Chapter 189: This Opponent is Truly Impressive
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
When Baiyi identified their main source of power, he wasted no time in his onslaught. As he dodged the attacks, he quietly planted a few runes below their feet. After they disengaged from their last clash, he triggered the rune complex.
The runes only served one purpose, and that was to disrupt the energy flow in the air. Once it was activated, the two demons very quickly paused. When they looked down, they saw the marks on their chests were no longer burning, and their power returning from its previous limit-breaking Holy-level to its normal Legendary-level.
No wonder Baiyi did not see any display of acumen befitting a fighter of Holy-level. Everything they could do was due to external help!
When they realized that their safety net had been removed, the Oblivion Knight's mettle from before instantly dissipated. He could only wave his hands apologetically, "S-sir… This is a mistake… A misunderstanding…"
They were actually terrified of that black energy. Every time they were hit by it, the protection on them would be reduced immediately into half. As they lamented its devastating damage, they were also cognizant of their utter lack of defense against Baiyi's attacks. If it was not for the ever-replenishing power from their backs, they would have run away a long time ago.
Without their protective shields, the two demons quickly lost any threat they posed to the Soul Armature. Jet-black flames instantly surrounded them as they mustered every strength they had to maintain their shields and protect themselves. However, the difference in their power levels had caught up, and their struggle was futile.
Baiyi did not even give them another glance as he trudged forward to the deep. Two corpses remained at his back…
Baiyi was pleased with himself for killing two heavy-hitters without expending too much energy, but for the most part, he was cautious. The enemies' shields were able to deflect his Void Energy. That meant the Abyss Lord, who had been protecting them with his power, might possess a higher level of power.
If he wanted to finish the Abyss Lord off before Mia lost her strength, he could not use his power carelessly.
This was because each time he amplified the strength he needed to use, Mia would have to exhaust a part of her Psychic Energy to sustain the spell formation while she endured the agony of energy pushing against her body. If the situation was not dire, he would not have let the little girl suffer.
Gotta finish this ASAP… He thought to himself. His footsteps halted when he finally reached a distance where he could see the entire mage tower with his naked eyes.
The mage tower was crowded with all sorts of demons along its circular perimeter because three realm cracks were situated nearby. That was why the demons here were probably the most saturated in all of Arfin city.
The demons frantically clamored around the black cages Baiyi had erected around the cracks as they shrieked in their demonic tongues. The traitors from the ranks of judiciary paladins were also present. It was very likely that they had managed to kill off their kin.
They had committed such sins, yet they could still put on an expression of righteousness as they scoffed at the demons, drawing a line between themselves and the demons.
There were some judiciary paladins that looked exasperated and nervous. They had felt the ripples of Void Energy. They had no problems sensing the Void Energy because of all their times spent pursuing Violators. However, they could not leave on their own will because they were in the middle of a den full of demons. They could not just leave to inspect its whereabouts.
"This is even better. Two different kinds of enemies gathered together," Baiyi said as new planes of black formations rose from his chest and arms. With his lowest output of energy, torrents of Void Energy gathered in the formations.
This would make casting the spell slower, but it would also cause the least damage to Mia.
Naturally, the corrupted knights sensed this flow of energy as they frantically began to shout unintelligibly. They tried to direct the demons to search a patch of woods where the Soul Armature was hiding.
To begin with, the demons had never listened to these paladins, so why would they start now?
The corrupted knights were helpless. Their numbers were limited, and a lot of them were killed when they had fought their former companions who did not defect. They did not dare to inspect the woods on their own. However, Baiyi had finished his incantation when they were still debating among themselves if they should fight or flee.
"I summon the Divine Punishment in the stead of the gods," he muttered the last line under his breath.
The once clear sky was immediately tainted by an almost substantial darkness. It instantly darkened the surroundings. The demons and the corrupted knights raised their heads at the sight of the anomaly, but all they could see were stygian-black flames plummeting down from the sky like rain.
The Black Flames of the Void was ruthless. It consumed everything that it came in contact with. The surroundings of the Mage Tower were turned into a hell of black flames. The corrupted knights and demons screamed and shrieked as they frantically defended themselves from the burn. However, once a part of their body was burnt by the black flame, it would quickly grow in intensity and size until its host was no more.
This grotesque scene of black fiery hell did not last longer than two or three minutes before the entire piece of land around the Mage Tower, including the trees, grass, cottages, paths, and the Abyss Lord's underlings, was reduced into nothing but cinders.
