tMontra was surprised that Sila"s strength exceeded his expectations again. In addition, rather than a gradual increase in strength, it was like Sila had an unnatural sudden leap in power. Sila today couldn"t be compared to the Sila he had met in the Town of Beginnings.
At that time, Montra could use only half of his power, though he utilized Martial Radiance Art to become slightly superior to Sila. With him being more skilled in martial arts and spearmanship, he could defeat Sila. Although it was true that he eventually escaped, it was because Sila unexpectedly possessed the ability to revive and used Revin as a hostage, driving him into an unfavorable position.
Today, he possessed Triple Sky Energy and there were no restraints on his power anymore. As such, he firmly believed that he was superior to Sila both in qi arts and martial arts.
Especially when he held a spear in his hand, there would be no way for him to lose.
Nevertheless, for Montra, the overall situation was more important. He flicked his left hand once and his mage staff was released from beneath Sila"s foot.
“Ramiel, proceed with the plan.”
Ramiel got over his shock and a pair of white wings spread from his back. He summoned more barriers to separate everyone belonging to the Wicked Union.
Each powerhouse was imprisoned in a separate barrier while the ordinary guild members were imprisoned together in a larger one.
It was difficult enough to manipulate terrain or summon a large barrier. However, Ramiel was above and beyond that. He could summon a complicated barrier with multiple layers. Everyone present was bewildered by the fact that such complex magical constructs were created by a single being.
Montra gave a command. “Let them watch. Trick Master, you go and kill those Royal Armament Guild members.”
“Roger, Mister Montra.” Trick Master soared into the group of players like a wolf entering a sheep den. The flashes from magic spells were blinding. Blood, screams, and death filled the area.
Tiger and Luna concentrated on defending against his attacks. However, Trick Master"s spells weren"t that powerful but they were tricky and quick. It was likely that he would be able to kill Jundtrathep soon. When that time came, it wouldn"t be an exaggeration to say that the Royal Armament Guild had lost.
Every powerhouse tried their best to break the barriers in front of them, but they couldn"t do it. The barriers were too strong and durable. No matter what kind of attack they used, they left not even a single scratch. Even Shueria, who continued striking at it, couldn"t break it.
Montra looked at the restlessness on everyone"s expressions with satisfaction. War is a strategy game. Cross not immediately attacking him once he had arrived was a bad move. It was their grave error to leave Ramiel unchecked and with enough time to memorize all of their positions.
There were only two players that had yet to try attacking the barrier. They were Bluebird and Sila. The former was aware of his ability and knew that it was useless for him to try to break the barrier while others couldn"t do it. As for the latter, he just wasn"t in the mood to care about it yet.
In the midst of the sounds of people killing each other, Sila was surprisingly calm. His mind was crystal clear and the deaths of others wasn"t affecting him in the slightest.
Sila lightly tapped his hand on the barrier while recalling the words Pumin once told him.
Don"t be impatient. You will waste more time if you act too rashly...
Sila imbued the power he borrowed from the great flow in his hand. In that instant, he could discern the barrier"s element. At first glance, Ramiel"s barrier looked st.u.r.dy and impenetrable, so he thought it was of the metal element. However, it was, in fact, the power of the wood element. The actual reason why the barrier was seemingly unbreakable was its ridiculously high regeneration ability.
"Metal splits wood. To break it, I need to strike it with a simple yet strong move in a single area, penetrating it in one go."
Just a moment ago, Sila didn"t exert the Five-Attributed Cloud Qi"s full potential yet. The qi"s prominent point was the power to temporarily change Sila"s elemental affinity to increase the effectiveness of his moves against the various kinds of opponents. Just now he had only used his martial art, Formless Martial G.o.d, strengthened by his qi without specifying an element.
Attribute of Metal — Metal Stomp.
Sila raised his foot and kicked the barrier with an illuminating powerful strike. The barrier broke in one hit. Witnessing the sight, the people on Montra"s side changed their expressions. It was their first time seeing Ramiel"s unbreakable barrier collapse after one strike.
Shatter—!
The first time might have been a fluke, but Sila proved that it was truly his strength by using Metal Stomp for the second time, destroying the barrier surrounding Sebastian.
Shatter—!
Once his kick connected with the barrier, it shattered like a mirror, releasing Sebastian from its hold.
