Chapter 1022: The Dark Contract of a Duel, Part One

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Challenging it to a duel?” Mu Ningxue looked at Mo Fan in confusion.

As a matter of fact, it sounded rather ridiculous. How could a Dark Swordmaster that was massacring the soldiers be willing to accept a duel of life and death like a noble swordsman? No one had heard anything about a duel before!

“Even though I’m not from Egypt, I’ve learned about the existence of Dark Swordmasters a long time ago, yet I’ve never heard about anything like a dark contract. How do you, a Mage from China, know something that even the Magic Association is unaware of?” Kulun was finding it difficult to trust Mo Fan’s suggestion.

“We’ll know if it actually works once we try it. Are we seriously going to wait until the Dark Swordmaster kills every single one of us?” Mo Fan replied.

The army had no chance of getting close to the pyramid without keeping the Dark Swordmaster busy. The Brutal Sword Death Servants were a lot stronger than before too, placing the army in quite a deadly situation.

A single Brutal Sword Death Servant was as strong as half a squad, meaning that five hundred Brutal Sword Death Servants were basically an impassable mountain of undead!

Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue, Kulun, and Xinxia headed for where the Brutal Sword Death Servants were. Apart from the Brutal Sword Death Servants, there were lots of undead moving toward them. They were able to see countless mummies blocking the path leading back to the city when they turned around…

—

“Piss off!” Up in the air, General Fenna uttered a furious roar, combining the wind and sand into a blasting roar, tossing lots of undead into the sky…

Fenna was shockingly strong, and was able to cast Super Spells adeptly, too. Normal undead were like weeds to her, but the Brutal Sword Death Servants were not really that easy to deal with.

Of the five hundred Brutal Sword Death Servants, two hundred were targeting Fenna. The bones of those undead were utterly firm after they were strengthened, meaning that Fenna was killing them very slowly.

The Dark Swordmaster did not really care that its subordinates were dying slowly. It did not bother fighting the two Super Mages, either. Its eyes kept on staring at the large groups of Battlemages, and each of its attacks would kill over a hundred of them!

Fenna was enraged when she saw her men dying rapidly to the Dark Swordmaster. Every slash it executed would result in blood splattering across the place. How could their army possibly stand a chance if they continued to be massacred at this rate?

“General, we should withdraw to five kilometers away, I believe the Brutal Sword Death Servants and the Dark Swordmaster will only stay within three kilometers from the pyramid. We can’t continue like this, the whole army is only going to die here!” the other Super Mage, Sherlock, said.

Fenna looked at the corpses of her men piling up across the ground. Her face contorted in emotion.

She was not willing to leave. She would rather fight to her death with the rest of her men, but rationally speaking, she could not afford to do it, as the whole army would be wiped out. On top of that, their city would also be infiltrated by these undead…

Left with no choice, Fenna started to protect the army as they slowly withdrew.

The army was around two kilometers away from the pyramid. They soon regrouped with the main army not long after they started to retreat.

The main army consisted of troops of Fire Mages. The Fire Bursts and Fiery Fists were extremely effective against the undead. However, the main army was extremely slow. If the vanguard could not hold on until the main army arrived, all their sacrifices would be in vain.

The army retreated as a whole, leaving nothing but blood in front of the pyramid. The black Brutal Sword Death Servants were covered in fresh blood, yet their bodies remained black as they stood in the pools of blood. Their eyes had a mocking look too…

—

“What do you think we can do instead?” General Fenna was on the verge of losing her temper after suffering the defeat.

“We should be able to clear a path back to the city. With the Dark Swordmaster standing guard, there’s no chance we can get any closer to the pyramid. We can only retreat for now,” Sherlock said.

Even when Sherlock and Fenna teamed up, they were still no match for the Dark Swordmaster, hence it was necessary for them to ask for backup.

“This is all we have, there won’t be any backup,” Fenna said firmly.

Their city was not the only one with a mirage. The armies of every city had their own matters to attend to. Their city had already asked the nearby cities for help. They had planned to destroy the mirage right from the start!

“The Dark Swordmaster is bound to a contract to accept any duel that it is challenged to. I believe it’s our only way to reach the pyramid,” Mo Fan said to General Fenna very seriously.

“What contract?” Sherlock asked, confused.

Mo Fan briefly explained about the Dark Contract.

“Are you serious? We’ve been in Egypt for so long, but we’ve never heard of anything like that about the Dark Swordmaster. Don’t you think it’s ridiculous, that it must fight the person that challenged it to the death?” Sherlock did not believe Mo Fan’s words.

