Below the stone pillar where Coppelia and her companion stood, dense scratching sounds came from the rock wall.
Several sharp-clawed Vishaps, adept at climbing, had already scaled more than halfway up the rough rock face, now only a few meters from the top.
At the same time, several fully condensed elemental orbs from the distance tore through the air, whistling as they shot toward their position.
"Fly up!" Coppelia shouted.
Before her voice had faded, Columbina had already activated her power. A traction force wrapped around Coppelia, and the two abruptly detached from the top of the rock pillar, rising rapidly.
Cryo orbs wrapped in cold air, Electro orbs pulsing with lightning, and heavy, turbid Hydro orbs grazed past the soles of their feet, slamming viciously into the top of the pillar.
The muffled thud-thud of impacts mixed with the hissing sound of electricity tearing the air. The cold mist triggered by the [Overload] reaction instantly permeated the air, and cracks bloomed on the rock surface struck by the Hydro orbs.
About the top third of the stone pillar crumbled with a crash, shattering into a dozen rocks of varying sizes that plummeted downward. Several Vishaps that had climbed halfway were struck on their heads and spines by the falling debris. With a hiss, they fell into the cluster of their kin below, along with the sky-filling spray of gravel. The group of Vishaps at the base of the pillar immediately fell into chaos, crashing into each other with continuous low growls.
Seizing this interval, Coppelia, having risen to a high vantage point, drew Amos's Bow once more. A light arrow condensed on the string. She divided her focus, manipulating Geo elements to rapidly construct a thin-shelled hollow stone sphere at the tip of the light arrow. Separated internally by a thin wall, she injected pulsing Electro elements into one half and scorching Pyro elements into the other. A structured "Explosive Arrow" was thus formed.
Coppelia fired several arrows in succession.
Twang! Twang! Twang!
The explosive arrows shot toward the distant Vishaps that were reopening their mouths to charge power.
The arrows hit their targets or the nearby ground. The Geo elemental spheres shattered, causing the Electro and Pyro to clash violently. The [Overload] reaction triggered intense, small-scale explosions.
Several Vishaps were flipped over by the shockwaves, staggering backward. The elemental power gathering in their mouths dissipated, and their formation fell into momentary disarray.
Coppelia's gaze swept quickly over the area below. The Vishaps' attention seemed to have been drawn to the vicinity of the collapsed stone pillar, and their ranged attacks had paused due to the explosions. Now, there were few guards remaining by the pile of Moonlight Stones on the white sandy beach.
"Quick! Go now, grab the stones and run!" she shouted to Columbina.
Columbina immediately adjusted her direction, taking Coppelia with her as she shot toward the pile of Moonlight Stones in the center of the cave.
However, the chaos at the base of the stone pillar did not last long.
Several robust Vishaps, finding their climb obstructed, quickly gave up and turned to rush back to the clearing. They craned their necks, light glowing in their mouths as multi-colored elemental orbs began to condense once more.
More and more Vishaps followed suit, turning toward the aerial targets and opening their massive maws.
Coppelia and Columbina had not yet flown half the distance when their field of vision was filled with a woven tapestry of elemental light.
More than ten orbs of light shot at them from all directions, their trajectories intersecting, almost sealing off all space for evasion and completely drowning the pair's figures in a violent turbulence of energy.
Coppelia immediately released a massive amount of Geo elements, instantly forming a heavy spherical shield that protected her and Columbina within.
Crack—
The first wave of attacks struck the shield, and cracks spread like a spiderweb. The shield held for barely more than a second before shattering completely.
Coppelia did not pause in the slightest. She pressed her hands forward into the void, drawing out even more Geo elements. The instant the old shield shattered, new shields were generated simultaneously—two layers in total, with an even heavier structure.
Bang! Thud! Zzzzt—!
Outside the shield, elemental orbs of different attributes struck in succession. Icy mist permeated, electric snakes darted wildly, and water waves crashed. Blinding light flickered constantly; through the violently trembling Geo elemental barrier, only a chaotic blur of light and shadow could be seen.
Coppelia could hardly distinguish the specific location of the Moonlight Stone pile, let alone fire explosive arrows through the shield.
No good, the firepower is too dense!
"Find cover first!" Coppelia decided promptly.
Columbina took her into a sharp turn, narrowly avoiding two grazing Electro orbs, and hid behind another, thicker stone pillar nearby. The elemental orbs chased after them, most bombarding the front of the stone pillar, emitting continuous explosions and causing gravel to rain down.
The Vishaps evidently realized that this ranged volley was extremely effective. They no longer attempted clumsy climbing but instead stopped in the clearing or at the edge of the shoals, raising their heads with elemental light shining continuously in their gaping maws.
The attacks became even more intense.
Wave after wave of elemental light orbs bombarded the stone pillar serving as their cover.
Rumble—!
After a concentrated volley, a snapping sound came from the middle of the pillar. Two wide cracks appeared, cutting across the shaft. Immediately after, the entire pillar snapped into three sections at the waist, crashing to the ground with a deafening roar, kicking up sky-filling dust and causing the ground itself to tremble noticeably.
Before the stone pillar completely collapsed, Coppelia had already had Columbina fly her toward another sturdy rock pillar.
Careless... Coppelia realized. We didn't thoroughly scout the overall layout of the cave and the distribution of the Vishaps beforehand, which led to our lack of terrain utilization and difficulty in launching counterattacks... She understood that staying in the open to endure the volleys would only make their situation increasingly passive. They had to disengage temporarily and replan.
Her gaze swept rapidly toward the direction they had come from. The entrance to the cave tunnel connecting to this place was still clearly visible and hadn't been blocked by the Vishaps.
"Retreat! Take the path we just came from!" Coppelia made a quick decision.
Columbina did not hesitate at all; she immediately turned and flew toward the tunnel they had arrived through.
Coppelia maintained the shield, opening small gaps to fire explosive arrows one by one, using the explosions to slightly disrupt the Vishaps' attack rhythm.
Several clusters of elemental light orbs trailed wakes behind them, grazing the edge of their flickering shield and hitting the side rock walls, blasting out craters.
The two rushed into the arrival tunnel at top speed. The moment they entered the passage, the final layer of the Geo elemental shield behind them let out a crisp sound and disintegrated completely. Fortunately, the last few pursuing attacks struck the rock wall at the outer edge of the tunnel entrance. The shockwave pushed the pair forward, causing them to stumble a few steps, but they were not directly hit.
They did not stop, speeding inward along the winding tunnel, leaving the clamorous entrance behind.
The rumbling explosions, the Vishaps' furious roars, and the sounds of shattering rock continued to pour in from behind, echoing through the passage without ceasing.
It was not until they had traveled a sufficient distance and the noise became blurred that Coppelia signaled to stop.
She had Columbina sit on a relatively flat stone to rest while she raised Amos's Bow once again. Her arrow pointed back the way they came, her eyes fixed tight on the area at the tunnel corner, which flickered between brightness and shadow from the explosions. The Vishaps might very well pursue them.
____
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