In truth, Lux was happy that Nero destroyed the artifact on his chest because this was something that he didn't want others to see. As a Necromancer, everyone thought that they could easily take them out if they managed to isolate him away from his Summons.
What they didn't know was that Lux was just as deadly as his Summons because he wasn't a frail mage that would die just because someone punched him in the gut.
Even now, Lux's regeneration abilities were doing wonders to his body since the opponent he was facing had a higher rank than him.
Nero couldn't believe that, since his Rank was higher than Lux's, the latter was able to last longer than him.
"You still want to continue?" Lux asked in a teasing tone. "I can do this all day."
Although the Half-Elf was smiling, his body was wracked with pain. However, seeing the disbelief on Nero's face was enough for him to break into a smile despite his suffering.
"You and I now stand at opposite sides," Nero replied. "We have nothing to talk about. Only one side can win, and that will be me!"
Nero unleashed a powerful aura, which made Lux take a fighting stance in order to counter it. However, just as he thought that Nero was going to attack him, the latter decisively ran away, leaving him behind.
"..."
When Nero escaped the first time, Lux didn't think much about it because General Fahad had almost arrived in his location.
However, this time, his enemy decisively left the battlefield until he could no longer see Nero's blinking dot on the map of his Soul Book.
"I guess the damage to his soul is significant enough for him to retreat," Lux muttered. "Our ability to control the Power of the Abyss depends on our mood, as well as the state of our body. Since he took all my blows head-on, his soul must have been seriously injured, making him unable to keep the Power of the Abyss from overwhelming his senses.
"He decisively chose to retreat instead of continuing to fight me because he was afraid he would lose control and fall into Abyssal Corruption. It seems that he also received injury from my Corpse Explosion and was already suffering from internal injuries before our battle."
In truth, Lux was surprised because Nero's blows earlier weren't as strong as he expected. His movements were also a bit sluggish and he only compensated them by using the power of the Abyss, allowing him to fight despite his injuries.
"... I should have used Duel [EX]." Lux scratched his head at the unexpected outcome of his battle with Nero.
"Master, are you alright?" Bedivere asked as soon as his Dragon mount landed on the ground.
"Pa!" Eiko shouted before jumping on top of Lux's head, making sure that he was alright.
"I'm fine," Lux replied. "Let's go back to the battlefield, I want to see how everyone is doin–"
—-------
< Ding! >
< Cai has managed to deal the finishing blow to General Phobus. >
< Secondary Quest >
– Killing Lions
Number of Enemy Generals Killed: 1
< Rewards >
– 1 Million Gold Coins - (Sent Directly to your Inventory)
– One Pseudo-Legendary Equipment of your choice - (Go and look for Great General Watson and Great General Sherlock to receive your rewards.)
—-------
"... Good job Cai."
For some reason, Lux wasn't surprised that Cai was the one that managed to deal the killing blow to General Phobus.
He always thought that the Boar's luck was only a rank or two, lower than Iris', allowing it to gain many great opportunities whenever the two of them were together.
However, General Phobus was not Lux's major concern.
It was none other than the Vice General, who was the true mastermind behind the campaign on the Eastern Front.
As long as Second wasn't killed, the Half-Elf wouldn't be able to rest easy, so he hurriedly jumped on the Dragon's back, and urged Bedivere to fly back to where they left General Fahad and the others.
He might have allowed Nero to escape, but there was no way in hell that he would allow the Vice General to see tomorrow's sunrise.
His only regret was that he was unable to pinpoint the Vice General's location on the map, which was filled with red blinking dots regardless of where he looked.
—--------
Several minutes before Lux and Nero fought against each other…
"Surrender, Phobus," Benjamin, who served as General Fahad's second in command said after he and General Phobus exchanged blows.
On the first strike alone, Benjamin already understood that although General Phobus was a Ranker, he was no match against him.
"Surrender?" General Phobus sneered. "I am Phobus of the Farbridge Family! I will never surrender!"
"Is that so?" Benjamin returned General Phobus' sneer with his own. "Very well, I will accept your head with gratitude. Now die!"
Benjamin was an expert Spear Master that had fought countless campaigns against the Vahan Empire.
