Chapter 50: The Battle for the Thornheart Flower ii

Not too far away from the battlefield, Ethan stood among the trees.

"So the Shadow Clone skill finally came in handy."

Shadow Clone was only a Common-tier skill, but it had managed to fool the eagle long enough for Ethan to avoid its attack.

"What a useful skill."

Back at the battlefield, thousands of Shadow Chains had already wrapped around the Stormwing Eagle.

The chains pulled at its legs and wings, trying to drag its huge body back to the ground.

But the eagle was too strong.

It spread its wings and flapped hard, lifting its body several meters into the air.

The Shadow Chains tightened around it, but they couldn’t hold it down completely and several chains snapped apart in the process.

"Shriek!"

The eagle struggled against the Shadow Chains as they wrapped around its legs and wings.

It suddenly spread its wings wide.

Sharp winds gathered around its feathers before several wind blades shot out in every direction.

The wind blades tore through most of the Shadow Chains, leaving only a few still wrapped around the eagle’s body.

The Stormwing Eagle felt the chains weakening and immediately tried to break free. It spread its wings and pushed itself upward, forcing the remaining chains to stretch.

Ethan didn’t try to stop it.

He had already seen enough to know that the eagle’s speed was its greatest advantage. If it managed to get into the air, catching it again would be much harder.

The remaining chains were about to break.

"Combined Solar Ray."

The 500 Solar Elementals fired at the same time.

Their Solar Rays merged into a single beam and shot straight toward one of the eagle’s wings.

The beam struck the wing.

"Shriek!"

The Stormwing Eagle cried out in pain as the beam cut straight through it, severing the entire wing.

The eagle fell from the sky and crashed into the ground, sending dirt and broken branches flying.

Thousands more Shadow Wraiths immediately emerged from the surrounding shadows, wrapping around its legs, body, and remaining wing.

The Stormwing Eagle struggled violently against the Shadow Chains.

It tried to spread its remaining wing and rise again, but its body only managed to lift slightly before falling back to the ground.

It quickly realized that it could no longer fly and became desperate.

"Shriek!"

The eagle became more aggressive.

Wind gathered around its remaining wing, and several wind blades shot out at close range.

The blades tore through the Shadow Chains around its body and struck several Shadow Wraiths hiding in the surrounding shadows.

The Wraiths were cut apart and disappeared into the darkness.

More chains immediately appeared, but the eagle continued attacking, cutting through them whenever they got close.

Ethan watched through the Wraiths.

"So even after losing a wing, it can still fight like this."

The Shadow Wraiths could keep it restrained for now, but they were losing members every time the eagle attacked.

If this continued, the eagle would eventually break free.

"I can’t let that happen."

Ethan looked at the eagle’s remaining wing.

"I’ll cut off the other one and make you flightless."

"All Solar Elementals. Attack."

The 500 Solar Elementals immediately moved toward the wounded eagle.

The eagle understood what Ethan was trying to do.

It quickly pulled its remaining wing close to its body and turned sideways, using its thick chest and body to shield it.

The Solar Rays struck the eagle’s chest.

"Shriek!"

The eagle cried out in pain as the combined beam scorched a large area of its chest, leaving a deep, blackened wound across its feathers and skin. Despite the pain, it kept its remaining wing protected behind its body.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed.

"Smart bird."

The eagle kept its remaining wing behind its body.

Ethan glanced at the scorched wound on its chest.

"It’ll be harder now."

Ethan looked at the eagle.

"Then I’ll damage its life force instead."

Until now, he had only been using the Phantom Chain Shadow Wraiths to hold the eagle down.

"Spectral Claw."

The Shadow Wraiths hidden nearby finally made their move. Several of them rushed toward the eagle and attacked with their spectral claws.

"Shriek!"

The eagle swung its remaining wing, sending a blast of wind through the area.

The Wraiths disappeared into the shadows before the attack reached them.

Then they attacked again from another direction, slowly damaging the eagle’s life force.

...

Not far from the Ironback Gorilla, Garrick was already fighting the Three-Eyed Toad.

The toad’s third eye opened and a thin white beam shot straight toward Garrick.

Garrick quickly used his spirit to defend against the attack, but the spirit beam still struck him.

"Damn it!"

