Chapter 78: Fierce Battle

Zaos attacked with fierce momentum. He nimbly moved through the formation of light mystics, beheading many light mystics still stuck in a daze.

However, the series of thuds from the lifeless bodies dropping to the floor and the warm blood spraying on their companions quickly woke the light mystics out of their trance.

"Be on guard, the assassin is powerful!"

"Kill him! It's only one person!"

Various shouts resounded throughout the battlefield as the light mystics began a fierce counterattack. Those close to Zaos swung their weapons with brimming killing intent while the ones further from him supported their companions with long-range attacks.

Interestingly, none of them retreated in fear and instead staked their lives against this powerful foe before them.

Zaos was slightly surprised by their attitude but didn't slow down his movements. He was much faster than any of the mystics present; he was able to easily evade most of their attacks, and the ones he couldn't evade were taken care of by the defense barrier he hastily erected around himself.

As the battle progressed, the mystics' numbers started to reduce drastically as Zaos got used to their attacks and adapted accordingly.

Whenever he was encircled, he would employ his devouring elemental weave to engulf his foes and consume them. This technique heavily weighed on the minds of the light mystics as their morale slowly dwindled.

If they tried to pincer attack him with multiple projectiles, his negation shield would render their efforts useless and he would quickly counterattack.

The battle had only gone on for a few minutes and there were already a few mystics who harbored thoughts of fleeing.

"Haha! Is this all the great light mystics' army amounts to?" Zaos taunted using his broken mystic human' language.

He had just finished speaking when his danger senses flared. He hurriedly dodged to the side, narrowly evading the spear that was aimed at his heart.

"Tsk," A displeased voice reached Zaos' ears as he quickly turned to face the enemy.

The individual in question was a man with dark brown hair, silver-white eyes, a small mustache and a square face.

At the sight of this individual, the slowly despairing army quickly surged with morale as multiple people screamed.

"Lord Haild!"

"Lord Haild has finally arrived!"

"With Lord Haild personality moving this assassin is doomed!"

Zaos looked at the tall figure of Haild with caution. He vaguely recalled seeing this name in the report of this camp but had glossed over it previously, but now he couldn't look down on this individual.

[Although he launched a sneak attack, the speed at which he arrived was almost no less than my own!] Zaos was shocked. Ever since his evolution, he hadn't fought anyone who could match him in any aspect. Yet, this individual was able to achieve it fairly easily, from what he could see.

This sparked caution in Zaos but it also caused his battle intent to surge.

He didn't say a word and directly charged at Haild with his short sword aimed at the latter's neck.

Haild, who was also observing Zaos silently, reacted with an attack of his own. He thrusted his spear forward, aiming at Zaos' heart.

The range of the spear was much larger than that of the short sword and with Haild's speed, his attack reached Zaos first. Zaos was forced to invade the strike, but he quickly regained his momentum and launched another attack which managed to arrive at the target as he had bridged the initial gap between them.

When Haild saw his attack had failed and he was about to be beheaded, he decisively let go of his spear and lowered his body while countering with a fierce uppercut aimed at Zaos' chin.

Zaos' battle experience was not as great as his opponent's, but relying on his acute senses, he managed to detect the strike in time to evade it. However, because of this, he lost the initiative and couldn't counterattack. This gave Haild the opening he needed to retrieve his spear and reposition himself for another strike.

Haild's quick reactions and great speed slowly put Zaos at a disadvantage as they exchanged more moves.

The surrounding light mystics cheered while Zaos became more solemn.

[He is actually so powerful!] Zaos' expression was cold as he continued to defend passively. This was the first opponent with a similar rank that firmly suppressed him. The feeling of weakness slowly crept into his heart causing him to feel intense disgust and hatred.

Zaos was someone who hated weakness. This intense hatred was born from the trauma he experienced after his parents' death. It was the main driving force that forced him to seek strength so fervently.

Since arriving on Krulon, Zaos had always maintained the upper hand against his foes and was rarely ever suppressed to such an extent as right now. The pride that he built up until this point was slowly being shattered causing him to become indignant.

[I haven't lost yet! I still haven't used all my abilities!] Zaos' eyes flickered with sinister light as he swiftly activated his teleportation ability. He had been saving it for emergencies and to preserve his spiritual strength but with his pride challenged, he couldn't hold it any longer.

Zaos vanished from sight, stunning Haild who had just thrusted his weapon at the former's vitals.

Before the mystics present could grasp the situation, Zaos had reappeared behind Haild, his short sword aimed at the grand mystic's neck.

Caught off‐guard by the sudden twist of events, Haild was unable to react in time and was brutally decapitated by the sharp blade. His head separated from his neck spraying warm blood all over Zaos.

The mystics who had been excitedly watching their commander suppress his opponent looked on in shock and horror as their leader's blood dyed the floor red.

For a few seconds, no one spoke as silence ruled the battlefield. But soon, that silence was broken by Zaos who had begun hysterically laughing.

"Good, good! This is how it should be!" His laughter contained joy and also a bit of relief. Although Zaos had a strong will, he was still susceptible to emotional influence just like any other human. It hadn't affected him a lot before since he was still rather weak but after his evolution, his confidence had increased a lot. This increase in confidence came with a massive surge in his pride that he could barely be contained with some caution. However, when this pride was challenged, it was natural for his emotions to become a bit unstable.

As he gazed at his opponent's corpse, Zaos' tense nerves eased significantly.

[Have I not been challenging powerful opponents all along, yet I still came out victorious? How can this insignificant individual shake my will?] Zaos reaffirmed himself as he slowly returned to an optimum mental state.

Yet, an event occurred that caused him to exit his thoughts. The corpse on the floor suddenly emitted a blinding white light that shot to the sky in a spectacular fashion.

Zaos shut his eyes as he retreated a few steps back while the mystics frozen from fear started panicking.

Just as quickly as it had appeared, the light soon dispersed leaving Zaos who was warily gazing at it to be perplexed.

[What was that?] An ominous premonition clouded Zaos' mind as a strong urge to retreat overwhelmed him.

[But I still haven't achieved my main goal! I'll move quickly before any accidents occur,] Zaos instantly moved towards the corpse of the grand mystic and devoured it before devouring a few more light mystics.

He spent a few minutes performing these tasks and just when he was about to escape with teleportation, an intense feeling of danger several times the one he felt when he was sneak attacked by Haild assaulted him!