It was an absolutely gruesome sight that made even Moonâs hardened expression falter briefly, his stomach churning with instinctive disgust at the carnage heâd created. He certainly didnât enjoy viewing such horrific results, and the brutality troubled him on some level.
But it absolutely had to be done. This represented the most efficient method of dealing with so many enemies, eliminating them at once.
In a world filled with violence, hatred, and existential competition for survival, showing mercy to enemies was treason to oneself. If you refused to destroy your enemies, they would inevitably destroy you instead when circumstances reversed.
The Black Raven screeched with fury, clearly understanding that most of the people heâd been entrusted to protect for so long had died, a horrible death.
Moon turned his cold gaze toward the flying guardian beast.
"Donât be so upset about their deaths," Moon said quietly. "Itâs your turn next. Youâll join them very soon."
SCREECH! ROOOAR!
The Black Raven was absolutely furious at the sheer audacity displayed by the tiny creature standing defiantly before it. While the guardian beast couldnât understand the specific words emerging from Moonâs mouth, it certainly comprehended the raw hostility, contempt, and complete indifference oozing from his body and tone.
Moon no longer held anything back. Initially, heâd been deliberately saving his lightning element as his primary trump cardâplanning to take the Black Raven by surprise once it finally grew brave enough to close distance for close to mid-range engagement.
But the intelligent creature stubbornly refused to leave its comfortable long-range position, never falling for any bait or provocation that Moon presented to lure it closer.
This stalemate had left Moon with no viable alternative except exposing his trump card prematurely at the cost of killing as many ground forces as possible in a single coordinated dual-strike. Heâd successfully accomplished that objectiveâeliminating nearly the entire Heretic military force in one coordinated attack, approximately fifty warriors dead as the end product.
Only a scattered handful of completely shattered, traumatized survivors remained. They were warriors too psychologically shocked and physically stunned to represent any meaningful threat to himself.
SCREEEEEECH!
The Black Raven screeched once again with fury, sending powerful sonic attacks toward Moon at higher frequencies. The massive bird was clearly no longer holding back its full power either, committing maximum mana expenditure to destroy Moon.
The few stunned Heretic survivors positioned relatively close to the Black Ravenâs flight path all collapsed immediately from the spillover sonic attacks. Theyâd already been in extremely weakened mental states and the powerful sound attacks represented the final breaking point that sent them crumpling unconscious to the blood-soaked ground.
The primary target of the relentless assaultâMoon himselfâwasnât in significantly better condition. Fresh blood kept trickling steadily down from his damaged ears, flowing down his neck and staining his collar crimson. The attacks were immensely, devastatingly powerful, targeting a vulnerability that Moon didnât possess adequate defense against.
Had these been elemental attacks employing any of the five basic elements that had thoroughly tempered his body through Advanced Elemental Body, the combat result would have been different. Moonâs doubled elemental resistance would have mitigated good chunks of incoming damage.
But sound wasnât one of those elements. It represented a mid-tier element that Moon had never been exposed to, ever. A mid-tier element that specifically countered his fighting style.
The sonic attacks were being deployed effectively from long range, directly challenging Moonâs specialty in mid-range combat dominance. This mismatch made Moon curse internally with frustration, suddenly recognizing a horrible weakness in his overall combat capabilities.
âWhen this is finally over, I will absolutely make sure to copy and learn a proper long-range specialized class,â Moon resolved grimly while enduring another devastating screech. âI need to acquire powerful long-range attack skills specifically for scenarios exactly like this one.â
Despite the accumulating damage and agonizing pain, Moon kept stubbornly moving forward toward the flying beast, desperately chugging healing potions heâd stored in his spatial ring to temporarily lessen the debilitating effects on his deteriorating body.
Yet the more distance Moon closed toward the guardian beast, the more the Black Raven simply flew backward to maintain optimal distance, constantly releasing devastating sonic attacks without pause or mercy.
Moonâs legs began trembling violently as he pushed forward through sheer willpower, raw perseverance representing the only quality he could legitimately be commended forâsince absolutely none of his offensive attacks were successfully reaching the evasive flying target.
Lightning techniques wouldnât connect with the beast due to its extreme distance and constant evasive movement, let alone his slower elemental skills.
A terrible, crushing headache suddenly began emerging and intensifying rapidly. The pain was so unexpectedly powerful that it surprised Moon despite his high pain tolerance.
This wasnât normal physical discomfort. Moon began recognizing with cold dread that if he didnât find some method to deal with this beast very soon, he was going to die from accumulated catastrophic damage to his brain and body.
His senses began wakening as his entire nervous system became progressively overloaded through excessive inputs. His neurons were effectively being fried by information overload as the sonic attacks continued their relentless assault.
Realizing with terrible clarity that he was doomed if he maintained this failing strategy, Moon was forced to desperately search for alternative approaches.
He stopped his futile advance toward the constantly repositioning beast. His eyes frantically searched the battlefield surroundings for anything, any environmental feature or opportunity that could potentially change his dire predicament.
Selene and Mirage were still not visible anywhere within the his line of sight. They hadnât returned yet.
Moonâs gaze finally landed on a specific location within the settlement, and an absolutely horrible, morally repugnant thought emerged unbidden in his mind.
He refused to die to this beast regardless of consequences, because after the first death came the second, then the inevitable third. The death penalty debuffs would stack and compound until he became completely helpless.
His own life was certainly more precious and important than other lives. Moon found himself forced by dire circumstances to contemplate something his normal morality absolutely didnât agree with.
Using the remaining non-combatant Heretics still sheltering inside the settlement as bait to force the Black Raven into taking his attack in order to save them.
Moon had observed carefully throughout the extended battle that the Black Raven deeply cared about protecting the Heretic population under its guardianship even if it hurt them a little because of its attacks. That emotional response explained why the beast had deliberately limited the raw power output of its sonic attacks for so long despite possessing greater onesâit was trying to avoid excessive collateral damage to its own people.
That protective instinct represented an exploitable weakness that Moon was going to take advantage of.
Moon stored his combat staff temporarily in his storage ring, then slowly lifted both hands until his palms hovered directly above his ears.
BAM!
He violently smacked both palms against his ears simultaneously, completely rupturing both eardrums internally in an act of self-mutilation. His eardrums were already weakened from the constant attacks, which made it easier to rupture.
At this point, Moon was certain that the beast knew exactly how to avoid rupturing his ears with its attacks to inflict the most damage possible to him.