Chapter 429 - 293: Divine Artifact Uproar (Part 2)

"Bullshit!" Mandela cursed, the word signaling the attack. "You’re the one who’s going to die!"

"Claxius!"

Without hesitation, Bodoff cast his Spell almost instantly. He raised his Magic Staff, and the Magic Stone embedded within it erupted with a blinding white light. Like a miniature sun in the night, it lit up the surroundings as if it were broad daylight.

"Aargh!"

A bloodcurdling scream rang out. Hit at point-blank range by an enhanced Lighting Skill, the towering Balrog Flame Demon clapped a hand over its eyes as tears gushed uncontrollably.

"Fuck you!" With a flick of his wrist, Mandela threw the broken half of his Blood Sword.

As if guided by an unseen hand, the Blood Sword veered sharply in mid-air, hurtling straight toward the thick wrist of the Balrog Flame Demon that gripped the Flaming Giant Sword.

...

CLANG!

With a cry of pain, the massive Flaming Giant Sword slipped from the Balrog Flame Demon’s once firm and powerful grasp, falling to the earth.

...

CRACK!

A massive Light Arrow shot out, striking the hilt of the Flaming Giant Sword and sending it skittering more than ten paces away.

...

"You despicable, lowly creatures! You have thoroughly enraged a power you cannot even imagine! I will capture you alive and have the Little Demons torture you day and night, destroying you in both body and soul!"

"I will make the very gods loathe your souls and bodies! You will become lonely spirits, drifting through the Abyss for all eternity, suffering the agony of ceaseless burning!"

Having suffered such a humiliation, Bartley could no longer contain its rage. It roared and cursed like a mad beast, its voice like rolling thunder.

"Before any of that happens, I’ll chop off that ugly head of yours and use it as a chamber pot!"

Mandela appeared in an instant before the Flaming Giant Sword that had been knocked away, his expression as cold and dark as an abyssal current.

’Right now, both Bodoff and Fatir are out of Magic Power and can’t cast any powerful Magic. My own Blood Sword is broken.’

’Even though the Flame Demon is temporarily disabled, we can’t finish it off.’

’The only way to cut off its head is to use the terrifyingly powerful Giant Sword it was wielding.’

"You lowly ant. You think the likes of you can lift my Digen’s Howl?" Bartley, its vision partially recovered, watched with utter disdain as the human dared to try and lift the Flaming Giant Sword. Tears were still streaming from its eyes.

Mandela paid it no mind. His bald head gleamed under the moonlight. The Demon Patterns on his arms swirled, Combat Qi erupted from within him, and the veins on his biceps bulged like coiled dragons.

’He knew the Giant Sword had to be absurdly heavy, but he wasn’t entirely without a chance.’

’With the combined boost from all his powers, he was confident he could lift it.’

And just as he’d expected, he gripped the thick hilt with both hands. With a low roar, the Flaming Giant Sword, as heavy as a mountain, slowly began to rise from the ground.

"Impossible!" For the first time, Bartley panicked, sensing the threat of death.

No one knew better than it just how powerful this Legendary Weapon was!

"ROAR!"

But in the next moment, a resounding dragon’s roar erupted out of thin air.

Like a thunderclap on a clear day, the sound stunned everyone, leaving them dizzy. Mandela, who bore the full brunt of the blast, started bleeding from his nose and ears.

This was the roar of a dragon in its prime, even more deafening than the last. It sounded like an apex predator bellowing in a frenzy.

A Red Dragon Soul manifested from the Flaming Giant Sword, glaring at Mandela with resentment. An instant later, the sword’s flames clung to him like maggots on a corpse, burning through the bald Samurai’s Armor and flesh.

Crying out in agony, Mandela immediately dropped the Giant Sword, but no matter how he beat at the fire, he couldn’t put out the flames on his body.

"Hahaha, you ant! My Treasure Sword contains a Red Dragon Soul! It was imprisoned and bound by a mind-clouding Magic. It sees anyone who isn’t a Demon as the enemy who killed it. Now you will burn in its Dragon Flame until nothing is left!"

