Vol 3. Chapter 115: Luokefei’s Resolve
Inside Karina’s Domain — ‘Scorching Hell,’
within this world formed entirely from blazing flames, endless crimson fire rapidly condensed under the guidance of Shadow of Silence Power, transforming into tens of thousands of flaming arrows!
Like a torrential rainstorm pouring down from the heavens, they immediately whistled toward the wall of ice ahead.
The ice barrier, dozens of meters thick, abruptly shattered into countless fragments beneath the overwhelming assault of the flaming arrows before rapidly evaporating into nothingness within the fiery sea of this hellish inferno.
Having lost the protection of the ice barrier,
the blue-haired man behind it—Luokefei, the Grand General Who Protects the Nation—couldn't help revealing an unprecedentedly grave expression.
At this moment,
the Grand General no longer possessed even a trace of his imposing appearance from the beginning. His clothes were torn beyond recognition, his cloak had been burned pitch-black, and his entire body was covered in blood, as though he had just struggled his way out of hell itself.
His entire body was covered in all kinds of wounds and horrifying burn marks.
Eighth-Tier powerhouses possessed incomparable healing abilities. The vast majority of wounds could rapidly heal on their own, and even severed limbs could regenerate. However, the wounds covering Luokefei's body were still continuously increasing.
The reason wasn't difficult to guess.
His healing speed was far slower than the rate at which new wounds were appearing...
After breaking through the ice wall, the flaming arrows unsurprisingly came howling toward Luokefei.
Although Luokefei immediately erupted with the ice-attributed battle aura within his body and desperately swung his ice blades to defend himself, he still couldn't avoid every attack.
In an instant, dozens more terrifying flaming arrows pierced the old general's body.
Unbearable agony continuously assaulted Luokefei's mind, causing the Grand General Who Protects the Nation to once again let out a heart-rending scream.
And just as Luokefei screamed,
a crimson figure suddenly came charging forward!
Surrounded by dense Shadow of Silence Power, she appeared directly before Luokefei without the slightest warning!
And the one attacking Luokefei was naturally Karina, who had entered her power-released state.
At this moment,
the pitch-black demon horns and demon wings she normally kept concealed had fully revealed themselves.
Karina's alluring body was surrounded by scorching crimson flames, which, under the control of her will, transformed into a solid skirt of flaming armor that wrapped around her sexy, voluptuous figure, enough to make one's blood boil.
At the same time, streaks of crimson flame patterns appeared across Karina's face like battle totems.
It had to be said that Karina's entire body now radiated an indescribably fiery beauty.
Yet along with that beauty, the raging flames of hell gave everything around her an overwhelming sense of oppression.
Beautiful,
yet filled with killing intent.
Facing such a beautiful yet powerful existence, Luokefei immediately treated her as an unprecedented threat, his icy-blue eyes filled with solemnity.
The next instant, seeing Karina's longsword, containing overwhelming heat, thrust toward him, Luokefei immediately raised the two sharp blades in his hands under the guidance of his combat instincts and survival instincts, crossing them in front of his chest!
His icy-blue battle aura erupted without reservation and enveloped both blades.
Luokefei's extreme cold was powerful enough to freeze the soul itself. Countless powerhouses across the Anqieka Continent deeply feared it.
However, within this Domain space known as ‘Scorching Hell,’ faced with an endless sea of infernal flames and Karina's killing move, which she had been charging for quite some time, that cold now seemed almost insignificant...
“BOOM!!!”
Accompanied by an earth-shattering explosion!
The icy-blue magical power and crimson Shadow of Silence Power immediately erupted in a heaven-shaking collision!
The shockwave generated by the explosion of terrifying power instantly swept across the entire space. The continuous, violent impacts caused the entire Domain space to begin losing stability, and cracks appeared one after another across the spatial barrier.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!”
Facing Karina's overwhelming strike, Luokefei let out a hysterical roar!
His icy-blue eyes became filled with blood vessels, while blood continuously flowed from the corners of his mouth!
Nearly all the cold energy within his body was poured into his twin blades. Luokefei even began burning part of his own soul in an attempt to withstand Karina's attack.
However,
compared to Abyss Demons, human strength was limited.
Even when both were at Peak Eighth Tier, an ordinary human powerhouse's stamina, offensive power, defensive power, regenerative ability, and other physical attributes were vastly inferior to those of an Abyss Demon.
