Chapter 343
He rebounded quickly, barely staggered, the thin film around him rippling with his force. The priest laughed, a low, unsettling sound, and extended his hand. The golden shield stretched, snaking from his arm in a thin, malleable stream that he whipped toward her like a lash. It snapped through the air, cracking like thunder as it aimed to strike her across the face.
With a swift motion, the princess summoned a slab of earth from below, lifting her off the ground and raising her above the reach of his weapon. She extended her arms outward, and jagged rocks erupted from the ground, spearing toward the priest. He deflected each with a flick of his golden shield, each shard bouncing harmlessly off the gleaming film. But it cost him focus, and in that instant, she attacked.
Seeing her attacking like a reckless rhino, He charged towards the princess. The princess met his charge with her hammer raised, stone skin weaving over her arms and chest. The hammer swung forward, colliding with his axe in a massive clash, ringing through the air like thunder.
The princess wasn’t done as she created a foothold made of earth that held her in place and positioned her above the priest as her arms turned into a blur as she began hammering away the priest.
The priest twisted, using the golden shield around his arm to deflect her hammer’s head. Each blow driving him further into the ground, soon the golden light covering him began flickering.
The earth beneath him rippled and cracked, splitting open to form deep crevices around his feet. The priest stumbled, but his eyes blazed with exhilaration rather than fear. The golden film shifted, moving from his arms to his legs as he stomped down hard, stabilizing himself as the shield absorbed the energy from the tremors.
"Now" The priest roared out loud as time seemed to slow down as the princess hammer was about to hall on him, The golden film covering him formed a shield which he used to deflect the blow as he delivered a fierce kick to her side.
The princess recovered with a fluid roll, her movements as natural as flowing water. With a flourish, she summoned a curtain of dust and stone, obscuring herself from view. Her body sank seamlessly into the earth, disappearing without a trace. The priest’s eyes darted around the battlefield, his senses on high alert. Then he felt it—a vibration, a warning from the ground beneath him. He leapt just as the earth beneath exploded upward, jagged spears of rock slicing through the air, narrowly missing his legs.
She reappeared behind him, her body emerging from the stone like a shadow, and delivered a powerful kick to his back. The impact sent him stumbling forward, but his shield caught the brunt of the force, though he could feel the power in her strike.