Chapter 71: The Clash between Light and Void

The battlefield is silent.

All the combatants seem to freeze from the pressure coming from the duel.

Forces from both sides decide to back down and give space to the two.

One was the representative of the Light, which is the source of Holy power.

The other is the representative of the Void, where all negative energies and undead dwell.

It was only for a few seconds, but it felt like hours when they stared at each other.

Both sides waited with bated breath. Mostly because whoever wins this duel will slaughter the losing side.

!

The Ascended Harb started the fight by using a dash to strike. This dash also blinds the target, rendering them unable to react.

!

The blinded Idmon cast a spell to hinder his movement.

Skeleton arms came up from the ground and grabbed hold of the approaching Paladin Lord.

Even for just a second, the spell was able to immobilize him, and it stopped his attack.

!

Ghostly spears came out from the portal summoned by the spell.

These spears do tremendous Ice damage and chase their targets until they had pierced their soul.

Harb: "Not a chance!"

!

An improved version of his caused shockwaves of holy energies and destroyed the Spectral Spears.

!

Four high-level Void Lancers came out of a portal.

These Lancers are considered 5th tier and can go toe to toe with Paladins.

However, they are only a distraction when fighting against Paladin Lords and are even considered useless pests against an Ascended one.

Their only use against them is their excellent piercing damage.

Idmon: "(t) Attack!"

The four Void Lancers attack all at once with to maximize their damage, and this caught Harb by surprise.

The reason was that this attack could not go through his defensive skills, and he could dodge it too.

However, he was not able to move. And this was the other reason why he was surprised.

Another had immobilized him, and the spell was more potent than before.

Idmon: "(t) You won't be able to get out of that quickly. I used double the negative energy required to cast the spell."

It was one of the advanced techniques of spell casting. They call it Overcast Magic.

Idmon has done it a couple of times before, but he was not aware of it. He mastered the technique before he learned of its existence.

Harb: "Grahhh!"

!

An aura of holy Light protected him from the spears, and he was able to break free of the bindings unscathed.

The Void Lancers died from Harb's counterattack.

It had cost him a lot of mana, but this gave him time to close in the distance with Idmon.

However, Idmon was not backing down.

Idmon: "(t) Let's go!"

Harb: "HRAHHHHH!"

!

Idmon: "A powerful attack, but it won't do anything if it doesn't hit me!"

My skill allowed me to dodge the attack and hit him with a surprise .

The additional strength that I gained from my evolution has made my attacks with Void Lance stronger.

!

As soon my Void Lance hits his legs, I released an explosion of Void energies through the Lance.

The attack did not knock him off his feet, but it still caused a lot of damage, and I followed it up with a .

Harb: "Argh!"

His holy aura is still protecting him, but a lot of damage went past his protection.

!

The Paladin Lord disappeared, and I received attacks from seven consecutive strikes from different angles.

The attacks cracked my Void Armor, and even the enhanced did not protect me completely.

He then appeared behind me and kicked me.

I flew a couple of meters and into a wall.

Idmon: "(t) Hah. That's one amazing move you have there."

But I bet it has a long cooldown. I have to defeat the Paladin Lord before he can use it again.

Harb: "Now, you understand. You are outmatched. Bow down and wait for us to crush your skulls one by one."

Idmon: "(t) Never!"

I mustered most of my remaining energies to cast one more spell.

It was one of my new spells. It's the one where a Skeleton Giant can send an attack from the Void.

However, if I Overcast the spell, I can make it possible for his upper body to appear for a moment.

He can then land multiple attacks on the enemy.

Here goes everything I have!

!

A large portal appeared on the ground below us.

Harb: "You! What are you doing?"

It's the largest Void portal I have ever opened.

You can feel the negative energy escaping from the Void. It even healed the damage I took earlier.

Skeleton Giant: "GURAAHHHHHH!!! DEATH TO ALL!"

These giants are prisoners of the Void and are used by the Overlords to do hard and endless labor.

Since there was not much work to do in the Void, it is most likely for the amusement of the Void Overlords.

They torture these giants and make them into powerful, mindless weapons.

Only powerful summoners and Undead can summon these creatures.

Only Skeleton Dukes and higher level undead could summon such a monstrous creature.

