209 Dekan’s New Concept of Duel
“Fahim, it’s just the two of us now.”
Dekan gripped his Crimson Mask in one hand, nodded slightly, and placed it over his face.
He then raised his head again and looked down at Fahim from above.
Dekan took one step at a time towards Fahim.
Even though Dekan was bathed in sunlight, Fahim, who was far away, felt as though Dekan’s shadow, which swayed like a demon, was more prominent than Dekan himself.
Fahim’s forehead throbbed with veins, his eyes filled with an almost mad anger beneath his reluctance. He stared at Dekan as if he were a dying, desperate wolf!
He had watched Krey escape.
And he himself could only stay behind to face this hellish person.
Now Dekan wore the Thorn Crown on his head, his face covered with a Crimson Mask, and even had a Cursed Doll on his hand.
Even if it was hard to describe this ultra-modern style.
Not only the reinforcements watching the center of the battlefield, but even Fahim himself felt that Dekan didn’t look like a human at all.
If Dekan were to wander around at night, he would surely stop the cries of children.
The first thing Fahim did after realizing Dekan was getting closer was to cancel the summoning of the “Corrosive Destruction Alchemy Beast.”
He was heavily injured by Krey now, his vital signs were poor, and even his magic had been consumed by more than half.
If Dekan were to attach the “Cursed Spirit Mask” to the “Corrosive Destruction Alchemy Beast” and thus cause the summoned creature to be unable to be dismissed and double magic consumption,
If he failed to take Dekan down immediately, Fahim would definitely die.
After all, Fahim clearly understood how Evans had perished.
Without a doubt, Dekan’s simplest tactic was to use the “Cursed Spirit Mask” on the “Corrosive Destruction Alchemy Beast,” try all methods to survive, and then exhaust Fahim with an enduring fighting style.
Fahim was determined not to repeat Evans’ mistake.
“Fahim, you should be aware, what are your chances of successfully escaping from the Randir Kingdom right now?”
Dekan’s call conveyed an air of a winner’s satisfaction.
“Do you really think you’ve got it all sewn up?”
Fahim asked with a grimace.
Although he had never been afraid of Dekan, the enemy he least wanted to face in his current state was undoubtedly someone like Dekan who excels in kicking someone while they’re down.
The scary thing wasn’t Dekan; it was Dekan in this situation.
Fahim wasn’t just facing Dekan now, but also a multitude of reinforcements from the Randir Kingdom.
Apart from the seventh-tier teams, the remaining soldiers and assassins were quite troublesome.
If these soldiers were determined to fight until the end, they could buy him some time just by pressing forward with all their might.
And at the moment, being held up in the capital was particularly fatal for Fahim.
Once the eighth-tier power players from the Royal Palace arrived, Fahim would not be able to escape.
However, these were not the things Fahim feared the most.
What Fahim feared the most was betrayal from within.
Back then, due to a severe loss of funds within the Rebirth Church, both the Pope and the Illusory Bishop realized that there must be a mole at the bishop level!
If this mole, who secretly ran funds and helped Dekan in Randir Kingdom without anyone’s knowledge and never revealed himself, was actually a bishop,
Then this traitorous bishop was probably lurking somewhere waiting for him, ready to block his final escape route!
Even if Fahim could escape from Dekan, he might suddenly be attacked by a fully-rested bishop at the moment he thought he was about to succeed.
This would be true despair for him, with absolutely no escape routes.
Fahim’s only hope was that the traitor went to intercept Krey.
Then he would still have a chance!
Fahim watched Dekan approach, silently preparing his magic.
“Corrosive Destruction” and “Body Destruction” had already been used on Krey earlier and were now on cooldown.
Dekan seemed to have determined that both of these cards were already in cooldown and saw an opportunity to severely injure Fahim by Krey, leading to his immediate decisive move.
So, Fahim’s current means of attack were mainly destruction spells he directly controlled.
And …
a card Dekan had never seen before.
