Chapter 89: Burning Flame
Nail looked at Yam's current appearance, and the astonishment in his eyes was completely unconcealed.
He truly could not comprehend it.
Why could someone who had been on the verge of death just seconds ago fully recover in an instant?
He had indeed heard of some extremely special bloodlines that possessed such abilities, but those were generally bloodlines of the sixth tier or higher. At the very least, a fourth-tier bloodline was required to exhibit similar effects.
A second-tier or third-tier bloodline doing this? That was utterly unheard of!
Moreover, the bloodline of Yam Soderbell had been thoroughly investigated.
Yam Soderbell, like his father Ion Soderbell, possessed the Flame Hound bloodline.
Akar Soderbell, on the other hand, had the Flame Sparrow bloodline.
These bloodlines and their capabilities might be secrets or unknowns to ordinary people, but for someone like Nail, they were no mystery.
He even knew the subsequent advancement paths and optimal choices for both bloodlines.
And it was precisely because he was so familiar that he understood all the more clearly: the Flame Hound bloodline absolutely could not possess an ability to completely heal and recover from near-fatal wounds.
In his understanding, only members of the Phoenix family, who bore one of the Eight Golden Bloodlines, the Undying Bird, had such bloodline abilities. And even then, only a fourth-tier bloodline might have a chance of exhibiting such a trait.
Could it be that the Soderbell Family was actually a distant branch of the Phoenix Family?
Yam, of course, had no idea what Nail was thinking at the moment.
He launched himself forward with a step, charging straight at Nail.
Nail's naked eyes could clearly track Yam’s movements.
This made him realize that Yam's strength had not vastly surpassed his own.
They were roughly on equal footing. It was just that the other party's aura was overwhelmingly powerful. Even before Yam approached, Nail could already feel the scorching wave of heat rushing toward him.
Moreover, this wave of heat forced back all the airflow Nail was trying to gather around him, every stream of air he attempted to condense was scattered into wisps of Flame Stream under Yam’s intense heat.
If Nail insisted on locking this air into a Suspended Zone around himself, he would essentially be locking flames beside him, no different from suicide.
Gripping the long handle of his warhammer with both hands, he once again swung it forward forcefully.
Just like during the countless hours of his training days, practicing the "piling" motion again and again.
But this time, Yam "saw" it.
The storm-like airflow rapidly gathered at the top of Nail's warhammer as he moved, and faint sparks of electricity began to flicker.
As the warhammer struck down, these faint sparks acted like a kind of trap, quickly capturing all nearby air currents, gathering them together into a formidable gust.
As the warhammer crashed into the ground—
At the instant the hammer’s surface contacted the ground, the kicked-up dust and the fierce airflow swirling around the hammerhead completed a rapid interaction, transforming into a rampaging beast surging from the newly opened gap: all the previously restrained airflow was released at once, radiating outward in a conical spread, forming air blade currents that shredded everything in their path.
This was the true form of the Hurricane Stream!
At this moment, Yam had just entered the fifty-meter range, and countless currents surged at him like wild beasts.
But faced with this, Yam showed no sign of worry or fear.
The flames burning on his body rapidly expanded, completely engulfing him, and then quickly transformed into flowing fire that resembled liquid, as if he were wearing a suit of fiery armor.
Flame Stream Strike – Mimetic Armament
This was a technique recorded in the Flame Stream Strike battle art.
Though Yam had long since studied this battle art thoroughly, this was his first time using it. After all, the technique section of the art required at least a third-tier bloodline to master.
Yet what surprised Yam was how effortlessly this technique came to him: despite it being his first time performing it, it felt as natural and smooth as breathing.
It became an instinctual action, and almost the moment Yam reacted, all the flames had already gathered spontaneously, forming a suit of fire armor around him.
The howling currents that surged at him were completely split apart upon contact with the Flame Stream armor, like waves crashing into a rocky reef.
Aside from gradually diminishing the flames on Yam’s body, they could do him no real harm.
In that instant, both Yam and Nail simultaneously reached a realization: the rampaging currents didn’t fail to affect Yam because they were ineffective, but rather because of the Flame Stream armor’s protection.
Conversely, since the armor itself was composed of energy, the air currents could deplete it. So if the energy of the Flame Stream armor were fully exhausted, Yam would still be vulnerable to injury.
Nail raised his hand, intending to unleash another Hurricane Stream.
But Yam, having also grasped the key to the technique, would never allow Nail to act so freely again.
The distance between the two was now only thirty meters.
Yam did not hesitate in the slightest; it was more like a movement born of pure instinct.
He swiftly raised his longsword, burning with fierce flames, and then slashed it down.
Eagle Strike Swordsmanship – Raking Claw!
At the moment the longsword cleaved down, the flames along the blade's trajectory erupted into the air, transforming into a crescent-shaped flame sword aura that shot straight toward Nail.
This flame sword aura burst through the air even faster than expected.
Yam felt a flicker of surprise in his heart.
But he quickly let it go.
Originally, he had only been a Second-Tier Bloodline User, but now, with the power of the Demonic Sword, he had advanced to the third tier. Since he could now use the Technique Section content recorded in Flame Stream Strike, it was no surprise that the initial content of Flame Stream Strike, which he had already mastered at the second tier, had become even more powerful.
