Chapter 136: The Netherworldly Power Bestowed By Lord Dekan
Just as Evans suppressed the pain and summoned the flying dragon, determined to escape as quickly as possible, a sudden bolt of lightning struck through his mind, awakening him instantly. At that moment, it seemed like there was a tearing sound through the air. A cold light, seemingly from nowhere, viciously thrust toward Evans' chest.
The assailant was dangerously close to Evans at this moment. The dagger in her hand was almost within reach, ready to pierce Evans' heart. Moreover, the dagger gleamed with an eerie crystalline light, evidently coated with some poison.
"Get lost!" Evans roared. His body suddenly turned, immediately unleashing a deep red halo that burst from all around him. This halo spread out from his body and sent Isabel, who had just pounced at him, flying away harshly in an instant.
"Hoo, hoo."
Despite being hit head-on, Isabel managed to quickly get up from the ground. Besides some minor burns on her body, she was unharmed. On the other hand, Evans was gasping for breath and had a heavier shadow around his eye sockets like someone severely sleep-deprived. It seemed that with every passing minute, he became noticeably weaker.
"Hehe, you've become so weak. Originally, I thought this move would end my life," Isabel taunted, swaying the dagger and advancing towards Evans. At the same time, she activated the temporary skill provided by Dekan, [Nirvana's Temptation] (double mana consumption within range), and summoned [Captain Durrkan.]
Seeing these two cards, Evans' expression turned somewhat purple. Initially, Evans wouldn't spare a glance for these tier 1 and 2 cards. However, now, these cards had become the last straws that were crushing him!
Observing Evans' expression, Isabel felt an inexplicable sense of excitement. The once untouchable and arrogant Cardinal of Ruins, whom she dared not defy, now gave her the feeling that he could be at her mercy. Was this the power of the netherworld?
Without hesitation, Evans opened his spellbook and used the flames on the ground to clear away [Captain Durrkan.] Once controlled by this doll, he would be done for! However, after casting this spell, Evans felt dizzy and disoriented, as if something inside his body was being drained. He vigorously tapped his temple, as if trying to puncture it to stay awake.
"Isabel!! Do you know the consequences of betraying me, betraying the Church?!" Evans roared, like a wild beast ready to pounce and bite off the opponent's throat even if it meant perishing together.
"Milord, you have already been eliminated," Isabel said with a playful smile, taking out another stack of [Captain Durrkan] cards, holding them like a folding fan. This almost made Evans spit out blood.
Even if Isabel rushed over to confront him head-on, it would be better than constantly pulling out these damned wicked cards, especially [Captain Durrkan,] to torment him. Given Evans' hatred towards Dekan, the time controlled by [Captain Durrkan] might set a new record.
This forced Evans to take the initiative and exert all his strength to send dark flames to sweep towards Isabel. Even if it meant double the mana consumption, he was determined to use his remaining strength to confront her!
However, Isabel casually threw out [Captain Durrkan,] deflecting Evans' attack. It was reminiscent of how Dekan tormented Flatta in the artificial Shadow World.
"This is the consequence of not carefully studying Dekan and Flatta's combat records," Isabel sneered, mocking Evans with a somewhat instructive tone.
"Isabel!!! Why are you doing this?!" Evans had never considered who might be the one to end his life today, but he couldn't accept the possibility of it being at the hands of Isabel!
"Hehe, there's no need for you to understand, just die with resentment," Isabel replied. Then, as if reconsidering, she added, "Lord Dekan said if you ask me why, I should answer like this."
Isabel's tone became reverent when she mentioned Dekan, similar to how she used to revere Evans. This created an indescribable sense of insult within Evans.
However, in an instant, Evans' mind flashed through countless thoughts, and he quickly came up with a ludicrous but explanatory reason for the current situation. Isabel couldn't have betrayed so abruptly!
If she had betrayed him earlier, she could have joined forces with Dekan and a tier 8 powerhouse from the Norton Empire to set up an ambush. It must be that Isabel, at some point not long ago, was turned into Dekan's servant!
"Isabel! Help me! Cooperate with me, and I'll help you kill Dekan. I'll free you and overlook today's events!" Evans roared.
"Even if I promise to help you now, would you dare to let your guard down?" Isabel only sneered, continuously approaching Evans.
At this point, she had no intention of betraying Dekan. Moreover, she couldn't violate the binding force of the contract. Dekan had tasked her with patrolling the nearby area. Dekan had predicted that Evans would use [Shared Perception] to gather information about the vicinity of the Destruction Demon Lord.
So, Dekan drew a circle on the map with the location of the Destruction Demon Lord as the center and a radius of two kilometers. Two kilometers was precisely the limit distance Evans could connect to the Destruction Demon Lord for perception and investigation.
Dekan, based on the direction the Destruction Demon Lord had come from at noon, predicted the most probable direction Evans would approach from. Therefore, Dekan marked out a range on the arc, allowing Isabel to lurk within that area.
He ordered Isabel to assassinate any flying summoning creatures or Evans once she detected their traces or to gather intelligence on Evans while he was investigating. Of course, Dekan also considered the possibility that Evans might come to the city of Tristin from another direction.
Therefore, Dekan had the lord deploy knights to patrol in several other directions. Even if Evans approached from another direction, he couldn't escape the fate of being discovered.
However, the probability of such a situation occurring was not very high because Evans was already in dire straits. Arrogant and lacking caution, he was unlikely to detour around the Destruction Demon Lord in a large circle and then initiate the [Shared Perception] to investigate.
Originally, Isabel did not have ample opportunities to get close to Evans even though she had already discovered Evans on a flying dragon in the area predicted by Dekan. However, all of a sudden, Evans stopped his movements. Just being disturbed by Dekan for more than ten seconds was fatal for Evans.
Because Isabel, with her tier 7 physical qualities and stealth skills, could undoubtedly approach Evans rapidly!
"Ahhhh!" Evans roared as if pushed to the brink. He summoned his army of summons without caring about the terrifying mana consumption that would cause permanent damage. If he didn't do this, he would undoubtedly die!
Just [Nirvana's Temptation] and [Captain Durrkan] were enough to drive him insane! He had to find a way to escape this battle!
What kind of netherworldly battle was this?! What sort of place was this?!