Chapter 348: Deciding Match (10)

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.

A hand wrapped with scales easily grabbed the black hound by its neck. It struggled frantically and released flames from its mouth, but it didn't seem to affect Waltz at all. Instead, he sneered and tightened his grip. Along with a crack sound, the black hound howled in agony moments before losing its last breath.

Shortly after, it exploded into flames.

"Bam!!"

The explosion enveloped Waltz as the flames rolled mercilessly towards the blood-stained walls. However, when the smoke and sparks cleared, it revealed Waltz in perfect condition.

Now he appeared even more terrifying. Thick and long bones emerged on Waltz's arms and body, and eerie symbols appeared on his face and neck.

Demon Bracelet.

Rhode raised his brows. He knew what was happening to Waltz's body.

The Demon Bracelet was a new addition to the game after the Holy War. In the past, the people paid a huge price in stopping the demons from invading the surface. Tens of thousands of demons and humans died in that particular battle. During the war, the mages developed dozens of magical equipment to counter the demons, and the Demon Bracelet was one of them. The Demon Bracelet was created with unique magical metals that could seal a portion of the demon's strength. Furthermore, it could even imprison the demon itself within the bracelet. Most of the Demon Bracelets were destroyed after the war, and the whatever remained were scattered in all regions.

And in the game, only one organization could use this equipment — the Dark Brotherhood.

Their predecessors were the corrupted army who worshipped the Demon Lord during the Holy War. After the demons were expelled back to the abyss, these humans who were willing to be bewitched by the demons for the sake of power were all purged. However, a small portion survived and formed an organization, the Dark Brotherhood. They had one goal. And that was to open up the doors to hell once again.

Most of the humans who joined the Dark Brotherhood were failures in society or felt that they were rightfully wronged which led to their degeneration. As these humans curled up in slums and licked their wounds while admiring the warmth of the fortunate people at home, hatred and disparity became the greatest motivation in life. They hoped that everyone in this world will feel their pain, to live in constant fear and surviving on the brink of death as this was the only way for them to be released. Therefore they didn't mind to succumb to evil and become an accomplice of the demons — all for the sake of power.

Such failures existed in every corner of the continent, and because of this, the Dark Brotherhood had never lacked newcomers. In the game, the Dark Brotherhood's influence spread like wild grasses in the field. As the saying goes, even a prairie fire cannot thoroughly destroy the grass.

The Demon Bracelet was a common equipment for upper echelons within the organization. During BOSS fights or when facing the player's relentless assaults, they would activate the Demon Bracelet and release the imprisoned demon to retaliate.

Rhode was extremely familiar with the Dark Brotherhood and Demon Bracelet. However, what shocked him was Waltz being a member of the Dark Brotherhood.

How is that possible?

Regarding the knowledge of the Dark Brotherhood's forces, internal structure and as well as their entire network, Rhode was certain that knew more than the current president of the Dark Brotherhood.

But Waltz wasn't part of the upper echelons that he recalled ever so clearly.

With Archangel Lydia leading the Munn Kingdom, the Dark Brotherhood wouldn't have the guts to reveal themselves in public. However right now, Waltz openly used his Demon Bracelet — was he willing to sabotage the entire Liberty Wings Guild?

Back in the game, Rhode and his members had defeated this guild leader over fifty times, and he never heard that he could transform... So what was going on exactly?

However, no matter the reason, Rhode was in a sticky situation.

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!!