After the bear men left, Yasenia told the others to rest. Andrea took off her helmet and held it under her armpit. "That was intense. Mid-level Epoch Cores are not a joke."
Cecile floated downward, landing by their side. "How are your injuries, Andrea, Yasenia?"
Yasenia looked down at the closing wound on her chest and nodded. "Almost healed."
Kali frowned as she approached and used her life energy to heal her. "You are too reckless. What if the attack wasn't an upward swing but a downward one? You would've been embedded in the rock on our feet!"
Yasenia chuckled. "If he attacked downward, I had already prepared to use my movement technique to minimize the momentum of the strike."
Kali looked up helplessly and kissed her chin. "I know, I know. But you must be careful."
Yasenia's tail wagged after she felt the soft kiss.
The dragoness looked at Valeria and asked. "How was it?"
Valeria smiled. "Good. The battlefield control was praiseworthy. There were a few things that you girls overlooked and took for granted, but other than that, it was decent."
Yasenia nodded thoughtfully and asked about these things. Valeria explained them for a few minutes, enlightening Yasenia and the others.
Andrea asked. "Love, how are your Celestial Energy reserves?"
Yasenia chuckled. "Don't worry. I can fight another three or four battles like this one today before it runs out."
Andrea nodded. "Keep track of it because that's our best way to deliver lethal attacks. Without their special offensive power, we can only gradually weaken our enemies before striking them down. We don't have any strength advantage against mid-level Epoch Cores; on the contrary, after this battle, I've realized that without your Celestial Skills, we would be quite helpless."
Cecile agreed, explaining in length. "Yasenia is clearly our central attacker. We should use our powers to hold the enemies back and create openings for her. With our combination, it is very doable. My ranged attack support, Kali's army and supporting skills, and Andrea's ability to pin down enemies are perfect to create a battlefield where Yasenia can move comfortably. Moreover, I realized that the small army controlled by Valeria is as strong as one of us, so Kali counts as two people even when Valeria is holding back and using Kali's summons instead of hers. For the next battle, Valeria should act as an independent offensive force instead of grouping it as one with Kali."
Cecile looked at Kali. "Kali, you should focus on controlling and fighting with your 100 dryads, as you did this time. Ignore the rest of the summons and leave them to Valeria. Treat her as a general of your army while you act as an elite force."
Kali agreed. "I had thought the same. I couldn't deal any significant blow to the one you and I pinned down mostly because I was too preoccupied with the rest of the battlefield. I lost a few opportunities to deliver a damaging strike."
Yasenia listened to their analysis and interjected. "While it is true that I'm the strongest striking force, remember that all of you also have lethal strikes. If Darling's last distracting attack that allowed me to kill the second bearkin was instead used as an offense, it could create extensive damage. The same is true for many of your skills, Honey, Sweetheart."
The girls listened attentively.
The dragoness smiled softly. "Remember that when the strength of both sides is the same, battles are more about taking advantage of the mistakes the other party commits than creating opportunities ourselves while taking risks. Body Cultivators are resilient, but their weakness is their rather rigid attacking style. Use our advantage in attacking patterns and soul attacks while chipping down their sturdy defenses. Also, we must always be careful if any opponents have Level 5 intents. This time, there weren't any."
Andrea commented. "Mid-Level Epoch Cores with Level 5 Intents are almost non-existent, right?"
Yasenia nodded. "Tengliu is the native with the highest Intent Level at Level 6. The rest of the leaders all have their intents at Level 5 or below. That's why Eira and the rest have such a high advantage while the cultivation realms are not that far apart. Although, thanks to the environment we've provided, quite a few of them are on the verge of breaking through."
Eira blinked and commented in a cold and clear voice while tugging at Yasenia's dress. "Young Miss, our martial arts are also many levels above them. Even with the same Intent Level, we would be superior."
Yasenia looked at her proud little face and hugged her with a laugh. "Yes, yes. My Eira is the best and most talented."
Eira's cold and indifferent face melted in comfort, and she almost purred while rubbing her face on Yasenia's supple and smooth skin. "Young Miss~."
Kali softly giggled. "The contrast of all the maids when they interact with Yasenia and the rest of the world always takes me by surprise, haha."
The other two nodded with amused expressions.
Yasenia released Eira and approached Cecile, hugging her waist and kissing her lips. "Sweetheart. You've done a fantastic job in this battle. I'm extremely impressed."
Andrea and Kali agreed, and Andrea chuckled. "Having you overlooking the battlefield is truly refreshing. The occasional helping arrow always comes as a pleasant surprise."
Kali smiled as well and added. "The arrows come at perfect timing and hit extremely annoying places, creating very needed time windows in such high-paced battles."
Cecile nodded with her usual deadpan expression. "I just did my job. Andrea's defense and Kali's ability to weaken them also contributed a lot."
Yasenia also hugged and kissed Andrea and Kali and then commented. "Let's move on. You should've recovered enough energy already, right?"
The three of them nodded, and thus, our group restarted their advance toward the central pillar.
Instead of taking a straight route, they chose to deviate for a few hours while avoiding battles before running toward the destination.