Although the current Luokefei was powerful, after a succession of earth-shattering clashes, his stamina had already fallen drastically.
Now, even if he gave everything he had, he still couldn't withstand Karina's attack.
As time passed,
the icy-blue light was gradually suppressed by the crimson flames, while blood continuously burst from Luokefei's eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
“BOOM!!”
At this moment, the icy-blue light finally became incapable of holding on any longer and abruptly collapsed, directly swallowed by the crimson Shadow of Silence Power!
Luokefei's twin blades suddenly flew from his hands under the terrifying impact, and Karina's attack seized this opportunity, mercilessly thrusting toward Luokefei's chest.
“Crack...”
Accompanied by a crisp shattering sound,
Luokefei's protective ice armor and the black-gold soft armor covering his chest were both shattered by Karina's attack in an instant!
Scorching flames violently struck Luokefei's chest, causing the Grand General Who Protects the Nation to spit out a mouthful of blood as his entire body was sent flying backward, violently smashing into the barrier of the Domain.
There was no doubt that Karina had won this exchange.
Although Luokefei hadn't been killed in a single strike, he was undoubtedly already at the end of his strength. As long as Karina launched a few more attacks, Luokefei's defeat would be inevitable.
Luokefei himself
understood this very clearly.
Looking at the Flame Demon King not far away, still radiating an overwhelming aura while bathing in flames, an intense feeling of helplessness and deep unwillingness continuously surged into the old general's heart.
‘Heh, I really... am a little unwilling to accept this...’
Luokefei helplessly shook his head.
He had cultivated for so long and mastered so many powerful techniques.
Luokefei had believed that when he faced a Demon King-class existence again, he would at least have the strength to fight.
That he wouldn't be as helpless as he had been when facing the Sword Demon all those years ago.
However, today, when facing Flame Prison, Luokefei despairingly discovered
that the feeling of helplessness had never disappeared.
Even after using everything at his disposal, he still couldn't see the slightest glimmer of victory.
“You really... really are a monster...”
With a somewhat desolate expression, Luokefei sighed with a bitter smile.
After recovering slightly from the previous clash, Luokefei couldn't help glancing out of the corner of his eye toward the spatial barrier behind him—the very place where his body had just crashed into it.
And on that previously solid barrier,
a tiny crack had appeared.
After wave after wave of violent energy collisions, it seemed that a flaw had finally appeared within Karina's Domain.
Realizing this, Luokefei's pupils suddenly contracted.
If he concentrated his remaining power on that point, he should be able to break through the barrier of Scorching Hell.
If he did that,
he could escape alive!
‘I can... survive...’
When facing a powerful Demon King-class existence, running away might perhaps be the wisest choice.
However,
after silently repeating that thought to himself, Luokefei shook his head with a bitter smile.
After struggling internally for a moment, Luokefei made his decision.
This time,
he wasn't going to run.
Flame Prison's power had far exceeded his expectations.
If he escaped, this Demon King-class existence would undoubtedly chase after him. At that point, all of Skyvault would inevitably be caught in the aftermath of their battle and engulfed by a sea of flames.
Countless citizens of the Empire whom he was supposed to protect would perish in the inferno.
Among them
might even be his daughter.
There was no possible way for Skyvault's residents to evacuate faster than Flame Prison's sea of fire could spread.
...
No matter what,
as the Grand General Who Protects the Nation, he had to fulfill his duty and eliminate this terrifying Demon King-class existence right here!
Even if he couldn't defeat her,
he had to hold her back!
He had to delay her for as long as possible, until the people had evacuated somewhere safe!
Or until His Majesty and the other powerhouses arrived as reinforcements!
If there truly was no other choice,
then he would simply self-destruct and take this monster down with him!
At this thought, Luokefei revealed an expression of absolute determination.
The power that had only just fallen silent within his body began surging once more.
Even the old general's soul itself began to burn.
The gaze he fixed upon Karina no longer contained the despair and oppression from before.
Instead,
it was filled with fighting spirit.
“I'LL FIGHT YOU TO THE DEATH!!”
The next instant,
Luokefei took a deep breath and tightly gripped the two newly formed ice blades in his hands.
He abruptly transformed into a streak of icy-blue light and charged straight toward Karina...
?!!
Hmm?!
Seeing this, Karina, who had been preparing to unleash an attack to stop her opponent from escaping, couldn't help revealing a stunned expression.
Huh?
‘He actually dares to charge at me??’