The Assassin's Seven Principles of Manipulation

Chapter 399: Chapter 394 — Air Beast

It had been an hour since Zephyrion crossed into the Aerelith Empire. There wasn’t any visible marker separating the two empires, but Zephyrion could tell he was no longer in Ferran territory.

The air no longer felt heavy, having turned noticeably lighter. A constant, comforting breeze brushed against him even when he wasn’t moving. The air felt cleaner, freer, as though he were floating in a boundless sky.

But the greatest difference came from the WorldPulse. The boundless metal essence he’d always felt had gone faint, replaced by something far lighter and softer. Air.

It was a well-known fact that the farther one was from the source of an element, the weaker their power became. Of course, since the elemental gods fell, Ferrans and the rest of the elemental empires had come to regard their slumbering sites as the sources of their respective elements.

The Iron Father was kept in the empire’s capital, the holy city of Alloyn, thousands upon thousands of miles away. Not only was Zephyrion now incredibly far from him, but he’d also entered the range of another elemental source entirely.

He could feel his metal element weakening while his air element thrummed with newfound vigor. It could be considered a bad thing, especially since his main source of power was metal, but Zephyrion had chosen to look at the bright side. For the next two weeks, he was meant to abandon his Ferran identity and embrace air, so having his air element grow more potent was actually a welcome development.

At least, that was until he heard the faint crack of a branch several hundred meters away.

Zephyrion’s eyes narrowed, his senses immediately sharpening.

’Someone’s following me. Just one.’

He’d already crossed hundreds of miles, yet the forest still stretched endlessly in every direction. He couldn’t see his pursuer. It was far enough away to escape his sight and sense of smell, yet he could feel its gaze on him and barely make out the sounds of its movements. Nothing more than the faint swoosh of air parting.

’An air beast.’

It was keeping watch from such an incredible distance, which meant...

’It’s hunting me.’

Only an intelligent beast could be capable of such a thing. It had to be Herald rank.

’Bad news.’

If he could use his metal element freely, dealing with it would be a piece of cake. But he was in a forest, where anyone or anything could be watching. He couldn’t afford to reveal his metal abilities. Even worse, his air element was merely at peak Anointed rank, far from being powerful enough to even dream of handling a Herald beast.

He heard Demorian grumble something about disturbing his sleep, but he ignored the ancestor, his expression growing solemn.

’Can I shake it off?’

His next step struck the ground with a thunderous boom, and he shot forward, becoming a blur as he sped through the forest. But a moment later, Zephyrion clicked his tongue in annoyance. The beast had also picked up its pace. In fact, it was actually getting closer!

’Tch. Looks like I’ll have to fight.’

The best thing he could do right now was find somewhere he could fight without being seen. Zephyrion shut his eyes and listened to the wind. He felt it weaving through the trees, rustling leaves and brushing against branches. A short distance away, a little squirrel was stuffing several nuts into its cheeks. Somewhere else, a mother bird was chirping insistently at its chick, urging it to fly. His senses spread farther and farther, countless sounds and movements brushing against his awareness, until he finally heard it.

The rush of falling water.

Zephyrion’s foot cracked the ground as he shot to the right at incredible speed. He felt the beast immediately change direction as well, remaining firmly on his tail.

Zephyrion pushed himself even faster, the surrounding trees flashing past him in a blur. Eventually, he reached the edge of a towering cliff, where a waterfall plunged into the depths below, and threw himself over it.

As he sailed through the air, he invoked,

’Thousandpulse.’

A formless wave rippled outward, sweeping across the entire area and confirming that there were no other living beings nearby. But that wasn’t all. It also revealed something interesting.

’Just what I needed.’

Zephyrion landed on the water as though it were solid ground, not a single ripple spreading beneath his feet. He immediately ran towards the waterfall and burst through it, landing inside the cave beyond.

He calmly scanned his surroundings. Through Thousandpulse, he’d already sensed the large cave hidden behind the waterfall, but it was only now that he noticed the remains of a campfire and several other signs of human activity.

’Someone’s been here.’

Zephyrion narrowed his eyes slightly. He couldn’t sense any ripples in the WorldPulse, meaning there were no living beings nearby. Besides, the campfire had long since gone cold, and the traces left around the cave were already showing signs of age.

’Abandoned for days, by the looks of it.’

In that case, he wouldn’t have to worry about being interrupted or spied on during the fight. Zephyrion positioned himself near the edge of the cave, his gaze fixed coldly on the entrance as he waited for the beast to arrive.

Demorian suddenly yawned. ’Haa, all this tension is terrible for my skin. Have you ever considered smiling more, Protege? Maybe then every damn thing with legs wouldn’t be trying to kill you.’

’Shut up. I need to concentrate.’

’Haa, what’s got you so worked up anyway? That thing’s been keeping its distance because it’s wary of you too, you know? Probably thinks you’re dangerous. I’d say mark one, mark two at worst.’

’Which is exactly why I need you to shut up. I can’t afford to be careless.’

’Oho, hold on. Don’t tell me you’ve never fought an air beast before? Hah! Well, that explains why you’ve got your panties in a twist.’

Just as Ferrans and Aerelith had different fighting styles, the same was true for metal beasts and air beasts. When fighting the former, one had to worry about their overwhelming strength and durability. But with the latter, as with most air elementalists, the greatest threat was their speed.

A Ferran mark one Herald could never dream of defeating a mark two. In the world of Ascendants, rank was everything. That was, of course, when comparing those of the same element.

When different elements were involved, things weren’t quite so straightforward. It was entirely possible for a mark one Aerelith to defeat a mark two Ferran. Strength and durability were major factors in a fight, but there was only so much one could do when they couldn’t even see their opponent coming.

’It’s here.’

Zephyrion immediately tensed as the waterfall parted.