Dozens of cuts landed on the Barrier and the cracks spread.
The second layer also collapsed and then a thicker third layer formed.
But Seris did not stop moving, every step came with a Slash, every Slash created dozens of Mana blades.
Crown of Thorns started to shake under the pressure.
And the young Pendragon reached close range.
[King’s Breaker.]
Her sword struck directly at the center of the Barrier and the Skill was designed to destroy defensive structures.
The first strike disturbed the defensive Mana, thin cracks appeared in the layer of roots.
The second strike caused more disturbance and then the Barrier started to lose its shape.
The third strike came and a short explosion sounded, and finally Crown of Thorns broke.
Seris did not stop for even a moment.
[Sovereign’s Judgment.]
Her sword rose for a moment, but this time the attack was not physical, instead, direct pressure on the enemy’s soul fell upon him.
For an ordinary person, the Skill could create a gap of several seconds between the mind’s command and the body’s movement.
The mind said move, but the body did not respond.
But against Caelus, the effect was much weaker...but not zero.
The man’s eyes froze for a moment and his fingers stopped moving, but the difference in power was much greater than what was needed to keep that situation going.
Only 0.8 seconds! It did not even reach one second.
But it was enough for Seris and gave her the chance she wanted.
[King’s Execution.]
She directly entered the killing range, the blade moved toward Caelus’s neck in a short path.
But suddenly, at the last moment, the man’s movement changed and he pulled his head back, his hand came up.
Seris’s sword changed its path slightly, instead of his neck, the blade landed on his shoulder, cutting from the shoulder to the upper part of his chest.
More blood came out.
Caelus took several steps back.
Aren watched the scene from a distance, for a moment he even forgot to breathe.
He knew that this girl was powerful but he did not expect her to be this strong, he thought they would have no chance in this battle and would lose.
But she had wounded the leader of the Cindari several times in less than a few minutes.
"Damn..."
Seris prepared her next attack.
But this time Caelus no longer had the same calm expression as before, his eyes moved from the wound on his chest back to the girl.
"Enough."
Mana was released and its pressure hit the surroundings like an invisible wave, the gray soil of the Dead Zone rose from the ground.
Aren unconsciously took one step back, even One lowered its body.
And then the ground started to move.
[First Root Dominion.]
The dead roots that had been lying dry and lifeless on the ground until a few moments ago suddenly shook.
One.
Ten.
Then dozens.
They came out of the ground, some white, some black and some so dry that they should have broken from a simple touch.
But under Caelus’s Skill, they moved like huge snakes.
The first root shot toward Seris, she cut it with her sword and the cut part fell to the ground but the remaining end suddenly split into two branches.
Seris frowned.
Two more roots came from the left and right, she cut one, jumped over the other and a third root came up from under her feet.
She turned her body and moved it away with the edge of her sword, although suddenly the number increased.
Four.
Eight.
Twelve.
One did not stay aside anymore, it jumped forward with a rough sound and its huge jaws closed around one of the roots.
With the huge force it used, the root broke in the middle.
One directly entered the group of roots, its natural armor took the attacks, and with its powerful legs it pressed several roots into the ground.
Then without slowing down, it Charged toward Caelus.
The leader of the Cindari looked at it and the huge ant closed the distance with brutal power.
The man moved aside but One changed its path at the last moment, its head and front part of its body hit Caelus’s side.
A heavy sound of impact was heard and the enemy was thrown several meters into the air, he landed on his feet and slid several more meters backward.
"So that ant isn’t only a means of transportation..." Aren said in disbelief and then looked at himself, he was not happy that he was the only one watching from the side.
He could not use all of his previous power, every time he raised his Mana too much, it put direct pressure on his Mana Channels.
But this pain was nothing compared to the victory they could gain and if he kept standing there, Seris and One would sooner or later be buried under the number of roots.
He put his hand on the ground, forced Mana through his Channels, pain immediately moved from his arm to his shoulder, he pressed his teeth together but endured it!
[Earth Spear.]
The ground under Caelus exploded, three stone spears came out from under his feet and forced him to dodge.
The second passed beside his body and the third forced him to take one step back.
Aren also put his other hand on the ground.
[Stone Coffin.]
Four thick walls of earth and stone rose around Caelus, closing from four directions and a roof also formed above them.
For several seconds the man was completely trapped inside.
Seris immediately saw the chance, lowered her sword and then, contrary to what Aren expected, put it inside its sheath.
[Stargrave Draw.]
Mana started gathering, not outside the blade but inside it and the pressure was compressed along the metal.
Every second that the sword remained inside the sheath, more energy was compressed into a single Slash, but this Skill had one clear weakness, Seris could not freely attack while Charging.
One stood between her and the Stone Coffin while Aren used all his remaining strength to keep the Coffin in place.
Although a strike came from inside and the right wall cracked.
The second strike came and the cracks became larger!
The leader of the Cindari wanted to force his way out! And considering the power he had, they only had a few seconds!
"Faster! I can’t hold him any longer."
Seris did not answer, Mana was still gathering, it was not time yet.
But when the third strike came from inside, part of the Stone Coffin broke, finally Caelus’s hand came out through the stone.
The dead roots around them started wrapping around the walls.
Aren put almost all of his remaining Mana into the ground, and the pain became stronger.
He was sure that he could not endure the enemy’s next attack, if only one more strike came from inside, the Coffin would definitely break! This was his limit!
"Now!" Seris opened her eyes, her hand on the hilt and finally pulled out the sword!
[Stargrave Draw.]
There was no big explosion, only a thin and almost invisible line from in front of Seris to the horizon of the Dead Zone.
For a fraction of a second, nothing happened, then the Stone Coffin split into two from the center.
The dry tree behind it was also cut along the same line, the huge trunk started sliding with a delay.
And part of Caelus’s side had been cut open and the wound continued from his lower ribs to his waist and a large amount of blood fell onto the ground.
Aren held his breath, it was one of the most incredible sword skills he had ever seen.
Seris raised her sword again, just because her attack had succeeded did not mean they had won and they needed to keep their guard up.
"I won’t hold back anymore, I didn’t want to go this far but it seems I have no choice." But Caelus was still standing, he looked at the wound on his side and then at the blood on the ground and then opened his hand.
[Father’s Blood.]
The blood on the ground shook, the drops rose against gravity and red threads separated from the ground and returned toward Caelus’s body.
The wound started closing, the flesh did not dry, it did not freeze but actually joined together.
The veins connected again, the skin closed over it.
Only a few seconds later, nothing remained of the deep wound except a red line.
"What the hell is this..." Seris said with a frown.
"Your time to die has come...." This time Caelus did not smile, it was clear that he was angry and the Mana around him changed.