Chapter 512: Instant Kill

"Ha ha ha! Foolish human, you know nothing of the power and greatness of the Demon Soul!"

"You're right, I don't." Duke candidly admitted the first half of the statement but left the second half unsaid.

What he didn't understand was just how much of the power of the Demon Soul this orc could wield.

The Demon Soul, originally known as the Dragon Soul, was a weapon forged ten thousand years ago during the ancient wars. It was created by the dragons to annihilate the invading Burning Legion. In order to prepare this ultimate attack, the four Guardian Dragons were deceived by Neltharion, who was also a Guardian Dragon back then, into infusing it with most of their power and over a third of their souls.

No human knew exactly how much power was infused; only from scattered accounts could one infer that it was immense.

For a human, it was a level of power that would make them stagger as they walked.

In the worst-case scenario, it contained the Time Power of Nozdormu the Time-Lord, the magical might of Malygos the Spell-Weaver, the Life Force of Alexstrasza the Life-Binder, and the Dream Mystique of Ysera the Dreamer.

Even a mere understanding of any one of these supreme powers would change the color of any mortal's face, let alone all four combined.

If Nekros was up to the task, not just the mages of Quel'Thalas, even the high elves Anasterian and Anthonidas would have to kneel.

Under normal circumstances, Duke would have been dead, beyond dead, against Nekros.

But...

Duke was calm and collected, his words taking a sudden twist, "I'm in a hurry. Can I ask you to die quickly?"

Duke was very honest, stating his reason—he was in a rush.

Duke was very polite, he even said the word 'please.'

Duke was very annoying because what he requested was Nekros's death.

"You die first!" Nekros suddenly swung a skull staff with faint traces of dried blood, causing the surrounding space to tremble.

Duke's eyes narrowed.

Looking at the evil staff, clearly crafted from a human mage's skull, Duke suddenly didn't feel like talking anymore.

Neither party spoke again, but in the darkness, their magical auras clashed, stirring up endless dust and debris.

Centered around the two of them, a storm surged in all directions.

In that moment, time seemed to freeze.

Although enveloped in darkness, in a vast semi-enclosed space, it felt as if the eyes of the entire world were focused here!

Outside the great iron gate, Orgrim was attacking the seemingly weak line of defense held by Gavinrad and his allies.

"Not good! Nekros is going all out! We need to kill these Alliance quickly!" Orgrim was desperate.

The Red Dragonflight was the Horde's last trump card; there was no room for failure!

The current line-up was possibly the only one capable of holding off him and the other chieftains.

After receiving the power of thunder, Gavinrad's strength in a short-term battle had risen to match Uther, the strongest paladin. If they were to duel within a 10-minute limit, it would end in a draw. Of course, in overtime, Uther, with his more pure Light power and better endurance, would win.

Orgrim wielded the Doomhammer, a weapon he was spiritually connected to, but still couldn't repel Gavinrad.

The other chieftains faced similar problems.

Originally, Kilrogg had a chance to seriously injure Abbendis, but due to Vereesa's cold arrows, his efforts were repeatedly thwarted.

Inside, the duel reached its peak from the very beginning.

Nekros wanted to kill Duke instantly!

He had no choice; the Demon Soul was never a friendly artifact that could communicate with its master's intentions. After being altered by Deathwing, it had become a terrifying magical instrument.

Great power came at the cost of life force!

Although Nekros was a strong orc, and although he would sacrifice disobedient red dragons to the Demon Soul, his life force was not enough for this horrifying magical artifact, capable of wiping out an entire Burning Legion expedition.

Terrifying flames erupted, and the dark space suddenly became as bright as day. It felt as if they had been transported from the darkest depths of hell to be surrounded by hundreds of suns.

No!

Not just surrounded!

They were also being assaulted at comet-like speeds.

Even Duke himself didn't think he had a chance to survive.

Even Vereesa, far outside the iron gate, could feel the surging heat wave behind her.

That was a heat so intense it could instantly melt steel!

Vereesa's face turned as white as her beautiful silver hair: "No—Duke!"

Every person on the Alliance side was terrified, while every person on the Horde side wore a triumphant expression.

"Nekros is this strong!?" Orgrim laughed, attempting to break Gavinrad's will in Common, "Duke is definitely going to die!"

"Bullshit! Duke has never lost to you!" Gavinrad retorted defiantly, but his words seemed to affect Orgrim.

Anyone else would have been dead beyond dead.

But Duke... Uh...

Orgrim suddenly felt a pang of unease!

Inside the massive hollow,

Duke, facing countless fireballs the size of small houses, sighed softly, and with a raise of his hand, unleashed an Arcane Blast.

Could a simple mid-level spell break so many exaggerated fireballs?

The answer was, unless a miracle occurred...

And yet, a miracle did happen.

The terrifying magical power, capable of destroying a kingdom's capital, was unable to tear through that small purple-blue arcane energy.

"How is this possible!?" Nekros screamed.

Almost in an instant, the large fireballs in front of him exploded like balloons pricked by a needle, vanishing into nothing.

Not just the fireballs.

Even the magical shield he had gained at the cost of sacrificing countless void demons to the Demon Soul crumbled under Duke's Arcane Blast, as easily as if it were rotten wood.

Nekros then watched in disbelief as his desperate spell, powered by the Demon Soul, twisted and dissipated upon contact with that seemingly bland magical blast, and the magic condensed on him was suddenly gone.

"Bang!"

Arcane Blast was not a dreadful fire spell; a direct hit did not reduce Nekros to ashes, but he was still knocked back, spitting blood in mid-air, before landing with a soft "thud" on the cold, rough ground.

His ribcage must have shattered completely.

"No... impossible..." Nekros's eyes widened.