Spirit Soul

Picking a suitable mission was easier said than done.

However, there was no need to choose something hastily.

As such, they decided to pick one of the least dangerous missions first.

It was about hunting a group of beasts that made the life of the people residing in the surrounding villages and towns difficult.

There were not many towns, let alone small villages that were still unaffected due to the war like situation and many had evacuated the surrounding areas.

A large number had left in search of huge and protected cities, or garrisons.

Yet, the small number of people that were left behind stayed close in their small settlements.

Because of that, the guild had handed out more than enough missions to regulate the dangers caused by beasts inside the Sadorla forest as if the war between the three parties wouldn't be a deciding factor in maintaining the safety of the citizens from beasts.

Most missions were more troublesome to solve owing to the aggressive behavior of the Nasga race that seemed to be restless to acquire the Licara flower.

This was understandable because the tension in the Sadorla forest was continuously increasing, and Kyle presumed that it was only a matter of time before one of the truly powerful existences in the Shalivra valley would intervene.

One look at the Sadorla forest, and the surrounding kingdoms, was enough to know which race currently had an upper hand.

However, Kyle was pretty sure that this was only a farce because the kingdoms of the Aldra race were not actively making any moves to conquer the Sadorla forest.

Neither did they seem to try and acquire the Licara flower even though it seemed as if they were at the advantage.

In the end, this could have multiple reasons.

However, one of the most likely reason could be that someone planted the Licara flower in the Sadorla forest, knowing that nobody would be able to pluck it, just like that.

Yet, since the black dragon scale with golden outlines had lost all of its energy owing to the Tenux storm that had appeared, the tides had changed.

If Kyle was not completely wrong, the being that had created the dome around the Licara flower, should have been powerful enough to procure the black dragon scale.

The black scale with golden outlines belonged to the woman who had teleported him to the flying island on which the Razkadan castle had been located, but that was not important right now.

Instead of focusing on the mysterious woman, who had turned his life upside down, he figured that the powerful being that owned the Licara flower would intervene soon, once something big were to occur.

This bothered Kyle because he figured that this being was more powerful than anyone from the three races in his surrounding.

They might seem mighty to Kyle as of now.

However, their power paled in comparison to the strength Beatrice had before she lost her entire cultivation.

Trying to grasp the core of the situation was quite difficult, and Kyle noticed that he might have overdone it with his thinking as he noticed that they had already left Briskandt.

'I should really learn how to control my train of thoughts…this is really a mess right now!'

Understanding that he was too easily distracted, Kyle gently slapped his cheeks, making the two women look at him in confusion.

They wondered what he was doing, but he gave them a subtle smile, indicating that everything was fine, and that there was nothing to worry about which made them turn back.

All three of them focussed on the surroundings, waiting for their opponents to show up.

Having entered the dense areas of the forest, numerous trees, bushes, and other types of plants surrounded them.

The forest floor was covered in thick roots hidden under the falling leaves, turning the surrounding into a far more dangerous environment than one could imagine.

It provided ample spots for beasts to lurk and also could make the three trip and fall if they were not careful.

As such, the beasts they were requested to eliminate had a huge advantage.

After all, they were Fiery Fist Apes, a type of beast following the path of Maest.

Their cultivation base was mostly between the Late Fortification and Initial Vitae stage, which was perfect for their group to fight.

Fiery Fist Apes might only move around in huge groups but that was perfectly fine with all of them.

Everyone was eager to test out their newly discovered traits, which included Kyle who wanted to figure out how helpful the last few weeks were in improving his combat prowess.

He had comprehended a lot about the essence of the wind.

This was mostly owing to the wind orb and Horice's presence.

Initially, Kyle didn't think much of the Wind God's blessing, and he believed that it was just exaggerated.

However, after their trip of four weeks had passed, Kyle knew better.

Thus, he could only smile as he averted his attention from the ground to the treetop.

His eyes fell on the hundreds of hues that unveiled the beasts hiding in the trees above them, and Kyle felt even better about his ability to see the hues of living beings.

It made many things easier, which included being able to perceive when he was about to be surrounded.

As such, without saying a single word, he slowed down his steps, and only moved his finger.

The group of three had come up with certain hand signs in order to communicate with each other about possible dangers. Thus, they were able to remain silent.

Kyle informed both the women about the beasts lurking in the thick canopy of trees making them look upward.

However, neither of them could sense anything through the thick treetop which made them feel uncomfortable.

Some trees in the Sadorla forest were able to repel energy currents, and the area they had entered seemed to have many of such trees.

Because of that, they would have been oblivious to the threat around them if not for Kyle and his ability.

Realizing that it was possible for him to perceive beings even through a naturally generated concealment made them fall at ease.

Nonetheless, the attack of the Fiery Fist Apes had yet to begin, and Kyle had to acknowledge that he was impressed by their patience.

From what he had heard they were quite aggressive, and restless beasts.

Yet, from the looks of it, they seemed to be rather patient, and were able to wait for the perfect moment to attack.

They were most likely waiting for a signal to make a move.