If Dekan were to get any closer, Fahim would be 100% confident in his ability to kill Dekan!
“Dekan! Need our help?”
From the outer perimeter of the battlefield, the leader of the southern kingdoms’ squad, Arlie, called out to Dekan loudly.
Although she wanted to come to Dekan’s aid, she didn’t dare approach Fahim recklessly.
Other support forces were the same, scattered in the distance and not attempting to tightly surround Fahim.
Firstly, Fahim’s area magic was too deadly, and they could easily be wiped out instantly.
Secondly, there was a possibility that they might not only be of no help but could also cause Fahim to wait out the cooldown period and then summon the “Corrosive Destruction Alchemy Beast” again.
That would put Dekan in a terrible predicament.
If the “Corrosive Destruction Alchemy Beast” consumed enough nutrients, Fahim would take the risk of having it equipped with the “Cursed Spirit Mask” and force its use.
A “Corrosive Destruction Alchemy Beast” consumed to this degree would be an existence that even an eighth-tier individual would find difficult to handle, able to carve out an escape route for Fahim.
When Fahim was anticipating these cannon fodder teams coming to offer their heads,
Dekan simply raised his hand,
indicating Arlie to refrain from approaching.
“Without my instructions, all of you stay away!”
“Let us know if you need assistance!”
Arlie spoke with a serious look and exchanged a glance with the leader of the Knights, stepping back even further.
In dealing with the bishop, they trusted the professional.
Dekan nodded and continued toward Fahim.
“Dekan…!”
Fahim clenched his teeth and glared at Dekan.
He knew Dekan wasn’t disallowing these people from coming.
He just needed the best moment to use them without giving Fahim any chance to escape.
When Fahim determined that the reinforcements were fully cooperating with Dekan’s strategy, he felt that the path forward would be extremely difficult.
He had initially hoped that Dekan would have some incompetent support come to cause chaos.
For instance, that team from the Northern Kingdoms would definitely mess Dekan up at the critical moment.
At the very least, they wouldn’t let Dekan’s plan go smoothly!
But until now, not a single person from that team had even shown up!
Fahim felt his heart weighed down like it was filled with lead, each beat heavy and labored.
The situation was becoming increasingly bleak without any hope for reversal.
Under Dekan’s command, Fahim faced the encirclement. Putting aside whether he could defeat Dekan or not, Fahim could at most consider how many he could take down before he died.
Even the wily Dekan probably would survive completely unscathed.
Because Fahim realized,
this guy Dekan never seemed to be hurt!
Not even with a speck of dust on his otherwise pristine clothing.
No matter what foe faced him or what battlefield he experienced, Fahim hadn’t once seen Dekan’s clothing get dirtied!
If it were a coincidence once or twice, that was plausible.
But the pattern was too consistent to be mere coincidence.
Fahim even harbored an eerie premonition that even if he managed to kill everyone on the field, Dekan would still stand there unscathed.
Fahim felt a growing resentment.
Even if this battle resulted in him taking out a few seventh-tiers,
what would it mean if Fahim himself also perished?
Fahim wasn’t afraid of the eighth-tiers in any of the Kingdom Union realms or the Paladin forces of the Sun God Church.
He took pleasure in taunting and brutally murdering those who sought to capture him.
Whoever dared bother him would give him the chance to mercilessly target and destroy all family and friends associated with those individuals.
Without leaving a trace.
He also liked hiding at the scene so when the enemies returned home, they would be met with the horror of finding the remains.
He enjoyed observing his victims in their anguish and despair while they couldn’t even find him lurking around.
And subsequently, he left subtle evidence behind that would make the enemies deduce he was always nearby and just couldn’t be located.
Whenever enemies formed connections with others, Fahim would instantly obliterate those connections.
Until enemies dared not connect with anyone anymore.
Every time Fahim saw his pursuers’ eyes filled with anger and despair, it was an unparalleled delight for him.
He had plans to further elevate his forbidden magic.
Not only destruction of human bodies but also magic to create and synthesize human bodies.
