Chapter 460: Invasion [26]
But despite the number of spells, the sheer volume of attacks, and the danger each one posed, Caius never opened his eyes.
Not once.
He avoided, blocked, and dodged every attack that came his way, always creating just enough room to escape whatever was about to hit him. Whenever there wasn’t enough space to move, he created it himself, using his blade to deflect incoming attacks or cut through the spells before they could reach him.
And whenever an opening appeared, he didn’t waste it.
He countered.
It was as if Caius was always one step ahead, moving before the attacks were fully formed, positioning himself exactly where he needed to be before Evangel’s attacks could reach him.
Like he could see what was going to happen before it happened.
Which he could.
That realization only made Evangel more frustrated.
His breathing grew heavier as he watched another one of his attacks miss its target. His mana was steadily being consumed, and the physical enhancements he had activated were also draining his stamina.
If he continued like this, his defeat was certain.
He was throwing everything he had at Caius, yet the goblin wasn’t even opening his eyes.
Evangel clicked his teeth and finally stopped.
He couldn’t keep wasting his strength like this.
He brought both palms together, gathering his remaining mana between them as the surrounding air began to tremble from the pressure.
Caius remained standing several meters away, his eyes still closed.
Evangel’s expression hardened.
If Caius could predict everything he was going to do, then he simply needed to use something Caius couldn’t predict.
He poured more mana into the spell.
Then he shouted,
"Predict this."
The moment those words left his mouth, the space around Caius suddenly began to change.
"A domain?"
Caius muttered as a barrier suddenly began forming around him.
The change was almost instantaneous. A boundary of concentrated mana spread outward and enclosed him before he could properly react. Caius immediately tried to step beyond it, but the barrier had already completed its formation, sealing him inside before he could escape.
His expression remained calm.
The darkness within the domain was illuminated by countless glowing blades that lined the walls and stretched across the space above him. They floated in complete silence, suspended in the darkness with their edges pointed toward Caius from every possible direction.
Evangel’s expression brightened.
He stepped forward, his entire body glowing with power as the domain reinforced his physical abilities and amplified the strength of his spells. The pressure surrounding him increased with every step, and for the first time since the battle had begun, he felt certain that he had finally placed Caius in a situation he couldn’t simply predict his way out of.
"Let’s see if your foresight will be enough when thousands of blades come at you from all directions."
He raised his hand.
Then he commanded the blades to move.
Every single one of them responded.
The darkness suddenly erupted with motion as thousands of glowing blades surged toward Caius from the walls, the ground, and the sky above him. They moved at different speeds and from different angles, overlapping one another to eliminate as many escape routes as possible.
There was nowhere obvious to run.
Nowhere safe to stand.
Even if Caius could predict where each blade was going, there were simply too many of them coming from too many directions.
Yet despite feeling the overwhelming danger approaching from all sides, Caius did not panic.
He simply stood there.
His eyes remained closed.
And his grip on his sword tightened.
Then Caius moved.
His sword swung with enough force to create a visible shockwave through the darkness, and the first flurry of blades rushing toward him was knocked off course almost immediately. Metal rang against metal as several glowing blades were deflected away, their trajectories changing just enough to pass harmlessly beside him.
Another wave came.
Caius swung again.
Then another. And another.
Before entering the domain, his combat style had been built around control and precision. Every movement had purpose, and he rarely wasted more motion than necessary, relying on his ability to predict his opponent’s actions and placing his blade exactly where it needed to be.
But that style was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain.
There were attacks coming from everywhere.
Above him. Beside him. Behind him. Even beneath his feet.
There was no longer enough time to carefully calculate every movement, so Caius abandoned precision and focused entirely on survival. His sword became a blur as he swung repeatedly, deflecting whatever he could while relying on his foresight to determine which attacks he absolutely needed to stop and which ones he could afford to ignore.
But it still wasn’t enough.
It couldn’t be.
The number of blades was only increasing.
Every time Caius cleared one path, another group of blades immediately filled it, leaving him with less and less room to maneuver. Numerous slashes descended upon him from above while others came from his sides, forcing him to twist and turn constantly just to avoid being surrounded.
His body began glowing with mana.
Caius hardened it around himself, reinforcing his muscles and skin as an additional layer of defense against the blades.
But even that wasn’t enough.
The first blade that slipped through his defense cut into his side.
Then another tore across his shoulder.
A third grazed his thigh.
The wounds weren’t deep enough to stop him, but they were beginning to add up. Every time Caius managed to deflect one blade, another found an opening, cutting through the mana coating his body and leaving another shallow wound behind. His defensive reinforcement was steadily weakening under the constant barrage, while the sheer number of attacks gave him less and less room to maneuver.
And the blades just kept coming.
Dozens became hundreds.
The darkness around him was almost completely filled with their glowing edges, leaving barely any space untouched as wave after wave descended from every direction. Caius swung his blade repeatedly, knocking some aside while twisting his body to avoid others, but there were simply too many to deal with forever.
Soon, hundreds of glowing blades were raining down upon him at once.
His body was pushed closer and closer to its limit. Blood spilled from multiple wounds, running down his arms, chest, and legs before dripping steadily onto the ground beneath him, while the constant assault left his clothes torn and his movements increasingly sluggish.
Evangel gritted his teeth.
He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
He was winning.
There was no question about that anymore.
But how the hell was Caius still standing even now?
He should have been...