While the team leader restrained the creatures, Tatsumi and Ame had to retreat to a safe distance along with the people who were nearby. They had to bring them to the center of the team, where it was safer.
But the purple mist kept coming because the mist creatures were still alive and had been damaged a little, so they still had the strength to fight.
“We cannot deal with the incoming creatures. From the way I perceive them, they are on par with the Core Formation Realm Transcendent.” Tatsumi said to Ame.
Ame nodded, agreeing to his statement. The fact that they were still alive despite encountering one was largely due to the team leader using the undead element to sap some of the strength of the creatures, making them lower their total power and making it barely manageable to them.
“But the mist still surrounds us. We need a quicker way to deal with them.” Ame replied.
Other than the newly arrived mist creatures, the purple mist that surrounded them was the trouble. Tatsumi did not say anything but he strangely held the blade delicately. Ame who noticed this then saw something that surprised her.
“Tatsumi, did you just carry a trace amount of undead element on the surface of your blade?” Ame asked for confirmation, her brows furrowed.
Tatsumi grinned but his hand, which held the hilt of the blade, kept the balance while he tried to make sure that he could carry the undead element.
“You found out. This is our solution to the problem. The mist is not immune to the undead element.” Tatsumi then slashed at the mist. The mist seethed, reacting strongly to the touch of the undead element.
“Why is that, you think?” Tatsumi looked at Ame closely and realized that she still wasn't getting it.
“How-“ Ame wanted to think about that but then Tatsumi continued to explain while feeding the undead element one piece of the Ether in his body at a time. He let the undead element touch the mist but it was in a controlled manner.
“Because they are essentially one being who can split itself into the smallest cellular level while retaining their trait. Furthermore, they are living beings. The undead element eats away at the life force so this happened.”
Ame finally had the answer click into her mind. It was true that the purple mist was another manifestation of the creatures and they were definitely living beings.
Only Tatsumi noticed that fact and ‘borrowed’ a part of the undead element from the team leader to help the team defeat the creatures.
Tatsumi let the undead element eat and propagate on the surface of his blade while using them when the numbers were high enough. Then the infected mist began to shrink in size, becoming smaller the more Tatsumi hit it with the undead element.
It did not matter what manifestation they had, as long as they were living beings, they had to face the undead element like any other living beings had.
Tatsumi did this to the point that the purple mist retreated from surrounding them, as if acknowledging Tatsumi’s threat to them.
But Tatsumi knew that this was because the creatures in front of him were a Gling. If they were Glings, then they were connected to their Queen and that was the reason Tatsumi became wary the moment he realized this.
‘The sudden change of the creatures’ attack pattern suggests that the Queen is personally involved.’ Tatsumi knew this for a fact and did not expect that the item they were escorting was that important.
He then looked down at his own body and realized that there were traces of damage on the armor. He was so focused on attacking and anticipating the attack that targeted the vital spots that he ignored the attack on the body.
Fortunately, he was wearing body armor and the attack of the creatures was not as strong as the newcomers. He then looked at Ame and realized that she was also in a similar situation.
After making sure that the purple mist retreated, the gunshot faded and the sound of something sharp cutting through flesh disappeared.
It was replaced by the sound of the battle at their rear, where the team leader fended off three mist creatures. All the heads looked in the direction and sighed helplessly.
“That kind of battle is something I can only watch from afar.” The senior soldier with a scar on his cheek said to one of the Reservists beside him.
“Someday, I will become just like him.” The Reservist was surprisingly a girl. She was a bit injured but she could still act and even still standing to help before the mist retreated.
“It is a thorny path, I am sure but which path does not have difficulty?” the soldier commented before he looked at the pair of a young man and woman in the middle of the team.
To him, the situation was manageable due to the instructions from those two. They were also an excellent warrior and soldier.
That made the senior soldier intrigued and he asked the Reservists since she probably knew them.
“By the way, do you know the two at the center? The pair of young man and woman over there!” the soldier pointed at Tatsumi and Ame while the girl had to look carefully to know who the senior soldier referred to.
After realizing who he was pointing at, the girl became talkative. It was as if the matter triggered something.
“I know about them. They are the ones with the highest compatibility with the new transcendent energy source. I heard that they came from outside the Thebes Independent Kingdom and that they are in this team for some reason.
“This year’s Class F talked about them, so the entire year knew, and then it spread out that all the students at the Transcendent Academy knew.” The girl said excitedly.
