"Surround it!"
In truth, Caleb did not even need to give the order. Everyone was already looking for an opening, and in the next instant they unloaded on Rek'Sai with everything they had.
Unfortunately, all of it struck that hardened shell. Only Renekton's great blade managed to leave a mark with any real depth.
Stone crumbled into dust, plasma blasts exploded into clouds of smoke, and even the Hextech bow failed to pierce Rek'Sai's armor. Even Caleb's missile and Sivir's crossblade only scraped pale lines across it.
"Tch." Caleb crooked a finger.
Yuumi instantly got the message, attached herself to him, and hit him with Zoomies.
A bloody mist surged across Caleb's face and body, making him look like a demon fresh out of hell. His three-section spear dropped into his hands, while more and more crimson tissue spread over the outside of his body.
That was the new tissue Yaanogel had grown over Caleb's body.
It was also exactly what allowed Caleb's body to withstand so many violent impacts.
The rune power in the area was drawn into him without end.
Boom!
Just like the day he fought Xerath, a sonic boom exploded behind Caleb once again.
This time, he was even faster than before.
His face had already twisted completely, every line of it fierce and savage.
"Die!" Yaanogel's roar nearly split the sky.
Unlike everyone else there, Renekton knew his former commander's style all too well.
All offense, no defense, the same style as some apex predator that lived at the top of the food chain.
Whether before Ascension, or after becoming a revered Ascended warrior, Yaanogel had always fought the same way.
Reach the absolute peak of speed, then skewer the enemy clean through.
Thud!
Compared to Rek'Sai, the body Yaanogel was using was tiny.
And yet with that single blow, Rek'Sai's head was knocked violently to the side.
Her massive body slammed against the ground and kicked up a huge cloud of dust.
Everyone except Renekton immediately turned to deal with the Xer'Sai.
Having them take on Rek'Sai directly would have been asking too much.
But keeping the lesser spawn from interfering with the battlefield was still well within their abilities.
Different people carried different responsibilities, even Taliyah, the one with the least combat experience among them, understood that much.
Rek'Sai shook her head furiously in rage, and Renekton seized that instant to drive his great blade deep into one of her joints.
For the sake of flexibility, even an exoskeleton would always be weaker around the joints.
That much, Renekton understood very well.
Thick green fluid spilled out, and Rek'Sai immediately let out a shrill scream.
After settling here for so long, this was the first time she had suffered an injury like this.
"Hey, idiot! Hungry?"
Yaanogel burst out of the haze with a gale at his back.
"If you are, eat this spear!"
The spearhead drove viciously into Rek'Sai's eye. With a savage twist of his wrist, Yaanogel destroyed one of her eyes on the spot.
Underground, Rek'Sai located enemies by listening to their footsteps.
Above ground, she naturally relied on those eyes.
Her scream shifted from fury to pure pain, and all around them the Xer'Sai swarmed frantically toward the center of the battlefield.
"The pressure just shot through the roof!" Sivir shouted at Kai'Sa's side.
Her crossblade flew out and returned, while Kai'Sa killed the Xer'Sai in front of her with a single strike. As for the ones trying to burst out of tunnels and ambush the three of them, Taliyah sent them all crashing aside.
Kai'Sa and Taliyah had worked together like this before.
As for Sivir, she had fought alongside enough people that she quickly fell into rhythm with the other two.
...
"This thing's shell is still tough as hell!"
Yaanogel threw back his head and laughed. Several of Renekton's attacks had ended with his claws snapping.
That spear, though, was simply tyrannical.
Renekton had just been sent flying by a tail swipe from the burrowing beast, but now he was already back at its side again.
Yaanogel restrained it, Renekton finished the cuts.
The two of them had fought on the same battlefield long ago, so each knew the other's habits inside and out.
"This level of Void creature thinks it can rule this land?"
"Does it really think Shurima has no one left?"
Yaanogel was so angry he almost laughed.
Back in those old campaigns, how many Void monsters had poured forth without end?
How many god-warriors had fallen in those battles?
Something on this level would have only counted as a somewhat tougher foot soldier back then.
Rek'Sai opened her enormous jaws and lunged at the tiny creature before her.
Why? Why?
How could a body like that erupt with such overwhelming power?
Most of Rek'Sai's days were spent ambushing travelers or breeding more offspring.
This was something she could never understand.
"Keep wondering, then die wondering."
Yaanogel's voice was vicious, filled with endless killing intent.
The sonic barrier shattered once more, leaving broken stone scattered across the ground.
The spearhead erupted with a blazing, incandescent light.
This was Yaanogel's true Ascended power.
The power of the Sun Disc raised anew!
Yaanogel plunged straight into Rek'Sai's open mouth.
Her teeth did not even have time to close.
The outer shell might have been hard, but the organs inside would always be soft somewhere.
Far away in the high sky, a beam of light descended and completely engulfed Rek'Sai.
Renekton did not stay idle either, he hacked off both of the "queen's" front claws.
Old butcher's work, practiced and efficient.
That radiance came from the Sun Disc rising high in the distance.
By the time the dazzling light finally faded, Rek'Sai was already little more than a shriveled carcass.
The Xer'Sai all went mad, lashing out in every direction without discrimination.
Caleb's footing grew unsteady, and his face turned a little pale.
The final burst of impact had still been more than enough.
"Shurima's power really packs a punch..."
The main thing was that the spearhead had been enchanted, with Yaanogel's own understanding of the Void layered on top of it.
With the Sun Disc's blessing, that final thrust had not even used its full power.
If he really had gone all out, Caleb's body probably would have come apart on the spot.
Rek'Sai had never even gotten the chance to make use of the tunnels below before Yaanogel killed her on the spot.
If she had managed to get back underground, there was no way Yaanogel could have caught her.
That was why the window of opportunity had been both precious and fleeting.
Yaanogel's very first strike had hurt Rek'Sai badly, so they absolutely could not let her retreat into the tunnels.
That was also why it had mattered so much that Kai'Sa and the other two had not let a single Xer'Sai enter the battlefield.
Otherwise, with hit-and-run attacks from tunnel to tunnel, this species would have become a nightmare festering in Shurima's heart.
"You okay?" Seeing Caleb swaying on his feet, Kai'Sa hurried over to support him, worry plain in her voice.
Caleb gave a small shake of his head to show he was fine.
Yuumi, meanwhile, was completely dizzy, barely staying afloat thanks to the Book of Thresholds holding her up.
"This is way worse than portal sickness..."
Those bursts of acceleration from Yaanogel just now, even for a yordle cat, were not the kind of speed she encountered often.
"Next, we've got to deal with what's over there."
Sivir and Taliyah also came over and pointed into the distance.
Toward the huge hole Rek'Sai had torn open.
"There are probably still hatchlings inside. Given enough time, some of them could grow into queens themselves."
Kai'Sa's expression turned serious. She had seen plenty of Void species over the years, so she understood this better than anyone.
"So someone has to go in and finish the job," Caleb said with some difficulty.
"Then who's going?" Renekton came over as well.
He had just finished confirming Rek'Sai's death in the most thorough way possible, by chopping her into several pieces.
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