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Chapter 167
Chapter 167
[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Lucky]
Chapter 167
Meanwhile.
A smile crept across First Star’s face.
“Fools. If you all come up here, who will guard the city below? Tsk, tsk.”
He began gathering mana to launch another barrage.
But just then—
Boom!
The ground beneath First Star trembled.
Crash!
The vibrations came in waves, one after another.
First Star quickly sought the source.
Through a magical mirror floating in midair, he observed the outside world.
To his dismay, a golden dragon was wreaking havoc on the artillery positioned beneath the floating city.
It wasn’t just destroying visible cannons but even uncovering and obliterating hidden ones.
The smile that had been on First Star’s face vanished without a trace.
Gritting his teeth, he spat out his anger.
“Vermin—mere insects—daring to disrupt a god’s will!”
His voice carried a subtle but menacing rage.
“It’s futile,” he declared.
With a surge, First Star unleashed his magical power.
The shaking floating city steadied itself, regaining perfect balance.
Even though the lower cannons were completely destroyed, the upper defenses remained intact.
Soon, magic cannons fired from above.
Although not directly targeting Fresia’s imperial capital, the blasts landing nearby were powerful enough to deal significant damage.
Dozens of mana projectiles were launched into the sky.
But Kane, with his purple wings spread wide, nullified the cannonfire as he moved.
First Star’s eyes widened as he observed.
“That bastard!”
Kane’s purple wings were not only a tool for movement but also formidable weapons.
And with each swing of Kane’s bloodsky blades, mana projectiles erupted into harmless sparks.
His enormous, purple wings neutralized the remaining cannonfire, spreading shockwaves across the floating city.
In mere moments, Kane had wiped out dozens of magic cannon blasts mid-air.
First Star’s gaze wavered.
And that wasn’t all.
Kane unleashed a surge of blood magic, targeting the upper cannons.
Bloody spikes extended forward, demolishing all the magic cannons in their path.
First Star could no longer suppress his fury at Kane’s relentless assault.
“Kane Rehinar!” he roared.
Kane smirked as if aware that First Star was watching him through the magic mirror.
It wasn’t just a smile but a taunting sneer, provoking First Star further.
First Star’s rage shook the control room.
“This ends here. I’ll show you the true meaning of despair.”
His eyes glowed with a blinding golden light.
In an instant, his figure vanished.
He reappeared directly in front of Kane.
The two now faced each other in the air, their gazes locked.
“At last, you revealed yourself,” Kane said, his tone calm.
“No matter what you do, it won’t change a thing,” First Star retorted.
“Big words,” Kane replied with a smirk. “The fact that your plans keep failing and you had to come out yourself is already a huge victory for me.”
Kane’s words struck a nerve.
His condescending tone, as if he were looking down on First Star, was the same tone First Star used when addressing his subordinates.
Hearing it directed at him filled First Star with unimaginable fury.
After all, he considered himself a god.
He Was a Peerless Being Across the Continent.
And yet, to be looked down upon by a mere human? It was unbearable.
“You’re right about one thing,” First Star sneered. “But let me ask you this—what if I trap you here? Your companions will surely die. You seem fond of them. Can you live with that?”
His sly grin was a calculated provocation.
But Kane was not one to fall for such tricks.
“Judging by how much you’re talking, you must be scared of losing to me. Oh, by the way, I’ve always wondered—do gods piss their pants when scared or not?”
It wasn’t First Star who succeeded in provoking Kane; instead, it was First Star who lost his composure.
“How dare a mere human insult a god!”
With a furious gesture, First Star raised his hand.
Golden light blazed, magic beams that emerged from his hands.
Boom!
However, Kane’s purple wings effortlessly deflected First Star’s attack.
“For the power of a god, it’s pretty underwhelming,” Kane remarked. “Even a low-tier deity would be stronger. Oh wait—are you not even at their level?”