Bartley cackled, its face twisted in a triumphant grin.

"This is the price for a lowly being who dares to wield a Divine Artifact!"

"Now you face the wrath of the molten rock!"

A flicker of panic appeared in everyone’s eyes.

Bodoff sighed, watching helplessly as Mandela was immolated by the Dragon Flame in the distance.

The general, a veteran of countless battles, was truly formidable in both power and will. Even facing such bone-searing agony, he didn’t utter a single sound.

Fatir watched in silence, her small, fair hands clutching her Magic Staff.

Xi Ang’s expression remained calm as he calculated whether he should intervene.

Just then, the sky seemed to ripple. Bathed in moonlight, a Golden Armor Knight riding a magnificent Silver Dragon appeared before them all.

"Look... over there..." Bodoff said, his eyes wide with unconcealed shock as he stared at the space behind the Balrog Flame Demon.

Even for a man who had witnessed countless momentous events, the twists and turns of this day were simply too much. And now, a Dragon Knight had appeared out of thin air.

’Wait...’ Bodoff suddenly recalled the Silver Dragon Maiden from High Cliff Castle. ’Could it be... Lord Levi?’

"Despicable humans, don’t think you can deceive me, Bartley Fiat, again!" The Balrog Flame Demon sneered as it struggled to straighten its back. In just ten breaths, it would be free of the Magic’s suppression, and then it would mince all the ants before it.

But suddenly, it felt an unnatural chill at its back, as if it were standing on the peak of a majestic, snow-capped mountain. It twisted its head around instinctively. Its vision was filled with a vast expanse of white—frosty, visible vapor—and a colossal Silver Dragon.

"Damn it..."

It only had time to get out those two words before an icy breath poured down, drenching the Balrog Flame Demon completely.

Facing a mortal crisis, the creature that held world-destroying power began to struggle with all its might. Flames suddenly erupted from all over its body.

The icy breath, which could freeze a Six-armed Snake Demon Warrior solid in an instant, was somehow locked in a stalemate against it.

Not only Levi, but even Sophia was stunned. She never expected her infallible Dragon Breath to be stymied.

Her massive form swept past the Balrog Flame Demon’s head, marking the end of the Dragon Breath attack. To strike again, she would have to circle around.

"Levi, my Dragon Breath isn’t working."

Sophia’s trembling voice echoed in his mind.

She had learned a great deal of Magic, but for ninety-nine percent of Giant Dragons, Dragon Breath was their strongest weapon. With even her Dragon Breath having no effect, she had no idea how else to threaten the Demon. She began to panic again.

"I know," Levi said gravely. "You need to drop me off, then get back to the White Bone Fortress!"

Sophia hesitated for a moment but ultimately complied, dropping lower. As she passed over the ground at her lowest altitude, Levi leaped from her back.

Weighed down by his heavy Golden Armor, he landed with enough force to instantly crack the Stone Slabs paving the ground, but the Lord was completely unharmed.

"Levi?!" Fatir exclaimed, recognizing the newcomer.

"It’s me!"

The Lord wasted no time on pleasantries, walking straight toward the distant Flaming Giant Sword and Mandela.

From the sky, he had already taken in the entire scene below. Although he hadn’t heard what was said, he had been able to piece things together from the actions of Fatir and the others.

"*Gasp...* Levi, this is Dragon Flame on me... it can melt Fine Steel. Stay back!"

Mandela was a human torch. The Combat Qi and Demon Patterns on his body fought against the Dragon Flame, but to little effect. Levi could already smell the scent of roasting flesh.

He grit his teeth against the agony to deliver what he thought were his final words.

"This Balrog Flame Demon is beyond us. The Teleportation Gate is about to stabilize, and the Demon Army on the other side is about to come through."

"Take Fatir, Fulina, and the others and get out of here! Leave the Southern Territory! Go as far as you can!"