Chapter 42: Lotus Blossom
Leon laid on the cold grass coughing up a violent mouthful of warm blood. His vision swam with dark spots as an agonizing blinding pain radiated from his shattered arms.
He stared up at the night sky through the tree canopy realizing his massive stats meant absolutely nothing against a true master of this world.
His raw strength was practically useless without the proper martial foundation and high tier aura techniques required to wield it.
He was nothing more than a toddler swinging a heavy stick at a seasoned warlord.
The brutal reality of the power hierarchy crushed Leon just as severely as the magical strike had crushed his bones.
He laid on the bloody grass gasping for air while his fractured arms throbbed with a blinding agonizing heat.
The system prompt chimed faintly in his ringing ears acknowledging his survival and granting him the Minor Pain Nullification skill.
A cool numbing sensation slowly washed over his shattered limbs reducing the excruciating agony to a highly manageable dull ache but the physical damage remained painfully present.
Seraphina scrambled to her feet and stood protectively over his fallen body.
Her violet eyes were wide with genuine shock and a fierce protective fury. She had watched him step in front of a lethal attack meant for her and take a devastating hit that would have instantly pulverized an ordinary man.
"You foolish arrogant boy," Seraphina hissed softly over her shoulder her voice trembling with highly uncharacteristic emotion. "You cannot block a Grandmaster’s strike with bare hands."
The masked Enforcer sitting atop his obsidian beast let out a slow highly condescending clap that echoed through the quiet woods.
"A very touching display of loyalty," the mercenary mocked while twirling his glowing scythe. "It is a rare sight to find a common servant willing to throw his life away so casually. It is a pity his sacrifice will only delay your inevitable execution by a few seconds."
Seraphina ignored the taunt and tightly gripped her broadsword. She knew they were drastically outmatched.
The Eclipse Syndicate was a highly organized criminal empire that employed rogue mages and dark knights cast out from the royal academies.
Facing an Enforcer meant facing someone who had survived decades of ruthless blood soaked combat.
"Take the wolf and run Leon," Seraphina ordered firmly without looking back. Her crimson aura began to violently compress itself around her blade turning the glowing steel into a highly volatile beacon of concentrated energy.
"I will buy you enough time to escape the tree line."
Leon stubbornly gritted his teeth and used his core muscles to force himself up into a seated position.
His arms hung uselessly at his sides but his dark magnetic eyes burned with a fierce untamed defiance.
He hated this feeling of profound helplessness. He had spent his first life being weak and he thought he would never allow himself to be discarded as worthless fodder ever again.
"I am not leaving you behind to die Lady Seraphina," Leon spat out spitting a wad of bloody saliva onto the dirt.
He desperately willed his system interface to open preparing to consume the Minor Regeneration Pill hidden in his leather satchel.
The Enforcer sighed heavily as if dealing with unruly children. He spurred his massive obsidian beast forward intending to finish the hunt.
Seraphina did not wait for the enemy to strike.
She drew a deep ragged breath and unleashed a forbidden aristocratic technique she had spent years desperately trying to perfect. The compressed crimson aura surrounding her broadsword rapidly expanded outward taking the shape of a massive blooming lotus flower crafted entirely from razor sharp magical energy.
"Blood Lotus Severance!" Seraphina screamed at the top of her lungs.
She swung her heavy steel weapon in a devastating horizontal arc.
The massive crimson lotus shot forward with terrifying kinetic speed ripping through the dirt and shredding the surrounding trees into fine sawdust.
The masked Enforcer finally showed a hint of genuine surprise. He raised his glowing scythe and summoned a thick wall of dark purple energy to intercept the ultimate technique.
The collision of the two massive auras created a blinding shockwave of raw destructive power that temporarily turned the night sky bright red. The sheer concussive force blasted Stormfang backward and sent heavy branches raining down upon the campsite.
When the blinding light finally faded the clearing was heavily scarred with deep smoking trenches. The Enforcer’s protective barrier had shattered and a deep jagged gash was carved across his left shoulder staining his elegant dark robes with fresh blood.
His obsidian beast was missing a large chunk of its thick armor plating and was currently thrashing wildly in pain.
However the forbidden technique carried a steep price.
Seraphina stood swaying unsteadily on her feet.
The vibrant crimson aura surrounding her body flickered erratically before dying out entirely.
Her face was deathly pale and a thin stream of dark blood leaked from the corner of her mouth. She had burned her internal mana reserves far past their safe limits causing severe damage to her own magical pathways.
The Enforcer clutched his bleeding shoulder and glared at the noble daughter with pure murderous hatred.
"You will pay dearly for ruining this uniform you aristocratic filth," the mercenary hissed viciously. He raised his scythe preparing to unleash a final lethal wave of dark magic to execute the defenseless woman.
A loud piercing horn suddenly echoed from the western ridge of the Whisper Woods signaling the arrival of a massive magical disturbance.
The Enforcer paused and glanced toward the tree line his silver mask reflecting the distant ominous glow of the local high level beasts drawn by the loud explosion.
He clicked his tongue in deep frustration. He was wounded and fighting a horde of territorial apex beasts was not part of his highly lucrative contract.
"Consider yourselves incredibly lucky," the Enforcer spat out before violently pulling the reins of his injured mount. "I will return to collect your heads once the local wildlife finishes chewing on your bones."
The obsidian beast turned and sprinted away vanishing into the dark dense foliage.
Seraphina watched the mercenary retreat before her eyes finally rolled back into her head.
She collapsed forward hitting the bloody grass with a soft heavy thud.
Leon ignored the dull throbbing pain in his shattered arms and scrambled awkwardly to his feet.
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