Chapter 4334: Priceless Lessons (Part 2)

"I know I’m no Forgemaster and that without you, I wouldn’t be able to do anything. I also realize that I must sound shamelessly ungrateful to you, but I want to pass this technique on only to the members of my bloodline.

"This is the first of many pieces of the Rezar’s legacy that I’m going to build without Dawn’s instructions. I may be the only Agni on Mogar at the moment, but there will be two more when my children are born.

"Maybe three, if Salman manages to fuse his life forces. By the time the kids grow up, I want them to have something that will help them hold their ground against any opponent, no matter what life force they choose.

"Something that will make them look at their Agni side as something to be proud of, not just a weird monster to be afraid of, like my Rezar side was for me. I-"

"If you stopped talking for a moment, I would have already agreed to your request." Orion had grunted, cutting Nalrond short. "I’m already ashamed I can’t leave you, Friya, and the kids nothing but the crumbs of my family’s lands and riches just because we don’t share the same blood.

"This new crafting technique will make a perfect gift for your children, my grandchildren. The Kingdom may consider your household as just a cadet branch of the Ernas, but I think you deserve your own legacy.

"I’m more than happy to contribute to the twins’ future happiness, son, so stop apologizing and get back to work. We still have a lot to do."

"Thanks, father." Nalrond had given Orion a deep bow and didn’t talk again unless it was to suggest an improvement to their craft.

***

The stroboscopic light blinded Feryl the Titania, but Fae didn’t rely much on sight to deal with their enemies. Their roots dug deep into the ground whenever they took a step forward, ready to absorb nutrients and allowing them to use Earth Vision.

The technique was less precise than the Mage Knight spell, Full Guard, but had a wider range and provided more than the simple location of everything around the Titania.

It also allowed her to distinguish between allies and enemies, understand what kind of footwork they were using, and anticipate their next move.

Feryl used that information to ignore feints and predict when two or more enemies would line up, making it hard for them to dodge her attacks without messing with each other’s strategy.

She felt the Agni shifting his weight for a lunge, and the following rumble that spread through the ground confirmed her guess.

’The moron thinks that I’m blinded and has jumped forward.’ She thought. ’I can’t sense him while he’s in mid-air, but his options are limited. He can’t use footwork, and if he flies too high, he’ll become target practice for the Golems.

’He has only one path available.’ She literally planted her forward foot in the ground and punched with her Adamant battle gloves at the point where Nalrond was supposed to move to exploit the opening in her guard.

Feryl combined Life Maelstrom and Thunder Soul to ensure that the puny Agni wouldn’t survive, bringing the number of enemies down by one. Her fists connected with something heavy and hard, but it wasn’t what she expected.

The hard-light wall that Nalrond had conjured right after the pulse of light crumbled upon impact and opened the way for Protector. The brunt of the Titania’s momentum was gone, the Thunder Soul dispersed, and her movements slowed down as she tried to understand what had just happened.

’What a moron. As if Fae and plant folks are the only ones with Earth Vision.’ Nalrond had indeed leaped forward, but away from the Titania and onto an Upyr in his league. ’I can’t face a Titania with my current skills.

’Or rather, I can take one on, but not one infused with Life Maelstrom. She’s way stronger and faster than me, and only needs one hit to turn me into mincemeat.’

Protector was in mid-air as well, and exploited the Titania’s blindness to put one of his Boros maces right in front of her hammer-like fists. The impact sent him into a controlled spin that allowed the Skoll to add her momentum to his own.

Protector’s other mace hit Feryl in the head with a strength much greater than what Vital Storm bestowed upon him. The Titania’s head caved in like a tin can, but her Root wasn’t there, and the damage started to heal immediately.

Protector stepped back, giving up on his advantage to study his opponent through the lenses of his bloodline ability, Wild Hunt. Countless vines erupted below where his feet would have been had he continued the attack, hitting only air.

’She’s fast, and Full Guard would have missed those tendrils until they emerged from the ground. By then, they would have been too close for me to dodge.’ The Skoll thought. ’Dawn was right. I can’t afford to be reckless against an opponent on my level.

"Luckily for me, I’m still faster than most Fae!’ Vital Storm was inferior to Life Maelstrom, but Titanias were famous only for their strength, while even bright violet-cored Awakened found it hard to follow the Skoll’s natural movements.

Protector combined his slight speed advantage with the predictive abilities of Wild Hunt to turn Feryl’s strength against her. If she extended her limbs into a spear-like thrust, he aligned the edges of Boros with her attack, so that she would cut herself on the blade.

When she charged forward, Protector stepped back and threw Boros with all his strength. The Titania ended up ramming into the Adamant maces, turning the Skoll’s attack into perfect counters that more than doubled their destructive power.

"Your Thunder Soul is useless if you don’t hit." Even at close range, Protector would keep his guard up and release tier five spells from point-blank. "What about using Frost Soul?"

"You’d like that, don’t you?" Feryl snarled, hitting the ground under her feet with all her strength and turning it into a crater. "Stop biting me like a mosquito and fight!"

Her attempt to disrupt the Skoll’s footwork failed, earning her one blow to the left arm and leg. Feryl couldn’t use Frost Soul without affecting the entire battlefield, potentially messing up with her allies’ strategy.

Protector knew that a Fae’s regenerative abilities were faster the closer the damage was to their Root’s position, and he inflicted upon her light strikes to pinpoint the mana organ.

’There it is!’ He thought. ’According to Solus, Upyrs can’t move their weak spots until they revert to their original life force. It must be the reason the Titania hid her Root inside her left fist.

’Between her Adamant armor and battle gloves, it’s the best-protected section of her body.’ He stepped to the side just in time to avoid the tier five Spirit Spell, Bonegrinder

The earth and light elements made the spell as hard as a diamond, the air element surrounding the emerald pillar cut everything like a blender, and darkness magic coated Bonegrinder like poison.

Upon piercing the Skoll, the fire element would release the remaining kinetic energy of the spell in a massive explosion, while the water element would freeze the wounds and make them impossible to heal.

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