CHAPTER 748: 589, YOU FOOLED THEM ALL!

"Boom!"

When the surging flames collided with the torrential snow and ice like waves exploding, the world beneath filled with magma instantly became a battlefield for two people.

The firelight burning with flames and the icy wind swirling with cold air, centered around the rock platform, suddenly burst forth, unleashing an extreme offense and defense.

"Clang—Clang—Clang—Clang—Clang—Clang—"

In the ringing sound of striking metal, the black blade wrapped in flames chopped down one after another upon the raised ice crystal sword. Each strike set off a wild blaze and explosive flames, bombarding the sword-wielding girl and sending her recoiling in rapid retreat.

With icy blue eyes, the girl stared deadly at the boy slashing down with all his might, her expression no longer the cold and detached one from before but filled with solemnity and extreme tension.

She retreated explosively, darting, attempting to evade the fiery onslaught, yet the blade-wielding boy seemed to have fully opened the floodgates, not only clinging to her relentlessly but also displaying an astonishingly quick reaction time.

Previously, the girl could still dodge the boy’s attacks relying on a sixth sense almost akin to prophecy, but now the boy, through sheer superhuman reaction, left her with no room to escape.

Whenever the girl aimed to dodge an incoming chop, the boy would instantly change the trajectory of his blade, even altering the frequency of his strikes, turning one chop into three, or transforming a forceful cleave into a sideward slash, forcing the girl’s dodging form to come to an abrupt stop.

Each time the girl aimed for a gap to counterattack, a transparent sheen in the boy’s eyes would flash, following which he would seemingly teleport a short distance forward, causing the ice crystal sword struck by the girl to miss and achieve nothing.

Thus, the two battled fiercely, one transformed into roaring flames continually encroaching, the other as howling wind and snow constantly retreating, flying back and forth in the sky of the magma world.

"Clang!"

Until a moment came when the girl once again raised her sword to block and successfully deflected a fiery slash, she could no longer withstand the astonishing force and shot backward, tumbling down from mid-air.

"Tsk!"

The girl clicked her tongue, the icy blue glow in her eyes suddenly intensifying as she released a terrifying chill from her body.

"Crackle, crackle—"

The cold turned the space where the girl passed by into ice, quickly forming an icicle plunging into the crimson magma below.

"Crackle, crackle—"

The magma touched by the icicle also began to solidify amid a grating condensation sound, slowly freezing over bit by bit.

Before long, an expanse of ice with hundreds of meters in diameter, centered around the icicle, formed, causing the girl to crash onto this icy terrain, sliding out a great distance.

"Boom!"

The boy in mid-air once again transformed into a streak of light, treading on the exploding flames as he dove towards the girl sliding on the ice.

Seemingly unwilling to let the boy approach freely any longer, the girl, even before halting her momentum, brought down her ice crystal sword, raising an extreme Cold Ice Torrent that blasted towards the boy.

As the Cold Ice Torrent swept over, it turned its covered area into ice, looking as though an ice mountain had suddenly risen from the earth, piercing into the sky and colliding with the diving firelight.

"Sun Halo Dragon: Flame Dance!"

Reiger, now a firelight, his eyes glistening transparently, immediately spun his black blade, releasing a fire dragon.

Suddenly, the light turned into a dragon, descending from the heavens, burning fiercely upon the soaring ice mountain.

"Boom!!!

A thunderous roar burst forth above the Magma Sea, sending out sound waves and stirring up waves of crimson magma.

The collision between the fire dragon and the ice mountain stirred up the entire Magma Sea, triggering continual air explosions.

As for the icy terrain, it cracked and broke apart, and at its center, unbeknownst to when, two figures once again collided.

"Reiger Brillhaut!"

The girl was no longer the image of ice, but rather seemed to have her competitive spirit ignited, rushing towards Reiger as she shouted.

"Is this your true strength?"

"What new Sword Saint?"

"Everyone has been deceived by you!"

With such words, the girl slashed at Reiger as if carrying the entire icy world with her.

"I have not deceived anyone."

A hint of a smile appeared on Reiger’s lips as he advanced without retreat, his body burning with flames, his black blade describing perfect circles as he, likewise, unleased a strike towards the girl.

"Clang—"

At the center where the black blade clashed with the ice crystal sword, the echo-like sound of the collision spread, accompanied by imperturbable flames and snow, lingering for a long time.

Reiger and the girl pushed against each other with sword and blade, continuously erupting with power, causing the flames and cold air around them to clash nonstop.

"Before this, no one had managed to force me to bring out this level of strength,"

Reiger said to the girl who was close at hand and then suddenly exerted his strength.

"Boom!"

