Child of Destiny

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The secret exchanges between Shin and Cielo during the shifts in their strategy were only seen by a few people.

Those adjustments might be brief and small, but the impact that they had in the battle was quite huge.

They showed how scary hot young blood, who was not afraid of innovation of strategies, and the vast experience of an old veteran when responding to these unexpected developments.

Regardless, the battle had just started, which meant that more of these could happen later as the clash between the two sides further developed.

…

Seeing that Owen was charging at him and Shin was flanking him from a different direction, Griff wanted to change his direction and move toward Cielo, wanting to regroup with his captain and work together to fight the three.

But after a brief consideration, he abandoned the idea, especially after seeing how quickly Shin responded to the changes on the battlefield.

He was afraid that if he left this spot, Shin would change his plan once again and head straight to the three behind him, who were still running toward this place.

Even if he trusted those youngsters, he still had to consider how scary Shin and Owen could be given the classes that they had.

Owen was more than enough to handle Thirteenth Massacre while Shin was slaughtering the girls by himself.

Once Griff left this post, a terrible disaster would befall the other three.

He had already seen a glimpse of what Shin could do when it cto his decision-making, so Griff did not dare to take the risk for the overall result of this battle.

Having that thought in mind, he braced himself and got ready to engage in an intense battle against Shin and Owen. He was confident that he would be able to hold his ground until the three arrived and cto rescue him later.

Bang!

Taking a powerful stomp, he firmly planted his feet as he got ready for an intense collision against the incoming pair of the opposing side.

Swoosh!

Seeing this, Shin increased his speed, overtaking Owen's speed and leaping into the air while taking his signature sword-drawing stance midair.

Shing!

After accumulating a large amount of Primordial Lightning into his sword, he suddenly unsheathed the [Yamato] and swiftly swung it forward to release all those energies.

Roar!

'Jade Kirin Scripture: Quick Draw (Lightning) – Eclipse Dragon Draw'

Swoosh!

A huge energy beam was released by that swing and formed a huge lightning dragon that coiled and danced in the air before flying straight to Griff, who was standing in the distance.

Familiar with the might of this skill, Griff did not dare to underestimate his opponent and raised his shield high, summoning a huge wall of energy that resembled a small fortress.

Boom!

The energy wall was also filled with glowing runes that further reinforced its defensive properties as it welcomed the incoming attack from Shin.

Boom!

The wall shook violently and showed a series of huge cracks almost immediately. It was only able to withstand the attack for almost a couple of seconds before collapsing completely.

Bang!

But that was enough to nullify almost all the impact from that attack, exhausting all its remaining powers.

The residual energy that remained from that attack was not enough to put any threat to him given the powerful defense that he possessed.

Swoosh!

But right at the stime, Owen's figure suddenly broke through the receding energy curtain created by the previous collision.

Owen, covered in golden light, crashed against Griff, who was barely able to raise his shield upon collision.

Boom!

The Strong Lord was sent flying by the powerful impact and by being caught off guard by the unexpected attack that ca little too perfectly.

Owen was about to give chase when he noticed something strange underneath his feat. When he glanced at it, he saw an activated magic circle underneath his feet.

"So, that stomp is not only just for stabilizing his stance but to set up a trap as well," he mumbled as he activated his 'Divine Avatar' Mana Manipulation Technique to the fullest.

Boom!

A sacred light suddenly erupted from the magic circle and trapped Owen inside a transparent coffin that prevented him from going anywhere.

This forced Owen to use one of his CC-Removing Skills to free himself before swiftly giving chase.

Bang!

In the meantime, Shin had already caught up to Griff, engaging in an intense battle against the latter. He was preventing this old veteran from having full control over the rhythm of the battle, which would by him enough tfor the rest of the Hien Workshop to arrive.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A series of clashes immediately erupted, causing the wind to ripple violently. They had also blasted the surrounding terrains in their wake, somewhat changing the surroundings.

Swoosh!

During the intense clashes with Shin, Griff was forced to retreat as he saw Owen freeing himself from the 'Holy Prison' and charging straight at him.

He knew that he could not afford to face both Shin and Owen at the stas it could spell a great disaster for him.

His job was to buy as much tas possible and keep himself alive until the reinforcements arrived. He did not have to engage in serious clashes with Shin and Owen since he would only be putting himself in a difficult position when it happened.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Shin could not help but be a little impressed at this old veteran as he was able to keep a decent distance between Owen and himself during the most recent collisions.

This Strong Lord truly lived up to his name, showcasing to everyone that his reputation for defensive stance was not unfounded.

Shin and Owen were trying to build a great connection with one another and trying to link their movements to trap Griff in their tight coordination. But the latter always finds a way to cut off their connection by positioning himself in spots where he could disrupt their coordinated flow.

It was as if Griff was able to find the 'thread' connecting between Shin and Owen, which was barely forming, before cutting it with his trickly positioning.

