Chapter 376 - Second Level, Stagnation

Cling, clang, the battle rang.

The Warriors clashed with the enemy, but few could deal the finishing blow.

The power of the enemies was reaped but mostly went to Great Warriors and Battle Masters alike, putting many on the verge of breakthroughs.

Even so, the few Warriors the succeeded advanced immediately under the influx of power from the undead demons.

Not only did they advance their strength, but they also advanced multiple ranks, allowing them to jump straight to the peak of the Warrior realm, one step away from the Great Warrior realm and with excess energy to keep going.

However, no one managed to take the final step to break through to the Great Warrior realm.

This was not because they could not or did not want to, but because the situation did not allow them.

The Great Warrior Realm required meditative focus to guide the rampant energies through the right channels of one's body before hammering down the walls of the Great Warrior realm to achieve the breakthrough.

It was different from the Warrior realm that simply allowed the rampant energy to temper the surface of one's flesh.

Not everyone possessed the same insanity Sabertooth did and attempt a breakthrough in the midst of battle. It was no longer about courage but plain suicide.

No one would be able to cover them. They would only be offering their own necks to the enemy to chop.

Even so, the Darkmoon Tribe enjoyed a qualitative boost in their strength as dozens of warriors reached the gates of the Great Warrior realm.

As for the ones that were already in the Great Warrior realm, they had all suppressed their breakthrough.

It was only the Battle Masters that did not face the same problem. They had long discarded the root of their body cultivation and could no longer progress further.

Only the chief of the tribe still could.

"Lass, you should be on the verge of a breakthrough, right? You should take this opportunity to breakthrough. I will cover you!"

Old Hammer said.

Swinging out with his heavy Soul Weapon, a wave of enemies was blown away.

"You will cover me, but who will cover the area you leave behind? Strength is important, but I cannot trade the lives of my tribesmen for it."

Chief Valencia shook her head.

She hacked out with her own Soul Weapon and swept away all the Behemoth-class Bone Demon before her like an impregnable fortress. None were able to make it past her defense.

Old Hammer smiled approvingly and no longer continued the topic. This is how a great leader ought to behave.

A strong leader can indeed lead the tribe, but only a selfless leader can lift it from the ground up.

The enemy's army was reduced to 35-thousands in a short time, but the number still greatly outnumbered their capable warriors.

As they continued to fight and defend the city wall, a silent aura of destruction shot past Chief Valencia and disintegrated a group of enemies before her.

Duna's voice shortly sounded after, "What if I cover you?"

Chief Valencia's eyes slightly widened with surprise and asked, "Why are you helping us?"

She did not think that Duna would come back so soon and help them, no less when she had expressed zero interest and intention in doing so.

"I was paid."

"You were paid?"

Chief Valencia was more confound by her words and wore a stupefied expression.

She found it rather hard to see through Duna and understand the nature of her character. Who paid her, and what kind of price was paid for her willingness to help?

Duna nodded.

She tossed and caught the pea-sized Dark Crystal in her hand before it was ground to dust and absorbed all its contents.

Afterward, she waved her hand, and a bigger wave of destruction swept over the undead army and reduced thousands of enemies to atoms.

Her brows furrowed shortly after.

'It seems there are still some limitations in using power far beyond one's capability. The Destruction Law puts too much strain on our body…'

Duna pondered.

Chief Valencia noticed the reduction in the scale of Duna's attacks and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just do what you need to do."

Duna said indifferently.

It was not her character to show weakness.

"Then… many thanks, Duna. I owe you one."

Chief Valencia nodded.

Without further ado, she sat down and meditated for her eventual breakthrough to the Mid-ranked Battle Master realm.

Duna's coverage was not small.

Many supporting Great Warriors and Warriors in the area also took the opportunity to meditate for their breakthrough after suppressing their cultivation for so long.

Duna noticed this, but she did not say anything.

She continued to wave her lily-white hands, sending out a smaller scale aura of destruction and disintegrated the enemy in its wake.

The strain on her body soon hit a concerning level as cracks began to form on the surface of her hand like the slow shattering of glasses.

'This job is proving itself more tedious than I have imagined. Our body will not last much longer. It is already beginning to experience the backlash of the Destruction Law.'

After seeing this, she became more passive in her attacks, only striking the enemy when they drew too close to the humans and kept them out of harm's way.

Power does not come without a price, and even more so, it cannot be used indiscriminately without consequences.

'However...'

Duna frowned.

She had given her word to help. She was not someone who goes back on her word, and even more so, abhor the people that do.

In the end, she should not have been soft-hearted when she accepted the task, or were those Lumi's feelings affecting her decision?

No!

Duna shook her head of those thoughts.

It is wrong to blame her sister for that. She was the one in control. She was the one who made a choice. It was her decision, and hers alone. She was also a person.

More cracks formed and spread to her arms.

At this point, Duna no longer dared to use the almighty Destruction Law. It was too powerful, and the backlash was too much. She was destroying their body.

Duna narrowed her eyes and changed tactics.

Temporal Law, Second Level – Stagnation!

An elusive aura swept across the battlefield before a transparent dome-like barrier rapidly expanded and covered the region, painting the inside with a monochromatic feeling as the incoming Behemoth-class Bone Demons became immobile.

No, it was not complete immobility. They just moved perceivably slow! This was the effect of decelerating time!

Everyone within the temporal domain has their time decelerated. As such, not only were the enemy decelerated, even the humans were also decelerated!

The temporal domain did not differentiate between friend and foe. All within its area of effect was affected by decelerated time! Only Duna, herself was immune to the effects of Stagnation!

"What kind of power is this?!"

"Is this the power of time? Time has been stopped!"

"No, time hasn't been stopped! It has been decelerated! Look, they are moving slowly, but surely!"

The warriors exclaimed in shock.

Everything inside the temporal domain moved incredibly slowly to the world outside, but to the affected people inside, time was moving normally.

That was the scary aspect of Stagnation. The people inside the temporal domain did not even know their time had been decelerated!

"This is our chance! If the Behemoth-class Bone Demons are moving this slowly, we can kill them!"

"No, wait! If you rush in, you might also be—"

A warrior with a brighter mind tried to warn, but it was too late. The foolish warriors rushed into the temporal domain and got themselves affected by decelerated time.

"These idiots…"

The brighter warriors sighed.

The warriors were foolish, but they cannot be blamed. They could not think of anything else after seeing the prospects of killing Behemoth-class Bone Demons.

It was the dream of every Warrior to enter the Great Warrior realm. If there was a chance to do it without risk, why not?

It was nice to dream and all, but unfortunately, reality was much different from what they had imagined.

Of course, the decelerated warriors still had no idea. They are still thinking they can kill the 'slow' Behemoth-class Bone Demons inside.

Creak…

At the center of the temporal domain, the cracks of Duna's arms spread all the way to her upper body and made her heart chilled.

She did not expect that the Temporal Law would also put some strain on her body and almost killed both her and Lumi as a result of casting such a vast temporal domain.

'It seems I can only use the Darkness Laws!'

Duna paled slightly.