Chapter 698: My Monsters Are a Headache

Lian’s cold and sharp claws came down toward the crack in the armor.

The knight opened one of his gray wings to defend himself.

The claws struck the edge of the wing, several gray feathers were torn away, and ice crystals formed on the outer part of the wing.

The Apostate looked at it for a moment, but before he could counterattack, a purple flow approached his shoulder from the left.

Four.

Corrosion Poison entered through the damaged gaps in the armor.

This was one of the Castellan’s nine poisons, a poison used to wear down defensive structures and destroy the target’s weak points.

The knight immediately increased the mana pressure around his shoulder, but Four quickly added another poison to the flow.

Mana Disruption Poison.

This poison could disturb the target’s energy flow and make it difficult to use mana-based abilities accurately for a short time.

The Apostate lowered his right wing for a moment, and Lian used that opportunity.

Dark energy formed around his right hand.

[ Eclipse Energy ]

Thin, black threads also appeared in his left hand.

[ End Energy ]

He moved both hands.

The knight folded his three upper wings to defend against Eclipse Energy, but the threads of End moved toward the crack in the armor from a lower angle.

The Apostate was forced to change the direction of his sword to defend himself, and at that exact moment, Three took action.

[ Crimson Decree ]

The Dreadmaw Sovereign’s powerful attack approached the knight from the other side.

For the first time, the Forsaken Apostate was forced to use his sword, wings, and armor’s power to defend himself at the same time.

Several waves of impact formed around his body, and the damaged shoulder plate developed a larger crack.

One of his gray wings also lost some of its outer feathers.

Without recklessly chasing the enemy, Lian moved several meters backward and then fixed his gaze on the knight.

’Good.’

’Now he can’t focus all his attention on me anymore.’

On the other side, the Forsaken Apostate tightened his grip on his sword.

And for the first time since the beginning of this fight, instead of advancing directly, he adjusted his position in the center of the battlefield.

Dreadmaw noticed this change and laughed briefly.

"Is that all? I thought twelve wings would be useful for something more than protecting a rusty suit of armor."

"I suggest you do not declare victory before the battle has ended." Four answered in a formal tone.

Three turned his head toward him.

"Since you were summoned, have you said even one encouraging sentence?"

"If you have extra time, I can send both of you in front of his sword." Lian said without looking at either of them.

Both became silent.

Young Vorhelm raised the corner of his mouth slightly.

Finally, to be fair, Dreadmaw’s words could somewhat count as psychological warfare, but talking too much could also disturb their concentration during battle.

But before his smile could fully form, the knight raised his sword, and this time, the airflow around the entire plateau changed.

The knight folded his two upper wings around his chest.

Four more wings moved to the sides of his body, and the remaining six wings slowly opened behind him.

Lian immediately noticed the change in their position.

The shield again?

[ Ashen Aegis ]

The Ashen Aegis shield was activated once again.

Thick layers of feathers covered the damaged parts of the armor, and mana flows spread between them.

Lian thought about the skill’s name for a moment.

Aegis...

Now that he thought about it more carefully, this name was familiar to him, earlier, because of the pressure of the battle, he had not had time to think about it.

In Greek mythology, Aegis was connected to Zeus and Athena, a legendary shield or protective covering that was considered a symbol of divine authority and protection.

And now, right in front of him, a twelve-winged knight was using a skill whose name and method of operation reminded him of that same legend.

’Strange.’

’Why would a creature from the Ruined Realms have a skill with such a name?’ He looked at the knight’s appearance again.

But he did not have more time to think.

The Forsaken Apostate spread his wings apart, and huge air currents formed around his body.

[ Typhon’s Twelve-Winged Tempest ]

A skill that created destructive air currents through the coordinated movement of twelve gray wings and allowed the knight to put pressure on a large area at the same time.

This name was also familiar.

Typhon...

In Greek mythology, Typhon was a terrifying creature connected to storms and battles against the gods.

Lian looked at the huge tornadoes forming around the plateau for a moment.

’So this one also comes from Earth’s myths.’

