The Dark Power Granted by Lord Dekan
Just as Evans gritted his teeth to endure the pain, summoning a flying dragon and making a determined decision to flee as quickly as possible.
At this thought, a bolt of lightning suddenly struck through Evans’ mind, instantly awakening him.
In that very instant, it seemed as though there was a sound of breaking air.
A sudden glint of cold light had already fiercely plunged toward Evans’ chest!
The attacker was extremely close to Evans.
Her dagger had almost succeeded, on the verge of piercing Evans’ heart.
Moreover, the dagger gleamed brightly, carrying a trace of an eerie crystalline light, clearly smeared with some kind of poison.
“Get away!!!”
Evans let out a long roar, and in an instant, his body seemed to whirl around, with an immediate burst of a deep red light emanating from his entire being!
This light spread out and vanished almost instantly, but Isabel, who had just pounced from nearby, was instantly repelled and thrown far away by the fiery ring.
“Huff, huff.”
Isabel, struck squarely by this move, managed to painfully crawl back up from the ground almost immediately.
Apart from some slight burns on her body, she was otherwise unharmed.
On the other hand, Evans was panting heavily.
The shadows under his eyes deepened, making him look like someone severely deprived of sleep.
It seemed that with each passing minute, he became perceptibly weaker.
“Haha, you’ve become so weak, I thought this move would’ve taken my life.”
Isabel, brandishing her dagger, advanced toward Evans again.
Simultaneously, she activated the “Temptation of the Underworld,” temporarily lent to her by Dekan (doubling both parties’ magical energy consumption within the range), and summoned “Captain De’Erkan.”
When Evans saw these two cards, his face became noticeably pale.
Previously, Evans wouldn’t have given these first and second-tier cards a second glance.
But now, these cards were undoubtedly the last few straws that would break him!
Looking at Evans’ expression,
Isabel felt an inexplicable excitement welling up inside her for no discernible reason.
That ever-so-high-and-mighty, invincible Archbishop of Destruction, someone she had never dared to disobey,
now felt like someone she could easily butcher!
Is this the power of the underworld?
Without a second of hesitation, Evans flipped open his spellbook, using flames to clear away the “Captain De’Erkan.”
If he were controlled by this puppet, it would be the end!
However, after using this spell, Evans felt dizzy and as though something inside him was being drained dry.
He furiously pressed his temples, nearly piercing them to regain his clarity.
“Isabel!! Do you know the consequences of betraying me, of betraying the Church?!”
Evans roared like a crazed wild beast, ready to pounce and rip out the other’s throat at any moment, willing to tear the other into pieces even if it meant perishing together.
“Lord, you have already been eliminated.”
Isabel’s lips curled into a mischievous smile as she revealed another stack of “Captain De’Erkan” cards, resembling a folding fan.
This nearly made Evans spit out blood.
Even if Isabel had rushed in to fight him head-on, it would have been better than being incessantly tormented by these accursed underworld cards—”Captain De’Erkan”!
Given Evans’ animosity toward Dekan, the time he would likely be controlled by “Captain De’Erkan” could set a new record.
This forced Evans to recklessly unleash dark flames toward Isabel with all his remaining strength.
Even if it meant doubly depleting his magic, he was determined to give his all to fight back!
However, Isabel casually tossed the “Captain De’Erkan,” deflecting Evans’ attack.
It reminded one of how Dekan tormented the nobles back in the man-made shadow world.
“This is the outcome of you not meticulously studying Dekan’s and Flata’s combat records.”
Isabel sneered and mocked with a didactic tone.
“Isabel!!! Why!!!”
Evans could not have imagined that he would die today at anyone’s hands, much less Isabel’s!
“Haha, you don’t need to die with any understanding, please meet your end with resentment!”
Here, Isabel seemed to pause and supplement,
“Lord Dekan said that if you asked me why, I should answer like this.”
At the mention of Dekan, Isabel’s tone became slightly more reverent.
Just like how she once revered Evans, something which caused a profound sense of disparity in Evans’ heart.
This made Evans feel an immense sense of insult.
However, myriad thoughts raced through Evans’ mind within a fleeting moment, and he quickly came up with a preposterous but somewhat plausible explanation for the current situation.
It would be highly unlikely for Isabel to so suddenly betray him!
If she had betrayed him long ago, she could have easily conspired with Dekan and an eighth-tier powerhouse of the Norton Empire to ambush him.
It must be that at some point not long ago, Isabel had been enslaved by Dekan!
“Isabel! Help me! Work with me, I’ll help you kill Dekan and restore your freedom, and what happens today will be forgotten!”
Evans roared furiously.
“Even if I were to pretend to help you now, would you dare to let your guard down?”
But Isabel continued approaching Evans with a cold laugh.
At this point, she no longer had any intention to betray Dekan.
She was also unable to exploit the binding force of her contract.
Dekan had required her to patrol nearby areas.
Dekan had already anticipated Evans would use [Shared Perception] to determine the situation near the Destruction Demon King in advance.
So, Dekan drew a circle on the map with a radius of two kilometers, centered on the location of the Destruction Demon King.
Two kilometers was exactly the maximum distance where Evans could connect with the Destruction Demon King’s perception for reconnaissance.
Dekan had used the direction the Destruction Demon King had flown at noon to pinpoint the probable direction from which Evans would approach.
So Dekan marked a range along the arc and stationed Isabel within that range to stay hidden.
Dekan also ordered Isabel that once she spotted a flying summoned creature or detected Evans’ presence, she was to find a way to assassinate Evans during his reconnaissance.
Of course, Dekan considered the possibility that Evans might loop around to approach Tristin City from another direction.
Therefore, Dekan had the lord allocate knights to patrol the other directions.
Even if Evans came from another direction, he would still be detected during the search.
This scenario, however, wasn’t very likely.
Because Evans was in dire straits.
His arrogant and not overly cautious nature would not allow him to circle the Destruction Demon King before conducting reconnaissance through [Shared Perception].
Originally, Isabel would not have had a sufficient opportunity to approach Evans.
Even though Isabel had already discovered Evans, who had landed astride a flying dragon, within the area predicted by Dekan in advance.
However, Evans hesitated.
Dekan delayed him for just over ten seconds.
For Evans, this was fatal.
Because, with seventh tier physical attributes and a scout’s concealment skills, Isabel could certainly approach Evan quickly!
“Aaaargh!!!”
Evans roared furiously, as though cornered.
In defiance of all consequences, he summoned his entire army of summoned creatures.
He spared no thought for the terrifying magical energy consumption that could cause him permanent damage.
But if he didn’t do this, he would die for sure!
The “Temptation of the Underworld” and the “Captain De’Erkan” alone were driving him insane!
He had to carve out a way to escape!
What in the underworld’s name is this kind of battle? What kind of cursed place is this!
