Chapter 925 - Jinjing Hati Kristal - 9

Orion made gestures with his hands that were precise in movement...

They moved in complex orbits following paths suggesting sophisticated control systems. Each crystal maintaining a specific distance from others.

It was something she hadn’t seen before. And that made her cautious despite her forward momentum. Unknown capabilities were the most dangerous because you couldn’t prepare for what you didn’t understand.

The earth began trembling again.

A vibration that was familiar from when the mutants had initially arrived but that now had an increased intensity communicating that what would come would be on a larger scale than what had occurred previously.

The barrier resisted her charge again.

And shortly after, directly beneath the exact position where Selphira was maintaining her push against the barrier, the ground fractured as dozens of mutants emerged simultaneously.

Not individual creatures attacking randomly but a coordinated wave converging toward Selphira from below. An approach that exploited, once again, the moment where she was committed.

It was almost the same tactic he’d used before.

But Selphira eliminated them with ice she manifested almost casually.

The projection froze mutants before they could reach the distance where claws and jaws would be a serious threat. Spears of ice erupting from beneath them, frost encasing them mid-leap or simple energy pressure executed with minimal mana expenditure because she’d done this thousands of times.

It was ridiculous that even partially exhausted and facing another surprise attack, her capability to respond to multiple simultaneous threats remained formidable.

The mutants were just annoyances... Not actual dangers to someone of her caliber. Orion would need more than Silver-rank corrupted beasts to seriously threaten her even in her current depleted state.

But while she dealt with the mutants emerging from below and pushed against the barrier, Orion exploited the distraction again to launch the black beams.

Yet Selphira blocked the beam this time with an ice shield she materialized reflexively.

The shield formed in a fraction of a second. Dense defense, optimized for stopping penetrating attacks.

The beam struck... The ice cracked, but held.

Good, she’d adapted.

But the second beam broke through the barrier.

Selphira covered herself with a smaller ice shield that she materialized reflexively, but even the new barrier broke under the impact of the second black beam that Orion had launched.

And that second shot that had followed almost immediately behind the first one sent her flying again. The momentum threw her several meters backward before she could arrest the movement and land this time in a posture that maintained some dignity despite the violence of the impact.

She hit hard but had learned from the first hit. Adjusted her defensive stance fast and prepared for the follow-up she knew would come.

And it had come. Just as predicted, because Orion was nothing if not consistent in his exploitation of openings.

Orion continued launching more beams. Observing with deep attention how the old woman healed quickly, judging by the manner in which she’d stood from the first blow that had connected moments before.

It was a regenerative capacity that exceeded what most tamers could manifest. And it suggested that if he wanted to incapacitate her permanently, he would need to inflict damage at a rate that surpassed her insane repair capability.

If he could maintain hitting attacks, eventually the accumulated damage would overwhelm her mana.

It was still a war of attrition... And he had the advantage because she was already depleted from fighting through his armies..

And though he didn’t want to spend the crystals too much on a prolonged bombardment, he recognized that anyway these crystals didn’t wear out as fast as the "erosion" lines had initially made him believe.

They were artifacts ’designed’ for prolonged use. Not just disposable tools but weaponized tamer’s systems meant to last through extended campaigns.

The ancient civilization had transformed them to endure.

And once his plan was fulfilled, he would have access to even better tools still. The ancient technology was simply too good. Superior to anything the present civilization could fabricate.

Better materials and better understanding of fundamental principles. The ancients had reached heights that modern tamers couldn’t even imagine, much less replicate.

So he wondered again, as he had done countless times during years of research, how they had been so absolutely idiotic as to disappear if they had such power at hand.

It was a paradox that genuinely puzzled him. How had a civilization with access to such extraordinary intellectual resources collapsed so completely that only dirty ruins remained?

No gradual decline, just... gone. Disappeared so thoroughly that even their name had been lost. Only their structures remained as testament to what they’d achieved.

But then he thought that perhaps they were fools in the same way that Yino’s leaders had demonstrated being fools. Misuse of advantages and shortness of vision.

Developing incredible power but neglecting to cultivate the wisdom necessary to use it responsibly. Creating tools that could reshape the world but lacking the judgment to prevent those tools from being turned toward destructive ends.

Human stupidity could truly reach infinite levels when given the opportunity to manifest without appropriate restrictions. It was a lesson he observed repeatedly in multiple contexts. And apparently it transcended eras and levels of technological sophistication.

The ancients had probably destroyed themselves. Not through external conquest but through internal collapse.

But now Orion was picking through their remains. And he was determined not to repeat their mistakes.

Orion emerged from his mental wandering because he wasn’t managing to hit Selphira again despite continuing to fire beams with frequency that should eventually result in connection through simple probability.

It had been different, impacting her from very close when he hadn’t given her appropriate time to react. But at the distance they now maintained, the old woman was too good at dodging and deflecting with that damned strange and annoying fusion that should already have ended according to his calculations of how long that technique could be sustained based on observations of Victor and calculating the reserves that Selphira had available.

Victor’s fusion had lasted double this thanks to his potion... But Selphira was older.

Yet it had been longer than that.

Either his calculations were wrong or she had reserves that exceeded his estimates. Neither possibility was comforting.