Large stones rose from the ground, a gray tornado moved along the western part of the plateau and broke several huge pillars at their bases.

Farther away, a tall cliff cracked under the pressure of the airflow. Large pieces of rock broke away from its slope and fell into the abyss.

If such a force were released in a residential area, it could turn a city into ruins.

But here, there was nothing except the stone plateau, cliffs, and broken structures of the prison.

Young Vorhelm left the ground with the Wings of God.

The two black dragon wings carried him to a higher position with tremendous speed.

Unlike the knight, Lian was not using his wings to create several independent storms.

Their main ability in this form was flying at a speed much higher than his base speed, although the greater his acceleration and speed became, the more mana he consumed.

He passed between two air currents and landed on the edge of one of the remaining pillars.

’If I try to stop all these storms, I’ll only waste my mana.’

His gaze fell on the knight.

’I’d better put pressure on the source itself.’

He sent a short command through Hive Dominion.

’One, right side.’

The huge ant pressed four of his hands against the ground.

[ Cascade Rupture Hand ]

Deep cracks formed on the knight’s right side.

The Apostate immediately opened his two lower wings to change position, but at that moment, the Eight-Disaster Wolf also took action.

One of his eight eyes turned golden.

[ Skyless Howl ]

A wave of mana pressure was released along with the wolf’s howl, and for a moment, it disturbed the energy flow around some of the knight’s wings.

The Forsaken Apostate was forced to correct his position, and at the same time, Three raised his hand.

[ Feast of Seven Maws ]

Seven huge and terrifying jaws appeared around the knight’s path and attacked him from several directions.

The Apostate immediately swung his sword.

Three jaws were destroyed by the first slash, and two more were crushed by the pressure of his gray wings.

But the remaining two jaws approached his armor from below and forced the knight to use another part of his defense against them.

Dreadmaw looked at the scene with satisfaction.

"Did you enjoy my power?"

Lian, who was now at a higher position, kept his gaze fixed on the knight.

Now it was Four’s turn.

The Nine-Venom Castellan slowly extended one of his hands, and a dark purple flow formed in the air.

Corrosion Poison once again moved toward the knight’s damaged shoulder, but this time, Mana Disruption Poison was accompanied by another effect.

A poison that weakened mana defenses.

Four could not destroy all of the Apostate’s defenses with these poisons alone, but he could disturb the connection between the armor’s protection and the energy flow around it for a moment.

The knight immediately noticed the danger and opened several wings on his right side to scatter the poisons.....and that moment was enough.

Lian descended from above.

[ Thunder Ashen Step ]

His movement changed direction toward the knight over a short distance.

But just before he arrived, the Forsaken Apostate moved his sword upward.

Lian folded the Wings of God and changed his flight path, and the blade passed beneath his feet.

He landed on the knight’s left side and brought his right hand toward the damaged part of the armor.

[ Glacial Reaper Claw ]

The icy claws struck the crack in the armor, the sound of metal and ice breaking echoed at the same time, and part of the shoulder’s protective plate broke away and fell to the ground.

The Apostate let out a short sound from his throat.

But Lian was not finished yet, and he directed a thin thread of End Energy toward the exposed area.

To prevent the energy from entering, the knight placed one of his wings in front of his shoulder.

The black thread struck the wing’s surface, several gray feathers were damaged, and part of its covering was torn open.

Young Vorhelm immediately moved backward.

Not out of fear, but because he knew the knight’s next attack would probably be direct and heavy.

The Forsaken Apostate brought his sword down toward Lian’s previous position.

The stone ground split apart.

But Lian was standing several meters away, and his gaze fell on the knight’s damaged shoulder for a moment.

’Good.’

’Now he can’t protect that part without paying a price.’

On the other side, the Forsaken Apostate lowered his head and looked at the crack in his armor and the damaged feathers for several seconds.

Then he held his sword with both hands.

"You possess abilities that should not belong to a human."

"I hear that a lot, I’m somewhat used to it, can you use a different compliment?" Lian answered calmly.

"But power will not free you from your fate." The knight said coldly.