Chapter 356: A Bare-Bones Commander's Wild Boss?

【Wind Blade Art】 floated in mid-air.

It closed its eyes and began to relive the scene from yesterday at the Shattered Star Trial Grounds.

【"Compress all the wind together…"】

【"The more it's compressed, the sharper it gets…"】

As 【Wind Blade Art】 meditated,

the wind elements in the surrounding night breeze began to gather toward its body at an extremely fast speed.

This time, no violent tornado formed.

All the wind elements were being continuously compressed under Little Wind's utmost control.

Wisps of extremely faint cyan light gathered in mid-air into a single wind blade.

【"Not enough…"】

【"If this is the power, it's far from matching Second Brother."】

In mid-air, a stubborn note crept into 【Wind Blade Art】's voice.

It kept its eyes closed, frantically replaying in its mind the scene from last night when it had comprehended 【Sky-Splitting Storm】.

【"Storm…"】

【"Spinning forward, spinning backward, clockwise and counterclockwise converging…"】

【"Let's try it!"】

【Wind Blade Art】 suddenly opened its eyes.

The cyan light around its body abruptly contracted.

The frenzied wind elements were instantly drawn away, madly converging toward that wisp of cyan light before it.

Compress madly!

Compress again!

At the same time,

【Wind Blade Art】 forcibly split the wind elements it was compressing into two streams.

One stream spun clockwise at extreme speed, the other counterclockwise at extreme speed!

The two violent forces were forcibly kneaded together and compressed into the shape of a blade.

As 【Wind Blade Art】 kept exerting its strength,

the wind elements that had been swirling around its body gradually vanished.

Finally,

a small, delicate wind blade hovered in mid-air.

【"Phew…"】

【Wind Blade Art】 let out a long breath, and the cyan light brightened once more.

It excitedly bounced up and down.

【"Second Brother, Second Brother! I did it!"】

【"Little Wind comprehended it!"】

Hearing the commotion, 【Earth遁 Art】 immediately turned its head.

It eagerly leaned over to take a look.

The next moment, it was stunned.

【"Uh…"】

【Earth遁 Art】 circled twice around that palm-sized wind blade, its tone full of doubt.

【"Fifth, are you sure you finished it?"】

【"This thing… why is it so small?"】

【"This is completely different from the wind blade that old man released yesterday, right?"】

【"What he made could be called a wind blade — yours… at most it's a toy knife, right?"】

Faced with Second Brother's doubt,

【Wind Blade Art】 nodded heavily with great confidence.

【"Mm!"】

【"Second Brother, Little Wind is sure!"】

【Earth遁 Art】 was still somewhat unconvinced.

It stretched out a hand and pointed at a hundred-meter-tall stone mountain a thousand meters away.

【"You can only tell a horse's worth by taking it out for a run."】

【"Use this move to slash that mountaintop and see."】

【"If you can't cut it through, you're sleeping here tonight!"】

【"Okay, Second Brother!"】

【"Watch this!"】

【Wind Blade Art】 locked onto that stone mountain a thousand meters away.

【"Go!"】

"Whoosh—!"

The palm-sized cyan wind blade shot out in an instant!

The next moment,

a sudden, strange change came over that delicate little wind blade.

The wind element, which had been compressed to an extreme degree, instantly erupted outward the moment it broke free of control.

Like a black hole, it madly devoured all the air and wind element along its path as it flew!

One meter, ten meters, fifty meters…

The wind blade, originally only the size of a palm, swelled wildly with the wind.

The farther the distance, the more wind element it devoured, and the wind blade grew ever more enormous.

Until it crossed a distance of a thousand meters, closing in on that hundred-meter stone mountain.

It had already transformed into a colossal blade a hundred meters long, propping up the heavens!

"Boom——!!!"

Without any obstruction.

The hundred-meter-long storm blade swept straight through the midsection of the stone mountain!

The next second.

The upper half of that hundred-meter-tall, solid stone mountain slid down thunderously along a cut as smooth as a mirror!

"Rumble rumble rumble——!!!"

Countless giant boulders smashed into the ground, kicking up a skyful of dust!

The very earth was trembling violently!

The hundred-meter stone mountain had been cleanly sliced in half at the waist!

