Heimarian Odyssey

Chapter 274: Reinforcements

Agus was severely injured; one of his arms was even fractured! Yet, his purple tongue ghosted over his lips as he shot a predatory glare at the remaining four Botanians. “I’m surprised to find so many delicacies here!”

“Hmph.” Goldy, the sunflower high priest, returned Agus with contempt in his eyes.

Two of the six level-three Botanians had died in their ambush attempt on an invader of similar capability, which was a largely unexpected outcome. The pumpkin Botanian was killed with a twist to his neck and the grape Botanian was brutally bisected. Alarmingly, they were both merely a level below Goldy in capabilities. Their unfortunate deaths, however, weren’t for nothing. The two peak level-three Botanians had managed to land hits on Agus and broke his arm. This would serve as their leverage for the remaining battle.

Despite being outnumbered, the demigod managed to defeat two opponents of the same calibre while injured. This was what a demigod was truly capable of.

“Destroy him!” Goldy yelled and lunged forward with his emerald staff. The other three Botanians began to attack from different directions. Having paid a hefty price, they were determined to end this formidable foe right here right now. All they wanted was to see Agus perish. The sunflower high priest, the green calabash Botanian, the red strawberry Botanian and the white lotus root Botanian fought on for they were defenders of Botania.

“Let’s see how long you can hold out after receiving Purple’s suicidal attack!” said the strawberry Botanian in an elderly, feminine voice. Female Botanians were generally weaker in comparison to male Botanians, which explained the lack of peak female lifeforms. The strawberry Botanian was the only female among the Botanians here.

The red strawberry was wrinkly and spotted with black seeds that were embedded in her skin. No one would’ve imagined that she was one of the most famous beauties of Botania during her heyday a few thousand years ago.

Yet, Agus had no mind to spare the strawberry Botanian. With his right arm out of commission and his left arm occupied with relentless attacks, he lurched forward and brandished his sharp fangs. The bronze giant was a master of its strength and Agus knew the law of power like the back of his palm. He breached past the strawberry’s defences despite his impairment.

“Ah!” The strawberry screeched in pain. The other Botanians hurried over to protect her, allowing her to retreat to a safe distance away. The entire upper left portion of her body was gone.josei

Agus ground down the red flesh in his mouth as he glared daggers at the strawberry Botanian. He was bleeding profusely, pungent green blood cascading down his sides like a fountain. The joint effort of the three Botanians had left him with more grievous injuries. His spine was almost broken in the process. Agus was forced to shrink himself to a fifteen-metre size to breathe better.

The man of bronze couldn’t help but feel dread as he watched the four Botanians approach. His bronze giant form compensated for bodily damages with his cells and ten metres was his limit. If he was badly injured again, he would find himself in a sticky situation. His regeneration had caused a sharp decline in size and this was the most he could allow.

“What’s taking them so long?” Agus sighed internally though his expression remained unchanged.

No planes should be underestimated. Putting aside Zauberia’s level-four lifeforms, level-three lifeforms were hardly invincible in Botania. Not even a demigod like him could dominate like a tyrant on Botanian soil.

He relaxed the tensed muscles in his left arm and prepared for death. To die in battle was a knight’s glory. Agus did not regret his brashness for it was his outstanding courage that made him the demigod he was today.

“Come on! Show me what you got!” Agus roared and dove for the strawberry Botanian. The strawberry was the weakest among the four so Agus was determined to drag it to the afterlife together!

“Crap!” As a multi-centenarian and one of the strongest Botanians, the strawberry immediately realised what Agus had in mind and frantically scrambled backwards. Goldy and the three other Botanians attacked Agus from his peripherals to halt him. 

Agus ignored the increasing damage to his body. Letting his green blood run free, he clawed at the strawberry like a desperate beast. Just as his left claw was about to grace the strawberry a fash death, he caught the despair in her eyes. Despair was nothing new to Agus but this particular time, it brought him relief and joy.