Thus, Kyle gave them the opportunity to send out signs as he continued walking through the forest.

Right now, their group was not completely concealed from the Fiery Fist Apes, and the rustling leaves from further away indicated that more beasts were gathering around them.

However, Kyle was not exactly bothered by this because he was already aware of everything that occurred around him.

After walking a bit farther, they entered a patch of ground with relatively less roots and shedding of leaves, giving the group of three some space to move freely.

The three exchanged glances knowing that the attack would happen by now.

There was no proof about this, not even sounds from the surrounding area, but it was just something the three of them felt.

And just as predicted, a sudden whoop reverberated through the surrounding area that was followed by an echo of hundreds of Fiery Fist Apes that had also begun to imitate the sound.

Swinging down from the treetop, the Fiery Fist Apes began charging towards the trio.

The rustling noises of the leaves and branches that were moved away to allow their advance were overwhelmed by the loud sounds of numerous beasts that attacked them.

It was unexpected to see that every single of the Fiery Fist Apes attacked them at once because it was obvious that they would harm each other.

Oddly enough this didn't seem to bother the beasts all that much.

Instead, they were bumping into and pushing each other away just to reach Kyle and his small group before anyone else.

This was quite intriguing, causing Kyle to smile lightly as he allowed Arashi to emerge on his shoulder.

The Horned Tempest Fox had grown quite a bit, reaching a height of more than 30 centimeters.

But his appearance was not the major change the Spirit Soul had undergone.

Rather, Kyle was pretty sure that Arashi's comprehension of the wind's essence was much deeper than his own.

As such, he grinned at the little fox that didn't seem little anymore and together they both used their wind affinity, releasing a quarter of their Soul force at once.

In an instant, dozens of tightly compressed crescent wind blades had emerged out of nowhere, surrounding the two wielders of the wind.

A light whooshing noise originated from the manifested wind currents that were forcefully being merged together in order to form a compressed crescent wind blade, slowly taking a dark-greenish tone.

This astonished Yasmine and Beatrice a little bit as they had only seen the faint, light green hue around Kyle when he had been enveloped by the wind currents he summoned.

Before, his wind blades had always been rather dark, owing to the impurities that had been intertwined in the Soul force Kyle used in order to manifest wind currents.

Now, their wind currents seemed to be much cleaner, and smoothly created.

It was almost as if Kyle and Arashi had completely changed their technique in order to manifest the crescent wind blades.

In the end, it was the same attack, but the manifestation process was completely different.

Thus, Beatrice halted in her tracks for a moment looking at his faintly vibrating crescent wind blade before her eyes flicked to his face that was exhilarated.

Only a moment later, he and Arashi shot out the crescent wind blades without any hesitation.

While precisely controlling them, both Arashi and Kyle directed them straight towards their designated opponent, and emerge in front of the Fiery Fist Apes only a moment later.

They were not even able to react in time as the wind blades sliced through the Peak Fortification stage beasts that had been halved.

A large number were eliminated within a second, as little fountains of their blood that spurted through the air, splattering on the nearby tree trunk.

Seeing how easily the apes died, Kyle felt a little bit disappointed. He had expected them to put on a good fight.

Yet, he couldn't complain as it only made things easy for him.

Thus, he kept his focus on the wind blades that were still intact.

They were completely unscathed, and it didn't look like they would disperse anytime soon.

Fortunately, that was not something Kyle or Arashi planned to do either way.

Instead, using their entire focus, they kept their eyes locked with some of the wind blades that began to vibrate all of a sudden.

Yasmine, who had also believed that the duo's show was over, was ready to enter the fray, with two fireballs having manifested around her. But then even she halted in her tracks the moment the wind blades began to move.

They changed their direction, and in one swift turn, all of them returned to the battlefield just like boomerangs.

However, the biggest difference Yasmine could see within seconds was the fact that the wind blades weren't simply flying around aimlessly.

Rather, they were precisely targeting the back of the strongest Fiery Fist Apes.

Oblivious to the threat from behind, they were simply looking at their three opponents in front, and only in the last moment did they notice something.

It was as if death itself knocked on their door, but they were unable to do anything.

Their body stiffened, and it was just at this moment that the wind blades sliced through their skin, flesh and even bones in a smooth movement.

All they could do was stare at Kyle and be surprised of how he had managed to attack from behind while standing in front of them.

However, it was already too late to regret anything because their life was about to end any second.

They regretted not planning their attack well, not ignoring Kyle and his group, and wished to have never encountered someone like him and the Fox that laid on Kyle's shoulder.

Unfortunately, life was not as simple as it may seem and a single wrong action could lead to their doom.

And this was exactly what happened as Kyle and Arashi kept controlling the wind blades, cutting down all Fiery Fist Apes before they were even able to reach the closer range of his group!

Meanwhile, Yasmine and Beatrice, who had seen everything, could only look from Kyle to the trees, not sure what to think about the sudden change in his attacks.

'He was not able to control them earlier, right?' Beatrice just wondered, while Yasmine pouted as she grumbled,

"You could have let us fight some of them…Don't you dare to enjoy your limelight for too long!!"