As a beastlike growl spilled from his throat, fine cold sweat exploded across his back. The sensation of having his vitals barely brush past Yama's razor edge made his heart feel ready to burst. His blood boiled and surged straight to the crown of his head. He had no time to celebrate surviving, because the two attacks, summoned by their master, abruptly wheeled around 180 degrees in midair and shot straight toward his vital point!
"How dare you—"
A hoarse roar rang out, and martial energy condensed into a projectile.
The shattered stones beneath his feet shot into the air, forming an egg-shaped barrier.
The two attacks slammed head-on into the barrier with a noise that nearly burst the eardrums. The martial officer at the center naturally suffered the brunt of the impact. Even as the sound waves battered him, he clenched his jaw and swallowed the sweet metallic taste surging up his throat, along with the dizzying sensation of being beaten by waves and forced to drift with the current. Before that dizziness had fully passed, those golden bronze maces came crashing down from above, aimed directly at his crown. Carrying a terrifying momentum unmatched by ten thousand men, the bronze maces made the head beneath his helmet feel as though it were caught in a raging sea.
He could only meet them head-on and counter force with force.
Whether because the air was too hot and stifling or for some other reason, after barely deflecting most of the bronze maces' force, he endured the turmoil in his organs and the pain of his martial energy surging backward and running wild. Warm, viscous sweat slid slowly from the center of his brow, mingling with the rain.
It passed the bridge of his nose, revealing a smear of pale red.