Creed’s fingers curled around the cool tal of his spear as he pulled it from his storage ring.
As he took a slow breath, his mind settled into a battle-ready state, his surroundings sharpening to an unnatural clarity.
This wasn’t a fight he could afford to take lightly. His summons were already hard at work.
"Creed," Tierra’s voice whispered in his mind, "the group is split like this; two Stage 5 Treen, eleven Stage 4s, and dozens of peak Stage 3s."
Creed’s expression didn’t change, but internally, he was already calculating their best approach.
That kind of formation was a structured defensive lineup that if utilized effectively could lock down an area.
The Treen weren’t just walking trees with brute strength. They had instincts and so organization.
Still, they had an advantage. They weren’t truly going to fight their way through like dumb brutes. They were going to cheat.
With Tierra’s ability to teleport, they could bypass most of the battle entirely.
The only problem? The sheer number of enemies.
The Treen occupied such a large area that teleporting directly beyond them in one go was impossible.
If they forced Tierra to teleport that far, she’d burn out, and then they’d be trapped in the worst possible situation.
So they had to ti this right. Get close. Cause chaos. Then teleport out!
With that plan in mind, Creed advanced.
The closer they got, the more the forest around them felt unnaturally still, as if nature itself was holding its breath.
Amara moved beside him, eerily calm, her blue eyes reflecting the dim light filtering through the trees.
Then, like the sudden snap of a thunderclap, they charged.
Whoosh!
The Treen imdiately reacted.
A rippling wave of panic and confusion spread through their ranks, branches twitching, wooden bodies stiffening in alert.
But just as they were processing the situation, their leaders moved.
The two Stage 5 Treen at the front roared in fury, the sound vibrating through the air like an earthquake.
Then... BOOM!
Pressure.
A tidal wave of Stage 5 might exploded toward them!
Creed felt it hit like a massive invisible hamr, the sheer weight of it pressing against his bones, threatening to slow him down or to force him to kneel.
But instead, he smiled.
And then he unleashed himself.
Bang!
A violent surge of power erupted from his body as he activated his full strength.
Stage 2 Force!
Stage 2 Aura!
Stage 2 Spear Intent!
Stage 2 Lightning Intent!
The forest lit up with a faint violet glow, his body crackling with pure purple lightning, sparking wildly as if the very air around him had turned into a storm.
At the sa ti, Amara unleashed her own power.
Her glowing blue eyes shone even brighter and an eerie glow of pale blue light began surrounding her entire figure.
The temperature around her plumted, frost crackling at her feet, and for a split second, Creed could see blue particles swirling around her like frozen fireflies.
Their combined pressure slamd back against the Treen’s overwhelming force, and they didn’t falter.
The Stage 5 Treen leaders howled in fury at the challenge.
Then they charged.
The entire Treeman army moved like a tidal wave, a terrifying wall of gnarled bark and deadly strength, rushing toward them in perfect unison.
Creed tightened his grip on his spear. This was it. The mont where they would either slip through or get crushed!
But just as the armies were about to collide against them...
BOOM!
A blazing purple flash descended from the skies.
Lilith.
The mont she landed, she swung her massive red scythe, and screaming arcs of lightning slashed through the air, tearing through the ranks of Stage 3 and Stage 2 Treen.
The results were instantaneous.
Treen shattered apart, their bodies reduced to splintered chunks, their remains smoldering with lingering electric sparks.
But that wasn’t all.
At the edge of the battlefield, sothing even scarier was happening.
A small, barely noticeable grey blur...
FLASH.
A Treeman’s head suddenly vanished.
FLASH.
Another.
And another.
One by one, Treen were beheaded with eerie silence, their massive bodies collapsing before they even realized they were dead!
Tierra.
She wasn’t flashy like Lilith. She didn’t cause booming explosions or leave a trail of devastation.
But what she did was sohow even more terrifying.
She simply erased her targets. Her speed was so overwhelming that nothing could react to her.
By the ti they noticed the grey streak, they were already dead.
It was the perfect slaughter. But there was still one final clash.
Because while his summons were ripping apart the lesser Treen, Creed himself was racing toward the true threats.
The Stage 5 Treen.
And they were waiting for him.
His spear glowed dangerously as he approached. And then, the battle truly began.
Boom!
Creed didn’t hesitate.
The mont the Stage 5 Treeman lunged, he activated Pierce, his Peak Stage 2 spear technique, and thrust forward with devastating precision.
