"Dammit, any bright ideas, Jyorta?" George shouted as he haphazardly flew behind the Web World, calming his thumping heart as he saw the other side was fully skewered.
"Let's tank through it first," Jyorta shouted in return as he hid behind the Battleship. At present, all fifteen of their group were hiding behind the two constructs while keeping them as close to the top of the dome as possible.
For, they had no other choice but to do so, for the entrance had been blocked by a group of spikes. After a round of hurried discussions, they decided to deal with the Steel Porcupine first. After all, they concluded that the spikes it unleashed could be used as weapons against their subsequent foes, especially the Rigordile, whose hide was so tough their weapons were bound to break with every hit.
Unfortunately for their plans, the Steel Porcupine they had to face just happened to be their worst opponent. It possessed one of the rarest Tier 3 Skills of its race.
Tier 3 Skill—Steel Forest!
It was one of the rarest but deadliest Tier 3 Skills of the Steel Porcupines. Upon activation, the unleashed energy absorbs certain minerals from the ground and condenses a forest of blades. And, these blades act just like the spike on their back but are stronger and innumerous.
Basically, as long as the blades on the ground remain, they had free ammo that they could shoot without any restrictions. And, when they entered, the Steel Porcupine had been hidden underground, accumulating its energy.
Only after they had all flown in did it take action, first ensuring to block the exit, trapping them all within. And after this, it wholly unleashed its Tier 3 Skill, changing the sandy terrain into a platform of steel through which blades protruded out.
Followed by it was the launch of the blades that struck their defensive structures without end, preventing them from even getting an opportunity to land a hit. Moreover, its aura was tremendously strong and seemed to have been amplified by the forest of blades.
The two synchronised with each other, amplifying the presence of each as the Steel Porcupine erected a solid defensive barrier of aura around it. This thick defensive barrier rendered his aura personifications useless. And, Jyorta was unwilling to waste his aura beam so soon, for that wouldn't get a decisive victory.
At most, it could destroy the barrier. But that wasn't enough, considering the quantity of aura he was expending. Jyorta didn't have much psychic energy left, only having enough to replenish his aura reserves for four more times.
"Jyorta," Laekha Walta, having been carried by an Amplifier whispered, "Can you do that lightning thingy again?"
"I thought of that, but it's too risky. We would be taking way too much damage when compared to the Steel Porcupine. And, if we fall, we would be done for." Jyorta frowned, shaking his head, "Besides, it consumes too much aura to unleash. I won't have enough to even control the Spindle Bee if I were to unleash it."
"Just do it then, we have no other choice." Laekha Walta said, "As for the energy, I got you covered."
Saying so, she unleashed her psychic arm, turning it pale blue as she seeped it into him. As Jyorta stared with widened eyes, she smiled, "The others too think this would be for the best. Just trust us, we'll take care of the rest."
Jyorta glanced around, noticing everyone looking at him, followed by a nod, expressing their trust in his abilities. Taking in a deep breath, he spoke, "I need you to distract its attention for a second so that I can move forward and unleash it. That way, it would target the Steel Porcupine more."
"Tell us at the time, and we will do it without trouble." One of the Amplifiers said, patting the cylinder held in his hands. Hovering behind him were three other Amplifiers, all carrying a cylinder each. They planned to use the increased reach of the spindle attacks to distract the Steel Porcupine and buy enough time.
"Fine," Jyorta took in a deep breath as Laekha Walta continued to heal him, pouring in psychic energy in his Brain Crystal, filling up his reserves until it was replenished until 60 percent of max capacity.
Now having enough confidence, Jyorta calmly riled up his aura, accumulating them in each hand, turning his psychic arms pale blue as he healed himself, replenishing his aura reserves as he pushed them more and more into his hands.
His hands bulged under the pressure built up by the accumulating aura, making his skin seem as if it was a balloon that was on the verge of bursting. After recovering his aura reserves to the peak once again, his two psychic arms overlaid themselves onto a hand each, ensuring his skin wouldn't crack and misfire his attack on himself.