The flames exploded, sending out a blast that seemed almost tangible, forcing the girl to retreat over and over.

Reiger pressed on again, his black blade chopping down, unleashing swathes of flame light, recklessly venting at the girl.

"Clang clang clang clang clang clang clang clang clang—"

Within the intense ringing of their clash, the girl could only retreat while continually wielding the National Guardian Divine Weapon, blocking the incoming flame strikes one after another.

But Reiger’s strikes became faster and stronger, not only weaving the flames into an endless barrage of light but also leaving burn marks on the icy terrain they touched.

The fierce battle was decisively in Reiger’s favor; he was pressing the girl so hard that she almost had no chance to fight back.

As time passed, Reiger’s onslaught was not just limited to launching slashes, but as before, he unfolded his cycles.

"Waltz!"

"Azure Sky!"

"Sun’s Crimson Reflection!"

"Phantom Sunbow!"

"Flame Chariot!"

"Bone-Burning Sun!"

"Solar Burst!"

"Flying Wheel Yang Flame!"

"Diagonal Sun Turn!"

"Brilliant Grace!"

"Halo Dragon·Frenzied Dance!"

"Flame Dance!"

Reiger took turns employing the twelve forms of the Sun’s Breath, cycling through them over and over, as if there was no end in sight.

It wasn’t long before Reiger pushed the girl to the edge of the icy ground, leaving her no room to retreat.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!"

The serious-faced girl wouldn’t surrender without a fight; while shouting loudly, her body once again released an intense chill, turning the numerous ice and snow into violent, cold storms that swept across the area.

"Boom!"

Just then, Reiger had finished a cycle, performing the twelfth form "Flame Dance" and was about to link it to the first form "Waltz," but was hit squarely by the fierce blizzard coming toward him, blowing him halfway into the air, out of control.

"Crack crack crack...!"

Under the assault of the extreme chill, Reiger’s body outline even began to freeze, almost turning into an ice statue.

"Huff—breath—"

Immediately, Reiger intensified his breathing, amping up the fierceness several notches, causing flames to spew out from his nose and mouth.

In this state, the temperature on Reiger’s body also rapidly climbed, finally halting the freezing of his body.

"Bang!"

But just as Reiger stopped the freezing trend, the girl below swung out several cold torrents, forming an avalanche of snow and ice that surged towards Reiger like a blanket covering the sky.

"Azure Sky!"

Reiger didn’t hesitate; turning the black blade in his hand, he instantly slashed out a ring of fire, sending it towards the oncoming blizzard, striking it head-on.

"Boom!!!"

The clash caused another explosive boom, igniting flames above the battlefield, while ice and snow whirled below—an exceptionally breathtaking spectacle.

The youth and the girl, divided by flames and ice and snow, locked eyes with each other, and at the very first moment of contact, their gazes exploded with astonishing fighting spirit.

Then, one dove downward while the other soared upward, one passing through flames, the other through showers of snow, finally meeting at the collision point of fire and ice.

"Boom!!!"

A roar louder than any previous encounter suddenly filled the world and lingered for an extended time.

"Master!"

Liz, engaged in a fierce battle with the magical automaton, looked at the intense battle erupting between Reiger and the girl, which turned the entire battlefield into a duality of ice and fire, and couldn’t help but cry out with worry.

It couldn’t be helped; even she had never seen Reiger battle someone to such a horrifying extent before—a scene so earth-shattering it was like the end of the world.

Back in his fight with Revin in the Meprosth territory, Reiger had never unleashed such power, nor had the fight reached such a state.

This was far beyond Liz’s capacity to bear and even beyond her vision, making it impossible for her to discern who had the upper hand in the confrontation.

As for Sgranot, although he barely kept up with the extremely intense battle between Reiger and the girl, he wasn’t pleased and instead cursed while breaking out in a cold sweat.

"Damn...! Aren’t they afraid of waking the slumbering King of the Fire Dragons...!?"

Sgranot felt both enraged and terrified by the true power displayed by Reiger and the girl and the violent noises coming from their clash.

He dreaded the power they showed, fearing it would wake an even more terrifying being, the King of the Fire Dragons.

"Even in a place like this, why do they fight so recklessly without any care...!?"

Sgranot retreated repeatedly, glancing at the dozing fire dragon and then at Reiger and the girl, whose fighting intensity grew increasingly terrifying. Eventually, unable to bear the pressure anymore, he turned and fled.

"I’m not sticking around for this madness!"

In his mind, Sgranot made excuses for his flight, then rushed into the passage leading to the surface and disappeared from sight.

"————"

On the rock platform, lying beneath the runic gold column, the fire dragon seemed as if it had felt nothing at all, continuing to sleep soundly, as if it would never awaken.