Divine Beast Ascension

Chapter 266: Peak-Adept Kraz vs Low-Elder Chimp

Kraz responded in turn, letting his own essence explode outward in the shape of earthen spikes. His charge was head-first and claws-second.

“WHAT?! He’s not an elder?!” Two voices shouted in unison, both coming from the Tempest Prefecture. Yet neither of the kings looked to the other. Instead, they both glared at Zelsh.

“Did you suspect that I misordered my candidates? Don’t expect me to stoop to Brak’s level,” Zelsh casually joked, infuriating one of the men even further.

Brak roared, “That was merely a tradition, not a rule! And you dared to send one of two adepts to meet my nephew in battle, as if that would be an honor?!”

“For your slimy clan, every public appearance should be considered an honor.”

“Says the coward who was gifted my technique without reason–”

“Had you not been shielded by your prefecture lord’s mercy, you wouldn’t be here, let alone–”

.....

“That’s enough. Let’s enjoy the match.”

“Yes, Lord Zrand...” Both Brak and Zelsh begrudgingly dropped the subject the moment they were interrupted.

Everyone’s focus was back on the fight below, watching how two differing earth natures were clashing. One focused on fluid defense and ground mobility. One focused on brutish defensive and offensive abilities. And both were on full display.

The chimp’s sand-mimicking nature allowed for great buffs and debuffs, letting it skate across the ground. However, the speed debuff wasn’t as effective on its current opponent.

Kraz’s massive size paired with his body type allowed for his speed to be virtually identical as before. But that didn’t mean Kraz could keep up with the speeding chimp. And the sandy ground did affect most of Kraz’s mid-range earth attacks, as creating a barrage of emerging, earthen spikes costed much more essence when only using sand and not common dirt.

While ducking past the wyrm’s claws, the chimp dove into Kraz’s side with a kick. No painful impact was shown and the attack didn’t appear to be significant, at least not until many unaware spectators noticed wyrm’s first moment of sinking upon impact.

A series of fast kicks and quick dodges followed as the chimp chipped away at Kraz and brought him a little lower into the sand below. Gradually yet surely, Kraz found himself beginning to sink into the loose sand below.

Everyone was waiting for the inevitable, the moment Kraz would begin to use his death essence. And his slow sinking was bringing the moment closer and closer to reality.

But Oli was more intrigued by Kraz’s strange reactions.

Rather than flee or rush over the sand to keep from sinking, Kraz’s movements were slow and less abrupt. The wyrm didn’t seem like the same one Oli had fought the day prior. This left a peculiar feeling in Oli’s mind, which lingered even longer after double-checking Zelsh’s confident gaze.

Kraz continued to only use earth essence amid the fight. He would only move to slow his sinking and was now throwing earthen spikes in every which way at the land-skating chimp.

Easily, the chimp ducked and weaved through the slowly appearing spikes. A confident toothy grin was painted across the low-elder chimp’s face.

But those spikes suddenly gained speed. The chimp only noticed after a spike nearly burst through its foot. Slower, larger spikes were still apparent and gradually gaining speed. And those easy-to-spot protrusions made finding the tiny slivers of spikes much harder to find, especially when they were hidden among the grains of sand.

It took more effort but it was doable for the chimp. More earth essence was needed to sense the hidden spikes scattered across the sand but they were found nonetheless, all while half of his torso was now buried in the sand.

With its foe slowed so drastically, the chimp began making more confident attacks. It kept closer now that Kraz was a sluggish, sitting target.

Yet the chimp’s grin suddenly flipped. It frantically abandoned its attack and turned tail to run. However, it was too late.

A giant wall of spikes rocketed out of the sand, blocking the chimp’s escape. It was tempting to plow through the wall but the chimp wouldn’t dare attempt such a thing. The lingering black mist coating the tips of the jagged spikes was warning enough to keep the chimp back.

Though Kraz’s arms were mostly buried in sand at the moment, that only worked to Kraz’s advantage. Despite the chimp’s struggle to contain Kraz, the opposite had happened. That spiky wall made a semicircle around the chimp with Kraz left at the opening. The only way out was to go over or to get near the giant wyrm. And Kraz’s mobility suddenly returned as he bolted out of the sand with death essence coursing over his previously hidden claws.

At the same time, everyone was wide-eyed as Kraz’s energy suddenly erupted further. It was wild and unkempt, but it became incomparably stronger to Kraz’s energy from not even a second ago.

“Liar!”

“What? He merely ascended mid-battle?” Zelsh chuckled.

“How could he ascend levels, not just a realm?” questioned Brak.

“You’re the one who dares question his legitimacy?”

While Brak and Zelsh’s bickering speedily died down, the chimp rushed to the side of the wall. It didn’t dare to face Kraz in such an unfavorable situation. The other escape route on the chimp’s mind was ruled out as well. Finding that the spiked wall originated beneath his sand and couldn’t simply be dug under was a great nuisance.

But Kraz wouldn’t make escape easy. Slithering hastily across the sand, Kraz cut off the chimp and charged with death essence at the ready.

When Kraz lunged and sliced toward the chimp, the attack was narrowly avoided again. But the chimp’s face only became grimmer. While those claws reached out for the chimp, spikes of earth essence too shape across Kraz’s forearm like two jagged, crudely made scythes. And those unexpected scythes extended the wyrm’s reach faster than the chimp had anticipated.

No major injury was left behind. But there didn’t need to be one. All that was left on side of the chimp’s bicep was a small cut that barely scraped past his impact-absorbing, earth essence armor. But that small cut didn’t reflect the sharp pain that suddenly engulfed the chimp’s entire arm.