Chapter 338: This Is The Ulterior Reason
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The fight between Huskar and the DemiG.o.d Knight could be succinctly summarized with just two adjectives: simple and straightforward.
There did not deploy any spells during their battle, neither did they chant anything. There were no sudden and awkward pauses for flashbacks. was no method to their fighting. They had both chosen the simplest and least roundabout way to battle; chops, swings, dices… Actions that even a farmer could do.
However, this minimalism did not entail emptiness. Their actions were simple only because both opponents were focused on exerting the maximum amount of strength and speed they could. To them, everything else was theatrics.
They moved too fast to be seen. The only thing a keen observer would have caught was the fleeting after images their arms left behind. Their swift movements whipped up strong gales, which clashed with each other, leaving the air ringing with a cacophony from fast wind and weapon clashes. Sparks flew about from time to time, and soon, they had turned into webs of lightning. This battle was nothing short of a maelstrom in the making.
Layers of earth were peeled off by the crus.h.i.+ng gales, and cracks zigzagged all around the ground beneath their feet. Would the land be unable to handle the destruction and collapse?
After the DemiG.o.d Knight’s Zweihander clashed with Huskar’s hatchet one more time, they both took a step back, panting hard as they waited for their strength to recover. The explosive burst of power had exerted a huge toll on them.
“Exhilarating! It’s been ages since I met someone who could match my power head-on.” The DemiG.o.d Knight couldn’t help praising his opponent. “But now? It’s time to get serious.”
Golden combat chi exploded out of his body and encased him, making him resemble a Super Saiyan. The golden combat chi lowered itself onto his body and formed a golden armor, now making him resemble Jay Chao. 1
This was the ultimate combat chi armor — the st.u.r.diest defense a knight could deploy. Not only that this armor complement ever cell and fiber in one’s body, but the armor could also even extend and retract as willed; this way, it is able to provide an excellent defense without compromising flexibility and dynamic movements. It was perfect for the melee battle styles which knights utilize.
Huskar said nothing after the DemiG.o.d Knight praised him; the barbarian could not understand the common language. He just tilted his head a little and said something to Zar’Zar — who was watching from the side. Zar’ Zar nodded in response and took out a long javelin, which he pa.s.sed over to Huskar.
Huskar jammed the bottoms of both hatchets into the two ends of his javelin. Just like that, he had created a makes.h.i.+ft dual-tipped halberd that resembled a polearm.
The DemiG.o.d Knight was left a bit befuddled when he saw the new, strange weapon. He could not help but wonder if the weapon, which had been made in such a crude faction, would last a few hits. Wouldn’t the hatchets suddenly come undone in mid-swing?
Huskar did not bother to offer any explanation; instead, he swung his polearm-like weapon so fast, it created a gale that ravaged the surroundings. Despite that, the hatchet stayed glued to the end of the javelin.
As Huskar swung his weapon, he let out a hoa.r.s.e cry that could pierce the sky. Zar’Zar and Char’Char, on the other hand, fell to one knee, pulled out their javelins, and struck them into the ground. They crossed their free arms in front of their chests and lowered their heads.
Suddenly, two new golden phantoms appeared behind Huskar; these phantoms perfectly resembled the two other divine warriors — Char’ Char and Zar’ Zar!
In a flash, Huskar raised his polearm-like weapon and threw himself towards the DemiG.o.d Knight, who was garbed in his golden combat chi armor.
“Oh! Through melee combat alone, this knight has already forced Huskar to get serious! Not bad; not bad at all. Now that’s what I call a DemiG.o.d,” Baiyi exclaimed, when he saw his friend, Huskar, using his trump card move.
He then turned his attention back to his own opponent — the bald old abbot, who was trying his hardest to fend off Baiyi’s attacks. “But look at you! Gosh, you’re boring me.”
Baiyi’s battle with the DemiG.o.d Abbot was… less entertaining, seeing as the Fifth Walker clearly dominated his opponent. As the battle continued, the DemiG.o.d Abbot’s already pitiful state… worsened. His body was now marred by countless scars. Furthermore, each of his injuries had bits of black flame crackling within them, which he was forced to exhaust his combat chi trying to prevent these flames from fully permeating his body.
It can’t be helped. Not all bald guys are the strongest in the universe… 2
“Wha… what are ye?!” The DemiG.o.d Abbot managed to cry out, in short breaths. His unsteady figure evoked the scene of a candle’s flame on the brink of going out.
He just could not understand why and how he had ended in his current shameful state. Back in the days of his youth, he paid a terrible price to obtain the secret of performing Frozen Fire, then he spent a lot of time training himself to control two different elemental combat chi. However, all that, including the supposedly unbeatable Frozen Fire, had now failed him; he was no match for the strange black meatball! It was as though his foe knew more about Frozen Fire than he did!
