Who?
To be honest, Hoarah Loux could hardly recognize the Soul Cinder King he was fighting in this death match; she seemed like a completely different person.
He knew very well that Frieren would not do something baseless. This stance represented her going all out, showing the same resolve he had. Therefore, what would follow was likely to be a storm of attacks.
He absolutely had to survive this tribulation.
With this thought, Hoarah Loux assumed a stance, tensing his muscles, ready to cushion the blow and prepared to activate Ash of War: Endure to withstand the attack at any moment.
Was he not also racing against time, risking his life?
Although the First Lord seemed lively and vigorous after entering his second phase, the Blood Loss status abnormality had not actually disappeared; it had merely slowed down. That eerie curse erosion was also spreading. If he dragged this out, he would undoubtedly die.
On the other side, Frieren also knew that the Hunter stance could not be maintained for long. In fact, the conflict of world rules had been diluted significantly by the Great Rune, but the main issue was that the Ancient God was too troublesome.
Both were in a rush.
The moment their auras intersected, both sprinted simultaneously, violently closing the distance to zero.
Hoarah Loux unleashed a powerful grapple without hesitation.
However, Frieren dodged perfectly with a low-stance slide; a move she had already been hit by once would not work again. Almost simultaneously, her Rakuyo abruptly slashed upward. In an instant, the vast sky was dyed with the color of blood, and a scarlet, magnificent aura pierced the skyline.
Crack!
A hideous and terrifying wound blossomed between Hoarah Loux's hands. No, the position was wrong—he had actually clamped the blade firmly with his bare hands.
A very imaginative bare-handed blade catch. Just this momentary insight and subtle control of force were enough to call him the strongest warrior. Of course, that was because Frieren's combat style had always been mixed with magic.
The accompanying blood blades still hit his massive body, covering him in cuts and bruises.
"Has the force of the slash become stronger?"
Hoarah Loux shook his body as if he didn't care. The Golden Blessing suppressed the Blood Loss abnormality; he could persist for a while longer, enough for him to end the battle.
Frieren stood with her blade held horizontally. Behind her, the projection of tentacles seemed to faintly emerge, eerie and deadly.
The moment the enemy pounced, she suddenly took out a pistol.
Bang!
A precise Gun Parry made even Hoarah Loux sway. This completely unexpected move was inevitably hard to guard against. For Frieren, that was enough. Her next move switched back to the Dark Moon Greatsword for a heavy strike, finally forcing him to kneel on one knee, falling into stiffness.
Visceral Attack, Execution!
The sharp blade piercing through his back inflicted heavy damage on his physique, which was fully stacked with Golden Blessing, breaking through even his Holy attribute defense.
This move could not be described as anything but ruthless, causing Hoarah Loux's aura to drop by a chunk.
Not only that, but the fresh blood also coagulated into spikes that stabbed wildly inside his body, further tearing the wound. If his muscles weren't solid enough, this move would have killed him on the spot. But it also reminded him that he absolutely could not delay.
Risk it all.
A palm pushed horizontally, slapping toward her with ferocity. The quick-reacting Frieren immediately raised her staff and sword to block. The force of the momentary contact flung her away violently. The wind pressure was berserk, whistling in her ears as the scenery receded. When she came to her senses, she had crashed into a building with a boom.
She had been knocked out of the plaza, but the intent of this move was mainly to create distance.
Was some change about to occur?
The silver-haired girl patted the dust off her body and looked toward the high ground.
Hoarah Loux roared, and white air currents rose from his entire body, as if arming himself, giving off an impression of indestructibility.
In the next moment, he leaped and arrived right in front of her, welcomed by Frieren's bloody slash.
Their battlefield had finally shifted away from the throne. From now on, the entire Royal Capital would serve as their arena. The rumbling explosions were ceaseless, earthquakes continued, and collapsing city walls toppled one after another.
The ground surged like waves.
The solid earth was incredibly fragile under Hoarah Loux's steps; he could flip a patch of houses a hundred meters into the air with a casual hand, and the city blocks floated instantly wherever he passed.
His attacks with fists and feet were the purest, yet they did not lack tricky angles, forcing Frieren to roll and dodge.
Bang!
Another precise shot delayed the enemy's charge. Actually, Hoarah Loux was prepared, but he hadn't anticipated that the bullet was accelerated by lightning, causing him to fall into momentary paralysis. In other words, what followed was an even fiercer assault.
Behind Frieren, a twin-headed dragon shadow emerged, opening its bloody maw.
It wasn't over. A massive Saw Cleaver hooked onto his tall body, making it difficult for him to dodge.
Incantation: Placidusax's Ruin!
The golden stream of light hit the target head-on, drowning Hoarah Loux's body in an instant. Ten thousand people felt a stinging pain in their eyes, seeing nothing but flashing light.
Golden Retaliation!
