The moment Sern's voice fell, Ksaz moved.
He stomped hard on the ground, his entire body launching toward Sern like a cannonball. The scales on his body glowed with a faint golden light, causing the air to crackle with a series of sharp pops in his wake.
Faced with such overwhelming momentum, Sern chose not to meet it head-on this time. Instead, she nimbly slid to the side, letting Ksaz's fist graze past her hair and strike empty air.
The momentum of his missed punch caused Ksaz to stumble slightly, exposing a gap on his right flank that Sern captured with precise timing.
Seizing the opportunity, she drove her knee upward, slamming it hard into Ksaz's ribs. With a dull thud, the burly sand scaler was forced back two steps by the impact.
Ksaz grit his teeth to steady himself and spun around to attack again, but Sern dodged once more. Moving like a fish in water, she proved impossible for Ksaz to pin down.
Before long, Ksaz's wide, sweeping attacks began to drain his stamina, and his breathing grew heavy and ragged.
Yet Sern continued to dodge effortlessly, clearly holding the upper hand.
Meanwhile, the metal lizard had carried Shane to a safe corner. Tilting its head slightly, it gently lowered Shane to the ground before turning to depart.
The princess, who had been waiting anxiously, rushed over and knelt beside Shane. Her eyes swept over him with deep concern. “Are you alright?”
Shane propped himself up against the ground and slowly sat up. He tried to take a deep breath, but the sharp pain in his ribs made his face twitch, though he quickly masked it.
Forcing himself to exhale slowly twice to dull the pain, he managed to speak. “I can manage.”
With that, he looked toward the center of the battlefield, just in time to see Elon's body undergoing a violent transformation.
Emerald-green light erupted from the old druid's body. His frame rapidly swelled and expanded within the glow, his shoulders and back bulging until his robes tore into shreds.
His dark green hair transformed into a thick, dark brown mane, and his hands reshaped into massive claws. In the blink of an eye, a three-meter-tall owlbear stood on the battlefield.
Emerald-green patterns wrapped around his body like vines across his thick fur. Opening his massive maw, he let out a thunderous roar, sending a wave of sand and dust sweeping toward Sern.
Hearing the noise, Sern kicked Ksaz away and spun around to see the looming owlbear. Her cat ears flattened back for a split second before snapping upright again. Her lips curled into a smirk, revealing a sharp canine as she muttered to herself, “Now we're talking.”
The owlbear raised a paw larger than a cooking pot, cloaked in emerald-green light, and swung it down at Sern. However, a white blur intercepted it mid-swing.
White Fang slammed into the owlbear's paw from the side. Landing nimbly, the white tiger cub bared its teeth and roared defiantly at Elon.
Sern did not waste this opening. With a swift pivot of her feet, she dashed forward like a bolt of lightning, bypassing the pincer attack of Elon and Ksaz, her eyes locked onto Shane in the distance.
But she had barely taken two steps when the metal lizard cut her off once more. Without a moment's hesitation, Sern raised her fist to smash the metal lizard's head.
Suddenly, a wave of intense heat flared up. It forced her to abort her punch and twist her body in midair, utilizing a bizarre movement to lurch to the side.
Three basketball-sized fireballs grazed her hair and slammed into the empty ground nearby, detonating in a series of loud explosions.
“Knight, this is your final warning.”
Sern looked over at Olen, who stood a short distance away. His palms flickered with crimson flames, his expression solemn as he warned her, “Stop now, and we can still discuss this.”
“Cut the chatter!”
The fighting spirit in Sern's eyes did not dim in the slightest. She prepared to strike the metal lizard again, but Ksaz and Elon had already closed in behind her.
Ksaz and Elon cornered her once more in a pincer movement.
In the distance, the princess gripped the hilt of her sword and quickly barked a few orders to her guards. A dozen guards immediately dispersed, forming a semi-circular perimeter further out.
By now, Shane had forced himself upright. He raised his right hand and pointed his index finger at Sern.
Death magic coalesced, forming a grayish-white bone spear about one and a half meters long in his hand. With a flick of his wrist, the bone spear shot forward. However, his target was not Sern herself, but the spot where she was about to step.
Mid-stride, Sern was forced to shift her trajectory, her footing faltering for a split second.
