Chapter 122: Power in Numbers
A grin spread across Reign's face at the sight of so many hunters, filling him with a sense of satisfaction and joy.
He was certain that after this confrontation, he would emerge much stronger.
The abundance of skill points and Mutation materials he expected to acquire would propel him higher.
"Surround it!" Rudy ordered.
The ground shook as the hunters charged towards him, their bodies blurring as they confront Reign.
He could feel their collective strength radiating from them.
While they might not be individually powerful, when united like this, the power emanating from them was no less powerful than the force Jayden unleashed in their previous fight.
But instead of stopping, Reign continued to run towards them.
He bared his claws and met them head-on, his own power surging through his body.
He felt exhilarated at the prospect of going all out and testing his abilities against so many opponents.
The first hunter closed in, sword raised high, aiming to deliver a decisive downward slash aimed at his skull-face.
But Reign was faster, his lightning reflexes allowing him to perceive the attack in slow motion.
He dodged to the side, the sword cutting through the air harmlessly at his right side.
Then, in a blur of motion, Reign pivoted on his heel and delivered a powerful punch that shattered the hunter's sword and sent him hurtling through the air.
But it did not stop at that.
There was a sickening crunch as the first hunter's body collided with another person, shattering both bodies upon impact.
The others hesitated for a moment, stunned by what they had just witnessed. It came on them that blocking an attack from Reign was close to impossible.
But their shock was short-lived, quickly dissipating as they heard Rudy's command, pushing them to regain their composure.
Everyone tightened their grip on the handles of their weapons and took deep breaths to steady their nerves.
They had been trained for this moment, and now was the time to demonstrate all the effort they had put into their training.
"Surround him and keep your distance ," Rudy shouted to his allies as he witnessed how effortlessly Reign pulverized his opponent.
He knew that any attempt to fight Reign one-on-one would likely result in a single one shot blow.
In Reign's case, with the immense gap in power, he could kill e five opponents with just one punch if he so desired.
"Don't get near it!" Rudy shout out another order,
The hunters encircled their target and kept their distance , their swords ready to be used anytime.
They were aware that individually they weren't particularly strong, so it was important for them to exercise caution.
However, despite the gap in power, they still had something in their favor.
There was a reason why hunters had managed to hold their own against demons all this time—they had a method for synchronizing their attacks.
In addition, their technique and strategy were ingrained with the habit of incorporating their powers with one another.
This was how Weaker hunters had managed to survive thus far.
"Hawk Formation!" shouted a man in his 40s, a practitioner of the said breathing technique.
This served as a signal to everyone else who could use the same technique.
They moved to the front, their gaze fixed on Reign, who was standing leisurely in the middle for some reason.
It was a strange move on his part, but for the hunters, it was the perfect opportunity.
In perfect unison, they inhaled deeply, drawing in air with incredible force, their chests expanding as they prepared for their next move.
"Hawk Breathing Technique... Wind Slash!" They roared, their voices echoing across the battlefield.
With their breath infused with the power of the wind, they released a simultaneous attack, unleashing razor-sharp gusts of air towards Reign .
As the Wind Slashes hurtled towards Reign, he remained composed, his mind racing with calculations.
He focused his energy inward, enhancing his bones and layering his body with thick exoskeletons.
His form bulked up, becoming a formidable wall of defense against the incoming attack.
His figure resembled that of an armored human, his height remaining the same but now at least twice as wide, radiating an imposing presence.
When the Wind Blades crashed against his reinforced body, their sharp gusts unable to penetrate the dense layers of his exoskeleton, which had been tempered with both negative energy and the lightning element.
Lightning element possessed the strongest penetrating power among all elements, but Reign's bones were able to withstand it before.
Thus, mere winds like these posed no issue at all.
'They're too weak,' Reign thought to himself.
He deduced that Jayden was an anomaly because, right now, he couldn't perceive anyone who could pose a threat to him.
"Is that all you got?" Reign taunted them, reveling in his new original form he called as his Tank Mode.
In this state, his movements were slower, but his defense was much harder and tougher .
Even if there were any scratches or superficial damage on his exoskeleton, as long as he had the energy, he could regenerate and repair it in real time.
He found inspiration when he saw those armored tanks that attacked him, and with his intelligence and control over his bones, it didn't take him long to figure out what to do next.
Now, the only ways they could damage him were either by exhausting his energy, which would require a long amount of time, or by launching an attack strong enough to penetrate his armor in a single strike.
"Damn it, nothing's working!" a hunter grunted in frustration as their Wind Slashes were all deflected by Reign.
With each failed attempt, their desperation grew.
"Let's try that technique! Tornado," one of them suggested, prompting the others to contemplate for a moment.
It was a powerful technique that required at least Fifteen hunters with any breathing technique related to wind.
But if executed correctly, the power it could generate was at least triple their current output.
Normally, this technique took time to execute, making it unsuitable for fast-paced battles.
However, seeing Reign only standing up gave them the perfect opportunity to unleash it.
"Let's do it," the other hunters agreed with the plan.
The Fifteen hunters familiar with this technique separated from the rest of the group.
They began breathing in more air and then ran in a circular pattern while slashing their swords.
"Hawk Breathing Technique... Tornado!" they roared as they unleashed the final slash, initiating the chain reaction.
This created a sudden movement of wind, growing stronger and stronger until an actual Tornado formed, inching towards Reign.
Surprisingly, it also sucked in the wind slashes of the other hunters, amplifying its strength and causing it to grow larger and larger.
The wind started howling violently as the Tornado grew more powerful, fueled by the hunters' continuous efforts to feed it more wind.
Seeing this, Reign decided not to dodge the attack , and test his current power.
Instead, he created multiple sharp long bones and anchored himself deep into the ground.
'Let's see how powerful this form is' Reign's eyes gleamed dark red as he prepared his body to withstand the attack.
His exoskeleton became more condensed, turning completely black as he infused it with more negative energy.