Gol D. Ace In Coiling Dragon

As the battle continued, Heidens grew frustrated. Linley's skill and resilience were proving to be formidable obstacles, and the mage's inability to get close enough to deliver a decisive blow weighed heavily on him. He knew that a single misstep could cost him his life, for Linley's blade was as deadly as it was graceful.

Linley, on the other hand, remained resolute. He pressed his advantage against the seven warriors, his Serenity Sword Art flowing like a calm river amidst the chaos of battle. Each strike resonated with the rippling energy of his [Rippling Stance], a profound technique that seemed to make him impervious to his enemies' attacks. His adversaries found their strikes dissipating like water upon a stone, their power scattered in futile attempts to harm him.

Unbeknownst to them, Linley subtly manipulated the ebb and flow of the battle, inching ever closer to Heidens, who remained perched at a safe distance.

The combatants were so consumed by the chaos of the skirmish that they failed to notice Linley's gradual approach until he was a mere hundred meters away from Heidens, a distance which was virtually nothing to experts at their level.

Suddenly, a chilling realisation washed over the mage as he understood the perilous nature of his position. He attempted to retreat, but time was not on his side.

In a fraction of a moment, Linley unleashed his ultimate technique, [Frost Wave], at a level far superior to when he last used it against Ace.

The power of the technique surged through the air, creating an icy maelstrom that sought to freeze Heidens in mid-air. The mage struggled against the encroaching frost, the cold tendrils wrapping around him like serpents.

Desperation seized Heidens, and he unleashed an explosive burst of mageforce to break free of Linley's icy grasp. However, Linley's relentless advance continued unabated. Ignoring the attacks of the remaining adversaries, Linley shot towards Heidens like a bullet.

With his twin swords held aloft, Linley descended upon the mage, his azure dragon scales absorbing the blows from the other warriors as if they were mere gusts of wind. Heidens, his heart pounding with dread, knew that his chances of escaping Linley's grasp were dwindling rapidly.

In a final, desperate bid to create some distance, Heidens raised his staff, intending to use its force to propel himself away from the encroaching danger. But just as the staff was about to make contact with the young Dragonblood Warrior's swords, Linley's cold voice entered his ears, "[Serenity Sword Art: Ten Layered Wave]!"

Heidens didn't even have time to react when a cataclysmic force surged through him, threatening to rupture his inner organs. Agony coursed through his body as he grappled with the excruciating pain, realising that his efforts to escape had been in vain.

This was the second ultimate technique Linley had created, but where his first was based on the Profound Mystery of Freezing of the Laws of Water, this was based on the Profound Mystery of the Throbbing Pulse of the World of the Laws of the Earth.

This was the same Mystery that Killian had begun to comprehend, but where Killian used it to become one with the Earth, allowing him to draw upon its strength to bolster his own, Linley focused more on the pulsating aspect, folding and stacking the vibrations atop of one another, allowing him to create stronger vibrational attacks.

Though it was still in its embryonic stages, because of his own physical strength, the might of this attack couldn't be underestimated.

Heidens hadn't even suffered a direct hit, yet he was forced to cough a giant mouthful of blood as crimson tears began streaming from his eyes.

His insides were in so much pain that all he wanted was for the grim reaper to come and claim his life now, but unfortunately, the vitality of a saint was too strong, causing him to suffer pain the likes of which he had never experienced in his long life.

As though he could hear Heiden's inner desires, Linley raised his sword, his eyes filled with hatred as he prepared to put the former Holy Emperor out of his misery, but before he could, a golden beam of light tore through the air, causing faint ripples in space as it moved.

Linley's eyes constricted into pinholes as he seamlessly transitioned from offence to defence, barely parrying the beam of light aiming to pierce the spot between his brows.

"You…" Linley's cold, draconian eyes focused on Felicia, who slowly lowered her raised index finger. "You're a prime saint."

"You didn't think that you brats were the only ones allowed to make progress here in the Necropolis of the Gods, now did you?" Felicia replied lightly.

Linley didn't respond immediately. Instead, he looked down at his azure-scaled hands.

That last strike, though it seemed effortless, the power behind it was astonishing.