Feeling a gust of wind from behind, Agus could tell that he’d receive attacks from three different Botanians while he had the strawberry in a chokehold. Even if there was the slightest chance to turn the tables around, he knew that it could never make up for the extent of his damage.  

Time seemed to freeze up as the man of bronze prepared to end his glorious career on a perfect note. To fight a disadvantageous battle and defeat three strong lifeforms was a feat. Even if Agus were to die today, he’d be remembered and praised by knights for ages.

“Jeez, Agus. You look pathetic as hell,” a voice in the sky teased.

“Magic crystal shield!”

“Blaze Demon!”

Two other voices rang in unison. Hearing those three voices, Agus knew he had escaped death.

“Hahaha!” Agus reached his left claws for the frightened strawberry. A ink-black crystal shield had formed on his back, blocking off attacks from the other Botanians.

“What?” Goldy was shocked to see the three silhouettes in the sky. The sunflower high priest frantically grabbed for his comrades.

“We need to go!” The sunflower snapped his emerald staff in half without hesitation. Immediately, a deep green light shield enveloped them and a white portal opened up in the middle. Its light wavered ever so slightly.

“Oh, you’re trying to run?” The teasing voice earlier sounded closer now. He came flying down with the tip of his longsword aimed at the Botanians. Countless yellow rocks and soil began gathering around the sharp tip like a whirlwind.

A huge mountain of terra elements was accumulated by the time he arrived at a 200 m altitude. In the next second, the rocks and soil were blasted onto the dark green shield, triggering a wave of earthquakes. The low-rank Botanians on the ground could barely maintain their balance and cracks were spreading across the area.

The shield’s colour paled upon impact. While nothing major had happened to the barrier, the sunflower high priest could feel his pulse hitch. The new invaders weren’t any weaker than the bronze giant!

“Run!” Goldy tugged at the nearest lotus root Botanian and began running towards the white glow. The emerald staff was their last resort for an escape courtesy of the World Tree. Goldy hadn’t expected to use it but the invaders were overwhelmingly powerful. In his panicked state, all he could feel was harrowing despair. 

A flaming giant standing seventy metres tall released a bolt of flame onto the green barrier, immediately dissipating the green shield like smoke. The Flaming Demon was Cassius’ real form.

In that split second, Goldy managed to touch the portal. 

“Dimensional Blade!” The black-robed Magister in the sky called out faintly as a translucent curved blade was sent towards the portal. It whistled sharply, closing in onto the sunflower Botanian and the white glow.

Just before it could do any harm, a green burst of energy that was no weaker than the Zauberian invaders flooded out of the portal. It wasn’t plant element mana but the power of a higher being. The energy of life wasn’t meant for aggression but to save its people. It quickly dragged the Botanians into the portal.

The clash of the dimensional blade and green energy triggered a fierce elemental explosion. Its turbulence flipped the grass patches over in a flurry. Soon, everything went quiet. Apart from a trembling lotus root Botanian, the calabash Botanian was only left with half of its body; the other half had disappeared with the sunflower high priest into the dimensional portal.

“As expected from Grandmeister Mist. You destroyed a dimensional portal!” Cassius praised the black-robed Magister in the sky.

While Cassius knew he could do the same to a similar minuscule dimensional portal like earlier, it still wasn’t an easy task that could be achieved with one attack. The Magister nodded humbly.

“Oi! I was just about to make a cup out of the calabash!” grumbled the Ritter who stood on the hilt of his longsword that was composed of rocky peaks. He pointed an angry finger at the remaining half of the calabash Botanian.

As the three chatted away, Agus continued to wrestle the strawberry Botanian in the background. They weren’t planning to help him out because this was Agus’ battle. Defeating the strawberry Botanian shouldn’t be an issue despite his severe injuries.

“Hey there, little guy. How about we have some fun together?” Eugen showed his pearly whites, tossing a smile over to the frightened lotus root Botanian. The lotus root Botanian’s mind was blank. It could only watch the newcomers approach in absolute horror.