The senior soldier was actually someone who was on duty in the Heavensend Continent as part of the Cerulean Defense force and knew about the kingdom and its Transcendent Army. So he knew that the matter was probably big enough that it became a sensation among transcendents.
“Tell me more then.” The soldier smiled at the girl while asking. The girl complied and explained all she knew about the two.
Tatsumi, on the other hand, focused on watching the battle between the team leader and the three creatures. Now that the purple mist had retreated, the team leader had a slight advantage. Even though he was careful with his attack, it did not mean that the attack was not deadly.
Each swing of his scythe told Tatsumi that the team leader was a force to be reckoned with. The way the scythe moved was like an art infused into the dance that could captivate those who had seen it. Tatsumi thought like that and knew that he had some learning to do.
But he also analyzed the enemies. From his perspective, the creatures were somewhat weaker than before and that was a gradual progress.
‘The undead element has infected them!’ Tatsumi understood the reason immediately the moment he used the perception of the transcendent energy. The undead element was like a black stain on the white canvas, so obvious for his vision to see.
As the battle went on, the creatures got weaker while the team leader only exhausted some of his energy reserve. Overall, it became obvious that the team leader got a greater advantage the more time he had.
The Queen, who had controlled the Glings was frustrated by the results. She did not expect that the transcendent who was guarding the item to be this capable. Furthermore, she also took notice of those who were responsible for defending the escort team.
The Glings were heavily injured and infected with the undead element. If she did not pull those Glings, they would undoubtedly die without a shadow of doubt.
Furthermore, she did not have the capability to sustain the battle because of the presence of the transcendent. This factor already made her plan fall apart. The Queen was filled with helplessness and anger.
‘Retreat.’ The Queen sent her will through the Hive Mind and ordered the rest of the special Glings she had nurtured to retreat. She also controlled the three strongest Glings to slowly retreat from the transcendent.
The sands blew up following the movement of the purple mist retreating into the distance, where the team would not follow.
Tatsumi felt that the encounter was a close one.
‘If the purple mist creatures did not retreat, I would not have a way to handle them!’ Tatsumi thought as he still carefully handled the undead element on his blade. He sighed as he felt that the Ether in his body was at its lowest, almost depleted.
He kneeled without letting the blade touch anything, not even the sand on the ground. He felt that his body had just undergone an exercise that made him tired. This was the effect of losing so much Ether.
Tatsumi was just a transcendent who entered that world for the first time and even barely took his first step.
Ame was faring better since she only consumed her own stamina for the battle.
The team leader kept looking at the purple mist creatures that battled him, now falling back and turning into the purple mist, retreating from the place.
Everyone who saw this finally sighed with relief before they had to repair the vehicles since it became inoperable right before the ambush.
The team leader naturally knew everything that had happened and approached Tatsumi first.
“You look a bit exhausted. You can let go now, it’s alright.” He said to Tatsumi, placing his hand above Tatsumi’s.
Tatsumi was just thinking about the possibility that there might be another surprise attack when he heard the words from the team leader. He decided to finally put the matter to an end while he could finally rest.
He severed the connection between the undead element on the surface of his blade and his Ether, explaining the drain of the Ether he had.
The undead element was then reabsorbed into the team leader. He knew better than to leave an unstable factor like an unregulated undead element free. Tatsumi panted while he realized that his vision had become a bit blurry as he found himself barely identifying his own hands.
“Urgh!” Tatsumi sat on the sand that covered the ground. He had truly risked everything in attacking the purple mist with the undead element and that paid off. But he was so exhausted that his consciousness became a bit unstable.
Ame then approached Tatsumi to see his condition. She knew that whatever he was under was not light. When she looked into his eyes, her expression turned into concern.
“Well, as you can see Miss, he is exhausting himself so much that he is barely conscious. Take care of him while I need to check the team’s condition.” The team leader said before he left for others.
Ame saw that Tatsumi’s eyes lost focus, disoriented when she looked and that was what worried her.
“I’m fine. It is just that I used more Ether than I thought. Should take note of that.” Tatsumi waved his hand, looking like when someone wanted to dismiss something.
“Then rest. I will watch over you.” Ame said, her tone left Tatsumi with no refusal.
Tatsumi nodded, his head a bit heavy. He had considered it the moment the battle ended. Now that he had finally confirmed the end of the battle, he just lay on the sandy ground and closed his eyes.
It would be some time before the vehicles finished being repaired. Tatsumi did not even care about the heat that seared his body and skin, and fell asleep.