Harb: "A Skeleton Giant! You! How can you summon such a monster!?"

I did not have much time to answer his question. I ordered the Skeleton Giant to attack immediately.

It has 10 seconds to attack at most.

Skeleton Giant: "DIE!!!"

It swings its fists furiously to attack the Paladin Lord.

Its arms were so big that dodging them was out of the question. Even though it only had its upper body, it still has the same size as the regular Giant.

!

Harb used his final defensive skill that raises all of his stats tremendously.

He would never fall as long as this skill is active.

However, the drawback is that he cannot move from his spot until the skill's duration has ended.

Harb: "Grah! Hragh! Gah!"

He returns each blow from the Skeleton Giant with a powerful punch of his own.

Each of the Skeleton Giant's punches was met with a .

Every time their attacks met, it creates powerful shockwaves. It was strong enough to daze anyone nearby.

Idmon: "(t) Throw everything you have!"

During the last second of the Skeleton Giant, he went all-in with his attack using a headbutt.

It collided directly with the Paladin Lord, however this time, he was not able to defend against the attack, and it overpowered him.

BOOM!

The Skeleton Giant's entire skull seemed to have crushed him when watching from afar.

Skeleton Giant: "HUH? NO!!!"

Dark and disgusting hands came from the Skeleton Giants portal and dragged him back to the Void.

Once the Skeleton Giant was gone, the Paladin Lord was visible.

Harb: "Hah...hah...hah. I'm still alive."

He was still standing; however, most of his aura was gone now, and his Ascended form has timed out.

He still had some mana, and he decided to cast a spell that is the weakness of Undead.

!

Intense flames covered the entire body of Idmon. However, he was not fazed.

Harb: "Wh-why!? Fire is your weakness!"

As soon as the flames went out, he found out the reason. His body was covered in a faint aura that looks like the skin of the dragon.

.

It's the passive I recently got after doing the ritual with Shiro. It has helped me a lot to tank most of his hits.

Idmon: "(t) It's your turn to give up. You have lost."

Harb: "The battle is not over yet! My men are still alive, and they will fight to the end!"

Idmon: "Just a while ago, your men ran away.

Harb: "I-impossible, we still have reinforcements in the fort."

Idmon: "Those 500 men you left behind? I killed them earlier all with my dragons, and that's why we're late to this battle."

Idmon's forces had encircled the Paladins. Some even tried escaping by sea, but Idmon called some allies from underwater to destroy the Paladin's hope of surviving.

Harb: "NO! NO! I can't- I can't lose! After receiving that power! I'm doing this to protect my people! How can I lose!?"

I barraged him with a and since he cannot move from his spot.

After a few spells, he fell. His skill must have ended.

Harb: "Not...yet."

He tried to get back up. Even though my spells flayed his skin and you could also see the bone on parts of his body.

The Paladin Lord discarded his equipment. Even his gauntlet and shield.

His upper body was naked, and it looked like he was about to surrender, but no.

Harb: "I didn't get to this spot with my magical powers nor the blessing of the holy gods. My physical strength is what got me here!"

!

The Paladin Lord used a rare skill that drains all of your remaining magical power and converts it into health.

It healed all his wounds, and now he's back to his former self.

He's now in his fighting stance. He should be out of magic power, but why does he feel a lot dangerous now.

Harb: "Let's do this!"

He charged at me once again, but now he's twice his previous speed.

!

His fists looked like they multiplied when they struck me. It's a good thing I blocked it with a shield made from negative energy.

Idmon: "(t) Your hands. They're not damaged."

Harb: "The gods blessed these hands himself. There will be no monster that can damage these, nor can stand against its might! It's the Fist of the Gods!"

We went at it blow after blow. I blocked Harb's attacks with my empowered Void Shield and returned attacks with .

His fists were as tough as the material used to create my weapon. I can't even scratch him.

He darted around me, hitting me relentlessly. I shouldn't let this go longer; he might break my defences.

Just when I thought that-

Idmon: "(t) What!?"

Harb did another combo and broke my shield and energy cloak. It was his hands.

It was glowing brighter than before.

!

His fist burned with holy flames. This time it didn't come from his magic power but a supernatural being.