Seeing that his tactic had worked, Shane raised his hand again to summon more bone spears.
Before long, a series of crisscrossing bone spears protruded from the ground, gradually forming a makeshift barricade around Sern.
Restricted by this makeshift barrier, Sern's movements were severely hampered. She could no longer dodge with her previous abandon, which created openings for Ksaz and Elon to press their attack.
Meanwhile, the princess drew her longsword and directed the guards, gradually tightening the perimeter around them.
As the fight dragged on, Sern's expression grew increasingly grim. After ducking Ksaz's fist and kicking away Elon's swipe, she leaped backward to put some distance between them.
“White Fang!”
Sern cried out. Hearing her call, White Fang sprang into action. Its chubby body leaped several times, landing in front of Sern before jumping high into the air. Instantly, a massive pillar of light cascaded from the heavens, enveloping both of them.
“Oh no!”
Elon's heart sank as he stared at the descending pillar of light. Golden runes began to ripple across its surface. Not daring to act rashly, he could only offer a bitter, helpless smile to warn the others. “This girl... is truly furious. She's invoking the blessing of the Goddess.”
Sure enough, the pillar of light shattered in the next instant, dissolving into a shower of stardust.
A figure nearly two meters tall emerged from within.
She possessed a full, voluptuous figure, broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and sleek, defined muscles. Most of her body was covered in short, silvery-white fur, with a thick tiger tail swaying behind her.
Her chest, once only slightly curved, was now noticeably fuller. Her waistline tapered sharply before flaring out below her abdomen, accentuating her rounded hips and long, powerful legs.
A fully matured version of Sern now stood before them.
The tigress Sern took a step forward, and her entire figure blurred. Ksaz instinctively sensed danger, but his reaction was a fraction of a second too slow.
Sern unleashed a lightning-fast whip kick into his side. In the next instant, Ksaz was lifted off his feet and sent flying through the air.
Sern didn't pursue him. Instead, she twisted her waist to dodge a bear paw from behind, tilted her head to avoid a sharp spike shot from the metal lizard's tail, and countered with a backhand strike to the lizard's flank. The metal plating dented inward instantly, forcing the lizard back several stumbling steps.
Nearby, Olen raised his left hand again. Three fire serpents surged from his palm, carrying scorching heat as they lunged straight for Sern.
But Sern did not dodge. She clenched her fist, which erupted with golden light, and surged forward to swing it hard. Under the force of her blow, the three fire serpents were shattered directly into a shower of sparks.
This sight made Olen frown. He immediately pulled a vial of potion from his belt pouch, downed it, and raised his right hand. A blazing fire spear materialized in his grasp.
He hurled it with all his might directly at Sern, but she dodged it with ease.
Sern leaped high into the air, looking down with a disdainful smirk as the fire spear passed beneath her. However, the spear suddenly reversed its trajectory and flew right back toward her.
Boom!
A massive explosion rang out. Sern's figure descended from the smoky aftermath, her silvery-white fur singed and blackened, her expression growing even more furious.
Seizing the moment before she could steady her footing, Elon let out a deafening roar. His paw, cloaked in green light, lunged toward her.
Sern quickly twisted her body to leap high once more. Flipping several times in the air, she landed steadily on the tip of one of the bone spears planted in the ground.
By then, Ksaz had also struggled back to his feet, the scales on his body shimmering with golden light.
Perched atop the bone spear, Sern looked down at the crowd. Her large tiger ears twitched slightly, and her thick tail swayed gently behind her.
She looked at each person present, observing their tense, defensive expressions. Instead of panic, a sense of thrill and amusement welled up inside her.
But before she could make her next move, the sand beneath them began to vibrate.
Sern froze instantly. Her tiger ears perked up, twitching in different directions as if trying to capture some distant sound.
Elon also halted his advance, tilting his head to listen to the mysterious vibrations echoing from an unknown source.
Olen seemed to sense it as well. He extinguished the flames in his hands and recalled the metal lizard to his side.
In the distance, Shane looked toward the dunes. He felt that the wind over there seemed off.
He could see the air above the dunes churning in a swirling vortex, spiraling around an unseen core.
Just as everyone was trying to make sense of the situation, Ksaz's face paled dramatically. He cried out to Shane in panic:
“Mister, it's a sand spirit!”
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