Chapter 277: Lily Vs Aaron

Hisss—!

The serpent hissed sharply mid-air, its elongated body writhing between the constricting roots. Its eyes flared with a dim glow, and the moving core within its body pulsed, energy gathering rapidly into its twin fangs.

A faint crackling sound followed.

Soon, the fangs shone crystal white, sharpening to an extreme degree—hard and gleaming like diamonds. The serpent snapped forward and bit into the root wrapping, the elongated fangs burying themselves deep.

Crack!

The thick roots fractured instantly, breaking apart like brittle glass.

Lily raised a brow slightly, noticing the phenomenon, her grip tightening just a fraction.

But the very next moment—

Aaron appeared beside her, his presence abrupt, his sword already descending, coated in dense earth energy.

"That’s my Gravelflow’s poison," he said, a grin tugging at his lips. "It turns organic matter into something like glass... and then shatters it."

Clang!

Lily reacted instantly, raising her blade and meeting his strike head-on, metal ringing sharply as sparks flew.

"Hm. That’s impressive," Lily replied calmly. "Treant! Drain the beast’s vitality!"

At her command, the intact roots around the serpent constricted violently, tightening like iron coils as they began siphoning its vitality.

Hiiiissss!!

The serpent writhed, a pained hiss escaping as its body convulsed.

Meanwhile, the clash between Lily and Aaron intensified. Their blades collided repeatedly, each strike sending vibrations up their arms.

Seizing the moment, the Shardfall Warden shifted its stance and launched a barrage of stone fragments. Jagged projectiles tore through the air toward both the treant and Lily. The shots aimed at Lily were fewer, avoiding Aaron’s position, more like calculated support fire. The treant took some hits and some blocked with its wide arms. Then followed to heal the damaged parts.

Wind energy surged into Lily’s free hand, swirling violently. She used it to deflect incoming strikes, redirecting the stone fragments while continuing to parry Aaron’s sword with her other hand.

It was then—

She noticed something.

A slight inconsistency in his movement as if he wasn’t used to swinging his weapon.

"You... you’re not using your main weapon...?" Lily said, her eyes narrowing slightly as she deflected a sweeping strike and slid back.

Aaron’s brows lifted, a flash of surprise crossing his face.

"You can tell?" he said, a short laugh escaping him. "Yeah, I’m not using it. What? Angry that I’m underestimating you?" His grin widened. "Why don’t you make me use it?"

He brought his sword down in a heavy overhead slash, earth energy surging.

"You do know your tongue might get you beaten someday, right?" Lily said, recalling his and Ronan’s crass behavior earlier, along with the subtle arrogance he showed after defeating Lyra.

"Heh, my sister says the same thing," Aaron replied lightly, unfazed. "But no one’s managed to beat me so far. Think you can?"

"No wonder," Lily said coolly. "Let me fulfill your wish."

A subtle shift occurred around her as bluish aura covered her body and her presence sharpedned.

She initiated spirit integration with Lunaria.

Aaron instinctively stepped back, raising a brow as he felt the change in her aura.

"This is your second beast’s integration, right?" he said, narrowing his eyes. "Why aren’t you bringing it out? I can tell it’s strong."

Lily smirked faintly.

"Make me."

In the next instant, her movements changed completely.

They became lighter and fluid. Wind gathered around her, enhancing her speed, her strikes, her control.

She no longer just defended or counterattacked

She took the initiative.

From multiple angles.

Aaron’s expression shifted as he was forced onto the defensive. His sword moved faster, heavier, but even then—

It wasn’t enough.

Soon, a thin layer of sweat formed on his forehead as Lily’s attacks came from all directions, omnidirectional, relentless which was combined with wind based attacks and movement.

Meanwhile—

The Gravelflow Serpent had already fallen.

With a decisive whip of its vines, the treant slammed the serpent into the ground before following up with a crushing punch straight to its head. The beast’s body went limp.

Now, only the two remaining beasts remained locked in a stalemate.

At some point, the Shardfall Warden had switched tactics, launching stone lances instead of fragments. Each lance tore through the air with deadly force.

The treant responded by raising layered defenses—walls of intertwined vines and roots. Some lances were stopped, embedding themselves into the mass.

But others—

Pierced straight through.

Chunks of wood splintered away, injuring the treant. Yet, almost immediately, a faint green glow spread across its body, healing the damage.

Then—

The warden’s core flared brightly.

Energy gathered rapidly.

A single, extremely dense stone lance formed—far more compact, far more dangerous.

And then—

It fired.

Shooowwwssshhh!!

The lance cut through the air with terrifying momentum.

Dhrruuummmmm!!

The treant reacted instantly.

Walls rose.

Not one but three layers of vine and root barriers surged up from the ground.

DHAM! DHAM! DHAM!

The lance pierced through them all.

Effortlessly.

And then—

DOOOM!!

It struck.

A massive chunk of the treant’s abdomen exploded outward, splinters and chips scattering as the treant staggered, dropping to one knee.

Its vine-wrapped, marble-like eyes glinted sharply.

And then—

It slammed its fist into the ground.

THOOM!

At that exact moment, Lily, who had been overwhelming Aaron, suddenly felt a sharp pull on her mana.

The treant was out of mana.

And without hesitation, it began drawing directly from her.

Her aura flickered slightly as the drain took effect.

The ground beneath the Shardfall Warden erupted.

Thick vines burst upward, coiling around its massive form, binding it tightly, restricting its movement.

Aaron, still facing Lily, let out a breathless chuckle, pushing himself back to create distance.

"Looks like..." he exhaled, wiping the sweat off his chin, "you really managed to make me use my main weapon."

The sword in his hand, already battered by Lily’s wind-infused strikes, flickered and vanished.

The next instant a massive greatsword appeared in his grasp.

It was enormous.

A full-body-sized weapon—if not larger than Aaron himself. The blade gleamed with a bronze hue, perfectly matching his earth element. Despite its absurd size, it didn’t look unwieldy in his hands.

If anything, it perfectly suited him and his body, along with his aura.

Especially with the crazed grin now spreading across his face.