Irvin got up from the ground.
His complexion was pale and a bit of blood was coming out of his mouth, the previous blow had injured him internally.
Kevin didn't waste any time as he charged in his direction, yet his speed was lower than before, apparently, the technique had slowed his movements in exchange for great strength and defense.
Irvin dodged the charge and swung relentlessly the water whip in his hands.
The whip clashed multiple times with Kevin's skin leaving deep marks and some cracks on it.
Kevin didn't seem to care and continued to chase the retreating mage.
Irvin's hit and run tactic seemed to work since cracks kept on accumulating on Kevin's body but then, Kevin threw his hammer toward the mage.
The heavy hammer flew at an insane speed and almost hit Irvin that dodged at the last moment.
However, when the hammer met with the ground, a big tremor was created unbalancing Irvin's posture and halting his escape.
Kevin made use of this chance to get close to Irvin and deliver a massive strike but the mage's whip transformed again in a shield that blocked the hit.
Irvin was once again flung away.
This time it took him longer to get up, the second wave of internal injuries had weakened him thoroughly.
When he managed to stand up he found himself looking at Kevin's giant figure in front of him that had already raised his hand to strike.
"You lost Irvin."
His fist descended and was about to hit the mage when a thunderbolt hit Kevin straight at the center of his chest.
Kevin was sent flying and when he hit the ground his body turned back to its original appearance, his technique had expired!
A black web of burned flash that was releasing smoke constituted the wound on his chest.
Kevin coughed and tried to stand up but there seemed to be no more strength left in his body as he pointed with his arms on the ground just to fall again on it.
Irvin relaxed and sat casually, then he looked behind him and angrily yelled.
"You took your fucking time! I was almost gone for good!"
A tall man dressed in green large robes appeared from a hole in the mountain.
His skin was pale and some drops of sweat were on his forehead but he was smiling happily in spite of everything.
"I'm sorry Lord Irvin, as you know it still takes me a lot of time to cast this spell."
The tall man went close to Irvin and handed him a bottle with a white liquid.
Irvin took it and directly drank it, a bit of color returned to his pale cheeks.
"Tsk, to think that the family values you so much because your attribute is of the thunder element. It's a pity they only gave you that slow spell."
Irvin shook his head but his attention was on Kevin still struggling to get up.
"Julian, don't bother about him, the technique he used earlier left him exhausted so he is not a threat anymore."
He closed his eyes for a brief moment and then spoke again.
"My injuries are too serious, I can't help in this fight anymore. The next phase of the mission is up to you."
Julian bowed and closed his eyes to focus.
Meanwhile, on the caravan.
The group of cultivators was creating chaos inside the escort's lines of defense.
Noah was moving between the top of the carriage and the fight below him trying to tilt the scales of the battle but he was having poor results.
The soldiers became wary of him when he killed one of them and chose to slow their offensive to limit their losses.
They had a higher number of cultivators after all, so a prolonged fight would benefit them more.
Noah could not find any valid opportunity to increase their chance to win.
Then Kevin transformed and fought on even ground with the water mage lifting the morale of his soldiers that fought with more fervor.
However, Noah's mood became gloomy.
'We might win this battle but we will never reach the mansion. If these are the troops that they can send out in mission how many more there will be defending the treasury?'
In his mind, he understood that they had miscalculated Tobias Lansay's strength.
'I was too rash, I should have never accepted this mission. My power is only equal to that of these cultivators and they are being used as pawns! Now I'm stuck here to hope that Kevin will win his fight and help us'
A bit of frustration was building inside Noah due to the situation he was in and he could not help but blame himself for his recklessness.
'No point in holding back then.'
From his position on the top of the carriage, Noah slashed the air in the direction of the enemy soldiers.
Fourteen wind slashes shot out in the direction of the cultivators, one for each of them.
The cultivators were forced to block or dodge the strikes and could not focus momentarily on the men around them.
Some of Kevin's soldiers managed to take advantage of this situation and wounded the enemies' cultivators making them retreat.
One of them though surpassed Kevin's men and went straight for Basil's carriage.
Noah jumped down the carriage and clashed with the man's sword blocking his advance.
More than ten collisions rang out in the battle as Noah and the soldier didn't hold anything back in their attacks.
Noah's acupoints were refilling his body of "Breath" at a way higher speed than the normal one since in Twilboia Cliff the "Breath" concentration was greater, so he could keep fighting at full force even after his previous display of power.
The swordman and the kid proceeded on fighting making metallic sounds reverberate in the battlefield.
Then a rumble burst out from the sky and a thunderbolt fell on the carriage where Basil was staying.
The thunder was massive and directly blasted the carriage apart.
A shockwave then spread from the area of impact of the spell sending everything from its center away.
Noah was too close to the carriage and was overwhelmed by the shockwave that launched him past the narrow road and over the cliff.
Noah could not stop himself from falling in the gorge.