Chapter 660: Farewell, Roderick

[You have killed a Level 41 Withered]

[You have killed a Level 43 Withered]

[You have killed a Level 31 Withered]

[You have killed a Level 36 Withered]

[You have killed a Level 39 Withered]

[You have...]

Lian ignored the notifications, it was time to put an end to something once and for all.

Then he moved toward Roderick.

The first clash between them was so powerful that the stone ground beneath their feet cracked.

Roderick had gained speed with Tyrant’s Advance and had now gathered all his strength into his right fist.

Lian blocked the strike with his armored forearm.

[Mountain Anchor]

The armor’s structure became fixed to the ground for a moment, and the force of the impact spread through its plates and the stones beneath his feet.

BAAANG!

Cracks appeared around the young Vorhelm’s feet, but he did not even move backward.

The young Ashen raised his elbow, and Lian placed his other hand in front of the strike.

CRACK!

Then Roderick’s final punch, strengthened with Ascended Mana, moved toward his chest.

[Crushing Decree]

The strike hit the armor plates, and a moment later, the second explosion occurred.

BOOOOM!

One of the outer plates cracked.

[Structural Memory Activated]

The glowing lines lit up, and the damaged part began to repair itself.

But when Roderick saw the crack in the armor, he laughed loudly.

"Hahaha! Finally!"

Lian looked at his forearm for a moment and then raised his head.

"Are you really happy about just that?"

Roderick threw another punch, but this time, Lian did not even let him complete the strike, his left hand closed around Roderick’s wrist, and then he lifted his right foot from the ground.

[Mountain Anchor: Released]

The armor’s huge weight was transferred into his next movement.

[Giant’s Momentum]

The young Vorhelm’s right fist struck the young Ashen’s chest.

BOOOOOOM!

He was thrown backward, and his body moved several meters through the air before finally hitting the ground, but before he could completely stop, two gray figures appeared along the path of that same punch.

[Funeral of the Nameless]

The first phantom punch struck Roderick’s body.

BAAANG!

Then the second.

BOOOM!

The young Ashen’s body slid across the stones and finally stopped near the edge of one of the cracks.

Lian looked at him for several seconds, if he was still in his right mind, he should surrender right here.

But even now, Roderick was still trying to stand up, he placed his hand on the ground, and blood ran down from his mouth.

And then...

"Ha... hahaha..."

A weak laugh came from his throat.

Lian lowered his head slightly, there was no longer any sign of amusement on his face, he slowly walked toward Roderick.

The young Ashen raised his head.

When he saw Lian’s black-armored figure standing in front of him, his laughter stopped for a moment, but a few seconds later, his blood-covered teeth appeared again.

"Vorhelm..."

Lian did not answer and only looked at him.

Roderick stood up with difficulty, white and golden mana gathered around his arms.

"I... am the king..." He lost his balance for a moment and then raised his head again.

"And you..."

Lian took a step forward, and Roderick instinctively stepped backward.

"You..."

The young Vorhelm tilted his head for a moment.

"What about me?"

Roderick clenched his teeth.

"You should... be beneath my feet!"

Then he attacked with all his remaining strength, but this time, Lian did not even allow the fist to get close to him.

[Core of the Fallen Star]

Gravity increased around Roderick’s body, his movement stopped for a moment, and then Lian raised his right hand.

[Glacial Reaper Claw]

Five huge ice blades formed in the air.

Roderick tried to escape their range with Ascended Mana, but the pressure of gravity and his previous injuries prevented him from reacting in time.

Lian lowered his hand.

SLASH!

The first strike passed through Roderick’s right arm, blood splashed onto the stones, and his strengthened fist was separated from his body before it could reach its target.

Roderick looked at the place where his hand had been for a moment.

His laughter stopped.

"Ah..."

But Lian did not stop, and the second blade moved from the opposite angle.

SLASH!

His left arm was also separated from his body.

He had lost both of his arms.

Roderick took several unsteady steps backward, his gaze moved between his two bloody shoulders. For the first time since his madness began, his face showed something other than anger and laughter.

Fear....

But Lian was not finished yet.

"All these years..."

His voice was calm.

Roderick raised his head.

"You thought humiliating others could prove that you were a king."

The young Vorhelm moved his right hand again, and the two remaining ice blades moved toward Roderick’s legs.

SLASH!

The young Ashen lost his balance, his knees bent, and his body fell to the ground....he had lost both of his legs as well.

He could no longer stand.

He could no longer throw punches.

And he could not even move himself away from the edge of the crack.

Lian stood in front of him, his black armor shining under the golden sunlight.

Roderick looked at him with broken breaths.

"Vorhelm..."

"But the problem is that you’re nothing more than a piece of trash who dreams of becoming a king." The young Vorhelm remained silent for a moment and then spoke.

