Chapter 1394 - One Mind, Five Bodies (Part 2) The first group used the combined effect of Griffon Fetters and Dragon Maw to drag Sunset further away while raining spells upon it. Griffon Fetters used light to shapeshift quickly, earth for sturdiness, water for flexibility, fire to generate heat, air to make the chains diamond-sharp, and darkness to deal damage over time. The longer rider and steed got restrained by the spell, the more damage piled up. On top of that, the cage created by Dragon Maw kept the offensive spells from leaving the area, making them bounce on the walls and hit their target without wasting one iota of mana. "Impudent brats!" Dusk said with a roar as his flaming red aura spread outward and his body bulged, pushing the chains’ resistance to its utmost limit. All undead could convert the life force stored in their blood cores into mass, but only Liches were capable of converting their mana into life essence, making their potential mass limited only by their magical prowess. It gave Dusk the strength to move despite the restraints and to shatter all of them with a single swing of Firebrand. He wielded the ax in a two-handed grip to exploit every bit of the power he had just consumed. ’What the f.u.c.k?’ The squad in charge of Dusk thought in unison. ’We knew that Firebrand is powerful but that’s too much. How did he escape to three combined tier five Spirit spells?’ The flaming red aura had also extinguished the emerald flames of Phoenix Smash, neutralizing the advantage that the surprise attack had given to the Corpse. On top of that, it opened a crack in the second Sealed Space, allowing the Horseman to communicate with his steed. "Sunset, to me!" Dusk said while charging at the Marchioness. The brief exchange and how the thoughts moved through the mind link mostly from her to the others identified Mirim as the leader. Taking her out would make the rest of the battle much easier. He was as fast and strong as a Dragon, too much for Mirim to react in time. Dusk had moved in a straight line, the quickest path to reach his target. Yet it was also the easiest to predict. Lepto struck at Firebrand’s tip with his mace while Jhoa pulled the ax away thanks to the hooks at the end of her curved blades. The weapons of the members of the Corpse had barbs that allowed them to take hold of enemy weapons and move them in every direction. Dusk was fast, but not faster than thought, giving Mirim the time to issue orders through the mind link. Her soldiers deviated Firebrand from its intended path and she struck the ax with a downward slash of her polearm. The hit dealt no damage to the Davross but it added so much momentum that the Horseman found himself spinning uncontrollably in mid-air like a top. The Corpse used that moment of confusion to get back to a safe distance and resume their attack. At the same time, Siska and Shad unleashed one blast of Phoenix Smash after the other upon Sunset. Thanks to Dragon Maw, the shockwaves bounced on the walls so that Sunset always took the full brunt of each explosion, and thanks to Dusk’s order, the movements of the steed became even more predictable. Even though it was covered in Davross, even though it was made of the purest white crystal, there was only so much damage the steed could take. Its surface started to crack and each crack grew bigger by the second. The Red Sun realized his mistake and ordered his steed to focus on the defense while he used Life Maelstrom to enhance every aspect of his being to the utmost limit. A Spirit Blink allowed him to appear in front of Mirim despite the city arrays. Watching at the fear in her eyes was just icing on the cake, his real purpose was to strike where she was at her weakest. Everyone expected people to move behind them, leaving them exposed. The exit point was too close for her polearm to be effective and Dusk moved too fast for anyone to react properly. Dusk swung his ax in a downward slash, cutting off Mirim’s right arm and her leg at the knee. His goal had been to cut her asunder, but the Marchioness had managed to move away just enough to save her life. Only darkness fusion kept her from fainting from the pain while light fusion kept her from dying of physical shock. Lepto and Jhoa moved to stop him before the Horseman could finish the job, but they moved in slow motion to his eyes. He breathed a violet burst of Origin Flames that engulfed Mirim and seeped inside her armor through the open wounds. ’She’s dead.’ Dusk thought while looking at her dwindling life force. ’I know the Corpse well and their members don’t have any breathing technique.’ The Red Sun ignored the other opponents and went to rescue Sunset. Baba Yaga would surely reprimand him for following Orpal’s advice and taking his steed without permission. If he broke it, however, the Red Mother’s rage would know no bounds. Dusk had no idea to what lengths Baba Yaga would go to punish her unruly children and had no intention to find out. He activated one of Firebrand’s spells, Solar Flare, releasing a burst of red flames that broke Sunset free of the spells that restrained it and engulfed the two members of the Corpse in living fire. Not only did the spell have uncanny destructive power, but it also released such heat that Solar Flare made it impossible for its victims to breathe. Not even the Featherwalker armor could take so much punishment and the metal started to melt. The enchanted protection saved the people wearing it from harm, but they felt akin to being cooked alive. The two members of the Corpse used water magic to cool down the air inside the armor and activated Life Shield. It was one of the spells imbued within the Featherwalker armor which allowed its user to project outward the energy sheath that usually coated the Adamant. It consumed a lot of energy but it also gave them a safe space and the time they needed to recover. Using so many tier five Sprit Spells had drained their bodies and minds, making them easy prey for the unrelenting Horseman. Undead didn’t suffer from fatigue, only from hunger. Liches, however, didn’t suffer from anything. Their mana could run low, but their mind would always be at its peak. Dusk jumped on Sunset’s back, using its abilities to drain the world energy and recover his dwindling strength. Empowering an entire army of undead, taking so many powerful spells at point-blank range, and using so many Guardian bloodlines’ abilities had taken a toll on him. Dusk couldn’t afford to waste time and use Invigoration, but Sunset’s enchantments made it akin to a breathing technique yet without any drawback. His bottom had barely touched the crystal horse’s back when an emerald beam of light hit him square in the middle of the head.