Chapter 169 — Hero [4] - Chimera

On the other hand, Liora didn’t run for long.

The reason she fled was not that she was afraid of the Chimera but because she wanted to move the battlefield elsewhere.

After all, she had to show that she was "trustworthy" to the human side for her plan to work.

Once Liora found an empty plain and confirmed that it was far enough for the fight not to impact Hope City, Liora finally stopped in her tracks.

As she watched the Chimera come towards her, she made a decision.

"I’m afraid that the mastermind behind the beasts’ riot may be paying attention to Hope City."

"Still, since they didn’t personally come forward and take action, they must either not care about Hope City’s destruction, or they must be scared of something."

"Most likely, it’s the former. Perhaps the beasts’ attack here is only a part of their overall plan. That means that there should be no danger if it ultimately fails."

Still, Liora wouldn’t take an additional risk for no reason.

Since someone might be observing her, it was best not to show any extraordinary or overly bizarre abilities.

Especially when there was a True Devil still hiding, it would be smarter not to reveal her Devil characteristics.

Fortunately, at her current state, such a restriction no longer impacted Liora as much. Just based on being a Great Knight, her strength was already terrifying enough.

At least, it gave her confidence to deal with the Chimera.

Many thoughts raced through Liora’s head, but in reality, less than a split second had passed.

It was only when she finished her thoughts that the Chimera finally arrived at the plain and its eyes focused on Liora.

It didn’t say a word.

The horns growing on its head glowed with a yellow light, and it raised its wolf legs before striking down.

Immediately, the ground beneath the Chimera rose up.

It gathered in the air in front of it and transformed into countless sharp spikes made of earth, which subsequently shot at Liora.

Clearly, despite what its appearance would suggest, the Chimera’s strong point was not its physical strength.

Or at the very least, it was not the only one.

Faced with the flying earth spikes, Liora didn’t dare to underestimate them.

With a move of her mind, Life Force poured out of her Life Seed and flowed into her hands, transforming into two dark blades.

Holding them tightly, she leaped forward and dashed towards the Chimera while her hands moved at an astonishing speed.

The two blades sometimes cut the earth spikes that were coming from the front, while at other times, they separated the spikes attacking from the side.

Regardless, continuous clanging sounds echoed as Liora fended off the Chimera’s onslaught.

Slowly but surely, she walked closer, approaching the Chimera.

Although beasts were mindless and their intelligence was lacking, their combat instincts were top-notch, surpassing those of even the most experienced Knights.

Therefore, the Chimera immediately realized Liora’s goal.

Having clashed with her back at Hope City, it understood that it should never engage in close-quarters battle with her.

The yellow glow in its horns was still there as it never stopped creating earth spikes and firing them.

But at the same time, its wolf fur suddenly glowed too.

It was just that, unlike the earlier glow, this one was now pitch-black.

Its goat mouth opened wide, and a force crept up from its throat, rising to its mouth before shooting out.

A loud roar echoed throughout the plain.

Yet, the ability that the Chimera had activated was not a sonic attack but something else.

All around the plain, the shadows of the trees, grass, and even the insects suddenly rippled following its call.

The next moment, the shadows squirmed and materialized into reality.

As if jumping in latitude, they turned three-dimensional, truly taking a form.

Some of them transformed into Knights, others into beasts, while others simply remained as shadows, as if someone had splashed black ink all over the air.

No matter what they had ended up as, however, the shadowy creatures all rushed towards Liora.

The earth spikes didn’t seem to exist in the same dimension as them.

Seemingly ignoring them, they passed through these creatures, allowing them to approach Liora.

Though surprised, Liora remained calm.

Her mind raced while her two blades continued splitting the spikes firing at her.

"Although the Chimera was previously at a disadvantage, I was able to sense that its physical strength is terrifying... Now, it possesses the ability to manipulate earth while also being able to summon shadow creatures..."

Looking at the yellow and black lights glowing on the Chimera’s body, a suspicion formed in Liora’s mind.

"Does it possess the abilities of the races it is ’made up’ of? The physical strength of Ape Beasts, the Earth Manipulation of Goat Beasts, and the Shadow Summons of Wolf Beasts..."

Besides that, there were also the Extraordinary Defense of Lizard Beasts and the Heightened Perception of Serpent Beasts.

Liora didn’t have a way to confirm her guess for the time being, but her intuition told her that her thoughts were correct.

This beast truly possessed so many varying abilities.

Upon this realization, Liora couldn’t help but sigh.

"No wonder beasts dominated the continent in the past and kept humans in captivity like livestock. With such beings among them, beasts can be considered the favored race of this world."

While Liora was deep in thought, her movements didn’t pause.

She continued splitting the earth spikes with her blades while part of her mind remained on the summoned creatures.

"The creatures created through Shadow Summons are invulnerable to physical attacks. Only attacks empowered by Life Force and Elemental skills can actually harm them.", she recalled.

The next moment, her lips parted. Life Force flowed into her mouth, which transformed into fire elements under her control.

Then, following a roll of her tongue, the fire elements rushed out.

Once they came into contact with the air, the elements turned into fire, red and scorching like the flames of a volcano.

They first shot out in a fan shape, but as Liora adjusted her body, a circle of flames was formed around her, shooting in all directions.

The first to meet these flames were the earth spikes.

In an instant, they melted at a speed visible to the naked eye, turning back into mud and falling to the ground as ash.

Next were the shadow creatures.

The moment the fires fell on them, they engulfed them completely.

Let alone the ones closest to Liora, even the ones far away screamed loudly in pain when the sparks landed on them.

Like pieces of paper caught on fire, they began dissipating as if erased from existence.

Taking advantage of this gap in their formation, Liora’s figure rushed out.

Air rustled around her legs as her speed grew terrifying, breaking through the speed of sound and producing continuous banging sounds.

In just a moment, Liora had appeared in front of the Chimera, who had yet to react.

It was still manipulating earth spikes to fire at the place where she originally stood, while shadow creatures emerged from all over the plain like an army.

Liora’s crimson eyes reflected the Chimera’s terrifying, amalgamated body.

Then, the Life Seed in her abdomen trembled.