Free Web NovelChapter 1814: Epic Duel
The thick smoke continued to blanket the battlefield.
Somewhere within it, the two remaining devils moved cautiously. Their third companion was already dead. His desperate cries for help still continued to echo in their minds.
Neither of them had even managed to determine how Berger had done it. All they knew was that one moment their comrade had been alive, and the next he had been reduced to a mutilated corpse lying somewhere within the smoky haze.
Since then, neither devil dared to lower their guards. Nor did they dare to fall for the haunting voices calling out to them in the smoke.
Every shadow looked suspicious. Every sound made them tense. Strange silhouettes continued to drift through the haze. Grotesque figures appeared at the edge of their vision before vanishing moments later.
Distant laughter echoed from everywhere. At times, they could hear footsteps circling them. Other times, whispers seemed to brush against their ears. The smoke had become a prison of terror, and Berger was its warden.
Suddenly, one of the devils sensed danger. He quickly turned around and unleashed a blast of [Hellfire]. The attack tore through the smoke and ended up striking... nothing. Nothing was there.
An illusion once again.
Then a [Wind Blade] struck him from the side. Hot blood sprayed from the gaping wound in his torso as the devil staggered.
However, before he could recover, a sword coated in shadow magic flashed in the air and drove straight into his heart.
Before the devil died, his horrified gaze locked upon a human, who coldly stared back at him through the smoke.
In the distance, the other devil, oblivious to his companion’s death, continued to warily tread through the smoke. No matter how many times he tried to escape this hazy domain, he’d always return to the place where he started.
Suddenly, the smoke around him got denser. The devil’s instincts flared as he felt the impending threat to his life. He abruptly swiped his claws and parried an incoming [Wind Blade]. Then he hastily erected a [Mana Barrier] and blocked several more blades.
Splat!
The devil coughed a mouthful of blood. He lowered his head and saw a hand coated in tyrannical mana jutting out from his chest. It wasn’t long before he breathed his last and collapsed to the ground.
Behind him, Berger appeared like a ghost. With a simple hand seal, the smoke on the battlefield rapidly dissipated, revealing three more figures...
Daniel Ranzenberg, Nylian Feno, and the Hermit.
Berger silently observed the three as he wiped the foul blood off his hand. All three of them had been heavily injured. Dried blood clung to their clothes. Blood-stained bandages were wrapped around thier bodies. They were exhausted, but ready to fight.
"What’s gotten into this one?" Berger couldn’t help but ask as he looked at Daniel’s dark and gloomy expression.
Nylian smiled awkwardly. The truth was... even he did not know how to react after what the Hermit revealed to them about Marden Benton.
The Hermit asked an important question: "What about the enemy commander? The one they call Volgron."
Berger casually said, as though not at all worried, "Blackie’s taking care of him."
"The wolf?" The Hermit’s eyes slowly widened. "Alone?"
"Aye." The gnome nodded.
"Then what are we waiting for?!" Nylian was the first to rush toward Blackie’s battlefield.
"What’s wrong with you?" The Hermit couldn’t help but ask the gnome. "Isn’t he your familiar? Are you not concerned about his condition?"
Berger sneered. "I’d be more concerned about the one facing Blackie."
He didn’t elaborate further. Instead, he silently followed behind Nylian.
The Hermit and Daniel exchanged glances and then followed suit.
***
The battlefield of the Hidden Ruler and the Proud Sun was a scene of utter devastation.
Deep ravines crisscrossed the land, carving through the earth like gaping scars. Massive craters littered the battlefield, marking the locations where devastating spells had collided. Not a single stretch of ground remained untouched.
The sounds of explosions constantly echoed across the region. One detonation had barely faded before another followed.
Intermixed with them was the deafening sound of tearing. It was the shrill noise produced whenever Tian Di’s razor-sharp mana threads sliced through the air, through spells, and occasionally through the landscape itself.
Mountains of rubble had been reduced to dust. Hills had been flattened. Entire sections of the battlefield had been reshaped by the sheer violence of their clash.
And yet...
There was still no sign of a clear victor.
Hours had passed. Countless attacks had been exchanged. Both men had suffered injuries. Both had pushed each other to the limits. Yet neither side had managed to gain a decisive advantage.
Until finally, a change occurred...
After a thunderous clash, the two quickly separated and created distance. This time, however, neither followed up with another attack. Instead, both simultaneously turned to look in a certain direction. freēwēbηovel.c૦m
There, two Mana Core-level azirais were rapidly flying toward them.
Lucian’s expression turned utterly solemn as he circulated the mana inside him. He then turned to look at his opponent, and suddenly... his eyes narrowed.
He was surprised to see that Tian Di’s expression had twisted into a dark scowl.
Throughout their battle, the Hidden Ruler had always appeared confident and aloof. For the first time, he had displayed such a dark, negative emotion.
And Lucian couldn’t help but wonder what the reason behind it was. But his confusion was very quickly cleared.
As the two devils flapped their wings and approached the battlefield, they gripped their weapons tightly and glared at the Acadian Emperor with hostile intent.
Suddenly...
Tian Di’s hand blurred.
Thud! Thud! Thud! ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
The pair of devils dropped from the sky. Their bodies had been cleanly severed into multiple pieces before they even realized what had happened.
Tian Di stared at their corpses with utter contempt and said with a voice dripping with indifference and venom:
"The audacity to think I would require their assistance. Filthy creatures. Even death is not punishment enough."
Lucian blinked.
At last, he realized the reason for his opponent’s sudden change in demeanor.
Turns out... he was insulted, he mused.
"Come, Lucian." The Hidden Ruler turned toward him. "No one will interrupt our battle."
With that, he flexed his fingers and got ready for combat once more.
The Proud Sun’s lips curled into a smirk, and he commented.
"And I thought I was prideful."
He lowered himself into a combat stance as well.
With no one left to disturb their epic duel, the two clashed once again!
