Chapter 245: The Annihilation Orb

Cassian had seen Ancestral Sacred Fist before. Neroth Thalor, the Divine Scion he had killed with a surprise strike, had used the same art.

Azrak’s punch was on another level entirely.

Celia had moved to intercept as soon as Azrak entered Gods’ Stance. Cassian raised a hand to stop her.

"Let me try."

He drew a deep breath as the force of the punch rolled toward him, then rose into the air.

Origin Divine Fist!

Ancestral against Origin. Two of the world’s finest fist arts met in the sky.

A few seconds later, the two torrents of power collided with a deafening crash.

Violent energy tore through the air. Lords watching the feed flinched. It was hard to believe that two newcomers could unleash such force.

A figure flew backward for hundreds of meters.

Cassian.

He assessed the clash even as he retreated.

Given the same time to gather power, Azrak’s Ancestral Sacred Fist was roughly fifty percent stronger than his Origin Divine Fist. Azrak had a Silver Battle Name, and likely a Grade-B or even Grade-A War Lord talent as well.

Strip away those boosts, and their strength should be about equal.

After all, Cassian had not activated Godslayer.

He had consumed precious Life Essence, eaten valuable foods, learned Grain God, and advanced his Warbody training. There had been attribute rewards and Attribute Books too. With all that behind him, his unboosted strength was only on par with this Divine Scion’s.

There was a reason the Divines ranked among the top hundred races. Humans could not match their natural gifts.

"If his control were finer, that would have hurt."

As it was, Cassian remained uninjured.

He was keeping Godslayer inactive for a reason. He had no way of knowing whether Azrak possessed a means of identifying its special effect. Revealing a Battle Name designed to slaughter Divines could bring far more of them to his door.

Across the arena, Azrak’s towering body remained rooted in the air. He had won the clash, yet disbelief covered his face.

"A Human... You actually blocked my punch?"

His voice thundered over the battlefield.

The spectators were scarcely less shocked.

[He stopped Lord Azrak’s Ancestral Sacred Fist with his own strength!]

[So his Gold Battle Name wasn’t merely a matter of luck.]

[For a Human, that is something to be proud of.]

The Human viewers had no intention of being so restrained.

[He blocked it! That’s our Lord Cassian!]

[Best ten Aether I’ve ever spent.]

[Get everyone over here. They need to see this fight!]

The audience surged to five hundred million, bringing Cassian a billion Aether in viewing income.

Azrak suddenly threw back his head and laughed, his face bright with the joy of finding a worthy opponent.

"Cassian! A rival worth fighting is one of life’s great pleasures. Again! Let us fight to the death!"

"Sigrid," Cassian said quietly.

She understood at once. The twelve Stormlance shot into the air and took position in front of him.

Azrak’s expression darkened.

"Face me in an honorable duel, Human! Don’t hide behind your troops like a coward."

Cassian chuckled.

"You play a battle-crazed warrior very well. A friend keeps promising me an acting award. I’ll ask him to get you one too."

Azrak had seen the Dawnwings and decided that killing their Lord would be easier than fighting the army. Kill Cassian, or force him to withdraw, and the match was over. A full battle would cost Azrak Heroes and troops as well.

That was all his bloodthirsty challenge amounted to.

For a moment, Azrak said nothing. Then the fury vanished, replaced by his earlier poise.

"You saw through it."

The spectator chat raced past.

[He was pretending the whole time! He wanted to goad Cassian into a duel.]

[Forget his strength. I’d have lost just trying to keep up with his tricks.]

Cassian looked past Azrak. Four full squads of Legendary Extreme Light-and-Dark Templars waited behind him, along with nearly a hundred Soulhunters that appeared to have reached Legendary quality too.

"Every Lord on the Homeworld knows I have hundreds of Dawnwings, Azrak. You won’t outlast me in a war of attrition."

He made his offer without raising his voice.

"Withdraw now, and I’ll pay you a hundred million Aether. You can save your forces for the Legion Contest."

Azrak frowned at the mention of hundreds of Dawnwings. Then he smiled.

"You withdraw. I’ll pay a billion."

Cassian had not expected an opponent of this caliber so early. Even if he activated Godslayer and had Rhea strike with Sword of Space, an instant kill was far from certain. With the match being broadcast, he had no desire to expose more of his strength for Azrak alone.

"I’ll offer... Forget it. If that’s how you want it, let’s see what this costs us both."

Cassian waved a hand. His Crystal Dragons, Dawnwings, and Eclipse Legionnaires rose into the air and advanced with the Stormlance.

Each Lord could bring three hundred units into the arena.

Cassian had brought two hundred and eighty-eight. Celia and Aurelia led his twelve Stormlance and twelve original Crystal Maidens, the latter already in dragon form. Behind them came ten thirteen-member Dawnwing squads and ten twelve-member squads of veteran Eclipse Legionnaires.

His nine Nine-Star Praetorians and three Nine-Star Faerie Dragons made up the reserve. Six of the Crystal Maidens in the dragon formation were Nine-Star as well. He had brought that much strength to make certain of the result.

Azrak’s face hardened as he saw that battle could no longer be avoided.

"Kill them!"

The Light-and-Dark Templars were slender figures around five meters tall, clad in the bone armor characteristic of the Divines. A sharp line divided each body down the middle. Their right halves shone with a holy brilliance that surpassed even the Dawnwings. Their left halves were utter darkness.

At Azrak’s command, they began chanting softly in the ancient Divine tongue. Light and darkness gathered together.

The advancing forces closed to within three hundred meters.

"Annihilation Orb!"

The Templars spoke as one.

Their signature skill struck without a sound.

Harriet’s expression changed. Through Mind Link, more than a hundred commands flashed out in an instant.

The Dawnwings scattered at full speed.

Almost simultaneously, a gray sphere hundreds of meters across appeared in the middle of their formation. Everything within it—matter and energy alike—vanished. Even space seemed to dissolve into chaos.

Harriet’s advance to Legendary Nine-Star had sharpened her senses enough to catch the danger at once. Her immediate warning had given the others their chance to escape.

Four Dawnwings were still too close to its center. They had no time to escape.

Their bodies vanished.

Cassian, like most of the Lords watching, had never seen Light-and-Dark Templars attack before. The sight of that vast sphere of death left the spectator chat silent.

An ordinary Lord could have lost an entire army to that one spell.

Aurelia’s expression grew grave.

"How does he have so many Extreme troops? Does he have a Troop Building for them?"

"An Epic Light Templar and an Epic Dark Templar can fuse into one Legendary Extreme Light-and-Dark Templar once both reach Epic Seven-Star," Cassian said calmly. "The fusion can fail. Higher levels improve the chances."

He looked at the enemy formation.

"I didn’t know they could combine their casting like that. I underestimated them."

Celia frowned.

"Then the Divines can produce Extreme troops in large numbers?"

Epic Troop Sigils could be brought in from the Homeworld in an unending supply. If those troops could be fused, the implications were obvious.

"As long as they have the money and Battle Essence," Cassian said after a moment, "yes."

Azrak had chosen his target well. Instead of directing the Annihilation Orb at Cassian, he had struck the Dawnwings.

The result still displeased him.

He stared darkly at Harriet.

"A Marshal’s Mind Link. To sense the Annihilation Orb’s position that quickly, your Marshal must be at least Legendary Five-Star."

Cassian’s voice remained calm.

"You’ve had your turn. Now take mine."