Chapter 25: One Slash 1
Shocked.
That's the only thing that comes to Livrin's mind when he watches Aldrian fight the Duke stage devils. Although they fight inside the barrier and illusion formation created by Aldrian, it can't obstruct his kingly sight and sense. After all, Aldrian's formation isn't enough to block a King stage cultivator.
Initially, the plan to hold off the Duke stages depended solely on Aldrian. Livrin never took it seriously because, as a King stage cultivator, he believed he could handle all the Duke stages and just needed to be vigilant about any hidden tricks they might have.
He wanted to see what made Aldrian so bold as to suggest the crazy idea of fighting many Duke stage cultivators on his own. He was ready to intervene if the situation went wrong because he didn't want anything to happen to the person the imperial family had their eyes on. But what he saw was far beyond his imagination.
"There's no way he is at the Viscount stage, right?" Livrin began to doubt Aldrian's real cultivation level. At first, he couldn't believe Aldrian was only 12 years old, but now he suspected Aldrian had also faked his cultivation level. "The way he battles, he must have a lot of experience. If I had to guess, he's at least peak Duke stage." But he was far from the truth.
He kept his attention on Aldrian while occasionally checking on the others involved in the hunt operation. Every time the Duke stage devils unleashed their techniques to trap Aldrian, he always blocked or evaded them. Now that he fought with his sword, his fighting style was more refined and unpredictable. Every slash and stab he made was deadly and effective.
"What is he? A sword cultivator? But he can use many elements, even spatial laws. There's no way his name hasn't been heard across the entire continent—oh, those devils finally revealed their devil forms."
Livrin saw the devils finally show their devil forms to fight Aldrian, before flying to the northern part of the city to support his men. The battle became more sporadic and intense, destroying the surrounding landscape inside the barrier Aldrian had made.
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Fire ignited in several places, some of it is black flames whose heat could be felt from kilometers away. The ground was marred with numerous slashes and craters, the aftermath of their clash. Residual elemental energy lingered in the air, a testament to the chaotic battle that had taken place.
Despite their numerical advantage, the 12 devils couldn't overwhelm the lone figure standing 500 meters away. Even in their devil forms, they couldn't gain the upper hand. Every time they boosted their power, their adversary seemed to grow stronger too. Their hurried breaths and haggard faces showed their struggle to defeat Aldrian. Realizing they couldn't capture him alive, they decided to kill him to eliminate any witnesses.