Chapter 237 - Clash of the Legends (2)
3
Oooooh……!
The wave of Dragon Demon magic surged forward like a storm.
Those that were exposed to this power trembled, and a stillness descended upon the deep reaches of the decimated Balan forest.
However, it lasted only for a moment. Soon, the battlefield started moving again.
The combatants had been fighting a fierce battle with the opponents in front of their eyes. Some unknown power had appeared, and it had overpowered their senses. However, they didn’t have the luxury to be distracted. This was especially true with those that were fighting the Guardian Shadows. Unlike the living foes, the Guardian Shadows weren’t subject to changes in emotions. The Dragon Demon King worshippers, who showed an opening, were ruthlessly cut down.
“Your a.s.s has gotten heavy, Almarick!”
Azell moved towards Almarick. He had been fighting the Dragon Demon King worshippers, so there was a couple hundred meters of distance between the two of them. However, it didn’t matter.
During the Dragon Demon war, the two of them were known for being the strongest in terms of using the clone technique. It was an extremely difficult technique that could only be used by Spirit Order and Dragon Arts pract.i.tioner. The possibility of pushing the Incarnation technique to such levels was unimaginable to others. Both of them had transcended time and s.p.a.ce in terms of battle concept.
“I’m sorry for making you wait. I had to carry out my duty as a commander. I got swamped by a heavy workload. You should be understanding since are less busy than me. You are also young.”
Almarick laughed like a fierce beast as he blocked the sword swung by Azell’s clone.
Pah-jee-jee-jee-jeek!
When the swords clashed, lightning exploded forth. Almarick destroyed a clone with one strike, yet another clone of Azell attacked from the back.
Almarick didn’t even turn to look.
Kwahng!
Azell’s clone was pushed backward as an explosive sound rang out. One of Almarick’s clones had been deployed to block Azell’s clone.
At the same time, Almarick’s true body was starting to push forward. Azell also was walking forward. His red hair was blowing in the wind as he walked through the pandemonium.
“I owe you a debt from our last fight. Since you gave me a very warm welcome, I’ll have to give as good as I got.”
Azell spoke. There was over 200 meters between them, but it didn’t matter. The two of them were speaking through their clones.
The clones clashed at the midway point. Explosions and lightning bolts detonated. Several dozen clones kept appearing and perishing. The process kept repeating itself.
“I see. It was a poor welcome, yet you thought it was a warm welcome? It really hurt my heart that I can’t extract the interest from the debt you incurred to me.”
Almarick retorted. In the past, Almarick had lost to Azell, and he had suffered a critical wound. In the end, he lost his life to Duke Croix Nidel.
In this era, Almarick had pushed Azell to the brink of death twice. However, it wasn’t enough to wipe out the debt. One of them had to die to settle the debt owed to each other.
Pah-jeek! Pah-jee-jee-jeek! Kwah-gwah-gwahng……!
The two were taking big strides towards each other. Their epic battle started to dominate the battlefield. The air shook each time the clones clashed. Fierce gale was swirling around the combatants. Every combatant, who had been fighting, looked over to check out the fight. Their mouths fell open from shock at what they saw.
“The sky……!”
There was even a change to the weather.
Dark clouds were quickly gathering above them, and there was an increase in precipitation within the wind. A beam of light split the darkening sky.
Almarick spoke.
“Sky Splitter. The king really wants that weapon, but I’ll have to commit an act of disloyalty. I’ll destroy it.”
Azell didn’t back down as he gave his retort.
“Storm’s Scream. I bet you want to hand it down to your descendants as a legacy. It symbolizes the long years you’ve lived. Unfortunately, it will disappear from this era.”
The two of them put on a smile full of killing intent.
They hadn’t stopped moving. Clones kept appearing and disappearing around them as they conducted a fierce battle. However, Azell and Almarick were calm. As they controlled their clones, they kept a steady pace.
This sight was awe inspiring.
The fight hadn’t started in earnest. The clones, who were fighting around them, were mere warm ups to the main fight.
Despite this fact, they were dominating the battlefield. The tension was making it hard for others to be breateh. It was as if they would be flattened by the pressure.
“My G.o.d. This is the power of those that took center stage at the Dragon Demon war…...”
