Chapter 977

In another sector of the blood-soaked field, Alba and Brook were still fighting in perfect sync, but the grueling pace was finally beginning to take its toll.

They were slowly slowing down.

The sheer weight of the Behemoth army was beginning to overwhelm them, with hundreds upon hundreds of strikes coming from all corners.

Brook, despite his massive frame and expertise, couldn’t block them all; he was trying his absolute best to hold the line.

Parrying a strike away just in time, Alba bashed her foot into an attacker’s face, sending his body crashing into the dirt.

Twirling around while staying low to the ground, her sword flashed through the air, releasing a sharp crimson wave that ripped through the legs of a soldier.

Vaulting into the air for a brief moment, she spun around with the velocity of a fired arrow.

She was a total blur, spinning repeatedly until she kicked the air itself and dove into the ranks of the men with full speed.

Crashing into their midst while maintaining her momentum, her twin blades tore through limbs as if they were nothing.

No amount of Ki coating could save these men from her frenetic assault.

Whirling around, her hand snapped into place as she intercepted a sword slash aimed directly for her neck.

TCHAAAK—!

A spear sliced through her thigh, drawing blood immediately.

Gritting her teeth against the sharp sting, she managed to push the man in front of her away before turning and smashing the heavy pommel of her sword onto the head of the spear user.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t sensed the attack—she had—but her reaction speed was faltering from exhaustion.

The strike had been heading for her back, but due to her last-second twist, it landed on the back of her thigh, perilously close to her side.

"Brook! Are you still alive?!" Alba shouted in genuine concern.

She could no longer see her tank due to the overwhelming numbers of the enemy pressing in.

Quickly inclining her head to the side, a chain whistled by her face, missing her by a hair’s breadth.

Spinning around with a swift parry, she watched as the retracting chain lodged into the ground.

Wam—!

A heavy kick slammed into her injured thigh, sending her tumbling for a second, but she immediately stabbed her sword into the earth to steady herself.

Her body twitched, Ki swirling around her limbs as she spun around, quickly snatching the leg of the man who had kicked her—who was already gearing up for a second strike.

Unhesitatingly, she pulled the limb toward her, forcing the man to lurch forward.

In one fluid motion, she grabbed him by the throat before flinging him away like a ragdoll into his comrades.

"BROOK?!" Alba shouted again, her voice rising in desperation as she still hadn’t heard a response.

"Ack... Ye-Ye-Yeah! I’m as good as I can be in this damned situation, Alba!" Brook roared.

Then,

BANG—!

A powerful shockwave blasted a dozen men away from her side.

It was Brook’s doing, his shield finally clearing a path.

Scanning the immediate area, Alba’s eyes landed on her second sword, which she had lost in the heat of the previous exchange.

Ki swirled around her hands as she lifted them in a protective cross in front of her face.

CLANG—!

A descending slash from above struck her arms with a loud, ringing sound.

Before she could counter, another slash landed on her guard.

Then another. And then another.

More than thirteen men pressed their weapons down on her simultaneously, causing the soil beneath her feet to bend under the immense pressure.

She was being pushed downward, gritting her teeth and fighting the weight as she neared the point of being completely overwhelmed.

But before she could buckle, a defiant roar erupted from her side.

Bam—! Bam—! Bam—! Bam—!

It seemed as though a wild bull had charged into the area; the men pressing down on her were flung around like discarded dolls.

Briefly glancing at her savior, she saw Brook standing there.

He was injured—nothing too severe yet—but the small cuts and bruises were starting to add up.

He looked exhausted, panting hard while rubbing his strained wrist.

"Damn. Heavens bless the Supreme Magus wherever he is for this amazing shield. If it wasn’t for it, I would have died already," Brook uttered, staring at his reliable tower shield.

The enemy soldiers were already starting to recover and pick themselves up.

Alba clicked her tongue and hurried over to her discarded blade, quickly retrieving it so she could hold both swords again.

"I wish I got my own modified weapons," she muttered, looking at her standard steel with a hint of envy.

***

In another area, Judy, Ash, and Lance were also surrounded.

Everyone had been fighting for ten minutes straight, and the exhaustion was beginning to wear on them heavily.

Slipping past a chain, Judy stabbed her spear into her attacker’s midsection before yanking it back out.

She spun around with a swift slash to the arm of another who had been charging toward her back.

Before she could regain her composure, a mace was swung toward her with full force.

She was forced to block with the shaft of her spear.

The weapon struck with crushing force, causing her bones to vibrate in pain as she skidded backward.

Ash had procured a few minor slashes and scratches here and there, but he wasn’t relenting.

This was a fresh batch of enemies, so they didn’t yet know what he was capable of doing.

A spear thrust came toward his abdomen, but he quickly sidestepped the attack before snatching the fist of another man who had been aiming for a punch.

Digging his nails into the man’s hand, he watched as the soldier’s eyes went white almost immediately.

Without waiting or slowing down, Ki coursed through his legs.

He flash-stepped toward another opponent before driving his fist into the man’s face while administering a lethal dose of his poisonous Ki.

Before he could reposition, however, a powerful kick crashed into his back, sending him tumbling forward in pain.

A sword was already descending toward his now exposed spine.

Lance quickly kicked the man in front of him away.

He whirled around while charging one of his axes with Ki.

Almost immediately, the steel surface began crackling with yellow lightning.

Swinging it through the air, a lightning slash tore through the atmosphere and smashed into the chest of the swordsman who was about to cleave Ash’s back.

A deep gash tore open across the man’s chest, followed by a spray of crimson and then a violent spasm due to the electrifying effects of the lightning.

Lance grinned as the man, along with the other two Ash had neutralized, collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.

’This is the best weapon ever. Thanks, Supreme Magus! Haha!’