The hybrids came out from holes on the side of the mountains near the battles between the human troops, but their roars forced them to pause the hostilities.
There were more than sixty hybrids in the heroic ranks, with seven of them being in the fifth rank, and the human cultivators of the invading forces stared at them in fear. They didn't know if they were the target of those mighty creatures.
However, the hybrids soon shot in the air toward the battlefield featuring heroic cultivators and revealed the massive chains that kept them linked to the bottom of those fissures.
The chains were inscribed items similar to those used to restrain the slaves. It seemed that the Empire had managed to improve its iconic inscribed chains so that they could work even on those creatures. Also, most of those hybrids weren't perfect beings but were Elite beasts that had developed a sea of consciousness during the transformation.
Noah found the fact that the chains were able to control them quite amazing.
'I can join this one,' Noah thought as he called the Demonic Swords and dived toward one of the incoming hybrids in the fifth rank.
Due to his vast knowledge in the field, Noah could choose the creature that would require the least amount of mental energy to defeat. His target ended up to be a Horned Horse in the middle tier of the fifth rank.
The Horse was six meters tall and had two pairs of horns coming out of its forehead and pointing ahead. It was a magical beast of the earth element that could control the ground to sprint toward its opponent, but its innate abilities were far weaker in the air. Also, the specimen that Noah had chosen as his target was a perfect hybrid, which meant that it had access to an inferior version of "Breath".
Just when Noah thought that the Empire was wasting the power of the creature, the Horse created a series of platforms under its hoofs to sprint toward him.
Noah found the horns of the Horse threatening to stab his chest in less than an instant, but he had reacted in time and slashed with the Demonic Sword to deviate the sudden attack. He felt surprised though. It seemed that the inscribed chains were forcing the hybrid to control its instincts and use all the abilities at its disposal.
'Sanity in exchange for slavery?' Noah smirked when he thought that. 'This can't be a solution to the issue.'
He knew the effects of the inscribed chains of the Empire. They were able to suppress even the essence of a living being, which turned it into nothing more than a puppet.
His solution to the mental instabilities of the hybrids was a form of suppression too, but it wasn't something so thorough that even his will was affected. He simply used his superior mind to keep his instincts in check and have the possibility to decide to let them take control.
The Horned Horse found itself high in the sky when it managed to stop its charge. Yet, Noah was already behind it, ready to slash with his divided Demonic Sword.
The weakness of that species was that it needed a run-up to make that sudden acceleration, which meant that Noah only had to keep pressuring it to block its most potent attack.
The Horse controlled the "Breath" around it once again when it noticed that Noah was already attacking, and a layer of rocks appeared to form a protective armor. Also, the Horse even used the "Breath" inside its dantian to add more layers of protection to its defensive spell.
Noah's weapons crashed on its armor and dug deep cuts in it. Black smoke spread from the Demonic Sword too, and the layers of rocks began to crumble.
Noah battle intent rose when he saw that the Horse could endure his physical strength. Most of his opponents would just explode if he were to land such a powerful attack directly on their bodies.
The Horse neighed when Noah's aura surged, and the latter answered with a roar that spread white flames all over its body. The hybrid didn't hesitate to turn its armor into a series of spikes that shot in every direction and flung Noah back as he defended against them.
The Horse finally had some space at that point and retreated only to perform the iconic sprint of that species with the help of platforms made of "Breath" of the earth element.
Noah had just finished defending against the spikes when four horns appeared in front of him once again and threatened to pierce him from side to side. However, he quickly let go of the Demonic Sword to grab those horns and allow them to push him backward.
Noah and the Horned Horse flew for entire kilometers, dividing the battlefield into two sides and running over multiple cultivators, hybrids, and shadows on their path.
The Horse eventually understood that slamming Noah on other living beings wouldn't be enough to make him land on its horns, so it changed direction and began to sprint downward. Impaling him to the ground seemed far more feasible than keeping on running around until his physical strength gave up to the countless clashes.
Of course, Noah was just waiting for an opportunity to gain the advantage of the situation.
When the two of them were almost on the ground, Noah spun on himself and used the momentum generated by the Horse to slam it on the side of the mountain right under them. The earth shook, and a huge crack formed in the area of impact, but Noah didn't hesitate to grab the chains and pull them with all his strength.
The Horse struggled, but its physical strength was slightly inferior to Noah's due to a matter of species and progression in the middle tier. It shot in the air as Noah pulled and it met his punch when it reached him.
Noah sent the hybrid back on the ground, but he pulled again to deliver another strong punch. The process repeated itself for a few times until the Demonic Sword reached him, and he wielded it to replace his punches with powerful slashes.
Noah pulled, slashed, and flung the hybrid back on the side of the mountain multiple times. The Horse would manage to cast a defensive spell between one attack and another, but deep cuts appeared on its skin most of the time.
The cuts eventually deepened and reached for the strong muscles of that specimen, but the chain in his grasp started to shine at that point, and the Horse answered to that unusual event with a loud neigh followed by human words. "I will kill all of you!"
Noah didn't know if the hybrids intended to kill the invaders or if its words were directed to the Empire, but he didn't care. He was only interested in the powerful dantian of the creature.