Divine Beast Ascension

Chapter 332: Rathe vs A King Cultivator

“THANKS! I can use more heat!” Nixt laughed in return, pummeling the ground with a rush of earth essence. As the dirt shook and cracks surrounded the area around him and his foe, a wave of fire essence then rushed into the ground as well.

Caught off guard, the perennial opponent adorned himself in wind, originally seeing Nixt with only earth essence. But seeing the enormous wave of heat that Nixt had abruptly pumped into the earth, the opponent came to a quick realization.

“You’re behind the lava!!”

“Guilty!” Laughing, Nixt didn’t care about the sweat and stress that his body felt at the moment.

Despite his confident grin, Nixt’s body was in the middle of recovery. Creating that much magma for the trapped fort wasn’t easy, even with the gorillas, wildebeests, and stallions supplying the earth essence needed to prepare the rock for smelting. But with flames falling upon them and the plan moving ahead, Nixt decided to no longer hold back.

The sounds of sizzling rock filled the air, all while the invading opponent took to the air. He weaved through the raining fire and avoided the bubbling ground beneath him. But while he had evaded the immediate threat of the lava, he wasn’t expecting what came next.

Feeling jarring heat from behind, the man glanced and immediately stopped backing away. A plume of magma from the nearby ditch had become serpentine, twisting and turning like a massive snake. At the same time, a second, albeit smaller, lava serpent rose up from the pool of magma that Nixt had just created. And on top of that, the man was being pincered by the second traitor’s advance.

.....

“Marsel, what–”

“Sorry, just doing business as usual!” Marsel shouted with a shake of his head, equipping fiery, steel knuckles. “You would do the same, so don’t blame me!”

“Cowards!” the bulky perennial shouted at Vloz, no longer wasting his time with the others. “Now I have to get serious!”

“Oh? So you are a peak-perennial?” Vloz jested, finally saying something.

Giving the leopard a curious look, the bulky man chuckled, “You knew? And still challenged me?!”

“Enough torture and any weak informant will squeal like the pig they are...”

“Ahh... So you did know about him? We underestimated your cautiousness. Then why–”

“What’s better? Squashing the rat the moment it’s first spotted, or catching it when you least expect and using it to catch its entire mischief?”

“FAIR!” Booming with laughter, the bulky man unleashed the full extent of his essence, surprising even his fellow mercenaries. “Then pray you can hold me off! If not, this will be over before the fun can begin!”

The earth essence armor around the man increased and created a second layer of full-plate, only more flexible. Wind essence continued to pour out of the axe head, increasing more and more as the axe’s speed had drastically increased, evident by the next attack that glanced Vloz’s other side.

“Come on! That’s all you’ve got? Then hurry and die to save me time!”

While Vloz was forced to his limits in a blink of an eye, the battle within the earthen dome had already heated up drastically.

Flames spilled off of Bicard’s blade as he swatted away Rathe’s fists. The king still wore a smile but it wasn’t joyful in the least. It was a focused grin, showing determination and grit in the face of an opponent worth his time.

“What sort of art is this, anyway?”

“Talk with your blade, coward! Do you only know how to flee, like your failure of a son?!” roared Rathe, showing even more confidence than his powerful opponent.

Bicard lifted an eyebrow and squinted with his other eye. The smug, determined grin remained as he responded with a parry and follow-up lunge. “If you say so! Don’t die just yet!”

The taunts continued as they both refused to back off and cower to the other. But still, Bicard felt a tinge of pride for his opponent. However, it was only enough pride for Bicard to feel better about his son’s death. Given Rathe’s bulky strength when charging and unbelievable flexibility when evading, it was impossible for Bicard to imagine his son lasting long against the gorilla.

“Does that mean you killed my daughter too?” asked Bicard.

“What do you think?” chuckled Rathe.

“I don’t know what to think. I don’t know enough about this soul art to determine that.”

“Really? Wanna hold out your petty face so I can show you first hand?”

Laughing and shaking his head, Bicard took in a long breath. At the same time, the heat of Bicard’s flames intensified and the color brightened. His next swing of the sword ignored the usual parry and finally went for a trading blow.

Rathe’s smug smile tightened as he braced for the attack, accepting the exchange with great earnest.

As the blows landed, both Bicard and Rathe were thrown back into the walls. Cracks and crevices appeared in the dome to mark the harsh impacts they both felt.

But while Rathe was chuckling at the blood oozing from his chest, Bicard began to laugh boastfully. “Not bad... but not enough...”

Rathe shook his body as he clamored to his feet. But he noticed how much easier it was for the king to stand still, practically unshaken apart from the damage to his light armor.

“You... have a soul art?”

“Nothing like yours, but enough to get by when needed,” Bicard stated with an arrogant grunt. “I look forward to using yours, though. It’s rare to find an aggressive soul art, let alone one that lets a perennial fight with a king.”

Suddenly, Rathe’s laughter eclipsed Bicard’s. The gorilla proudly pounded his chest and stood tall before the human king. “In that case, maybe we should both go down today!”

“What?”

The ethereal energy coalescing around Rathe’s essence ramped up, burning uncontrollably and emitting a terrifying aura.

“It seems I’ll be your escort to hell! Don’t worry though, it’s a one-way trip for the both of us!”