(Note: I fixed the chapter previous to this one, sorry about that)
Dodging the claw swipe of a large monster that resembled a Tree Bear, I counterattacked by slicing Hokori through its large arm before ruthlessly decapitating it, causing its large frame to fall lifelessly into the horde of monsters below, who, without a second thought, tore right through its body in a matter of seconds, though it wasn't like they could think to begin with.
'My goodness, now I know how Idonea and Marley felt; there is truly no end to them. Every time I kill one of them, two more will take its place, not to mention, as time goes on, they continue to get stronger.' Thought Elif with a dignified expression as he quickly unleashed an onslaught of heavenly scars toward an approaching wave of monsters, cutting right through them and the unfortunate monsters who happened to be behind them with ease.
I don't know exactly how long I've been fighting since my entire focus has been on protecting Elaine and stopping any monster that tries to approach her, which so happens to be about every single monster I end up facing. However, although slight, I could feel exhaustion start to set in while my Qi reserves were about half full; adding those two together, I presume it's been at least a day, maybe a little less.
Either way, it didn't really matter how long it's been; what mattered was destroying the formation that was connected to the portal, which Elaine has been working on the entire time I've been protecting her. Of course, considering the description Elaine gave about the formation, one would assume this should've been over with quickly, but it seems like our luck has expired; how could things be so easy? After all, whoever conducted this assault knew they were attacking the Elven Empire, so of course, it shouldn't be this easy, but that doesn't mean it's any less annoying.
Looking to the right, I spotted a sneaky little rat-like monster trying to stealthily get past me, though given my experience in dealing with stealthy opponents, mainly Elaine, it would have to do better than that if it wished to evade my senses. Smashing the monster before me with a purple palm, I pointed my sword at the small monster and injected Qi into Hokori while converging it toward the tip before compressing it and then finally releasing it as a dense purple beam,
'Gyakusatsu.' Thought Elif as his compressed purple beam traveled and pierced through many monsters before finally hitting the small rat-like monster, blasting a large hole through its entire body.
'Elaine, I know I've asked this not too long ago, but how are things going? Please tell me you've made progress.' Asked Elif via divine sense as he engaged in battle about a kilometer away from Elaine, who was intently working on destroying the formation.
'I'd love to give you positive news, Brother, but unfortunately, while I'm making progress, it's too slow; this isn't just an adaptable formation but a dual formation as well. One is working as a beacon and a stabilizer for the portal to the Nether dimension, just as I said before, while the second is a defensive formation meant to repair the first formation. This wouldn't have been so bad if we had arrived earlier, but with the current strength of the formation, I'm barely able to deal enough damage to offset the second formation, yet the gap is closing by the minute; eventually, the first formation will heal faster than I can damage it.' Stated Elaine via divine sense with an ugly expression while using Orcus as she attacked the ethereal formation nonstop, which was covered in various cracks.
'I'm assuming you've tried targeting the second formation first?' Asked Elif via divine sense with a frown as he launched a large purple palm into the horde of monsters before clenching his hand, causing it to inflate before exploding, catching even more monsters in the radius.
'Yes, when I first realized this was a dual formation, I focused on destroying the second formation first; however, the second formation is engraved into the first formation. So if I want to destroy the second formation, I'll first need to destroy the main one, and that's where the problem lies, Brother.' Replied Elaine via divine sense as she released a devastating attack onto the ethereal formation, causing it to tremble while numerous cracks emerged intensely, but just as quickly as they formed, the second formation began mending them.
Killing yet another monster that tried sneaking past, I clicked my tongue in annoyance, and just as I thought about rushing toward the formation to destroy it in one attack, I suddenly picked up the presence of a rather powerful monster emerging from the portal.
"A Divine Emperor; wonderful, what a welcome sight." Said Elif sarcastically with a frown as he eyed the Divine Emperor monster that rushed right toward him, or more specifically, Elaine, who was behind him.
Unlike all the other monsters from before, a Divine Emperor monster wasn't something Elaine would be able to withstand; although she is only a middle Divine, with her strength, she's capable of at least holding out for some time against a peak Divine King until I arrive; however, with the presence of that monster, if it gets past me, Elaine will be serious trouble, all it needs is one decent attack.
