F-ranker Sword Saint: My Soulbound Sword is Secretly SSS-tier!-Chapter 367: Tumbling Around To Victory

In the dark aquamarine night, three gray-skinned humanoids emerged from a small crack in space.

It was so small that the three barely fit, yet Ae’shkar and his comrades did anyway.

Their eyes settled on the Verdant Nucleus in the near distance.

With Sylvares’ innate Sword Skill, the effects of the space distortion on their progress were lessened by a whole fifty percent.

They had basically won this stage already.

After all, the chances of someone other than Sylvares having the same abilities were almost nonexistent, especially among the humans.

They had seen what all three could do. None of them wielded sway over the Continuum.

The toll of keeping a spatial pocket active was horrifying, fiercely draining the Veshari’s consumable reserves, but everything was worth it.

"Hahaha, poor humans." Shae’kharis laughed. "Wouldn’t it take them at least another week to arrive at the nucleus like this? Longer if they’re unlucky...and they don’t seem like the lucky bunch, encountering us."

Ae’shkar, meanwhile, did not seem to be in too good a mood despite their lead.

He lost again to Onimaru Kunitsuna.

However, this one wasn’t as difficult to swallow, as the bastard turned out to be extremely strong.

Ae’shkar was, in all honesty, taken aback by how mighty the hateful human S-ranker was.

The bastard was probably an anomaly among his rank, and if he wanted to defeat Onimaru Kunitsuna, then the first thing he must do is discard the disdain in his heart.

He must truly acknowledge the S-ranker as an equal, as abhorrent as the taste and sound of that was.

The future is long.

Today, he shall settle for two losses and one minor win with the help of his comrades. After the race, he would research the bastard’s identity through his grove elders’ channels.

Exiting from Sylvares’ Spatial Pocket, the surroundings were different than when they entered.

This was expected, since the space outside was being greatly distorted while they remained locked in place.

With the Verdant Nucleus two or three Hissing Cycles away from them, the Veshari trio set out.

The two SSS-rankers chatted.

Ae’shkar, meanwhile, remained deep in thought. Shae’kharis and Sylvares didn’t care enough about him to bother.

Around twenty-five minutes later, the Hissing was upon them again.

They’ve made great progress.

In just another cycle and a half, they would claim ownership of the Verdant Nucleus.

Not that it mattered when their opponents were left so far behind.

By the time they arrived, the Nucleus would probably be accessible once more.

Hiding in a tight Spatial Pocket, the three watched the deathly plumes.

They had the luxury of one good eight-hour sleep before they claimed the Verdant Nucleus, so there was really no need for any of them to sleep right now.

They would do so comfortably in the next cycle...or so they thought.

The usual calm of the Hissing was suddenly broken by an approaching rumble.

A bit bewildered, the Vesharis turned to the source, their eyes widening at the odd wheel that was quickly approaching, seemingly zooming due to the contraction of space during the first half of the Hissing.

Daru and the others felt that they were going very slowly, as they didn’t want to bump into any trees.

Yet, to the eyes of the outsiders, they were moving fast.

The Verdant Nucleus was offering itself closer, too.

"What is that thing?!" Shae’kharis snarled in alarm. Ae’shkar and Sylvares only watched in dumbfounded silence.

However, it was clear that they were threatened by that odd wheel, too.

It was, after all, the humans who had the capability to think of such dumb yet effective methods.

The Vesharis eyed the thing intensely as it approached west of them.

Soon, it got close enough, and their eyes noticed silhouettes from the sealed hollow of the dead tree.

It was indeed the humans.

"No...NO!!" suddenly roared Ae’shkar.

He was going to be defeated again?!

Shae’kharis and Sylvares didn’t sound as pathetic, but they, too, were clenching their fists and gritting their teeth.

Hard.

As much as they wanted to stop the bastards, the moment they opened the Spatial Pocket would be the moment they doomed themselves.

The three grays could only watch as the Timber Tumbler tumbled to victory.

Infuriatingly, the Verdant Nucleus was so close that they were tortured for more than half an hour by the sight of the humans’ roller vehicle "parking" itself right next to the nucleus and waiting for the Hissing to end.

Then, to their further torture as the deathly phenomenon neared its end, the humans were pushed farther and farther away in the right direction.

Sylvares soon unsealed the Spatial Pocket, and the moment it opened, Ae’shkar burst forth in desperate anger.

"Ae’shkar!!" roared the Veshari champion, patience thinning.

The three of them, including the anger-blinded idiot, knew that desperation wouldn’t help. The humans had stolen the lead through an immaculate mix of ingenuity, recklessness, and desperation.

The SS-ranker Veshari slowed to a stop upon hearing the furious tone in Sylvares’ call.

"Don’t bother."

Sylvares’ next few words sounded as if he had already let go of his anger, and that he was back to operating using sheer cold logic.

"Let’s meet with the others first and try to pick off enemies to disrupt their formation. Then we’ll catch up through superior numbers."

***

The hardened gray sap covering the Timber Tumbler’s entrance flew with a vicious kick.

Daru, Elara, and Durandal then exited with smiles of varying degrees on their faces.

It was naturally the princess who expressed herself the clearest, even giggling in glee.

"Hahaha! Eat that, uglies!"

Then, without hesitation, she pressed her palm onto the Verdant Nucleus, claiming it for herself while the two stood guard.

Nothing attacked.

Less than half a minute later, the princess felt the connection.

They now knew that the Verdant Nuclei wouldn’t separate them, so without hesitation, Daru and Durandal pressed their palms on the floating pearl.

A notification appeared in front of them as the world warped:

[Sigrun has accepted your request to use Verdant Nucleus #@^&!3.]