Chapter 17: The Great Battle (Part 4)

The figure plummeted from the sky, still wreathed in the electric glow of a lightning spell. Midway through his fall, the lightning dissipated and was replaced by the radiance of white magic. With a heavy crash, he landed on an enormous ancient tree, snapping a branch as thick as a water barrel under his weight. A chaotic cascade of cracking and snapping followed before he, along with a mass of branches and leaves, finally fell to the ground ahead of Asa.

Despite falling from hundreds of meters in the air without dying, the man's resilience was evident. Shakily, he managed to stand, his body swaying. When he saw Asa rushing towards him, he froze, opening his mouth as if to shout something, but no sound came out.

Asa had already noticed that the person falling from the sky was Yabin. He could tell from Yabin's movements that some recognition had sparked, but with Asa's face hidden behind a mask, it seemed Yabin hadn't fully identified him. Asa said nothing, nor did he slow his pace. He continued to sprint toward the Ancient War Tree ahead. There was no need to look back—he could already hear the footsteps of his pursuer behind him. This was no time for idle chatter, even with an acquaintance.

Suddenly, a myriad of dazzling multicolored lights flared around Asa, and the magical waves of white magic instantly immobilized his muscles. His sprinting body froze mid-stride.

"Hah!" Asa let out a sharp exhale. At that very moment, the radiant glow of battle aura burst forth from his body, shattering the paralyzing spell in an instant. The spell only managed to restrain him for the briefest moment, like the blink of an eye.

But even that fleeting paralysis had unbalanced Asa's footing. Stumbling awkwardly, he faltered in his stride. Meanwhile, behind him, the pursuing Knight Tamik had already closed the distance. Like a gray streak of lightning, the knight's figure surged forward, his black, fang-like blade shrieking through the air like the wail of an ancient ghost.

The paralysis scroll crafted personally by the Pope had only managed to restrain Asa for half a second, much to Tamik's astonishment. Still, that brief moment was enough. Tamik poured all his strength into his blade. He was certain—aside from Lancelote, no one had ever been able to withstand his full-powered strike.

Now, with his balance compromised and his back turned while attempting to flee, Asa had seemingly resigned himself to death. Forcing himself to stabilize, he pivoted, mustered his strength, and met Knight Tamik's all-out slash head-on.

The clash of their two blades produced no earth-shattering shockwave or roaring boom. Instead, the only sound was a soft, squishy "thud," like two strands of wet noodles slapping together. The sound was unnerving, hollow yet surreal.

The force of the collision sent Knight Tamik stumbling back several steps, while Asa was hurled straight into the air.

Yabin staggered where he stood, a sickening nausea washing over him. Though he wasn't particularly close to the two combatants, nor had their clash produced any visible shockwave, the eerie sound of their black blades meeting felt like it had burrowed straight into his brain and churned his insides.

Within a radius of ten meters around their point of impact, leaves cascaded from the trees in a sudden downpour. Curiously, the leaves, still green and vibrant as they fell, turned withered and brown the moment they hit the ground. The grass beneath their feet had already disintegrated into blackened mush.

Asa, though flung into the air, had no strength left to counter or redirect himself. His momentum carried him backward until his body slammed into a towering tree with a resounding thud. The impact snapped the tree—a massive trunk as wide as two men's arms spread—clean in half. Finally coming to a halt, Asa coughed up a thick mouthful of blood. The liquid was dark, almost as black as ink, while his face turned as pale as a sheet of paper.

"Excellent! Now die!" Knight Tamik steadied himself, blood trickling faintly from the corner of his mouth. For the first time, a savage and distorted expression overtook his previously wooden, emotionless face.

He exclaimed "Excellent!" with heartfelt conviction.

Apart from Lancelote, it had been at least ten years since anyone had managed to injure him. Yet, the subsequent "Die!" carried with it the ferocious fighting spirit that had been dormant for so long, now fully awakened. This rare opponent was about to meet his end. Even if he himself had sustained injuries, his foe's condition was undoubtedly far worse. The death magic curse imbued in his blade, combined with his battle aura and killing intent, was powerful enough to slay a Behemoth in one strike.

He lunged forward, his black blade transforming into a storm of shadows, overwhelming and enveloping his adversary entirely.

