Chapter 287: Betrayal [1]

Damien didn't even have the energy to stand up straight as his Void Essence wrapped around the dark material and turned it into essence for him to digest.

The second he finished casting the devour skill, his body collapsed to the floor. He didn't even bother to check what kind of benefits he received from the dark material. He didn't even think of the consequences that'd come with the fact that he devoured a portion of a higher existence.

He had been holding on due to his sheer willpower and some unknown force that allowed him to keep his rationality after the soul attack, but he was still human. There was no way he'd be free from the side effects.

As the adrenaline rush wore off, a blood-curdling pain began to wreck his body. It was a level of pain he'd never experienced before. And when Damien was the person in question, it could be inferred how severe the pain was.

When pain came from his physical body, it was easy to endure. He knew that at some point, it'd end under the comfort of his regeneration skill. However, this new pain wasn't something regeneration could heal.

His head felt like it was being split in half by a cleaver. Vertigo began to set in, causing the world around him to spin as if it was a Beyblade. Along with this disorienting and nauseating feeling, there was a searing pain that spread throughout every part of his body, even though his body itself was relatively uninjured.

There had been a hole in his stomach at one point due to the black dragon that attacked along with the white dragon, but it had already healed.

Damien had the urge to shut his eyes and call it a day, but he was well aware that his battle was just one of many. He couldn't allow himself to stay incapacitated for long.

But in the end, he couldn't defeat that urge. Soul injuries were truly much more frightening than physical injuries.

Luckily, he still had his wits about him. Damien vanished from his position and appeared within a hidden corner of the Sanctuary before he succumbed to his fatigue. There was no way he'd allow himself to be vulnerable as unsafe as a chaotic battlefield, even if he was many kilometers away from it.

'Just 5 minutes wouldn't hurt anyone...'

Even as his body shut down and his mind hit zero, Damien could clearly feel it. His heart was racing.

***

The main battlefield was just as chaotic as it had always been. Elemental spells flew threw the air and blades constantly clashed against each other, filling the area with a cacophony of sound.

"Flame burst!"

"Watch out behind you!"

"I'll cover it! Wind Curtain!"

The shouts of the geniuses of the 3000 Beast Mountain Range were drowned out by the sheer amount of noise, but they somehow still managed to communicate.

Outperforming everyone's expectations, 40 of the original 50 geniuses had managed to stay alive until this point. As for the Demon army, many of the Captains had died either at the hands of geniuses or by stray attacks that wandered the battlefield.

But the loss of a few Captians in no way affected the overall strength of the Demons. After all, their Generals were all still living. And the number of generals alone was 50, rivaling the original number of geniuses.

"Demonic Judgement!"

Dozens of pitch-black swords formed in the sky before charging into the crowd. As expected of a Demonic Judgement, there was no distinction between allies and enemies. The swords cut through the crowded battlefield and slayed anything that stood in their path.

"Light Barrier!"

"Water Curtain!"

A plethora of defensive skills and barriers were layered on top of each other, managing to narrowly block the charging swords. In response, the geniuses turned their gaze to the Demon General who released the swords.

He didn't even try to hide his presence, looking down upon the humans as if they were ants. But his arrogance wasn't unjustified. Even if he alone would perish to their numbers, they didn't lose out in that department at all.

A group of five geniuses split apart from the main group and rushed the Demon General, surrounding him and caging him into one location.

"Spear Rain!"

A rain of light spears appeared in the sky and fell onto the Demon General. The General deftly moved his body as if he was dancing, dodging every spear that fell.

"Thundering Wave!"

A dense mist formed around the group before coagulating into many droplets of water. The water joined together into a wave rens of feet tall, crashing towards the agile Demon General.

The Demon General's eyes moved towards the attack, his hands following soon after.

"Chaotic Outburst."

Inky black mana coated his hands before pulsing outwards like a shockwave. Although the attack didn't seem special, when the shockwave collided with the wave, it easily blasted it apart before it ever reached the General's position.

The Demon General turned to the man who released the spear rain and charged, his mana enhancing his agility and allowing him to reach his target in an instant.

"Die!"

The General's nails elongated into claws and swept towards the man's throat. The man, however, had put too much focus into controlling his spear rain, leaving him unable to dodge.

"James!"

"Protect him!"

"Entangling Vines!"

The ground below the Demon General's feet burst apart as vines with the thickness of human arms emerged and twisted around the Demon General's feet.

Although the Demon General was easily able to deal with the vines, they had successfully confined him for a second, which gave the spear rain genius a chance to escape.

The genius touched his neck slightly, noticing the small trail of blood was leaking from it. If his comrades were even a bit later...

But he didn't have time to think about it for too long before a soft light covered him. His wounds began healing at a rapid pace. He cast a grateful look at the woman who had healed him before turning his attention back to the battle at hand.

"Tch!"

Seeing this scene, Demon General clicked his tongue. Individually, he far outclassed every single one of his opponents. But the synergy they showed in battle had allowed them to tie him down even with their disadvantages.

There were five of them and one of him, and with them being spread out so far, it was impossible for him to target them all at once. He was a combatant mainly focused on speed and assassination. Although he had moves like the Demonic Judgement, it would take him time to conjure them. And he didn't have time at all.

With the spear rain genius escaping the General's grasp, the group was able to once again start their assault. They had one strategy and one strategy only. To wear down their opponent until he was a pig on the chopping block.

"Spear Rain!"

Another rain of spears soon fell onto the battlefield. The surroundings were filled with multiple scenes similar to this one.

Groups of three to five geniuses broke apart from the main group periodically to barrage the Demon Generals, while the main group focused on razing the Captains to the ground so there wouldn't be any distractions later in the battle.

It wasn't a bad strategy, but they were far outnumbered. If any of the unoccupied Demon Generals decided to step forth, their momentum would easily be disrupted.

After all, there were only 40 of them. With the small groups continuously splitting off, only about 10 of the demon generals were being held at bay. The other 40 were simply watching the battle in amusement.

They had no reason to interfere. It would just waste their energy for nothing. They would at most send the occasional skill into the crowd to kill a few geniuses, but that was it.

The battle was grim. The geniuses were well aware of that. But they didn't back away. They weren't courageous and they weren't righteous. The reason they stayed was simple.

Their stars; which had originally been stuck at the lowest Silver level for many months, had already broken through to the Gold level and were on their way to turning Purple. Was there any other motivation needed for them to continue?

The fates of those who died were none of their concern. All that they needed to be concerned with was their own safety!

With this kind of mentality, the morale of the geniuses didn't lower no matter how many they lost. The battle was able to continue raging at full force for many minutes.

However, their mana reserves were far from limitless. In fact, many of the geniuses in the main group were already reaching their limits...