Born in Blood

"THEY'RE COMING!"

On those words, everyone's attention fell to the treeline.

Yellow arrays brightly lit the ground - enveloping those in their vicinity with a faint glow, accompanied with a surge of power.

The trees began to splinter as the Rank-2 Lava Lions stampeded through them, forming scorching imprints on the ground. Ripples of heat spread from their bodies.

With pitch black fur and blazing crimson mane, they were twice as large as the average lion. Steam visibly seeped from their bodies, and they ragingly ran towards the humans in their path.

Lloyd shouted a few commands and bolted forth, followed by Liam and the rest of the group members.

Emma wielded an inscribed spear, Yannis fought with two inscribed daggers. The rest didn't wield weapons, since they only used spells.

Lloyd utilized a pair of blades, slashing at the air with incredible speed and forming arcs of lethal wind, killing multiple lions.

Emma's spear tip grew sharp as it shot out and pierced the approaching Lions – maiming them for Yannis to finish off using her blades.

'They're all using their martial arts attuned to their elements,' Liam thought, blinding a Lion that attempted to lurch at him, before piercing its skull with his wakizashi.

Blood started to drench the charred grass red, but the Lions didn't stop their merciless offensive.

Furious roars of both humans and beasts bellowed through the air. Accompanied by thunderous booms, whooshing gusts of wind, rumbling spikes of earth, and swift bullets of water.

A Lava Lion got close enough to Liam, its eyes began to glow orange, while its thick mane brightened to a scarlet hue.

Its jaws opened with a gurgling noise, but before it could complete its attack, an arc of moonlight shot at its neck, killing it.

Liam had been briefed on the Lions' weakness. Ironically, its greatest weapon was also its greatest weak point – the neck. Slitting their throat incapacitated them long enough for another attack, but the first strike had to be lethal.

Liam didn't hold back on his 'Ora' reserves, wildly shooting out first and second forms. His new blades' quality was superb, capable of piercing through the Lions' skin with ease.

It wasn't long before human casualties started to rise.

One of the men in the other groups got caught out and left his team formation.

Before his teammates could pull him back, red-hot magma doused his figure, melting him alive.

Despite the blood curdling screams, the battle continued, with the Lava Lions gradually getting pushed back.

Like an open tap, the beasts didn't stop arriving.

When his teammates weren't looking, Liam took that chance to get hit with the lava attacks – positioning them to hit non vital spots.

His body was at the peak of the second rank. All it would take were just a few more wounds until he achieved a Rank-3 body.

Minute amounts of magma melted his clothes and the skin underneath, but didn't get through the flesh – thanks to the infernal tempering method.

A group of Lava Lions rushed him – roaring violently and preparing to pounce.

Lloyd, Emma and Yannis were further up – fighting against a large horde of beasts, while the magi at the back were too busy supporting the other groups.

Liam focused, imbuing 'Ora' into his katana and wakizashi.

The black sheen on the blades disappeared, replaced by formless, ethereal weapons.

Three lions pounced at him at the same time, while two at the back vomited gobs of lava.

Liam unleashed a swift flurry of swings towards them, his hands and feet glowing.

The formless blades entered through the Lion's mid air and exited from the other end countless times – leaving no visible mark or wound.

Simultaneously, Liam ducked underneath them, his body parallel to the ground as his blades flickered against the gurgling beasts.

Suddenly, the lions plopped to where Liam was, their bodies diced in countless bloodied pieces – the magma in their throats swallowed by the grass.

Liam took a second to inspect the state of his blades after using its special ability.

'It got a bit worn down from just one usage… but it's deadly nonetheless.' He thought, before regrouping with Lloyd and the rest.

Finally, after an hour of constant battle, the tide of Rank-2 lions stopped – giving the cultivators a moment of respite.

The battlefield was covered with severed, charred and bloodied lion corpses, mixed with melted human parts. Even the air was several degrees higher than normal, causing everyone to sweat buckets.

Liam was the first to sit cross-legged and replenish his 'Ora' reserves – uncaring of his surroundings.

'I'm close to breaking through. I can feel it! Just a little bit more.'

He looked slightly pale from using the spell, but his condition looked a lot better than his first time.

The others seeing him do so decided to replenish their own cores as well.

Both the men and women of his group saw Liam in a different light, respect visible in their eyes.

"Kid… to think you're a magus at this age. I could even feel your pressure as we fought. No wonder…"

Emma praised, before strangely stopping – shaking her head and shifting her focus to cultivation.

Liam raised a brow, but the hair on his skin abruptly rose.

A deep rumbling grew louder, violent tremors shaking the ground.

"Get ready for the next tide! Don't get caught out and stick together," Lloyd commanded, readying his swords.

Liam forced out a long breath, tightening the grip on his blades while the pressure on his surroundings increased.

ROAR!

Thunderous roars bellowed within the glades, and the Rank-3 Lava Lions emerged.

Roughly 3.5 meters in length and 2 meters wide, the Lion's burst from the treeline – donning various hues of orange and black fur that extended past their blazing manes.

Most paled at their sheer numbers, but their expressions turned serious as they readied their weapons - their hands slightly trembling.