The Extra Who Will Swallow The Plot-Chapter 134: Bephe’s Advancement and The Elmbridge Flag

The defensive line was collapsing.

Bephe stood alone at the critical chokepoint, the creature’s massive form creating a living wall between Blossom’s forces and the flags positioned behind. Blood soaked through the beast’s scales from multiple wounds, each one adding to the mounting damage that was slowly breaking down its defense.

Blossom’s spear moved like lightning itself, each thrust calculated with the precision of someone who’d spent years mastering her weapon. Actual lightning crackled along the shaft, her cultivation channeling elemental power through every strike. When the spear connected, electricity didn’t just wound—it made muscles lock up, made the body betray itself.

The creature roared, sound carrying both defiance and pain across the battlefield. But Raze could see what was happening from his elevated observation point. Step by step, wound by wound, his bonded companion was being driven backward.

A wolf companion fighting alongside one of the Cindral delegates darted in from Bephe’s blind side, fangs seeking the exposed tendons at the rear leg. The beast twisted to defend against this new threat, but that movement left its shoulder vulnerable. Blossom’s lightning-enhanced spear punched through scales that had deflected lesser attacks, driving deep into muscle.

Electricity flooded the wound. Bephe’s front leg buckled. Blood sprayed across torn earth.

’Just hold,’ Raze thought, his connection to the creature pulsing with shared pain. ’Team B will be back soon.’

Helena’s voice cut through the surrounding chaos with clinical precision despite the violence happening around her. "Extraction triggered, eastern flank! We’re down one!"

Golden light erupted where one of Team A’s members had been fighting. The Academy’s emergency system pulled them out before damage became fatal, but the result was the same. They vanished from the battlefield, leaving a thirty-minute timer floating where they respawned at the kingdom center.

Nineteen defenders left.

"Second extraction, western approach! They’ve broken through!"

Another flash of golden light. Another defender gone.

Eighteen remaining.

The math was turning brutal. Forty attackers coming from multiple directions against eighteen exhausted defenders meant numbers that couldn’t be overcome by skill alone, no matter how well they’d trained.

A bear companion crashed through one of their wooden fortifications, the structure splintering under raw strength. The breach created a gap that Cindral forces immediately exploited, pouring through with aggressive coordination. The defenders trying to hold that section were overwhelmed in seconds. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Blossom pressed her advantage against Bephe. Her spear found the creature’s other shoulder, lightning crackling through the wound and making both front legs collapse completely. The beast went down on its knees, unable to support its own weight anymore.

Blood pooled beneath it. The wounds were catastrophic—shoulder muscles shredded, electricity still spasming through damaged tissue, exhaustion from prolonged combat making everything worse.

Any second now, the forced extraction would trigger.

But it didn’t.

Something in Bephe refused. The creature’s eyes blazed with something beyond physical pain, something primal that wouldn’t accept defeat. Its bonded human was watching. The people it had trained alongside for a month were fighting behind it. The defensive line would collapse if it fell.

So it wouldn’t fall.

"Retreat to secondary positions!" Helena commanded, recognizing they couldn’t hold the current line. "Controlled withdrawal! Maintain formation!"

Team A pulled back toward the flag positions, giving ground but keeping their organization intact as they fell through pre-planned routes. The fortifications provided some cover during the retreat, but Blossom’s people were overwhelming them through numbers and companion support.

Bephe stayed at the chokepoint even as everyone else withdrew. The creature fought to stand despite wounds that should have made movement impossible. Front legs shaking, blood streaming from multiple injuries, electricity still crackling through damaged flesh.

But it stood anyway.

Blossom saw her chance. The beast was vulnerable, barely able to defend itself. One more clean strike would trigger extraction and remove this obstacle from her path to the flags.

She gathered lightning along her spear until the weapon blazed bright enough to hurt looking at. The thrust would be perfect. Straight through the throat. Instant extraction.

Her spear drove forward with all her Expert Peak strength behind it.

Everything changed.

Power exploded from Bephe’s core.

The shockwave sent visible ripples across the battlefield, distorting the air itself as something fundamental shifted inside the creature. Lightning from Blossom’s attack dispersed harmlessly, overwhelmed by energy operating on a completely different scale.

Her spear deflected off scales that had suddenly become something else entirely—harder, denser, stronger. What should have been a finishing blow skittered aside like she’d struck solid steel.

Blossom’s eyes went wide as she watched her target transform right in front of her.

