Chapter 94: Night Battle
Knights were shouting, while Horned Horses neigh loudly behind them.
Before me, little sparks of golden light were bursting all around, mingling with the shards from the shattered Light Barrier. Black flames, swirling with thick smoke, merged with the night, turning every visible spot into a no-go zone of d*ath.
White smoke, formed from the lives of two Bishops, was now coursing through my body, absorbed by the greedy Chaotic Power. My excitement was uncontrollable, my body was shaking, and I couldn’t help but grin.
“Ha…”
Bishop Nero’s slightly plump figure flew off the ground, spinning in circles as he soared backward. Moments later, I landed hard on the ground, my feet slamming down.
Success…
That thought flashed through my mind. I savored the feel of that last hit; I should’ve smashed his face in…
But that’s not enough.
I said I’d eat him.
“Only you’re left!”
Just this last guy, time to chow down…
Before Nero hit the ground, I swiftly swung my left arm, and the Dead Smoke swirling around me coalesced once again into a giant python of doom, exuding a stench of d*ath, lunging toward Bishop Nero still floating in mid-air.
In the next moment, a burst of golden light flared around him.
As he hovered in the air, he vanished just before being enveloped by the black smoke.
!
Teleportation…
d*mn annoying Divine Miracle…
I started scanning around, my gaze darting through the darkness beyond the Dead Smoke, but I couldn’t spot Nero’s chubby figure.
Where did he run off to?
Suddenly, I felt a surge of alertness.
Boom—
A thunderous blast shattered the air overhead, and I pushed off the ground, using Moon Step to flee back more than ten meters.
Kaboom!
Dust exploded ahead.
A Holy Lance shot out of the darkness, burying itself deep into the ground where I had just stood, the cracks bursting out near my feet. In quick succession, another loud whoosh headed my way from above, as if the universe didn’t want me to catch a break.
He’s up there!
I used Moon Step to back off again, dodging the incoming Holy Lance. After regaining my footing, I suddenly found myself locking eyes with a nearby Knight.
“……”
“……”
I froze for a moment.
That Knight had just risen from the ground, seemingly dazed after being hit by the previous Golden Bell, and his young face wore a look of confusion. A few other Knights nearby also appeared equally bewildered.
Things had unfolded in an instant; they clearly hadn’t processed what was going on and weren’t ready for battle, their formation all in disarray. And here I was, breathing down their necks… Should I let him go?
In the next moment, that Knight snapped back to reality.
His eyes widened in horror, a hoarse roar escaping his lips, and his once-clear face twisted into an ugly mask of rage.
“Ah—”
He drew out his long sword from his waist, slashing fiercely at me.
I raised my left hand.
Clang—
That glimmering sword, coming at me with all its might, was firmly grasped in my hand.
The armor made of Abyss Mud sheathed my fingers, rendering the Blade completely useless; I didn’t even feel the impact.
Looking to get yourself killed…
Just then, I heard the third whoosh through the air.
d*mn…
The Holy Lance’s onslaught was too fierce; I didn’t dare take it head-on, letting go of the sword in my grip and dodging away with Moon Step.
Boom—
The violent shot hurtled down from above, and the expression on the young Knight’s face froze in that moment of fierce tension, before his head was swept away by the lance, helmet and all exploding like a watermelon.
Golden light erupted.
A cloud of dust rose, quickly obscuring the surrounding Knights, hiding their shocked and disbelieving faces illuminated by the golden glow.
“Bori—”
In the darkness, someone cried out in rage.
I looked up to see a figure descending from the air, still glimmering with residual light.
This is truly…
A disaster.
In the next moment, black flames rose again from beneath me.
Whoosh—
A small figure leaped up, carrying a tongue of black fire, which spat out a brilliant white glow, streaking like a dazzling comet through the smoky haze, swooping down beside the Knights, dodging past them, scooping up Captain Gray, and then, in the stunned, battle-weary gazes of the Knights, soared back into the air.
Heading straight for the landing Bishop Nero.
