"Can you not be so smug about it?" Hildegarde smiled wryly and said. She had been on Mane's shoulder the entire fight and hadn't moved an inch away from her favorite spot. Not even when Absolute Darkness showed a different side of itself did she move. She was there the entire time.
"Why should I not be?" Mane replied. Since he had been thrust into this situation by Silver's mother, there was no way he wouldn't taunt her about her first failure when it presented itself so grandly.
"What if she gets mad?" Hildegarde asked.
"She's a 5th stage Heaven Realmer Hildegarde. I can still handle her. As long as she isn't at the 8th stage it should be fine." Mane waved Hildegarde's worries away and said. He could handle a wielder of average battle talent at the 7th stage of the Heaven Realm at best. The Emerald Crystal Monkey was at the 5th Stage of the Heaven Realm, but she was stronger than that. After all, the 11 Crystal Monkeys Mane had just defeated were all stronger than their actual energy levels by a single level. And that was why Mane hadn't found it as easy as he would have hoped to deal with them. And this was only because both groups were holding back. Mane theorized that if the monkeys had fought with their lives on the line, they would be able to fight averagely talented wielders who were two levels above their energy levels!
Going by that logic and based on Silver's talent, Mane reckoned that the Emerald Crystal Monkey had a greater talent. Since she and Silver were basically the same of their kind – royalty – that meant that they had similar talent. Silver's fighting prowess and numerous skills meant that he could go head to head with an averagely talented wielder who was stronger than him by two levels. And if he fought with his life on the line, he would be able to handle talents three levels above him! So his mother should be about the same.
"About Absolute Darkness…" Hildegarde went to the topic she was most curious about. She had barely began her statement when Mane interrupted her with an "I don't know," although she didn't seem to be buying it.
Feeling her gaze boring into his temple Mane shrugged his shoulders and said, "I really don't know. It may be because we are in Dark Valley, a place deeply baptized in darkness that it had such a reaction. That's the only thing I can think about."
"Is it?" Hildegarde furrowed her brows and thought silently. Was that really nothing but a reaction to their current environment? Or was there something else?
She didn't have the time to consider it though, for an angry Emerald Crystal Monkey was approaching Mane. Silver's mother was so mad that she had forgotten that she had reminded herself to move the fight to the outside and was intending to deal with things right here.
From the distance, Silver and Lily watched on. The large monkey moved to Lily when he saw his mother leaving his side to confront Mane. Maybe he figured that it would be better if he was at the same place with someone who supported the one he was rooting for.
*Roar*
The Emerald Crystal Monkey's roar shook the cave and threatened to crush Mane. The aura of a heaven wielder was fully unveiled, as the power of one who was in the middle stages of the Heaven Realm was revealed to all who were here. It was a small congregation of mankind and beasts, but they served as just the right audience for this showdown.
Mane didn't cower under the threatening aura of the Queen of the Crystal Monkeys. Without any hesitation he pulled his swords out of their scabbards. Their pitch black blades didn't reflect any light and seemed to only swallow the light rays of the Light Tree. Their hilts were engraved with the figures of dragons; dragons that seemed to coil around the entire sword and not just the handles. Mane pushed much of his inner energy into the swords, and they somehow turned a tad bit darker. And then they burst into flames!
*Whoosh*
Mane sprang into action, and he was the first to do so. He wasn't a fool to sit back and wait for the bashing of a beast that had so much more inner energy to spare than he did. And even worse, the previous fight had drained him of almost half of his energy, so he couldn't afford to be wasteful.
"Prideful Sword: Dance of the Half-Moon"
Mane span round and round, gathering momentum with each full rotation. His fiery blades didn't lose their burning vigor and grew more powerful with each spin. When Mane activated the technique of his master, the blades screamed in excitement. And their thunderous roar when they smashed into the arms of the Crystal Monkey Queen was priceless.
*Bang*
Silver's mother was forced to retreat due to the ferocity of the blow. Her large figure skidded across the ground, drawing up several kilograms of soil and dirt as she moved. Her eyes squinted into small needles as she cast them to her arms that had served as her shields in the clash. Although she had coated her arms with energy, the blades still hacked into her skin and there were two shallow cuts on her arm! She knew that she couldn't take this lightly, but even she wasn't expecting her inner energy coat to be breached so simply. After all, the opponent was still an Earth Wielder. And he was at the weakest level too!
