NOVPUBRain recognized the target in the distance thanks to the shape of his body covered in the coral armor and because the water vortexes came from the same direction.
Rain concentrated his eyes in the distance, attempting to discern the source of the powerful water vortexes. After a moment of focus, his eyes finally settled on a figure enveloped in the coral armor—a distinct attire that unmistakably belonged to Esmeralda's younger brother.
The last time Rain had seen him was when he was merely a five-year-old boy, but now he had transformed into a robust and towering individual with a notably serious expression.
Despite sharing the same blonde hair and piercing green eyes as his sister, this young man lacked the typical appearance of a prince. His face bore scars etched in the shape of claws, disrupting the once clear features of his semblance. The scars hinted at trials faced and battles endured, marking his transition from childhood into a formidable and hardened figure in that world.
"It seems that he has a very violent cat… well then, this will be hard," Rain thought.
While assessing the situation before him, Rain acknowledged that the battle wouldn't be a walk in the park. However, what took him by surprise was the extent of Esmeralda's brother's transformation into a battle-hardened warrior. Rain had anticipated a tough opponent; after all, anyone wearing the coral armor was likely to be formidable.
Yet, seeing Esmeralda's brother, it became evident that his combat prowess far exceeded Rain's expectations.
The young man showcased not only the resilience of someone accustomed to the rigors of warfare but also a high level of skill and proficiency, and training. Rain recognized that he wasn't merely facing a physically imposing adversary but also someone with a wealth of combat experience and tactical abilities. Moreover, he grew to one day kill Rain… he would be annoyingly resilient. Just like Rain.
Still, Rain made his move… the crystal death knight that he left on the beach began to fly and eventually passed above the area that they were in… Seara opened her eyes widely since she barely saw what was that. Some of the sea warriors and Demi humans thought that they were being attacked from behind, but soon the crystal death knight reached Esmeralda's brother.
"What was his name again?" Rain furrowed his eyebrows when the enemy grabbed the spear of the death knight with his bare hands and was being pushed backward.
Rain eventually recalled the name of the kid… the kid who was older than Rain now was called Iori. The kid didn't hesitate in grabbing the arms of the death knight and throwing him to the bottom of the ocean, even though he couldn't sense any presence coming from it.
The crystal death knight landed slowly at the bottom of the ocean and soon charged toward Iori… the dragons nearby slowed down on the fight to see what was going on and much to their surprise, they saw that unknown creature moving even faster than the water dragons.
In the heat of the battle, Iori was determined to bring down the crystal death knight and launched a barrage of water vortex attacks at the creature. With precision and speed, he cast numerous swirling currents of water, aiming directly at the knight.
However, to Iori's frustration, the crystal death knight easily evaded every single one of his attacks, spinning and maneuvering skillfully to avoid the onslaught of vortexes.
Observing Iori's attempts, Rain recognized the need for a change in strategy. He aimed to diversify the attacks to catch the enemy off guard and exploit his weaknesses. However, Rain was aware of the challenge—it was difficult to direct the actions of the death knight without drawing undue attention or suspicion.
Despite his desire to introduce variety in the attacks, Rain found himself limited in how he could manipulate the knight's movements without exposing his own involvement in the battle strategy.
"Let's see… What can I do with a shield and a spear?" Rain furrowed his eyebrows while Iori hesitated. "I guess I will have to copy some people."
The spear and the shield were glued to the arms and hands of the crystal death knight, so Rain didn't have to worry too much about the grip. In the end, the creature began to zigzag around while it approached the enemy, but one crazy leviathan dragon actually attacked the creature… the beast ended up regretting that since the crystal death knight passed through the tail of the beast.
As the intense battle raged on, the combatants were taken aback by an unexpected turn of events. To their astonishment, the crystal death knight, a foe they thought to be a new species of monster, exhibited power and prowess that rivaled even Sealyn, who was known as the strongest fighter in the area.
The sight was nothing short of astonishing. This unexpected display of power caused a momentary pause among the warriors and monsters around, with expressions of surprise and disbelief evident on their faces. It was something that shifted the dynamics of the battle, as the previously underestimated knight emerged as a force to be reckoned with.
The leviathan dragon underestimated the crystal death knight, but Iori didn't and immediately attacked the creature with a powerful punch that pushed away a massive amount of water… all the sea warrior army was pushed away by the blast and while the crystal death knight passed above them and eventually left the ocean.
Despite the insane display of raw power alone, Iori still looked serious… he could tell that his punch didn't kill or even destroy the creature even a bit, and he wondered how that was actually possible. The reason was simple, it was thanks to Rain's own skills and the effects of the relics. 𝒏𝙤𝙫𝒑𝙪𝙗.𝙘𝒐𝙢
Before long, the crystal death knight returned, but it didn't try to attack Iori. Rain decided to make it look like it was studying Iori in order to confuse the enemy even more.