Knowing the implications of a Divine Emperor monster emerging from the portal, I made sure to keep my divine sense locked on the portal while my eyes never once left that monster as it headed straight for Elaine, carving a path right through the horde of monsters, killing many in its charge.
Once the monster approached my vicinity, using the elven body flicker, I nimbly weaved through the dense horde of monsters while killing every single one I passed before appearing right above the monster. Injecting Hokori with my Qi, engulfing it in an ethereal purple flame, I attacked the monster, launching a powerful heavenly scar toward the creature and slicing it in two. Even though it was a Divine Emperor, it couldn't put up any resistance, though that's mainly because it didn't even register my presence.
'This isn't looking good; I may have easily killed that monster, but I was forced to actually use some Qi. When they start appearing regularly, I won't last long; even my Qi reserves have limits.' Mused Elif with an intense frown, and a few seconds later, another divine Emperor monster emerged from the portal, and it headed straight for Elaine.
Minutes continued to pass by, with me dealing with Divine Emperor monsters one after another, forcing me to use my techniques as they slowly emptied my Qi reserves; seeing that, I consumed a Qi-absorbing pill, and while it did help, it wasn't enough to completely offset the effects of using Qi infused attacks, it only prolonged the inevitable.
Eventually, it got to the point where only Divine Emperor monsters were exiting the portal, and slowly but surely, they were managing to push me back; if things continued at this rate, it was only a matter of time until I was pushed back toward Elaine.
'Tch, this won't do; if too many of them spill out, even if we manage to close the portal, I won't be able to deal with them. I need to act now; otherwise, Elaine and I will end up overrun.' Thought Elif with a frown as he dodged being stabbed through by a monster's tail, though he wasn't quick enough to evade another attack from behind him.
I felt the bird's long talons dig into my back and tear right through my flesh as it left behind three long bloody gashes; I suppressed my desire to grunt and retaliated by swinging Hokori behind me, cutting its foot off. Retreating out of the horde of monsters, I glanced behind, spotting Elaine not too far away, striking the ethereal formation with all her might, but as of now, her attacks did nothing.
Raising my hand, I manifested a massive and powerful purple palm before launching it toward the incoming horde of monsters, halting their advances while I speedily lunged toward Elaine.
"Huh, Brother, Wh-" Said Elaine in confusion as she glanced at Elif, who appeared right beside her, though she didn't finish speaking as Elif had caught her off.
"Move!" Yelled Elif as he pushed Elaine away with a wave of his Qi, coating Hokori in sword aura while also injecting his Qi into the blade, causing it to be engulfed in a dense purple ethereal flame.
Without hesitation, I used my full strength and attacked the formation, instantly destroying it as the ethereal runes that encircled the massive portal shattered like glass, causing the portal to start uncontrollably morphing into weird shapes. However, even though the portal seemed to be collapsing on itself, the monsters didn't just stand there and watch.
Now that the portal was dealt with, I summoned an artifact, a high-grade Saint artifact, which coincidentally was a Quạt tay; clutching the artifact, I injected as much Qi as possible into it, nearly emptying my Qi reserves before waving it toward the incoming monsters. Creating a massive gust of deadly sharp wind that headed toward the monsters; once it reached them, it decimated every monster it encountered, slicing them into numerous, almost unrecognizable pieces. This continued for some time until the massive gust of wind finally dispersed, though by then, the entire horde of monsters had been dealt with, and thanks to the collapse of the portal, no monsters seemed to be able to pass through, which was good, as I was somewhat vulnerable right now given my negligible amount of Qi.
"Haa should've done this, to begin with; well, mistakes are a part of life, even for someone as marvelous as I." Muttered Elif with a sigh as he flicked his messy hair behind his head, once again displaying his narcissistic personality.
___
Created a discord server, so if anyone wishes to join, [https://discord.gg/TGc9yymDJP]
___
___
Elven Legacy (Chapter 261: Concubine!?) || Hero of Harmony (Chapter 143: Special Woman) || One Piece: Chaos Kong (Chapter 246: Enter, Frenzy Pirates!)|| Marvel's Black Steel (Chapter 204: Victory!) at [patreon.com/Ozonelayer691]