The DemiG.o.d Abbot had initially believed that Hope was an advanced fighter from Azure Cloud Sect, but the power of the black energy which he deployed was nothing like the DemiG.o.d Abbot had ever seen before. It was as though the black energy did not belong to this world…
Baiyi chose to battle this DemiG.o.d Abbot because Northerners were famous for their low endurance. He was someone with an unlimited amount of energy, making him a natural enemy of the bald abbot. The battle was made even easier for Baiyi when he realized that his opponent, the bald abbot, was using the same technique that the Warrior Walker was once famous for — Frozen Fire.
When Baiyi heard his opponent ask him a question sincerely, he decided to let slip a little clue. “You’re gonna know the answer very soon,” Baiyi replied, calmly. “But first, let me see your Territory. You should know, right? Ordinary powers can’t make a dent on me.” 3
A black sphere appeared in Baiyi’s hand, and it instantly began to expand. It continued to stretch until it became a black javelin; black javelins exactly like this one were responsible for the scars that already riddled the DemiG.o.d Abbot’s body. At this point, the abbot was already conversant with the power of these dreadful black javelin; a gentle brush against its pointy end was enough to elicit more pain than most could bear. This was a bitter lesson the abbot had learned after trying just about everything he could to block the javelin attacks; his injured body was a testament to that.
To the abbot’s horror, he realized that the attacks could not be evaded, even though the black javelins were not guided by any tracking magic. Every time the DemiG.o.d Abbot thought he had dodged the black javelins with his agile movements, they would always appear right in front of him, as though he had never stepped aside in the first place.
He was done; he knew he had to use his Territory. Gone was the fear every DemiG.o.d had about activating their Territory. The abbot was now desperate! He had to do something!
“Fie! If ye sae aching fur my real power— then I shall nae deny ye e’en a drop o’ it!” The bald abbot exclaimed, after making up his mind, and from the inside of his robe, he produced an ancient-looking Buddhist prayer bead. He squeezed his hand, and the beads were crushed into powder.
After that, he waved his arm, throwing the powder into the air. Wherever the powder touched distorted, the air distorted, and power began to bubble all around; power that was unmistakably characteristic of a DemiG.o.d’s Territory.
Baiyi stood still, watching the bald abbot perform his rite; the soul armature already seemed confident in his victory.
“Now, ye die. A price ya wee pay o’ yer arrogance! This is my Territory!” The DemiG.o.d Abbot declared. “Th’ name is—”
He never finished that sentence.
A strange, incredible force suddenly consumed him, overwhelming his soul and terminating his control over his body. The force had instantly ripped him out from his corporeal body. His body, which was now without a host, crumpled to the ground; there was no sign of life in it.
The bald abbot — no, his consciousness — soared uncontrollably into the sky; higher and higher, faster and faster… When its blinding speed finally decreased and the consciousness came to a halt, all that surrounded it was pitch-black darkness and silence. 4
It was at this point that the bald abbot understood had what happened. The Laws had detected his last attempt to activate his Territory, and as a response, it banished him into the Void. No wonder his foe suddenly turned pacifist! Hope had been baiting him into using his Territory, enabling him to finish the abbot off in a bizarre way!
However… how did he know? How did Hope know he would get banished the next time he used his Territory? The bald abbot did not know… and he no longer wanted to. His emotions were complicated and indescribable. How many years of ascetic training had he undergone? How many years had he cultivated for? He had reached the apex of power! Had he arrived at his end?
Just as he was drowning in hopelessness and about to give up, he heard a voice in his ear — a sensory organ which should no longer work, especially in this place.
“Yo! Guess who?”
“You—! You— Wha— How—?” The bald abbot stammered in terror. He never thought he would hear the creepy voice of his enemy ever again.
“Hush, don’t fash yourself. If you become hysterical, you won’t be of much use.” Baiyi’s voice was barely audible in the Void. “But I’m a bit occupied right now, but your comrade is still here. So, I’ll introduce you to our mutual friend so that they can explain to you what’s going on…”
Baiyi then poked the Warrior Walker lightly, delegating the job of exposition to her.
He had not approached the two DemiG.o.ds — the DemiG.o.d Abbot and the DemiG.o.d Knight — was not just because he had a bone to pick with them; he wanted to trap them in the dark jail that was the Void. It was jailbait, literally.
Doing battle in such a small dimension was akin to teetering on a tightrope. The small dimension itself was an existence that should logically be impossible to create; this was the reason why many of the outsiders marveled at its existence.
Therefore, what would happen to one who activates their Territory — an ability the natural Laws punishes one for using — inside a small dimension whose existence should have been impossible? This was akin to playing with a lit matchstick while standing atop a can of gasoline; one move, and ka-boom!
That was what Baiyi was counting on. Furthermore, he wanted to add some new members to the Void. Although he did not need more knowledge and power, and he did not need to turn the new arrivals into Voidwalkers — because he was already contented with thirty-three Voidwalkers — the abbot, knight, and priest were the top dogs of their respective organizations. They had a great deal of intel about the manner in which their organizations operated; that was information that Baiyi wanted.
As long as he could obtain the Book of Servitude, a much larger reputation, and intel of the operations in the three major factions, he would then be deserving of the extravagant stage which the Archmage had set up for him.