Yoma lay unconscious near the shattered road.
Lancelot lay beside her, barely breathing.
His white armor had changed. The white lightning that once lingered and sparked across his armor had turned into yellow lightning. His glowing white eyes and the lower part of his sword had also changed to yellow.
Lancelot's gaze swept across the battlefield. He saw the unconscious Yoma close to him. Mausa had also fainted due to the exhaustion of his mental energy after continuously activating his spirit essence. Lancelot also noticed Aisha and two other Nigerians guarding the unconscious Mausa.
Lancelot injected spirit essence into his spirit cores, forming a combination move.
Clone, Invincibility, and Lightning Spirit Cores fused.
Spirit Core Combination Move.
Light and Dark Men.
A hundred clones appeared, surrounding the Nigerians.
Without the white lightning armor, Lancelot no longer had wings. His cape reverted to black, and his speed dropped by half. However, he could now control the speed of lightning.
Lancelot analyzed the situation calmly.
His clones formed a circle around the Nigerians. Then Lancelot himself ran along the edge of the circle toward the southern part of Stonecliff Mountain, not far from the battlefield.
He entered a grassland and sat beneath an oak tree. His sword was planted into the ground beside him. Yellow lightning continued to flicker and spark around his body and weapon.
…
One of Lancelot's clones picked up Yoma, who lay unconscious near Lancelot's previous position before he left. The clone carried her and ran toward the direction of the main body.
Seeing this, Aisha roared.
"Ahhh!"
Dragon Roar
Fire Bullet
Fire Arrow
She injected spirit essence into her Feral Souls and, with a single thought, activated her combination move.
Feral Soul Combination Move. Angry Dragon.
A deafening roar tore through the air once more.
A sound wave surged forward like a wide-open mouth, followed by bullets and arrows of fire emerging from within it.
The attack wiped out most of Lancelot's clones. At the start, they were a hundred. Now, only twenty remained, including the one carrying Yoma to Lancelot.
…
"Ah… ah…ah"
The clone breathed heavily as it arrived at the grassland and presented Yoma to Lancelot.
Lancelot glanced at the clone and said,
"Observe the battlefield and inform me if there is anything that requires my attention."
The clone nodded.
It moved about twenty-five meters away from Lancelot, climbed a tree to the top, and stood on one of the branches while holding onto the trunk, carefully observing the battlefield from above.
...
Lancelot chuckled after glancing at Yoma, who lay unconscious.
He placed his hand on her forehead, sending his consciousness into her mind. He inspected her body and discovered that she did not possess a spirit core.
Lancelot frowned.
A snow-white ring on his thumb shone faintly and became visible. A small knife, no bigger than a pen, emerged from the ring before the ring vanished again.
Without hesitation, Lancelot used the dagger to stab into Yoma's head.
Then he placed his hand on her stomach, near her ribs and chest. He sent his consciousness deeper and soon found her Spirit Sea.
Inside the Spirit Sea, a milk-white spirit essence flowed calmly.
At its center floated a butterfly with rainbow-colored wings and a delicate, radiant body.
Rank 3 Illusion Feral Soul.
Lancelot recognized it instantly.
Shock flashed across his face, followed by clear amazement.
His hand passed through Yoma's stomach without resistance, as if it had slipped through water.
He reached into her Spirit Sea, grabbed the Feral Soul, and pulled it out.
The moment it left her Spirit Sea, the Illusion Feral Soul struggled violently, trying to escape from Lancelot's clenched fist. Even though his grip was tight, there was still enough space for air to pass through.
Lancelot raised his hand and peered into the gap, trying to observe the Feral Soul.
But he saw nothing.
His expression changed.
A trace of worry appeared on his face as he sank into thought.
It is almost impossible for a Feral Soul to escape without external help… so how did it disappear?
His face grew pale, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
Lancelot quickly injected his snow-white spirit essence into a Rank 2 Feral Soul.
Lightning Thought Feral Soul.
It resembled a white mosquito, larger than a scorpion, hovering quietly in a corner of his Spirit Sea.
The moment his essence touched it, a burst of white light erupted.
Countless thoughts surged through Lancelot's mind, appearing and disappearing in rapid succession. The light gradually dimmed as his thoughts sharpened.
Then a thought came up in Lancelot mind and he realized something.
"Phew…"
Lancelot wiped his forehead and let out a sigh of relief.
This must be the ability of the Illusion Feral Soul… it creates illusions and makes me believe them.
A cold smile spread across his face.
"Hehe… hehe…"
"All the more reason to refine it now."
He laughed again, his voice low and chilling.
Lancelot injected spirit essence into the Rank 3 Earth Communication Feral Soul.
With its help, he created a cave, sealing both himself and Yoma's body completely within it.
Inside the dark cave, the only sources of light were Lancelot's yellow eyes and his sword, which crackled with faint sparks of yellow lightning around his armor.
Lancelot slowly opened his fist.
Five steps away from him, the Rank 3 Illusion Feral Soul appeared. Its rainbow-colored body and radiant aura illuminated the entire cave.
Seeing that it had reappeared, Lancelot felt at ease.
He closed his eyes and smiled.
Lancelot was already multitasking.
He was fusing his spirit essence, preparing the Spirit Core Combination Move, Light and Dark Men.
At the same time, he was receiving updates from the clone he had sent, waiting for the right moment to activate the move.
And now, he was also refining the Rank 3 Illusion Feral Soul.
His consciousness had already been split into four parts. If he attempted even one more task, the backlash would kill him instantly.
Realizing this, Lancelot deactivated his Spirit Core Combination Move, White and Yellow Lightning Knight, returning to his normal knight armor.
Even after reducing his tasks to three, the burden on his soul remained immense.
His face turned pale, his expression strained. Stress was clearly visible across his features.
Still, Lancelot continued.
He injected snow-white spirit essence, along with his will, into the Rank 3 Illusion Feral Soul.
Although it had turned invisible, Lancelot could still sense its presence through the initial strand of spirit essence he had infused earlier.
The Illusion Feral Soul resisted fiercely.
Lancelot's spirit essence began to drain rapidly.
Seventy-two percent… sixty-six… sixty… fifty-four… forty-eight… forty-two…
When it dropped to thirty-six percent, Lancelot suddenly stopped.
He looked at the Illusion Feral Soul.
It was now in a weakened state. Its aura had dimmed, and its light was fading, yet its rainbow wings and body still shimmered faintly.
Lancelot bit his tongue and let out a slow breath of relief.
He crawled forward, continuing to suppress it with spirit essence. Then he grabbed the Illusion Feral Soul and forced it into his Spirit Sea.
In its weakened condition, it could no longer resist.
The moment it entered Lancelot Spirit Sea, the Illusion Feral Soul began absorbing his remaining spirit essence to recover.
But Lancelot did not hesitate.
He immediately drew power from his Lightning Spirit Core and struck the Illusion Feral Soul.
The protective light around it flickered, weakened, and then shattered.
Lightning tore through and destroyed one of its wings and the Feral Soul could no longer fly.
...
Lancelot inspected his Spirit Sea.
Only ten percent of his spirit essence remained.
He watched as the Illusion Feral Soul fell. Without wasting a second, he injected eight percent of his remaining essence into it.
This time, it could no longer resist and the refinement end in success.
Lancelot's Spirit Sea was nearly empty. Only two percent of spirit essence remained, along with his Feral Souls resting at the bottom.
Lancelot let out a long breath.
His hair was disheveled, his face pale and cold. Though only an hour had passed, he looked like a man who had aged years in that short time.
Inside the silent cave, Lancelot collapsed and fell into a deep sleep.