Seeing that the first one to die was from his camp, and it was even a lizardman that was a mid-level Transcendent, the Chief was angered.
His muscles trembled, and while holding his long spear, he launched himself at Wyden.
He recognized this young Butterfly Nymph as the son of the previous nymph's Chief. This young man was known to be talented, advancing to the mid-level Transcendent despite being young.
Given enough time, he could definitely become another high-level Transcendent, and that is not something that the lizardmen can tolerate.
To prevent that from happening, he must be killed today.
"Trash! Face me!" The lizard roared as he thrust his spear against Wyden, who blocked it using his wooden pole.
However, there was indeed a disparity between the two of them, considering the small realm difference.
Wyden felt like he was holding back a large boulder from falling. His arms trembled while he gritted his teeth, using every ounce of strength he could muster to block.
The nearby lizardmen tried to attack him while he was occupied, but the other nymphs are not for show.
They first released what looked like specks of pollen to the lizardmen using their wings, and some of them grew sluggish. A sense of drowsiness momentarily affected them, but they were able to easily shake off the pollen's influence.
This pollen was a natural ability of the Butterfly Nymphs, much like how spiders can create a spider web or how some snakes are venomous.
It was not a magic skill, simply an inborn ability. The Butterfly Nymphs can release pollen through their wings and spread it by flapping the same wings.
They also have immunity to their pollen, making it so that they are unaffected. If not for the fact that their sleep pollen is not hard to defend and not really potent, it would be a really overpowered ability.
Unfortunately, the sleep pollen was only able to affect the lizardmen for a moment before they shook off its effects.
Still, this did give the nymphs some breathing space as they succeeded in injuring some lizardmen.
"Hmph, petty tricks" the Lizardman Chief muttered in disdain before focusing on Wyden again.
As long as he kill this young nymph, the morale of the enemies would definitely plummet, and it would be easier to subdue them.
Thinking of that, the chief controlled his mana. As a Transcendent, he had awakened an Innate Magic, and he now plans on using that.
While the spear and wooden pole were locked against each other, the chief swallowed air, causing his lungs to expand.
Wyden sensed the danger, and he stopped blocking, opting to dodge.
In the next moment, the Lizardman Chief released a jet of water from his mouth. If not for Wyden dodging in time, he would have been heavily injured.
Still, things do not end there. The chief continues to release jets of water from his mouth.
The speed was quite fast, and Wyden was also forced to use his own Innate Magic.
"[Enchantment!]"
Wyden's Innate Magic was rather simple. If a normal Butterfly Nymp's pollen can simply make people drowsy, he can use his Innate Magic to create pollen that could enhance his weapon.
With his control, the sparkling blue pollen was absorbed by his wooden pole, and he used it to block the water jet.
Unfortunately, the difference in their realm remained, and Wyden was thrown into the air from the impact.
Despite enhancing his weapon's power, he still failed to successfully defend.
Seizing this chance, the Chief rushed at Wyden, intending to skewer the latter with his spear.
Wyden knew that he could not defeat the enemy chief just by using his own power, and he decisively took out the Blood Boiling Mushroom bestowed upon him by the Mushroom Spirit.
Without hesitation, he swallowed the mushroom. A hot current immediately exploded from his stomach, spreading to his whole body.
His blood heated up until it boiled, and Wyden groaned in pain. He recovered his footing and met the lizardman's spear with his wooden pole.
With the enhancement brought by the mushroom, Wyden doesn't feel like he is blocking a large boulder anymore. Their strength are now more or less the same, the chief was just slightly superior to him.
Of course, this new power was just temporary, and he had to finish the battle as soon as possible.
When Wyden swallowed the mushroom, Nexus, who was some distance away from them, sensed it.
Using the connection he has with the mushroom, he controlled it so that it would not kill Wyden directly.
As soon as Nexus tried to do that, he felt a sense of pressure bearing down on him. It seems like preventing deaths was possible, but it requires Nexus to actively control it.
Controlling one mushroom is doable, but if all ten mushrooms are eaten, Nexus felt that he could not save all ten nymphs at the same time.
It was like using one's body. Using one or two hands at the same time is not that hard. However, if the person has to use both hands, feet, and even tuck their stomachs and blinking their eyes rapidly while using their ears to hear a conversation, the task's difficulty will rise exponentially.
Nexus was in a similar state. He just hoped that not all ten mushrooms would be eaten and that these nymphs would not go back on their own words.
Back to the battle, it was not only the chiefs of both tribes that are fighting to the death. Their own respective tribesmen are also locked in a fierce battle.
"Hahaha! Die!" One of the lizardmen successfully broke through the defense of a nymph and stabbed the latter with his spear.
The poor nymph died with resentment, but at the same time, this lizardman lowered his guard, giving another nymph a chance to kill him.
"You killed my father!" The nymph cried while smashing his pole at his father's killer. That strike, coupled with the fact that the lizardman was distracted, enabled him to damage the enemy's internal organs and bones.
Soon, the lizardman fell, but before he did so, he managed to strike back at the nymph, leaving a gaping wound in the nymph's shoulder.
"You're injured!"
Seeing a nymph that she could save, Iruline immediately went to her tribesman's side. Her wings lightly glowed with a green light as she released green pollen.
She controlled the pollen, and they flew towards the nymph's wound, stopping the bleeding. If given enough time, Iruline can slowly heal this surface wound.
Unfortunately, in this battlefield, there was not enough time.
"Thank you, Iruline" the nymph said before joining the fray once more, intending to avenge his father by killing more lizardmen.
As for Iruline, she remained behind. She, too, was an early-level Transcendent, but the Innate Magic she awakened was not suitable for combat. She is the one and only healer of the tribe.
Unfortunately, since her realm was low, she could only heal minor wounds, and even that takes some time. Unsuitable for this kind of environment.
The battle continued, and despite having more members, there are more nymphs that died compared to lizardmen.
It can't be helped. While the enemy high-level Transcendent was tied down by their chief, the remaining enemies are stronger.
If this situation continued, the nymphs would definitely be wiped out. As such, the martyrs hesitated no more. They ate the Blood Boiling Mushroom.
Seeing her tribesmen do that, Iruline also ate a mushroom. She knows that she cannot stop Wyden from eating the mushroom, but Wyden also cannot stop her from doing the same!
In an instant, the fighting power of the other nine nymphs increased. Those who are at the early level gained the strength of the mid-level, while those who are already at the mid-level reached the high-level.
"Madmen! They actually ate Blood Boiling Mushrooms!"
"They are not afraid of death!"
"Damn these Butterfly Nymphs! They are trying to take us down with them!"
The lizardmen watched in horror as the situation was instantly reversed. With the consumption of those mushrooms, the nymphs gained the upper hand, and the lizardmen are starting to be crushed by the enemy.
"Damn it!"
While the chief was locked in his own battle, he still witnessed what happened, and he tried to help his people, but Wyden blocked him.
"Move!" The chief roared, but Wyden simply swung his wooden pole, and the chief was forced to block it with his spear.
Not only that, but two nymphs that temporarily gained the strength of high-level Transcendents also turned to attack him.
"Hmph, don't think that you lot can defeat me!" The lizardman said menacingly before taking out a blue stone
"A water stone! Stop him!" Wyden recognized what the stone was and he hurriedly swung his pole again, trying to stop the enemy from using their treasure.
If Wyden and the nymphs have the Blood Boiling Mushrooms, how could the Lizardman Chief nor have his own trump card?
He was just unwilling to use the Water Stone due to the side effects of falling one small realm.