For him, dealing with General Phobus wasn't a difficult thing. At least, that was what he thought at the beginning.
However, the longer they fought, the more Benjamin realized that his opponent had many powerful artifacts, protecting him from getting fatally injured.
In fact, due to General Phobus knowing that he would be able to withstand his enemy's killing blows, he allowed Benjamin to hit him, while he counterattacked using his Halberd, drawing blood each time he traded blows with the Spear Master.
"Despicable," Benjamin said as he backed away, while his right shoulder bled after being grazed by General Phobus counterattack.
Second, who was paying close attention to General Phobus' battle was almost blown away by General Fahad's strike due to not focusing on his own battle.
"Interesting, you still find the leeway to worry about your General despite the fact that you are fighting me," General Fahad said as he gripped his sword tightly. "I don't know if that is because you're that confident in your skill, or you think too lowly of me."
Second didn't reply and simply delivered a deadly strike to his opponent, forcing the latter to block it.
General Fahad was confident in his strength, but his opponent excelled in speed, making it difficult for him to land a decisive blow each time the two of them clashed.
The General of the Yelan Army didn't want to admit it, but his opponent was slightly stronger than him, giving him a very hard time.
While all of this was happening, a certain boar—that was only two-feet tall—was sneakily making its way behind General Phobus, using the shrubs in the surroundings as cover.
It knew that if it charged recklessly at its target, it would probably be sliced in half, and end up getting kicked out of the Dungeon, losing the opportunity to make a comeback.
Cai planted its front legs firmly on the ground and waited for the right opportunity to strike.
On the outside, many people thought that Cai was annoying, shameless, obnoxious, thick skinned, as well as an idiot. But that was only the persona it used to hide its true self.
However, if that was what it truly was, it would have never become one of Iris' best friends.
As the boar gazed at the battle waiting for an opportunity to strike, it was also paying close attention to General Phobus' reaction time.
The way he fought, as well as the smallest mannerism that even General Phobus wasn't aware he had, Cai was able to see it as clear as day, allowing it to make a detailed plan in its mind where to land a decisive strike on its target.
"Keane, strike on my signal," Cai said through their guild chat, informing the skinny swordsman that was hiding in the distance to prepare his strongest attack.
"Okay," Keane replied as he took a deep breath and lowered his body into a stance that would allow him to draw his sword in one fluid motion.
He could only use this attack once a day because it not only drained all of his stamina, it also exerted a great toll on his muscles, leaving his entire body feeling as heavy as lead.
All the noise in his surroundings disappeared, as if he was the only being in existence. His eyes locked onto General Phobus' body, as he waited for Cai's signal to strike.
He, as well as the others, knew that interfering with the battle between the Generals wasn't the right thing to do.
However, they weren't there to be honorable.
What they wanted was to win and, although they would gain infamy for what they were about to do, they were fine with it as long as they achieved their goal.
"Die Mongrel!" General Phobus shouted as he delivered a killing blow towards Benjamin, who had decided to take a gamble in order to overpower the protective artifacts the General Phobus was wearing on his body, with his strongest attack.
Just as the two was about to clash, a faint yet confident voice, reached their ears, changing the outcome of the battle.
"Grand Void, First Ultimate Form…," Keane said softly as his thumb rested on the handle of his sword. "Splitting the Clouds!"
The skinny swordsman drew his sword so fast, that an invisible blade of air that was as fast as the speed of sound, sliced the trees in front of him in half, and traveled towards General Phobus, hitting his halberd, and making the Ranker lose his balance.
Benjamin, who had already thrust his spear towards his enemy, no longer had the leeway to pull back and simply continued his strike, with the intention of ending his enemy's life.
However, just as his attack hit General Phobus' chest, a metallic ring reverberated in the air, as one of the General's artifacts, shattered, saving his life from Benjamin's killing blow.
Even so, General Phobus still shouted in pain because even if his artifact blocked Benjamin's deadly strike, it failed to completely mitigate the force behind the attack completely.
Second, who saw all of this was about to go to General Phobus' aid when General Fahad blocked his path.
