Refining the Heavens (炼天)

Chapter 15: The Ambush

The attack began with a loud roar, as Calculus' men charged at Kairos' team.

Almost immediately, Kairos, Alan and Tommy responded. They rushed towards the exterior of the formation like the wind, as if unhindered by the blinding light.

Jim turned the other direction, jumping up onto someone's shoulders and lifted himself off. In a single, smooth, bound, he landed lightly on a nearby tree branch and took off running. While Edward, who had also found a vantage point, loosed arrows into their foes' ranks.

"This location is too close to the Orc hunters. We cannot stay here for long or else we will start to attract them over!" Alan shouted above the clash of battle, all the while he is spinning his tonfas rapidly to fend off strikes coming from all angles.

Their foes fought using the conventional combat methods. They targeted the weak points and blind spots, aiming for the neck, eyes, solar plexus and groin.

However, the five of them appeared undeterred by such attacks. If anything, it made the fight easier by becoming predicable.

The fact is, they are actually blinded by the sudden bomb exploding in bright light in front of them but because of their Soul Perception, they can fight as effectively as before. The pain in their eyes did not hinder them, easily suppressed by the heat of battle.

This is the advantage of being able to directly access to one's life force and bring it out as soul perception, and what it means to be an Origin Energy user.

Though, this time, they had discovered the ambush far too late.

Having repeatedly fought for the past few days, the majority of their Origin Energy were expended. Furthermore, they had barely recovered from the disruption in their flow of Life force by the Orc's tremendous roar.

Their inexperience and youth quickly exposed by their lack of proper preparation, but fortunately, they reacted in time to the flash bang.

The five somehow managed to block off the first wave of attack from Calculus, but their current situation did not look pretty.

Even before the start of this mission, their team could only operate at ninety percent because of the superficial wounds they had accumulated so far, and the internal injuries caused by that particularly formidable Orc's war cry.

Kairos had chosen the same people for his team instead of picking fresh blades because of the star array he taught them. They had to battle without rest, and there wasn't time to train new members.

Calculus smirked even after he saw how the five people reacted to his ambush through the protection of his tinted goggles. He raised his arm and signalled.

Immediately, another three teams joined in the battle, outnumbering the five boys. Meanwhile, the rest of Kairos's teams stood rooted in place covering their eyes in pain.

Alucard's face stiffened when he saw this.

Calculus had convinced him that they would request for the Red Team's aid them in clearing the Orc Horde. But, when they found Kairos, they immediately sprung an ambush.

However, Alucard was not appalled by Calculus' sudden attack. After all, deep down, he felt that taking out Kairos would be helpful for the Blue Team in the matches later on.

Instead, he was aghast at the noise they caused from the clash. At this proximity to the Orcs, there is no doubt that the din will quickly attract a large amount of Orc hunters and have them surrounded.

There are well over seventy Orcs close by and within ten minutes their group would be overwhelmed by these magical beasts converging in on them.

And just as they expected, they could all see Orc movements in the forest coming towards them responding to the loud clash of metals against metals. Their loud grunts of agitation could be heard above the noise of battle, their blood boiling from the anticipation of battle.

Kairos' team fought bitterly, outnumbered by the Calculus' men, and unable to act against the Orcs. Every second passed is a step closer to death. But fortunately, their resistance also caused the Calculus' plans to be delayed.

Unable to finish them off as quickly as he wanted, Calculus turned to Alucard with a smirk on his face, "Alucard, it seems like my guys are overly enthusiastic creating this din. We will need your team to hold back the surrounding Orcs while we capture Kairos.

Don't worry, we will capture only Kairos, and then we will retreat to your position and assist you."

With the seconds ticking by, Alucard gave an unhappy snort and then led his men away. For placing his team in danger, he swears in his heart that he will get back at Calculus after the end of this operation.

Once the Dracula Team is out of sight, Calculus whistled loudly over the loud clash of battle. The four nobles' teams under his command changed fighting methods at once. Their aggressive attacks now tainted with killing-intent.

Kairos' Swallow twirled beautifully in the air as he received blows after blows. The shimmering twin-bladed polearm was handled clumsily, but still, he found chances to counter attack. Kairos learned rapidly from the battle, and his strikes became swifter and more devastating.

It was not his martial talent that helped his accelerated progress, but a conscious mental effort as he carefully observed his opponents and deduced the most efficient ways to fight back. His Soul Perception granted him an absolute insight over the area, and he missed nothing.

Out-numbered by three enemies who are at the same rank as him, he had to make use of their weakness and bad habits gleaned from this short exchange of blows.

Though mere seconds passed, the difference between them grows greater and greater in Kairos' advantage the longer they fought. The weapons that Kairos and his four close friends are have been engraved with fire inscriptions, and every time they land even the lightest of blows, intrusive fire Ki will be sent into the enemy's body. Though it does not cause much direct damage, the overbearing Fire-element Ki rushed into the opponent's flesh and burned their opponent from the inside.

If left undefended, the invasive Fire Ki will consume the opponent's internal energy, Ki, like how fire consumes paper. Then, when the Fire Ki absorbed enough energy, great heat will burn throughout the victim's body, scorching one's meridian channels and injuring muscles and tendons alike.

While the effect from a single strike is not impressive, but as the number of counterattacks from Kairos stacks up, his opponents looked more and more pitiful.

Sensing Kairos overpowering their friends, two more at F rankers joined the battle against him.

Now surrounded by five, Kairos started feeling overwhelmed, and he was forced into a defensive battle. Without proper skills, all he is doing is only simple dodging and blocking using his reaction speed, and he could barely fend them off.

His opponents, however, stared at him in wide-eyed shock. If any other expert is placed in the same situation, they would have fallen already.

But, Kairos knows the only reason he is able to hold his ground is that his opponents are wary of his Flame-Inscribed weapon.

At the same time, his four friends are experiencing similar things.

Jim rushed around the midst of his opponents with none came close to touching him. With his superior speed, he held down his foes at the expense of rapidly expending his stamina. His daggers smashed heavily into the weak points of any who were careless in their defences.

His aim had been accurate and deadly, and if not for the gel coating on his daggers, a few would have fallen by his blades by now.

The way he fought was simply ghastly for his opponent as if like a vengeful wraith that even has eyes on his back. Yet, as the battle dragged on, he felt a chill of unease crept into his heart; Because of how dangerously quick he is losing his stamina, Jim can only hope that he is dealing enough damage to his opponents.

On the other side, Alan and Tommy who did not have such good skills as Kairos nor the superior speed of Jim bled from all over their body.

Of them all, only Edward is having an easier time with his bow rapidly shooting at the different assaulters attacking them. Without the archer's help, the four would have already fallen.

Indeed, all injuries the five had suffered are cuts.

The weapons that Calculus' teams used are sharp and gleaming, not showing any of the features of a gel-coated edge.