Here we go…
In the darkness, Bishop Nero descended slowly like a feather. Seeing me rush over, he hurriedly clasped his hands in front of his chest, and once again, radiated a dazzling golden light.
A Light Wall materialized around him, forming a translucent spherical shield. In the next moment, I swung Captain Gray down with full force at the barrier.
Crack!
A crisp thunderclap echoed.
The hastily formed shield shattered like a broken mirror, but my momentum barely slowed as I stretched out my left hand, wrapped in black mist, trying to grab Nero inside the shield, only for him to dodge again, his plump body disappearing once more in a flash of golden light.
Ah d*mn…
Does he not need to cool down from his teleportation!?
“White Night…”
With a teeth-clenched growl, a sharp sound of rushing air came from not far behind.
From behind!
With no time to turn around, Dead Smoke erupted from my body like a bomb, flooding out in all directions through the dark night. Meanwhile, I urged the black flames to help me dodge the incoming attack. Suddenly, an immense force slammed into my back.
Clang—
In that moment, I felt like a dragon had kicked me from behind, launching my body away like a cannonball.
Oh cr*p…
Even with armor, that hit was rough. My back throbbed in pain, my head spun, and even breathing felt a chore. I didn’t even know what hit me, just that I felt like I was spinning in the sky.
Head pounding…
I struggled to control the black flames, trying to steady my swaying body.
I might puke…
The Dead Smoke didn’t seem to have swallowed him after all.
No worries… don’t panic…
The Divine Miracles hastily unleashed by chubby Nero, be it the Holy Lance, the barrier, or the Golden Bell… While they were strong, as long as I kept my focus, I could totally handle them… With armor protecting me, getting hit wouldn’t be a problem; it might sting a little… nothing like the feather-based Divine Miracle or those world-ending sights I saw right before this.
That kind of intimidating power seemed to need preparation time… he couldn’t fire it off instantly, or he would have done so already.
Can’t give him the time to unleash it…
As soon as I realized this, I finally steadied myself, hovering head down in the night sky, scanning my surroundings quickly. A second later, I spotted a glow illuminating the ground not far away, with Bishop Nero’s figure faintly visible within.
There he is!
He’s casting a Divine Miracle…
“Not a chance!”
Flames erupted fiercely from beneath me, bathing the area around me in a bright light as if it were midday.
I was worried, hastening toward Nero while gritting my teeth and swinging my left hand, sending forth a black smoke snake that sped through the night sky, racing toward the direction of the radiant glow.
Crack crack crack—
My right hand gripped the end of Captain Gray tightly, and with a “clicking” sound of gears turning, the massive scythe expanded into a four-meter-long lock scythe, entwined with black mist and frost-white ice crystals.
The smoke snake touched the light first and was kept at bay, unable to advance.
Then I’ll make you blind to me!
I commanded the Dead Smoke to burst out, forming a vast black cloud, engulfing Bishop Nero and the golden light within. With both hands gripping the scythe, I swung it around and plunged down.
Swish swoosh swoosh—
Suddenly, several beams of white light shot out from the Dead Smoke.
!
Even though I expected it, those nearly light-speed white beams just narrowly missed me. Such terrifying Divine Miracles can only be preemptively predicted; there’s no dodging them. Luckily, Nero was blocked from seeing me by the black mist, so he couldn’t accurately gauge my position, causing his attacks to go astray.
I immediately began to weave in a snake-like pattern, narrowly avoiding the oncoming white beams, and the golden light shrouded by the black mist was now within touching distance.
“Yah!”
The Blade was raised high and swung down.
Crashing into the black mist.
Boom—
The Dead Smoke, mixed with countless ice crystal shards, erupted with golden light, creating a shockwave that swept through the surroundings, instantly engulfing everything in its path. Once the brilliance faded, Bishop Nero’s swollen half-face reappeared before my eyes.
“White Night—”
He screamed at me in fury.
Then, my descending body collided straight into Nero, who was cloaked in light.