He wanted to witness even more exquisite expressions of suffering.
He wished for his research achievements to transform into joyous fruits.
Having always had this control over his enemies’ lives,
now, his life, could only be bartered for a few seventh-tier experts and a bunch of cannon fodder!
He could not accept this!
But just as Fahim felt utterly disgruntled,
“Fahim, let us have a Bishop Duel. It’s the only opportunity I’m giving you.”
The whisper faintly entered Fahim’s ears, causing his eyes to twitch.
Dekan wore the mask, with no one able to see his lips move.
But Fahim was certain this was Dekan’s voice.
Dekan was making an offer.
The Bishop Duel was a form of dueling ritual between bishops of the Rebirth Church.
Under mutual acknowledgment, both parties would start the ritual using their Bishop’s Certificate, for an impartial one-on-one duel, and the winner would obtain the other party’s bishop privileges!
If either party violated the single-combat principle of the duel,
it would invoke a severe backlash from the Bishop’s Certificate!
If a bishop merely kills another bishop outside the bounds of this ritual,
even if he defeats them in single combat, he cannot forcibly seize the other’s bishop privileges.
The authority to appoint new bishops returns to the Pope, and the deceased’s Bishop’s Certificate will lose its power.
But if defeating another bishop during the Bishop Duel, the Pope cannot reclaim the appointment rights.
The winner will hold the Bishop’s Certificate with dual authority.
This was functionality Dekan could read in the Bishop’s Certificate.
Even though Dekan didn’t yet know the exact uses of a Bishop’s Certificate with higher authority.
Since Dekan had asked Minos, and Minos had refused to tell him, it meant that having multiple bishops’ privileges could have serious implications for undermining the Rebirth Church!
As far as Dekan knew, if during a bishop’s meeting, there were six votes, they could even depose the Pope.
And select a new one.
The holder of the dual authority Bishop’s Certificate would have two votes in this process.
Of course, collecting six votes is extremely difficult.
Even if they manage to depose a ninth-tier Pope, it’s mainly to mess with the Pope’s mentality, turning him into a figurehead.
The loyal followers of the Rebirth Church would still follow the Pope, the most powerful being.
However, if they truly could gather six votes to depose the Pope, undoubtedly the church would have reached a point of imminent division.
That said,
the conditions for initiating a Bishop Duel are extremely stringent.
Firstly, it requires mutual acceptance.
Bishops usually wouldn’t gamble with their bishop status in life-and-death situations.
If you want to fight, the other won’t likely agree.
Furthermore, the Pope had explicitly forbidden bishops from privately engaging in this ritual with the Bishop’s Certificate.
People like Dekan, who openly opposed the church, are exceptions.
He wasn’t afraid of the Pope.
Additionally, it’s incredibly arduous for bishops to fairly duel and decide victories without outside help.
Apart from the End Bishop and the Illusory Bishop, other bishops need to rely on external factors to have a stable advantage in a fair duel.
Thus, no one would be foolish enough to fight another bishop to the death.
But now, there was a new opportunity.
Fahim was backed into a corner.
And Dekan’s Bishop Duel was almost Fahim’s only chance for a comeback!
No bishop would agree to a duel while in a severely weakened state of low health and magic.
However, given the current situation, whether it was prohibited by the Pope or the fairness of the Bishop Duel,
Fahim had to prioritize his survival!
If Dekan truly agreed to one-on-one combat,
he would no longer have to worry about Dekan’s reinforcements, allowing Fahim to eliminate Dekan immediately!
Once this unruly crowd lost Dekan’s command and support, they would be a non-threat!
Fahim would have the chance to have the “Corrosive Destruction Alchemy Beast” consume them entirely and break out with the “Corrosive Destruction Alchemy Beast” at its peak power.
At that point, even a traitorous bishop trying to block him would be at least a decent fight!
“Are you sure?”
Fahim suppressed his excitement, also lowering his voice to ask Dekan.
