The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 717: Volume 21: The Dark Path - 3: Ultimate Showdown (1)

Chapter 717: Volume 21: The Dark Path Chapter 3: Ultimate Showdown (1)

Seeing that the evil spirit he had released from the Soul Refining Sword did not achieve the expected effect, and his opponent merely showed a hint of surprise before launching a powerful Cold Fighting Energy that solidified and shattered the evil spirit, Kaiserlon for the first time felt the troublesome nature of his opponent.

The evil spirit sealed within the body of the Soul Refining Sword was no ordinary spirit. Although he had not released the demon sealed by his Master during an adventure on the Continent, it was a millennia-old evil spirit he had conquered in his adventures. Its powerful erosive force had been somewhat strenuous to deal with even when he had not used the Soul Refining Sword, so he was surprised that his opponent had easily nullified it, showing a skill far superior to his own. The ease with which his adversary dealt with the assault from the evil spirit of the Dark Abyss indeed shocked Kaiserlon.

The rebounding force from the opponent’s Knight Spear also led Kaiserlon to gingerly inspect his Soul Refining Sword, relieved that it was undamaged by the opponent’s materialized fighting qi strength, although it did make his arm quite sore.

In fact, Solonberg did not have it as easy as Kaiserlon imagined. The bone-clinging devouring of the evil spirit nearly caused Solonberg a great loss at one point, but having immersed himself in the Dark World for so long, he had a lot of experience with such undead beings. To deal with these undead, one must either use Light Magic or pure Dark Magic, as only these two kinds of magic can achieve the best restraining effect. The counteracting Dark Magic immediately suppressed the crazed undead, having a strangely similar but effective approach to the undead magic of the Pan-dark series. However, what the opponent released this time was not undead magic, but an actual undead entity, a millennia-old evil spirit summoned with a special magic and sealed within the Soul Refining Sword!

After being suppressed momentarily, the millennia-old evil spirit immediately launched a counterattack, absorbing the Dark power of the Dark Magic, which further increased its strength. The charging evil spirit even took on an almost tangible shadowy form as it rushed toward Solonberg, who barely evaded its assault.

But after all, Solonberg was Solonberg. Twenty years of experience in the Dark World were not in vain. Suddenly exhaling and shouting, the fierce core energy burst forth from a mouth that had been built up over a lifetime. The powerful breath was enough to pierce metal and crack stone, blowing away much of the deadly energy from the frenzied evil spirit. Ice Cold Fighting Qi instantly petrified the millennia-old evil spirit in a moment, and with a light shake, all was reduced to petrified dust and vanished into the air as negative energy.

The frenzied strike made both parties realize that their strengths were not as simple as they had imagined, especially Kaiserlon, who understood that if he wanted to subdue this foe, he might have to reveal his true killing moves. Once he made up his mind, Kaiserlon did not hesitate—decisiveness was the nature of a soldier.

The Soul Refining Sword was raised again, swirling upward like a flowing black light. Under Kaiserlon’s full effort of Sacred Fighting Qi, the entire blade seemed to become elusive and undulating, like an elastic ribbon of light. With a gentle flick, it transformed into countless blades of light and shadow, spreading out into a magnificent fan shape.

Such a beautifully tragic sword technique! This was truly the ultimate skill of Aristotle, unpredictable sword shadows that even in Solonberg’s darkly radiating eyes were elusive. This was the first time Solonberg had faced an opponent with sword shadows so capricious that it was impossible to guess the point of attack, the frenetic Sacred Fighting Qi pulled inwardly in a deliberate suppression, its inner cohesion making the piercing sword cries secretive, and Solonberg could even feel the looming explosion of the opponent’s strike that would not cease until death.

The fierce onslaught from his opponent did not scare Solonberg but rather ignited his endless fighting spirit and interest. What could be more enjoyable than battling against the heavens, which is eternally elusive, or against others, which is dazzling and brilliant? Such intense refinement was exactly what he needed on his journey in pursuit of the pinnacle of the Martial Dao.

A faint black mist rose from Solonberg’s body and quickly poured into the hands gripping the Knight Spear. Since his opponent had already opened the gate to unscrupulous tactics, there seemed to be no reason for him to keep adhering to Knight Principles any longer. The Dark Corrosion Magic was activated immediately, and with Komer’s magic enhancement, Solonberg’s Dark Magic was released twice as fast as usual. In the blink of an eye, a thick black haze had already enveloped the trembling blade of the Knight Spear, pressing forward toward his opponent!

