Damian cut, sliced and parried through the Draconians, his speed and his stance never faltering even as the pressure increased by several fold.
Before the fight began, including the two he had killed, the Draconians were 15, however, currently, they had decreased by 5, leaving 10 of them remaining. Even then, that didn't seem to stop them from attacking Damian with renewed ferocity. It appeared the death of their kind had sent them all into frenzy.
To this though, Damian was unmoved. So what if they are angry? They could only blame their Duchess for trying to target him. He was an Heir of the great House of Octavius, how could his prideful self condone the disregard of a mere wannabe Dragon? He would kill them all till their Duke arrived here himself.
Damian's blade almost appeared to be made of rubber rather than the metal it was made of. It whipped through their defenses, slicing through scales and flesh before lunging back towards with hypersonic speed.
Yet another Draconian fell.
It was at that moment yet another change occurred, shaking the battlefield with peerless fierceness. The remaining 9 Draconians all roared, their voices filled with extreme pain and immense anger.
One after the other, their eyes began glowing, and by the time they were done, the temperature had risen to momentous levels, the temperature had fallen to extreme levels, the ground beneath their feet was trembling, the air they inhaled had stilled.
It was at that instance Damian suddenly understood. The Draconians were still holding back, choosing to battle it out with their claws, fists, tail and meager activations of their Lineage Gifts.
But now, the chain that seems to hold them back had snapped. Now, they would be utilizing the full scope of their Lineage Gifts.
A gentle smile crept up the lips of Damian. A smile that was harmless, yet made the spine of whoever saw it shiver.
*
An especially light stomp onto the ground sent a delicate beauty torpedoing through the air. A frown creased her graceful face. She had never felt emotions so intense. She could almost hear their sorrow, their anger, their anguish, and if she were to be honest, she didn't like it one bit.
Following closely behind her was a blue-scaled Draconian. Her face was framed with worry and guilt. She was their Commander, one meant to be at the forefront of any problem, and yet she had ran.
No, she didn't run. After witnessing the ease at which that Human lady took out the most elite of the elites of the Draconian Army, she had immediately retreated to the Duchy, reporting her discovery to the Duchess. The matter was well beyond her.
And yes, the lady stomping through the air before Zoe, the Commander of the Draconian Army was none other than the Duchess of the Draconian Duchy. It was especially funny even till now, Damian was still taking the Duchess for a man. But he couldn't be blamed, the system had clearly stated Duke.
Almost instantly after Zoe had informed her of yet another anomalous Human, the Duchess had immediately left the Duchy. The Human though, seemed to be a lot stronger than the first. This Human had taken down her elite group with little difficulty, a feat even she would be hard-pressed to replicate.
She suddenly shifted backwards and faced Zoe before speaking in her usual calm voice. "Zoe, try to keep up."
"Huh?" Zoe appeared confused. Why did she ever need to keep up when this, obviously was the highest they could go? However, her answer came in form of the next scene.
The body of the Duchess suddenly lit up in golden light, dousing the surroundings in a holy lambence. The trees around seemed to grow by a few inches and their leaves appeared lusher and healthier, making one feel as though they were being vitalised.
The case was the same with the Duchess, her breath became more fluid and her body felt lighter and healthier.
However, the results of this was anything but lively. The first moment, she took a single step, the next moment, she had appeared in the far distance, her speed so immense it left destruction in its wake.
"Ah!" Zoe gasped, her reptilian blue eyes constricting into pinholes.
Seeing this, few things suddenly snapped into place. Moments ago, before they left the Duchy, she had advised the Duchess to use an aircraft so they could arrive faster at their destination. But, the Duchess had wordlessly ignored her, causing her to be immensely frustrated and angry. She couldn't help berate her in her mind for being too stubborn.
However, it was now she understood why the Duchess had ignored her. She had ignored her advice to take an aircraft because she didn't see the need to. She had ignored her advice to take an aircraft for faster movement because, if anything, the aircraft would only slug her.
With the speed at which she currently ran, even their finest aircrafts would be unable to compete with her.
When things were put this way, a question suddenly arose in her mind,
How the hell was she going to catch up to such a speed?
*
The battlefield had suddenly become a hell of dichotomic disasters. On one side, a roaring fury of crimson flames burned with an overwhelming passion, threatening to engulf everything in their maws. At another part, it felt as though one had arrived at the lowest reaches of hell, at that part where eternal cold wreaked nefariously. At the last, a whirlwind surged with a ferocity no less rabid than the roaring flames. It thrashed and threshed around, as though it wouldn't be satisfied until it lacerated everything in existence.
And yet, the young man at the center of them all was completely unfazed. Even as his cloths burned away, even as his movements became stiffer and stiffer by the wisps of coldness that seeped into his body, even as his body was being riddled with cuts, he felt completely at ease.
He had descended into a state where he was no longer aware of his surroundings. No, he was aware, but he seem to rely more on his instinct than his conscious mind.
Damian could feel something awakening within him. A mysteriousness that was bubbling and churning with impervious fury. He could feel it once again, a mysticality that felt sharp yet incredibly heavy at the same time.
His eyes began to glow… glowing and glowing until it no longer looked different from miniature suns.
A domineering laughter suddenly vibrated from his vocal cords, and for a moment, it seem to even drown the roaring crackle of the flame, the subtle yet dangerous chattering of the ice, and the violent utterance of the wind.
A deluge of sharp silver light erupted from his body, shredding apart all within a five meters radius.
[ Congratulations! You have managed to comprehend and grasp the intricacies of Sabre Edict... ]