Chapter 478 Severe Wounds

The situation on the battlefield had reached its absolute worst.

The scales of victory, which had subtly tilted toward the Blade of Vengeance Squad just minutes ago, had now completely flipped to the other side.

Xia Nan could hear the heavy, bellows-like breathing of the Barbarian Aken coming from the distant architectural ruins, alongside the unconscious groans of pain escaping the tabaxi Sasha beneath the nearby stone wall.

Losing members so quickly had entirely stripped the squad of their previous advantage. They could no longer use their numbers to surround the enemy and slowly whittle away its stamina and life force.

Setting aside the fact that the frenzied Shark Beast's overall combat strength had jumped a tier, losing Aken and Sasha left them with only two and a half melee fighters. That simply wasn't enough to constantly hold the monster's attention and kite it.

Rushing in would only expose their flaws under the Shark Beast's high-pressure attacks, plunging an already dire situation into an irredeemable abyss.

'What should I do?'

Xia Nan stood in place, his mind racing as he stared at the blood-soaked behemoth on the battlefield.

'Is retreat possible?'

He vetoed the idea almost the instant it surfaced in his mind.

At the very least, he knew he wasn't the type to abandon teammates he had fought alongside and formed a bond with just to flee on his own.

Besides, where could he even run?

They were currently trapped inside the Twin Canyon. Fighting this aquatic Shark Beast on land was already the most advantageous scenario they could hope for.

The moment they entered the water—even on a boat—they would be shifting the battlefield to the Shark Beast's home turf. They would essentially be handing their lives over to it.

Unless the beast chose to retreat on its own, this battle was unavoidable.

Operating under that premise, he had to recognize one thing: while the battle was on the verge of collapse, he was personally far from completely drained.

He still had two unrevealed trump cards.

The 4th-Circle healing spell enchanted on [Tears of Spring Breath], "Spring Pulse Cleansing Heal," drastically increased his margin for error. As long as a limb wasn't chopped off or his consciousness instantly scattered by a severe wound, he could safely recover.

[Ember Echoes] went without saying. As the ultimate trump card among his trump cards, it was the core of his plan to turn this situation around.

But...

Xia Nan showed no obvious emotion on his face, but inwardly, he fell into deep thought.

The effects of [Ember Echoes] were incredibly potent. Not only could it rapidly heal injuries in a very short time, but the 33% comprehensive boost to all five attributes also multiplied his actual combat strength.

Furthermore, the "Stamina Overload," "Tenacity Enhancement," and "25% Ember Damage Bonus" attached to the Ember state meant Xia Nan could pour his firepower onto the enemy without any reservations.

He was confident that if he activated [Ember Echoes], he could salvage the battlefield situation.

The only limitation was time.

Once the Ember state was activated, it would only last for sixty seconds, followed by a month-long cooldown period.

'Can I really turn the tide and completely kill the Shark Beast in the short span of one minute?'

Xia Nan wasn't sure about that.

Especially considering the Shark Beast's current condition. It looked severely injured, but aside from the human head embedded on its chest that had been blasted apart by [Gravity Etching], the other wounds were ordinary injuries that didn't affect its movements, and they were already rapidly healing.

The lute music that had started playing again quietly faded away. Knowing they desperately needed melee power after the squad's consecutive losses, Alton consciously strapped his lute back onto his back. Gripping two daggers, the Halfling quickly closed the distance to provide support for Xia Nan and the others.

Hein had also reverted to her human form from the albatross state she assumed to evade the Shark Beast. She stood atop the ruins of an exotic building a short distance away, her hands gripping her staff tightly. Her eyelids drooped slightly, her lips moved in a silent chant, and the magical particles around her surged wildly.

Meanwhile, as the only remaining melee member on the field other than Xia Nan, Lorraine naturally felt the suffocating pressure radiating from the Shark Beast.

As the squad captain, the bonds she had built with her members over the years made it agonizing to watch the teammates she spent day and night with suffer such heavy blows, their survival uncertain.

Only Lorraine herself knew the true depths of her current feelings.

Lorraine didn't know that the expressionless black-haired young man beside her still held a final killing move, nor did she know that the short guy nearby—who wasn't even as long as the Shark Beast's arm—was a chosen of the Goddess of Luck.

All she saw was the squad she led suffering severe damage from the Shark Beast's sudden outburst. Two teammates were completely out of the fight, and the "Blade of Vengeance" seemed to have reached a critical moment on the brink of annihilation.

Facing such a desperate situation, Lorraine did not give up.

The worry for her critically injured teammates, the anxiety for her team's future, and even the unavoidable fear of death...

All these negative emotions were suppressed deep within the heart of the captain who had sailed the seas for years.

In those brownish-red eyes, only a vigorously burning fire of battle intent remained.

She suddenly turned her head and glanced in the direction of the black-haired youth beside her.

She didn't speak, but in that moment, Xia Nan understood her intent—she wanted him to act according to the situation.

"Boom!"

Scorching flames suddenly erupted from the surface of her body, and waves of heat surged outward.

