A silver sword was aimed straight at his throat from behind, and Zac barely had time to block it with the enlarged edge of [Chop]. The power of the strike was enormous, and Zac was flung back from the force. He didn’t even have time to land before a molten spear struck him in his back, the searing pain eliciting a howl.
Neither the herald nor the general were ready to give up the fruits, and for a second put their differences aside in order to hunt down Zac. The same couldn’t be said of their underlings, of course, as their furious melee quickly resumed after the fruits were snatched. The monkey horde was once again starting to lose control of the situation, but this time, Zac was too occupied to do anything about it. The fires started to grow, and soon the whole valley would likely be consumed in a conflagration.
Zac was in no position to worry about his island burning down, as he currently had two formidable foes to contend with. With steely eyes, he activated chop to the limit he could sustain it and charged at the duo. With a roar, he swung the axe in an upward curve, rending a huge gash in the ground as he did. The edge flew toward the general, who Zac estimated to be the most formidable foe.
With a slanted blade, the demon managed to nullify most of the force and redirected the swing upward. He then immediately followed up with a quick forward stab aimed straight at Zac’s heart. Zac barely managed to inch his chest to the side in order to avoid the blade, but it still tore a bloody gash along his chest. The sword had to be of superior make, as it actually ruined the inscribed dress he wore over his armor. If Zac had known this would happen, he would have immediately used its charge instead of holding out for a more threatening situation.
The herald wouldn’t miss the opportunity either and spat some magma in Zac’s direction. Most luckily missed, but some splattered on Zac’s arm, and some nauseating sizzling could be heard. Zac could only press forward, hoping to end things quickly.
He used every trick he had learned from [Axe Mastery], trying to get past the sword of the general in order to do some damage. Each swing was imbued with all the strength he could exert, and the wailing sounds of his axe filled the air. He even swapped between using his Dao and using [Chop], trying to disrupt the general’s rhythm.
But it seemed that nothing worked against the demon. He smoothly deflected or dodged every strike that Zac put out, not even looking strained. His Strength clearly wasn’t at the same level as Zac’s, but he made up for it with skill with the blade. Still, Zac judged his Strength to be far above one hundred, though, as every strike with the blades created terrifying collisions, the shock waves keeping any fire out of their way. The ground beneath their feet kept cracking and getting destroyed as well.
Even more dangerously, it looked like the demon also possessed a Dao Seed, or at least was beginning to comprehend one. His strikes contained a sense of sharpness, and the shock waves from his strikes actually cut small wounds on Zac’s body when the air hit him.
The herald had gone somewhat passive, content in letting the two duke it out for a bit as he recuperated. By now, it likely knew that it was not the match of either one of the two combatants and probably hoped they would kill each other. Although it threw the occasional spear or boulder at Zac, it mostly focused on helping out his brethren against the demon army. A few demons had tried to join the general in his battle against Zac, but the herald luckily killed them as they came. Unfortunately, the general was in no need of backup and was doing just fine on his own.
Zac was steadily accruing wounds from his fight with the demon, as he wasn’t able to dodge his lightning-quick stabs. The best he could do was to avoid the sword hitting fatal spots by adjusting his body. Even worse, the general was one of the demons who used the black lightning attacks.
He used it far more freely compared to the first demon he had met. Every strike contained the biting sting of the arcs, and the lightning was actually slowly accumulating inside Zac’s body. His arm suddenly jerked from the shock, completely exposing his chest. The demon was prepared, and with a lunge, stabbed his sword straight in Zac’s chest.
Lightning poured freely into his body, and Zac coughed up a mouthful of blood from the damage. He normally might have passed out from the pain, but the lightning kept him awake. To make matters worse, lava spikes erupted from the ground between Zac’s legs from a stomp of the herald.
Surprisingly, the spikes shot toward the general, with the largest one aiming straight toward his exposed heart. It looked like the herald had been waiting for an opportunity for a double knockout. However, the general simply snorted, and from nowhere, all the spikes were cut into pieces. Hovering next to him was the sword that the demon had kept on his back throughout the battle.