This was the first tShin had seen something like this, which gave him such a deep impression.

Meanwhile, Owen was amazed at this senior, who seemed to be 'teaching' him how to act as a real tank.

Naturally, Strong Lord Griff had also sacrificed sthings in exchange for his interference between Shin and Owen. His health bar was steadily dropping despite his powerful defense and strong techniques.

Regardless, he had brought himself enough twith all of these. When his health bar was just about to hit a fourth of its total value, a sacred light suddenly fell on his body, returning it to its most healthy state.

Swoosh!

The rest of the Hien Workshop was the first to arrive!

Swoosh!

Young God Thirteenth Massacre broke free from the formation and sent a series of sword waves that hindered Owen from pushing Griff into a corner, saving their tank from a dangerous predicament.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

As Owen blocked the sword waves, Shin suddenly charged his focus and charged straight at the three newcomers, planning to wreak havoc at their backline or even kill someone in the process.

Swoosh!

Swoosh!

But he had just taken a step when Griff suddenly switched his gears, turning from a passive position into a more aggressive one.

Bang!

He started exchanging blows with Shin, knowing that he now had the timely assistance of his teammates.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

During the exchanges, Shin realized that he was being bombarded by a series of debuffs from Faith, who was a Dark Heretic (Dark Priest).

His movements were getting more difficult and heavier due to the number of negative statuses that were thrown at him.

Seeing this, he swiftly flipped the sheath in his left hand, transforming it into a rapier.

'Legacy Skill: Mondi's Style – Conviction Form'

Taking advantage of the special effect of this form that removed all the debuffs at him upon the immediate activation, Shin swiftly retreated while signaling Owen to disengage in battle.

But how can the opposing side let them escape now that they were trapped in their formation?

Griff, with his rich experience, gave a series of commands as he temporarily took over the commanding position as their team captain was currently busy dealing with Leonard in the distance.

"Formation C. Little Thirteen, Northwest direction."

His simple words were immediately followed by the rest of the time, responding accordingly.

Thirteenth Massacre swiftly charged out of the formation, seemingly planning to launch a flank while the twin sisters moved along Griff while maintaining a decent stance that was neither too near nor too far.

Seeing the changes in the formation of the opposing side, Shin glanced at the mini-map from the corner of his eyes before giving out an order. "Fortress, Go!"

Receiving the signal, Owen suddenly stopped retreating as the round shield that he was holding turned into a rectangular one before slamming it into the ground.

Bang!

A towering wall suddenly blocked the vision of the opposing side aside from Thirteenth Massacre, which was taking a detour.

The Young God saw Alice cast a series of Blinks from the distance to arrive at the battlefield ahead of tand join the battle.

She was hiding behind Owen's towering while casting one of her signature Magical Techniques.

Griff was about to advance while maintaining the formation along with the girls behind him, but he was immediately stopped by Thirteenth Massacre, who could see the trap. "Sir Griff, stop!"

Fortunately, Griff also sensed the danger coming from behind the towering wall, which was why he was able to quickly stop himself from going further and raised his shield to cast a defensive skill in advance.

Roar!

It was at that moment when a group of elemental dragons rushed out from behind Owen's wall and charged at the opposing group.

'Legendary Magical Technique: Elemental Dragon Dance'

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Griff was immediately bombarded by the attacks of the elemental dragons, which were strong enough to almost take him down.

Fortunately, Faith and Grace were fast enough to cast a series of buffs and heals to restore his health to full before the damage could even turn serious.

The Strong Lord was still showcasing his strong defensive capabilities when Shin suddenly sneaked past him and headed straight for the twin sisters providing support from behind.

When Thirteenth Massacre saw this, he wanted to do the same, planning to attack Cloe, who was surely alone and still rushing toward the battlefield.

But after seeing Owen and Alice's timely retreat, he knew that it was already too late to do it due to his slight hesitation.

His lack of confidence had caused him to miss a precious chance that could possibly give them the upper hand in the battle.

But he did not dwell too long on this thought either as he swiftly retreated and used his wind-rider skill to boost his speed further and return to the side of the girls in tand before Shin could even arrive.

Bang!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A series of clashes immediately took place as the two sides faced one another.

But Shin did not linger too much when he realized that it was too risky to continue. Griff was already returning after warding off the attack from Alice.

He pursed his lips a little as he swiftly entered stealth and immediately retreated.

This 'void' in battle gave the audience the tto catch their breaths after experiencing the intense clashes and fast changes on the battlefield. They were so caught up in the match that they had almost forgotten to breathe.

They were all at the edge of their seats the entire tand not daring to blink as they were too afraid to miss something important.

This brief pause also let everything sink into everyone's minds, processing all of it simultaneously.

Then they had instantly erupted in an intense uproar, seeing that the two sides retreated and chose to regroup with their team.

...…