The power of Grace was still attempting to intercept, but Frieren took a step forward and increased the output, forcefully allowing the breath to break through the Grace. For the first time since the battle began, the Erdtree's final Grace was shattered. Thousands of Royal Capital soldiers felt a chill in their hearts as their strength became somewhat weaker.
"Relying on a burning tree... this ends here."
Under her will, the phantom of the Dragonlord suddenly transformed into a form no one had ever witnessed, twisting into a monster draped in tentacles, its clawed hands hugging Hoarah Loux with the momentum.
All the blood of the Ancient God detonated. After losing the shielding of the Golden Blessing, the accumulated erosion was cashed out.
Sure enough, his aura dropped to its lowest point.
However, the moment the phantom disappeared, a pair of hands still reached out. The Highland Warrior, with his broken body, still had a firm gaze.
"You are dying."
Frieren gave a ruthless verdict; even she lacked the power to save him now.
Setting aside the damage from Placidusax's Ruin, the detonation of the Ancient God's Blood Curse just now had completely hollowed out Hoarah Loux's vitality. Sensing him now, he seemed like an empty shell, forcing his body to move solely by will.
A Great Rune slowly floated in his hand, and immediately, with a crack, he crushed it, just as Miquella had completely used the power of his Great Rune to become one with it.
His body dispelled the abnormal states as if reborn.
"Soul Cinder King, we haven't fought to the very end yet. Your new moves had better not end here," Hoarah Loux said heartily. "It's been a long time. Only this feeling of death allows one to find the past."
"My conclusion remains unchanged. You will die today; it's just a matter of time."
"Try it then."
Before his voice fell, the two figures crossed each other accompanied by explosive sounds, trading blows back and forth. Shockwaves swept in all directions, engulfing the city's central axis.
They fought a death match at super high speed, even passing through the Demigod battlefield several times. But both sides found that they couldn't intervene or interfere in time at all; they only felt a gale sweeping past.
Too fast. That was a completely new realm.
Even Messmer, the strongest present, could only clearly see the trajectories, admitting to himself that it would be hard to keep up with the rhythm.
However, he had reached a conclusion: "This duel of Kings is ending soon. Let us hurry up as well, to avoid becoming a laughingstock to His Majesty by taking too long to resolve things."
"Are you implying Lord Godfrey will lose?" Serosh bared his teeth and said, "Shameless boasting. Die!"
Finding their words incompatible, the two sides engaged in slaughter once more, the intensity rising to a higher level.
Whether it was the Demigods or the two armies, everyone could clearly feel the disordered aura of vitality. The outcome was not far off.
Crack!
Another sword slashed across Hoarah Loux's chest. At the same time, his jab also hit Frieren, only to be mutually canceled out by the Carian Greatsword.
The trend of the offensive exchange between the two sides gradually became clear: the flexibility of the Battlemage was superior.
Her means were naturally not limited to the performance just now.
The foundation brought by the max-level Old Hunter allowed every one of Frieren's moves to inflict Blood Loss abnormality, but that didn't mean other moves couldn't be used. On the contrary, right now she was using the most offense-oriented style: Rally.
Even if she was hit by Hoarah Loux, she would suck the blood back through attacking.
Incantation: Lightning Spear.
As the silver-haired girl took a backstep, a thunderbolt struck down, causing his movement to pause, his expression turning grave.
Reasonably speaking, it shouldn't be hard to dodge. Why had the hit rate increased?
He suddenly realized something: the blood of both of them belonged to that special polluted blood. Even if the Grace shattered by the Great Rune had completely canceled out the previous round of pollution, it didn't mean he would be safe and sound afterward.
Therefore, Frieren could maintain the battle by trading health with Hoarah Loux. Essentially, they shared the same source now. This was the terrifying aspect of this combat style.
Hum!
Seizing this opportunity, Frieren held up a totem with both hands. Elden Stars aimed at the enemy.
The Holy attribute damage hitting Hoarah Loux, who was covered in Ancient God pollution, actually increased the damage, forcing him to take a step back. One could imagine the power. And the stars had not ended yet, relentlessly tracking the target aimed at by the caster.
Suddenly, with a loud roar, twisted magic power deflected the stars.
In the split second when everyone was dazed, the Highland Warrior teleported in front of her, delivering a two-handed slap at the silver-haired girl.
What he hit was Sorcery: Rock Sling!
"If it comes to taijutsu, I can't dodge, but my casting speed is faster than you. That is enough."
Powerful gravity blocked Hoarah Loux's grapple attack, while Frieren seized the opportunity to unleash a Comet Azur right into his chest. With a rumble, it hit his abdominal vitals.
He withstood this torrent and retreated, yet his stance was still not broken.
He even stomped his foot, whipping up a shockwave that actually made Frieren feel an upward force overwhelming her leg bones.
Crack!
As the sound of fracture rang out, Hoarah Loux charged forward fiercely. The timing was excellent, but unfortunately, he was one move short. He saw Aspects of the Crucible: Wings escape into the sky, followed by a rain of countless blood-colored arrows.