In almost the time of a single breath, Nail didn't even get the chance to unleash another Hurricane Stream before he was forced to face the flame sword aura charging directly at him.
Boom—
The heavy hammer swung forward with great force, and the airflow coiled around the hammer’s surface suddenly collided with the flame sword aura.
A thunderous roar erupted instantly.
The airflow scattered by the explosion was immediately overtaken by the chasing flames, and in an instant, it completely transformed into a surging blaze of crimson lotus fire.
The heavy hammer turned visibly red at a speed one could see with the naked eye.
And Nail’s hands let out a “sizzling” burn sound along with plumes of white smoke.
Yet even so, Nail did not dare to let go.
He understood all too well what kind of outcome awaited him in this battle if he lost his weapon.
Bang—
In the next moment, Yam's figure burst forth from the thick black smoke of the explosion.
That suit of fiery armor manifested from searing flames still burned fiercely, making Yam appear dazzlingly radiant.
Nail, enduring the pain in his hands, raised his heavy hammer and swung it forcefully at Yam.
Facing the incoming heavy hammer, Yam did not dodge or evade, but instead raised his sword to sweep across.
Eagle Strike Swordsmanship – Spreading Wings.
The longsword swept horizontally through the middle of the warhammer's long handle.
It easily cut the hammer into two pieces.
Having miscalculated the balance, the moment the hammer’s handle was severed, Nail’s right hand dropped with its sudden weight shift, causing all the vital areas on the front of his body to be completely exposed to Yam.
Faced with this, Yam naturally did not hesitate for even a moment.
The sword blade twisted in his hand.
Eagle Strike Swordsmanship – Piercing Peck!
The flaming sword tip, like the strike of a hawk’s beak, instantly pierced through Nail’s throat.
Immediately after—
Yam drew his sword out and stabbed another strike straight into Nail’s heart.
After delivering two thrusts, Yam even followed up with a third strike!
Eagle Strike Swordsmanship – Spreading Wings!
One strike beheaded him!
…
Molly’s inner agitation grew stronger.
She looked in the direction Nail had gone earlier, and the blood light in her eyes grew increasingly intense.
"Too long."
She knew Nail's strength very well, and thus had an estimate of how long it would take him to kill a Second-Tier Bloodline User.
Even if Yam Soderbell was stronger and could almost be evaluated as a Third-Tier Bloodline User, the gap between second and third tier was not so easily bridged. Still, Molly had allowed a few extra minutes.
And now, the time had exceeded even Molly’s estimate.
She could no longer hold back.
However—
Just as she was about to act, a flurry of hurried footsteps reached her.
"Lady Molly, they’ve arrived!"
"It’s people from White Mountain Territory!"
Molly glanced once more in the direction Nail had left, then, after exhaling a breath of hot air, turned and led her group toward the sound of those urgent footsteps.
A group of fewer than thirty people was appearing from one side of the Eaglehead Mountains.
With a single glance, Molly recognized the man leading the group, the Lord of White Mountain Territory, Baron Ster Bole.
However, at this moment, his face was full of fatigue and weariness, completely devoid of color. His hair was a mess, his clothes were torn and tattered, he looked thoroughly disheveled, lacking even the slightest trace of noble dignity.
Closely behind him were Ion Soderbell and Roda.
These two were equally ragged and exhausted.
Further behind them were the twenty or so surviving soldiers.
These soldiers now carried a solemn aura, like veterans who had endured countless battles, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call them seasoned warriors.
From Molly’s perspective, she could even see that the aura surrounding several of them was robust and flourishing. With enough resources, such individuals had nearly a fifty percent chance of becoming Bloodline Users.
At that moment, it seemed as if everyone felt fortunate.
Expressions of joy and excitement, like they had just escaped certain doom, spread across their faces.
But what caught Molly's eye was that Baron Ster’s expression held no such joy. Instead, he was vigilantly observing his surroundings.
This made Molly realize that the Lord of White Mountain Territory might have figured something out.
So, without any further delay, she led her soldiers out from their ambush position.
The next moment, every joyful expression froze.
All except for Baron Ster, whose face suddenly showed a kind of relieved release.
This made Molly even more certain, the Lord of White Mountain Territory had fully understood his fate.
He turned to Ion and said, "Just a single Third-Tier Bloodline User. I’ll hold them off. You and Roda take the others and break through! Once you return to White Mountain Territory, you’ll be completely safe."
A mocking smile surfaced on Molly’s face. "Do you think they’ll actually get away?"
...
A middle-aged man clad in leather armor stepped toward the scorched corpse whose body had been severed.
With a grave expression, he glanced around the area. Only after confirming there were no traces of a third person did he slowly squat down and begin examining the corpse.
"So this is the power the Bourbon lineage hid away all those years? It truly is terrifying."
The middle-aged man quickly stood up. As he turned around to leave, his body froze instantly.
Because at some unknown point, Yam, still wearing his flaming armor, was standing right before him!
"I'm quite interested in the Bourbon lineage you just mentioned," Yam’s voice was hoarse. "Do you mind telling me more?... Though I think you probably don’t mind, do you?"