“Go and defeat Ramiel.” Sila"s eyes were cold and merciless. This could be considered the first time he intentionally gave Sebastian an order.
Sebastian felt fear and ecstasy at the same time. He bowed deeply.
“May I ask you to release Lookhin and Mamon first, sir? Those two are—”
Sila turned his head to Montra again without any interest in Sebastian"s words. “Those two were never caught to begin with.”
Once Sila said as much, everyone shifted their eyes to Mamon and Lookhin. Looking closely, they realized that the Mamon inside the barrier was just a projection from a small floating device. As for Lookhin, it was only after they stared intently at her figure that they could see that the girl they saw was, in fact, a group of small night b.u.t.terflies.
It turned out that both of them had been looking for a chance to make a preemptive strike from the start. The moment Sila advanced to attack and everyone focused their attention to him, Mamon and Lookhin left fake bodies with their individual skills. Then, when Ramiel thought Montra was in danger and the giant barrier showed an opening, they hurriedly went outside before anyone noticed.
“What about the others, sir?” Sebastian turned his head to see the people trapped inside the barrier.
“It"s safer there,” replied Sila. He wasn"t sure what would happen next, so he thought it might be a good idea to leave them inside the barrier.
“Roger, sir.”
Sebastian took out the C-grade metal halberd that he borrowed from the Royal Armament Guild"s storage and rushed to Ramiel, who was the key player of the war.
Lost Ghost and Cheris advanced to block Sebastian"s path. Although they didn"t know Montra"s entire plan, they were aware that Ramiel was the one responsible for creating all of the barriers. If something happened to him, the Royal Armament Guild would immediately gain an upper hand.
Thirty black javelins and ten invisible sword waves flew at Sebastian. Nevertheless, Sebastian"s speed didn"t slow down. That"s because he believed in Sila who was rushing toward them.
Attribute of Wood — Artificial World.
Everything around Sila seemed to slow down. Both the javelins and the sword waves were moving slowly thanks to the wood-element temporary domain, especially Lost Ghost"s javelins which Sila could tell were of the earth element due to their adhesion. They were almost completely transfixed in the air.
Sila pushed Sebastian out of the domain. Once he regained his freedom, Sebastian showed the might of his recently learned weapon art—Subjugating Halberd. His killing intent was powerful enough for Ramiel to have no choice but to block the halberd"s strike with a materialized shield.
Sebastian excelled in attacking while Ramiel excelled in defense. The fight seemed to be a battle of attrition. Both of them tried to distance themselves from Sila with different reasons in their minds. Sebastian wanted Sila to act without caring about him while Ramiel was worried that Sila might give Sebastian a hand. As a result, both of them gradually ran off and disappeared from everyone"s line of sight, leaving only the continuous sounds of a halberd clashing against a shield.
The most unfortunate person at the moment would be Lost Ghost. His body was within the range of Sila"s temporary domain. The element he had the highest affinity for was the earth element, which was weak against the wood element. Speed had never been his prominent point, but he was now almost frozen.
As for Cheris a.k.a. Yardpirun, her situation wasn"t good either. She figured Montra was suspecting a traitor within the Five Dragon Warlords. Thus, she completely immersed herself in Cheris" persona. She believed the damage to the team was negligible even if Montra managed to kill Sila today. However, if a spy like her was caught, it would become a big blow to them.
Both Lost Ghost and Cheris felt like the air around them had the same density as water. They had a hard time moving their bodies. On the other hand, Sila could casually approach them. He slowly lifted his hand up like he was a grim reaper delivering judgment.
Because he was using the attribute of wood, Sila couldn"t use the power of other elements. When it came to the wood element, it excelled at slowing and controling. He could touch his opponents and have his qi invade their bodies to attack their internal organs.
While Lost Ghost and Cheris were about to be guided to the palace of the dead by the grim reaper"s hand, a certain rigid power shot at Sila while destroying his Artificial World along the way.
Sila jumped back, retreating. He looked at the way the attack came from and saw Montra holding a spear instead of his usual mage staff, a white aura shrouding his body.
"Montra used the same method as me; metal splits wood. I guess the element he has the highest affinity with is the metal element, like my dad. Well, the feeling I get from him is slightly different. Is it because of the difference in the way they utilize power internally and externally, like what the Slime King told me?"
Montra tightened his grip on the spear in his hand. “Black Star Warlord and Star-Finishing Warlord, step back. Both of you, go and take care of the Blue-Colored Catastrophe.”
