Chapter 440: Matter of Minutes!
Chapter 438
The Aspirants were still fighting with everything they had against the monsters.
But with more than three dozen Abberants still standing, hope was beginning to fade.
Before charging back into the fight, Lincoln had already requested Mina to send supplies for the Aspirants.
They should arrive within a few minutes.
But there was one problem.
Would the Abberants actually allow them to retreat and refill their VMS gas?
Nope.
They weren’t that stupid.
And even if the Aspirants somehow managed to refill their gas in time, there was another problem.
They simply didn’t have the strength to keep fighting for much longer.
Half an hour had passed since the invasion began.
Thirty minutes of constant fighting.
Thirty minutes of dodging claws, exchanging blows, pushing their abilities to the limit, and desperately trying to survive.
The Aspirants were growing tired.
Those whose Meta-Force reserves hadn’t been particularly high to begin with were now left with barely a spark capable of aiding them in battle.
Their breathing was becoming heavier.
Their movements were becoming slower.
Their attacks were losing some of their previous force.
It was almost as if the Abberants had been playing the long game from the beginning.
Waiting.
Enduring.
Allowing the humans to exhaust themselves before finally crushing them beneath their overwhelming strength.
And it was working.
It was only a matter of minutes before things became considerably worse.
The relatively small number of casualties on humanity’s side was soon going to become something far greater if nothing changed.
And that change?
Ray’s friends were trying to bring it.
Since the battle began, they had all been fighting separately.
Each of them had been trying to dominate the battlefield in their own way.
But now...
.... Now that their Meta-Force was slowly running out, they had silently reached the same conclusion.
They needed to work together.
Not by crowding around one another.
Not by fighting over the same targets.
They split themselves into groups instead.
Using their individual strengths to cover each other’s weaknesses.
Trisha could be seen vaulting across the wreckage of buildings with the help of her boots.
A few metres behind her was Chloe.
The girl leaped from chimney to chimney, keeping pace with the Ice user.
Ice rapidly crawled around Trisha’s fingers as she waited.
Frost spread across her katana, coating the blade in a layer of deadly cold.
Then—
"Trish!"
Chloe shouted.
An arrow was released.
It spun through the air with rapid velocity before striking the arm of an approaching Abberant.
The creature expected the arrow to splinter against its rocky body.
Instead—
BAM!
The impact sent its hand shooting violently to the side as though it had been struck by a boulder.
Trisha immediately took advantage of the opening.
She whirled around and dove forward.
Her sword pointed toward the creature’s abdomen like a spear.
The Abberant was already bringing its second hand down.
Trisha saw it coming.
At the last possible moment, she twisted her body.
Her thrust became a slash.
SHIIK!
The sword tore a deep gash across the creature’s abdomen.
Trisha dragged the blade harder, using the momentum to send herself sliding to the side.
The Abberant roared.
Trisha pushed off the side of a building.
Her body rose into the air.
For a brief second, she hovered above the creature’s head.
"Left ear."
The information came through her comm.
’Huh? Hasn’t he engaged with the Two-Spines yet?’
The thought briefly crossed her mind.
But she immediately shelved it.
There was no time to wonder about Ray.
Her boots released another burst of gas.
Trisha spun over the creature’s reaching claws, narrowly slipping past them.
Behind her—
Chloe knocked another arrow.
She drew the string.
Released.
The arrow tore through the air.
This time, the Abberant wasn’t taking any chances.
Its hand snapped upward.
The creature seized the arrow straight out of the air.
For a split second, nothing happened.
Then—
Beep!
Beep!
BOOOM!
The arrow detonated.
The explosion tore apart part of the creature’s claws, sending fragments flying through the air.
The Abberant stumbled backward.
Its massive body tumbled from the force of the explosion.
Before it could recover—
Tchaaaaak!
An ice spear tore through his left ear and buried itself half a metre deep.
The creature froze in place.
Its massive body locked up for a brief second before gravity took over.
CRASH!
It fell forward, smashing into the ground.
Trisha landed a short distance away with a heavy huff.
Her chest burned.
Every breath felt heavier than the last, but she refused to stop.
"Good job. Unto the next."
She spoke into her comm device before immediately moving again.
Across the battlefield, the main elites were doing everything they could to take down as many Abberants as possible.
They were pushing beyond their limits.
Burning through the last reserves of their Meta-Force.
Throwing every ounce of strength they had into each attack.
For a bunch of young teenagers, it was impressive.
But even with everything they were giving, the Abberants were still pushing them toward the edge.
The creatures were simply too durable.
Too strong.
Too relentless.
Awhooooo!
Caster’s Dark Wolf released a powerful howl.
The sound seemed to infuriate an approaching Abberant.
The creature’s expression twisted as it swung its fist downward like a mallet.
The wolf zipped away at the last possible second.
BOOM!
The fist smashed into empty air, sending a violent burst of wind outward.
"Nape."
The instant the information reached him—
Pfffffff—!
Caster burst forward.
His short swords were already in his hands.
The Abberant immediately tried to turn around and protect its weak point.
But the Dark Wolf lunged first.
Its claws shot toward the creature’s face, forcing the Abberant to raise its arms to block.
That was all Caster needed.
Slash! Slash—!
His swords ripped through the back of the creature’s neck.
One blade plunged deep.
The heart tore open.
Blue blood sprayed through the air.
"Haaaa.... Haaa..."
Caster kicked off the corpse before smoothly landing on his wolf.
"How much longer do I have left with you?"
He glanced down at the creature beneath him.
’A minute at best?’
Even Berg wasn’t being left behind.
Despite not having the assistance Ray was giving the other Aspirants, he was still holding his own against the damned Abberants.
After all, he was a descendant of one of the Big Four Legacies.
Was he going to disappoint his family here?
No.
He wouldn’t.
Berg dove beneath a wild swing from an Abberant.
Flames blazed around his hands.
He thrust both hands forward with unwavering force.
KA-BOOOM!
A funnel of flames erupted forward.
It slammed into the Abberant with the force of a boulder.
The creature slid backward.
A massive burn mark appeared across its abdomen.
Blood poured from the wound.
And that was when its passive trait activated.
The Abberant’s muscles tensed.
Then it bolted forward.
Faster.
Much faster than before.
Berg’s eyes widened slightly.
Even with the sudden increase in speed, his fire ability gave him enough mobility to dive out of the way.
The creature tore past him.
Berg immediately vaulted into the air.
Two fingers pointed forward.
Bang! Bang!
Two concentrated fire bullets shot forward.
They smashed into the back of the creature’s nape.
Berg’s open palm followed.
A fire spear erupted from his hand.
It raced forward and slammed directly into the holes created by the bullets.
BOOM!
The spear widened the wounds.
The already-damaged nape was ripped open even further.
Then—
A fireball followed.
It plunged directly into the wet, exposed wound.
FWOOSH!
Flames consumed the opening.
The Abberant staggered.
Its body finally collapsed.
Berg landed on the ground.
On his knees.
"Ack.... Kuh...."
His chest heaved violently.
Wheezing, he coughed out a few specks of blood.
For a brief moment, he simply remained there.
Exhausted.
Then—
A cloud covered him.
Berg slowly lifted his head.
His eyes widened.
An Abberant’s massive foot hovered only a few inches from his head.
’Damn it! Can’t I fucking get a break?!’