Roderick tried to say something, but only a weak sound came from his throat.

Lian slowly extended his hand, gravity changed in a small area around Roderick’s body, and the injured young man’s body rose from the ground.

For a moment, his gaze fell on the huge crack behind him, molten lava flowed in its depths, and farther below, the remains of ancient structures could be seen among the smoke and darkness.

Those ancient remains beneath the lava were probably the same structures that had kept the Withered inside them.

For the first time, Roderick looked at Lian with fear instead of laughter.

He was afraid.

He didn’t want to die! He had not become a king yet, he had not achieved his ambition yet.

How did this happen? How had everything reached this point? Where had he gone wrong? Was his dream of becoming a king foolish? But he had to become a king!

He was the only one worthy of becoming a king, he had made every sacrifice necessary to achieve his dream.

He had even sold his body to those unknown voices in his head, just to gain the power to kill this bastard.

Then why.... why had he still lost....?

"N-No..."

Lian’s expression did not change.

"Goodbye, Roderick."

Then he changed the direction of gravity, and the young Ashen’s body moved toward the crack.

Roderick tried to pull himself backward, but he no longer had arms or legs to support himself, and his body passed over the edge....and fell into the depths.

For several seconds, only the sound of his body hitting the stones sticking out from the walls could be heard.

Then a heavier impact occurred deep inside the crack.

Before reaching the flowing lava, Roderick struck one of the buried stone platforms, his injured body could no longer survive that impact, and his final breath ended there.

Roderick Ashen died.

What remained among the smoke and ancient structures below was now nothing more than his lifeless body.

The lava rose and completely swallowed him.

Lian looked into the darkness of the crack for a few moments and then raised his head, there was no smile on his face.

But that long and unpleasant part of his past had finally come to an end.

He no longer even needed to think about Roderick, because another enemy still remained, and that enemy was now moving toward him from farther away with all nine of its poisonous streams.

Lian looked at the crack for several seconds, and then the sound of heavy movement from the east caught his attention.

The Nine-Venom Castellan was still on the battlefield.

The Unholy creature walked slowly among the corpses.

Parts of its chest armor had been destroyed by that human’s previous punches, but now dark streams moved around the wounds and tried to repair the damage.

Even so, the Castellan was no longer as calm as it had been when it first appeared.

The nine blades of its crown were glowing, and poisonous streams were coming out of the gaps in its armor with much greater pressure.

Lian noticed that the creature was using a considerable amount of its stored life energy.

"So you can’t keep this going much longer either."

The Castellan lowered its head slightly and then opened both hands to its sides, nine poisonous streams came out of its body and slowly began moving through the sky.

But this time, unlike its previous attacks, the streams did not immediately move toward the young Vorhelm.

Instead, they formed rings around the creature.

The first ring was emerald green, the second was purple, the third was gray, and in the same way, nine huge, semi-transparent rings formed behind the Castellan.

From a distance, the scene looked like a heavenly crown made of poison, but its beauty did not make it any less dangerous.

The stones beneath the emerald ring began to break down, and the mana flows near the purple ring became unstable.

And even the Withered farther away began moving more slowly as the gray mist approached them.

Lian narrowed his eyes for a moment.

It released all its poisons at the same time, he knew this attack could be extremely dangerous, not because each poison alone had enough power to destroy him.

But because their combination could target his different defenses at the same time.

If the white poison weakened his defensive mana layers, the emerald poison would have a chance to damage his armor plates.

If the purple poison disrupted his mana flow, the gray and black poisons could reduce his muscle movements and reactions.

And if a wound was created, the red and golden poisons would prevent it from healing easily, all these effects could eventually create an opening for the ninth poison to enter.

Lian slowly breathed out.

"Very well."

He raised his right hand.

"Let’s see how long you can last."

But at that exact moment, the sound of breaking stone came from the north.

CRAAAACK!

A large part of Rindo’s platform began to break away.

Two jumped away from the dangerous area, but its landing path was blocked by several Level 45 to Level 50 Withered.

One was also still busy in the south.

Lian immediately examined the situation, in front of him, the Castellan was preparing its main attack, while to the north, Rindo did not have enough space to retreat.

And around the battlefield, dozens of remaining Withered were still moving toward the stable paths.

Damn it.

He could use his wings to fly toward Rindo, but in that case, the Castellan would have the chance to send all nine poisonous streams across the battlefield without interference.

And if he continued fighting the Castellan, Rindo would be forced to pass through several stronger enemies along with Two.

He looked at the Hollow Sun for a moment.

The time of the next Judgment was approaching, he knew this very well, but right now, he only had a few seconds.

He raised his right hand.

[Hive Dominion]

Streams of mana formed beside the northern platform.

And a moment later, the Dreadmaw Sovereign appeared among them.

Three.