Everyone on the battlefield knew that the fight would be tough and bloody, but no one showed any hesitation. There were traces left by divine beings as the prize, which were the most valuable resource in the new continent.
All the organizations would pay any price to take control over them, even if they had to sacrifice heroic assets in the process.
The battle suddenly started, and the battle cries of the invading forces filled the mountain chain. Multicolored flashes soon shone both in the sky and ground as the two massive armies crashed on each other.
Noah went directly for Countless Wings. He didn't see Peaceful Storm on the battlefield, but he knew that the cultivator of the Empire had probably informed the other assets about his techniques.
However, he didn't care. After all, there wasn't a proper way to block the second form of his martial art, and he knew his new opponent too. The only issue was whether she had a trump card just as Peaceful Storm did.
The death of the Lazy Whale had removed his last line of defense, but Noah now knew how powerful those old monsters could be. Also, Countless Wings didn't seem the type to accumulate an immense number of attacks.
Noah expected her to use more items that weakened the magical beasts rather than rely on disposable weapons.
Countless Wings smiled when she saw him charging at her and created insect wings behind her hunched back to boost her flying speed and force Noah to chase her. Her trail made of flames reappeared too, and the same went for the fiery butterflies.
Noah immediately deployed the Black Hole spell and summoned a series of Ghostly Sabers as he chased after her. He had even activated the complete Demonic Form since the beginning of the fight.
He had revealed all his abilities in the previous battles, so there was no point in holding back, hoping that he could catch his opponent by surprise.
Countless Wings knew that her battle tactic was bound to fail when Noah went all out, but she kept on escaping. It was clear that she had some kind of strategy in her mind, but Noah could only play along as he looked for an opening.
What was surprising was that she didn't shoot any arrow as the chase continued, which made Noah catch up far faster than the last time.
Yet, when she was about to enter the range of his attacks, Countless Wings took out an inscribed crossbow from her space-ring and fired a series of inscribed arrows.
Noah saw more than ten arrows catching on fire as they flew toward him. The crossbow seemed able to shoot fifteen of them at the same time, but the issue was in the power behind those inscribed items.
The arrows were weapons at the peak of the fourth rank, and the crossbow radiated the power of the fifth rank. Also, the arrows flying toward Noah had been enhanced with a spell and with the particular substance that weakened Noah's body, which made them even more dangerous.
Noah could immediately see that the Black Hole spell wasn't able to change the trajectory of those attacks, and he didn't feel confident in blocking all of them with his Demonic Sword. He could mitigate the damage by destroying most of them, but his instincts were telling him that he shouldn't let any of those arrows scratch his skin.
Noah pushed the Black Hole spell forward and detonated it when it came in contact with the fiery darts. Everything in the range of the explosion turned into ashes and a massive area made of primary energy formed in the sky.
Nevertheless, Countless Wings was surprised to discover that Noah hadn't waited for the power of the explosion to fade before moving again. He had jumped right through the shockwaves to gain terrain on her!
The might of the explosion burned part of his skin but left most of his more valuable tissues intact. Also, the Demonic Form had absorbed part of the impact and had reformed after he crossed the detonation.
Countless Wings didn't expect such a reckless act, but Noah was simply making use of the incredible natural defenses of the hybrids. A reckless battle style was perfect for his species.
The cultivator from the Empire started to retreat again, but Noah had become close enough, and fake arms were already materializing on the sides of his scaled armor. Four copies of the Demonic Sword appeared too, and he wielded them to perform his most potent attack.
Countless Wings didn't look back and sprinted in unpredictable directions, trying to dodge the incoming attack that her mind labeled as deadly. Then, a sudden wave of pain spread from her right arm and spread through her body.
Countless Wings turned only to see that her arm was missing and that only a small piece of flesh and bones had remained attached to her shoulder. The injury though didn't slow her down and only made her more determined on putting some distance between the two of them.
Luckily for her, the inscribed crossbow didn't require two arms to use, so she could still apply her previous battle tactic.
Noah seemed to have the upper hand for the entirety of the fight. Countless Wings would just escape and force Noah to defend until he managed to catch up and unleash his threatening technique.
His attacks didn't always work though. Noah's recklessness had surprised Countless Wings once, but she wasn't going to let that happen again. There were many times in which Noah's reached her, but found himself unable to land any attack because she was either too far away or was already preparing herself to dodge.
Noah seemed to have the advantage even in that case, but he knew that Countless Wings was baiting his attacks on purpose. After all, she could have just changed place with one of her companions if she was really in danger.
However, she appeared set on winning that battle, even if she had to rely on a cowardly tactic.
Noah was using four spells continuously, and he cast another one whenever he was close enough. The amount of energy consumed after creating his darkness had lowered by a lot, but he was still using too many attacks. Also, the spells depleted his mental energy at the usual speed, which wasn't ideal considering that Countless Wings was trying to drag the battle on purpose.
It was evident that Noah would become exhausted before her, but there was nothing that he could do about that. It was just a matter of battle styles and a lack of viable alternatives.
Nevertheless, Countless Wings was suffering her fair share of injuries as the chase continued. Her left foot was gone too, and there was a long wound on her hunched back.
The truth was that Noah only needed one precise attack, and the battle would be over.
Shining lines suddenly appeared on the mountain chain and forced the battles to a stop. Most cultivators of the invading forces retreated, but the forces of the Council didn't leave the battlefield.