The instant temperature difference caused the air around her to hiss as mist filled the space, vaguely distorting her figure.

[Scorching Heat Domain]!

The combat technique she had once used against the sahuagin tribe was unleashed by Lorraine once again.

Xia Nan had seen her use this move before and knew it was an area-of-effect skill meant for groups of enemies.

Worried he might be caught in the crossfire, he thought about stepping back to evacuate the moment he felt the surging heat.

But the very next second, the outward-spreading, scorching flame streams seemed to fall under some invisible control and were violently compressed inward.

It was as if an air barrier encased Lorraine, firmly binding the high temperatures and blazing flames that should have expanded outward, forcing them to press tightly against her skin.

From the outside, it looked as if a translucent layer of orange-red light had been pasted over her entire body, retracting all the heat and boiling temperature back inside.

—[Body of Flame], a companion Feat of the [Oathflame Helmsman] class.

Its intrinsic effect wasn't actually that powerful. It merely allowed the feat's user to passively absorb some of the thermal energy when employing fire-type combat techniques, using it to replenish stamina and slightly boost physical attributes. It was a support-type Feat.

However, for a veteran Adventurer like Lorraine—someone with immensely rich combat experience and a profound understanding of her class—she could always push those seemingly ordinary abilities to their absolute limits through years of continuously developing her combat system.

Relying on her extremely high proficiency with combat techniques, she controlled the [Scorching Heat Domain], preventing it from expanding and instead shrinking it inward to restrict it to her body's surface.

By using the high-temperature flames meant to burn enemies to stimulate her own body, she maximized the activation of [Body of Flame]. This temporarily heightened her physical attributes and combat capabilities, turning a Feat that should have been purely supplementary into a hidden, state-enhancing combat technique.

But after all, it wasn't a proper combat technique capable of raising her Class Level. Wielding fire in this manner would place a massive burden on Lorraine's body, causing considerable side effects after use.

It was, in every sense, a last resort.

The changes on the battlefield took only an instant.

The massive, brutal Shark Beast, now in a frenzied state, wouldn't give Xia Nan and the others any chance to catch their breath.

Almost the moment the flames rose, it dragged its hill-like, massive body forward, pouncing straight at them with an astonishing burst of speed.

Rumble—

Heat waves rolled.

Her fiery red hair whipped violently in the surging air currents around her, looking as if every strand were wrapped in condensed flame light.

Allowing the furious emotions pulsing from the [Scale-Fire Scimitar] in her hand to surge only within her heart, Lorraine forcefully maintained her mental clarity amid the flames.

Her knees bent slightly before she shot forward toward the Shark Beast, trailing a streak of fiery light behind her.

Knowing this was the most critical moment of the battle, dark energy surfaced all over Xia Nan's body. He transformed into the phantom of a black wolf and charged alongside her with a howling roar.

Then, just before colliding head-on with the Shark Beast, the red and black phantoms separated in perfect sync. They besieged the Shark Beast at an exaggerated speed that an ordinary person's naked eye would find impossible to track.

The [Ember Fall] straight sword and the [Scale-Fire Scimitar] swung down in tandem, leaving a series of deep or charred wounds on the thick shark skin. Pitch-black and fiery red echoed each other, blending together in the afterimages produced by their high-speed movements.

From a distance, they looked like two meteors orbiting the Shark Beast at blinding speed.

The frequency of their coordinated attacks was so rapid that Alton the Halfling, who had intended to rejoin the melee vanguard, couldn't find an opening to step in. He was forced to stand far off to the side, strumming his lute once more.

However, facing the red and black phantoms constantly carving wounds into its skin, the Shark Beast's response was far more composed than expected.

After all, Xia Nan and Lorraine were only two people. Even though the latter had received a temporary combat boost, their attack frequency still couldn't match the five-person siege from earlier.

The Shark Beast only needed to throw a single punch to force one of them back, and during that time, the other teammate lacked adequate time and space to land a powerful blow.

"Not enough, it's not enough!"

The panting coming from amidst the flames beside his ear grew increasingly rapid. He knew Lorraine couldn't hold on much longer.

Xia Nan knew very well that if the situation continued to develop like this, the teammate beside him would be completely exhausted.

Whether it was using [Ember Echoes] or any other method, he had to find a breakthrough as soon as possible.

And right at that moment...

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

Three crossbow bolts suddenly shot out of the air, their tips aimed straight for the Shark Beast's face.

Over by the canyon entrance, Ryan—the older brother of the twin Warriors—stood on a ruined roof half-sunken into the ground, both hands gripping a repeating hand crossbow with its string still vibrating.

Originally tasked with guarding the ships at the dock, he had heard the commotion echoing from the canyon and felt inexplicably worried. He left his younger brother to watch the docks and rushed over alone to provide support.

He had finally arrived at this crucial juncture, offering invaluable assistance to the group.

Under normal circumstances, these three bolts would be of absolutely no concern given the Shark Beast's physical constitution.