Asa took a deep breath. Black blood, forced out by necromantic magic, still stained the corner of his mouth. Yet with just that deep inhale, his feeble expression seemed to recover significantly. When the overwhelming black blade energy came surging toward him, he exhaled again, his face visibly regaining a healthy flush. With a single swing of his blade, he struck back.

This time, there was a resounding clang. Asa was knocked off the stump of the broken tree and thrown backward.

Knight Tamik stumbled two steps back, his face now filled with astonishment. He could scarcely believe that this man still had the strength to retaliate and had even forced him to retreat.

At that moment, the final screech of the War Mantis echoed from above. The massive creature's two severed halves plummeted to the ground. Following that came the shout of Master Aiden: "Catch the elf girl up there! The World Tree Leaf is in her hands!"

Master Aiden's cry was directed at the mages in the sky, but the two on the ground heard it clearly. Both of them trembled simultaneously and glanced at the fallen halves of the War Mantis. They both saw the silhouette of the elf girl leaping from its back. Her landing point was not far, within easy reach of either of them if they dashed toward her.

But in the next instant, the two men reverted to the same action: stepping forward and raising their blades to strike at each other. Their figures clashed several times in quick succession, then separated. This time, there was no sound of their weapons colliding. Instead, a deep, bone-revealing gash appeared on Asa's shoulder, while a chunk of Knight Tamik's scalp, along with a few strands of hair, went flying.

Though neither wound was fatal, both men staggered, seemingly unable to maintain their balance. They refrained from attacking each other again. Asa felt as though molten iron mixed with poison had been poured into the gash on his shoulder. The curses embedded in the wound spread wildly in all directions, and he had to unleash both his battle aura and white magic at full force to expel them. Meanwhile, Knight Tamik's head swam with dizziness. When Asa's blade had cut into his flesh, it felt as if the blade had sucked at his very blood and even tugged at his brain.

This exchange had been a reckless, all-out assault. Neither had bothered with defense or parrying. Both knew the other sought the same prize and recognized each other as the greatest obstacle to obtaining it.

But there was a difference: Tamik only wanted the World Tree Leaf, while Asa also needed to save someone. Only Ruya could have wielded the World Tree Leaf to command that creature in aerial battle. However, with her abilities, there was no way she could survive a fall from such a great height, especially with Master Aiden, an air magic expert, pursuing her.

Asa spat out another mouthful of blood with a "pfft." This time, the blood was not black but bright red. It was his own blood, forced out by biting his tongue. The blood sprayed onto his blade.

The instant the blood touched the black blade, it disappeared. The blade began to emit a crimson glow. Asa's mouthful of blood transformed the weapon into a radiant, dazzling light of blood, which he used to strike Knight Tamik again.

A thunderous crash followed, accompanied by a spray of blood and a misty crimson haze. This time, their clash erupted into a true and violent collision of raw energy and power. Amid the explosion of battle aura and blood mist, Knight Tamik was sent flying backward. Asa seized the opportunity to leap toward the midair Ruya.

As he was flung back, Knight Tamik spat out a mouthful of blood, nearly dropping his weapon. This time, he was genuinely injured. The power, weight, and ferocity of Asa's strike had been so overwhelming that he almost suspected it came from a Behemoth. Landing on the ground, he barely managed to stabilize his internal organs and muscles, which had been shaken violently. But he could no longer catch up to Asa.

Though Asa had rushed ahead, he wasn't in much better shape than Knight Tamik. Without the faint energy fluctuations of the Sunwell sustaining him, he could barely move. The blade's thirst for blood had drained a significant portion of his energy and magic power. Yet even with such a devastating attack, he had only managed to injure, not defeat, his opponent.

"Who are you?" Realizing he couldn't pursue Asa, Knight Tamik abruptly turned toward Yabin, who stood not far away. He had noticed this peculiar observer earlier but had ignored him.

Yabin froze. The rapid, dizzying exchanges between Asa and Tamik had left him in a daze, unsure of what to do. Though he had recognized Asa, he also knew he was entirely powerless to intervene. Now, the situation seemed even more dire.

The knight's expression still appeared wooden, but the blood at the corner of his mouth and the savage, murderous intent in his eyes were enough to chill anyone to the bone. Yabin knew that, despite Tamik's injuries, killing him would be as effortless as slaughtering a chicken.

"Spare me! I don't know him!" Yabin dropped to his knees and raised his hands in surrender.