Chapter 79:Battle of elders(Part 1)
348 2 7
X
Reading Options
Font Size
A- 15px A+
Width
Reset
X
Table of Contents
Loading... please wait.

The first one to make a move was one of the many demons that surrounded him. Samuel did not even move as fire, shadow, claw, fist, and steel all approached him with the ferocity only capable of rank 5 demons.

However, the attacks could not touch his clothes, stopped by a shimmering shield of gold. He did not bother sparing a glance at the rabble instead focusing on the perpetrator.

"Belial, it seems my warnings have fallen on deaf ears. Fine, let us have our bout, just let me set aside my disciples. They do not deserve to fall in between our squabble."

Belial chuckled showing an outward feeling of calm. Inwardly, he was a tad concerned. The demons under his employ were all at the origin spirit and against a nascent soul they were at a heavy disadvantage despite outnumbering him 12 to 1. But that should not have mattered. Each demon was armed to the teeth with nascent soul artifacts.

"Hah. If you come with us quietly, I can be persuaded to leave them be..."

Exploit every advantage, that was Belial's motto and unwittingly Samuel had just shown his reverse scale.

With that he mentally commanded his demons to strike the two women floating by his side, but not harm them in any major way. 

In a blink, all attacks shifted from him to his disciples except the same golden shimmer protected them from harm. Despite the extraordinary defensive power of this breakthrough ability, it was not infinite, and having it protect three targets only drained it further.

"Ah! The classical tactic of using hostages for negotiations... I understand. Well... This battle will not be so easy it seems."

A current of essence surrounded his arms as he lowered them and pushed them forward, one was pure fire, and the other water. The current disappeared leaving in their place two simple straight swords. Except one was made of a pure glowing amber the and other was blue sapphire flecked with ice. 

At the same time, Belial moved, closing the hundred or so feet in less than a blink to land a bare-armed strike to Samuel's stomach.

Elizabeth was wide-eyed and looked every which way while trying to shout out her shock and surprise but she was irrelevant and Samuel was too busy to pay attention. Eishath was still very out of it, though it looked like she was trying to gain her sense of self.

The strike did not land, as Samuel danced away from his strike with a single 'world-step'. Belial did not stop his momentum, redirecting it to a defenseless Eishath. The fist connected with the shield, the impact causing a sonic boom.

It still held, but Samuel could feel the drain on his reserves. That was not a normal strike, it was enhanced both by skill and artifacts.

It was Samuel's turn to finally and he followed Belial's example, except, unlike him his strike was true.

A demon was cleaved in half, the flesh cauterizing and charring as the blade passed through resulting in very little blood compared to the carnage.

"One."

"Strike the shield, break it quickly!"

Belial shifted his attention to Samuel engaging him in direct combat as his inner circle landed blow after blow on his two disciples.

He struck out another fist which Samuel sidestepped and slashed his blue sword down on his outstretched arm. Belial was no rookie immediately bending his arm while coating it with dark essence to 'catch'  the blade. It worked as Samuel was only able to apply a shallow cut on his arm. 

"Two."

Belial felt the loss of another of his closest demon companions. Shocked at what the outer sect elder did, he briefly glanced at his companions to see a floating amber sword engaged in direct combat with them.

"Do not be distracted."

A punch to the gut sent him flying downwards into the plains below, creating a massive crater upon the collision. A spurt of blood escaped his lips, an outline of his body formed in the earth at the center of the crater. 

He looked up at Samuel who was still high in the sky with a bit of trepidation now. His companions were still beating on the shield and the amount of disappearing essence should have at least shown some sort of visible wear, but Samuel still looked perfectly fine.

This enraged Belial. He had lost two of his core number. He tapped into his storage ring bringing out an inky black pill, he swallowed it, and an explosion of essence seeped from his body...  at a level higher than normal.

Samuel's eyes widened, his study in alchemy made him aware of just what he was seeing. 

An empowerment pill, at the soul formation stage. Any who would consume this would have their essence quality and physical ability boosted to that stage.

"You fool."

Such a massive increase in power was not without costs and Belial would be terribly weakened if not outright crippled because of this.

This distracted thought was enough. Something hit his sternum with enough force to shatter the golden shimmer almost shatter the bones beneath. Samuel bounced, and the air was knocked out of his lungs with a healthy dose of blood. 

It did not stop there, he felt another impact on his back directly on his spine a moment later sending him downwards. 

Elizabeth cried out, her shield still holding.

He did not hit the ground, however, finding balance before hitting the ground. He immediately raised his sword blocking the fist directly coming for his face. 

"Round two."

Belial growled out thick veins visible as he surged with borrowed strength. The table had been flipped and now he had the upper hand.

Samuel's reply was still even.

"It seems I have underestimated you. For that, you have my apologies."

A sword came flying from Belial's back but he blinked away from the amber blade which now rested on Samuel's hands.

"Let us truly fight."

Samuel's eyes glowed in their respective hues—a star of fire and another of ice hanging around him.

7