara had been.

The slippery little gray had survived again.

"MEGHEKHEK..." the satyr cackled, patience thinning as he stepped to the side without even looking, dodging the moonlit blur that came shooting at him from behind with murderous intent.

Ae’shkar’s C-tier sword skill was avoided just like that.

Clearly, Kazuraga was leagues above everyone here, both literally and in terms of experience in combat.

Who knows how many life-and-death battles the mythical spawn had in the past seven, almost eight decades of its existence in the Myriad Sword Realm?

"Tainted brat." Kazuraga rasped near a corner of the cavern, turning to look at Daru before continuing in a voice similar to the shrieks of an angry banshee: "Do you know what you’re getting yourself into?"

Daru raised a brow, answering with a strange hint of enthusiasm: "A great battle against a strong mythical swordspawn like yourself, what else? Also, like I’ve been saying earlier, I already have your map. You may claim it at any time later, but let’s fight first."

The satyr fell silent for a moment before exhaling in a mix of exhaustion and frustration the next.

In seven and a half decades, Onimaru Kunitsuna was his most difficult conversation ever.

He found it frustratingly difficult to connect to the brat’s mind and heart.

None of the verbal skills and traps he had developed over the years was working.

Kazuraga grasped his face, cackling in resignation, insanity, and self-consolation: "MEGHEKGHEK! It’s just a fourth of a soul, I can recover it in a decade or two...if it means eternal annihilation of this brat...yes, an advantageous trade...yes...MEGHEKGHEK!"

The smarter ones among the Veshari shuddered upon hearing the spine-chilling mutters.

On the other hand, a faint smile appeared on Daru’s face.

The mythical spawn’s words had always been somewhat mysterious and difficult to understand, but from what he could deduce, Kazuraga was willing to accept the current conditions and fight him.

How could he not be in a good mood?

A brief, eerie silence ensued before the atmosphere was broken as gray smoke crept and crawled from behind, billowing the satyr’s way.

"Fine, then...I’ll create an opening myself..." Halphar muttered coldly.

He did not like being outdone by Daru.

The biggest among the little grays suddenly multiplied into three, the silhouette of a fallen angel with rotting wings looming in the haze.

Ae’shkar and Lothara’s eyes narrowed.

This was the first time they were seeing Halphar’s S-tier, innate sword skill, and from what they could deduce, this was indeed a great time to use it.

Perhaps it would even allow Asipha and the others to join in.

This would’ve been a huge merit for Halphar, had his moment not been stolen by another individual.

*Pah* *Pah* *Pah*

Footsteps and splashes echoed from the upper-right corner of the cavern as a blueberry blur rushed forth, head-on, seemingly utilizing exactly zero brain cells.

Even Kazuraga was dumbfounded for a moment as Iris passed everyone encircling him, advancing alone questionably.

Had they been in a game, everyone would’ve been spamming question mark pings.

’Had she been pressured into action just because her fellow S-rankers were doing something?’ was all the mythical spawn could think of.

Another moment later, she lunged in a simple yet fast and powerful forward motion.

The Vesharis had never been more disgusted in their lives.

"You..." Kazuraga began in the tone of a wise elder as he brandished his amethyst katana with all his strength to send the intellectually challenged wench back to where she came from. "...have to be one of the dumbest if not the dumbest human I’ve met..."

Unbeknownst to the satyr, he was about to be slapped by the reality that he couldn’t have been more wrong.

*CLANG!*

A metallic clang assaulted everyone’s ears as Edelweiss clashed with the amethyst katana, sending a gentle breeze shockwave erupting towards the flabbergasted onlookers, except for Daru.

He had a rough theory of how Iris’s power worked. He merely observed keenly.

Snowflower gritted her teeth, clearly using every bit of strength in her body, but she was still being pushed back.

This was exactly what everyone expected to happen.

Until an icy-blue aura suddenly enveloped her, followed by a red damage value floating up:

[-21]

In the next moment, everyone’s eyes, including Kazuraga himself, widened as he was sent skidding back a few meters.

Swampwater splashed in the shape of a snowflower as Iris gracefully landed, striking a stoic fighting pose soon after.

Her sword pulsed once with blue light.

Halphar forgot to charge, in utter disbelief at the happenings. Even Ae’shkar and Lothara’s minds froze, and their focus slipped for a moment.

Only Daru held on to his wits.

His understanding of his training partner’s abilities was indeed correct.

Unbeknownst to the little grays, their bewilderment was young.

That after today, the name Edelweiss would not only be added but would skyrocket in the top ranks of the must-watch-and-eliminate list of their race.

"Wench...how did you do that?" asked Kazuraga.

But Iris didn’t respond, simply rushing forward again, this time in a faster blur that only three of the onlookers could follow with their eyes: Daru, Ae’shkar, and Lothara.

She simply disappeared in the eyes of the others.

The satyr’s pupils turned vertical and constricted in disbelief, forced to muster a rather clumsy and rushed attack in response.

*CLANG!*

Their swords clashed once more, and the results were the same.

Kazuraga lost narrowly.

"MEGHEKKK!!" the mythical spawn raspingly snarled in bewilderment and anger, rushing right back to Iris.

How could he be losing to a novice human bladeborn?

In the next moment, an eerie, dark purple aura covered his blade, and he swept it at Iris.

"Die, Wench!!"

*CLANG!*

Yet another ear-piercing clash, but this time, the windy aftershocks were considerably stronger.

However, the results...

were the same.

Kazuraga was further cornered, beginning to feel the pressure as Iris slowly advanced towards him in a menacing, icy-blue aura.

She spoke no words and only stared at him, stoic courage reflecting in her gaze.

It was clear that she wouldn’t back down.