Transmigrated with my corruption system

"Hmm." Ulric hummed in thought, leaning slightly forward, growing more intrigued as the battle unfolded.

He could see as Amber breathed wisps of green energy into the stone golems. The life energy reeking from her had reduced significantly, the light in her eyes dimming slightly as her movements grew a little sluggish.

But even with all that, the smile on her face only widened. And he could see why. Appraising the stone golems, his brows couldn’t help but arch slightly.

Based on their durability, strength, and speed, each one could easily rival a peak E-rank being, if not overpower them. The fact she could conjure ten of them with a snap of her fingers was amazing.

Charging forward, they moved in a coordinated formation, raising their burly stone arms in an attacking manner.

Seeing this, Aelira snorted. Her breath eased as she appraised the stone golems. Merely peak E-rank. Their numbers wouldn’t change a thing.

So what if Amber had dodged a single blow? Would she be able to dodge another, and the one after that? Only one way to find out. But first, she would lay waste to these stone golems!

As the thought took root, her figure streaked forward. Her hammer smashed through the first wave of golems, easily crushing three in a single swipe and obliterating them into rubble.

Moving forward, her eyes narrowed as she lowered her stance. Then she swung the massive hammer all around her in a smooth arc, crushing the rest as well and leaving nothing behind.

Letting out a soft breath, a faint smile curled across her lips as she stared at the sight. Before lifting her gaze to Amber, whose face was already pale from the energy overdraft.

"Is that all you got?" Aelira smirked, stroking her hammer in a taunting manner. A teasing smile spread across her face as the cheers from the crowd filled her ears.

But before the words could fully slip from her lips, the shattered pebbles on the ground trembled slightly, as if reacting to her taunt.

Then they shot into the air where balls of green energy hovered. In a few seconds, the stone golems were fully reformed, with seemingly no mark of the damage they had suffered moments ago.

If that wasn’t terrifying enough, when she stole a glance at Amber, she could see she had no part in this. It was as if the stone golems were inviolable.

Her fears were confirmed by the whisper parting from Amber’s lips as she gloated some more.

"Ooh, you just damaged the shell. As long as the core remains intact... this is merely the beginning." She muttered, before breaking out into a giddy chuckle.

As long as she remained alive, her summons couldn’t truly be destroyed. All she needed was to light a spark in them and they would do the rest. Just the thought alone sent waves of exhilaration coursing through her body, fueling her laughter.

The weeks of endless dungeon grinding were finally paying off. She could finally taste what true power felt like. Was this the feeling Ulric felt when he burst into fits of maniacal laughter mid-battle? If so, she couldn’t blame him!

Aelira at the side wasn’t as happy as Amber. A scowl formed across her face. The implication of her words was a little terrifying. And as the battle continued, they were confirmed true.

With every stone golem she destroyed, a new one took its place instantly. If anything, the time it took for new ones to form seemed to be shortening each time. Frustration welled up inside her.

The battle that was supposed to be over in a couple of seconds was quickly turning into one of endurance. If this continued any longer, it was apparent who would come out on top.

As the thoughts crashed through her mind, a frustrated yell tore from her throat.

A golden hue suddenly burst out to encapsulate her body as she was forced to use her D-rank Art.

The slew of golems that had surrounded her were instantly blown apart into pieces. And before they could even reform, Aelira rushed forward, appearing before Amber as she swung the hammer again.

"Time to end this!" she grunted. Even though victory was assured, it didn’t bring quite the satisfaction she wanted.

Her thoughts were cut short by Amber’s words as her eyes widened in surprise.

"I agree."

Watching as the earth below swallowed her feet, dragging her ten meters away in an instant.

"T... this..." Aelira stuttered. Her hammer struck empty air again as her lips twitched faintly.

At this point, the earth was basically helping her. She wanted to scream that it wasn’t fair. But the battle had never been fair from the beginning. A D-rank facing off against a peak E-rank.

As Amber’s words dawned on her, she watched her extend her hand toward the pile of rubble as a whisper parted from her lips.

"Earth Fusion."

The rubble trembled violently once more. Only instead of rising to reconstruct another wave of earth golems, the pebbles merged into slabs of huge rocks that rushed toward Amber. Swirling around her, stirring the dust and obstructing the sight.

When it settled, gasps tore from the crowd as they stared at the arena, finally unable to suppress the shock bubbling within them.

"Huh... what is that...?"

"Did she merge with the rocks...?"

"How... I don’t understand."

"Hahaha, simple enough. It means she is about to kick Aelira’s butt and when that happens, you’ll lose the bet and give me all your money!"

***

As the murmurs filtered to Aelira’s ears, her breath grew heavy as she barely suppressed her twitching lips. She stared at the sight before her.

Where Amber once stood, a massive seven-meter golem now towered. Far thicker and exuding a terrifying aura than any of the previous golems.

"They... merged," Aelira muttered, staring blankly for a while. Most of the crowd couldn’t sense it, but she could.

The aura the massive stone golem exuded had stepped into low D-rank, and probably higher than the average ones.

She had to end this fight, fast! The longer it dragged on, the more the odds of her winning decreased.

Inside the massive stone golem, Amber hovered with the help of the earth’s pressure as her eyes glinted with excitement.

She could feel waves of raw strength pumping into her in this state. And as she watched Aelira charge forward, her excitement grew almost palpable.

The massive stone golem blurred forward with surprising speed for its frame to clash with Aelira.

Only this time, it met the attack directly as one of its arms rose to crash into the massive hammer.