It was a perfect, lethal ambush.
But Sol's enhanced senses immediately detected the displacement of air. He felt the cold, creeping killing intent zeroing in on his spine.
But incredibly, Sol didn't care. He didn't drop his guard against the beasts in front of him. He didn't engage his Dreadwing agility to dodge. He simply continued his downward slash, entirely ignoring the lethal threat lunging at his unprotected throat.
Just as the Ghost-Mantis was in mid-air, its scythes mere inches from Sol's skin, a sharp, supersonic CRACK tore through the humid air.
A massive, heavy, obsidian-tipped arrow, thick as a spear and trailing a blue aura of concentrated Vanguard essence, accurately and violently pierced the air from a hundred yards away. It struck the Ghost-Mantis directly through the side of its head, the sheer kinetic force shattering its chitinous skull and instantly extinguishing its life.
