Chapter 253: The Grand Fight Erupts

Thirty Platinum-Tier Terra Beasts charged towards them at once.

`But Rose didn’t give them any chance as she stuck first

Her crimson body shot forward like a bullet, quickly expanding to her massive form, moving with terrifying speed despite her size. She slammed into the nearest group of beasts, her jaws opening wide to reveal rows of razor-sharp fangs.

"Hiss!!" Dinner time!!

The first beast, a Platinum-Tier wolf, lunged at her with its jaws wide open. Rose didn’t even slow down. She bit through its neck in one clean motion, and the moment its blood touched her tongue, she absorbed it entirely. The wolf’s body shrivelled instantly, collapsing into a pile of fur and bone.

The second beast, a crystalline bear, swung its massive claws at her. Rose’s tail whipped out, wrapping around its arm and yanking it off balance before she sank her fangs into its shoulder. Blood sprayed into the air, but before it could hit the ground, it reversed direction and flowed straight into Rose’s mouth.

Within seconds, two Platinum-Tier beasts were down.

The other Battle Masters hesitated for a moment, their eyes wide with horror.

"What kind of monster is that?!" one of them shouted.

"A blood-sucking demon!" another cried.

Darius’s face twisted with rage.

"Don’t be fools!" he roared. "She’s just one Terra Beast! We have thirty of you! Attack!!"

The remaining beasts surged forward, their owners shouting commands from behind them.

Neva dropped from Raiden’s shoulder and landed in front of them with a soft thud.

"Sha Sha!!" Bad people!! Neva will teach you a lesson!!

Golden circles appeared in the air around her, spinning rapidly as they formed weapons of pure light. Spears, hammers, chains, and blades materialised in the blink of an eye, each one crackling with energy.

"Sha Sha!!" Vault Open!!

The weapons shot forward like a hail of bullets.

The Terra Beasts countered with their own attacks. Fireballs collided with light spears. Ice beams shattered against light shields. Lightning bolts were caught in light chains. The entire chamber became a storm of clashing energy, with explosions rocking the floor and sending debris flying in every direction.

But Neva’s weapons were too numerous, too fast, and too powerful.

A Platinum-Tier eagle dove at her from above, its wings trailing flames. Neva’s light hammers shot upward, smashing into its chest and sending it crashing into the ground. A Platinum-Tier serpent of shadow lunged at her from the side, but light chains wrapped around its body and yanked it back; the golden flames on the chains made it cry out in agony as it burned, slamming it into a pillar hard enough to crack the stone.

One by one, the Terra Beasts fell.

Darius watched in disbelief as his allies were cut down like wheat before a scythe.

"This... this is impossible..." he muttered. "We’re Platinum-Tier! We’re the elite of the clan! How can a Gold-Tier spider defeat us?!"

Raiden, who had been standing still throughout the entire fight, finally moved. He walked forward, Woolie still in his arms, Rose and Neva clearing a path for him.

"You know," he said conversationally, "I really didn’t want to do this. I came here to help Aria, not to fight your entire clan. But you guys just don’t know when to stop, do you?"

Darius glared at him.

"You think you’ve won? We still have the Diamond-Tier master! And even if you beat him, the Clan Leader will crush you!"

Raiden shrugged. "Maybe. But right now, you’re the one in my way."

He raised his free hand. "Rose. Neva. Finish them."

The two Terra Beasts didn’t need to be told twice.

Rose’s body expanded, her crimson form growing larger and more terrifying with every passing second. She lunged at the nearest group of beasts, her jaws opening wide enough to swallow them whole. Blood flowed toward her like rivers, and wherever she passed, only shrivelled husks remained.

Neva’s golden circles multiplied, filling the entire chamber with weapons of light. Spears rained from above. Hammers swung from the sides. Chains shot up from the ground, wrapping around legs and wings and tails.

The Battle Masters watched in horror as their Terra Beasts fell one after another.

Within minutes, more than twenty Platinum-Tier beasts lay unconscious on the ground.

Only Darius and the three other Core Disciples remained standing, their beasts either defeated or too injured to continue.

Darius’s face was pale, his hands trembling as he held his weapon.

"You... you can’t do this..." he stammered. "We’re the Core Disciples! The future of the clan! You can’t just... attack us like this!!"

Raiden looked at him with something that might have been pity.

"You had your chance, I already spared you once." he said quietly. "Yet you chose to stand against me once more. This is the consequence of your actions."

After finishing his words, Raiden nodded his head towards Rose, who struck immediately.

Darius screamed as his beast’s blood was pulled from its body, his knees buckling as he collapsed to the ground.

The other three Core Disciples didn’t even try to fight. They turned and ran. But Neva’s chains caught them before they could take more than three steps. Within moments, all eleven Platinum-Tier Battle Masters and their thirty Terra Beasts lay unconscious on the ground.

Raiden stood in the centre of the carnage, breathing heavily. Rose and Neva returned to his side, their bodies glowing with satisfaction.

Just as they were basking in the glow of victory, a slow clapping sound rang out in front of them.

"Good, very good. Worthy of the guy who turned all the leader’s plans on their head, but this is as far as you go. Your journey ends here."

The Diamond-Tier Battle Master in white stepped forward.

His hood fell back, revealing a face that was old and lined, but his eyes burned with youthful intensity.

He raised his hand as five Diamond-Tier Terra Beasts emerged from the shadows behind him.

The massive tiger with flames coursing through its fur roared, its heat so intense that the air around it shimmered. The serpent made entirely of ice hissed, freezing the ground beneath it with every movement. The golem of living stone slammed its fists together, creating shockwaves that cracked the floor. The bird with wings of pure lightning screeched, electricity arcing between its feathers. And the wolf shrouded in darkness growled, its eyes glowing like twin moons.

The pressure from the five beasts was overwhelming.

Raiden’s knees buckled slightly, and Rose hissed in discomfort. Neva’s golden light flickered.

For the first time since the battle began, Raiden felt a trace of pressure.

"Well now..." he muttered. "Ganging up on a bunch of kids. Didn’t your parents teach you any manners??"

The Diamond-Tier master smiled.

"My manners are only reserved for those who are equal to me. To deal with trash like you, I can use whatever methods I wish. Any last words?"

Raiden gritted his teeth.

He looked at Woolie, still sleeping peacefully in his arms.

He looked at Rose and Neva, exhausted but still standing. He looked at Aria and Theodore, who were watching him with a mixture of hope and fear before finally looking at the five Diamond-Tier beasts closing in.

He had nothing left.

No tricks. No backup. No escape.

Not that he planned to rely on any of these anyways.

"Fine!! If it’s a fight you want, it’s a fight you get!! We are, my Rose and Neva, aren’t afraid of anybody anyway!!"

"Good. I hope you can entertain me a lot!!"

BOOM!!