Dekan remained silent but reached into his chest to activate the Bishop Duel mode of the Bishop’s Certificate.
Fahim instantly felt his Bishop’s Certificate received a duel request.
If Fahim accepted, the duel would be established.
Without hesitation, Fahim grabbed the Bishop’s Certificate and initiated the Bishop Duel.
“HAHAHAHA! Dekan! You’ve overestimated your chances!!!”
Fahim burst out laughing.
It was like a person in the desert suddenly finding much-needed water.
No matter how dire his state was,
he couldn’t think of how Dekan would win a one-on-one duel against him!!!
All of Dekan’s strength was built upon his team’s abilities.
He needed to cooperate with them, using his role as the command tower to showcase his strength!
Choosing a head-on duel with a bishop was undoubtedly the most idiotic decision Dekan had ever made!
Fahim believed Dekan must have had some confidence to choose a duel with him.
However,
even if Dekan might guess that Fahim had a trump card, it was impossible he could guess the specifics of Fahim’s trump card.
Dekan would pay a heavy price for his greed and arrogance!
“Bone Eroding Transformation”
“Category: Magic Card”
“Rank: Orange Epic”
“Level: 3”
“Effect: Apply ‘Corrosion’ status to a single target within 30 meters. In the state of corrosion, the body gradually decays and collapses, lasting 10 seconds, and the ‘Corrosion’ status cannot be removed through purification.”
“Notes: Accelerate the decline”
As soon as Dekan was within range, Fahim would immediately hit him with a lower substitution card for “Corrosive Destruction”, “Bone Eroding Transformation”.
This card’s effect was much weaker than the area spell “Corrosive Destruction”, and the “Corrosion” status could not be stacked.
Hence, Fahim had never used it on Krey before.
However,
the cooldown period for this card was outside of Dekan’s calculation!
A fourth-tier Dekan couldn’t use a sixth-tier magic like “Compulsive Dispelling” to dispel the “Corrosion” status.
And once Dekan was tagged with the “Corrosion” status, he would corrode until nothing but ash remained within a few seconds!
The information gap from Fahim’s hidden card “Bone Eroding Transformation” would be the cause of Dekan’s downfall, leaving him no opportunity to retaliate!
Once Fahim was sure that the Bishop Duel was valid, a malevolent smile appeared on his face as he moved towards Dekan.
The distance between them gradually shortened to within thirty meters.
And Dekan didn’t show any hint of fear or awareness that death was creeping up on him.
He seemed completely oblivious to Fahim’s imminent use of “Bone Eroding Transformation”!
“Die, Dekan!”
Fahim wasted no time and launched the corrosion spell!
At this distance, unless Dekan could use space magic, it was impossible for him to dodge “Bone Eroding Transformation.”
Once hit, the ‘Corrosion’ status would cause panic to show on Dekan’s face.
It was clear that he had not anticipated this!
There was no way for him to dispel the status himself!
Just as panic struck Dekan,
in the next moment, the status was dispelled by some unknown “Compulsive Dispelling.”
At the same time,
the cloaked Krey, maintaining invisibility in the sky, finally revealed himself.
He seemed reluctantly forced to intervene, using only “Compulsive Dispelling” to dispel the “Corrosion” state from Dekan to save him.
Fahim frowned as he looked at Krey hovering in mid-air.
But soon after, Fahim burst into laughter.
He had won.
By this time, though Dekan had dodged the “Corrosion” status, he was clutching his chest in agony, as if about to collapse at any moment.
Even with a high-level mage Dekan hadn’t noticed, who had saved him from death,
Dekan had violated the single-combat principle of the Bishop Duel.
The Bishop’s Certificate would subject Dekan to severe retaliation!
He would die uselessly!
A fourth-tier Dekan couldn’t withstand the backlash of the Bishop’s Certificate!
“Dekan!! It’s you who have lost! You underestimated the retaliation power of the Bishop’s Certificate!”
Fahim laughed wildly, his eyes filled with disdain and contempt as he looked at the struggling Dekan, sensing victory was near.