They clattered down, enveloping his whole body and tearing flesh and bone.
The body that was originally invulnerable was filled with exhaustion under repeated hammering; his defense was broken.
Frieren's combo did not stop. She suddenly switched to two-handing the Rakuyo long blade. Dragging a purple-white comet trail behind her, she boosted her body's gravitational acceleration to the maximum point, spiraling and piercing as she fell.
Boom!
Like a meteor smashing into the ground, the shockwave surged outward in ripples the moment of contact. Even those as strong as Demigods had to stabilize their figures, and large swathes of the army were blown away.
Gravity magic sufficient to annihilate a city was used entirely to propel the sword edge. One could imagine how terrifying the impact force was.
An aura of life plummeted rapidly.
People immediately stopped their actions and looked over.
They saw Frieren stepping on Hoarah Loux's shoulder, leaning on her sword which had penetrated his blocking hands, the tip sinking into his neck from top to bottom. The two roared as they wrestled, pushing the lethal weapon inch by inch.
This was the end.
In the decisive moment, there were no flashy martial arts or magic, only a pure race of death. Who would be one step faster? The depths of their eyes reflected each other's ferocity, and years of fighting will drove their bodies to erupt with astonishing strength.
Suddenly, Frieren's blood-qi and magic power boiled all over her body. Then, with a violent exertion, the blade light chopped vertically.
A rift was torn from Hoarah Loux's neck to his chest. His internal organs ruptured, blood and bone were all torn apart, and even the light of Grace dimmed in an instant.
She didn't dare relax, turning around and raising her long blade to block.
The opponent indeed had the starting motion for a grapple, but he moved no more. The light in his eyes dissipated, leaving only a sentence of lament:
"Tarnished... the strength you possess... is truly a reason to be Lord."
Whoosh!
A long wind blew past, taking away the remnants of the First Lord. The body that had been thoroughly blessed turned invisible and dissipated along with the Grace. But he had long been engraved in history; no one would forget what they witnessed today.
The founder of the Golden Dynasty had fallen.
He did not die outside the Lands Between, nor did he die in a battlefield siege. Instead, he died in a duel between Kings, ending under the gaze of the multitude. This was good fortune.
Frieren put away the Rakuyo and immediately dispelled the Hunter stance, restoring the Astrologer.
Actually, at this moment, her aura had also fallen to rock bottom, yet no one dared to step forward. There remained only heartfelt admiration; she was truly powerful.
A new Lord was born.
Moreover, it was the transfer of authority with the most gold content in the Lands Between to date.
Setting aside the war that mobilized the masses and involved the whole world, Frieren, who dominated the situation, had also defeated the oldest Elden Lord, Placidusax. Winning two battles in a row, she was deserving of the title. Strength was the very reason to be Lord.
"I'll take a rest. You guys hurry up."
Although she said this, she still pointed one finger at the sky to cast an Incantation. A pillar of light fell from the nine heavens; it was unmistakably Incantation: Miquella's Light.
The Astrologer account was already charging this move. It worked just the same after switching back from the Hunter. Since it was ready, she might as well just blast it out.
Thud!
Rather than a pillar of light, it was more like the sky collapsing, pouring down a golden river to wash the earth.
In an instant, the auras of several Demigods of the Golden Lineage could be felt dropping. The first was Serosh. having fought the full match and bearing heavy injuries, he was disheartened and followed in Godfrey's footsteps, perhaps even semi-voluntarily.
The others beside him barely survived.
But the outcome would not change; it was merely a difference in specific details.
Messmer, currently the strongest Demigod, aimed at Morgott, who was stiffened by Miquella's Light, and pierced his chest with a spear. The Grace-Given King, who had protected the Royal Capital twice, failed to survive the third time, departing with regret.
At this point.
The three children born of the Eternal Goddess Marika and the First Lord Godfrey had completely fallen. The direct bloodline of the next generation was severed.
The successive fall of two mainstays inflicted heavy damage on the high-end combat power of the Golden Lineage. The overall situation was settled.
Yhorm the Giant fell under the siege.
On the other side, Sir Gideon Ofnir was suppressed by Ranni and forced into a desperate situation. This guy had been away from the battlefield for a long time and was still lacking a bit; he struggled somewhat against the Star God who had become stronger. Of course, the battlefield was not just about duels. Soon, he was targeted by Rellana as well; he was a dying man...
Frieren looked out; the overall situation was settled. She didn't even need to use the few trump cards prepared for the ending against the Demigods.
She gazed at the Erdtree.
Unknowingly, the Thorns of Rejection were slowly peeling off and collapsing, as if inviting her.
Perhaps the true hardships were not over yet, but she wasn't the type to rush up in one breath anxiously. The urgent task was to adjust. And to reinforce herself with the Rune of the First Lord.
Now, Frieren had an intuition that she needed to step to a new height to have confidence.
____
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