บท 20: Resha Kills Inala

"Ugh…Khaghhh…" His arm had fractured under the impact, all the air in his lungs had been knocked out, and a ringing sound resounded in his ears. Death was right at the corner.

The trunk of the Empyrean Tusk was a precipitous bridge and the clouds masking everything was the cover of doom that brought about the chaos.

It felt like a bone sphere had slammed into him. And judging by the sheer strength of the impact, only Resha was capable of such.

'This bastard is trying to kill me!' He became aware as his already heightened senses further sharpened. Once he was knocked to the ground, Inala understood that getting up would be a death sentence.

Resha was out for blood, and so were the reincarnates. This was the best opportunity to dispose of each other.

Instructor Mandu had warned them about the risks associated with the descent. When they pass through the layer of clouds, not only would their vision be obstructed, but due to the winds, they wouldn't be able to hear any sounds either.

Thankfully, there was one way to navigate forward in such a case. There were creases throughout the Empyrean Tusk's trunk, horizontal in nature. These creases provided them grip during their descent.

So, as long as they move perpendicularly to the creases and proceed through the downward slope, they would be out of the cloud-covered region in no time. The trunk spanned 1.8 kilometres in length. With a brisk walk, that distance could be covered in twenty to thirty minutes.

Besides, traversing the trunk while enduring the winds was a test of survival. If you couldn't even angle yourself properly to the trunk and reduce the wind draft, you'll be blown away. You weren't fit to survive in Sumatra.

It was that simple. So, even though Instructor Mandu was leading them, he was also testing them. After all, these students were only eleven months from graduation. So, it was time they proved their worthiness to survive.

Even if all six of them were to perish here, none could hold him accountable, for every single adult in the Clan had the same thought process. Moreover, these six were Death Row students.

After eleven months, as the instructor that taught them, it was Instructor Mandu's responsibility to personally chuck them into the mouth of a Pranic Beast, should they not prove their worth. So, whatever happens within the cloud wasn't of his concern.

Besides, his ears caught wind of some clashing noise. Once he walked out of the forest region, Instructor Mandu patiently waited, "Let's see…how many would walk out of it?"

'How did he survive that?' Resha frowned. Once he detected the Prana values of the five reincarnates, he intended to kill Inala, the weakest first. Besides, since Inala took two valuable Skills from him, killing him took priority, 'Once his proficiency with the Mystic Bone Art reaches the required level to learn the Bone Slip Skill, he might sell the two Skills for a lot of money. That would dwindle my advantage.'

Hence, he had come prepared, carrying a dozen bone spheres in the trolley he pushed. All twelve of them were his Spirit Weapons, refined for combat. And the moment they set foot within the cloud-covered region, he sent a bone sphere hurling in Inala's direction, aiming for the latter's chest.

One hit at the ribs and they would crack, piercing both the heart and lungs. Inala would be beyond recovery by that point. With that thought in mind, he sent the attack, frowning, 'There's no shout from him. Did he die or did he survive?'

Zero visibility and intense winds meant conventional sensory means were blocked, leaving only his senses towards Prana. They were like faint clusters he could feel as prickling sensations on his skin.

Inala had dropped to the ground and didn't move, 'But, he might be acting. He's one tricky guy.'

Resha walked towards Inala and slammed a bone sphere in the chest, hearing faint cracking sounds. He wasn't content with it and targeted the head next, stopping only after a few attacks. He crouched low and touched the ground nearby, pausing for a couple dozen seconds.

A trail of fluid touched him as he waited. Resha retracted the hand and brought it close to his nose, whiffing the stench of blood, 'That's his blood, alright. One down, four more to go.'

The Prana he was sensing from Inala dwindled rapidly, allowing him to judge that the target was indeed dead. A crushed head and a crushed chest, rapid blood loss, and a quickly depleting Prana that was leaking out of the body, all were signs of death.

But before he could throw Inala's body over the edge, he needed to deal with the rest, 'They are racing toward the exit.'

Four bone spheres hovered around him and began to revolve rapidly. The radius of their revolution gradually expanded as the range of his attack continued to increase. Detecting the closest source of Prana, he slammed the bone spheres in them.

Bang!

A bone sphere slammed into his face, sneaking upon him right as he targeted a figure. When more than one Spirit Weapon was controlled, the efficiency drops. Resha was using four here. To maintain their destructiveness, he only made them spin in a set path.

That meant he couldn't focus on other fronts properly. A bone sphere had rolled on the surface and approached him. Resha had indeed detected it since there was a tinge of Prana in it.

But it had dropped out of Inala's trolley; that's why Resha didn't pay any attention to it. As a result, when it suddenly flew towards him, he was a tad late in reacting.

The bone sphere slammed him in the face and cracked his skull. His vision spun from the impact, but he hurriedly gathered his bearings. Resha infused some of his Prana into the bone sphere, making it counterattack the refined Prana within. Thereby, the bone sphere was neutralised.

Prana condensed at his skull as the injury began to heal rapidly. Resha focused on the individual whose Prana had spiked at that moment, for that was the one that had attacked him.

'The one with the highest Prana in the group, Virala.' Resha glared at the latter that was positioned thirty metres away and retreating, 'You're my second target!'