Just as the Vice General was about to force his way through his opponent to help his Lord, he saw something out of the corner of his eye that made his face turn pale.
A four-meter-tall White Boar, emerged from the bushes and impaled General Phobus' back with its deadly tusk, making the latter gasp in pain, and surprise, from the sudden attack that came from his blindspot.
Unfortunately, the General's Enchanted Armor was very tough, preventing Cai from embedding its tusk deep within the Ranker's body. However, it was enough.
After successfully sneak attacking its opponent, Cai tossed the General to the side and ran back towards the bushes in order to hide.
The General not dying from its attack was part of its calculation. But, Cai wasn't betting on its attack to kill General Phobus.
No, it had prepared a different tool to kill the General and that was none other than poison.
Cai's Grandpa, Maximilian, was very good at making medicine. However, the Saint also had other hobbies aside from crafting jewelry, weapons, and armor, and one of them was concocting poisons.
After giving the Sacred White Lotus to Maximilian, in order to make a cure for the Purple Plague that ravished the borders of the Six Kingdoms, the Saint gave Cai a poison that was effective against a Ranker.
However, it was only a miniscule amount. What it did was slowly paralyze the Ranker's body, preventing them from even lifting a finger.
Although it wasn't fatal, it was very effective.
General Phobus, who was preparing to continue his fight against Benjamin, noticed that his movements were starting to become sluggish.
A minute later, he was having trouble lifting his weapon because his hands were no longer listening to him.
Finally, General Phobus grunted as he fell face first to the ground, unable to overcome the paralysis that had spread throughout his entire body.
Cai, who was watching this scene from its hiding place, didn't do anything reckless, and simply applied the remaining poison on its tusk.
Just like Lux, it knew that General Phobus wasn't the greatest threat in the battle.
Now that one of their opponents was down for the count, it locked its eyes on the Vice General, who had killed it, and made its baby Slime, Fei Fei, cry.
If there was one area where Cai and Lux were alike, it was that they both carried grudges.
And Cai would definitely not be able to sleep properly, until it had managed to have its revenge on the enemy who made it lose its stats and money.
In truth, Lux was happy that Nero destroyed the artifact on his chest because this was something that he didn't want others to see. As a Necromancer, everyone thought that they could easily take them out if they managed to isolate him away from his Summons.
What they didn't know was that Lux was just as deadly as his Summons because he wasn't a frail mage that would die just because someone punched him in the gut.
Even now, Lux's regeneration abilities were doing wonders to his body since the opponent he was facing had a higher rank than him.
Nero couldn't believe that, since his Rank was higher than Lux's, the latter was able to last longer than him.
"You still want to continue?" Lux asked in a teasing tone. "I can do this all day."
Although the Half-Elf was smiling, his body was wracked with pain. However, seeing the disbelief on Nero's face was enough for him to break into a smile despite his suffering.
"You and I now stand at opposite sides," Nero replied. "We have nothing to talk about. Only one side can win, and that will be me!"
Nero unleashed a powerful aura, which made Lux take a fighting stance in order to counter it. However, just as he thought that Nero was going to attack him, the latter decisively ran away, leaving him behind.
"..."
When Nero escaped the first time, Lux didn't think much about it because General Fahad had almost arrived in his location.
However, this time, his enemy decisively left the battlefield until he could no longer see Nero's blinking dot on the map of his Soul Book.
"I guess the damage to his soul is significant enough for him to retreat," Lux muttered. "Our ability to control the Power of the Abyss depends on our mood, as well as the state of our body. Since he took all my blows head-on, his soul must have been seriously injured, making him unable to keep the Power of the Abyss from overwhelming his senses.
"He decisively chose to retreat instead of continuing to fight me because he was afraid he would lose control and fall into Abyssal Corruption. It seems that he also received injury from my Corpse Explosion and was already suffering from internal injuries before our battle."
In truth, Lux was surprised because Nero's blows earlier weren't as strong as he expected. His movements were also a bit sluggish and he only compensated them by using the power of the Abyss, allowing him to fight despite his injuries.
"... I should have used Duel [EX]." Lux scratched his head at the unexpected outcome of his battle with Nero.