Bephe’s body expanded. Not dramatically, but visibly. Muscles swelled with enhanced density as Master Low cultivation flooded through every fiber. Scales that had been penetrated by Expert Peak attacks hardened into armor that would laugh at such strikes now.

The bleeding stopped. Just stopped, like someone had flipped a switch. Enhanced constitution activated healing processes that worked faster than anything possible at Expert rank. Deep gashes began closing at rates visible to the naked eye, flesh knitting together through regeneration that seemed almost miraculous.

The exhaustion that had accumulated from sustained combat simply burned away. The creature’s eyes blazed brighter, sharper, more focused.

When Bephe roared this time, the sound carried weight.

Physical force that made people stumble despite being meters away. This wasn’t just noise anymore. This was Master rank beginning to assert itself, pressure that affected the world around it.

The bear companion that had been advancing aggressively suddenly stopped dead. Something in its instincts recognized what its human partner didn’t understand yet—the creature in front of them wasn’t the wounded Expert Peak beast from seconds ago.

This was something else.

Blossom barely had time to process what was happening before Bephe moved.

The speed was completely different. One moment standing, the next in motion, crossing distance faster than she could fully track. Master Low wasn’t just stronger. It was faster, more coordinated, operating on a level that Expert Peak couldn’t match.

Massive jaws snapped toward her spear. The weapon she’d used so effectively was suddenly caught in a grip that crushed the reinforced shaft like dried wood. Splinters flew. Blossom released it and threw herself backward in a roll, avoiding follow-up strikes that would have ended her participation in this trial immediately.

"Get away from that thing!" she shouted to her forces while drawing a backup spear from her storage device. "Focus on the flags! Let it have the damn chokepoint!"

But Bephe wasn’t interested in holding the chokepoint anymore.

The creature pursued Blossom specifically, moving with focus that suggested their fight had become personal. Every wound she’d inflicted, every time she’d driven it back, every moment of pain—all being repaid now with interest.

The bear companion tried to intercept, placing itself between Blossom and the advancing Master Low beast. The two animals circled each other for perhaps two seconds, the bear growling challenge while Bephe tracked its movement with predatory precision.

Then Bephe struck.

Jaws closed on the bear’s shoulder with crushing force. The larger animal tried to resist, tried to use its own strength to break free, but the gap between Expert Peak and Master Low was simply too vast.

Bephe shook the bear like it weighed nothing, then flung it aside with casual violence. The bear’s owner screamed as their companion triggered forced extraction, golden light claiming the grievously wounded animal before damage could permanently sever the bond.

Other enemy fighters suddenly found themselves facing the newly advanced beast as it tore through their formation. A serpent companion trying to bind Bephe’s legs was caught and crushed before it could fully coil. A hawk diving from above was swatted from the air, triggering extraction before it hit the ground.

The flank that had been collapsing completely reversed. Bephe’s breakthrough created breathing room for Team A to stabilize their defensive positions.

But the eastern approach was still under heavy pressure. The forces that had broken through the fortifications were grinding forward through sheer numbers despite their own mounting losses.

Then Team B arrived.

---

Space tore apart with violent distortion as Garrett activated their last Portal Scroll. Reality folded in ways that human eyes weren’t meant to perceive, creating a dimensional rift that showed Gareth’s Elmbridge territory on the other side.

"Through!" Raze commanded.

Team B moved as one, ten people stepping through the impossible gap and crossing miles instantly. The sensation was wrong on a fundamental level—like falling upward while standing still. Then they were through, materializing in enemy territory exactly where they needed to be.

The portal snapped closed behind them. No easy way back if this went wrong.

Gareth’s kingdom was built like a military installation. Clean lines, efficient structures, everything organized with the precision of someone who thought in terms of tactical advantages and defensive depth. Even mostly empty like this, the layout spoke of professional planning.

Most of his thirty people were deployed on raids across the Academy grounds. Scout intelligence said he’d been running continuous operations since the trial started, using purchased mounts to maintain constant pressure on multiple targets. Aggressive but sustainable—very different from Raze’s expensive portal warfare.

Which meant his home territory was undermanned.

Seven defenders spotted them almost immediately. Gareth’s people were well-trained, moving into defensive positions without panic or confusion. But seven versus ten with complete surprise still meant the outcome was predetermined.

A lynx companion bounded toward them from the left, moving low and fast. Julian intercepted it with his stealth-enhanced speed, blade finding the creature’s owner before the cat could close distance. Both triggered extraction in synchronized golden light.