The two psychic arms then infused psychic energy into his hands, mixing them up with his aura as he activated his corrosion, adding the property in both his psychic energy and aura. The psychic energy was fine and smooth while the aura was rough and discrete.
Both had their respective property and behaved differently with the property of corrosion. Jyorta was completely focused on it, forgetting his surroundings. The Battleship and the Web World were tanking the blades shot at them, getting significantly damaged as a result.
The Lava Turtle shells on the Web World had already cracked in numerous places. It was only retained by the adhesiveness of the silk web on its back that kept it stuck to the Web World. Its defensive property was wholly non-existent now.
"It's ready," Jyorta barely managed to rein in enough attention span to utter as Ashten got ready to carry him forward. Immediately, the four Amplifiers took in deep breaths, activating their Tier 1 and 2 Skills immediately, focusing them on their Unranked Skill, Flight as their speeds exploded, vanishing from the scene.
They flew out of their hiding spot and darted through the dome, raining down attacks after causing the Spindle Bees in the cylinders to activate their Tier 2 Skill. The spindles shot towards the Steel Porcupine that showed its dexterity, deftly avoiding the spindles by curling its body accordingly, sometimes even using the blades to shield itself.
Simultaneously, the blades covering the ground shot forth, numbering tens per each of the five Amplifiers, causing their faces to turn pale.
"This is what you've been training for all this time," One of the Amplifiers muttered as he dropped the cylinder in his hand, stretching his hand as all the veins on them popped while his skin turned rough.
Tier 2 Skill—Body Burst!
It amplified the functions of his physique overall, a Skill only Nurtured by those with a Sync Rate surpassing 80 percent. After the Tier 2 Skill activation, his eyes shone green, noticing the blades flying in his direction.
His stretched hands then grabbed hold of the blades flying his way, hitting at their backs as he directed their momentum towards the sides, changing it from linear to rotation as they were sent flying in the same way they came from.
The Steel Porcupine swerved in alarm as the blades it shot returned to crash into its location. It looked at the blades that had impacted the ground near it, barely missing it. On seeing the crack in the floor they had caused, it hissed in anger, targeting the particular Amplifier as it shot numerous blades towards him.
"Well, I'll be damned." The Amplifier chuckled in nervousness as he used his weapon to fend off the attacks.
In the meantime, Ashten flew out, carrying Jyorta on his back. Placing his hands on Ashten's shoulder, Jyorta faced them downward, aiming at the Steel Porcupine, causing the air to flicker before rippling as if the cause had been a plasma.
The air turned still for a moment, as everything became silent, including the noises from the battle. It was followed by a crack sound that was akin to the sound of thunder. Just the rebound caused them to fly away by a couple of metres.
Two ripples appeared and clashed into one another, jet black, a mixture of rough and smooth energies. The point of contact ionised the air completely, creating lightning sparks in them that increased in amplitude the greater the two ripples clashed into one another.
The Steel Porcupine was alarmed at the scene as it quickly burrowed into the ground, only to realise that it had turned almost all the sand metallic.
It then tried to attack the caster, looking around to see all the attacking students had vanished from its vision, hiding behind the two constructs near the very top.
A massive bolt of lightning landed on the forest of blades, attracted by the metal that acted as a target for them to reach. Soon, lightning sparks flickered one after another as the sounds of thunder boomed within the dome.
Lightning bolts landed on the forest of blades one after another, creating an arc of lighting on the ground that became a net, trapping the Steel Porcupine, numbing it as all the lightning bolts treated it as the sink to move into.
"Screee!" The lightning bolts singed it while seeping a certain something into its body, causing its flesh to melt. It also acted on its Essence of Frenzy, corroding it into a substance perfectly useless in its body.
The pain was overwhelming as the Steel Porcupine stared at the top with hatred before its vision was buried by a sea of lightning.