Except for Sila and Montra who had sensed Bluebird"s presence, everyone looked at the man in question, who was now walking silently and stealthily. n.o.body knew when and how the barrier around him had vanished because no one had given him their attention and, unlike Sila"s case, there was no sound of him breaking the barrier at all.
The man who suddenly became the center of attention twitched.
“No need to mind me, everyone. Hehe~” Bluebird scratched his head.
"d.a.m.n. I"m in trouble. I just tried it for fun. I didn"t expect the barrier to actually disappear."
“...” Bluebird looked at the two Dragon Warlords. He didn"t have the ability to fight against one, not to mention two. Even worse, one of them was the person he didn"t want to fight against the most.
Lost Ghost and Cheris jumped and pressed Bluebird from two different sides. Blue vapor emitted from Bluebird"s body and materialized into the shape of a woman. Both of the Warlords were shocked to see that. Even Cheris, the previous holder of the l.u.s.t Card, couldn"t make the demon inside take shape.
“It seems... I will have to use the ultimate strategy.”
At the end of his sentence, Bluebird quickly turned back and ran away with terrifying speed. He didn"t care about losing his honor or face at all. In a split second, he disappeared from everyone"s line of sight.
“Follow him!!” Lost Ghost roared. He and Cheris promptly chased after Bluebird.
Without minding the surroundings, both Sila and Montra were glaring at each other, especially Sila who was pondering whether Montra"s action of correctly using the metal-attributed move to destroy his attribute of wood was coincidental or intentional.
Montra pointed his spear at Sila while showing the mightiness of his newly invented spear art.
G.o.d"s Realm Spear Art — Spear Readying Brionac.
The killing intent was so sharp and intense. Just having the spear tip pointed at him caused Sila to feel like he was in purgatory. Montra"s battle stance mentally a.s.sault Sila. He felt like the spear had locked on to him; no matter what he did, the spear would follow him to no end.
"This move is of the fire element, isn"t it?" pondered Sila.
Montra"s element affinity was the metal element for sure, though it was possible for people to exert powers from multiple elements. Nevertheless, generally, people could only use the power of elements that were close to their element affinity while having a difficult time using the power of conflicting elements. Unless one possessed Sila"s eccentric qi that he specifically developed to be able to use multiple elements, there was no way they could easily exert the power of different elements.
Fire melts metal and metal splits wood. Sila guessed that Montra was forcing himself to use a conflicting element. His power consumption should be immense and he shouldn"t be able to maintain it for too long.
Montra promptly moved. His spear shot forward like a flame pillar that one couldn"t possibly dodge. The friction from the spear violently sc.r.a.ped the air, causing an ignition.
Admittedly, Montra had exponentially grown stronger. He abandoned Heavenly Destiny Fist"s high adaptability and solely focused on the spear"s simplicity. Thus, there was a big leap in his strength, similar to Sila"s. If Sila didn"t enter the Desert of Death, he would have already died from this move.
Nevertheless, Sila had grown as well. He possessed something his past self didn"t.
Attribute of Water — Sea Star Wheel.
A soft aura covered Sila"s hands. His palms performed a series of complex actions to reduce at least sixty percent of the heat and power in Montra"s spear. Furthermore, his fingers mercilessly and offensively flew at Montra"s eyes.
Montra relied on his intuition and slightly bowed his head, headb.u.t.ting Sila"s fingers.
Both of them simultaneously realized something: Sila"s fingers were as hard as steel while the white aura shrouding Montra acted like an invisible armor.
Sila smoothly and quickly changed his move.
Attribute of Fire — Solar Emanation.
As soon as his fingers bounced off Montra"s forehead, they radiated heat. The fire element was near the earth element, and fire creates earth, so Sila could use it proficiently. In addition, part of his qi—his dojo"s Flaming Cloud Qi—belonged to this element.
Sila"s claw was hot and intense, burning the invisible armor made of Triple Sky Energy, which was of the metal element, leaving a burn mark on Montra"s forehead. Additionally, he followed up one claw strike with another, intending to kill the number one player of Monster Soul in one go.
Montra"s spear extended to the end of his reach, leaving a burning trail destroying everything in its path. However, Sila"s series of actions were fast-paced. At close range, a spear was inferior to unarmed attacks. Montra smacked the end of the spear against the ground, sending the tip rotating toward Sila. At the same time, he clashed against Sila"s claws with his fist and his elbow from the other side. He alone made a pincer attack. It was one of G.o.d"s Realm Spear Art"s moves.