Sherlock was suggesting the army retreat. With the people they had left, even though turning back was going to result in lots of casualties, anything was better than having the whole army being wiped out in the land of the undead!

“Going back now means our soldiers have all been sacrificed for nothing. All of us in the army knew the only outcome of coming here is either die trying or destroying the mirage. I believe we can try abusing the contract he mentioned, and even if it doesn’t work, we’ll send out some powerful Mages to keep the Dark Swordmaster busy while the rest try their best to reach the pyramid!” Fenna said.

Fenna was the commander of the army. The soldiers under her lead were hot-blooded too. Even when they were trapped in the ocean of undead, none of them had thought of retreating, since many would die on the way back. They had long been surrounded by the army of the undead!

“Mo Fan, what are you up to this time? Do you seriously think something you’ve most likely read from a useless book is the truth? Do you dare to take responsibility if it doesn’t work?” Zu Jiming said mockingly.

Zu Jiming did not really care if Mo Fan was being a busybody. Instead, he actually hoped Mo Fan was caught up in some kind of trouble. He was only worried that the national team would have to take the blame if something went wrong.

“It’s enough that we’ve tried our best. It’s really unnecessary to go any further than this.”

“Are you insane? It’s obvious that the army can’t make it to the pyramid. Let’s just retreat. We might end up getting ourselves killed!” Mu Tingying was extremely displeased by Mo Fan’s suggestion.

“I really don’t understand where you bunch of useless pricks get your confidence from to talk nonsense in front of me like that!” Mo Fan snapped without mercy.

Mo Fan was like a mad dog when he was scolding someone. Most people on the team had received a proper education. They were no match for Mo Fan in terms of strength, and they were also inferior when it came to scolding someone. Their faces reddened as they tried to withhold their rage.

On the other hand, Mo Fan was quite annoyed by the idiots on the team. Why did they even care what he was up to? They could just continue to live like cowards! Mo Fan was not the kind that could stay calm after seeing so many people dying in battle!

General Fenna and her men could tell that Mo Fan was the hot-blooded kind, too. Regardless of Mo Fan’s suggestion, they would still proceed with their final attempt to clear a path to the pyramid. They would never retreat, as they could not allow the blood of their comrades to flow in vain. They had to face the cruelty of war. Running away was utterly meaningless. Soon, the army of undead would only grow bigger, and the city would surely stand no chance against it!

—

The main army had decided to launch its final assault. It was only just over a kilometer away from the pyramid.

As they thought, the Dark Swordmaster appeared once again, followed by more than four hundred Brutal Sword Death Servants. The army had not killed many of them in the previous attempt.

The blood of the Mages that had died was not dry yet. Many starving undead were crawling on the ground, drinking the blood greedily.

“Sherlock and I will try and hold the Dark Swordmaster back for as long as we can. Just try your best to reach the pyramid. You are our last hope!” General Fenna said to Mo Fan with a firm look.

Mo Fan had volunteered to try and reach the pyramid. With the Dark Noble Mantle and the fifth-tier Fleeing Shadow, he had the highest chance of moving past the ocean of undead compared to the rest of the army. As long as the Dark Swordmaster was occupied, even the Brutal Sword Death Servants would be unable to stop him.

In addition to Mo Fan, the other person entrusted with the mission of reaching the pyramid was Ai Jiangtu. With his Space Element, he also had the highest chance of making his way to the pyramid. Both Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu would take different paths, with Mu Ningxue and the rest of the team providing them cover. Their job was to help Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu sneak up to the pyramid when the main army was fighting the undead!

“General, maybe I should take your spot instead. You might not be able to survive if you face the Dark Swordmaster on your own. The army won’t last without you,” Wankos stepped forward and said to the general.

If what Mo Fan said was true, it meant Fenna was about to face the Dark Swordmaster all by herself. Even though Fenna was a Super Mage, the Dark Swordmaster was a lot stronger than her, meaning that even if the others successfully destroyed the mirage, Fenna would still die in the duel!

“It has been decided,” Fenna waved her hand. She started to lead her people and headed for the Dark Swordmaster.

The Dark Swordmaster was still seated on the back of its Ancient Phantom Horse. The giant sword in its hand was emitting a frightening, icy glow, with a strong presence of evil.

Fenna remembered that the Dark Swordmaster spoke in the ancient Egyptian language. She could challenge it to a duel by using the same language.

Taking a deep breath, Fenna knew she was basically stepping into the Abyss of Death once the contract was signed.

Looking back at the city in the distance, Fenna’s eyes flickered with a hint of bitterness. Wasn’t war always this cruel?