Chapter 196: Against the Wind

Flying backwards through the air once more, Percival spun his sword above his head, turning the weapon to helicopter blades as he carefully landed on the dry earth.

But not long after his feet hit the soil, Eristasia sent a gust of slicing wind, causing him to adjust his momentum and somersault over the attack.

Using that spin, he countered by drawing the blade down with velocity, activating ⸢Bladewave⸥. But this time, the flame that followed that magical arc wasn't ⸢Soulfire⸥.

It was its upgraded, purple form, ⸢Soulscorch⸥.

The soul-burning flame crashed into Eristasia and her Griffin. Both let out cries of pain, their body aching as their souls dragged out within them, cold and freezing.

Eristasia struggled to keep her mount steady, and once the Griffin stopped shrieking, she looked at the Outworlder.

"What the hell was that?" she snarled.

Percival's blade lit up with purple flames, crackling with the hunger to burn. "Get familiar with the pain. You're going to be feeling a whole lot more of it."

The noblewoman's face slowly twisted from agony to anger. "Nghh! You have tested me long enough!"

She leaped off her Griffin and flew to the sky, suddenly a gale of wind swirled around her legs. Before Percival knew it, this wind had turned into a hurricane, carrying her in the air as it spread dust and grass all over the battlefield.

She lifted her hands high and smaller tornadoes swirled around them too. "I will make sure you regret every word you've ever spoken!"

She pushed both hands forward and the tornadoes slammed towards him with uncontrollable force.

Percival immediately activated ⸢Grave Step⸥, vanishing from his vantage point as the hurricanes struck the plain earth, causing gusts of wind to spread and uproot all the stubborn grass.

He reappeared moments after on the battlefield, closer to where one of his Skeletons was locked in a swordfight with an Elven Knight.

"I knew you would do that, you vanishing pest!"

Before Percival could look up, his entire body was immediately taken off the ground. In mere seconds, he was ten feet high in the air, elevated by another hurricane.

Percival couldn't fight it. His entire body was being overwhelmed by the strong currents of wind. Eventually, he ended up inside the tornado, and was spun around so much that he became dizzy.

The only thing that saved him from losing his mind completely was his high Constitution. Any other Lvl 50 of any Class, might have bled out their brain tissues out their nostrils.

"Hurricane Hell Throw!" he heard Eristasia's muffled cry through the deafening howls of neverending wind.

Next thing, the Necromancer was being hurled so far that he feared he would find himself back in his former world. Back in Earth and in his hotel room.

That fear was enough to snap him back to his senses. Percival fought as much as he could to push back against the wind casting him far from the battlefield.

He made sure to keep his fingers tight around the hilt of Basilisk, struggling as the wind pushed him farther and farther.

Every ounce of his Strength, Agility and Constitution went into twisting his body overhead, so he could find the perfect positioning.

Percival dragged the Basilisk Blade to his side, kept it in an angle that pretended it was in a scabbard. Then, with the wind howling against his face, blowing his hair backward and pushing him farther away from the arena, he activated ⸢Flash Strike⸥.

⸢Flash Strike: A short-range, high-speed dash where swordsman moves in the blink of an eye, executing a lunge or a slice between locations⸥.

⸢Range increases when [Blade Aura⸥ is activated⸥.

⸢Blade Aura⸥ was activated.

In a blink of silver and blue light, Percival was blasted right back through the distance. He pierced the wind that was meant to be to throw him to an everlasting doom, and travelled through the sky. Downward.

Soon, he was back in the battlefield, and was aiming right at the oblivious noblewoman. Percival shot down like a comet.

Eristasia was only able to identify his attack on time because she could sense the incoming wind and change in the air's velocity.

She looked over her shoulder and her eyes widened at the sight of the Outworlder, blue trails burning behind him, and that black sword of his about to slash out from his side.

Only by a second — nothing more, nothing less — was she able to raise her spear to block that attack.

A KABOOM! detonated in the battlefield as Eristasia's spear broke into two halves where Percival's blade had connected. She was thrown backwards, scraping the grassy earth with her back.

Percival rolled over and used the momentum to launch himself in the air again. "⸢Heavenfall⸥!"

Eristasia, helpless on the ground, watched with eyes wide as the Necromancer leaped high onto the air, carrying a magic so heavy that she knew it would crush him once he came falling down.

And Percival was coming down fast.

But, to Eristasia's fortune, two Awakeners from her Guard stepped in before her. One was an Arcanist, the other a Flame Archer.

"Explosive Shield!" the Arcanist yelled, her sharp eyes perking in anticipation. She hoped she had timed it well because that Outworlder was landing really fast.

Fortunately for her, and unfortunately for Percival, her timing was impeccable.

As soon as Percival reached his striking zone, the blade of his Basilisk sword struck the magical shield, and like the name suggested… the damn thing exploded.

Percival found himself being hurled backward again by the force of the detonation and the following shockwave. Even worse, the other Awakener, the Flame Archer, shot him a blazing arrow that erupted when it struck his back.

Percival was thrown over his head, spinning in circles through the air until he found control of his own legs.

Any ordinary Awakener would have crash-landed after an assault like that.

But Percival landed on his own two feet, although the momentum had him scraping his greaves through the earth.

It continued for a while until Percival's heavy feet finally stopped skidding, the deep trenches in the dirt smoking from the friction. He stood straight, snapping his sword to the side like he was ready for another battle.

In the distance, he could see Eristasia being helped up by the Arcanist that had struck him. He saw her spear repair itself and her grasp tighten around it in preparation to strike again.

But before he could plan his next attack, the Arcanist cried something that made the entire battlefield erupt.

"Do not let him recover!" she said.

"Bring him down!" cried the other.

A wave of heavily armored Elven knights and Arcanists broke away from the skirmish with the remaining Skeleton Soldiers, surging directly toward Percival.

Two Elemental Mages at the rear raised their hands, one shot fire, and the other shot ice. Nevertheless, both dangerous elements were aimed straight at his chest.

Percival let out a huff. "Annoying."