G.o.d"s Realm Spear Art — Spear Dropping Eight Trigrams.
Montra"s fist and elbow were similar to short spears when used at close range. Their movements were complex and continuous, representing the strength of the water element. They naturally subdued Sila"s attribute of fire and overwhelmed Sila"s attacks.
For the record, Sila"s guess was correct. According to the concept of Five Elements, Montra"s element affinity was the metal element. Earth bears metal and metal enriches water. As such, Montra was quite good at using the moves of the earth and the water elements. On the other hand, the moves of the fire and the wood elements were exhausting for him to use.
As a matter of fact, G.o.d"s Realm Spear Art also consumed his power greatly. The problem of energy consumption was his deadly weakness.
Nevertheless, Montra"s moves were furious and extremely offensive. They could decide victory in just a matter of seconds. Thus, no one would come to know his weakness unless the battle dragged on.
Sila didn"t give up. He rotated his body to evade the spear. Instead of retreating, he advanced forward, utilizing one of his most offensive moves.
Attribute of Fire — Corpse-Igniting Stomp.
Sila soared into the sky and rotated his body in mid-air, kicking Montra"s spear"s handle.
If Montra seized the spear, Sila"s invading power within the spear would greatly injure him. However, if he didn"t take hold of it, Sila"s kick would send the spear flying, opening up a chance for Sila to dish out more attacks. The worst part of it was that even if he chose the third option and blocked Sila"s kick with his body, the hot qi within the kick would burn him alive.
It was a vicious move that left no room for the opponent to survive.
Yet, Montra firmly believed that it was nonsense to wait for a way to survive; such a way was something he had to pave himself.
Certainly, he realized that Sila had grown stronger far beyond his expectations. Sila changed his fighting style from straightforward to tactful. In contrast, for Montra, he changed his fighting style from tactful to straightforward.
Although it wasn"t clear yet who would emerge victorious, Montra was aware that he was slightly inferior.
If this battle took place in the real world, Montra might really lose at this moment. However, it didn"t. This place was Monster Soul.
Dragon Domain — Abode of the Angels.
Montra grabbed the spear with both hands. Sila"s destructive force invaded through the spear and damaged Montra"s body. He coughed up blood and had to take several steps back.
Even the building behind Montra was affected by Sila"s flying kick and crumbled down. The remnants of the building indicated how lethal Sila"s move was.
However, the moment Montra stopped moving, Sila felt something was wrong.
The first sign was a misty fog resembling a cloud spreading all over the area. The boundary of the cloud reached as far as he could see. In a way, it looked like how people often imagined the real Heaven.
The other sign was that Montra looked quite fine despite having just received one of Sila"s deadliest moves. The move was of the fire element, so there should have been no way Montra, a man of the metal element, could easily endure it.
The wound on Montra"s body instantly closed and his body emitted a faint and elegant white aura. He was firmly standing holding his spear as if the battle just now had never occured. Such high-speed recovering power belonged to the wood element, which, once again, contradicted Montra"s base element.
Amidst the cruel battlefield, The exchanges of both men were fierce like they were no longer mortals. The construction of the new Royal Armament Guild"s building collapsed in a matter of seconds. Yet, no one cared about that. They were busy feeling shocked and awed at the battle between the two men which transcended common sense.
Montra was the best player in Monster Soul. Even though his moves were terrifying, people didn"t find them too shocking. However, what about Sila? He started the game only recently but he could fight neck and neck against Montra, even gaining an upper hand over him. It was too much of a surprise to everyone.
Especially those who knew Sila"s strength before he entered the game like Sangdao, or even Montra.
The growth of Sila"s strength totally went beyond the limits of both ordinary and extraordinary people. Many began to wonder whether the concept of "Limits" truly existed.
Sila had experienced many battles against dragons. After a short moment, he realized Montra was using a Dragon Domain, and there was only one reason why Montra could use the skill.
“You finished your Dragon Ritual, right, Montra?”
Sila"s words shocked everyone and Montra"s faint smile that affirmed his statement induced despair.
Even with half of his ability, Montra was already hailed as the best player in Monster Soul. They simply couldn"t imagine what extent Montra"s full power reached.