Chapter 1450: 1450. Counter

Golden light filled the area where King Elbas and Percival were fighting. The expert in the solid stage threw lightning bolts from his fingers whenever he managed to find one of the Royal's items among a dense sea of flames.

Swords, spears, and flames flew relentlessly toward Percival, but a thick layer of sparks covered his body and protected him from any incoming attack. His lightning bolts always destroyed the items they hit, so King Elbas slowly lost terrain during the battle.

Still, King Elbas had unleashed the full power of his creations. Inscribed items never stopped coming out of his space-ring. Percival continued to destroy them, but there seemed to be no end to that offensive.

King Elbas hid among the golden flames launched by his puppets. He wore an unsightly expression as he studied his opponent. Percival was the weakest of the three solid stage cultivators, but that didn't make him any easier to defeat.

"Can you stop using these annoying tools?!" Percival shouted as he joined his hands to release a circular shockwave that dispersed countless lightning bolts in the area.

The golden flames and all the items in his range crumbled under the might of his individuality. Percival was a storm that released destruction with his every move. His lightning bolts had the power to pierce anything, especially inscribed items that were weaker than him.

King Elbas never stopped throwing items at his opponent. He had already lost hundreds of inscribed weapons when he spoke with Noah, and more of them crumbled after he resumed his fight.

The battle wasn't going anywhere, but King Elbas knew that he couldn't continue like that. He would eventually use all his items, and Percival would have a clean shot at that point.

However, King Elbas didn't stop relying on his peak middle tier items. Massive bolts, flames, and puppets flew toward his opponent in a desperate attempt to pierce his defenses and reach his body.

The greatest difference between cultivators in different stages was their sheer power, and Percival completely overwhelmed King Elbas in that field. The Royal couldn't defeat his shield with those peak middle tier items.

King Elbas didn't have techniques that could make him ignore that difference in power. Even Noah had to rely on an item to express solid stage battle prowess. The Royal had to do the same if he wanted to win.

Still, King Elbas had other plans. His space-ring hid many secrets, but he didn't want to reveal them yet. His curiosity had to complete one step before he could fight for real.

Percival released another spherical shockwave, and raging lightning bolts began to linger on his figure and destroy anything that entered his range. The expert shot toward the sea of flames at that point and countless inscribed items fell prey to his destructiveness.

The cultivator couldn't sense King Elbas among the golden flames, but he didn't care about that. The Royal had to come out after he destroyed everything.

Percival wasn't even worried about his reserve of "Breath". He was in the solid stage, so he obviously had more energy than King Elbas. It didn't matter that the Royal was mainly relying on inscribed items. Percival wouldn't exhaust himself before his opponent.

King Elbas flew through his sea of flames as he escaped from the lightning bolts that surrounded Percival. The number of inscribed items in the area fell rapidly, but no worry appeared on his face.

A peculiar aura came out of King Elbas. His figure radiated intense but tiny radiations that seeped inside the lightning bolts and studied their nature.

Information about Percival's individuality quickly filled King Elbas' mind. His consciousness also memorized features that only experts in multiple fields of the cultivation journey could list. The Royal was using his inscribed items to escape long enough to learn everything about Percival's law.

When Percival flew toward the last area of the sea of flames that he had yet to destroy, King Elbas came out of his cover and retreated through the sky.

The cultivator destroyed the golden flames before chasing after King Elbas. Percival had grown so annoyed by that golden color that he sought to destroy anything that carried those shades.

Percival was faster than King Elbas, so he quickly reached the Royal and prepared himself to launch the long-awaited final attack. He had already hit his opponent once before, but the golden defenses had stopped his techniques. Yet, King Elbas was almost defenseless now, so Percival felt sure that it was time to land a finishing blow.

King Elbas turned when Percival was about to attack. A massive lightning bolt flew toward him, but the Royal didn't attempt to dodge it. He simply lifted his hand and closed his eyes as his curiosity filled the entire area.

The lightning bolt suddenly vanished right before touching King Elbas' fingers. Its energy dispersed into the environment and disappeared in the white sky.

"What?" Percival exclaimed.

King Elbas had only lifted his hand. He didn't use any unique item or technique. His individuality had surged for a second, and the lightning bolt had vanished under its influence.

"What did you do to my attack?" Percival asked.

"Those who reach the solid stage should be talents among talents," King Elbas said as he shook his head. "Look at you. You have so much power, but you barely separate yourself from things that already exist in the world. There is nothing to fear from the storm if you know what it carries."

"What are you even saying?" Percival asked again. "I am the storm. Heaven Tribulations shy away in fear of my lightning. I can turn everything you have into ashes and pierce the toughest metal. I am true, unstoppable power!"

"A dumb law for a dumb cultivator," King Elbas replied as he heaved a helpless sigh. "Power alone is useless, especially in front of me."

"Such gall!" Percival said as the crackling noise that surrounded his figure became more intense. "I don't know what trick you used, but it won't work against an amount of power that would make even solid stage cultivators run away."

Percival joined his hands, and the lightning bolts around his figure flowed back inside his skin. Sparks ran through him and converged toward his arms.

The crackling noise intensified as Percival separated his hands. A massive surge of power spread in the environment when he revealed the small orb that had appeared among his palms.

The orb released crackling noises and flares that pierced the ground when they touched it. The attack seemed powerful to generate lightning bolts since it didn't lose any power when those surges happened.

"Block this," Percival said as he let go of the orb.

The crackling sphere flew slowly toward King Elbas, who tried to escape. However, he soon noticed that the aura released by the orb prevented him from using his abilities. It created a field where only the lightning bolts could exist.

King Elbas' curiosity intensified again at that point. He lifted his hand, and his whole arm turned into golden flames that crumbled under the pressure radiated by the orb.

That destruction continued until King Elbas lost half of his torso. The orb had suddenly stopped before reaching his head, and Percival could only remain speechless at that sight.

Percival didn't stop the orb. His attack was still under his control, but he didn't manage to make it continue its flight. Something was preventing it from moving.

King Elbas closed his eyes, and the crackling noise slowly lost some intensity. The process continued until the attack vanished and gently released its energy into the world.

Percival didn't know what to say to that scene. He didn't lie to King Elbas. Even solid stage cultivators would struggle to face that attack.

"How-," Percival began to ask, but blood suddenly filled his mouth.

King Elbas had thrown three inscribed blades during that moment of distraction, and the weapons had pierced Percival's waist before he could complete his question.

"How did I do it?" King Elbas said as he completed Percival's question. "I learnt how your law works and created an energy that destabilizes it. Your lightning bolt can't exist near me anymore."