Chapter 183: One Minute
[Are you ready, Shi-chan dear? Just like how we discussed, okay?]
Shiro gave a solemn nod as he acquiesced telepathically to his Mistress' worried exhortation. The presence of the Grand Elder had helped him tremendously. He finally managed to disengage from the crazy white female eagle.
At the moment, the Grand Elder had taken over his position, engaging the white Silver-banded Eagle. Although she wasn't that proficient in fighting, her enthusiasm had been fueled with rage from the death of her broken egg, though no one knew this except Kuro. Added to the fact that Mistress Hana had prohibited everyone from killing or hurting the Lady Eagle too much, it had become exceedingly difficult to dominate over this one. That was why she was still going strong.
Shiro gave the white spiritual eagle one last glance before he slipped through hundreds of Elemental Fiends blocking the entrance.
"You! Where are you going?! Tell me where the worm is!!!" Lady Eagle screeched with red eyes. She knew the white fox had a connection to the black worm because the scent of the worm was all over it. The white spiritual eagle dodged the Silver catfish's lashes and flew after the disappearing white fox in an attempt to stop it from leaving. She desperately needed to find the culprit and disemboweled it into a thousand fragments before eating it!
"Just let go, Child. You can never catch up to that one. This Old One do not have a grudge against you, but you have to stay here." The silver catfish spoke quietly.
Grand Elder Watershade released thousands of floating bubbles the size of a basketball, filling up the entire space of the underground hall in just a few moments. Ignoring the bubbles, Lady Eagle tried to break through the empty spaces. However, the bubbles were too numerous; once Lady Eagle's feathers brushed one bubble, it exploded with a bang, releasing compressed air. It became a chain reaction and detonated the other bubbles surrounding it, pushing the white Silver-banded eagle left and right. In the end, Lady Eagle could only lay down on the floor and couldn't move a single feather as the bombardment continued.
Although the silver catfish was at a lower level in strength than the female Silver-banded eagle, he could make it up with experience. Strength wasn't everything. Seeing the duel from the eyes of the Elemental Fiends, even Hana was deeply impressed and had a new level of respect for the Grand Elder. Killing a foe was oh-so mainstream, but to subjugate a stronger opponent without hurting it was a higher level of proficiency and a show of real strength. It could even be considered as art. It had given her some insights and inspirations to help enhance her pets' abilities and skills.
Lady Eagle wasn't severely hurt. In fact, the blasts only pushed her around. But she was helpless to go after the disappearing white fox. She watched the white fox with antlers go by and trembled in anguish mixed with rage.
…
Outside, the throngs of Elemental Fiends had been progressively killed by the gigantic brown eagle cruelly. However, another one quickly replaced its position and continued attacking without fail. The actions were so seamless as no gap appeared, rendering the spiritual eagle no short moment of reprieve.
The Elemental Fiends were like refined soldiers devoid of feelings as they were not even slightly affected by their nestmates' deaths. One wouldn't be able to connect the ones groveling over Hana's touch with these mindless spiritual insect swarm. They were collectively controlled by the Primordial Queen Mother telepathically during such moments to achieve high level of efficiency, hence lacking the will of their own. The Sanctuary's team also worked hard, hindering the rampaging eagle at every turn without rest. Everyone knew time was of the essence. A slight slip up from one side will lead to the success of another.
Monarch Fearsilver slashed and slashed like a crazed loon. Every time he slashed with his razor sharp wing, decapitated heads of Elemental Fiends flew into the air with sick whitish body fluid drenching his feathers. He laughed it off and continued his carefree massacre. He stopped trying to harm the colorful birds flying over his head who were trying to seal his movement, since he couldn't reach them due to his broken left wing. But he won't ever stop harvesting the lives of the good 'food' that was practically served on a platter for him. After all, they had stopped his broken wing from healing with their persistent concerted attacks. The seemingly meaningless attacks weren't without any effects after all.
A flurry of icy wind swept by, with specks of glittering ice shards accompanying it. The sudden drop in temperature startled Monarch Fearsilver greatly. For someone who lived his whole life in a tropical climate, it was exceedingly rare to encounter such a radical change in the environment's temperature, hence the one-second pause.
Once the icy winds passed by, the black-colored snake, now all better, rushed over him and flung its powerful serrated tail to Monarch Fearsilver's chest, puncturing it. He wasn't able to deflect the incoming attack with his good wing because a tiny Bubble-glue appeared out of nowhere and smacked away his wing to the side. To the Silver-banded Eagle's astonishment, he could feel something break inside!
[Unbelievable!] Monarch Fearsilver couldn't believe his eyes! He was actually seriously wounded by only one attack of a measly early-staged Lord! Before, it had taken the snake tremendous effort to bite his silver-enforced neck, but now it felt like the snake's power and speed had increased exponentially!
Monarch Fearsilver released a shrill screech full of fury, which had turned into a shockwave towards the Sanctuary group as his eyes turned red. The colorful birds scattered about in panic to dodge. None was hurt! The hated hornbill and worm had managed to score another bout of assault on him due to the slight distraction! Blood spluttered from his punctured breast. He could feel that his ribs were broken this time.