Six defenders remaining.

"Thirty seconds," Raze said, katana already drawn. "Fast and clean."

Team B hit the defensive formation like a hammer. These weren’t injured or low-rank delegates left behind out of necessity. These were competent fighters who simply had the bad luck of being assigned defensive duty when their King deployed most of his strength elsewhere.

They fought well. Better than Blossom’s skeleton defense had. But numbers and surprise were simply too much to overcome.

Garrett carved through toward the flag position with Breathflow-enhanced aggression, his cultivation making each strike hit harder than it should. Two Elmbridge fighters tried to stop him. One triggered extraction from a clean thrust to the chest. The other fell back, recognizing they couldn’t hold alone.

Twenty seconds since insertion.

Raze engaged two defenders simultaneously, his katana flowing through forms Asura had drilled into him during countless night training sessions. He wasn’t using bloodline abilities or special powers. Just pure Expert Peak cultivation and refined technique.

The first defender had solid fundamentals, probably trained by Gareth personally. Good positioning, clean strikes, proper defense. But Raze had spent a month being beaten by an ancient entity who’d fought gods. The gap in actual combat experience was insurmountable.

His blade found an opening in the defender’s guard. Not fatal—just enough to trigger the extraction. Golden light claimed them.

The second defender was smarter, recognizing they were outmatched and falling back to regroup with allies rather than fighting alone. Professional tactics, exactly what they should have done.

But it didn’t matter.

Garrett reached the flag position. Elmbridge’s standard was larger than most, made of high-quality materials that probably cost Kingdom Points to acquire. His hands closed around it, feeling immediate resistance as Academy enchantments fought the capture attempt.

The flag resisted harder than Blossom’s had during their first raid. Gareth was second place in rankings—the Academy system apparently made capturing flags from higher-ranked kingdoms progressively more difficult.

Garrett’s muscles strained. His cultivation flared. The flag fought him like it was alive, magical anchoring strengthening to prevent theft.

"Come on," he growled, pouring more power into it.

The flag tore free with resistance that felt almost spiteful.

"Got it!" He was already turning toward their extraction point. "Ready to move!"

Raze was activating their emergency portal scroll when every instinct he possessed screamed danger.

Not just normal combat awareness. Something deeper, sharper, more urgent. His enhanced perception from months of Asura’s training picked up details others would miss—subtle spatial distortion, air pressure changing slightly, the particular quality of silence that came from people actively concealing themselves.

"Ambush!" The word left his mouth before conscious thought finished processing. "Defensive formation now!"

Space rippled. Reality bent. Twelve people materialized from concealment so perfect that Raze’s enhanced senses hadn’t detected them until they chose to reveal themselves.

Weapons already drawn. Positions already optimal to cut off escape routes. Three companion animals emerging with them—a panther with midnight fur, a constrictor snake thick as a man’s torso, and something that resembled a young dragon with iridescent scales.

’Lyra,’ Raze recognized the Astorian princess immediately. ’She’s been watching multiple kingdoms, waiting for exactly this opportunity.’

The enemy King stepped forward with a calculating expression that suggested this ambush had been planned well in advance. An elegant crane perched on her shoulder, its eyes tracking Team B’s movements with unsettling intelligence.

"Impressive work, Dragonheart," Lyra said, voice carrying false pleasantness that didn’t match her predatory smile. "You did all the hard work for us. We’ll take that flag now. Makes everyone’s life easier."

Her crane companion’s head tilted, studying them with eyes that seemed far too aware.

Her forces moved with coordination that spoke of extensive preparation rather than improvisation.

The panther exploded toward Garrett with speed that blurred its form. Two Team B members intercepted, forcing it to abort the attack on their flag carrier, but the cat’s speed meant they’d have to focus entirely on it now.

"Ten versus twelve," Raze assessed rapidly, his mind processing tactical variables. "Hostile territory, extraction route compromised, carrying valuable objective."

The situation was bad. But not impossible.

Lyra engaged him directly, twin daggers moving with techniques that suggested significant training. Her crane harassed from above, talons raking toward vulnerable points and forcing split attention.

She was fast. Genuinely fast. Wind-based cultivation enhanced her movement beyond what Expert Peak normally allowed, creating speed that was difficult to track.

"You’re better than I expected," Lyra acknowledged, pressing her advantage while the crane dove toward his face. "But you’re outnumbered and exhausted from your previous operation. Surrender the flag. I’ll let you extract peacefully. No need for unnecessary casualties on either side."