It left an unobstructed playground for Baiyi and the Abyss Lord.
"Still reluctant to come out, hmm?" Baiyi glared at the top of the tower. The pulse of evil still remained, but the laughter had ceased.
No one would be able to laugh if their enemy was a serious Baiyi.
"Fine, fine. I'll help you with that," the Soul Armature said as black lightning shot out of his palm towards the Mage Tower. In its course, the lightning intertwined with each other, forming a 130 feet long knife that sliced the tower diagonally.
The tip of the tower started sliding down in rumbles. Baiyi had severed the tip of the tower from its body!
White, intense smog immediately appeared and a loud crash was heard when the tip of the tower met the earth from its previous height. Debris flew everywhere when they were ejected from the building.
Baiyi ignored the pelting debris. The shrapnels were turned into vapor the instant they touched the Black Flames before even reaching Baiyi's body.
Baiyi's focus did not waver from the smoke. Rising from within it was a silhouette.
The silence around him was broken by the appearance of this silhouette. Sounds of drums resonated in the surroundings. Baiyi knew that it was the sound of the Abyss Lord's heartbeat.
Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub. The Abyss Lord walked and stopped before Baiyi to the rhythm of his own heartbeat.
He still had some features that were reminiscent of a human. His face was similar to Warhart's, but his body was encased in ivory skeletons. A pair of wings made out of eight human limbs spread behind his back while the hands and feet were in the shape of a demon's talons.
It was plain to see that the Chief Judge was a devoted worshipper since he sacrificed himself to offer a satisfactory body to the Demon Lord.
Baiyi had to admit that this half-demon-half-human appearance was far better looking than Baiyi's meatball appearance.
The Abyss Lord sneered at the meatball before him and announced pridefully, "I am the Lord of the Abyss! The greatest ruler in the entire Abyss! The Abyss echoes and praises my name — Thaas! "
"Mortal, you dare to massacre my best men, my most loyal soldiers! You shall pay for your insolence!" [TL: Aww, he's already better than many bosses. He at least cares about his people!]
"Over my dead body. C'mon!" Baiyi waved provocatively at the Abyss Lord. However, with his meatball exterior, the recipient only saw him slightly shaking his body.
"You foolish mortal! " Thaas bellowed in fury. Green flames suddenly burst out from his feet. It collided terribly with Baiyi's very own black flames. Shockwaves erupted from the clash between the two intense energies. It turned every dent and hole on the ground in their surroundings into a plateau. The sound of explosions from the collision even reached the ears of the students who had long fled the Academy's compound.
When Baiyi had gotten serious and drew his power, Mia was instantly hit by an intense bout of agitation. Her beautiful eyebrows knitted together, and her lips were pursed. She kept her silence because she knew this was the moment when Mr. Hope needed her.
However, she could not possibly maintain this much longer under such a condition… The Archmage, under the guise of the hammerhead shark plushie, could only zip around the poor girl fitfully. He could sense the battle even from this distance, and he knew that his student was battling a powerful enemy.
This was the most powerful enemy Baiyi had ever encountered. He could not even rate the Abyss Lord using the scales of human strength.
At this moment, the two combatants were locked in the most primitive form of close-quarter combat as they used their limbs and body in melee attacks. However, after a few rounds, Baiyi conceded that his power was inferior. The Abyss Lord had employed another kind of supermundane power — one that might be less damaging than Void Energy but was unrestricted in output.
And what was worse was that beating demon heart kept feeding him more energy.
It was only because Void Energy was higher in level, which in turn pressured the enemy's power, that Baiyi had the strength to barely hold his ground. He had tried to strike back, but it was futile.
In this situation, all bets were off.
"He must be using the Abyss Lord's exclusive power — the Abyss Energy. This is a far higher-level power than mere Sinister Mana… You neither have the power to forcefully crush it nor can you adopt attrition as your offensive tactic!" The Devil began to speak anxiously. This was not just about the fate of Isythre anymore, it also concerned the fate of the Voidwalkers. "Before Mia falls from fatigue, you have to find his weakness and seize it! "
Fortunately, after a few rounds of intense melee combats, Thaas temporarily halted his attack. His almost-human eyes shone in approval as he extended his hand to Baiyi. He announced loudly, "You might have killed many of my men, but your strength is desirable, and your character is interesting. Submit to me, and I shall grant you even more power — power beyond your ken!"
Baiyi replied him with two bolts of lightning forged from the Void.
The deathmatch continued.