Chapter 722: Not Him

The atmosphere in the mountain was filled with the contrasting essence of Corruption and Darkness.

Vale, the Shadow Immortal, stood encircled by the three Demon Saints.

Each Demon Saint brandished a dagger, the bone of Dimensional Creatures carved into deadly weapons, gleaming with an otherworldly sheen.

"You won't even know how you'll die Immortal!" One of the Demon Saints muttered as he was sure that Vale had no experience dealing with the Dimensional Creatures. He shouldn't know the power of these creatures when it comes to manipulating the fabric of space.

Furthermore, these were not mere tools of war; these daggers were bound to their souls and were extensions of the Saints' very beings that channeled their Corruption to a greater degree.

"Ho~ You're that confident with that dagger?" Vale muttered as he looked at the daggers of the Demon Saints.

He could tell that they were made of bones and that it was emitting a force that could contort the surrounding space.

It was definitely a dangerous weapon but he wasn't too worried about it.

Vale's form was now shrouded with Darkness, his Shadow Divinity enveloped him like a second skin.

He slowly moved forward to approach the Demon Saints. His actions belied the gravity of his situation! Nonetheless, each of his steps seemed to dispel any incoming corruption and threats that were coming from the Demon Saints!

"Hmph! Arrogant!"

The first Demon Saint lunged, his dagger slicing through the air, aiming to pierce the heart of Shadow Immortal.

Vale's response was swift. It was a twist of his form that turned corporeal to incorporeal, allowing the blade to pass harmlessly through!

This wasn't included in the reports that they heard about the Shadow Immortal! He shouldn't be capable of such an ability that only the Demon Lord possesses!

"This is too much! No wonder the other Saints failed to kill this Immortal!"

"There's no point getting surprised! Just work together!"

The Demon Saints faltered a little after Vale showed a trick using his Presence Shift.

At this time, the Demon Saints could only think that only those at the single-digit ranking of the Demon Saints could fight against the Shadow Immortal!

"Hmph! You're already dead if we fight in the Abyss Realm!"

The second Saint attacked from the side, his weapon tracing a deadly arc! The space around it even contorted by the power brought by the dagger!

It was as if he was trying to make a small rift with this attack filled with its power!

However, Vale's hand rose!

It was as if he wasn't afraid that his arm might get mangled by the spatial rift brought by the dagger!

"Ha!" The Demon Saint's eyes lit up as Vale tried to defend against his strike instead of dodging!

But Vale wasn't finished yet! From his palm, a burst of shadow erupted, forming a barrier that absorbed the strike, the impact resonating like a drumbeat of the void.

Whooom~

The force was so strong that even the Demonic Captains were affected by the clash of two powers!

The third Demon Saint then found an opportunity to strike in that few seconds!

For sure, he didn't want to be outdone! He thrust forward with a two-handed grip, his dagger aimed at the Immortal's back!

However, Vale's draconic eyes, locked onto his foe.

With a flick of his wrist, tendrils of shadow sprang forth, wrapping around the Saint's arms, pulling him off balance and rendering the attack futile. It was such a simple trick that even the Demon Saint was unable to react in time!

The problem was that the shadow had come from the Demon Saint itself! The latter had no way of defending against it.

Then, Vale continued as he used their own shadows to summon Shadow Soldiers! This surprised the Demon Saints even more since Vale ordered these shadows to take the daggers from them! However, the Saints reacted in time and were able to disperse these Shadow Soldiers before they could take the daggers away!

Nonetheless, that move from Vale scared the Demon Saints! They were just reminded that their opponent was truly capable of controlling the shadows! It doesn't matter whether it was the Immortal's shadow or not!

'So taking those daggers wasn't easy...' Vale mused as he initially tried to use his Traceless Shift to take those Daggers away. However, it actually failed, so he was forced to use the Shadow Soldiers to attempt it.

Anyway, he wasn't too disappointed as he was able to confirm that without those daggers, these Demon Saints wouldn't last long against him.

'I guess their low-ranking Demon Saints.' Vale thought as he recalled about the Demon Ranking.

"Tsk! Your tricks won't work on us!"

The Demon Saints then regrouped for a moment before they became a blur of motion as they circled Vale... They couldn't just stay still, or their shadows would be targeted!

Then, after seeing that Vale seemed confused with their movement techniques, their daggers started weaving a web of Corruption!

The air was thick with the stench of decay, and the very ground beneath them was corrupted by each drop of abyssal energy that fell.

Vale, however, was the eye of the storm, calm and unyielding.

His Shadow Divinity was a force of nature. His command over the Darkness made the Demon Saints helpless and could not breach his defense!

He raised his arms, and the shadows answered, rising like a tide against the shores of Corruption!

Vale's controlled shadow tendrils struck with precision like a master swordsman, each blow parrying the Saints' attacks!

As the fight wore on, the Demon Saints' frustration grew. Their daggers, so potent against any other foe, were rendered almost mundane against Vale's mastery.

It was useless if they could not hit Vale's body!

They fought with a ferocity born of the Abyss, but Vale was an enigma, a being of shadow and mystery! For some reason, they couldn't follow his movements!

In a final act of desperation, the Saints combined their power, the power of their daggers merging into a singular point of Corruption and Spatial Destruction!

"Die! Evil Immortal!"

They thrust forward as one, as if it were a spear of Darkness aimed at shattering the Shadow Immortal!

However, Vale's response made them helpless.

It was a spectacle of shadowy magnificence.

His form split into a dozen shades, each a mirror of the other, and the Saints' attack passed through, striking nothing but air!

"You!"

In the next moment, Vale coalesced, his hand reaching out to touch the forehead of the nearest Saint.

The touch was light, but the effect was immediate. The Saint's eyes widened as the shadow spread across his form, consuming him in Darkness.

At the same time, Vale released a force that threw them away and made their daggers fall to the ground!

The Saints recovered almost immediately, but after seeing their comrade fall, they knew that retreat was their only option. They immediately looked at the Rift nearby that Vale had actually covered with shadow tendrils!

"Use everything you have! We have bought enough time! We need to leave!" One of the Demon Saints shouted as they didn't even bother getting the daggers that were thrown away.

To Vale's astonishment, the Demon Saints ignited their very essence, their life force flaring like a dying star to break free from his shadowy grasp. With a desperate surge, they shattered the tendrils of shadows and retreated into the Rift, their forms fading into the void they had spawned from!

"Whoa~ They were that desperate..." Vale muttered after seeing that move. He simply had no way of stopping a Demon Saint who was willing to burn their life.

Then, another surprise occurred. The Rift itself then began to close, not by his hand but by the will of the Demon Saints!

It seemed their fear of Vale's pursuit outweighed their desire to continue the invasion.

'I know it's difficult to open a rift... But they're really willing to do that just to ensure that I won't follow...' A smirk played upon his lips as he watched the portal seal shut. It was silent admission of the Demon Saints' trepidation.

With the Rift now closed, Vale helped the Mummy Lord, the Abyss Knight, and the Ghoul King kill the remaining Demonic Captains. The battle was swift and brutal.

The Mummy Lord's curses drained the very vitality of the Demon Captains, the Abyss Knight's blade cleaved through demonic armor as if it were mere flesh, and the Ghoul King's horde overwhelmed the Captains with sheer numbers.

Vale, alongside his summoned Undead, made quick work of the abyssal invaders.

Once the battle was won, Vale gathered the fallen bodies of the creatures and planned to carry them back to his castle.

The reason was simple, he wanted to use his Divine Extraction System!

Apparently, the figure who had fought so fiercely was not Vale himself.

It was an Avatar, a Celestial Art he had taken from True Immortals within his castle!