Chapter 257

Arran felt a surge of worry as he saw Brightblade sway on her feet . She had seemed invincible just a moment earlier, moving with an impossible speed, but now she looked vulnerable . Hurt, even .

Her opponent wasted no time in exploiting the opening . Seeing a chance, the Elder launched a barrage of attacks — numerous streaks of fire and lightning that shimmered with power, each of them soaring toward Brightblade with staggering speed .

For a moment, Arran feared that was the end of it . The attacks were too many, too fast, too powerful .

But just as the first streak of lightning was about to hit, there was a flicker in the air before it . The attack was suddenly deflected, sent flying into the distance . It crashed into the formation surrounding the dueling grounds a moment later, sending a ripple through the air before it dissipated .

Another attack came only a fraction of a second later, however . She deflected this one as well, but it came even closer than the first to hitting her . And even before it crashed into the formation, it was followed by yet another attack .

In the space of a few seconds, dozens of attacks rained down on Brightblade, violent bolts of Essence with terrifying power . And while Brightblade somehow managed to block them all, each new attack came closer to hitting her .

The first attacks had been stopped several paces in front of her, but now, they came within an arm’s length of her body . And still, the onslaught continued undimished . At this rate, it was a matter of seconds before she would be hit .

Arran clenched his jaw as he watched, desperately wishing there was something — anything — he could do . But even if he could get past the formation, the power used here was too much for him to make a difference .

Some of the deflected attacks hit the ground instead of the formation, and each of those tore a deep scar into the earth, dozens of paces long and several feet deep . Even with Arran’s resistance to magic, a single attack like that would rip through his body with ease .

He nearly screamed in frustration as he saw that Brightblade’s opponent stepped up his attacks, with the man clearly sensing that he was on the verge of victory . There was no chance for her to recover, much less launch a counter-attack — she was already struggling to defend herself .

Then, she was hit .

She moved her hand just a second too late, the attack already striking her as a shield formed behind it, too late to make a difference .

Yet as the ball of seething fire and lightning struck her body, there was a brief but blindingly bright flash of light, and she staggered backward — hurt, but still alive .

Arran felt a surge of relief, but it lasted only a second . She had miraculously survived the first attack, but more followed behind it . Her opponent had seen his chance, and he had no intention of wasting it .

Again she was struck, and again she staggered backward . There was no blocking the attacks now — a rain of fire and lightning bore down upon her, driving her back further and further, her movements weaker with every step she took .

Suddenly, Arran felt a hand on his shoulder . “There’s nothing you can do,” Elder Theron’s voice came .

Arran blinked as he realized that his hand was on his sword, his body tense as he subconsciously moved to attack, with only the Elder’s hand holding him back . Another second, and he would have rushed onto the battlefield .

Though he took his hand off his sword, he was unable to relax his body — not with Brightblade on the verge of being defeated .

Meanwhile, the barrage of attacks on Brightblade continued unceasingly, the onslaught slowly driving her toward the edge of the formation . Arran wanted to scream for her to move, to evade, to do anything but stand there as she was battered with fire and lightning .

It was no use .

The way she moved was familiar to Arran . He has seen it in his own enemies, in the final moments before they died . They were the movements of someone whose defense was failing, shaken beyond recovery, on the verge of collapse .

Her opponent saw it as well, and the man’s attacks became slower and more powerful as he prepared to strike a final blow .

Arran screamed in frustration when Brightblade was hit directly by a sphere of bright yellow fire, her body flung backward as the force of the explosion tore a deep crater into the ground .

She somehow got to her feet again, but far too slow — another devastating attack crashed into her before she was even fully standing, and again she was flung to the ground .

This time, she struggled to get up . And as she lifted her injured body off the ground, her opponent seized the chance to launch his most powerful attack yet, a violent mass of fire and lightning, seething with power .

The attack soared toward Brightblade with a sickening roar, seeming too powerful to block even if she had not been on the verge of falling already . There was nothing she could do as the attack bore down on her with a thunderous crash, the earth rent apart for hundreds of paces around her .

There was a final bright flash of light, and then — nothing .

As the dust settled, there was no sign of Brightblade . Where she had stood now lay a giant crater, so deep it seemed like a wound in the earth itself .

Arran looked on in horror, his eyes frantically searching for Brightblade . But then, in the corner of his eye, he saw an unexpected flash of movement .

Something flying through the air — a shiny head-sized rock, he thought briefly, before realizing that this was no rock .

His eyes shot toward the Elder, then went wide with shock and joy as he saw the Elder’s headless body collapse to the ground, Brightblade impossibly standing behind him .

Arran could not fathom how she had done it, but he didn’t care . She had won, and that was all that mattered . He instantly rushed forward, Elder Theron no longer able to hold him back .

The intense relief he felt turned back to worry a moment later, however, as Brightblade collapsed to her knees next to her opponent’s body .

And as Arran rapidly approached her, he now saw that she was covered in wounds, her robe torn, with fresh blood covering her face and body .

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Driven by fear, Arran was the first to reach her . At once, he saw that she was in a terrible state . Any one of her injuries would be enough to kill a strong mage, and she had dozens of them .

He knelt down by her side immediately, and as he did, she opened her eyes .

“I got them,” she said in a weak voice, flashing him a bloody smile .

Then, her eyes closed again, and her body went limp .

Arran was forcefully shoved aside a second later by a gray-haired woman he did not recognize . “Healers! Now!” the woman barked loudly .

More mages came, crowding around Brightblade as Arran watched silently, hoping against hope that she could be saved . Some people tried to speak to him — Elder Theron, perhaps? — but he ignored them, his attention fully consumed by his worry for Brightblade .

For more than a half-hour, the mages around her cast all sorts of spells on her, none of them the least bit familiar to Arran . There was nothing for it but to accept it — even his trust in the Ninth Valley had been worn down to a sliver, he knew nothing about healing magic, and these strangers were the best chance she had .

The longer they continued the work, the more Arran’s spirits sank . Brightblade’s state had been dire to begin with, and now, it seemed like the last shred of life that remained within her was slipping away .

Suddenly, the gray-haired woman stood up . She briefly looked at the crowd of mages surrounding them, until finally, her eyes found Arran .

A small smile formed on her lips as she looked at him . Then, with a warm expression, she said, “She’s going to make it . ”