Like a sky lantern, the scattered stars enveloped Solonberg’s entire body, and like a roaring black dragon showing its ferocious teeth and claws, Solonberg suddenly pressed and lifted the Knight Spear in the last moment, flinging up his head abruptly, and in that moment, all the raging Cold Fighting Qi was released!

Like a shooting star plummeting to earth, the Sword Qi that was fluttering towards Solonberg burst open immediately upon colliding with his Cold Fighting Energy, blending the piercing howl of the Sword Qi with the buzzing sound of the spear’s Qi into a bizarre barrier of noise, causing an instant, temporary deafness to befall anyone within earshot.

After a series of interlocking strikes, a dense fog of ice mixed with dark, murky swirls enveloped them, as two silhouettes intertwined in midair, constantly dancing and striking each other erroneously, until, after a final exertion of strength from both, the two figures finally broke free and gracefully landed.

Solonberg quietly watched his opponent, throughout the span of several strikes in the air, he had launched all of his Dark Corrosion Magic together with his other hand’s Ice Magic "Frost Arrival" at once, while his enemy’s dazzling swordplay broke through his full defense. Four of the sword strikes had penetrated his defensive fighting Qi, but thankfully, his armor had been specially fortified by Lord himself. Even so, the intense Sword Qi still pierced through his body, and he could say he was practically drained, lacking even the strength to move a toe. The only thing keeping him upright was the indomitable spirit within his heart.

Kaiserlon was equally dazed, his heart full of regret. He had anticipated the formidable fighting qi strength on his opponent’s Knight Spear, but he never expected that not only would his opponent counter his Dark Magic Attack, but also wickedly fuse it with Ice Magic quietly, catching him off guard while he was focused on dispelling the Dark Magic Attack. The intense freezing power had nearly frozen his body solid in midair, and had it not been for his exceptional mental strength forcibly restoring warmth, Kaiserlon even doubted whether he wouldn’t shatter into icy fragments the moment he touched the ground.

Even so, Kaiserlon found himself now like a statue carved of ice, although he stood with his sword raised high, exuding a majestic aura, he was unable to lower his Soul Refining Sword from his hand.

The entire stadium fell silent, almost everyone afraid that a single careless noise might break the equilibrium and trigger another fierce battle between the two. The extraordinary combat in the air had left the audience spellbound, a layman would be entertained by the spectacle, while an expert would discern the techniques. Both the average viewers and the observing delegates from various countries had been thoroughly impressed by the spectacular battle.

The three judges stood dumbfounded by the scene before them, bewildered by the strange postures the two had assumed. They were unable to determine a winner from the fierce battle that took place in the air. All they could vaguely perceive was that Kaiserlon’s fighting qi was somewhat superior, but it was Solonberg who’d taken the initiative with summoning magic. Then, in his counterattack, he too had used a dual magic offensive, which seemed to have wounded Kaiserlon. Although magic was forbidden in the Gladiator Competition, both combatants had used it and fought to an apparent standstill, making it impossible for the judges to issue a reasonable decision.

Both men stood proudly, but neither had responded after such a long time, seemingly waiting for the judges to make a verdict based on their performances, which only added to the judges’ indecision.

After much whispering among themselves, the chief judge finally stepped forward and declared the match invalid, as both competitors had simultaneously violated the rules of the Gladiator Competition by using magic attacks. He ruled that both competitors were disqualified from advancing to the next round of the competition.

The judge’s final verdict caused a huge stir within the stadium, Spartains and Piraeus people alike expressed dissatisfaction with the decision. However, the on-the-spot judgement of the referee was inviolable and the result irreversible. Despite their dissatisfaction, both parties also expressed respect for the referee’s decision. They could file complaints with the Referee Committee to question the decision, but it would not affect the already announced result.

The contestants’ bizarre standoff persisted until the referee announced the final outcome, and not until representatives from both sides came to assist did the audience realize that both contestants had reached their limits, unable to even leave of their own accord. This ultimate showdown immediately outshone the rest of the competition, with all the people of Athens City abuzz about this heart-stopping duel; the seemingly undefeatable Kaiserlon warrior had been driven to a stalemate by an unknown warrior from Piraeus, and though both had used magic in violation of the rules, their strength was undeniable.

(To be continued. For the continuation of this story, please visit WWW.CMFU.COM, where there are more Chapters and you can support the author and the right to authorized reading!)