Since my attacks weren't damaging the blackened skin of Goliath, he took the brunt of my sword attacks, which allowed Shelia and Echo to attack me from a distance; however, since I was only focusing on Goliath, I had more than enough time to deflect or block their attacks. Though, since I wasn't able to harm Goliath, I was constantly getting pushed back, so I decided to do a little experimenting as I was given an excellent opportunity to do so, and how could I pass up such a chance?
'Now then, let's see if I can get it to work this time.' Thought Elif with a slight smirk while eyeing Goliath as Hokori started to emit a purple sheen.
"Do be careful, Goliath; this next technique I'm about to use is still in the experimental phase, and I don't wish to kill you accidentally." Advised Elif lightly, though you could sense an undertone of pride from his words.
"Hahaha, give me your best, Prince Elif! Nothing has ever broken through my defenses once I've used Atlas's Skin!" Yelled Goliath with a feral smile, though you could tell he had heeded Elif's advice as his blackened skin got noticeably darker and rougher.
"Well then, looks like I'm going to be the first." Remarked Elif as he massively reduced the speed of his attacks, but it was still enough to deal with Goliath and the occasional attacks from Shelia and Echo.
Once I felt like everything was ready, I began pouring my Qi into Hokori as if planning to use a Heavenly Scar, which caused the sheath that was emitting a light purple glow to increase in intensity till it resembled that of fire, yet I was still utilizing the Fairy Sword Dance.
'Now, here comes the hard part; keeping it intact after attacking.' Thought Elif with a frown while noticeably sweating from the mental, physical, and spiritual strain of attempting to combine two Immortal tier techniques.
With Hokori ready, I watched as one of my illusory swords phased right through Goliath's body, and the moment happened; I instantly attacked right after, this time using my real sword. Just like all of my previous attacks, although Goliath saw Hokori approach his body, he didn't move an inch and fearlessly welcomed my incoming attack; though, unluckily for him, this wasn't just an ordinary sword attack.
The moment my sword, covered in ethereal purple flames, collided with his blackened body, a massive explosion resulted in the both of us getting sent flying several meters in the opposite direction before we finally managed to stop ourselves. Looking across me in the distance was Goliath as he stared back at me, both of us seemingly unharmed; however, I wasn't too focused on whether I actually managed to harm him, as I was preoccupied with my momentous achievement.
"Hehe; Hahaha! Yes, finally! I did it! After several years of trial and error, I successfully combined the Fairy Sword Dance with the Heavenly Scar!" Exclaimed Elif with a giant smile while looking at Hokori, still engulfed in purple flames, before focusing back onto Goliath in the distance.
"I don't know exactly what you just did, Prince Elif; however, if that is considered to still merely be in the experimental phase, then I can't even imagine the amount of power you'll have at your disposal once you perfect it." Declared Goliath calmly as he grabbed the area where Elif attacked him, only for a large but narrow cut to suddenly appear on his blackened skin, surprising everyone.
"Neither can I; however, that technique is still in the experimental phase as maintaining it is very mentally and physically draining; luckily, it's not so taxing on my Qi reserve." Replied Elif with an eager smirk, though it was easy to notice how exhausted using that technique had made him, as he was covered in sweat while his breathing was uneven.
"And while it may not be very honorable, I'll gladly take this heaven-sent opportunity to attack you, Prince Elif." Announced Birger calmly as he suddenly appeared standing at a distance from Elif while instantly attacking without any warning except for his voice.
Hearing Birger from behind, I was in the process of turning around when I sensed him attacking me using only one of his ethereal tree roots, yet what slightly took me aback was that the strength it radiated was significantly higher than what he's shown before.
Not having much time to react, I swiftly brought Hokori in front of me as I used it to block the incoming tree root that would give even Goliath a run for his spirit stones from its sheer size. The moment the tip of the tree root collided against Hokori, I was again forced back several meters before finally stabilizing myself after using both arms to stop Birger's attack.
"This is my most powerful technique; Avatar of the Realm Tree. I would've used it earlier; however, it takes a long time to manifest since I'm not the most proficient in it, although, even so, its power is devastating. Especially when I combine all of its power into one attack, and while I don't think this will be enough to defeat you, Prince Elif, I'm confident I'll at least force you to get serious." Declared Birger with a strained expression from inside the trunk of the massive ethereal tree while struggling against Elif.
"Ho, while this is quite impressive, Birger, I'm sorry to say, this isn't nearly enough to force my hand, although I'm sure my little sister, Elaine, would find some difficulty in stopping this attack. She isn't exactly in the strongest in terms of direct combat." Remarked Elif with a slight smirk while slowly but steadily pushing back Birger's tree root, well, at least until someone joined him.