"Master, are you alright?" Bedivere asked as soon as his Dragon mount landed on the ground.
"Pa!" Eiko shouted before jumping on top of Lux's head, making sure that he was alright.
"I'm fine," Lux replied. "Let's go back to the battlefield, I want to see how everyone is doin–"
—-------
< Ding! >
< Cai has managed to deal the finishing blow to General Phobus. >
< Secondary Quest >
– Killing Lions
Number of Enemy Generals Killed: 1
< Rewards >
– 1 Million Gold Coins - (Sent Directly to your Inventory)
– One Pseudo-Legendary Equipment of your choice - (Go and look for Great General Watson and Great General Sherlock to receive your rewards.)
—-------
"... Good job Cai."
For some reason, Lux wasn't surprised that Cai was the one that managed to deal the killing blow to General Phobus.
He always thought that the Boar's luck was only a rank or two, lower than Iris', allowing it to gain many great opportunities whenever the two of them were together.
However, General Phobus was not Lux's major concern.
It was none other than the Vice General, who was the true mastermind behind the campaign on the Eastern Front.
As long as Second wasn't killed, the Half-Elf wouldn't be able to rest easy, so he hurriedly jumped on the Dragon's back, and urged Bedivere to fly back to where they left General Fahad and the others.
He might have allowed Nero to escape, but there was no way in hell that he would allow the Vice General to see tomorrow's sunrise.
His only regret was that he was unable to pinpoint the Vice General's location on the map, which was filled with red blinking dots regardless of where he looked.
—--------
Several minutes before Lux and Nero fought against each other…
"Surrender, Phobus," Benjamin, who served as General Fahad's second in command said after he and General Phobus exchanged blows.
On the first strike alone, Benjamin already understood that although General Phobus was a Ranker, he was no match against him.
"Surrender?" General Phobus sneered. "I am Phobus of the Farbridge Family! I will never surrender!"
"Is that so?" Benjamin returned General Phobus' sneer with his own. "Very well, I will accept your head with gratitude. Now die!"
Benjamin was an expert Spear Master that had fought countless campaigns against the Vahan Empire.
For him, dealing with General Phobus wasn't a difficult thing. At least, that was what he thought at the beginning.
However, the longer they fought, the more Benjamin realized that his opponent had many powerful artifacts, protecting him from getting fatally injured.
In fact, due to General Phobus knowing that he would be able to withstand his enemy's killing blows, he allowed Benjamin to hit him, while he counterattacked using his Halberd, drawing blood each time he traded blows with the Spear Master.
"Despicable," Benjamin said as he backed away, while his right shoulder bled after being grazed by General Phobus counterattack.
Second, who was paying close attention to General Phobus' battle was almost blown away by General Fahad's strike due to not focusing on his own battle.
"Interesting, you still find the leeway to worry about your General despite the fact that you are fighting me," General Fahad said as he gripped his sword tightly. "I don't know if that is because you're that confident in your skill, or you think too lowly of me."
Second didn't reply and simply delivered a deadly strike to his opponent, forcing the latter to block it.
General Fahad was confident in his strength, but his opponent excelled in speed, making it difficult for him to land a decisive blow each time the two of them clashed.
The General of the Yelan Army didn't want to admit it, but his opponent was slightly stronger than him, giving him a very hard time.
While all of this was happening, a certain boar—that was only two-feet tall—was sneakily making its way behind General Phobus, using the shrubs in the surroundings as cover.
It knew that if it charged recklessly at its target, it would probably be sliced in half, and end up getting kicked out of the Dungeon, losing the opportunity to make a comeback.
Cai planted its front legs firmly on the ground and waited for the right opportunity to strike.
On the outside, many people thought that Cai was annoying, shameless, obnoxious, thick skinned, as well as an idiot. But that was only the persona it used to hide its true self.
However, if that was what it truly was, it would have never become one of Iris' best friends.
As the boar gazed at the battle waiting for an opportunity to strike, it was also paying close attention to General Phobus' reaction time.
The way he fought, as well as the smallest mannerism that even General Phobus wasn't aware he had, Cai was able to see it as clear as day, allowing it to make a detailed plan in its mind where to land a decisive strike on its target.