“No!!!”
Dekan screamed desperately, apparently unable to endure even a second longer from the retaliation of the Bishop’s Certificate.
He might die even faster than if he were infected by the “Corrosion” status!
Fahim’s laughter was deafening as he shouted,
“Dekan, you must never have imagined a failure like this, right?! The expression on your face is… just too satisfying…”
“Satisfying, isn’t it?”
Dekan’s unexpected sarcastic tone interrupted Fahim’s fervent speech.
He let go of his chest and looked at Fahim as if nothing had happened.
The pain he had shown was merely an act.
Just for the pleasure of watching Fahim’s dramatic rise and fall.
Fahim first paused, then the unexpected event made every hair on his body stand up.
His perception told him something was horribly amiss.
But he could not comprehend!
“How could this be?! You clearly violated the single-combat principle.”
Fahim raged with fury.
“Ho ho.”
Dekan shook his head with a disdainful laugh, patting the shoulder of Krey, who had just landed beside him:
“Master Summoner Dekan’s fair single combat, how can summoning someone else be a problem?”
“You … You … YOU!!!”
The Bishop’s Certificate of the Rebirth Church was an ancient divine relic, it couldn’t be deceived just by self-hypnosis or defiance from Dekan!!
However,
as Fahim probed the Bishop’s Certificate,
he discovered the duel remained undisturbed!
The Bishop’s Certificate still recognized it as a fair ongoing duel!
“It’s impossible!!!”
Fahim screamed hoarsely.
With such an obviously blatant advantage, this still counted as a single combat?
“Cheating from the start? I’m Master Summoner Dekan, and this is my Caster, Krey.”
Dekan tossed his head proudly, declaring smugly.
“You… you… You!!!”
Suddenly, amidst his ranting, Fahim seemed to notice something unusual.
He used an identification spell on Krey.
He discovered,
he successfully detected card attributes from Krey!!
“Krey Cullan”
“Category: Summoning Card”
“Rank: Orange Epic”
“Level: 6”
“Effect: All spell damage is converted into healing, accompanied by bad luck.”
“Notes: Holy, merciful, compassionate.”
“Oh dear, you caught me.”
Dekan stuck out his tongue and tapped his head lightly.
“What is the meaning of this?!?!?”
Fahim had never heard of someone being able to detect summoner attributes on a human being!
If this technique were possible,
it could possibly be the basis for extending beyond prohibited magic.
Perhaps one day,
Even living beings could potentially be turned into summon cards!
This was true forbidden sorcery!!
Realizing Fahim had already understood the truth, Dekan was no longer interested in toying with him.
“Ha ha, Fahim, you thought your little tricks were enough to overturn your situation, huh? I admit I didn’t know you had another lower-level card. But from the start, I never thought of dueling according to your understanding.”
After speaking, Dekan showed a card, smirking at Fahim.
“Curse Mark”
“Category: Magic Card”
“Rank: Purple Rare”
“Level: 4”
“Effect: Can imbue friendly creatures with the attribute of ‘Summon Creature’, continuously consuming magic power for the ‘Summon Creature’ and granting minor attribute corrections, corrections being 10% of the user’s attributes.”
“Notes: Are you my Servant?”
This “Curse Mark” couldn’t completely transform someone into an actual summoned card.
But it could attach the attribute of “Summon Card” onto someone.
Beside providing a certain stat boost to teammates, it also allows them to benefit from certain assistance spells that only affect summoned creatures.
Of course, support spells for summoned creatures are generally studied only by summoners.
Moreover, once the teammates are marked with the summoned creature attribute, there might be downsides. For instance, they can easily be thoroughly inspected by enemies’ high-level identification spells.
Also, if they encounter cards with effects that “directly destroy summoned creatures,” teammates could face instant death.
That said, Dekan’s use of this card had a simple goal.
It was to ensure a fair and impartial duel in the Bishop Duel.
Isn’t it only natural for a summoner to summon creatures for combat?
