[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Lucky]
Chapter 159
BOOOOM!
A deafening explosion shook the heavens and earth.
Caspian's royal guards, who had been maintaining the barrier, were pushed back by the impact.
Still, as the Guards of the Poison Lord, they managed to withstand the blast.
Of course, the barrier shattered into countless fragments afterward.
“Ugh,” Caspian groaned, overcome by the toxic poison energy.
He was using a breathing technique to transform the poison into power, but it was no easy task.
The toxicity was a mix of oblivion and poison magic, making it even more formidable.
Even so, he showed no signs of pain.
Then, a faint voice reached his ears—.
“Save... me...”
A dying man's whisper.
He had been caught in Sandra’s explosion.
Groans echoed from all directions.
“My skin... it's melting!”
“I can’t see anything!”
“Hey! Is anyone there?”
“Aaaaargh!”
There were those who lost their sight.
People whose skin was dissolving in the poison.
And women screaming in despair.
The cacophony of anguish was overwhelming.
“If I hesitate, the damage will only grow worse,” Caspian resolved.
He hardened his heart, knowing that confronting the enemy half-heartedly could lead to even greater destruction in the city.
Despite the inevitable sacrifices, he decided to use powerful magic.
Magic formations appeared around both his wrists.
“It’s the Poison Lord’s Poison Wave! Everyone, get out of here!” the royal guard leader shouted loudly.
Caspian pressed his hands against the ground.
“Rot away into nothingness.”
Thud!
The earth trembled.
Poison energy surged from his hands, spreading across the ground in all directions.
The toxic wave swept through everything like an ocean tide.
The ruins of collapsed buildings dissolved in the poison.
But that wasn’t all.
Death Fiends, monsters, and even the priests of the House of the Sun—they all flailed as if drowning in the sea of poison.
“What is this?!”
“Why... why me?”
“I can’t escape! Somebody help me!”
Death Fiends melted and vanished in an instant, unaware of their own deaths.
Watching Caspian’s magic, Fifth Elder was horrified.
“Has the Poison Lord always been this powerful?”
He barely managed to hold off the toxic energy.
But he couldn’t let his guard down.
The poison seeped through the barrier he had created.
A moment of negligence could spell disaster.
“I need to retreat and regroup with the Solar Knights,” he decided.
Alone, he couldn’t stand against the Poison Lord.
But he believed that the Solar Knights’ commander could easily subdue him.
As he began casting teleportation magic to escape—
“Where do you think you’re running off to?”
The Poison Lord’s voice boomed, filled with menace.
In an instant, he closed the distance to Fifth Elder.
The Poison Lord’s true strength lay in his toxic martial arts—
Close combat.
The Poison Lord’s technique involved infusing toxic poison energy into his fists and feet, delivering devastating blows.
When combined with close combat, this made him an exceptionally challenging opponent.
Even a mere graze would allow the poison to infiltrate his enemy, causing immediate intoxication.
BAM!
The Poison Lord’s fist shattered Fifth Elder’s protective barrier.
“Gah!” Fifth Elder gasped in shock.
Not only had his barrier been broken in an instant, but the poison seeped in through his breathing, weakening him further.
The Poison Lord didn’t give the Fifth Elder any time to recover or neutralize the toxin.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
His fists and feet struck Fifth Elder’s shoulders, abdomen, and legs in rapid succession.
“Ugh!”
Fifth Elder coughed up blood as he was hurled backward, crashing into the remains of a building.
Even as Fifth Elder tumbled into the rubble, the Poison Lord didn’t relent.
But he had been wrong.
It was an arrogant assumption.
To take Caspian down easily, someone of the Solar Knight Commander’s caliber would have to intervene.
Look at him.
He was holding his ground, fighting alone against the Destruction Knights and the priests of Radience.
He showed no signs of being overwhelmed.
"But in the end, he’s alone. He won’t be able to hold out long against such numbers."
And, as expected, Caspian began to show signs of fatigue.
“Heh, at last, the monster is beginning to fall,” Fifth Elder chuckled, waiting for the opportune moment.
He aimed to strike when Caspian became too exhausted to defend himself.
However, Fifth Elder’s plans were disrupted.
Out of nowhere, a swarm of bats appeared in his line of sight.
“What an ominous sight... bats, of all things?”
---
Meanwhile, Desdemona appeared beside Kane.
“Desdemona? How did you get here?”
“I answered the Blood Summon.”
“I didn’t summon you.”
“Your Blood Rune sent a signal to me.”
Even as Kane spoke, he continued firing mana arrows without pause.
“An enemy?”
“Perfect timing. Join the fight. You seem a lot stronger than before.”
“You’ve grown stronger, so I’ve grown accordingly.”
“Good to hear.”
“Are those humans our targets?”
Desdemona’s gaze fell on the humans who had not yet joined the battle.
“I’ll handle them. You need to assist on the inside.”
“The situation inside looks dire.”
“Our enemies are those opposing the Blood Rune.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Desdemona soared into the air and disappeared, followed by her subordinates.
When she arrived, she saw dozens of trees that had been cut down.
A group was overwhelming a lone figure.
After identifying her allies, she immediately intervened.
Without hesitation, she and her forces entered the poisonous mist.
To vampires, poison was nothing more than a light snack.
After all, bats naturally carried all kinds of diseases and pathogens.
Even the poison of one of the Twelve Star Lords had no effect on vampires.
When Desdemona extended her pale arm from beneath her cloak,
a massive wing of blood unfurled.
As she revealed her other arm, the second wing came into view, and the full glory of the Vampire Lord’s Blood Wings radiated power.
Liquid from the air began to rise toward the sky.
“A perfect day for obliteration,” she murmured.
As her words ended, a crimson vortex swept through the enemy ranks.
The Destruction Knights tried to cut through the vortex with their massive blades,
but instead of dispelling it, they were drawn into its furious spin.
“Arrghhh!”
And that was just the beginning.
From Desdemona’s hand emerged a whirlpool of blood.
Even the mighty Destruction Knights were shredded upon contact.
Other vampires, too, began to unleash blood magic just as potent as hers.
With the sudden arrival of the vampires, the battle descended into chaos.
“Huff... Huff... Is this Kane Rehinar’s... Huff... Blood Rune? At least they’re allies... Huff... but I never imagined vampires could be this powerful.”
The vampires that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere displayed overwhelming strength.
Based on known intelligence, even a Vampire Lord was believed to peak at 6th-Class.
Yet, here, the weakest among them were already in 6th-Class.
“At least I can catch my breath now.”
Where had Kane managed to forge ties with a race like this?
The thought piqued his curiosity about Kane’s true identity.
Kane the son of the Guardian Lord,
What kind of history did he share with these extraordinary beings?
Even in the heat of battle, such questions swirled in his mind.
But one thing was certain.
Kane was a steadfast ally to Orchid Kingdom.
“If this war ends and I’m still alive, I’ll owe Kane Rehinar my gratitude.”
If he survived, it would all be thanks to Kane, who stayed to fight alongside him.
“Alright... Time to move again. First, I’ll crush that bastard’s head.”
Caspian, who had taken a moment to gather himself, was back in action.
His target was Fifth Elder.
Such a man needed to be eliminated swiftly.
[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Lucky]