Elizabeth, Benedict, Shirley, Freon, and even Xiuying… These intense and desperate battles became the catalysts for their growth. They were experiencing an explosive increase in strength! The same went for the others. Although Sir Winstin and Mingyu Loon suffered a heavy setback from their fights with the cardinals, they made significant progress towards Half-Instinct Realm. Once they properly consolidated their newfound comprehensions, then their future looked promising. Ten Dawn Yvonne was even one step away from Medium Condensed Drop! The other Four Dragons of the Loon Family, Royal Guards, Grand Knights of the Realm, and Ten Dawns were not far off. Anyone who could survive to this point had to be insanely talented and powerful! But alas, individual power could never overcome a collective, especially when the odds were this one-sided.
Things went from bad to worse quickly. Outside, the effects of Ten Dawn Yvonne's Solar Butterfly Wing ended with the shocking outcome of killing several hundred in one go! The sheer power of her spell thoroughly stunned everyone, Elizabeth and her friends included. She was definitely worthy of her reputation as the strongest Ten Dawn! But it was also painfully obvious that this spell came at a heavy cost, otherwise she would not have delayed using it until now. Power came with their appropriate costs after all. It was most likely her hidden trump card. Under Cardinal Yongyu's leadership, the Phoenix Division quickly rallied together and attacked again. Ten Dawn Rosemary's Mist Shroud Battlefield collapsed a few seconds later, imploding from the non-stop flood of attacks. The woman herself suffered a minor backlash from her spell being destroyed. That could not be helped. Her spell was originally intended to shelter her allies from Ten Dawn Yvonne's indiscriminate Solar Butterfly Wing. Its defensive qualities were by no means poor, but against these many enemies, it would undoubtedly come up short. The enemies had broken through again!
The remaining soldiers, including the Royal Guards, fell one by one. Reverent Monk and Poisoned Widow charged through the battlefield practically unhindered. They slaughtered everyone mercilessly! Sir Winstin, Mingyu Loon, and the Four Dragons of the Loon Family were still battling their way back, but they were caught up in Ten Dawn Yvonne's Solar Butterfly Wing too. They narrowly avoided it, but the interruption set them back considerably. They were knee-deep in enemy territory, fighting bitterly to the end. Sir Winstin and Mingyu Loon's fighting spirit did not weaken, despite having received severe injuries. In fact, they fought even harder than before. Perhaps they had sensed their own improvements, that their stagnant selves gradually showed signs of moving again. The higher one rose, the greater their ambitions. It was simply the natural order of things. The hunger of reaching Instinct Realm, the desperate fight to survive, and the need to fulfill their duty… Everything pushed them harder than ever!
As for Benedict, he slashed down and broke through his opponent's guard. Then, he used Martial Energy to alternate his form of attack and stabbed in. Cloud Sea Style: Spring Rain! His thrust transformed into a million rain-like projectiles that threatened to destroy everything in its path! Although the interference strength affected external energy projections, Benedict's thrust was made purely through internal power. In other words, it was completely unaffected! That sort of attack at close-range was fatal and there was no chance to dodge or avoid it! Benedict was about to celebrate a minor victory when his expression hardened. Three more enemies showed up in front of him! Furthermore, his sixth sense tingled because there were three more behind him. In total, seven opponents appeared! This was a number even greater than what Sir Winstin and Mingyu Loon had to face in their peak condition. It was the worst-case scenario!
Two of them worked together to repel Benedict's Cloud Sea Style: Spring Rain, another two attacked him from the front, while the other three attacked from behind! Benedict unhesitatingly entered the Hawken Style's first stance and switched to a full defense. He expertly used his sword to deflect the two frontal assaults, but his back was left wide-open. That could not be helped because try as he might, he could only defend from one side at a time. He was only human after all. Especially with Perception Realm opponents, they could time and coordinate their attacks perfectly with each other. However, that did not mean he had no cards to play. Just as four swords were about to pierce into his back, he concentrated his Martial Energy there, reinforcing his flesh many times over. Then, like metal armor, he forcefully blocked all attacks with his mortal body! It was the same trick that Princess Xiuying's opponent pulled off. Martial Energy could be used offensively, as well as defensively!
But it was not a fool-proof plan either because Benedict's Martial Energy was limited as a Fundamental Realm Expert. Facing off against Perception Realms, who understood Martial Energy, was destined to end in failure, even if Benedict's proficiency might be much higher. That was simply the power of quantity. He had no choice, but to focus his defenses on vital spots and sacrifice the rest of his body. That was the best he could do. As a result, the skin around his heart, lungs, neck, head, and so forth were all greatly reinforced. However, as for the rest… one sword slashed his torso, and another narrowly pierced his thigh. His blood flowed in all directions! Benedict alternated between the Hawken Style's first and second stance as he engaged in an extremely risky maneuver. He would constantly keep an eye on everyone's movements and attacks, block dangerous attacks with his sword, and only expose his back to hits which he believed he could take. It was an insane plan, which required absolute confidence and control over the battle. The slightest mistake would be fatal!
Benedict's sword practically flew at ridiculous speeds as he engaged everyone constantly. His feet and arms kept moving, while his eyes spun around in every direction. His senses were overflowing with information as he tried to keep up to every situation simultaneously. One had to admit that his swordsmanship was awe-inspiring, if not downright terrifying. Despite the tremendous gap between his opponents, both in numbers and senses, Benedict held the overwhelming advantage in swordsmanship! The Sword King once remarked that Benedict had the potential for Sword Intent and that potential was finally on full display right now. He was not going down! Not to mention, his mastery over Martial Energy was rapidly increasing too. Soaked in blood, he rampaged without a worry for his life as he roared like a beast gone mad! Fundamental Realm Master!
Elizabeth and Freon assaulted his opponents with spells which gave Benedict the leeway to break away from the encirclement. His inspiration had been burning ever since the fighting began, and it had finally begun to take shape. Martial Energy pulsed through his limbs at an alarming rate, far more than he had ever used before. He felt invincible! His sword seemed to hum in excitement, a hint of Sword Intent! He stomped on the ground, created a minor shockwave, and accelerated to unbelievable speeds, almost comparable to Mingyu Loon! Even though his opponents saw it, it was unavoidable. The next instant, he appeared on the other side of the battlefield. He lowered his sword menacingly. Boom! A powerful shockwave emanated from his position as all seven opponents were attacked simultaneously! They sailed through the air, as deep cuts emerged on their chests. This was his new technique made from combining both the Hawken Style and the Cloud Sea Style, Autumn Hawk!
Immediately after, Benedict stumbled forward as blood spilled out of his wounds, painting the ground in a grim crimson red. His wounds had taken a drastic leap for the worse, and he was on the verge of losing consciousness. His body was barely responding now. That could not be helped, since Autumn Hawk was his most powerful technique yet, but it was also unpolished. The Martial Energy expenditure was far higher than expected, leaving his body extremely weakened. Although Martial Energy was quicker to replenish than Magic Energy, it was not an infinite resource. It had its limits too. And now, with this final move, Benedict had thoroughly reached his limit! Still, he stabbed his sword into the ground to stabilize himself. The battle was not over yet. There must be something he could still do!