The White Sword Count Bakard Lakadi, and Kairen were called living legends in this era. They had lived in an era where a vast majority of the techniques had been lost thanks to the machinations of the Plain of Darkness. Still, they had been overflowing with talent, and they were able to reach a supernatural level through neverending effort.
When they were young, they had admired the heroes of the Dragon Demon war, but on the other hand, they were sure that they weren’t too far behind in power compared to those that fought in the Dragon Demon war. The only difference was the era they were born in. This prideful belief continued to grow as they fought for the Guardian Shadows. It grew when they took on the mission to protect the world.
When they were able to meet and accept Azell as who he really was, they couldn’t hide their admiration towards him.
Anyone in this era would have reacted the same way.
On the other hand, their compet.i.tive spirit was lit on fire.
Would their powers work against the legendary hero?
“…we are still too far off.”
At that moment, they realized how childish their thoughts were.
Azell and Almarick finally reached a distance where they could exchange sword strikes.
Almarick spoke.
“It seems we’ve warmed up. Why don’t you show me the power that killed the king?”
“As you wish.”
Azell let out murderous intent as he laughed.
The blue longsword clashed against the translucent greatsword. The shockwave shook the battlefield, and it was the start of the true battle.
4
Azell was known to be the best in the Dragon Demon war when it came to cloning technique.
It was an era filled with genius fighters. Despite this fact, not many were able to learn the Incarnation technique. Amongst those that were able to learn it, no one could give substance to their clones like Azell.
This was also true for Almarick, who was better at the cloning technique than Atein.
Almarick could simultaneously create 16 clones. Azell could manifest twice that number.
This didn’t mean Azell could dominate Almarick in the battle of clones. The last fight between Almarick and Azell had been a desperate struggle.
Almarick had run away after suffering a severe injury. Duke Croix Nidel had to track down and kill Almarick instead of Azell. It turned out that way, because Azell had also suffered serious injuries in the battle. He hadn’t been in a state where he could track down Almarick.
Pah-cheet!
Light and thunder clashed against each other as sparks flew.
Pah-jee-jee-jeet!
Azell’s clones were made out light, and Almarick’s clones were made out of lightning. As the clones clashed, it shook the firmament.
Kwah-kwah-kwah-kwah-kwahng!
As the consecutive explosions rang out, the true forms of Almarick and Azell ran across the ground. They used Instantaneous Movement to change location each moment as they clashed, and the shockwave shook the ground.
-Come Dragon Demon weapon! Moon sword!
In the middle of the battle, Azell summoned another Dragon Demon weapon. It was the sword he inherited from his third teacher Liglan. It had an insidious ability of taking control and absorbing the magical energy near its vicinity. The sword shone in the hands of a clone.
“Clumsy.”
At that moment, Almarick’s clone appeared in front of the clone holding the Moon sword. The arm of the Azell clone was severed, and it was blasted out of existence by a lightning bolt.
Another Azell clone appeared as it stabbed towards the Almarick clone. However, an expression of surprise appeared on the face of the Azell clone.
The Almarick clone had cleaved the arm of the Azell clone, yet it didn’t hold any substance. The Azell clone had stabbed empty air.
Instead, the false clone on the side was suddenly infused with substance, and it struck out with a powerful attack.
Gwah-gwa-gwa-gwahng!
The lightning swallowed up the Azell clones as it attacked the true form of Azell. This was a destructive power that exceeded Azell’s Thunder Dragon’s Horn.
‘As expected, he is formidable!’
Azell could only grit his teeth when faced with the calculated attack.
In terms of number, Azell should be able to overwhelm Almarick, but victory was elusive. The two of them were fighting a battle that had a razor thin margin. A single mistake could cause one to take a grievous injury.
As a clone technique pract.i.tioner, Almarick was much better at giving and taking away substance to his clones. Azell continued to maintain a certain number of clones with substance, and he dismissed the clones when needed. Then he recreated the clone with substance at a different location. He repeated this process. Almarick didn’t need to dismiss his numerous clones. The clones slid between substance and no substance in a seamless manner.
Moreover, each clone held more power. Azell was able to generate overwhelming power through Dual Banding, but Almarick had a bigger container. Almarick’s clones were able to hold more power. Almarick held an upper edge in those aspects.
Basically, Azell was superior in terms of generating power in short bursts. In terms of maintaining power through a longer period of time, Almarick was better.
