Chương 45: Shadow attack

"Oh yes, I forgot to tell you that they are much harder than the ones we encountered during the fight with that general," Arthur suddenly spoke like an afterthought after the first attack happened.

Dreigh and Rond was not able to react to the statement when another stronger force slammed to the wall they had made. The wall showed cracks on it until it broke into pieces. Arthur did not waste time and threw wind blades towards the Shadow, the blades were not like the ones he previously used, these blades were much more condensed and had a sharper edge than normal.

The wind blades cut through the Shadow and even the surrounding trees were easily cut into pieces. "Is it dead?" Vira asked a little bit tensed.

"Not yet," Arthur answered while readying another attack. "Shadows can't easily be killed by just cutting them in half and besides I don't have the right ability to destroy them, all I can do is to confine them and give us time to escape."

Arthur conjured a large container like wind that enclosed the Shadow. He made sure that it sealed and much denser like the wind blade he first used to attack the enemy. "Let's go." Several wind spirits attached themselves to the group and lifted them on the air. With the fastest speed they have experienced, the group traveled a few kilometers away from the shadow.

They slowly landed on a relatively isolated and safe area before they were able to breathe a sigh of relief. "You didn't tell us that you can use your ability to make us travel faster." Endo exclaimed after the thrilling ride. Their hairs were messy because of how fast the wind spirits traveled.

"Because I can't maintain it for a long time, using the wind spirits can consume more energy than making my wind blades more solid and besides I don't use my wind spirits for the things that I can do. I mainly use them for scouting purposes." It was true that if you had a contract with a spirit you can use them as you want but in return they can consume your internal energy and if they are overused these spirits can consume even one's life force. "Everything comes with a price. If you are able to make a contract with a spirit in the future please do remember not to depend on them too much. Their purpose is to strengthen you during a life and death situation but it is up to you to strengthen your own ability. Using a spirit can cause you your life if you are not careful in using them."

Hearing Arthur's warning, Endo did not speak anymore and kept on giving the man a nod. The other three also understood the warning. Indeed everything has a price, they were given these abilities but in the end they were treated as outcasts.

The group was about to take some rest when their surrounding turned into total darkness. They could hear Arthur curse from where he stood and they instinctively know that danger was coming to them. Five people remained unmoving like they were waiting for something. "Endo," whispered Arthur from where he stood. Using his wind spirits, he was able to communicate this words clearly to Endo.

Using the spirits as their medium Endo responded, "what is it?"

Can you produce a fire bright enough to illuminate this place?" he once again asked while he was conjuring wind to surround them and assigning some wind spirits to each of the group for extra protection.

"I'm not sure…" Endo was not confident with his own ability since he can only control and conjure common fire but to call out a fire that can illuminate the area would be like asking him to push a boulder using one hand. His control of his ability was lacking and he was clear of this.

"I'll guide you to it. You're the only one among us with the ability closely related to light and the only one who can save us from this predicament," he coaxed and encouraged the young man at the same time. Light was the ultimate weakness of shadows and if they could produce a fire bright enough to blind these shadows they will have a higher chance of surviving.

"O-okay I'll try…" he would try. He did not want to die yet without at least achieving something significant.

"Close your eyes and feel your internal energy, yours would be warmer. Imagine that you are gathering this energy into the palms of your hand, use as much internal energy you need but don't exhaust all of your energy," Arthur slowly explained when the sound of breaking branches caught their attention. With the noise, He could feel that Endo's concentration wavered. "Stay calm we will protect you. Vira, if you can cast some calming magic towards Endo while Dreigh and Rond create a wall around the four of you. Do it as silently as possible, because shadows are more sensitive inside their own territory so slight movement can alert them of our location." Arthur instructed them one by one while he was commanding the spirits to form a whip on his hand.

"Don't worry about the offense, I'll handle it. Focus on creating that fire." Arthur coiled the whip on his arms and waited for any attack. They all waited in tense silence but Endo wasn't able to fully concentrate even though he knew that there were people who got his back. Aside from the fear he was feeling, he could also feel the pressure of the task.

"Relax Endo, you need to relax. Don't think of anything else focus on your internal energy and on creating that fire," Arthur gently coaxed because he knew that if he rushed Endo, he wouldn't be able to fulfill the task.

Vira silently used his ability to help Endo calm his nerves while Dreigh and Rond continued to stack more earth and rocks to the wall they were building with too much concentration that beads of sweat slowly formed on their foreheads but they did not stop. The wall was about to be completed when Rond accidentally dropped a chunk of earth and it landed on a branch which broke.

The sound echoed through the area and they could feel the change in the atmosphere and the movement of creatures from every direction. Arthur already prepared himself the moment he heard the noise. But based on the movement he could feel from the ground, they're in for a brutal fight and he couldn't help but silently curse to himself.

He even boasted that he was already at the Tempered Soul Stage but against a number of shadows in the Bloom Stage would take a considerable amount of time before he could defeat them all. That is, if the scenario was he was only fighting for his life but with people behind him that he needed to protect it will be two times harder for him to pass this hurdle. If he was alone, he could pass the time and wait for the sun to rise before he would strike and make a hole in the shadow barrier but all of these are just ifs.

Arthur activated his enhanced vision and saw at least a dozen of bloom stage shadows heading in their direction. Some low level shadows were also slowly surrounding them. He released the wind whip on his arms and made the first move.