Chapter 329 Nudging It Awake

"Everyone, retreat!" Eliseus shouted, awakening everyone from their daze.

The Warriors also turned around and ushered the Dark Elves to Lysimork. All of them were tired. Should they be anywhere close to Layland and Quetzalcoatl's fighting spot, all of them would perish without a trace. Their sheer pressure could still be felt despite the Magic Barrier the golden tree generated. Their fight would be explosive.

Of course, that didn't mean everyone returned to Lysimork. Some selected individuals stayed to watch the fight. Though, they properly kept their distance from the two. Even Eliseus didn't observe the fight up close. She was confident in her skill to not get caught in the crossfire, but she didn't want to disrespect the two.

The area was quickly cleared out. Quetzalcoatl's entourage joined Eliseus and the others, silently watching Layland and Quetzalcoatl from afar. Amizanima soon turned quiet. Only the faint sound of the retreating soldiers' quick march could be heard. The two were waiting for the correct moment to start the fight. They knew how far their clash would affect their surroundings.

Whoosh!

The air faintly whistled as Layland slightly raised Rexorem. He pointed it at Quetzalcoatl who merely quirked an eyebrow at the gesture.

"You might want to use two hands to hold it," he remarked, referring to the way Layland held Rexorem.

"Don't worry. I have a strong grip," Layland smirked.

Layland's Origin: Pride relied on his enemy's power. It would only boost his power if his enemy was stronger than he was. The amount of Power-up given was also decided by how much power his enemy used. If his enemy decided to hide his true power, he would only get 10% of the power his enemy used each time he got a Power-up. Therefore, he needed to make sure his enemy used his full power.

Given their agreement, doing that to Quetzalcoatl was impossible. However, it didn't mean that Layland had to force Quetzalcoatl to use his full power to get Power-ups. He was only required to make Quetzalcoatl exert as much power as he could in his human form to reap satisfying Power-ups. After all, Quetzalcoatl was stronger than he was.

"Let's see whether it is confidence or delusion," Quetzalcoatl scoffed.

"Show me."

After saying that, Layland appeared before Quetzalcoatl. Rexorem's tip was already before Quetzalcoatl's abdomen, ready to pierce. Quetzalcoatl's hand moved swiftly like lightning. It caught Rexorem when it was a hair's breadth away from his abdomen, completely stopping its advance. The air exploded and the ground shattered as Quetzalcoatl skidded on the ground.

The hand Quetzalcoatl used to hold Rexorem in place trembled. Layland was still but could no longer push Rexorem any further. They met each other's eyes and smirked. They respected each other's strengths. As if in agreement, they both retreated. While retreating, they cast a Spell. Layland cast an Ancient Demonic Spell whereas Quetzalcoatl cast a Draconic Spell.

"[Exicca Tavas]!"

"[Dichori Vonou]!"

The first one belonged to Layland. The Spell was not flashy but had a terrifying effect on the one who was unlucky enough to get it cast on him. It would drain every drop of liquid in his body. The second one belonged to Quetzalcoatl. The spell created an airflow that was powerful enough to split a mountain in two. The tricky part of the Spell was that it was hard to dodge.

Both of the fighting parties had no way of dodging each other's Spells. Therefore, they were forced to take what was coming at them head-on. Layland swung Rexorem at the powerful airflow meanwhile Quetzalcoatl overcharged his body with Mana to counter the Ancient Demonic Spell's influence. It was not hard for them.

After getting over their "unimpressive" predicament, they charged at each other. This time, Quetzalcoatl was the more aggressive one. He wanted to pierce Layland's heart, but the said Demon managed to parry his hand. This caused another trench to appear behind Layland and intertwine with the trench that Quetzalcoatl's Spell created.

Quetzalcoatl immediately retracted his hand. Layland swung Rexorem violently at Quetzalcoatl, but the Dragon didn't even hesitate to parry it with his hands. Sparks flew out as the hands and the greatsword clashed. The ground beneath the two shattered meanwhile the trees in their surroundings bent because of the air blast their clash caused.

Shrrk.

A kick to each other's chest was what separated them. They watched each other's faces as they skidded to the back, wondering when the other would stop holding back. The hit they got was below their expectation. It was powerful but nowhere near fatal. They would have even remained in their places had they not wanted to make a distance.