His tone was dripping with mockery, fueling First Star’s rage.
“I’ll tear that mouth of yours apart!”
From the heavens, a golden sword mana emerged—the Sword of Divine Punishment.
Unlike the massive blade wielded by Gestel, the commander of the Solar Knights,
First Star’s version summoned thousands of glowing swords suspended in the air.
Each one pulsed with magic, created entirely from mana.
This was the pinnacle of a knight’s dream, the ultimate form of a weapon.
Yet Kane remained unfazed, his taunts unrelenting.
“What a waste, using that power for something so trivial. I wonder, if the heavens are watching, what do they think of you?”
“Silence!” First Star roared.
“They must think you’re pathetic,” Kane continued. “Or worse, they’d want to destroy you themselves. Your actions reek of heresy.”
“I said SHUTT UPPPPP!”
With that, the thousands of divine swords shot toward Kane.
At the same moment, Kane sent a telepathic message to his companions using mana.
[Prepare your defenses immediately.]
Without hesitation, his companions followed his command, bracing for impact.
Kane maneuvered skillfully, leading the storm of divine swords away from himself.
“Wait—he’s not—”
“Damn it! Has the Young Master lost his mind?”
“Ahhh! Kane’s trying to kill us all!”
Isaac, Mikhail, and Blata panicked as they hastily erected barriers.
Kane had diverted First Star’s assault toward the area where the battle priests and his companions were fighting.
The divine swords rained down on the battlefield, their impact shaking the floating city to its core.
Boom! Crash!
The deafening echoes of destruction swept through the sky.
* * *
It was a scene of Carnage
The aftermath was devastating.
Corpses were scattered everywhere, limbs and body parts so intertwined it was impossible to identify who they belonged to.
“Damn it…”
“We’re completely outmatched…”
“Heh, if I hadn’t stepped in to protect you, you’d both be dead. You should thank me,” Blata said smugly, puffing out his chest.
Despite Blata’s intervention to shield Mikhail and Isaac, both were still significantly injured. If they had relied solely on their own strength, their injuries would have been far worse.
It was a sobering reminder of just how powerful the fat tiger Blata truly was.
Meanwhile, the forces of the House of the sun were in disarray. A third of their soldiers had been annihilated, and the remaining forces were gravely injured. First Star’s overwhelming power had decimated them.
“Sir Blata, shouldn’t we help Kane?” Isaac suggested.
Blata shook his head. “Don’t worry about Kane. He gets stronger as he fights.”
As he absorbed the blood energy lingering in the air, Blata’s gaze remained fixed on Kane, who was clashing with First Star in the sky.
“You should focus on yourselves. Plenty of enemies are still standing.”
Isaac and Mikhail nodded, realizing the truth in his words.
Their foes, though wounded and winder were regrouping. A new fight could break out at any moment. It was vital to recover their strength while they could.
After all, there were still many enemies left.
“Is there a way to move this floating city somewhere else?” Isaac asked.
“We could try to locate the control room,” Mikhail suggested.
“I’ve thought of that, but splitting up our forces could leave us vulnerable.”
“Don’t bother,” Blata interrupted. “Just keep the enemies’ attention here. Desdemona is already searching for the control room.”
“So that’s why she’s gone,” Isaac murmured.
Indeed, the mysterious Desdemona, who had ascended the city with them, was nowhere to be seen.
Desdemona’s unique abilities made her perfect for moving stealthily.
And now it was night, the ideal time for a vampire to operate.
Bats dashed through the structures of the floating city. The vastness of the city made the search challenging.
One bat transformed into Desdemona as she muttered to herself.
“I’ve searched every place with a strong magical presence, but there’s no sign of a control room.”
As she pondered her next move—
“An intruder!”
The priests of the Meyer Family had spotted her.
With a swift motion, Desdemona lashed out with her whip.
Whack!
The head of a priest exploded from the blow.
Before more enemies could overwhelm her, she transformed back into a bat and took flight.
