Phillip swung his sword repeatedly, performing the 'First Step' of the Raeven Sword Techniques. The flurry of slashes cut toward the Mother with sharp edges formed from Ein.

But every time his slashes collided against the Mother's carapace, they were repelled, creating only sparks and metallic sounds.

"It has quite the thick armor." Philip cursed that his sword could not cut through this monster. He could only make out faint lines on it, not enough to even be considered scratches.

"That Doyle said he was collecting Greater Apprentice Exalt Beast cores for this centipede to advance to Elite Exalt. It's certainly strong as a peak Greater Apprentice Exalt."

Humans could absorb the Ein from the world around them in meditation, but they could never absorb the core of others. Exalt Beast cores had to be refined before the Ein within could be absorbed.

Records show how humans tried to absorb cores before refinement, only to end up in agony, sickness, and depravity. The backlash was too great compared to the Ein they absorbed.

Exalt Beasts were different. In the wild, their main source of Ein was the cores of other beasts, and they were naturally endowed with good amounts of Ein with the ability to grow stronger simply by existing. But eating cores provided a faster method.

This Mother Black-Heart Centipede needed to devour several cores to facilitate evolution. Doyle had deigned to collect them himself, so he sent out Regi and his group.

"It's a good thing we stopped the previous group from finishing their task." Phillip brandished his sword again. He shuddered at the thought of what Doyle would do with an Elite Exalt Beast by his side.

The Mother clicked its mandibles and curled its body, putting Phillip on high alert. Something was coming.

SWOOP

A mass of sharp teeth and mandibles rushed near Phillip's face. With a shout, he brought up his sword to defend, clashing against the sharp weapons of the Mother.

Suddenly, its teeth and mandibles clamped onto Phillip's sword anima. It could not break it, but it was not letting it go.

"Let go!" Phillip tried to pull away, but the Mother held tight as the rest of its body skittered its way. Phillip watched the tall jagged legs approaching as the Mother's body twisted and turned, intent on wrapping around him.

These incoming, encircling walls of sharp blades the Mother called legs reminded Phillip of the iron maiden, a torture device that stabbed a person in all directions with blades.

In a blink of an eye, Phillip let go of his blade and leaped out of the encirclement. The Mother could not react in time as the sudden disappearance of the sword in its mouth confused it.

Despite having escaped being impaled all over his body, Phillip was angry. His handsome face warped in shame and fury as he gazed down at his empty hands.

"I am a child of the Raeven Family, the master swordsman of the Brilliant Drake Empire!"

He manifested his sword anima once more and gripped it tightly to the point where blood spilled from his palm.

"To let go of my sword is beyond shameful. That is not the ideal swordsman I wish to be." Phillip took on the stance of his 'Third Step'. His Ein burned wildly at the tip. He was determined to wash off this shame.

'Third Step'

…….

Emily and George struggled against their opponents, the royal guard centipedes on the other two battlefields.

George constantly drew the centipede's attention with his barrage of arrows, but half of his offense was gone. His Sapphire Hedgehog was currently helping out Oscar. Thus, he had no support and could not use the long quill as an arrow.

The never-ending arrows shot at the centipede from the sides or strongly from straight ahead. George used his 'Wind Steps' to constantly dodge the royal guard's legs and mandibles.

"I have to keep this up." George eyed Phillip, who was fighting against the Mother. "I need to buy time for him."

The royal guard screeched and clicked its mandibles. It needed to finish off this nuisance and help its Mother.

Emily was not in a good situation. She used too much of her Ein to set up the great rock walls, leaving her on the backfoot against this fearsome centipede.

Luckily, these Black-Heart Centipedes relied on their numbers and brute force rather than abilities or specializations. This allowed Emily to match the centipede's power with her 'Heavy Impact'.

However, she knew she could not last long. Her small Ein was dwindling even more every second. This centipede was a stronger Greater Apprentice Exalt than a recently advanced like her.

"There's no victory in a frontal confrontation. I need to hold." Emily used 'Rock Barrier' to waste time. "Phillip, hurry up. Oscar and I won't be able to hold on much longer."

She looked back at her friend, Oscar, who was fighting off the horde desperately. He looked drained and was covered in cuts, but he carried on, swinging his shield accompanied by his blue deer.

…….

"Hah….hah"

Oscar didn't know how many times he swung his buckler. How many times had he met this same endless swarm?