It crackled with black lightning and seemed to have no problem with defying the laws of gravity. It hovered a few rounds around the general before it returned into the scabbard on his back on its own.
Abruptly, the spike on the back of Zac’s axe-head slammed into the temple of the herald, instantly killing it. Zac had taken advantage of the brief pause of the herald after its attack and used it to mount a surprise attack. Zac had consistently focused all his energy on attacking the general thus far, and the herald had grown lax. He hadn’t actually planned on killing the herald before the general, but he saw an opportunity and took it.
A huge surge of Cosmic Energy entered Zac’s body, and he felt himself gain another level. There was no time to go over it, though, as the general renewed his attacks on him. Zac once again found himself at an impasse, steadily losing ground. The chest wound was creating trouble for him to breathe and move freely as well, and the fight turned even more one-sided. He wanted to somehow create an opportunity to flee, as he had accomplished all he needed for now. But the general would barely let him breathe, let alone leave the scene.
A tremendous amount of roaring erupted in the surroundings as well. The monkeys lost their minds upon seeing their leader fall and started madly swinging at everything around them. In their madness, they completely gave up on defense and started dropping with even faster speed compared to before. One after another, the monkeys died, becoming food for the expanding fires. The flames hadn’t died out due to the death of the herald, instead truly becoming a force of their own as they spread over the dried leaves and husks.
Zac desperately tried to swing faster and with more power to turn the tide, but the general felt like an impenetrable wall of deft blades. As he kept fighting and swapping back and forth between [Chop] and the Dao, something suddenly clicked in his mind, and he once again summoned the fractal blade.
This time, it was different, as it held a darker hue and emanated the aura of a lofty mountain. Even the fractals on the edge had grown denser, weaving another line of inscriptions along the edge. He’d finally managed to integrate his Dao with his skill, and the result wasn’t as simple as one plus one equals two. Something new was born out of the fusion.
With renewed vigor, Zac roared and furiously swung his axe at the general, aiming to end it all with one strike. It was a huge overhead swing aimed at the demon’s head, and it carried the aura of a falling meteor.
The demon immediately sensed something was wrong but didn’t have time to dodge. Looking serious for the first time, the demon roared as the sword on his back flashed into his free hand, and he held up both his swords in the air in order to block the strike.
Just another sword wasn’t enough, and the force slammed him down to his knees, the impact blowing any debris or bodies in the surroundings far away. The general tried to deflect the force, but the Chop of Heaviness was intractable as it pushed his blades down. A golden sheen flashed into existence around the demon, but it only held for a second before it cracked. The force in the strike contained everything Zac had learned and gained so far, and a flimsy armor inscription wouldn’t stop it.
An amulet around the neck of the demon started shining with a blinding light, and a silver shield winked into existence next. It looked like the shield of a celestial, as it shone with b
rilliant fractals as it met the oncoming axe.
The collision didn’t create a huge impact as Zac expected, but it rather seemed the shield somehow absorbed the momentum. After the strike, the shield started to crack, and the general groaned miserably as a crack could also be heard in his right arm. It looked like using that amulet didn’t come without its price. But it was sufficient to stop Zac’s monstrous swing.
The general didn’t seem lax as before, and with an angry roar and his hair in disarray, he got to his feet. With a couple of furious slashes, he created some distance from Zac, then pointed his sword toward the sky. His second blade crackled with an extreme amount of lightning and rapidly flew over ten meters up in the sky. The lightning kept expanding around it, creating a wide field of a lightning hellscape.
The black arcs changed and actually turned into sword silhouettes covered in fractals. It reminded Zac of his own Cosmic Energy edge, but the danger he felt from the roughly hundred swords sinisterly hanging above was above anything he had felt thus far. The general didn’t pull any punches anymore and wanted to completely eradicate him.