"Why don't we stop playing?" Quetzalcoatl said. "It is boring, don't you—"

Swoosh!

Quetzalcoatl stopped his sentence when his clothes were mysteriously shredded. He reflexively teleported to somewhere else to check what happened. He quickly found his stomach bleeding. Tens of cuts decorated it and he spent quite an effort to close them. His face immediately darkened. It wasn't long until his Instinct flared and he was forced to teleport again.

As soon as he appeared in the spot that he deemed safe, he looked at where Layland was standing. He couldn't see anything but could tell something ominous was in the air. It was concentrated around Layland but properly scattered throughout the battlefield. It was difficult to find a place that was free of the ominous thing.

Fortunately for Quetzalcoatl, he had a way to take care of the ominous thing. Muttering a Draconic Spell, he shot a beam out of his finger to the sky. A massive vortex instantly descended from the sky. It pulled everything into its eye and opened the forest's canopy, allowing the sun to shine on the always-dark forest.

It was at this moment that everyone could see the dark sky outside because of the said Spell's influence. Quetzalcoatl smirked in satisfaction as he could no longer feel the ominous thing in the air. He turned to Layland expecting a distressed look, but the said Demon merely smirked in amusement.

Click!

Layland snapped his fingers. Much to Quetzalcoatl's confusion, the ominous thing he had gathered with the vortex set it ablaze. To further bewilder him, he lost control of the vortex. It immediately separated itself from the dark sky and moved toward him. He could see tens of thousands of red lines in the vortex. They made it dangerous for him.

As the fire vortex came, Quetzalcoatl pointed his fingers at it. He muttered another Draconic Spell and a sonic boom could be heard. Immediately, the fire vortex was split apart. Though, it didn't stop the fire from engulfing him.

Quetzalcoatl immediately covered himself with a spinning sphere of water. The fire could do nothing to him but the shining red lines were unaffected. They easily cut through the water sphere. When they almost cut him, he blasted the air around him. Because of the heat that the shining red lines possessed, the water sphere turned into fog.

The canopy covered the forest again at the same time. Once again, the broken trees in the surroundings became the source of light. The fog covering the surroundings made everything fuzzy, so the illumination was the only thing one could see clearly. Normally, it wouldn't affect Quetzalcoatl's ability to detect his enemy. However, it did this time.

He had to commend Layland for his creativity. Layland had perfectly scattered his Mana in the surroundings. Given his apt control over his Mana, locating his position at the moment was close to impossible. Of course, Quetzalcoatl also had a way to do that. He could remove what obstructed his vision and the problem would be solved.

He was about to use Wind Magic when he recalled what had happened. It was at that moment that he realized the development must have been according to what Layland had planned. He suspected that Layland had also expected him to drive the persisting fog away. Therefore, he kicked the ground and looked for Layland manually.

He wasn't afraid of running into traps. The millennia worth of battle experience had honed his Instinct enough. Although there was still a chance that he might miss something, he didn't pay any mind to it because of his Dragon pride. Half a minute passed and he decided to stop looking. There were no signs of life. It was as if Layland wasn't there.

"How far does this fog stretch to?" Quetzalcoatl wondered.

He immediately harrumphed when he realized that Layland had worsened the fog. It was very late for him to realize that, but he couldn't be blamed for it. After all, Mana-enhanced fog was resilient. It didn't dissipate easily. Therefore, he thought the fog was still from his evaporated water sphere.

Quetzalcoatl frowned when it got slightly hard for him to breathe. His chest felt full and it was not in a wholesome way. He tapped his chest and harrumphed when he found his lungs slightly wet. The fog was magical enough to turn the air in his lungs into water. It immediately got him thinking if it was part of Layland's plan.

His decision came instantaneously. The fog had to be cleared. He was afraid that Layland was trying to drown him (filling his lungs with water) that way. As he was about to drive the fog away, though, the temperature dropped drastically. The air exploded and the fog instantly turned into ice dust.

"[Kryophaem]!"

As he turned around, Quetzalcoatl could see Layland standing a few feet away. Rexorem was planted on the ground. Its veins had turned blue. Clear ice decorated the ground as the snow slowly fell on it.

"I can also use Dragon Language, you know?"

After Layland said that, the water trapped in Quetzalcoatl's lungs turned into ice spikes and pierced them. As bewilderment settled in, he threw up a mouthful of blood.