A blood-coloured sky loomed overhead, with a dark purple sun casting eerie shadows across the battlefield. The entire landscape smelled of decay, blood, and death, as two armies clashed below—a human force encircling a army of skeleton and blood beast.
Rain, gripping his sword, shattered a black skeleton monster with a swift blow and counted under his breath, "Eleven." Hours had passed since he first arrived at the Dead Battlefield. He raised his shield just in time to block a strike from another skeletal creature, feeling the force push him backward. Judging by its strength, he quickly guessed it was of late D-rank and shouted, "Late D-rank!" bracing himself as he blocked yet another heavy attack.
"Hold on a few seconds!" Lily called out, her focus split as she fought against two late D-rank skeletons herself.
Rain, seeing that all his teammates were engaged in their own battles and unable to assist him immediately, steeled himself to keep fighting. Suddenly, a flash of blue light struck the skeleton he was facing, hitting it at the thigh and causing it to stumble. Rain glanced toward the source and saw Sky, who was currently battling four skeletons and three blood beasts.
The creatures all looked eerily identical: skeletons with jet-black bones wielding swords, and blood beasts coloured deep red, bearing the body of a lion, the legs and tail of a wolf, and the head of a crocodile.
Rain saw that Sky's attack had encased the skeleton's thigh in ice, causing it to limp forward. Taking advantage of this, he raised his shield to defend, but the skeleton's strike still pushed him back. However, the monster's movement was now slowed, giving Rain a chance to catch his breath between its attacks. He braced himself, blocking another blow with his shield.
Suddenly, he heard Siobhan call out, "Middle D-rank!" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her dodging and defending against a blood beast on her own.
"Rain, guide your skeleton near me, then go help Siobhan," Lily shouted.
"Got it," Rain replied. Moving defensively, he directed the skeleton closer to Lily. Once near, he swiftly disengaged and ran toward Siobhan to assist. As Rain neared Siobhan, he struck the blood beast's hind leg, drawing its attention away from her.
"You can go; I'll handle it," Rain assured her.
It was his first time battling a blood beast on the battlefield. Remembering his Spring Rain Sword Art, he considered using it now since it was more effective against creatures with flesh than against skeletal monsters. Though the technique was only E-rank, Yun Ting mastery had pushed it to the threshold of D-rank, and after he took over Yun Ting body and memory with some practice, he also mastered it, allowing its energy to split into multiple small swords to intensify bleeding—a perfect fit for this blood beast.
With his shield raised, Rain blocked the beast's fierce attacks, seizing every opening to strike using the Spring Rain Sword Art. Each strike wore the blood beast down, deepening its injuries and draining its strength. Rain didn't take any chances; on this crowded battlefield swarming with skeletons and blood beasts, killing one monster only drew another, giving him no time to replenish his genetic energy.
After a while, the blood beast was on its last legs, barely able to defend. Just as Rain prepared a final strike, he noticed movement to his left—a second blood beast lunging at him. Quickly, he shifted, raising his shield to absorb the impact and pushing back the creature, recognizing it as a low D-rank. Before the lower-ranked blood beast could strike again, Rain sidestepped the middle D-rank beast's feeble attempt to bite his thigh and, with a swift swipe of his sword, struck it down. Turning, he faced the low D-rank blood beast, dispatching it in a few minutes.
Standing momentarily undisturbed, Rain took the opportunity to survey the battlefield, swallowing a genetic energy recovery pill. Around him, his teammates were locked in combat, each engaged with their own foes. Beyond them, others from the city fought in clusters or alone, fending off the waves of enemies. Spotting more blood beasts, Rain locked onto his next target, confident that his Spring Rain Sword Art would be far more effective on their flesh than on the skeleton monsters. The middle D-rank blood beast he'd just killed marked his second middle D-rank monster slain on this battlefield; the first had been a skeleton that had left him struggling and slightly injured, though his superior self-healing had aided his recovery.
