CHAPTER 687: DUELS; VS. KING JULIUS (II)

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"Yep, he went nuts." Steven braced himself after seeing King Julius’ current state.

Even though it’s clear that they, as spectators, remain completely unaffected by the match itself, the sheer animosity King Julius exuded seemed to be capable of piercing through that veil, making their skin crawl in alarm.

A deep sanguine aura emerged from King Julius’ body. It’s as if hell were a real place, and it’s a dimension he kept hidden in his body.

King Julius’ killing intent manifested in reality, warping reality as he saw fit.

If previously, they were fighting in the vast vacuum of space, King Julius quite literally dragged both of them into his personal hell now, one that he completely dominated and ruled.

Anybody else would’ve reacted to this. After all, the reality-warping killing intent wasn’t something one could encounter ever so casually. But not Dawnbringer, it seems.

Even though his surroundings have changed into a hellscape, he remained unmoved and sane. It’s as if there’s nothing in this world or in this reality that could truly move him.

In his hellish environment, he stuck out like a sore thumb. It’s like he’s the only pure being remaining here, one that remains uncorrupted by the environment, one that cannot be tainted by the malicious intent of his opponent.

King Julius, on the other hand, descended into a unique state of mindfulness and insanity. His mind was clear, but all of his inhibitions were released. In this state, he had no care for any moral bottom line or reason. He answers to his desires and only to his desires. And just like Dawnbringer, he’s immune to any persuasion.

The world bent to King Julius’ will. He was its rightful king, and nobody could change that. So, if he wanted someone dead, they would die. Of course, facing Dawnbringer, it wouldn’t be that simple.

But King Julius was definitely way stronger now than in his previous state. If he was already using 100% of his strength previously, then in his current state, he could explode to a total of 200%, perhaps even further, but that remains to be seen.

Boom!

King Julius wasn’t one to hand out warnings when he moved. Again, in his current state, he does not care about anything else other than his personal agenda. If he wants to attack, he will attack; he won’t ask for permission from anybody to do so.

And that’s what he did. He attacked. And it’s as devastating as one could expect.

His claws were seemingly capable of ripping reality apart. The entire world howled in pain as he tore what’s in front of him apart, clearly having no regard for what it could do to his surroundings.

Three humongous claw scars descended upon Dawnbringer, each one completely capable of ripping apart anything they touched.

The spectators felt their throats constricting in worry for Dawnbringer because even with the protection of the arena, they could feel the threat laced in those claws.

But Dawnbringer was on another level.

He stood tall amidst hell as if it’s just another passing scenery. His eyes didn’t regard the descending claws as a huge threat. If anything, he might just even be seen as an amusing little thing.

Like it’s coming from a stray cat retaliating after being startled...

He swung his sword, not to parry the claws, but to sever it. And just like what he did to neutralize the ultimate attack of his enemy in the previous match, he swung his sword not to overwhelm or to prove that he had something bigger.

It’s here where he displayed his true sword mastery. He severed the killing intent and the concept laced in those claws, turning them into nothing but a strong gust of wind by the time it reached him.

Again, the sword move itself wasn’t anything special. On the surface, it looked as if he just used a basic sword move, a casual swing, to completely neutralize the danger.

But anybody with a working brain could tell that he has done much more than that. And that’s where his true brilliance shone in splendor, one that’s reducing the so-called ’swordsmen’ to shame and making them feel inadequate.

King Julius snarled. He didn’t understand what his opponent did; nothing about it made any sense to him, and he sure as hell didn’t like it.

So, he did what people like him would do in this situation, and that’s to send more his way.

More sets of claws appeared and descended upon Dawnbringer. Ones that are larger, more terrifying, and charged with more potent killing intent than before. Some were faster than the rest, others were bigger, and a few even formed an inescapable net that refused to give any chance for Dawnbringer to get away.

Yet through all of it, Dawnbringer remained steady. He swings his sword again, once. And just like before, every single one of those claws turned into nothing but harmless gusts of wind that caused his clothes to billow.

Dawnbringer still stood at the same exact spot he was in from the moment the match started, the very same spot he appeared.

King Julius growled and decided to charge, getting up close and personal with his enemy.

Clang! Boom!

Once again, his stretched-out claws and Dawnbringer’s sword clashed sonorously. The impact of their struggle was so strong that it’s warping the very fabric of reality itself.

Claws against sword emitted sparks that lit the hell they’re in.

But even with the entire surroundings moving alongside King Julius, Dawnbringer remained unscathed and immovable. His movement was effortlessly efficient, and his action screamed that he hasn’t been taking his enemy seriously.

As much as this frustrates King Julius, inwardly, his animalistic tendencies were howling in delight.

Because finally, he found a playmate that wouldn’t break even if he lost control. Oh, how he wished that there were more people like this one; alas, he was just too strong most of the time, and his unique tendencies ruined everything before he could have some fun.

But enough about that. He’s up against one of the very few people that he couldn’t break even if he wanted to. And as enjoyable as that is to him, it also made him feel conflicted.

The sturdier Dawnbringer was, the more King Julius wanted to break him. It’s a confusing and never-ending cycle of wanting to have an unbreakable toy but, at the same time, wanting to break it to test its limits.

It’s a perverse mental state, one that prevented King Julius from forming deep bonds with people. But he’s way past the point of caring. And right now, all that mattered to him was to completely let loose, because god knows it’d be a while before he could meet somebody like Dawnbringer again.

And so, their battle continued.

King Julius was like an inexhaustible beast that kept pouncing on Dawnbringer without any regard to his safety. And Dawnbringer was like a tamer patiently trying to get this beast to play nice.

The spectators have long lost count of how many times they’ve seen the two clash, but they have long noticed that, so far, Dawnbringer was just responding according to the occasion. He has yet to take initiative in his fight.

It’s unknown if King Julius noticed that or not, but it certainly doesn’t make this fight any less than thrilling.

This continued for a while before something happened...

Dawnbringer moved for the first time since this match began. And that’s something that everybody noticed.

He didn’t retreat; King Julius simply wasn’t strong enough to make him do that.

Dawnbringer advanced...by only a single step. But that one step, that one change in his stance, decided everything.

This time, he swung his sword with an extra oomph than before. And apparently, from King Julius’ reaction, it was much more than he bargained for.

That sword swing was definitely different, and everybody could tell because it gravely wounded King Julius this time. The sword left a long gash on his arm, causing his blood to spurt out uncontrollably and a pained gasp to escape from his lips.

The body King Julius has always been so proud of was gravely wounded by Dawnbringer just like that.

And it didn’t stop there.

A sharp whistle could be heard from Dawnbringer’s sword. One that’s sharp enough to cause the manifested hell to coil in fear from it. King Julius felt a prickling sensation all over his body as if millions of needles were stabbing him from head to toe.

The sensation was so sharp that even the spectators could feel it, albeit an extremely weakened and dampened version for them.

Then, before he could even prepare, King Julius saw Dawnbringer thrusting his sword. That seemingly innocent and casual sword move of his was done in an instant. King Julius saw it happen from start to finish, but weirdly enough, he found himself unable to react to it.

The sword’s tip didn’t even touch skin. Not even close. Yet its effects were clear because now, there was a gaping hole where his torso should be.

It happened so slowly yet also so fast. And that one move was enough to claim his life, just like that.