"Keane, strike on my signal," Cai said through their guild chat, informing the skinny swordsman that was hiding in the distance to prepare his strongest attack.
"Okay," Keane replied as he took a deep breath and lowered his body into a stance that would allow him to draw his sword in one fluid motion.
He could only use this attack once a day because it not only drained all of his stamina, it also exerted a great toll on his muscles, leaving his entire body feeling as heavy as lead.
All the noise in his surroundings disappeared, as if he was the only being in existence. His eyes locked onto General Phobus' body, as he waited for Cai's signal to strike.
He, as well as the others, knew that interfering with the battle between the Generals wasn't the right thing to do.
However, they weren't there to be honorable.
What they wanted was to win and, although they would gain infamy for what they were about to do, they were fine with it as long as they achieved their goal.
"Die Mongrel!" General Phobus shouted as he delivered a killing blow towards Benjamin, who had decided to take a gamble in order to overpower the protective artifacts the General Phobus was wearing on his body, with his strongest attack.
Just as the two was about to clash, a faint yet confident voice, reached their ears, changing the outcome of the battle.
"Grand Void, First Ultimate Form…," Keane said softly as his thumb rested on the handle of his sword. "Splitting the Clouds!"
The skinny swordsman drew his sword so fast, that an invisible blade of air that was as fast as the speed of sound, sliced the trees in front of him in half, and traveled towards General Phobus, hitting his halberd, and making the Ranker lose his balance.
Benjamin, who had already thrust his spear towards his enemy, no longer had the leeway to pull back and simply continued his strike, with the intention of ending his enemy's life.
However, just as his attack hit General Phobus' chest, a metallic ring reverberated in the air, as one of the General's artifacts, shattered, saving his life from Benjamin's killing blow.
Even so, General Phobus still shouted in pain because even if his artifact blocked Benjamin's deadly strike, it failed to completely mitigate the force behind the attack completely.
Second, who saw all of this was about to go to General Phobus' aid when General Fahad blocked his path.
Just as the Vice General was about to force his way through his opponent to help his Lord, he saw something out of the corner of his eye that made his face turn pale.
A four-meter-tall White Boar, emerged from the bushes and impaled General Phobus' back with its deadly tusk, making the latter gasp in pain, and surprise, from the sudden attack that came from his blindspot.
Unfortunately, the General's Enchanted Armor was very tough, preventing Cai from embedding its tusk deep within the Ranker's body. However, it was enough.
After successfully sneak attacking its opponent, Cai tossed the General to the side and ran back towards the bushes in order to hide.
The General not dying from its attack was part of its calculation. But, Cai wasn't betting on its attack to kill General Phobus.
No, it had prepared a different tool to kill the General and that was none other than poison.
Cai's Grandpa, Maximilian, was very good at making medicine. However, the Saint also had other hobbies aside from crafting jewelry, weapons, and armor, and one of them was concocting poisons.
After giving the Sacred White Lotus to Maximilian, in order to make a cure for the Purple Plague that ravished the borders of the Six Kingdoms, the Saint gave Cai a poison that was effective against a Ranker.
However, it was only a miniscule amount. What it did was slowly paralyze the Ranker's body, preventing them from even lifting a finger.
Although it wasn't fatal, it was very effective.
General Phobus, who was preparing to continue his fight against Benjamin, noticed that his movements were starting to become sluggish.
A minute later, he was having trouble lifting his weapon because his hands were no longer listening to him.
Finally, General Phobus grunted as he fell face first to the ground, unable to overcome the paralysis that had spread throughout his entire body.
Cai, who was watching this scene from its hiding place, didn't do anything reckless, and simply applied the remaining poison on its tusk.
Just like Lux, it knew that General Phobus wasn't the greatest threat in the battle.
Now that one of their opponents was down for the count, it locked its eyes on the Vice General, who had killed it, and made its baby Slime, Fei Fei, cry.
If there was one area where Cai and Lux were alike, it was that they both carried grudges.
And Cai would definitely not be able to sleep properly, until it had managed to have its revenge on the enemy who made it lose its stats and money.