The lightning blades started falling toward Zac like a heavenly punishment. Any one of the blades could kill Zac if it hit, and there were over a hundred of them incoming. Knowing there was nowhere to hide from the strike, Zac could only fight it head-on. Cramming all his remaining Cosmic Energy into the fractal on his hand, he created his largest edge thus far, sporting an almost eight-meter-long blade. It was imbued with the Dao of Heaviness, and with a roar of defiance, he launched it like a projectile up against the sword rain.
For a second, it felt like a colossal mountain rose from the ground to intercept the heavenly thunder above, in a struggle between the Heavens and Earth. The collision was earth-shattering, and the chaotic energies temporarily blotted out the sky. Errant lightning blades fell all over the area, killing and maiming monkeys and demons alike.
Zac had managed to avert most of the attack with his colossal edge, but he was completely drained, and his head hurt. Furthermore, his swing wasn’t able to destroy all of the falling blades, and he found himself impaled by multiple lightning swords. The general was panting as he walked over to Zac, one arm hanging limply to his side. He didn’t look like he had much fight left in him either, but it was enough to finish Zac off.
His second sword floated above his head, looking like a sinister scorpion’s stinger. Its crackling lightning had dimmed considerably, but it still held a strong killing intent within. Their eyes met for a brief second, and the sword shot down toward Zac’s head. He tried to muster up a response, but he could only feebly lift his axe in an attempt to avert the incoming sword.
A spear of complete darkness suddenly emerged out of the general’s chest and lifted him up in the air, forcing him to puke out a huge amount of blood as his body started spasming. The sinister-looking weapon had truly impaled him and likely completely obliterated his heart.
Behind the general, a hooded demon in average gear was standing, with a determined glint in his eyes as he looked upon his dying leader. The general arduously turned his head, and when he saw his assailant, his eyes shrank to pinpoints.
With his last breath, he let out a ragged roar that covered the whole battlefield, garnering the attention of all the combatants.
“OGRAS!”
63
Purple Haze
The sinister blade that was supposed to end Zac’s life powerlessly fell to the ground as the general died. Zac mutely stared at the impaled demon, unable to comprehend what was going on. The same seemed to be true for the hundreds of demons who watched the betrayal. They stared blankly at the scene until they were awoken by an angry roar from one of the well-dressed leaders.
Suddenly, a murderous din filled the air as multiple demons were screaming and pointing their weapons at Zac’s unexpected ally. The demon stood up from his hunkered position as he looked around at its supposed allies with a sneer. He threw away the corpse of the demon leader like it was trash with a whip of his lance after looting his pouch, and then turned toward Zac with a half-smile.
Suddenly, the killer took something out of his pouch and popped it into his mouth. Unsure of what was going on, Zac shakily got ready for another round of battle as he finally scrambled to his feet. The wounds where he was impaled by the lightning blades screamed in protest, but he forced himself to stay upright. He looked at the demon in front of him with a dubious expression, wondering why this man had saved his life. Zac’s eyes widened as the demon unexpectedly puked out a huge amount of blackened blood and fell over to the ground. With a few spasms, he lay dead next to the general.
“WHAT?” Zac exclaimed, completely unable to follow the quick turn of events. Was the man an assassin or a member of a death squad that some rival demon group had sent after the general? But why would they want to ruin their own invasion? From what Zac understood, the incursion would close the moment the four heralds and the general were dead.
But he could only put aside his doubts for now, as he was completely wrung out but still surrounded by hundreds of demons. At least they looked shell-shocked by the turn of events as well, as they hesitantly stared at the two corpses on the ground. Zac used this brief respite to quickly take a swig of the azure pond water, the familiar burning sensation quickly spreading through his veins, temporarily muting the blazing pain in his various wounds. He knew he had to treat himself real soon, though, as he was starting to feel woozy from blood loss, even with the water strengthening him.
Just as he put away the bottle, the assassin suddenly spasmed again, and with a few wretched coughs, he rose from the dead. Zac didn’t want to take any chances and started to advance on the zombie demon.