“Where is she?”
“Find the intruder!”
“She’s killed Priest Redin! Track her down immediately!”
The priests spread out, illuminating their surroundings as they searched for the intruder. But finding a bat concealed in the shadows of the night was no easy feat.
“I’ll have to check again,” Desdemona muttered.
She began scouring every corner of the floating city once more, convinced the control room had to be hidden.
She even searched the Tower of the Sun.
Yet, after an exhaustive search, she concluded with a sigh of frustration:
“The control room doesn’t exist.”
The realization that there was no control room pointed to one chilling possibility.
This massive floating city was powered by a magical core, located elsewhere.
And that was the worst-case scenario.
Desdemona quickly sent a secret voice message to Kane.
[Master, it seems there’s no control room in the Meyer Family. I’ve searched everywhere the magical core might be, but I can’t find it.]
[No need to search further. The core isn’t in the city—it’s inside the First Star.]
Her eyes widened in shock.
The implication of First Star personally holding the magical core was staggering.
First star used his perfected mana core that overflowed with oblivion energy.
He stood tall, a twisted grin on his face.
“Foolish mortal, what you fought before was not my true strength. Now, witness the infinite power that flows through me!”
He had abandoned any semblance of human form.
Now as a perfected Death Fiend, his transformation was horrifying.
The magical core was embedded on the right side of his chest, protected by layers of bone.
“So that’s why there was no control room,” Kane remarked, narrowing his eyes.
First Star chuckled darkly. “And all your efforts were for nothing.”
Crackle—
Electricity coursed through the air with every movement First Star made.
The sheer force of mana radiating from him was overwhelming.
Compared to before, his power was immeasurable.
By all accounts, he now appeared to be on the level of a 10th-class warrior, a realm few could ever dream of attaining.
“If you think this is the end, you’re sorely mistaken. Now, I will show you the true face of despair.”
First Star’s Death Fiend form began to shift once more.
Armor materialized around his grotesque body, as did a formidable weapon.
The priestly robes he once wore were gone, replaced by the warlike armor of a knight.
“I am the first Oblivion Death Knight, created as God’s vanguard to annihilate beings like you.”
His presence was suffocating, a maelstrom of energy swirling around him.
Previously, he had radiated a golden brilliance, but now his aura had turned into a grim, oppressive gray.
The magical core, once buried deep within layers of bone, now protruded from his chest, exposed yet pulsating with unfathomable power.
"Isn't that magical core of yours a little too visible?"
"Someone like you could never destroy it, so there's no need to worry," First Star replied with a smirk, his once rage-filled demeanor now replaced with confidence.
He seemed fully assured of his strength as an Oblivion Knight.
"I'm curious about something," Kane mused, a sharp edge in his voice. "Who’s stronger—a Blood Knight or an Oblivion Knight?"
First Star chuckled, the sound echoing with disdain. "Surely, one who has ascended to godhood, like myself, is stronger."
"Making assumptions before the fight even begins—that's rather premature, don’t you think?"
First Star’s eyes narrowed. "Your strength has far exceeded my expectations. Because of that, I have an offer for you. Join me, Kane. Together, we could achieve unimaginable heights."
"Not this nonsense again." Kane's tone was sharp, and his patience was clearly wearing thin.
"Humans are inferior beings compared to gods. No matter how much you struggle, you can never surpass us."
"As much as you seem to revere the gods, my disdain for them is equal, if not greater," Kane said, his voice dripping with malice.
First Star flinched slightly, realizing the depth of Kane’s hatred. A sinister idea began to form in his mind—if he could harness Kane’s resentment toward the gods, he might be able to sway him.
"If that’s the case, then take my hand," First Star proposed, extending it toward Kane. "I can grant you whatever you desire. Divine authority knows no bounds. I could even resurrect the dead, bend time to your will, and send you to the past or future."
[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Lucky]