【"……"】

【"Holy… crap?!"】

【Earth Escape Art】stared dumbly at the half-vanished mountaintop a thousand meters away.

It was utterly stunned.

You can even play it like this?

The farther the distance, the bigger the wind blade gets?

That damage is way too terrifying!

【"Second Brother, Second Brother!"】

【Wind Blade Art】excitedly scooted over.

【"How about it, Second Brother? Was Little Wind's move awesome?"】

【"Now Master definitely won't scold us anymore, right!"】

【Earth Escape Art】swallowed hard.

It forcibly suppressed the shock in its heart, gave two heavy dry coughs, and tried to maintain the dignity befitting its status as Second Brother.

【"Cough, cough!"】

【"I… I guess it's passable."】

【"Although it's only at this level, it should have reached Master's passing line."】

Hearing Second Brother's approval.

【Wind Blade Art】instantly lit up with joy.

【"Yay, Second Brother!"】

Immediately after.

【Earth Escape Art】shifted the topic, its tone turning incomparably solemn.

【"But…"】

【"Fifth, don't forget—what is our mission?"】

【Wind Blade Art】didn't hesitate at all, immediately shouting out the answer.

【"Protect Master!"】

【Earth Escape Art】nodded with satisfaction.

【"Right! Protect Master!"】

【"So!"】

【"To prevent trouble before it happens, we still need to practice one more skill for escaping and saving our lives!"】

【"But! Master clearly doesn't really want an escape/survival skill right now, so we need to think about how to fuse escaping/surviving with dealing damage together."】

【"That way, Master will be happy, and Master gets another survival skill—two birds with one stone!"】

Hearing these words.

【Wind Blade Art】was completely dumbfounded.

【"Kill enemies while running away?"】

【"How is that even possible?"】

【"Dummy!"】

【Earth Escape Art】scolded, frustrated that its pupil was made of the wrong stuff.

【"Is there a possibility—suck all the air out and create a 'vacuum channel' with zero resistance?"】

【"Without resistance, wouldn't Master's speed just take off directly?"】

【"But that's not all!"】

【Earth Escape Art】excitedly offered guidance.

【"Where did all that extracted air go? Can't waste it!"】

【"Take all the air you pulled out and compress it into wind blades!"】

【"That way…"】

【"You can instantly shred to death every enemy in the tunnel who's trying to chase Master!"】

【"Escape and kill combined into one!"】

【"Use the most brutal slaughter to pave the safest retreat!"】

【"Understand?!"】

After hearing 【Earth Escape Art】's guidance.

【Wind Blade Art】 was shaken to the core.

【"Second Brother!!!"】

【"You're an absolute genius!!!"】

【"I've got an idea now!"】

Watching Little Wind fall into a state of sudden enlightenment.

【Earth Escape Art】 contentedly tilted his head back at a forty-five-degree angle to gaze at the night sky.

【"Sigh, I really am a good Second Brother who worries himself sick for Master."】

……

Meanwhile.

At another spot in the wilderness outside Casting Star Town.

Shaer and Bahuo met up beneath a withered tree.

Bahuo was gasping for breath in great gulps.

"Second Brother…"

"Any discoveries on your end…?"

Shaer shook his head.

"Nothing."

"That's really strange. There should be plenty of wild monsters outside Casting Star Town, right?"

Hearing this.

Bahuo's face was equally full of puzzlement.

"What on earth is going on?"

"I scoured every grinding spot on the west and north sides."

"Couldn't spot so much as a single hair."

Shaer's eyes were full of doubt.

"Could it be that every major guild in Casting Star Town turned out in full force and cleared out all the wild zones within a thirty-kilometer radius?"

"Is today some kind of traditional Casting Star Town holiday or something?"

Bahuo shook his head.

"Never heard of any 'Sweep Festival' or anything like that…"

Shaer fell silent.

After a moment, he let out a sigh.

"That wild BOSS, if nothing unexpected happens, will be spawned again tomorrow."

"The wild monsters have been cleared so thoroughly — for them to respawn to a dense level, a week at minimum is impossible."

"When that time comes, the wild BOSS will probably end up as a lone commander with no troops…"

"Ah, this…"

Bahuo's mouth fell slightly open, rooted to the spot in a daze.

"Second Brother, then what do we do?"

"What else can we do?"

"Cold salad!"

Shaer spread his hands.