Some centipedes had cracked shells, half their mandibles, and missing legs, but they did not stop their assault. These lesser centipedes didn't feel pain; there was only the instinct to go to their Mother.

'Reis Awaken'

With another forceful slam, he blew back another wave. He kept everything within his limits, but there was little he could do about the increasing numbness in his hands and feet slowly creeping upwards.

'Flowing Mountain'

When the swarm crashed into him again, he rotated and redirected the Reis, blowing them back again.

But the poison was starting to take effect. Oscar cursed inwardly; he should have brought some antidotes.

On top of the walls, the Sapphire Hedgehog was shooting quills at the stragglers that attempted to climb up and to support Oscar. However, the numerous quills that adorned its body were now few. It rapidly grew more which shot out, but soon it would have no more.

"I must have killed around ten and injured some more. But they won't stop." Oscar held his buckler tightly. Fortunately, it was strengthened by the Rainbow Didus' beak, or it would have worn down against these endless sharp limbs.

The swarm continued its endless waves.

As Oscar continued to fight back, he was cut even more. There was no time to use 'Steel Scales' to stop the damage due to the immobility it gave him. 'Stone Gaze' could not help either against many enemies.

'Continuous Flowing Mountain'

Oscar chained his swings. The incoming Reis of the swarm continually added onto his swings, blowing them back farther. However. Oscar's nose started to bleed from the drawback of endlessly looping the Reis.

Soon, he reached the threshold of his heart, but he soldiered on.

However, he was worried. What if his hearing problems flare up again? From the two instances beforehand, it occurred randomly.

The hearing loss was bad enough, but the worst was how his body refused to move as if it was stuck in a swamp. The only motion he could do was clutch his head in agony.

"If that happens to me now. I'll be dead in pieces." Oscar choked on some blood.

Sweat poured down his face; his disheveled appearance represented his current predicament. He was not like this, even against the Thousand Serpent and the wanderer.

"One more!" Oscar shouted out with all his might. He charged his buckler with Reis and swung together with his Anima.

"One more!" He repeated with another swing, slamming into the swarm.

"One more!"

"One more!"

"One more!"

The veins around his cuts started turning black from the collected poison that seeped into him. He strained his muscles tighter to stop as much of the poison as possible, but they were slowly taking more of an effect.

"ONE MORE!"

Still, Oscar kept it up, no matter how dire it got. But there was only so much his mind could do as his body slumped slightly. His arms were unable to lift anymore.

The poison was now in full effect.

"Kyun!"

The Sapphire Hedgehog realized how dangerous it was getting for Oscar and dove into the swarm of centipedes. It curled up and rolled straight in, stabbing into many of them.

It released all of its remaining quills in all directions, impaling several centipedes. Amid the mess, the hedgehog was bare. It looked like a naked rat.

The Sapphire Hedgehog limped but gradually stopped moving. It used up all of its power and Ein to help Oscar in this last moment.

The swarm of centipedes that were caught off-guard had drool coming out of their grotesque mouths. They were ready to feast on this creature.

"FUCK OFF!"

A final burst of Ein made the centipedes tremble. Oscar and his deer anima charged straight in without a care, his eyes locked onto the unmoving Sapphire Hedgehog. There was no way he would ever let it die like this!

Not after all it did for him.

In a final defiant roar, Oscar lifted his powerless arms.

'Dual Awaken'

The Ein spiked as the Reis flowed. The two powers overwhelmed every inch of his tired body, but he didn't care anymore.

The swarm was blown and separated from Oscar's reckless charge. He reached the Sapphire Hedgehog and swung his buckler with the deer antlers in a full circle; the light hitting it made a rainbow glow from its edges.

All the centipedes around them were crushed; their body parts were squished or broken apart in a mess of black blood.

"Hah hah."

His core was burning. His mind was hazy. His heart thumped like the drops of rain hitting the ground during a storm.

This last 'Dual Awaken' was everything he had. His Anima started to fade away.

In his sight, he saw some of the centipedes make their way toward the opening he tried to guard. Some were trying to climb over the walls.

The rest opened their mouths wide, ready to devour Oscar and the Sapphire Hedgehog. Their endless maws closed in.

Oscar stomped his foot on the ground to force himself up, saw the few centipedes escaping the walls, and shouted, "Bunch of worthless bugs! Where do you think you're going?!"

He held the Sapphire Hedgehog in one and fearlessly faced the swarm