Mane didn't want to give her anytime to think, or to activate her techniques for that matter. If he went by what he had seen from Silver, the Emerald Crystal Monkey should have all those techniques as well – and a few more. And maybe just like Silver she may have an unusual ability like Distort, and Mane didn't want to present her the chance to use it. And it was because of that that Mane didn't hesitate to turn to one of his earliest skills.
"Star Flicker"
Like a gentle breeze accompanied by a frenzied storm, Mane's figure flashed and disappeared, and under the astonished gaze of the Emerald Crystal Monkey he reappeared right next to her.
"Prideful Sword: Dance of the Half-Moon"
"Bloodied Blade: Crazed Cut of the Blade King!"
Mane employed two techniques at the same time, not choosing to worry about his meagre energy reserves. His body bathed in the strengthening of Edict, elevating both his inner and outer energy to new heights as he pierced his two swords towards the Emerald Crystal Monkey.
The expression of the Queen of Monkeys was anything but pleasant. As an intelligent beast it understood just what Mane as planning, and she was angry and too proud to admit it but it was working. She wasn't getting the time required to use any of her skills, and if this continued, she would lose without being able to show her full strength. She had the battle ability of a 7th Stage Heaven Realmer even when she wasn't trying, yet she wasn't able to fight at her full potential. Currently she was fighting at a level lower than her actual level. And all she could do now was defend.
She could see that this new attack carried twice the amount of power compared to the one earlier. And that meant that she couldn't just handle this with her inner energy coat. So she countered with a skill she didn't need to prepare herself to execute. A special skill much like Silver's Distort. It was called Sonic Blast.
Opening her mouth widely, she inhaled a sharp breath of air, and then violently coughed out this air. But what came out wasn't a gust of wind. What was returned was a powerful blast that struck against Mane's blades and did exactly what the skill was named – cause a blast!
*Boom*
Three techniques intertwined, yet there was no winner. Both Mane and Silver's mother were knocked back by the sheer power of their skills. Mane flew back a couple dozen meters, and Silver's mother was knocked back by a few more with her back almost touching the cave walls. But to her this was a more welcome sight. For at this distance, she had the time to prepare, and prepare she did. A golden light much denser than anything the other monkeys had been able to summon flooded the body of the Queen and encased her within.
Earth Manipulation: Armor
Earth Manipulation: Cannons
Earth Manipulation: Weapon Creation
Earth Manipulation: Blade Wings
Earth Manipulation: Earth Drones
Mane watched sternly as the golden light receded to reveal his opponent's new form. The Emerald Crystal Monkey was fully covered in thick and well sculpted armor. The cannons that Silver had used against him were mounted upon her shoulders, only this time they were a few times larger and sturdier looking. Her hands were covered with large earthen gloves that were full of spikes and had very sharp claws at the end. Added to the skills Mane had already seen Silver use were two that he wasn't familiar with. There were two large wings shaped like swords extending from her shoulders and fluttering in the air. And Mane didn't need to be told that he should avoid those blades if he wanted to live before knowing to do just that. In addition to that were 8 floating earth balls with wings that flew around the figure of the Emerald Crystal Monkey. They were as large as him and filled Mane with a sense of dread, forcing the feeling of wariness down his throat.
The details of the armor and accessories were so fine that Mane didn't even need to think to understand that Silver's mother had reached the Mastery Realm of Earth Manipulation! She was superior to her son in this aspect as well. She was at the same level as him! That meant that he couldn't afford to meet her with his skills limited to the Intermediate Level. And that also meant that she may be more than capable of holding her own against 9th Stage Heaven Realmers if she went all out. Mane couldn't handle 8th Stage Heaven Realmers, much less a 9th Stage. He knew that the fight had become much tougher and that his chances had grown several times slimmer!
But rather than panic, he exhaled a deep breath of air. He had many techniques, many skills and Supreme level talent. He just needed to find the right combinations. Ever since his change he wasn't sure of the limits of his battle ability. Maybe this was the right time to find out. What better way to test your limits were there than against an enemy who wasn't trying to kill you!
Seeing that Silver's mother had freely unleashed her abilities, he did the same. Even calling upon a Glow and a Breath he hadn't used in a while.
"Glow: Brimstone"
"Glow: Takeover"
"Breath: True Flames"