“I know humans have a surprising ability to evolve, but your skills haven’t grown much. Is it because you’ve already reached a too high of a level?”
The true bodies clashed against each other. Lightning erupted when their swords met. The gale was so fierce that it was hard to breathe, and the consecutive thunderbolts detonated as they caused the firmament to shake.
Azell broke out in cold sweat.
‘This b.a.s.t.a.r.d’s technique has gotten better!’
In terms of handling the clones, Almarick’s technique had developed magnificently.
The ability to transfer substance between the clones had already been displayed during the Dragon Demon war, but there had always been a slight hitch when he used it in battle. However, the transfer happened naturally now. The clones slide between substance and nonent.i.ty like flowing water.
‘He disguised himself as an old man to spend the past 50 years in retirement. Did he just work on his technique during that time?’
Almarick’s cultivation of the technique had grown so much that Azell had such thoughts.
At some moment, the equilibrium was broken.
Ggwa-gwahng!
Azell staggered on his feet.
For a brief moment, the control over the lightning was lost by Azell. Almarick used this opportunity to kick Azell.
An explosive sound rang out, and Azell was sent flying into the sky. It was as if the dark clouds were swept up by a current, and a thunder fell from the sky.
Gwah-roo-rooong! Gwa-gwah-gwahng!
The thunder wasn’t able to reach the ground. It couldn’t pierce through Azell. His sword took hold of the thunder before it could do that.
Almarick didn’t land his attack, yet he was undeterred. In the first place, the attack was merely a strategic move.
-Sword that Cuts through the Storm!
It was one of the secret techniques that made everyone tremble during the Dragon Demon war.
The thunder, which originated from Almarick on the surface of the ground, shot into the sky. For a moment, the whole world was dyed in white. The thunder that surged up from the ground struck Azell.
Gwah-gwa-gwa-gwahng!
The thunder exploded as it ripped apart the sky. The storm was ripping apart the surrounding as the aftereffects of the attack hit the surface of the ground.
“s.h.i.t! This is ridiculous!”
Kairen gritted his teeth as he protected himself with the Dragon Soul.
In his initial fight with Almarick, Kairen had taken the initiative. He didn’t give Almarick the time to use his power, so he was able to fight on even ground with Almarick. This time Almarick was able to deploy his clones in the beginning. When Kairen saw the full extent of Almarick’s power, he was at a loss for words.
If one had mediocre skill, even the secondary effect of the fight could kill them. Azell had become strong, but he said he couldn’t guarantee a victory against Almarick. Kairen now knew why he had said that.
“Azell……!”
Laura’s face turned pale.
After using the calamitous attack, Almarick hadn’t stopped. He calmly readied the next attack.
‘I have to stop him!’
It happened when Laura was about to use her Dimensional Distortion.
Pah-jeek!
Something stopped her magical energy from forming the spell.
Laura’s shocked eyes took in the sight of Almarick’s clone. It seemed Almarick caught wind of Laura’s meddling, and he had stopped it.
“Laura, I do not take you lightly. No, it is the same for all of you here.”
This was why clone technique users were terrifying. They could be in multiple locations, and they could monitor several locations concurrently. They could do it without messing up their movements.
Almarick’s clone kept attacking Laura. She was being pushed backwards. The nearby enemies recognized Almarick’s intent, and they started focusing their attacks on Laura.
‘No!’
Laura’s heart sank.
She saw the exploding lightning, and the irregular flow of power. The lightning should be spreading out in a random pattern, yet it was sucked into Almarick’s sword. It was an unnatural sight.
“Thunder G.o.d’s…….”
The translucent blade burned white, and in a flash, it turned into an enormous sword burning with lightning. This was a technique he had used against Yuren. When Azell and Almarick clashed, a storm of lightning had formed. Almarick used this power for his own use, and he created a calamitous attack that could wipe out tens of thousands of lives.
“…Sword!”
The destructive sword divided the sky.
It was like taking a hot knife to a b.u.t.ter. Everything within the sword’s path was cleaved. The dark clouds burned up, and the clear sky could be seen.
Then…….
Kwahhhhhh……!
It was as if the sword had cut until it reaches the boundary of heaven, and the aftereffects of the attack turned the battlefield into living h.e.l.l.