As they ran through the swamp at dizzying speeds, Andrea asked. "Love, when do you think the Assassin Sect will act?"
Yasenia pondered. "While they have a grudge against us, they've contacted so many sects that they probably think our ascent is almost impossible. From the reaction of the bearkin, the information they divulged about us is of juniors who think a bit too highly of themselves. You saw the surprise on their faces when we started showing strength."
Yasenia added. "While they can wait for us and try to fight us head-on, they are assassins. They either have rushed toward the next level to either wait for us and ambush us on the second floor, or they are waiting for us at the entrance to the second floor. If they are in neither of those two places, they probably rushed upward to avoid missing the top 1024 spots."
Yasenia reminded them. "While we are an objective, we are secondary targets. The Nine Shadow Fang Sect will never let go of their [Nine Sect] position. If they lose it, it is like losing a limb. So, their top priority was never us but reaching the top as fast as possible. While they can probably wait for a day or two, longer than that is illogical."
The girls found her analysis reasonable. Kali sighed with admiration. "You really think of everything, love."
The dragoness shook her head with a smile. "I'm just thinking from a logical position after analyzing all the information at hand. My guess can be completely wrong if I've underestimated the pettiness of the world's top powers. Our grudge with the Assassin Sect is not as deep, so it would be truly surprising if I'm wrong this time."
After half a day of traveling, they were close enough to the pillar to see the roots finally. There was a hole that allowed the pillar to stretch far higher than the rest of the floor.
Yasenia saw many groups waiting around without fighting, so she decided to approach after a few moments of observation. She warned. "Never relax, not even after we enter the pillar."
As they walked forward, a group of five beast humans stopped them. The leader sneered. "Hey, quite a surprise seeing you here again."
Yasenia blinked and asked with honest confusion. "Who are you?"
The leader paused while the groups around laughed. Filled with embarrassment and anger, he snarled with a red face. "Are you acting stupid!? We are the [Four Pearls Snake Sect]!"
Yasenia felt a bit ashamed because she truly didn't remember. 'Did I miss some important report? Maybe I've been a bit lazy lately? I should've checked things more deeply…'
Eira saw through Yasenia's thoughts and commented. "Young Miss, they are no one. It's probably someone who clashed with us in an obscure place and thinks we are intentionally targeting them. A small group with imaginations of grandeur."
Yasenia blinked and asked, looking at her. "Really?"
The people from the Snake Sect felt their faces swelling with blood out of anger.
Eira nodded. "Yes. It happens often. People's self-esteem is too high, and they imagine non-existent enemies and schemes."
Yasenia sighed in relief. "I see." Then, the dragoness turned toward the five-man group, whose expressions were colorful enough to depict a rainbow, and smiled. "It seems to all be a misunderstanding. Have a nice day."
Then, she walked toward the pillar without giving them a second look.
The Snake leader naturally wouldn't allow himself to be humiliated in such a manner. "Where do you think you are going!? We are not done yet!"
Yasenia paused and frowned, turning around. "It is a misunderstanding; why are you getting so agitated over it?"
"You've humiliated us, and you dare speak that way!? I challenge you to a life-and-death duel."
Yasenia snorted, crossing her arms under her ample bosom. "I refuse. I don't have time for this. Now, can I go? I've already eliminated a group before arriving here. I don't mind eliminating another one."
Seeing that the snake man was about to snap at her again, Yasenia grew annoyed and released all her auras, reinforcing them with her Celestial Intent.
The words that were about to leave his throat were stuck as the Yasenia felt infinitely larger while a mountainous pressure slammed onto him. The dragoness's ethereal voice echoed while her long black hair gently swayed with her auras. "Can I leave now?"
The people who were watching with amused expressions were quick to change, looking at Yasenia with emotions ranging from fear to excitement.
The dragoness dispelled her auras and snorted, turning around elegantly while her hair, dress, and tail followed her turning motion.
Still, the snake man was much more persistent than Yasenia thought. After the pressure vanished, he recovered and felt as if his honor had been eternally tarnished by a junior walking all over him.
With anger clouding his mind, he tried to start a sneak attack. "Since you dare offend me, die!"
Yasenia never lowered her guard and was about to turn when Eira stepped forward.
Grabbing the hilt of her silvery sword and the scabbard, a flash of light followed with her cold and cutting chant. "[Sword Intent Level 9]."
SLASH!
The people around were confused when the snake man suddenly stopped after that strange flash of light. After all, the pure white woman with the sword hanging on her waist didn't move.
Yasenia didn't even bother looking back as she commanded. "Let's go."
The girls shook their heads as they looked at the motionless snake man. 'Is face really that important? Look, now you lost your life.'
The spectators were confused, not to mention the four companions of the snake man.
So, one of them approached. "Hey, leader. Are you okay?"
Hearing no response, he grabbed his shoulder, intending to turn him, only for the human beast to see the head and body fall limp in different directions.
The eyes of everyone present widened with horror. 'H-He died!?' Looking at the six people entering through the pillar's main door, many gulped and swore in their minds not to offend the Astral Sky Clan.