Amber Sword

All he could see was the Titan.

He leaped up.

This leap exploded with a power unimaginable to ordinary people; he shot off the ground like a cannonball, colliding with the chest of the Titan.

That was where the Thunder Core was.

The Earth Sword cut through the mist like a silver line, stabbing directly into the hard granite. But among the sparks that flew, the indomitable Earth Sword was repelled uselessly on the hard surface. Lines of invisible ripples suddenly bounced off the numerous Magic Arrays spread over the bronze-colored surface, completely pushing away the sword.

Immediately, the defensive Magic Array began its counterattack.

Countless arcs of electricity shot out from the chest of this gigantic creature, each one lashing at Brand like a whip. But it was meaningless; Brand couldn’t become any more ’dead.’ As long as his head and heart remained intact, for these ten minutes—

He would continue to live.

Ten minutes was enough time for Brand to do many things.

The counterattacking lightning also awakened some yet dormant strength within Brand’s body—it was the Sunflame Blood. Every bolt that struck him was met with the same golden-red lightning in retaliation.

Only at this moment did the planned scenario that Brand had long anticipated finally occur. The Reflective Skill began to manifest its terrifying power with the support of the Unyielding Talent.

Every bolt of lightning that hit him triggered a reaction, with the Sunflame Blood striking back at the Titan with the same golden-red lightning. The Reflective Skill finally demonstrated its might with the support of the Unyielding Talent.

Even if it was only 50% damage, it was still the Titan’s own strength.

The Titan was attacking itself.

The operator of the Titan immediately realized something was wrong. Countless lightning strikes retaliated against Brand’s attack, only to be met with an equal number of counterattacks from the Sunflame Blood. In turn, the Sunflame Blood’s counterattacks triggered a new wave of counterattacks, creating a vicious cycle that was almost unstoppable from the start.

The entire Titan was instantly engulfed in a light as dazzling as a newborn star.

In a moment, thousands of counterattacks occurred, finally causing the Titan to become unsustainable. In the blink of an eye, countless fine cracks appeared on its chest.

The Titan shook violently in this intense light.

Brand also roared at the sky—or rather, screamed. The immense pain at every moment almost drowned out all his perception. Using all his strength, he could only let out a single sound:

"Aaaaaaaah—"

Brand used his last bit of sanity to extend the claw of his Red Blessing, fiercely piercing it into the fissures on the Titan Statue’s chest.

Then he raised the Earth Sword, starting to furiously attack the Thunder Core gradually being exposed.

Now.

Both sides had only one outcome, to kill the other or be killed. If the operator inside the Titan had any last shred of hope, then Brand knew better; at least for ten minutes, this giant thing could definitely not kill him.

But could the Titan withstand attacking itself with full force for nearly ten minutes?

The answer was clearly no.

The Titan would die from its own damage being reflected back; this would be perhaps the most frustrating way it had ever died since its creation.

And it could no longer turn back.

Brand had also lost the ability to think, completely plunging into a state of madness. He attacked this giant beast almost purely on instinct like a wild beast. The hellish agony left him with no room for thought, and the last bit of clarity only let him turn into a furious roar:

"Antitina, run! Now, run! Teleportation Gate!"

His voice echoed far out.

...

The Staff Lady pressed a hand to her chest, looking with an indescribable emotion at that entire ball of light, which had become a sun-like blistering orb—she knew inside, Brand and that terrifying enemy were engaged in a life-and-death struggle.

She couldn’t change anything, could only pray quietly.

But until Brand’s roar rang out—

"Antitina, run! Now, run! Teleportation Gate!"

Antitina was given a jolt, that shout didn’t even sound like her Lord’s voice, the pain was almost like a beast’s howl. It was as if she’d been stabbed, immediately gritting her teeth and rushing towards the Teleportation Gate.

A hundred meters, but a mere instant of distance.

But she might not have expected that just as she took her first step, dazzling electric light suddenly burst from the Titan Statue’s body. The light flashed fiercely, then all the lightning extinguished one by one.

Antitina instinctively turned her head, witnessing Brand, devoid of power, falling from mid-air, forming a long arc that slammed heavily into the ground.

"Ah..."

She let out a worried scream, then noticed the dreadful Titan Statue’s entire body cracking, standing shakily at its original spot.

Victory?

The Staff Lady couldn’t help but widen her eyes, but her heart immediately sank. Because she saw the statue stagger back up, as if it would collapse at any moment, but nonetheless wasn’t completely destroyed.

On the contrary, the Lord’s side indeed showed no signs of life.

The Lord lost...

Antitina felt an unbearable sting in her heart, she finally realized something as tears started to pour. Antitina had thought many times she might die in this war, thought that Erune might face destruction, but she’d never thought Brand would die.

The Lord was omnipotent, like a beacon of hope guiding everyone forward, but she’d never considered that even the last flickers of a candle would face a moment of extinction.

Neither had Brand—

The Earth Sword was indestructible due to the attributes of his Element; he may have never considered the Earth Sword could break. Indeed, even under Titan’s attacks, the Earth Sword remained unscathed.

But this misconception caused him to forget one thing.

Not every piece of equipment he had was called the Earth Sword.

When he saw his Red Blessing turn red under the lightning, melt, and then finally break, he finally realized this.

"It’s over." At that moment, he had only one thought.

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Then he was flung far away by the lightning, slamming heavily into the ground. He felt like he was embedded into the ground, the Unyielding Talent burning its last flame within him, but it was nearly extinguished.

He could no longer move, his eyelids grew heavy, an endless drowsiness enveloping him.

Was it to end?

He wished to look one more time in Antitina’s direction, but he saw only a narrow, dark view. Because of ruptured blood vessels, his vision also appeared blood-red, like the scene before Doomsday.

Everything seemed to quiet down.

In the silence, he saw another bolt of lightning descend from the sky, then transform into another Titan. Misfortune never comes singly, it was completely over.

He thought.

Until he heard a familiar, crisp voice pierce through his pitch-black thoughts.

"Brand!"

...

(PS: Chapter two, thank you all for your support these two months. There’s more to come~~~ Hum hum, I just love sudden bursts.) (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com), your support is my greatest motivation.)