-
Long Wu evaded a Gling that spitted some acidic liquid from its body before dealing a finishing blow. Purple blood gushed out from the injuries caused by the slash of the dagger. The Gling was killed as easily as pinching an ant.
Zhask finished another Gling by burying the creature in the grave of bones. Flesh and bones were compressed to the point of leaking out their contents.
“This is the last of them.” Long Wu commented as he saw the Glings finally retreat from the area around the perimeter of Base Zero.
The Withering White Tree absorbed the multiplied undead element, making it more pure and comfortable to absorb by the undead. Zhask controlled the tree to absorb and refine the undead element while he ordered his undead to recuperate.
“I ordered the undead with me to recuperate. What are your thoughts about this attack?” Zhask suddenly asked Long Wu.
Zhask found that Long Wu became a critical asset to have during this Star Battle. He wanted to know what Long Wu’s thoughts were on the matter, seeing that the man was quite resolute when it mattered.
“This is something like what I was going to do when I needed a big distraction. But of course, this is just my assumption so don’t take it seriously.” Long Wu swung the dagger and cleaned it from the purple blood before he continued.
“The fact that the attack happened was actually expected. But the attack lacked the overwhelming number of a decisive attack, nor was it small enough. I thought that there must be something that we overlooked that was the focus of the Queen of the Swarm.”
Long Wu turned to look at Zhask, who was surrounded by the pure undead element.
“What do you think that is?” Zhask asked.
“Our back. We don’t know the enemy well so I suspect that something has happened on our rear. What I mean is that the Rift connects us both ways and doesn’t prevent them from entering our world. We just need information about what happens at the Rift on our planet to make sure.
“Other than that, I think that the enemies are preparing for guerrilla warfare to slow down our advance. But this is just my thought. I think the General has more extensive knowledge of the battle here, as well as the arsenal we have to win the Star Battle.”
Long Wu said a bit too long about what was on his mind. That was the overall for the battle but the details had to be left for the higher up to decide. He was just a small piece in the grand scheme of things so he should play his part appropriately.
“Our race suffered some casualties during the battle just now.” Zhask spoke with the undead element around him. His voice was filled with sorrow and sadness.
“As you could see from the battle, there were some types of enemies that were hard to take down despite sending the Undead Knight against them. The four limbs, the winged humanoid, are examples but there are more.
“But you still take care of them despite the challenge. I wonder what makes you different from the rest of us.”
Zhask said all of this because he could feel the difference between himself and Long Wu. It was something different than the foundational power like the realm he was in. It was something like the utilization of the undead element, the way Long Wu used it felt completely different from what Zhask had been taught and that caused Zhask to feel interested.
“Technique.” Long Wu replied first after hearing what Zhask had said.
He continued, “Body, Mind, and Technique. That is the trinity of harmony that someone taught me. Body refers to the physical body, but it also can refer to the way transcendent energy affects the body and things related to it. Mind is something that is intangible but can affect me and I knew that to be true. Transcendent energy slightly affects this one, but I think there is more to dig into this aspect that humanity doesn’t know yet. The last is Technique. This is actually the utilization of the energy inside the self. Whether it is the very natural energy that humans use in their lives or transcendent energy, it can be utilized in a certain manner. Learning to do that is considered learning a technique.
“The Undead Race has some technique that the humans can’t use but humans just need to create another technique that becomes equal, if not surpassed, what the Undead Race has. What I showed you so far is the Technique aspect of the transcendent energy, how it is channeled outside, how it reacts when in contact with living being, how it becomes a sharp phenomenon that can help in attack, how it is channeled to create a defense that cannot be broken by a shot of the sniper rifle. That is how I surpassed some who are equal in strength to me, by Technique.”
Long Wu went on a long tangent about what he knew. Zhask realized that this was an opportunity to learn more about the way humans developed transcendent power.
“What you humans have produced intrigued me. Can I even learn this?” Zhask asked the most important question.
In his heart, he felt that the probability of learning was low since it was something that humans came up with, not to mention the difficulties in developing an understanding of the matter.
“Of course, just like I can learn and develop this concept, you too can. What makes you think that you cannot and only I can?” Long Wu tilted his head; his eyes showed his confusion about Zhask's mindset.
“Really? Then can you tell me the basics first?” Zhask’s voice was filled with expectation. The foundation of the undead power came from the human and it proved to be effective in the Star Battle. Now, he wanted to learn the deeper knowledge that humans had.
“Well, first of all, we need to unify our understanding of the three terms. For example…” Long Wu started to give Zhask a small lecture on how the concept came to be before delving deeper into the topics.