Kanoru sprinted forward, directly toward a horizontal flame tornado rushing at him. With his sword extended and pointed straight ahead, he kept running.
As the fiery whirlwind reached him, it split apart upon contact with the wind surrounding his sword and body. The scorching flames failed to burn him—he only felt a brief wave of heat brushing against his skin. Passing through the tornado unscathed, he emerged in front of two men fully covered in black.
The two men, responsible for conjuring the flame tornado, were caught off guard. Stunned by Kanoru's unharmed arrival, they barely had time to react before he swiftly cut them down with fluid, lethal strikes.
Without pausing, Kanoru immediately lunged at another black-clad figure. Their group was outnumbered by the attackers, who had ambushed them shortly after they entered the valley. The enemy force included two late-rank warlocks. Their team would have already been annihilated if not for one of the men accompanying Yun Feng, who was also a late-rank warlock. Meanwhile, Elder Li and Elder Qi were battling the other high-level enemy.
Kanoru dodged a stone javelin hurtling toward him, sliding low across the rocky ground. In a seamless motion, he swung his sword, releasing a sharp wind blade that sliced through another enemy, killing him instantly.
Wasting no time, he charged at the next foe, cutting them down in quick succession. In mere moments, three more middle-rank warlocks fell to his blade.
Kanoru specifically targeted the middle-ranked warlocks—they were easy prey for him in close combat. While warlocks could wield the five elements in battle, they could only instantly cast talisman spells imprinted in their spiritual space, which were powered entirely by their spiritual energy.
This meant they had limited spell usage. Middle-ranked warlocks typically had no more than four imprinted talisman spells. They could cast other talisman spells, but doing so took time, as those spells drew partially from the world's ambient energy.
Kanoru slew another warlock, then glanced around, his sharp eyes scanning the battlefield. He noticed five black-clad men encircling him in a pentagram formation. Without hesitation, he charged at one of them.
Before he could reach his target, the five men simultaneously slammed their fists into the ground. In an instant, a silver shield appeared before each of them. The shields rapidly linked together, forming a dome of shimmering silver energy, trapping Kanoru inside.
Kanoru slammed his sword against the silver energy shield, but the forceful recoil sent him staggering backward. Gritting his teeth, he unleashed a flurry of wind blade attacks against the shield and the enclosing dome. However, the onslaught only produced faint ripples across the surface, leaving the dome unscathed.
His understanding of wind was still insufficient to overcome the natural advantage of its opposing element—metal. The silver shield, formed by the combined power of five individuals, was highly resistant to wind-based attacks. When equal in strength, metal inherently countered wind, making his efforts futile.
_"I know a weakness of the power of metal."_
Recalling his training from the previous day, Kanoru remembered trying to control the hot winds sweeping around him. Yet, inside the dome, he felt nothing—the shield had completely isolated him from the outside air. He realized he would have to generate wind using his chakra and somehow heat it up.
Since reaching the third stage of sword wind mastery, he had gained the ability to generate wind with his chakra, even in windless areas. However, after some quick mental calculations, he realized the problem: he couldn't think of any way to raise the temperature of the wind he created without external environmental factors.
Clenching his sword, Kanoru pondered his next move, fully aware that his current abilities alone wouldn't be enough to break free.
_"I can think of only one way."_
Without hesitation, he began to spin, his sword extended outward. Winds generated by his blade clashed with the faint traces of air that managed to seep through the shield, creating a whirling vortex around him. Gradually, the tornado grew in both height and width, its force intensifying with each rotation.
He didn't stop. He kept spinning and generating wind, pulling in more of the outside air. The swirling winds merged, thickening the tornado, and amplifying its power. Suddenly, he heard a resounding bang—the silver shield and dome shattered. The five warlocks who had trapped him were instantly shredded by the wind blades swirling inside the storm.
His mastery over the power of cut, combined with the nature of wind, amplified his attack—turning the tornado into a deadly storm of blades. With a swift swipe of his sword, he dispersed the tornado, leaving only bloodied remains in its wake.
Without pausing, Kanoru immediately resumed his ruthless assault. This time, he didn't hold back—cutting down even low-rank shamans without mercy. No middle-rank warlock could hold him off for more than ten seconds. The enemy lacked the strength to gather another five middle-rank warlocks to restrain him.
As he fought, his sliver of attention remained focused first on Asuna, then on Mika, constantly scanning their positions. His sharp eyes caught sight of a middle-rank warlock launching an attack at Asuna. She managed to block the strike, but Kanoru knew she wouldn't be able to fend off every blow.
Though Asuna could hold her own against an average middle-rank samurai—one who hadn't comprehended the power of the elements—warlocks were a different threat. Even without comprehending any of the five elemental powers, they could unleash elemental attacks from a distance, giving them a dangerous advantage.
Kanoru swiftly dispatched the middle-rank warlock he was facing, though not without risk—earning a deep cut on his arm in the process. Without sparing a glance at his wound, he whirled around and sprinted toward Asuna.
As he ran, he saw Asuna's opponent conjure stone snakes, launching them at her. She dodged most of the serpentine projectiles, but a few slashed across her body, causing her to stumble and fall.
Seeing this, Kanoru swung his sword, releasing a wind blade toward her attacker. The man, fully clad in black, quickly erected a stone wall to block the assault. The wall held firm, absorbing the wind blade. However, before the wall dissipated, Kanoru slammed his foot against it, using it as a springboard to leap over. While midair, his sword cleaved through the man's neck in a single, fluid strike, severing his head before he even hit the ground.
Without wasting time, Kanoru rushed to Asuna's side, kneeling down to inspect her injuries.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his eyes scanning her cuts.
Asuna, breathing heavily, shook her head. "It's just small cuts. I'm fine," she assured him.
Kanoru quickly surveyed the battlefield, noting that his ruthless slaughter had evened the numbers—his group's forces were now equal to the enemy's. Realizing that the battle was at a stalemate and he wasn't urgently needed, he popped a food pill into his mouth to replenish his depleted chakra, then turned his attention to the higher-ranked warlocks' battle.
Asuna, now back on her feet, glanced at the enemies and said, "They might be responsible for the attack on the Evergreen Sect."
Kanoru narrowed his eyes and replied, "Very likely, but I doubt they're the masterminds."
"Why?" Asuna asked, frowning.
Kanoru's gaze shifted toward Bai Yue, who was fighting two lower-ranked warlocks—and clearly winning. He gestured toward her.
"Because of our interference. The previous attack on the valley was clearly for the Hundred Herbs Pill, but now…" he nodded toward Bai Yue, "they're not trying to capture her—they're trying to kill her."
Asuna's brows furrowed. "Maybe their goal is to wipe out all the remaining members of the Evergreen Sect?"
Kanoru shook his head.
"Possible, but unlikely. If that were their goal, they would have sent a force twice as strong. This team feels hastily assembled—their purpose is to stop us from finding the ones responsible for the original attack."
Asuna nodded in agreement, then glanced at Bai Yue again.
"I'll go help Yue," she said, determination in her eyes.
Kanoru gave her a firm nod. "If you're in danger, shout my name."
As she walked toward Bai Yue, she glanced over her shoulder and smirked.
"Will do."
With Asuna moving to assist Bai Yue, Kanoru's attention returned to the battle between the higher-ranked warlocks, his eyes sharp and unwavering.