"Surely, the two of us will be enough for you to get serious, Prince Elif." Declared Eyvor as, for the first time since the battle started, she appeared before Elifs eyes, standing beside Birger with her beautiful wings spread open for all to see.
The moment Eyvor appeared, I smiled slightly while loosening my grip on Hokori, and just before I released Hokori, I suddenly tightened my grip while eyeing Eyvor with a hardened expression.
"You surprised me, Eyvor; I didn't realize your illusions were at such a high level." Said Elif as his hardened expression slowly vanished while being replaced with his usual calm demeanor, which caused Eyvors expression to become strained, just like Birger's.
"W-Well, I appreciate the compliment; however, using the technique, Illusion of Reality, wouldn't have been possible if I hadn't fused with the pixie stone." Replied Eyvor through her strained expression as she attempted to temporarily rewrite Elif's memories and emotions with a very high-level illusion technique, though to no avail.
With Eyvor and Birger using their so-called strongest technique against me, although it was slightly troublesome, it didn't really affect my momentum as I continued slowly approaching them. However, of course, things couldn't be that easy, not when there were still three other opponents I had to deal with.
"It seems like just you two won't be enough to stop Princes Elif's advances; maybe if the five of us were to combine our forces, we might be able to put him to a halt, possibly even repel him. Heavenly Lightning!" Stated Shelia solemnly, appearing standing beside Eyvor while pointing her damaged lance toward Elif; she compressed an enormous amount of her Qi at the tip of her weapon before releasing it as a massive bolt of lightning.
Looking at Shelia's incoming attack, I noticed that while her lightning bolt held slight traces of tribulation lightning, it luckily wasn't quite the same; however, that didn't mean her attack was any less dangerous. As Shelia's lightning bolt neared me, I watched how it spiraled around Birger's giant tree root before finally colliding against Hokori; the impact alone stopped me in my tracks, though once I got used to the amount of force, I continued approaching toward their location like before, albeit requiring more strength than before.
"You are truly a genius among geniuses, Prince Elif; whether we win or lose, just know you've gained my utmost respect." Said Echo with a light smile as she stood beside Birger, her already glowing markings increasing in intensity while her muscles began shrinking to their average size.
Eyeing Echo, I noticed her body muscles had shrunk back toward standard size, which left me slightly confused as she was now much weaker than before; however, her next set of actions cleared any confusion. Having returned to normal size, Echo outstretched her six arms; two of her hands were clasped before her navel, two of her arms were slightly bent yet parallel to her chest, and her last pair of arms were above her head as if she was holding something.
"Light of Kali Yuga." Chanted Echo loudly, causing an ethereal circle to appear adjacent to her six hands before it intensely glowed, releasing a powerful beam of Qi toward Elif.
While I did find Echo's attack unique and very interesting, I could also tell it was strong, and although she was from an Ancient Hegemony, she was no less powerful than the others. Echo's incoming beam engulfed Shelia's and Birger's attack before hitting me, yet even so, it didn't seem to cause any damage to their attacks; in fact, I think it might've slightly enhanced it instead, though I could be mistaken.
"Last but not least, Goliath." Remarked Elif with a slight smirk while eyeing Goliath, who appeared standing beside Echo through the onslaught of attacks he was blocking.
"I don't have anything fancy like Echo, Birger, or Shelia, but it'll be just as effective!" Stated Goliath while the blackness on his skin began converging toward his right fist as it emitted a fierce glow.
"Titanomachy, Fist of Obliteration!" Added Goliath as he punched at Elif, causing a giant black ethereal fist to manifest while charging toward Elif before eventually slamming against Hokori, successfully stopping him in his tracks.
"Hahaha; Congratulations, with Goliath's attack, I can no longer truthfully claim this to be merely a warm-up battle." Exclaimed Elif with a slight smile as he tightly gripped Hokori before unsheathing it.
As I unsheathed Hokori, I launched a Heavenly Scar toward the four various attacks, and while before a normal Heavenly Scar wouldn't be capable of stopping them, now that Hokori has been unsheathed, I can finally display the true might of a Heavenly Scar. The moment my purple sword wave collided against the four attacks, without even the slightest bit of trouble, my attack destroyed their combined might as if it was nothing while continuing towards the five in the distance, though they managed to evade it at the last second.
"Now then, let me finish this battle, as I would like to rest; I got much more exhausted than I anticipated during this fight." Stated Elif, slightly exhausted as he rested Hokori over his shoulder while eyeing his five severely exhausted opponents.
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Created a discord server, so if anyone wishes to join, it also works this time; I've reset it again, https://discord.gg/HDV4tYKR (Note: this link only lasts for one week)
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Elven Legacy (Chapter 158: Ivan's Humiliation) || Hero of Harmony (Chapter 38: Master's Arrival) || One Piece: Chaos Kong (Chapter 60: Diddy Returns) at [patreon.com/Ozonelayer691]