Monarch Fearsilver was in a dire situation. The black serpent constricted his entire body lightning fast! Intermittently, the cursed snake electrocuted him. The numb sensation had multiplied into searing pain and loss of limb function. The spiritual eagle lost his ability to utilize his silver-dyed talons to retaliate.
…
"Mirage Storm."
Shiro stealthily appeared upon a broken bolder 500 meters from the rampaging Silver-banded Eagle Monarch as he whispered the name of the inborn skill inherent to the Glacier Mirage Foxes. The skill could only be executed perfectly when Lord-level Glacier Mirage Foxes worked together to cast it. Before that, he could only utilize a tiny fraction of its power. The less-than-ideal climate added to the burden of implementing the skill. However, Shiro had no choice. It was the only skill suitable in this situation. In terms of raw strength, admittedly, he was a tier lower than Big Bro Ku.
Icy cold air whipped up around the spiritual fox as microscopic ice crystals appeared in a triple-layered hexagonal pattern. If one could analyze each crystal under magnification, one would notice the presence of a coded rune embedded in each crystal. There were six different runes at each angle. The runes rearranged themselves as they flew straight towards the unsuspected Silver-banded Eagle. The ice crystals appeared around the spiritual eagles in their hexagonal form. They rotated slowly, imbuing the Silver-banded eagle with a faint glow.
The struggling eagle suddenly stopped moving, astonishing everyone. Its eyes appeared blank, as if it had lost its soul. However, its vitality was still burning hot like the afternoon sun, although the raw wounds on its neck and broken wing were bleeding profusely.
"Attack the eagle with all you have. I have snuffed out all of its six senses temporarily and seal his movement. We must kill it in under one minute. I can't hold it any longer than that."
Hana and co., "O_______O"
In everyone's mind, they were thinking, 'Dangggg, what a badass skill!!!', especially Kuro who felt slightly soured within. Bro Shi never used the skill before; hence no one knew of its existence, even their Mistress. It only came to light during a recent discussion between Hana and Shiro in the Soul Hall Domain when the Elemental Fiends abilities weren't strong enough to provide an adequate mental attack to the last Silver-banded Eagle.
Shiro proposed to replace the Elemental Fiend's soul attacks with his previous clan's special technique as a contingency plan. It did not come without a negative effect, since Shiro used this technique before reaching Lord-level, without the support of his clansmen. It was meant to be an area-of-effect blood-inheritance technique casted by at least six Lord-leveled Glacier Mirage foxes. It was an extension to the Ice Shard Mirage Arcane Arts.
The manifestation of the rune-filled ice crystals came from Shiro's own blood. The ice crystals will then turn into a profound sealing formation, terminating the Silver-banded eagle's six senses while obscuring it with a mirage to prevent it from retaliating. Hence, Mirage Storm was a highly advanced aerial mental attack and a sealing technique combined. If it was casted properly by six or more Lord-level Glacier Mirage Foxes, the hexagonal sealing space could encompass a small mountain.
However, Shiro's Noble-tiered blood was inadequate to contain the sealing power. It was akin to asking a toddler to bear the weight of a partially filled house water tank. Although it was doable when several adults were involved, it could squash the child immediately. Nonetheless, Shiro was once one of the most attuned golden child of the Glacier clan with the highest attainment in the sealing arts. What he currently performed was a miracle and could not even be duplicated by a lone Lord-level Glacier Mirage fox.
Shiro's blood vessels were fracturing rapidly from the strain of the technique. He had calculated that he could withstand the damage within one minute, tops. More than that, the damage to his body will be irreversible, and he will die. Shiro had not informed Mom of the consequences of utilizing the technique since he knew Mom would never agree to let him use it. They were running out of options. Hence, he had to this time.
He knew Mom too well.
Mom will definitely take the burden upon herself somehow if he didn't do it. He knew how weak she was. She must not be the one to be the risk taker.
Kuro immediately flashed towards the spiritual eagle and continued attacking the Silver-banded Eagle's exposed wounded neck with renewed vigor. The silver-coated neck was tough, but he ravaged it time and time again while injecting in more venom to make it worse. Decapitating it within one minute was impossible, given how tough the silver-enhanced flesh was. At the same time, his elongated serpentine body wrapped around the body of the stationary spiritual eagle in an attempt to crush its bones, though it didn't look like it worked since the eagle's whole body was so tough!
Shiro furrowed his brow as he saw Big Bro Ku's 'inadequacy'. Right now, the problem with their team was glaringly highlighted; the lack of a vanguard to deal high damage attacks had disrupted their flow. Their Mistress' plan was fast getting off-tracked and showing signs of failing. He was the one who should be the high damage dealer, but he had opted to perform support and constrict enemy's movement. At this moment, he acknowledged Big Bro Ku's effort to increase the number of strong personnel in Serpent's Lair.
Shiro sighed and closed his stunning purple eyes to concentrate, trying to ignore the pain he was experiencing in his whole body. He needed to do something to increase their chances of hurting the eagle before the precious time was over!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone