Chapter 63: Tipping the scales

Selin was covered in blood as she burned an enemy to a crisp, the charred hand turning to ash as it drifted alongside the wind. Though she wasn’t as injured as the others around her, the small cuts and bruises that riddled her body added up, sapping her strength.

She dodged an arrow that was directed at her face and quickly scanned her surroundings to find who had fired it.

Upon spotting him, Selin gripped her blade as if her life depended on it, gathered flames under her feet, then rocketed off toward the archer, cleanly cutting his head off in one go.

"Nice one." Jol smiled, freezing a Typhon Tribe warrior down to the bone, then shattering her into many pieces.

"Yeah, well, my legs are killing me. Feels like I’m about to collapse."

Though the battle had only been raging for an hour at most, neither side was being pushed back, making everything more intense and brutal. Even with the Nemean Tribe’s advantage, the Typhon Tribe didn’t back down.

"Don’t worry about it. With Kanan’s power strengthening us, we’ll end this in no time." Jol smiled

"I hope so. Things are getting—"

Jol and Selin instantly felt the spirit energy shift in the air as if the weather transitioned from a sunny day to a violent storm.

They could feel Kanan’s power wane, an imbalance being created. It wasn’t just the two of them either; every Nemean Warrior could feel it.

"The spirits have spoken!" A Typhon Tribesman shouted

"With the spirits on our side, we’ll eliminate the Nemean Tribe!"

Every Nemean warrior felt the energy of the Typhon Tribe increase. Even the weakest of warriors were now able to contend with seasoned warriors in terms of strength. The tides had now shifted in the favor of the Typhon Tribe.

"You two are impressive, a threat to our victory. I shall eliminate you myself." Tagah had made his way over to Selin and Jol, his spiritual energy radiating off his body like a green flame.

"Don’t assume a bit of spirit energy will win you this battle. We have the gods and a shaman on our side. Victory is assured." Jol was absolutely confident in not only his ability, but Kanan’s. Still, he wouldn’t deny the power he felt when gazing upon Tagah.

"Your warrior’s spirit is admirable. If you were of our tribe, then you would have been a great warrior."

"A Typhon dog has no right to determine who’s great and who’s not. I’ll cut you down where you stand." Jol rushed toward Tagah with his spear raised, ice spreading across the ground beneath his feet as Selin remained behind, watching carefully and studying her opponent.

Tagah waited until Jol was almost within reach before stepping aside, allowing the spear to pass him, and then drove his fist into Jol’s stomach.

"GARGHHHH!!!!" The impact folded Jol over.

Before he could recover, Tagah grabbed his spear and slammed his knee into Jol’s face, sending him crashing into the ground. Jol tried to freeze the weapon in Tagah’s hands, but Tagah coated his arm in green energy, using an earth spirit to harden his flesh against the ice.

Jol barely had time to rise before Tagah kicked him across the battlefield.

"Dammit, Jol!" Selin finally moved in to help.

Fire erupted around her legs as she accelerated forward, her sword igniting as she swung for Tagah’s neck. Tagah ducked beneath the blade and countered with a lightning-charged punch, forcing Selin to twist away before the strike could connect.

She moved faster, attacking from different angles while Tagah calmly parried, dodged, and countered each attack. Selin’s precision allowed her to survive where Jol had failed, but Tagah was simply too powerful.

After getting back up and coughing blood out of his throat, Jol joined her.

The two attacked together, Selin forcing Tagah’s attention with rapid sword strikes while Jol manipulated the ground, raising walls of ice and creating frozen spikes around them.

But Tagah maneuvered through everything.

He countered Selin’s flames with water spirits, extinguishing the fire around her sword before using lightning to force her away, then turned toward Jol and shattered his ice with earth-enhanced strikes.

"H-He’s too strong! We have to retreat!" Jol shouted, his breathing getting heavier by the minute.

Selin and Jol used their ability to put some distance between themselves and Tagah, but just as they did, a loud snap grazed their ears.

Jol collapsed with a scream, Tagah already in front of them, shattering Jol’s knee. Before Selin could react, Tagah seized his arm and severed it with a brutal strike. He grabbed Jol’s spear, drove it through Jol’s chest, and at the same moment snapped his fingers.

Lightning surged through Selin as she leapt above him, paralyzing her midair.

Tagah jumped; his foot slammed into her stomach, sending her crashing toward the ground, but an earth pillar erupted beneath her and smashed into her back. Descending after her, his fist struck Selin’s chest with enough force to shatter her bones and the pillar beneath her at once.

Not even two minutes had passed between the start and end of this battle, and just like that, two great warriors of the Nemean tribe were on the brink of death.

Tagah stepped toward them to finish what he had started, but an intense force descended upon his body, blasting him across the battlefield and into the wall.

"I won’t watch my people suffer at your hands any longer." Chief Solan growled, sending Selin and Jol to Yala’s healing hut as he faced off against Chief Woton.

"Finally stepping up to fight, huh? I hope you don’t disappoint me too much, like that father of yours." Woton grinned.

Solan nearly let his anger get the best of him, but he took a deep breath, only frowning at the taunt.

Even with the Typhon Tribe being empowered, the Nemean Tribe still hadn’t been pushed back. Their better weapons and preparedness allowed them to keep fighting with enough strength to hold their ground.

Kanan’s power was still flowing through them, so there was still hope in their minds.

"For the sake of peace, once I kill you, Woton, I’ll spare your people."

"Peace, you say? Peace is only achieved when your enemy is wiped from the map. So don’t worry, Solan, your tribe will join you soon after your death. That way, you can stay a tribe in the afterlife."