Chapter 1382 1382. Relentless
Boss Van and Divine Demon ignored Noah's battle. They stared at each other and waited for their opponent to make a move even after a black cloud covered part of the region.
"The next one will be stronger," Divine Demon announced. "You might want to use more years."
Divine Demon wore a mocking smile when he talked to his opponent. Boss Van didn't reply, mostly because he knew that the expert was correct.
The last attack had injured him even after he had used two defensive spells. Divine Demon's attacks were powerful, and the whole world worked with him to increase his spells' strength.
The previous torrent didn't contain much energy. Divine Demon had thrown a simple spell fueled with a small amount of his "Breath", but the world had turned it into an attack that could threaten an entire guild.
Boss Van had silently decided to play along with Divine Demon's game. He only needed to survive two more attacks to kill him, and Divine Demon wouldn't back off from his bet since his individuality depended on it.
Fighting Divine Demon when he used all his spells was too troublesome. His gamble had given Boss Van hope to complete that match without suffering any significant injury.
"Get ready," Divine Demon said as he spread his arms and pointed his palms upward.
Even more matter in the world converged toward his figure and transformed under the effects of his law. Entire chunks of the Immortal Lands' tough ground rose in the sky and morphed into drops of water that began to float around him.
Divine Demon's aura intensified as he raised both palms and clasped them above his head. The water around him surged together with his gesture, and an even bigger torrent flew upward to engulf Boss Van with its might.
Boss Van didn't want to face the attack, but the water was too fast for him. Dodging it was impossible for him. He could only rely on the gales that came out of his figure to defend and save his life.
"One hundred years!" Boss Van shouted, and the sky divided itself into two parts.
A hurricane engulfed his figure and connected the sky with the ground as it pierced the massive torrent that was pushing him higher. His dense winds fought against the raging waters that attacked his body, and pieces of his skin disintegrated during the process.
When that exchange ended, Boss Van descended from the sky with the aspect of a young man. Hair grew from under his chin and chest, but the blood flowing out of his injuries hid most of those new features.
Boss Van didn't lose any limb in the last exchange, but most of his skin had disappeared. His muscles were out in the open, and his blood flowed freely from them.
No more winds came out of his figure to heal those injuries. His individuality didn't work well with his poor condition, so he had to limit his spells to contain the blood loss.
However, Boss Van wore a wide smile. He had already survived two attacks, and he had yet to go all-out. In his mind, that battle was over.
The shockwaves released during their exchanges unleashed chaos in the environment. Even the insides of Noah's dark world couldn't avoid but suffer from them.
The army of dragons and part of the dark world shattered when those shockwaves reached the black cloud. The cultivators from the guild and Noah ended up puking blood as their insides trembled under the power unleashed by two solid stage experts.
'Why am I even fighting so close to them?' Noah cursed in his mind as he controlled the dark world to resume the workshop.
Black orbs came out of his separate space and fused with the dark world while the dark matter rotated to give birth to more dragons. Those cores entered some creatures and filled them with Noah's darkness, giving them the stability that most of their companions lacked.
The workshop was working perfectly. Its only weakness was in Noah's shortage of cores. If he had more time to prepare, he could create an army made entirely of puppets that resembled middle tier magical beasts in power.
Still, the technique was showing its power even during that flawed execution. The army of cultivators had turned into a small group of experts that struggled to continue to fight.
Chief Ash and the other four Chiefs were still alive, but injuries filled their bodies. Instead, most of their underlings had died under the dragons' relentless assault and the corrosive smoke that flew through the dark world.
The value of the workshop was immense. Noah could fuse the suppressing effects of the dark world with an endless army of powerful beasts. No force could withstand that offensive for too long.
Moreover, the dark world allowed Noah to ignore most of the workshop's weaknesses. The technique required many materials in Great Builder's version, but Noah could use the nigh-unlimited dark matter inside his black hole for the task.
The black hole also had its limits, but Noah's darkness always refilled it. He could use the energy contained in two centers of power to keep the workshop active, which translated into an immense number of magical beasts.
Noah could also cultivate while the workshop was active to refill his dantian and obtain more dark matter. In theory, his technique didn't have limits since it didn't weigh on his mind.
'I need to end this and leave those two to their fight,' Noah thought as Snore and the Demonic Sword released understanding cries. 'I'm suffering injuries only because I'm too close to them.'
The five liquid stage experts continued to fight against the horde of dragons while they watched their underlings die. Gaseous stage cultivators couldn't survive in that environment for too long, and the Chief didn't have time to protect them.
The dragons' assault was reckless and relentless. Those creatures stopped at nothing, and they suicided in an attempt to add another injury to their opponents' bodies.
Fighting that type of enemy was exhausting. The Chiefs would have already planned to escape the dark world if it wasn't for Noah's previous show of power.
Noah had demonstrated that he was too fast. Some of them would surely die if they tried to escape the dense cloud.
Yet, the situation had become so dangerous that even the most reckless plan had gained a decent appeal. Remaining inside the dark world would lead to certain death, so risking their lives to escape was the only strategy that could make them survive.
The Chiefs exchanged an understanding glance before a series of multicolored lights exploded outward and fended off part of the dark matter that enveloped them.
Noah sensed five figures shooting in different directions in a desperate attempt to leave the dark world. Their plan was a simple one but quite effective since their opponent was alone.
Of course, that was a miscalculation on their side. The Demonic Sword shot after one expert. Night came out of the separate space to chase Chief Ash. Snore fused with the dark world to fly after another cultivator. Noah joined the hunt and went after one of the remaining targets, and the army of dragons flew toward the edges of the dark world to seal any possible exit.
Noah's companions didn't have to win. They only needed to keep his opponents busy for a few seconds, and he would reach them with his movement technique. Still, Night, Snore, and the Demonic Sword took their task as a chance to prove their power.
The Demonic Sword gathered and generated dark matter as it flew toward one of the Chiefs. The weapon had become a massive blade by the time it reached its target, and the dark world enhanced its power when it released a slash.
Night was subtler. Chief Ash didn't even sense when the Pterodactyl fused with her body and began to sever her law.
Snore limited itself to appear in front of its target and launch its dark beam. The dark world enhanced that attack, and a wave of violent dark matter ran through the entire cloud.