Talons of Reigning Supreme!

Dragon Bite!

Two figures collided with one another, causing an explosion of dust. As the dust cleared, any bystander could see a human in a deadlock with a powerful-looking Firebird. Patriarch Raas sneered at me and roared something about how with his strength, it would take him five breaths to defeat me...hmph! Laughable! After a few seconds of struggling, we broke apart. I threw a right hook at Raas who weaved to the side and countered with a fierce peck. I reacted instantly by grabbing Raas's neck, preventing his attack from landing. In retaliation, Raas erupted as the flames on his body intensified. The temperature of his flames became hot enough to melt Ice Golems. However, with my high resistance to heat coupled with the Flames of Wrath running through my veins, such weak flames posed no threat to me. With some annoyance, I swung the Firebird over my shoulder and slammed him heavily onto the ground.

Ouch! I winced in some pain and discomfort. This bitch actually managed to pierce my arm with his beak! With a shout, I angrily tossed Firebird some meters away. As I stopped the bleeding on my arm with some medicinal herbs, I withdrew my skinning knife and cautiously approached my enemy. It was time to get serious. Raas had already struggled to his feet and glared at me as he silently observed my movements. It wasn't the right time to act rash. He needed to take his time and fight with a clear mind or else he would suffer greatly. Patriarch Raas, upon seeing my approach, began to edge on the right. Not wanting the Firebird to disappear to my blind side, I turned my body in order to keep my eyes on him.

Suddenly, Raas screeched before he started running towards me. I held up my knife in order to meet the charge. At about five meters away, the Firebird opened his mouth and started spewing out a number of Fireballs at me. From between the spacing between the numerous Fireballs, I could see that the Firebird had kept charging, his speed no slower than before. Hmph! This retard thinks he can use the Fireballs as cover and attack while I defend against the Fireballs. Fine. I'll play your game. Using an accumulation of Earth Essence, I raised up an earthen wall to block the incoming attacks. The Fireballs smashed apart the wall and Raas charged through. With a thrust, he kicked out with all his might and beheaded his enemy...or so he thought.

As soon as his leg penetrated his enemy's head, he felt that something was off...the head...it felt lacking. Sensing something amiss, Raas hopped back and peered at his opponent. As he thought! As soon as he stepped back, he could see that his enemy was beginning to fade away. What was this? An illusion? A clone? No. He was wrong on both assumptions. This was an...my afterimage. As soon as I erected the earthen wall, I swiftly stepped away from my original position. The speed at which I rushed away caused me to leave behind an afterimage. When Raas smashed his talons into my afterimage's head, I was already behind him. I brought my skinning knife down and slashed the Firebird in the back. Tch! Unfortunately it was too shallow as Raas dropped to the ground and rolled forward a couple of times. As he scrambled to his feet, he waved his wings a couple of times, unleashing a number of feather-like flames.

My eyes widen in shock as I grimaced at the numerous flames darting towards me. Shit! I may have underestimated his mana capacity. Hmph! I want to see how much mana he still have left. I waved my hand a couple of times in front of me while generating and accumulating Ice Essence within me. Hundreds upon hundreds of ice needles appeared before me. With a flick of my wrist, I sent the ice needles towards the flames. My ice needles collided with the Firebird's flames, lowering their power and intensity but not completely extinguishing them. Seeing this happen, I continue to produce more ice needles and hurl them at the flames. It was too late when I realized my mistake. I had been too focused on the flames that I did not notice that Raas had slipped away. I frantically looked for that damned Firebird. Right! Left! Above! No! Behind! As soon as I turned around, a wing appeared in my view and uppercut me high into the air. Before I could recover, the Firebird flew beside me and stomped on my gut, his talons piercing through. With some strength exerted, the Firebird pushed forth his leg and the two of us descended to the ground below.

BOOM! Burning pain coursed through my sides as blood poured out like a raging river. Stifling a grunt, I nearly bit my tongue off. I raised my knife and tried to slash at the Firebird's leg but he quickly noticed my intentions and kicked the knife out of my hand. Then, he lifted his free leg and aimed at my head. Is this the end? Raas kicked out with his leg, the talons approaching closer and closer. I gritted my teeth in reluctance and anger. I can't accept this fate!

Just before the talons pierced my head, a black figure appeared from the corner of my eyes. It was Blackie! Blackie drilled towards Raas and knocked him away from me. I quickly scrambled to my feet only to drop down on one knee as I winced at the pain from my wound. Quickly, I withdrew a few acupuncture needles and inserted them in key points around my wound. Immediately, the bleeding stopped. I crushed some medicinal herbs and melted them into liquid. Then, I applied them on the wound. Next, I reached into my storage bag and pulled out two pills. These were high grade healing pills. I crushed one and applied the powder on my wound and I ate the other one. Miraculously, the wounds quickly closed. I moved around a bit and felt my stomach. Still a bit sore but that was all. I looked up and saw that Blackie and Raas were still fighting. It seemed Blackie was losing.

I stood up and took a deep breath. After I calmed down my nerves, I bent my knees and began moving my hands in a winding and circulating manner. In a few seconds, essence began to gather and form at my core. This essence was known as Dragon's Essence - a special type of essence used for cultivating and mastering the Dragon's Roar Technique. After accumulating enough essence, I stepped forward and cupped my hands to my mouth. With a deep breath in, I began to channel the Dragon's Essence into my vocal chords and roared, the hands helped channel the sound towards Raas. This was one of the intermediate-level skills - Dragon Roar. The sound-based attack smashed into the Firebird causing him to stagger back a few steps. He shook his head a couple of times to clear away the confusion that played about on his mind. As he stabilized himself, he coughed out a spurt of blood. The attack must have caused some internal damage to the Firebird.

While Raas incapacitated for a bit, I hurry towards Blackie to check on him for any injuries. Luckily, Blackie only has a few bruises and minor scratches. Without waiting for the opponent to recover, we dashed forward and kicked out. Both our kicks landed on Raas's chest, sending him flying. The Patriarch of the Firebirds tumbled to the ground and laid there, blood pouring out of every orifice. He tried to prop himself up but there was no strength left. He collapsed once more. Raas, without any strength to sit up, just laid there laughing.

"What are you laughing at?" Blackie snarled as he and I slowly edged our way towards him.

"Unfilial brat! Is this how you treat your father?" Raas sneered as he spat out another mouthful of blood.

"Damnable bitch! You killed me! Why should I treat you as a father? Do you even act like one?"

"Hahahaha.... I should have cremated you when I broke your neck!"

"Enough talk. Time to die!" Blackie roared as he took another step towards Raas.

He remembered his dead mother. He remembered the way this damned Firebird had treated his mother. With a fierce glint in his eyes and anger welling from his heart, Blackie unleashed his skill - Cry of the Nightingale. The point blank high-pitched wail smashed into Raas and penetrated his skull, poisoning his mind and causing his eyes to roll up. The pain induced by this sound attack caused so much pain to Raas's mind that his brain exploded and gushed out. The Patriarch of the Firebirds had finally died.

I reached over with my skinning knife that I picked up earlier and beheaded the Firebird. Holding the head, I reunited with the rest of my party. They had just finished killing the rest of the Grand Elders. When they saw me walk towards them, they knew immediately that they had won this battle. After I checked on my subordinates and healed any injuries, we exited the place. Outside, the rest of the armies were still fighting with each other, oblivious of the victories we had made inside. With a huge roar, I drew everyone's attention towards me.

"LOOK AT WHAT'S IN MY HAND!! THIS IS THE HEAD OF YOUR PATRIARCH! YOUR LEADER IS DEAD! SURRENDER OR DIE!!!"