"Not interested," Raze replied, and moved.

Void Step compressed space around him. One moment he was there, the next he’d teleported three meters left, breaking her attack pattern and creating separation.

But the crane tracked his movement somehow, its enhanced perception allowing Lyra to anticipate his emergence point. She was already repositioning before he fully materialized, daggers seeking the opening his spatial displacement created.

’She’s using the companion’s senses,’ Raze recognized, blade deflecting strikes from angles he hadn’t expected. ’The bird sees more than normal vision. It’s tracking spatial distortion.’

Team B fought desperately around Garrett, protecting their flag carrier against superior numbers and dangerous companions. The panther’s speed required constant attention from two fighters. The massive constrictor had wrapped around one Team B member, coils tightening with strength that was making their bracelet flash extraction warnings.

The dragon-like companion breathed a gout of flame across their formation. One member’s defensive technique failed under the intense heat. Extraction triggered before burns became fatal, golden light claiming them.

Nine people left.

The constrictor squeezed harder. Ribs cracked with sounds like breaking branches. Another extraction triggered just as bones began threatening internal organs.

Eight remaining.

Raze made his decision. They couldn’t win this through conventional engagement. Needed to extract immediately before losses mounted beyond acceptable levels.

But he was stronger than Lyra was giving him credit for.

His katana work wasn’t just adequate—it was exceptional. A month of being systematically beaten and corrected by Asura had refined his technique to levels that most Expert Peak cultivators never reached. Every movement was efficient, every strike placed with precision, every defense positioned perfectly.

Lyra’s daggers met his blade repeatedly, and each time she was forced to adjust, forced to recognize she wasn’t fighting someone who just relied on superior cultivation or special abilities.

This was pure skill.

"You’re very good," she admitted, reassessing her initial evaluation. "Where did you train?"

"Privately," Raze replied, and his next strike was faster than the previous ones.

She barely blocked it. The crane had to intervene directly, talons catching his blade to prevent it from finding flesh.

’She needs the companion to keep up,’ Raze realized. ’Without it, this fight goes differently.’

But they didn’t have time for fair duels.

"Team B, fighting withdrawal! Secondary extraction point, sixty meters east!"

He couldn’t use Authority. The chains were Asura’s power, not his own. Their partial merger wasn’t complete enough for that level of manifestation. But he had other options developed through a month of intensive training.

His cultivation flared as he executed a technique Asura had drilled into him specifically for creating space against multiple opponents. Not flashy. Just concentrated power released in a directional burst that forced everyone in front of him to brace or retreat.

Lyra and her crane were pushed back momentarily. Not harmful, but disorienting enough to buy precious seconds.

"Move! Now!"

Team B ran while fighting, desperate combination of retreat and defense. Garrett clutched Gareth’s flag while navigating terrain at full sprint, teammates forming protective escort despite being outnumbered.

The constrictor pursued, its length allowing ground coverage faster than running humans. It caught their rearmost member, fangs sinking deep and venom flooding the wound. Extraction triggered instantly.

Seven left.

Raze activated their emergency portal scroll at the designated coordinates. Space tore open, showing Westia’s territory on the other side. One step to safety.

Lyra pursued relentlessly, her crane diving ahead to harass the retreat. Daggers sought openings that would trigger more extractions before escape became possible.

Raze intercepted using pure speed and technique, his katana deflecting strikes aimed at vulnerable teammates. The crane’s talons raked his shoulder, drawing blood but not enough to trigger extraction.

He could fight both of them. The realization was almost surprising. Lyra was skilled and her companion provided significant advantages, but he’d been training against something infinitely more dangerous every single night. The gap in actual combat experience made itself apparent.

"Through the portal!" he commanded.

Team B dove through the dimensional tear in desperate rush. Garrett still gripped the captured flag. Raze went last, plunging through just as Lyra’s daggers and her crane’s talons would have caught him together.

The portal snapped shut with violent finality.

Team B materialized back in Westia’s territory, bloodied and exhausted but successful despite heavy losses. Garrett was breathing hard, but his grip on Gareth’s Elmbridge flag remained secure.

"Got it," he managed between gasps. "Second-ranked kingdom. Lost three people but we got it."

Then they saw Team A’s desperate situation and Bephe’s transformation creating visible pressure across the battlefield even from distance.

The creature’s Master Low advancement was impossible to miss.

Everything else became secondary.