She gestured toward 8 fighters currently closing in to engage Kaelion.
"What did you see?" Uraan asked. "I was trapped and forced to fight. You can still leave."
"Do I look like a coward?" Lyra shot back.
Uraan gave her a look that clearly suggested he thought otherwise.
"Well... you didn’t show up this whole time—"
"Shut up!" she snapped. "Focus on defeating him. Look at how easily he’s handling 8 people at once."
Out of those 8, 2 belonged to Lyra’s territory, while the remaining 6 came from other top 10 territories. Including Uraan and Lyra, only 10 fighters remained—counting even those who had been kicked away earlier.
"Hm," Uraan muttered. "I suppose I’ll need your help to defeat him. I’m definitely not doing it alone. What about your beast?"
Another Low 3-star speed-type beast would be a big help.
"He was defeated the moment I charged into the territory," Lyra replied flatly. "I’ve been hiding ever since."
"..." Uraan fell silent for a moment.
"Must’ve been a wind-element elven archer," he muttered.
Lyra nodded.
Meanwhile, Kaelion was dealing with something entirely different.
"What the hell?" he muttered, parrying a blade aimed at his neck.
He had been fighting these 8 for a while—but he hadn’t been able to land a single finishing blow. Even when he did, just like with Fruder and Vexi, they would be thrown back... only to return moments later with the same vigor.
Peak 2-star fighters weren’t supposed to be this sturdy.
To test it, he increased his output and struck hard enough to one-shot a Low 3-star like Aaron.
No difference.
Just a bruise—one that began healing almost immediately—before they resumed fighting like nothing had happened.
Then, suddenly, a few of them disengaged and moved toward Uraan and Lyra, seemingly to catch their breath and allow them to take over.
Or so it seemed.
One of them even "mistakenly" took a hit and was sent flying toward Leo.
And in that instant—
Danger bells rang loudly in Kaelion’s mind.