Path of Absolute Transcendence

Chapter 123: 123. Clearance

In front of Kai was horde of beast, no it should be appropriate to call it a army of beast. The numbers were higher than he berserk beast he saw when he first came to the world.

'This situation doesn't seem to be natural? Is this fragment ability?'

Just based on estimate amount, Kai can conclude there are more than 10,000 beast were beast and all of them are have their same bloodthirsty eyes.

The weird situation was that they didn't fight and kill each other like he saw them before. They seem to be soldiers waiting for the order of commander.

Kai surveyed the vast army of beasts before him, a sea of snarling maws and bloodthirsty eyes. The sheer number was staggering, surpassing any horde he had encountered since his arrival in this world. They stood eerily still, a disciplined legion awaiting the silent command of an unseen leader.

Shark Head approached, his voice quivering with trepidation. "Young master, must we traverse this mass of beasts to reach the fragment?" he inquired, his hands betraying his fear.

Kai's gaze remained fixed on the center of the formation, where he sensed the fragment's call. "Indeed, we must," he replied, his voice a calm contrast to Shark Head's anxiety. "The last piece lies within their ranks."

As they strategized their approach, a lone beast's eyes locked onto them, and with a guttural roar, it charged. The others, quick to react, followed suit, and soon the ground trembled under the stampede of ten thousand beasts.

Kai turned to the sparrow, its feathers bristling with readiness. "Fight from above," he commanded. "Assist us from the skies." The sparrow took flight, its shadow sweeping over the advancing army.

To Shark Head, Kai nodded. "Join the fray. These Tier 1 and 2 beasts are within your grasp." Shark Head, emboldened by Kai's confidence, stepped forward, his own power surging in anticipation.

Kai then faced the oncoming tide, his will manifesting as a tangible force. With a thought, the gravity around him intensified, pressing down on the beasts with an invisible weight. They stumbled, their charge hindered by the sudden heaviness that clung to their limbs.

Drawing upon the elemental energies of wood and water, Kai wove a tapestry of restoration around him. The energies swirled, a vortex of life and healing, ready to replenish his stamina and mend his wounds.

The battle commenced, a clash of wills and strength. Kai and his astral projection moved as one, a duality of force that met the beasts head-on. Each strike was a calculated move, each step a dance of survival.

Shark Head, amidst the lower tiers, found his rhythm, his strikes felling beast after beast. The sparrow, a swift avenger in the sky, rained down assistance, its talons sharp as daggers.

The beasts, though numerous, could not withstand the coordinated assault. Their numbers dwindled, their formation broken by the relentless onslaught of Kai and his allies.

The battlefield was a maelstrom of chaos and bloodshed. Kai and Shark Head, once the hunters, now found themselves besieged by an endless tide of beasts. The initial ease with which they dispatched their foes gave way to a grueling struggle for survival.

At first, the beasts fell in droves, their Tier 1 and Tier 2 statuses no match for Kai's prowess and Shark Head's determination. But as the numbers swelled, the advantage of their lower tier became apparent. Quantity became a quality of its own, and the relentless onslaught began to take its toll.

Shark Head, less experienced and less powerful, was soon covered in wounds. His movements, once swift and sure, now slowed, each swing of his weapon growing increasingly labored. The sparrow, circling above, swooped down time and again, its wind blades cutting through the air to protect him. Yet, even the sparrow's aerial advantage waned, its attacks growing less frequent as the battle dragged on.

Kai, though not physically exhausted thanks to his constant absorption of elemental energy, felt the mental strain of the unending battle. His mind, a fortress against fatigue, began to show cracks as the beasts pressed in from all sides. The gravity he manipulated with his [Will Manipulation] ability became a heavy chain, each use sapping a little more of his focus.

The situation was dire. If Kai could not devise a strategy, their end was certain. The beasts, sensing weakness, intensified their assault, their eyes gleaming with the promise of victory. Kai knew that to falter now would mean death.

In the thick of battle, Kai's thoughts raced. He needed a plan, a way to turn the tide. His eyes scanned the battlefield, taking in the positions of the beasts, the lay of the land, and the condition of his allies. There had to be a solution, a path to victory amidst the seemingly insurmountable odds.

"Shark Head, hold on the ground I come back." Kai said and disappeared into the horde.

Shark Head, his loyalty unwavering, nodded at Kai's command. He knew this job could potentially endanger his life, but he accepted the order without any hesitation.

With a grim determination set upon his features, he mounted the sparrow, ascending into the sky. His role was clear: to be the diversion, to keep the beasts' attention as Kai enacted his plan.

Kai, meanwhile, vanished into the horde like a specter, his movements a blur. He was not merely fighting; he was orchestrating a massacre. Each step was deliberate, each swing of his blade a note in a symphony of destruction. The beasts fell before him, cleaved in twain before they could even react, their numbers meaningless against his singular might.

His astral body, a silent partner in this dance of death, mirrored his every move. It was a shield, a guardian that kept the beasts at bay, ensuring that none could reach Kai as he carved his path through the army.

The beasts, driven by a primal instinct, could not comprehend the strategy unfolding before them. They saw only the carnage, felt only the fear as their ranks were decimated by this lone warrior and his ghostly double.

Kai's path was not random—it was precise, calculated. He moved with the certainty of a chess master, each beast a piece removed from the board. His blade sang through the air, a deadly chorus that spelled doom for the creatures caught in its melody.

As Kai completed his circuit, a perfect circle of devastation lay in his wake. The beasts within the ring were now isolated, cut off from their kin by the barrier of fallen bodies.

The battlefield, once a canvas of chaos and carnage, transformed in an instant as a brilliant light erupted from the earth. It was a blinding radiance that halted the beasts in their tracks, their savage eyes wide with confusion and fear. The light was an entity unto itself, a force that commanded attention and respect.

Beneath the horde of beasts, intricate lines of formation etched themselves into the ground, glowing with an otherworldly energy. They wove around each creature, a network of power that hummed with potential. Kai took Shark Head, and retreated far from the formation lines.

As they retreated, the formation solidified into a colossal barrier of light, encapsulating every beast within its luminous walls. The white glow that had heralded this transformation began to shift, its purity giving way to a sinister crimson hue.

With the emergence of the red light, a macabre spectacle unfolded. The Tier 1 beasts, once the embodiment of ferocity and bloodlust, succumbed to the power of the formation. They perished rapidly, their bodies collapsing as blood sprayed and organs spilled onto the blood-soaked earth. It was a scene of ruthless efficiency, the light showing no mercy as it claimed life after life.

The massacre did not cease. The Tier 2 beasts, stronger though they were, met the same fate as their lesser kin. One by one, they fell, their roars of defiance silenced by the relentless red light.

And then, to the shock of none, the Tier 3 beasts—the apex of the horde—also began to die. Despite their formidable strength and resilience, they were not immune to the formation's power. Their bodies crumpled, joining the growing pile of the fallen.

Shark Head, who had witnessed many a battle, stood in stunned silence. His young master, Kai, had orchestrated a display of power beyond his wildest imaginings. The field before them, once teeming with life and fury, was now a graveyard, the light having extinguished the flames of thousands of beasts.

The red light receded, its work complete, leaving behind only the stillness of death and the echoes of what had been. Kai and Shark Head, amidst the quietude of the aftermath, could only gaze upon the result of Kai's unseen strategy—a strategy that had turned the tide and granted them a gruesome victory.