Boom!
The tip of his spear ripped through the air, a streak of violet lightning trailing behind it like the fangs of a serpent about to strike.
But just as it was about to pierce through its target, the Treeman punched forward.
BOOM!
Their attacks collided in a deafening shockwave, the sheer impact shaking the forest and sending leaves flying in a chaotic whirlwind.
The force sent Creed flying backward, his body twisting through the air before he smashed against the ground, skidding across the dirt like a thrown ragdoll.
A sharp, tallic taste filled his mouth as he spat out blood, his chest throbbing from the force of the clash.
But instead of looking wounded, he smiled.
He had expected this.
Fighting a Stage 5 Treeman head-on without going all out? Yeah. That wasn’t happening.
He still wasn’t at the level where he could overpower such a foe without using his trump cards.
But that was fine.
His Domain was his greatest trump card. And right now? He wasn’t ready to reveal it.
The battlefield was being watched. So opponents—both now and in the future—could be keeping an eye on everything.
If he showed too much too soon, he’d lose his elent of surprise when he needed it most.
No. He’d fight without it. And that made this even more exciting.
THOOM!
The ground beneath Creed exploded as the Treeman lunged at him again, its massive wooden fists tearing through the air like battering rams.
But Creed?
He was already gone.
His body flickered to the side in an instant as he activated the first pounce of Triple Pounce, his movent technique, and leaped out of the way just before the fist slamd into the ground.
BOOM!
The earth cracked open, a crater forming where he had just been standing. The sheer force sent rock and dirt flying everywhere, shrouding the battlefield in a cloud of debris.
Creed landed smoothly, his smile widening.
He barely had a mont to breathe before the Treeman charged at him again.
And this ti? It was even faster!
Creed’s spear flashed, and he twisted his body to the side, releasing three Thunderclap Orbs toward the enemy, each crackling with volatile electricity.
But—
THWACK!
The Treeman didn’t even hesitate. It rely swatted the orbs away with a single massive swipe of its branch-like arm, the attack looking almost lazy as if the orbs were nothing more than re insects buzzing around it.
Then, it pounced at him.
Creed’s grin only grew.
Second Pounce... Activate!
A burst of energy exploded from his legs, and his speed soared.
Boom!
In a blink, he vanished from his spot, appearing on the opposite side of the battlefield, barely dodging the treeman’s pounce again.
This ti? He was even faster.
His speed had reached the very limits of a Stage 4 warrior!
But even then, he was still losing. Every clash. Every attack. Every move. The Treeman was still suppressing him.
And yet, he was smiling.
The more the battle went on, the more his blood boiled, the more he felt that familiar excitent creeping in.
This was what he lived for. The thrill of battle and danger. The constant push to be faster. Stronger.
But after dodging another devastating punch, he sighed.
"Really? I have to use my second-best trump card just to match a Stage 5?"
Fine. If that’s what it took, then he’d show it.
Instantly, a terrifying red aura erupted around him. The temperature around him seed to drop, but not in the sa way Amara’s ice did.
This wasn’t cold. This wasn’t death. This was Killing!
A strange, eerie howling sound echoed through the battlefield, almost like the whispers of long-dead warriors, lingering souls drawn toward the carnage unfolding before them.
And then, his spear changed.
A deep crimson light coated its blade, the air vibrating as the weapon beca infused with sothing far more sinister than just Spear Intent.
His Path of Killing.
His eyes glead with a fierce, murderous light, and his aura twisted into sothing even more nacing.
Pierce!
He used the technique again, but this ti?
It wasn’t the sa. Because now, it was out for blood!
The Treeman sensed the change imdiately. It roared in rage, as if refusing to acknowledge the shift in the battlefield.
And then, they clashed again.
Bang!
This ti, neither of them was sent flying. This ti, the impact was even. Creed didn’t just hold his ground, he actually forced the Treeman back a little!
The monster growled, but Creed didn’t give it ti to recover. They both pounced at each other again.
Pierce! Pierce! Pierce!
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Creed knew that even with his Path of Killing enhancing his strength, he still wasn’t guaranteed a win.
But he also knew one thing. This battle wasn’t ant to be fought alone.
As they exchanged blow after blow, Creed was subtly shifting the fight, guiding their movents, leading the Treeman toward a specific location.
And then, just as he clashed again, he suddenly shouted.
"Amara! Get ready!"
It was ti to bounce!
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