Dragon Heart. Land Of Magic. LitRPG Wuxia Saga. Book 6

"S

tay back," Tom ordered. Clad in white, Imperial level armor covered with gold patterns, he shoved Hadjar behind him. "This battle isn't for Heaven Soldiers."

Stunned by his impudence, Hadjar froze. His companions charged — four people against almost fifty Spirits. Their Spirit Knight auras indicated that they'd be able to maintain a brutal pace for a long time.

Einen started the fight. The length and lightness of his weapon allowed for great range and speed, which gave him a clear advantage in fights like this one, and his Call served as both a shield and a weapon. Pushing off the ground, he soared into the air. The ape, following its master's example, swung its spectral staff, inspiring a kind of primal awe in its enemies, one similar to the awe felt by ancient humans when they'd fought against monsters clearly more powerful than them.

"Boulder Storm!" Einen shouted.

His purple eyes flashed with wild, unbridled energy. It passed through his heart and hands, and then surged into his Spirit, merging their attacks. The illusion that formed was that of waves crashing against the rocks. The mighty stones split the water in the course of their endless struggle that had been going on since the moment the first drops of water had fallen from the sky and filled the world's oceans and seas.

The thirty-foot-long coastline, with all its raging waves and sharp rocks, slammed into the Spirits.

"Bloody Charge!" Anise cried out, joining Einen.

Disappearing, she reappeared some ten yards from where she'd just stood, leaving behind a trail of silhouettes which moved from one opponent to another. The last time Hadjar had seen her use this Technique had been during their battle against the Primeval Giant. Despite the fact that she'd struck multiple different targets, each of her movements looked like the continuation of the previous one. Along with this Technique, she used the full range of the Sword Spirit's mysteries available to her. With each swing, scarlet crescents of energy surged out of her blade, much denser and brighter than Hadjar's own.

The 'Forest' hieroglyph flashed behind Dora as she whirled her huge warhammer and soared into the air. Hovering in the sky for a moment, she struck. As the only one without mastery over the Weapon's Heart level, she made up for it by having the strongest Spirit.

The hieroglyph imbued her blows with the force of nature itself. One of her attacks created a shockwave so powerful that it knocked down the first row of Spirits like bowling pins. Hadjar had to jump to the side or his right leg would've fallen into one of the cracks Dora had just created.

Tom's Sword Spirit flashed with scarlet energy. He was getting ready to use his favorite combo.

"Thunder God's Sword!" He roared, turning his blade into a streak of scarlet lightning, within which raged the mysteries of the Sword Spirit. "Bloody Charge!"

Compared to his reckless charge, Anise's attacks looked smooth and graceful, almost like she was dancing. Tom was more like a bloodthirsty beast. He didn't use the Sword's mysteries to attack, but to fuel his Technique. Every blow he delivered to the Spirits exuded rage and a deep thirst for battle. Flashes of lightning, generated by the swings of his Imperial level sword, shot out into the sky.

Looking at all of this, Hadjar smiled broadly. During his first battle in the Moon army, where he'd fought side by side with Nero, he'd realized just how good it felt to fight with strong allies against strong enemies. Those moments allowed you to reach a deeper understanding of cultivation and of things much more complex and fundamental. Things close to what Hadjar had been trying to find during his travels.

Azrea yawned. Stretching out across the warm sand, she rested her head on her paws.

"What? Is this too easy for you?"

Azrea snorted. Like any true predator, she didn't want to deal with the small fry. Moreover, she didn't want to deny Hadjar the opportunity to grow stronger, so she was content to remain an observer.

"As you wish," Hadjar chuckled, "more for me."

The tigress snorted again, then closed her eyes and wrapped her tail around herself.

"Anise!" Dora cried. "Don't summon your Spirit!"

Taking his eyes off Azrea, Hadjar only then noticed that Anise was the only one who hadn't summoned her Spirit.

"We can't win without it!" The girl answered, disappearing and reappearing a few feet away.

By the High Heavens and the Evening Stars, he could watch her movements forever — smooth but sharp, they were filled with both beauty and destruction, like true harbingers of death. Never before had he seen a swordsman with such a style. It was mesmerizing and very different from his own. He hadn't had a real sword Master to teach him, so he'd ended up teaching himself everything that he now knew. He'd never bothered with mastering any of the fancy moves, only focusing on learning the simplest and most effective ones. His only goal had always been sending his enemies to their forefathers as quickly as possible. Compared to Anise, he looked like a barbarian who'd just picked up the sword for the first time.

Hadjar would've just stood there and enjoyed the spectacle had his companions been winning. However, their best and most powerful attacks had managed to destroy only four out of the fifty Spirits. Seeing that they were still outnumbered, they began to retreat.

"Seems to me like it's time for the Heaven Soldier to join the fight, huh?"

Spinning the Black Blade in his hands, he drew out half of his Core's power. His crystallized meridians also contributed to the energy exchange. His body, strengthened by the Wolf Broth, easily accepted and processed the enormous amount of power that suddenly rushed through it.

"What the-"

"Another Spirit-"

"You're-"

"Barbarian!"

Sensing something that felt like a wild, predatory beast awakening behind them, the rest of the squad turned to Hadjar, who'd been engulfed in a column of dense energy. In its darkness, one could glimpse the outline of a dragon's open maw.

"Black Wind!"

Obsidian energy followed the swing of his sword, robbing the world of color. Everything seemed to turn gray, and everyone felt something heavy and deadly push down on their shoulders. A sixty-foot-long copy of the Black Blade struck the Spirits.

Concentrating all of his physical and mystical power in one spot, he added his sharp and strong will and the Sword's mysteries to the attack. With that, the 'Black Wind' was able to break through the barrier that separated a Heaven level Technique from an Imperial one, turning several Spirits to dust.

"Holy shit!" Everyone else swore at once.

Hadjar, turning into a plume of black fog, cut through the enemy's lines. There was no elegance in his movements, only pure rage. There was no beauty in his swings, only a d.e.s.i.r.e to kill as quickly and efficiently as possible. He didn't look like a swordsman, but like an enraged predator hungering for its prey's essence.

There was nothing human in his mad grin and eyes anymore.