Even aimed at the weak points on its face, it could easily defend against them with just a slight reaction—whether by raising a hand to block or turning its head to take the hit on its back. It wouldn't even count as a minor flesh wound.

But unlike lone wolves, the reason an Adventurer Squad was called a squad was precisely because of the tacit coordination between teammates.

In the split second the bolts tore through the air, the two backline members on the other side of the battlefield simultaneously unleashed their attacks on the Shark Beast.

The first thing to land on the Shark Beast was a sonic wave that seemed to have condensed into physical form.

Under the effects of magical power, it seemed to possess a unique sentience, deftly bypassing their teammates. Rippling through the distorted air, it lightly struck the Shark Beast's body.

It didn't cause any substantial damage.

But its moving body suddenly halted. The outline of its instantly stiffened muscles could be seen beneath its skin.

Released by Alton, a horrific noise so piercing it could make one's consciousness swim instantly filled the Shark Beast's skull.

Then came the vivid green magical light from the druid, Hein.

Unlike the previous [Entangle] and [Thorn Overgrowth], the spell she cast now was similar to Alton's sonic wave—it lacked any substantial outward physical manifestation.

Yet when that touch of green light melted into the enemy's body, the Shark Beast—which had been trembling violently in resistance against the piercing lute music, looking as if it might break free from the control at any moment—suddenly fell still. Its massive frame stood frozen in place.

—1st Circle, Enchantment School: [Animal Friendship].

Lacking the Class Level to master the powerful [Hold Monster], Hein, bound by the limits of her druid spell list, had no choice but to resort to this spell to control it.

Under normal circumstances, [Animal Friendship] was typically used on wild beasts, charming them so they were no longer hostile.

Now, facing a fiercely powerful Shark Beast, Hein obviously didn't think a mere 1st-Circle Spell could completely pacify its hostility.

What she truly wanted was a momentary lapse in the Shark Beast's mental focus while it resisted this enchantment spell, creating an opportunity for her teammates to deliver a finishing blow.

And the facts proved Hein's strategy was highly successful.

In that split second, the Shark Beast's huge body froze in place under the dual spell control.

Simultaneously, the crossbow bolts from the flank and the two weapons wrapped in their respective glowing energies descended upon it.

Of the three bolts, two lodged firmly into the Shark Beast's thick skin. But one seized the opening, drilling straight into its eye socket. The sharp arrowhead pierced through its ocular tissue and embedded deeply inside, leaving only the tail fletching vibrating violently.

The pitch-black straight sword, wreathed in condensed ochre energy, carved a perfect arc through the air and sliced into the side of the Shark Beast's neck. It then detonated like a firework of force-field energy, instantly blasting a bloody crater into the monster's flesh.

Unfortunately, the Shark Beast's unique anatomy meant its neck was nearly as thick as its waist. A strike that would have been fatal to almost any other creature in this world only blew away a third of its neck. It was a severe blow against the monster's tenacious vitality, but not a lethal one.

The window of opportunity lasted only a second, leaving absolutely no time to adjust stances or angles. The flaming scimitar, its surface shimmering with gold-and-red patterns, was brought down in a vertical cleave as its wielder poured every ounce of her strength into the strike.

Amplified by the flames, the sharpness of the blue-quality weapon was pushed to its absolute limit. Coupled with the sheer explosive power unleashed by a Level 7 Class Holder in that split second, the incredibly thick hide, muscle, and bone were smoothly sliced apart amid the searing heat.

As the scimitar passed through flesh and bone and slammed into the ground under its residual momentum, the Shark Beast's massive right arm severed completely, dropping to the earth in a spray of blood.

"Roar!!!"

A roar saturated with pain and fury exploded across the battlefield.

The excruciating agony tearing through its severed arm and neck, combined with the rapidly thickening scent of its own approaching death, snapped the Shark Beast out of its mind-control state. Driven mad by the pain, it plummeted into complete delirium.

Surging torrents of water blasted violently from the cracks in the ground.

Caught in the rigid aftermath of their melee attacks, Xia Nan and Lorraine had no time to dodge. They took the full brunt of the water erupting beneath their feet.

Their bodies were instantly launched into the air.

Rumble—

A thick, muscular arm capable of crushing steel swung in from the side like a brutal whip.

'I can't dodge!'

Feeling the hair-raising, powerful shockwave tearing through the air beside him, the thought flashed through Xia Nan's mind.

He instinctively tightened his muscles, making an emergency mid-air adjustment. Thrusting his Arm Shield forward, he crossed both arms over his chest to defend himself.

The next second.

"Bang!"

An overwhelming kinetic force slammed into the Arm Shield.

His consciousness blurred for a split second.

Amid the crisp crunch of his Plate-Chain Composite Armor shattering, the pitch-black silhouette was swatted dead-on by the Shark Beast's arm. He crashed violently into Lorraine in mid-air, who had also been briefly suspended by the surging water.

One black, one red—the two figures ricocheted off each other like violently struck billiard balls, tumbling away in opposite directions.