“Wait, human, we are on the same side,” the demon croaked as he weakly scrambled to his feet.
Shocked at hearing something other than demonic for the first time since he’d met Abby, Zac paused and hesitantly stared at the demon. The surrounding demons suddenly woke up from their stupor and started angrily screaming at the assassin again, which was completely ignored by him.
“We don’t have time for a chat, human. You should have a cauldron of poison from the imps. Throw the contents into a fire if you want us to survive,” he continued.
“Why should I believe you? Why did you kill that man?” Zac questioned, loath to just follow some stranger’s instructions. He glanced around and saw that most of the demons were closing in, except for a few who were taking care of the leftover monkeys.
“It doesn’t matter. Unless you do something, we’re dead. Even if you drink the whole bottle of the Cosmic Water, your wounds will kill you before you’re out of this valley if you keep fighting,” the demon interjected, having seen through Zac’s original plan of trying to slash himself out with the help of the azure water. An arrow whizzed past Zac’s head as a reminder he was strapped for time, and he needed to act fast.
After hesitating for a while, he decided to comply with the suggestion. He subconsciously knew he wouldn’t make it out, as the only thing keeping him on his feet was the temporary boost from the water. He had held off until now, but it was Hail Mary time.
He brought out the large cauldron and, with a grunt, threw it into one of the fiercest fires created by the herald. The contents spilled out over the fire, and instantly, a huge purple cloud, far more sinister compared to what he had seen in the imp herald’s cave, swelled out. The poison vapors created in the caves had only been from the small fires underneath the cauldron heating the concoction, but this time, the poison was actually burned instead of heated up. It looked like it fused with the smoke of the raging fires, and quickly spread outward.
“What now?” he asked as he turned to the mysterious demon.
“Now I wish you the best of luck, human,” the demon answered with a slight smile as he popped another pill into his mouth. It was a different type of pill from the one that temporarily killed him, giving out a refreshing herbal scent. He then took one step and disappeared into
thin air.
Zac got a sinking feeling as he turned back to the cauldron. The fire was spewing out purple gasses in a terrifying volume, and they quickly expanded outward. Judging from the horrified faces of the demons, he realized he might have made a big mistake. Not wasting any more time on the enigmatic demon, he madly ran for his life back toward the forest. He stumbled and couldn’t keep a very high speed even powered with the water, and his wounds kept bleeding as he ran for his life. With the mountain winds helping, the poison cloud would likely soon envelop the whole valley, judging from its rapid expansion.
Only a few of the demons bothered with Zac after seeing the expanding purple haze, and instead fearfully dashed away from the battlefield, unheeding of any wounded comrades screaming for assistance.
A few of the wounded demons went for Zac with madness in their eyes, bent on taking him with them to hell. However, most of those who had given up fleeing were even more wounded than Zac and could only helplessly glare at him as he stumbled away, fueled by the azure water. An errant arrow hit his back, but Zac only grunted and continued on.
But the cloud moved too fast, and soon it was right at Zac’s heels. As he ran, he took out a rag from his pouch and put it over his mouth, hoping it would at least provide some protection against the approaching cloud.
Just before the cloud overtook him, he took one last deep breath of fresh air. Soon after the world turned purple, and a stinging sensation made his eyes tear. He couldn’t see very far ahead anymore but could only keep moving forward as long as the air in his lungs let him. He madly dashed as quickly as his broken body allowed toward where he remembered the closest peak to be. Still, he knew it would take over thirty minutes at his speed to get there, and even then, he might not be safe.
The wounds of his body seemed to be entrances for the poison as he started to get nauseous, even though he kept his breath so far. After a while, he couldn’t hold on any longer and was forced to inhale a lungful of poison. He immediately started getting extremely woozy, his power quickly leaving his legs. The strength of the poison truly was on another level compared to the fumes down in the herald’s cave.
Defiance of the Fall: A LitRPG Adventure Page 34