Standing from his place of meditation Liam, content with the energy housed inside his sword stores it inside his ring and exchanges it with his old one
Thinking that to truly battle with his life on the line the violent burst of the array would be cheap
[My treasure will cover my retreat if I fail, not make or break my win]
Taking flight to the top of the cliff he has spent hours under, Liam heads north into the third zone
Having a target in mind to fight against, Liam is visualizing the fight in his mind, attacks and counters with his prior knowledge and information gained from scouting his target
Striding and focusing through the forest into his targets frequent hunting grounds, he is caught by the hiss of a beast
"CAWW" jumping from the brush a rank 6 Steel Beaked Cassowary blocks Liams path
Red eyes staring directly into his own Liam can feel the bloodlust from the spirit beast
The cassowary not only is tall but was a beast without any natural predators, its lanky legs not only carried powerful kicks but also long strides to give quick and short instantaneous movements
Steel Beaked Cassowaries live by the rules of the forest but are an anomaly. The race having never met a match it couldn't kill or escape from under rank 8, in the areas it is native it lives fearless
"This is bad. I have been preparing to fight an alligator beast, this is the total opposite" Liam sweating buckets
Edward witnessing the situation is happy with the unexpected appearance of the beast. Wanting to see how his chosen right hand handles the surprise
Taking the treasured sword from his ring now dual wielding, Liam takes a defensive stance
The cassowary lunging forward takes a kick at the left side rib cage of Liam
Crossing his arms Liam blocks the kick with his right hand treasure sword pointed at that ground and his left forearm behind the fuller, releasing a slight explosion from the sword then thrusting the sword in his left hand at the birds chest
The explosion knocking the leg of the bird back, causes it to push backwards off its right leg, distance created that cause Liams attack to miss
[This might be doable, that attack would have shattered my arm before, but now it only slightly stings]
In stare down again Liam plants his swords into the ground and takes his chest plate off. Throwing away the armor Liam is not showing arrogance but a thirst for pushing himself to the edge
His opponent unarmed and the sound of the chest plate hitting the ground, cause the bird to take the innovative and attack again
In a tornado of attacks the bird using his sharp and tough beak to stab at the upper body of Liam
Clang Clang Ching Clang
The sound of steel meeting steel as Liam meets all of the attacks with his swords, hands becoming more and more numb blocking the thrusts of the cassowary
Switching the tempo of its offensive the bird takes a swipe with its casque, an extension of its beak that runs along the top of its head
The attack perpendicular across Liams chest he blocks with one sword, slicing at the throat of the bird with the other. His sword knocked back after making contact with the bird
[Not enough? Even its skin is like steel]
Surprised from the characteristic of the aves, unaware and drawn in by its name Liam is left exposed and the cassowary stabs the inside of his left thigh with his beak and rips downward
With his leg opened from thigh to calf Liam falls to one knee and releases an explosion with the treasure
Liam in pain does not scream from the sting and hurt of his flesh becoming separated, instead he remains calm with his head up and eyes forward on the cassowary
With his leg disabled and without strength to stand, he circulates all his Chi into the injured leg, cutting off the blood flow to stop the bleeding and using it to reinforce and manipulate his bones, he rises to both feet
[I have been on the defensive across both our exchanges] on his feet and narrowing his gaze, Liam primes himself to go on the offensive knowing it will lead to a trade of injury
The Steel Beak Cassowary recognizing the look in Liam as a predator looking at prey howls, no longer fighting for a meal but fighting to display his dominance
"GRR ARR"
One foot in front of the other the bird charges while standing his feathers straight, Liam ready to meet with an exchange of attacks uses Roaring Dragons Fang with both swords, six dragon claws are at the left and right of the cassowary
With instincts forged by his species over millions of years of combat, the bird felt the danger in the attack and leaped into the air to dodge the attack
Directly above Liam the cassowary with force releases a great number of his feathers, needles that are as durable as his beak shower the area around Liam
Swinging his sword like a bat Liam release the remaining energy in his sword
The explosion not only protects him but causes smoke and dust to obscure both of their vision
The ringing in the adversaries ears still ongoing from the boom, Liam pierces the smoke with his own leap
Roaring Dragons Fang on his palms, the aura from the right hand digs into the rib cage of the bird, and the left hand pierces its chest and stomach
Following through and using the remaining Chi from his cores, Liam not clapping his hands but crossing them until they are almost touching his shoulders
His Chi in the form of a dragon still, continues to pierce and crush the body of the cassowary with its bite until they both smash against the ground
Liam out of internal energy and bleeding from his leg takes breathe shallowly, the cassowary with its lungs pierced from its own ribs and Liams Chi, chokes on its own blood
[Well fought, while his injury is fatal thats only because he doesn't have the strength to move. Injuries this mild after fighting a beast that can hunt a rank 7 is phenomenal]
Happy with the show, and glad Liam can use what he was given to handle power above his level, Edward uses his soul inside of the ring to sear the wound on his leg closed
Keeping his soul martialized outside of the ring to ward off any scavengers, Edward thinks that when Liam awakens, he should breakthrough
[Liam used Roaring Dragons Fang in a way he was never shown before. He came to his own realization with the art, instead on pinning his opponent with a clap, he crushed it with a follow through. His dao and technique both should have advanced]
Opening his eyes he beholds his beasts all sitting Infront of him, not sure of what to do or how to act
"Griffin, you and Shady go and hunt something to eat. Get a Tusk Boar, or a deer beast."
"CAWW"
Shady falling into Griffins shadow, the pair take flight and head south into the third layer of the forest
"Brisk, you can do whatever you want until it's time to eat, just stay close" Waving the bear away, Brisk takes a few paces then sits and stares intently at Verdant
"Verdant, just like last time release your poison so I can use it" Summoning a handful of spirit stones and tossing them at the viper, Verdant shoves his poison from his body and mouth, in a hurry to eat the stones
-
Wei Li and Jamir out of breath standing over the body of a rank 4 Terra Mole, a spirit beast that unlike a normal mole, has eyes and lives above ground
Wei Li is in thought about her dao, she is conflicted, feeling that her defiance in picking up the sword is unwise. She is upset that she has been wronging herself all these years, to get at her father.
While Wei Li was conflicted about her dao, Jamir was upset about his lack of technique. Having never been given sword arts to practice, he felt the crevasse of imitation versus mastery, and it didnt feel good.
-
In an underwater cave off the west coast of the Terrene Kingdom, Harold Turnan is prepping his breakthrough
[My body has been like a shackle, preventing my Chi from displaying what its truly about. That is no longer a problem now, after I forge my spirit, I feel there will be great change inside my self. No. I know there will be great change]
Taking Forging pills of high grade, Harold begins his meditation and feels for the path of his middle core
Harolds Chi rich and full, rushes upward on its own not guided by him and founds his middle core its self. His Chi moving itself from his lower core into his middle until it is full, then pushes more of its self inside. Not cracking from becoming over filled but stretching like rubber, it enlarges.
After his breakthrough Harold takes in the Chi in the air to replace what has risen from his lower core
With his eyes closed focusing on his meditation, Harold doesn't see or feel the scales forming over his body