So, is this the point where action has to be taken?
I scratched my head and looked at the icy female swordsman who had already walked to the opposite side and stood there. Suddenly, I felt a little eager to try.
There's a feeling that if I don't respond here, it will be too embarrassing.
I gently flicked the pendant under my ear, took a deep breath, and nodded slightly after confirming that my mood had calmed down.
The battle lasted for nearly two hours.
Shenxue and I nearly overturned all the trees within a hundred meters, embedding the bombardment and rifts deep into the ground until the rocks melted, the snow peaks collapsed, and finally, a chaotic magical upheaval occurred, which barely brought us to a stop.
Although at first, Miyuki mostly fed me simple attacks to help me readjust to the rhythm of the battle, as time went on, she no longer restrained her use of aura. Her frost-white aura blades bloomed like ice flowers, and were like hot knives cutting into butter. With just a light sweep, she cut down large swathes of trees, embedded them into the earth, and startled flocks of birds and wild beasts.
As for me, after ruling out a few procedures that were too risky for me to control, things became much simpler.
Close combat is out of the question, but we can't give up entirely either. In the midst of the continuous thunderous bombardment, the time difference caused by breathing would inadvertently leave a slight opening, allowing the intuitive swordsman to close in instantly. We would have to use flowing metal to defend ourselves for a while, then use wind-woven wings to twirl in the air, create distance, and then try to bind them with chains again.
However, Miyuki was not afraid of this at all.
The oncoming flames were briefly blocked by the thin layer of ice covering the body, and the paralyzed lightning was dodged with agile movements. If the power was weakened, it would choose to charge in, and if the power was increased, it would avoid the sharp edge in time.
Unlike her previous encounters with the Sword Demon, Miyuki, now known as the [Frost Sword], possesses genuine experience and skill, rather than the beast-like intuition honed through numerous and repetitive experiences.
This made my battles with her particularly difficult.
I had to shorten the incantation time as much as possible, cast spells in parallel, and secretly replenish the large amount of magic power consumed in my body with magic stone fragments.
If only I could learn high-speed chanting through this—that thought did cross my mind, but the intense battle left all such thoughts only fleeting for a moment.
In the end, Miyuki seemed to have figured out a few ways to deal with me. Not only did she learn to condense a thin layer of ice in mid-air as a stepping stone, but she also frequently approached the area around her and shattered the temporary barriers one after another, leaving me struggling to cope and almost unable to find an opening to replenish my magic power.
The shortage and frequent breaches of [liquid metal] made it difficult for me to acquire suitable weapons in the short term. The magic-infused spear required considerable skill to control, and its effectiveness was not cost-effective. Furthermore, lacking suitable magical tools, in my desperation, I tried summoning the key given to me by my mentor, only to be astonished to discover that it could actually change form!
Who would need a key that's a full 1.9 meters long, about 30 centimeters wide, and shaped like a small dagger?! I could use it as a shield!
Let's get back to the main topic.
As mentioned before, the duel between Miyuki and me ultimately failed to produce a clear winner. Just as the outcome was about to be decided, the next second after we pointed our blades at each other, a dull, thunderous roar and tremor came from not far away, followed by screams from the onlookers as they approached.
After a brief moment of eye contact, we simultaneously ended the battle, caught up with the wildly flapping Pegasus, and quickly escaped the collapsing and chaotic area before the magical turbulence swept over the depression.
The collapsing white was like a hundred-foot-high tidal wave crashing over; looking back, all that could be seen was a white mist that almost obscured the sky.
After the avalanche stopped, we rested for the night in a safe area a little further away, treated each other's injuries, and enjoyed a warm meal. The next morning, having had a good rest, we set off again.
"Ahead, not far ahead, we'll reach the [Dragon Graveyard] marked on this map."
Looking at the map in her hand, Miyuki gestured and checked the terrain while looking down.
Because we were approaching the danger zone, we stopped swaggering around in mid-air and instead chose to stay close to the trees, observing our surroundings from a position slightly above the treetops.
The Pegasus were initially unwilling to come together.
They are all spiritual beasts, possessing intelligence close to that of humans. They naturally know how to seek advantage and avoid harm, and would never think of offending the natural overlord of this place, namely the dragon. Even just approaching an area where there are obvious signs of dragon activity will cause them to show obvious hesitation, confusion, fear, and resistance, among other negative emotions.
The one who solved this problem was Hikari, who had been taking care of them all along the way.
I don't know how the little fool negotiated with them. She just advised us to put the Pegasus down first, and then took them away to talk for a while. When we came back a few minutes later, the Pegasus leader, who was deep in thought, gave a serious response.
“I made an agreement with them that we would only pass along the edges and not get close to the center of the basin.”
Hikari smiled and translated the result of the exchange for us: "Then the leader said that it could have its own kind assist us, but only five, including itself, and we still need to protect them at all times."
"As for the rest, they will be led by another temporary leader to bypass them from a safe location, so they will not continue to travel with us until they meet up with each other."
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