His expression turned grim as the attack shook his spirit, slowing him down.

He quickly steadied himself and launched his own spirit attack toward the Three-Eyed Toad.

The attack struck the toad, forcing it backward. Its third eye flickered before slowly closing again.

The Three-Eyed Toad had a special innate ability that came from its third eye. Whenever the eye opened, it could release a powerful spirit beam that attacked the target’s spirit directly.

It was a troublesome ability to face in a spirit battle.

Garrick was four levels higher and far more experienced in spirit combat, allowing him to suppress the Three-Eyed Toad’s attack.

The Three-Eyed Toad let out a low croak and opened its third eye again.

Garrick gritted his teeth.

"Looks like I have no choice."

He activated a skill that forced more power into his spirit. His spirit suddenly surged, pushing back against the Three-Eyed Toad’s beam, but the strain caused a sharp pain.

An illusory dagger suddenly formed from Garrick’s spirit and shot toward the Three-Eyed Toad.

It struck the third eye directly.

The toad let out a painful croak as its body trembled. Blood slowly trickled from the injured eye before its body collapsed to the ground.

Garrick rushed toward the fallen Three-Eyed Toad.

"I hope this was worth the trouble."

The toad’s body began to fade, disappearing into particles of light and in its place, a translucent orb appeared.

A small yellow brain floated inside the translucent orb. A tiny eye had formed at the front of the brain, opening and closing slowly as a faint glow passed across its surface.

Garrick’s expression eased when he saw it.

A Spirit Essence Orb was already rare. Most Essence Orbs increased one of the four basic attributes: Strength, Agility, Constitution, or Spirit. Spirit Essence Orbs were especially valuable to someone like Garrick, whose entire profession revolved around fighting with the spirit.

But this wasn’t an ordinary Spirit Essence Orb. It was a Variant Essence Orb produced by a Three-Eyed Toad.

Garrick couldn’t help but feel satisfied.

This was exactly the kind of reward he had hoped for.

"This should make up for the strain from that skill. Once I absorb it, dealing with the Ironback Gorilla and whoever has been interfering with us should be much easier."

He bent down to pick up the Essence Orb.

"ROAR!"

A furious roar suddenly shook the forest.

Before Garrick could react, a powerful force slammed into his body and sent him flying.

The Ironback Gorilla had recovered.

After surviving Garrick’s earlier spirit attack, the effects had finally worn off. And the moment it regained control of its body, it naturally searched for the person who had attacked it first.

Garrick crashed into a tree and spat out a mouthful of blood.

The impact hurt, but his armor had absorbed most of the force. He pushed himself away from the tree and steadied his breathing.

The Ironback Gorilla’s eyes were bloodshot, burning with rage as it slammed both fists against its chest. The ground shook when it suddenly smashed one fist into the earth.

With a furious roar, it charged.

Its massive body crossed the distance in an instant, both fists raised above its head.

"You think I’m afraid of you?"

Garrick’s spirit surged.

His spirit attack struck the Ironback Gorilla’s spirit just as he moved out of the way.

The gorilla’s fists smashed into the ground.

"GROOOH!"

It groaned and grabbed its head, staggering from the sudden pain in its spirit.

Garrick quickly moved back toward the Essence Orb.

When he reached the spot, the orb was gone.

"Where’s the Essence Orb?"

He searched the ground around him, then checked the nearby trees but there was nothing.

His hands tightened into fists.

"Who took it?"

He had just risked his life to kill the Three-Eyed Toad and obtained a rare Variant Essence Orb, only for someone to take it while he was fighting the Ironback Gorilla.

...

On the other side, Ethan was still fighting the Stormwing Eagle.

The battle had become a back-and-forth struggle.

The eagle had already killed many Shadow Wraiths, but the Wraiths kept surrounding it and attacking it, slowly damaging its life force.

A Shadow Wraith suddenly appeared in front of Ethan and held out an Essence Orb.

Ethan smiled.

"A Spirit Variant Essence Orb."

A small yellow brain floated inside the translucent orb, with a tiny eye at the front of it.

Ethan had kept a few Shadow Wraiths watching Garrick from a distance. When the Ironback Gorilla attacked Garrick, he used the chance to take the orb.

Ethan took the orb from the Shadow Wraith and crushed it.