CHAPTER 41: CHAPTER 41: WAR PATH PT6—FRIENDS

The tide of battle had shifted in Dravnel’s side. The rapid push from the Heavens Archive Sect were delayed on all front, west, east, north and south, each force we’re engaged in a fierce battle. Disciples against disciples, Sect masters against each other in the clash to stop the progression of the dark cloud which was the Flame Emperor.

Cheng got up from his seat and wore his jacket. "Marin I’ll be going."

Marin got up and gave her father a hug. "Be safe father."

Cheng nodded and left the office— he found his trusted disciples waiting for him outside. The Sect powerhouses were now on the move and a further disturbance in fate was brewing unbeknownst to every one there.

Marquis dodged attacks from the member of the White Scabbards that was with Baihan—just after Ri and Baihan disappeared, he was forced into a battle that drifted away from the rest of the forces and his squad. He was on the run from the assailant who had a field advantage of being able to manipulate the plants and trees around them.

Marquis came to a screeching halt and reached into his suit pulling out his tie which he wrapped around his hand. His Neuro-Qi level increased exponentially with that simple gesture, his core skill was inuse.

He dashed forward, closing the distance between him and the assailant in a breath.

Marquis sent a punch at the assailant only for a massive tree root to appear in his path—he gritted his teeth. "Out of my way." He declared as his fist hit the tree making it explode from the inside sending splinters flying while pushing through the tree and hitting the assailant sending them flying.

The man clad in white hit the trees, breaking them one after the other before he came to a stop. He got up and the mask he wore started to crumble revealing porcelain skin hidden underneath—as the pieces of the mask fully left the face of the assailant, his features were revealed.

Marquis took a step back. "Im... Impossible." the blue eyes, the scar running down his face and his shaggy blue hair made Marquis tremble—those features belonged to someone he held dear and someone that was not supposed to be alive.

"Marquis." The man spoke, a sense of warmth flowing in his voice as he spoke the name.

Marquis on the other hand clenched his fists tighter. "Don’t call me that not especially with his face." his face darkened and his eyes narrowed dangerously waiting for the man to slip up again.

The man raised an eyebrow. "It’s me."

Marquis saw red, his body vanished from sight from the speed he was moving at—he appeared before the man and hit him in the stomach. "Don’t speak in his voice." He yelled as he followed up the stomach punch with a roundhouse kick that flung the man away.

AMPLIFIED STATE

Marquis dashed after the man and threw a series of punches—every single punch packing more weight per hit, his skill added damage being utilized to the maximum—he threw the final punch, punching the man into the ground causing the ground to crack and sink under the force of his punch.

He got up with his fists covered in blood, he huffed and in a cold voice spoke. "Never use Yuan’s face against me."

The man likened to Yuan chuckled and spat out blood. "Your... Your technique still as heavy hitting as before." He whispered as his body started to jolt a bit and his eyes gleamed while veins appeared on his body. Massive roots shot out from underneath his jacket forcing Marquis to jump back to avoid being hit by the roots.

Marquis glared at the man standing up and he let out a tsk. His added damage did nothing to deter his opponent and he was nearly running out of Neuro-Qi and stamina. Stella, activate the suit.

Experiment 00 activated

Time of arrival: 10 minutes

Stella, the artifical intelligence in the headquarters informed— Ten minutes. That’s how long he had to hold out for until the suit he had activated arrives. However, judging from the amount of Neuro-Qi the opponent was leaking and how much he had—Marquis was not confident he could hold out for that long.

Even reaching 5 minutes would be a massive stretch of his reserves.

But he had no choice.

He blinked... And the next thing he knew his body was flying in the air, blood oozing from his chest. Marquis looked at what happened and saw that the opponent had multiple versions of himself, and one of them was standing where Marquis was standing before he got attacked—the latter rolled on the ground reducing the velocity of his propulsion.

Marquis did a handstand backflip just as another clone crashed where he was at—the situation had changed in a blink, he was on the offense and now he was kept at bay, dodging attacks from the clones Yuan had made.

The Yuan clones did not let up as the engaged Marquis in a hand-to-hand combat, closing every angle of escape the latter had. They forced him to dodge, block and attack while exploiting every opening Marquis made.

HOW FAR IS THE SUIT STELLA!!? Marquis barked into the command device as he staggered to the side from a hit he took.

Arriving in just five seconds

Marquis nodded—he was thankful that the man had decided to toy around with him—because of that time he was given, the suit was on its way.

Marquis jumped up and stretched his limbs just as the fragments of the suit came up to him and attached themselves to his body—the assembly of the suit was marked complete by the helmet that wrapped around his head and the eyes glowed while the wings on the back unfolded and four pillars emerged from the opening the wings made and surrounded Marquis.

The black knight suit, one of his most cutting edge technological advancement.

Yuan called back his clones and they crumbled into dried up barks of trees—with the suit out, he could stop holding back.

"You finally brought the black knight out."

Marquis narrowed his eyes again, the man knew the suit he wore? Perhaps the man was not an imposter portraying his closest friend, but the person he thought had died. "Tell me, are you really Yuan? And if so, where have you been all these years?"

Yuan hummed. "I’ve been dead."

"Then how are you alive? You said yourself, you’ve been dead yet you are still here in front of me."

"I was brought back from the dead." Yuan shrugged. "What we had when I was alive, died the day you left me to die. You KNEW THE REACTOR WOULD EXPLODE! But what did you do? Nothing to warn me."

"It wasn’t my fault! I sealed the entrance off."

Yuan snarled at the response from Marquis. "I was swallowed into a world so horrifying, and i couldn’t survive... YOU WENT ON WITH YOUR LIFE, AS IF NOTHING HAPPENED."

The trees around them wobbled as Yuan’s anger elevated and reflected on them causing them to bind together and create a massive dragon that roared before it descended towards Marquis.

"I WISH I NEVER KNEW YOU GRIGORY!! DIEE"