Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

Reca swiftly assumed a combat stance, her muscles tensing as she prepared for the next exchange. But what set this moment apart was her mental state. Amidst the intense battle, she managed to clear her mind of all distractions and useless thoughts.

Her usual training routines had always revolved around achieving her peak performance by focusing solely on the act of thrusting her spear, letting her body move instinctively and without thinking about anything. But in a real battle, the chaos and pressure often made it challenging to maintain that level of mental clarity. However, in this crucial moment, she had to do it more than ever.

Reca's determination to excel in this fight drove her to find that mental serenity amidst the chaos, allowing her to bring her best performance to the battle.

The adversary charged when he realized that Reca was going on full offensive. Much to everyone's surprise, he only disappeared when he was in the middle of the way… Still, that didn't stop Reca from trusting her spear forward… at first, it looked like she had hit nothing. Moreover, her left shoulder suddenly began to bleed as well.

The black tiger leader's swift maneuver left the audience in awe. He had appeared seemingly out of thin air several meters behind Reca, only to swiftly pivot and face her. Gripping his left side, the tigerman's hand was stained with fresh red blood, prompting gasps from the onlookers.

A sense of disbelief and curiosity swept through the crowd. Somehow, against all odds, Reca had managed to land a blow on the Tigerman despite his unexpected movement. The arena was filled with a mix of amazement and intrigue as spectators marveled at Reca's skill and the black tiger leader's determination to continue the fight despite his injury.

Reca turned around and swung her spear to the side while getting rid of the blood, and then she stabbed the air numerous times. It seemed that she was testing something, but no one knew what it was. Still, they could tell that her thrusts were getting faster with each swing.

"I guess it is like that… even for this, it is better to let the energy suddenly explode," Reca said. "This isn't so bad for me."

The Tigerman looked confused after hearing that… he also didn't know how Reca had hit him, so he was as confused as everyone else. That only made Reca realize that he didn't have much control over his body when he was moving super fast.

It didn't take long for the opponent to realize that he had to move fast… letting someone like Reca get better was too risky, so he decided to drop his facade as well. The Tigerman got on his four legs and began to run around in circles around Reca… it seemed that it was their way to show that they were serious.

Now, they just have to raise their upper bodies to make them look bigger, and they truly would look like cats.

Little by little, the opponent began to get faster as well by running normally, and Reca resumed her fighting stance while following the enemy with her eyes and body. All of a sudden, the opponent changed directions and then charged at her before disappearing.

Reca blinked several times as she didn't feel any bloodlust in the attack, and when she thought of moving her spear to block the attack, she suddenly felt danger coming from behind and swung her spear backward, but then the opponent appeared and sliced her back with his claws before jumping away and avoiding her spear…

Reca hissed in pain… she didn't expect that at all, and she couldn't understand what was happening or how the technique of the opponent changed. Reca turned only to see the opponent running again in circles… she couldn't let another attack hit her since she failed to defend herself… the next attack there definitely would damage her spine…

Jori clenched his teeth in frustration, a growing annoyance gnawing at him. He had managed to keep his composure this far. Still, the relentless attacks from their opponents were wearing on his patience.

What irked him even more was the realization that their adversaries were fighting with the intent to kill while Jori and his companions were forced to restrain themselves, mindful of the precarious political situation that could lead to attacks from two kingdoms.

As he continued to battle, Jori's frustration simmered just beneath the surface. The weight of their predicament bore down on him, making it increasingly difficult to maintain his restraint in the face of such ruthless aggression.

Jori had been on the verge of asking Rain about their contingency plan if things took a dire turn, but he thought better of it when he glanced at Rain's clenched fists. Rain's fingers were already turning a concerning shade of purple, a clear sign of compromised blood circulation.

Rain was also angry, and Jori realized that their priority now was to survive this relentless assault rather than discussing future strategies.

In the end, Jori could only hope that if something were to happen, Rain would be able to heal Reca and avoid any lasting damage…

In the next moment, Reca began to spin her spear in front of her. The opponent was imagining that she wanted to keep him away. Still, something like that wouldn't be enough… he charged again toward her, and when he disappeared, Reca stopped her spear, and then the weapon was engulfed in the wind. She hit the ground with the butt of her weapon, and then a gust of wind spread across the area.

Soon after that, the opponent appeared behind her, half a second late from attacking her thanks to the blast of wind that she emitted with her spear… the opponent still went to attack Reca, and she ignored the claws ripping apart her flesh… She endured the pain as her body began to turn red and was enveloped by a blue aura…