"Shandian scum!"
Squelch!
Shura swept his spear free of the corpse before him. Flame crackled as the burning body plummeted.
"Carl Russ!"
The sight sent Wyper into a rage. He bit through his lip without noticing. He had always known the Priests were strong. Otherwise, the Shandia would have seized at least some Bast long ago.
But this time, the Priest's attack was stronger than ever. String Clouds were everywhere, packed so densely that they bound every warrior tight.
"The Ordeal of String isn't as simple as you fools think!"
Shura roared and charged his next target, spear in hand. Just as its tip was about to pierce the man, his ears twitched. He twisted aside, dodging an attack from behind.
Standing on the tough String Clouds, Shura stared at Wyper in surprise.
"Impossible! How did you break free of the String Clouds?!"
Apart from Wyper, the other Shandian warriors remained securely bound, unable to move. String Clouds were a specialty of Birka, and they had never let Shura down.
Even the sacrificial victims who had escaped by sheer luck had only managed it after the String Clouds snapped their arms and legs. And to deal with Loa, he had spared no expense in laying down even more of them. Once caught, even an elephant could not break free!
Yet Wyper stood before him without a scratch!
"Was it the Flame?!"
Shura looked at the corpse lying at Wyper's feet and suddenly understood.
"My comrade lit this flame of hope with his life. Now taste the strength of the Shandia!"
Whoosh!
Wyper tore the still-burning String Clouds from his body, swiftly loaded a gas dial into his bazooka, and pulled the trigger. A stream of blue flame erupted.
Flame raged, setting vast stretches of forest ablaze.
A long while later...