Just then, he saw a blood beast charging toward Siobhan. Without hesitation, Rain dashed to intercept it, stepping into its path just as it raised a claw to strike. He braced himself and raised his shield, not yet sure of its rank. The impact of the blow revealed it instantly—this one was late D-rank.
This time, Rain didn't call out for his teammates' support, trusting in the effectiveness of his Spring Rain Sword Art against the blood beast. However, the beast was relentless, each attack pushing him back, barely giving him any opening to strike. Realizing he couldn't keep up with this defensive pace, Rain decided to turn the tide.
As the blood beast lunged again, claws raised, Rain blocked with his shield. But instead of just defending, he pushed back with force, catching the creature off-guard and forcing it to step back. Spotting his opening, Rain struck the blood beast's front leg, driving his sword deep into the flesh. The creature growled in pain, its fury growing. Sensing his sword's energy lingering within the wound, Rain carefully pushed it deeper into the beast's muscles, causing it to whimper in pain before attacking with renewed rage.
For the next few minutes, Rain used his shield to absorb the beast's relentless attacks. Then, as the blood beast lunged again, he sidestepped instead of blocking, dodging just beside the leg it used to attack. Taking advantage of the opening, Rain swiped his sword across the beast's side, then spun quickly, shield up in defence. Rain intensified his attacks, driving his remaining energy deeper into the blood beast's wounds, worsening its injuries. After a few minutes of defending, he stepped back several paces, strategizing. He realized he could handle the late D-rank blood beast despite its superior strength. Although the beast was stronger, reaching only the threshold of its rank, Rain's recent advancement to middle D-rank had boosted his own power significantly.
Personal Panel:
- Name: Rain
- Realm: Middle D-rank
- Physical: 6.42 (20)
- Agility: 4.7 (20)
- Genetic Energy: 6.7 (20)
- Genetic Energy Refinement: 10.009 (100)
- Techniques:
- Poison Claw 1st Chapter(D) (9/9) (familiar) – 2.2%
- Life Vine Shield(D) – 100 (Start)
- Spring Sword Art(E) – 50 (Master)
- Mysteries:
- Poison Stone – 0.12%
- Sap of Devil Trap – 0.001%
- Dark Iron – 0.0006%
Though he was at a disadvantage with 5 fewer strength points, Rain's peak D-rank sword, shield, and refined combat techniques enabled him to counter the blood beast's raw power effectively. When the blood beast attacked, Rain struck its claw, feeling a jolt of pain shoot through his arm, but he managed to wound the creature's paw. His energy remained within the injury, and he manipulated it to sink even deeper, aggravating the wound.
The fight stretched on for hours, with Rain defending carefully and seeking every opening to deal precise, accumulating strikes. Gradually, the blood beast's movements slowed, and Rain noticed it limping from its accumulated injuries. Sensing his chance, Rain attacked relentlessly, no longer concerned with the risk of injury. Finally, severely wounded himself, he delivered the killing blow.
After taking the recovery pill, Rain felt his genetic energy gradually replenish as his body's natural healing began to repair his injuries.
Damian's voice broke his focus, "Rain, are you okay?"
Rain looked up, surprised to see Damian nearby, locked in battle against two skeletons and two blood beasts. Judging by their resilience, they had to be peak D-rank, and near Damian feet there bodies of other monster, which were not present before. Rain realized that while he was fighting his own opponent, Damian must have intercepted these monsters to keep them from overwhelming him.
"I'm fine—thank you," Rain replied gratefully.
Damian managed a smile even as he fought, "Just don't be reckless next time. Taking on a higher-realm opponent solo? Not wise."
Rain scanned their surroundings. "I'll remember that. And thanks again." Noticing two skeletons moving in his direction, he quickly swallowed another recovery pill, as the energy from the previous one had been consumed in healing his wounds. With his shield raised and sword ready, he took a defensive stance, bracing himself for the next round as the two skeletons advanced.