Harb's one last blow. Where he put everything he had and all the feelings of rage and hate for the Undead empowered it.

A straight fist of unstoppable force aimed to crush my body.

I'm in front of him. If this hits me, I won't survive. From this range, I'm sure it won't miss me.

Unfortunately-

Idmon: "(t) I respect your strength and determination, but I can't lose here."

Harb: "What? No!"

He looked below him, and an ominous portal appeared.

My Void Lance, which hid inside my , appeared from a portal I summoned under Harb. Impaling him and stopping his attack.

The force that pushed the Void Lance was brutal, even piercing the tough body of the Paladin Lord.

You can call it cheating. My Void Lance can instantly disappear into the at my command and show up the next second where I summon a portal.

Harb: "(Coughs blood)"

! ! !

I pulled the Void Lance out of his body and into the portal. And then back out again with the same mighty force, it had with .

All the flames from his fists had died out. And the light he had before had left him.

After repeating for ten times, I stopped. He's about to die now.

He could barely stand and started shouting at someone. Whoever it is, was not known to me.

I let him speak because I might find out who is this mysterious person that gave him power.

Harb: "(Cough) GIVE ME MORE POWER! I DEMAND IT!"

He's calling out to someone. He's also using some kind of spell that I do not know.

Harb: "WE HAVE A CONTRACT! OI, YOU LOTS HEAL ME! BETTER YET, GIVE ME ALL YOUR REMAINING MAGIC!"

He started to drain his nearby Paladins(a few who stayed with him) with the spell that he had. It's like a ritual sacrifice.

Only a few seconds have passed, but the Paladin Lord's energy has increased exponentially.

Unfortunately, his powers became unstable, and now he could barely contain the energies that he drained.

Harb: "NO! NO! I AM USING IT TO FULFILL YOUR WISH! WHY WON'T YOU GIVE ME POWER!?"

Someone was speaking to him. However, only he could hear its voice.

???: "You have strayed from the path that I gave to you. You are using this power for your revenge."

Harb: "WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE!?"

He's starting to bleed from his eyes and ears. He will die soon.

ZOOM!

A teleportation portal came out of nowhere, and a high-level Wizard came out.

He used a magic item to contain the unstable energies inside Paladin Lord Harb and took him away.

Before they went away, the Wizard said something.

Wizard: "He's too important to die here, so I'll be taking him with me. Also, do your best to prepare because the main army is coming back. You can rest assured that they will pay you back for this defeat. Goodbye."

They left, just like that.

The soldiers killed anyone who did not escape, and for those who did, we let the Deadlands decide their fate.

I gathered the remaining forces that we have and briefed them of our situation.

Idmon: "(t) First of all, thank you, everyone, for fighting bravely and holding the line. Without you guys, our plan would not be successful."

Cheers from the soldiers rose in unison.

Idmon: "(t) However, an even greater threat is about to come, and we don't know how long we have before they arrive."

The tired faces of the dwarves and the posture of the Skeleton soldiers said it all.

They had barely won this battle, and fighting an even stronger enemy would only yield one result.

Defeat.

Idmon: "(t) We cannot hold out on our own. We need more allies. We need to get stronger, too. If anyone has any ideas, please share them with me so that we can win."

The Ents had suffered a lot of damage in this battle. Many of the Elder trees had died, and the loss of the ancient No'ar hit their morale the most.

And the Underwater creatures that Princess Rina sent had suffered casualties too and will need time to regain their strength.

Dolf raised his hands.

Dolf: "There's an ancient myth that the dwarves used to have powerful golems to help them in their construction. The books even say that they are more ancient than the trees themselves. However, no dwarf alive now can tell if this is true."

If it is, then we could use their help.

Idmon: "(t) Then there's only one thing left to do. Let us ask your oldest brethren about this topic."

I had raised their heroes before. We only need to find the oldest skeletons that they have so we can get a clue if this myth is real.

Granpa and King Wargh should be able to assist me with this.

Without wasting any time, I dismissed the army and ordered them to get back to their posts.

The dragons went back to their cave for now, and I will call upon them when the time comes.

We need to unite the entire South Region if we are to survive! We exist!

And we deserve to exist, the same way all races should exist. No one has the right to wipe us out. I will make sure of that.