Although the [Rippling Tide Stance] of his [Serenity Sword Art] had impressive offensive might, where it really excelled was its defence. It allowed him to dissipate the force of his opponent's attacks with incredible skill, and yet, despite successfully offloading most of the force behind Felicia's last strike, the remainder of the force that he couldn't disperse was so powerful that not only were his hands still numb, the scales protecting the web of his hands had been shattered.

Linley knew that although he had improved a lot over the last six months, there was still a large difference between him and a genuine prime saint.

If he had Bebe's support, they might barely be able to fight the newly promoted prime saint to a standstill. Unfortunately, both Olivier and Bebe were still locked in arduous battles of their own, leaving the tall task up to him and him alone.

Still, he wasn't one to let the pressures of life hold him down. Taking a deep breath, Linley's draconian eyes regained their usual calm as he prepared for what would ultimately be the hardest fight of his life to date.

Seeing that, Felicia merely smirked slightly. Still, she didn't hurry to make her move, instead choosing to wait for Linley to make his move.

She had only recently broken through to the prime saint level. As such, she was yet to find a chance to go all out and test her new limits, and although she doubted Linley would be able to force her to go all out. He would at least provide her with more of a challenge than the plant-type lifeforms she had faced till now.

The moment he had finished exhaling, Linley's body took off like a bullet, tearing through the air with a violent but undeniable momentum. Still, Felicia was no slouch.

Though mages are typically slower than warriors, as a mage of the light element, Felicia's speed was nothing short of mind-blowing.

As fast as Linley was, he remained unable to close the gap between them. In fact, the distance between them actually appeared to be faintly increasing as Felicia weaved through the jungle like a blur, golden blonde hair trailing behind her. Her glistening white robe clung to her body, accentuating her curves as she moved with grace and precision.

Try as he may, Linley remained unable to close in, but that was just the beginning. Linley then watched as Felicia raised her dainty little hands, but what really caused his eyes to constrict was the three thick, milky white spears of light that swiftly took shape above her.

"[Forbidden Spell: Holy-Light Lance]!" Felicia uttered softly, causing the three spears to shoot towards Linley at a speed that dwarfed that of even her own movement speed.

This wasn't Linley's first time facing a mage, so he was well aware that typically, when going up against saint-level warriors, mages would do their best to utilise their speed to keep away from warriors understanding that their bodies were a lot more fragile, whilst insta-casting lower level spells to bombard the warrior until their powerful bodies were unable to hold on any longer.

But Linley had always been lucky in that, not only was he a wind mage who could utilise his wind-style spells to bolster his speed to near-ridiculous levels, but he was also a Dragonblood Warrior whose scales allowed him to ignore the attacks of most saints.

Unfortunately, Felicia wasn't like most saint-level mages. Not only was she slightly faster than Linley, but as someone who specialised in the Profound Mystery of the Essence of Light, her ability to manipulate the shape and size of her element was nearing perfection. As such, whilst most saint-level mages would be forced to insta-cast spells of the ninth rank to bombard their opponents, she was able to do so with forbidden spells, and although the might of said spells took a slight hit, it only dropped from the level of a prime saint forbidden spell to that of a mage at the peak of the saint realm.

With his back against the proverbial wall, Linley was forced to employ the [Rippling Tide Stance] to its limits. Each defensive manoeuvre flowed seamlessly into the next as if his entire body had become an extension of his azure dragon scales. He became like water, his movements fluid and unpredictable, adeptly evading and parrying Felicia's onslaught.

Unfortunately, Despite his skilful defence, Linley found his azure dragon scales gradually giving way under the relentless assault of Felicia's spells. With each attack, the scales shattered, revealing the vulnerable flesh beneath. His injuries began to worsen, his body suffering the consequences of Felicia's relentless assault.

His situation was rapidly going from bad to worse, but there was nothing he could do.

In the distance, Bebe's already crazed attacks became all the more frantic as he desperately wanted to help his boss, but how could his opponents just let him go?

Olivier's position wasn't much different; although he was in a good position, able to slowly control the flow of the battle, it wasn't to the point where he could ignore the attacks of so many peak saints to rush to Linley's side, not without paying a large price.

Briefly glancing over at Linley's side and then down at the sword in his hands, a resolute light flashed in Olivier's eyes as he called out to Bebe.

"Bebe!" Olivier hollered. "Leave them to me - you go and help your boss!"

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