Summoning the Holy Sword

The crimson sword tip was only inches away from Waltz but failed to pierce through. Waltz drew back the corners of his mouth as he faced Rhode’s aggression.

Damn!!

Rhode alarmingly withdrew his sword and jumped a distance away quickly. At the same time, Waltz opened his mouth and released a sharp and frightening howl.

The slab instantly shattered like scales rising up from living creatures. The shapeless impact passed Rhode and left the audience cupping their ears from the deafening noise. However, even so, that ear-piercing sound left them frantic.

Waltz was transforming.

His muscles began to squirm, bulging like an inflating leather ball. But that wasn’t it; scales began emerging from under his smooth skin, mercilessly ripping apart his flesh, revealing fresh streams of blood and stretched taut muscles.

A putrid smell of rotten eggs emerged from Waltz’s body.

That was the smell of sulfur.

After dodging his supersonic attack, Rhode unhesitantly extended his arm and suddenly, a ball of flames erupted from his palm. The black hound roared as it appeared, revealing rows of sharp teeth and launching a wave of fire towards Waltz. Then it bawled and leaped forward, but at that very moment, Waltz lifted his right arm.

Since the beginning, when he discovered the blood walls which shrouded the entire arena, he knew that the demon imprisoned within the Demon Bracelet was at least a Manipulative Lord. After all, not just any demon could cast the spell ‘Bloody Devour.’ Rhode gritted his teeth at this horrifying thought.

This is getting problematic.

Fatigue slowly kicked in, and Rhode’s strength seemed to flow out of his body like water from the gaps between his fingers. Just as the name ‘Bloody Devour’ suggests, the spell would devour the life source of any living creatures within the Blood Barrier and convert them into strength for the user. During the Holy War, this was one of the primary concerns of the humans when facing the Demon Lord. The powerful demons could use their strength and temporarily project hell onto the surface, creating their own battlefield. It naturally became the most unsuitable arena for any creatures not from hell.

Now, it was the same for Rhode.

Really troublesome.

Detecting his diminishing strength, Rhode frowned. The effects of this spell depended on his levels. If he held physical qualities of ‘Master’ stage, then such loss of power would be considered a drop in the ocean. But now — oh lord, he merely passed Advancement stage only.

I’ve got to act fast.

Rhode’s thoughts were as quick as his actions.

A rumbling sound rose from the ground as the Spirit Bird flapped its radiant wings. It stared at Waltz and let out a long cry. Thunder and lightning came crashing down from above into Waltz. It was a direct hit, but his black scales deflected the attack like a shield.

“Your struggles are meaningless!!”

Enduring the Spirit Bird’s attack, Waltz extended his arm and swung to the side. Along with his movements, a whirlwind erupted from his arm, piercing through the dark lightning clouds, and straight through the Spirit Bird’s body. The Spirit Bird let out a sharp cry and attempted to balance its body by flapping its enormous wings.

But at this moment, Waltz was no longer interested in dealing with the huge bird as he swung his right arm downwards. A string of sparks appeared on his arm. Rhode slanted his body to the side to dodge the attack while he held his sword upright. Rhode’s expression was icy-cold when his Crimson Blade trembled as it withstood the force of Waltz’s attack.

“Is that all you got, Mr. Rhode?”

Waltz sneered and lifted his arm again. A strong tremor shook the ground. Rhode seemed to have predicted it; he withdrew his sword, leaped backward. As a shockwave charged towards Rhode, he suddenly narrowed his eyes and supported his body by pushing against the ground with his palm.

“Shing!!”

The instant Rhode jumped towards the sky, a bunch of bone spikes impaled the spot he previously stood.

“Eh?”

Waltz’s expression changed slightly when he saw this

How is that possible?

Waltz gazed at Rhode in astonishment. The instant Waltz used his blood to trigger the Demon Bracelet, not only did he absorbed demon’s powerful strength, but he also accepted its techniques and knowledge. An ordinary human could not match a demon in strength, so Waltz was certain that he could defeat Rhode in a jiffy. However, he didn’t expect that he could dodge his every attack perfectly.

What’s… What’s going on?

Waltz was no newbie. And no matter what, he was a human in the ‘Master’ stage. From his observations, he could naturally tell that Rhode didn’t rely on instinct and luck to dodge, rather, he appeared to have already experienced the demons attack patterns as though he had fought them thousands of times!

Where exactly did this guy come from?

Although right now Waltz was the real demon here, the black-haired young man was even more terrifying in his eyes,

I have to kill him!!