Chapter 1198 Pursuit (Part 4): Battling a Veteran Demonic Player
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Andre was one of the most veteran demonic players in the game. He was one of the pioneers who first joined the Demonic Churches before any other players. He might not be as strong as the current players that managed to attain certain status within the organization such as a Messenger or a Herald. But he was at least strong enough to put up a good fight against them.
He was sent on this mission due to the high confidentiality that it involved. He was one of the most trusted people with the Demonic Churches and also one of the most skilled players that they had.
He had not taken any action up until now since his only job was to clear up the surroundings where the mission was going to take place alongside the elite squad that was accompanying him.
He was to move with full secrecy since the opposing side could not learn about their real battle capabilities. They had to hide their real strength to catch the opposing side completely off guard when they launched a sudden counterattack.
It worked out very well up until this point as the current commander for this operation was very skilled at scheming. They had tricked the forces of the Church of the Sun and Moon and even eliminated quite a few of their highly skilled paladins.
Unfortunately, they were caught by one of the Bishops and Inquisitors during their attempt at infiltration, making them suffer serious damage. They had lost the NPCs accompanying them during this mission.
Such damage was still fine since those NPCs were from a suicide squad. They knew that this mission would not be easy, and they had to risk their lives doing it. Fortunately for them, they were able to successfully eliminate their target quickly after the initial clash against the Church of the Sun and Moon.
The escape was relatively easy up until that point. But they had underestimated the methods of the Church of the Sun and Moon which caused them the failure of sneaking out from the Kingdom using the teleportation hall of the Holy City during the chaos caused by the Corrupted Cult.
Archbishop Ronald took decisive action and cast a spatial lockdown within the city, preventing any unregistered citizens of the kingdom from using any kind of teleportation method.
This forced the members of the Demonic Churches to run on foot instead and used the chaos of the war as their cover.
They might have successfully escaped from the Holy City and the paladins that were pursuing them, but they still had gotten marked by Archbishop Ronald before they could fully escape the influence of the church.
The one who got targeted by that mark was their commander, who was also the person who personally assassinated their target.
They had used everything they had just to get rid of that mark, but they could not erase it no matter what they did.
The only saving grace that they had was the fact that the Church of the Sun and Moon could no longer dispatch their paladins and priests to chase after them since their spies were already making their moves.
They were disrupting the investigation of the inquisitors that were dispatched by the main branch of the church. They were also using this opportunity to draw a rift between the archbishops of the church and even plant the seed of doubt for everything.
As long as Andre and the other members of the Demonic Churches escaped from the Saint Heaven Kingdom successfully, then they would be able to achieve a lot of things. They could even ruin the Church of the Sun and Moon if everything went well.
The problem now was this person, who kept on chasing them. And the more serious issue about it was the fact that this particular player was much harder to deal with. He was not only a Godlike Player, but also one of the current peaks of that rank.
For the first time in this operation, Andre felt excited. His body was itching to fight right now. It was the feeling that indicated that this was going to be a good battle.
Having that thought, he suddenly disappeared from his current spot before appearing right behind Shin. He then brandished his daggers forward.
Swoosh!
Shin was already expecting that to happen he took a couple of steps forward and leaned his body over, barely avoiding the daggers.
He then skillfully skidded forward while turning his body around and assuming a sword-drawing stance. When he finally faced Andre, he quickly unsheathed his sword and slashed it in a horizontal manner.
He was already using the Reality Manifestation at that time, so his movements were fluid and flawless.
Shing!
'Jade Kirin Scripture: Quick Draw – Flash Horizon'
Swoosh!
The tip of his sword drew a beautiful arc in the air while tracing a perfect stroke. He drew a line as his sword slashed throw everything in its path.
Andre also reacted in time, but he knew that it was already too late to dodge. He could only raise both of his arms while holding his daggers in a reversed gripped manner.
Clang!
Sparks flew in the air as the [Yamato] clashed against the pair of daggers blocking its blade.
Andre then took a step back, creating enough space for himself. He then lunged forward while thrusting one of his daggers straight into the chest of his opponent.
Swoosh!
Shin already retracted his sword at that time and placed it horizontally in front of his chest, blocking the incoming attack.
Clang!
Burning sparks continued to fly in the air as the tip of the dagger was accurately blocked by the surface of the [Yamato].
After that, Shin pushed the dagger back, forcing Andre to lose his position. He then turned around and threw a roundhouse kick at the waist of his opponent.
Bang!
Andre responded accurately to it as he used his arm to block the kick. He then borrowed the force behind that kick to retreat a little, creating more distance between him and Shin.
Swoosh!
But before he could reach the limit of Shin's range, the latter decisively took an advancing step and strode forward.
Swoosh!
He then used one of the basic skills that he had not used for a very long time and converted it into a real martial move.
'Extra Skill: Sword Rush – Thrusting Dash'
Swoosh!
Andre just took a couple of steps back when he saw the tip of the [Yamato] rapidly magnifying right in front of his eyes. His pupils contracted due to the speed of the approaching sword, which caught him a little off guard.
Fortunately, his reflex was able to keep up. He leaned back to create a little more distance away from the incoming tip of the sword while swinging his daggers in a circular manner to redirect the trajectory of the sword.
Clang!
When he was successful, Andre suddenly kicked the ground and launched himself in the air, further distancing himself from Shin with a quick flip.
His movements were also quite flawless, which made it hard to respond. Unfortunately, Shin also had fast reflexes and good body coordination, which made him able to follow suit.
Swoosh!
Shin forcefully canceled the skill at its ending posture and quickly retracted the sword. He then borrowed the momentum of his previous charge to continue moving forward and activated the second effect of the said skill before leaping in the air.
'Extra Skill: Sword Rush – Slashing Dash'
Midair, Shin spun around and slashed horizontally upon catching up to Andre.
Clang!
But despite his skilled follow-up, Andre was still able to block the attack. He crossed his daggers in front of his chest, blocking the strike in a very timely manner.
He might have been pushed back due to the impact, but he just used that opportunity to move further away and create more space for himself. When he landed a few distance away, he finally got the chance to utilize the advantage of his skill and used stealth.
His figure started to fade away and merged with the darkness of the mountain forest.
Shin, on the other hand, used his 'True Sight' and 'Sensing Circle' skills to be able to use his 'Zone' technique that he had personally created both inside the game and the real world.
His senses were at their peak when he was using this skill, making it possible for him to sense any approaching enemies from his blind spots or all kinds of movements within the range of the technique.
He also sheathed his word and got ready for any kind of ambush that his opponent might throw at him. And that attack immediately happened.
Multiple shadows of humanoid figures suddenly appeared and assaulted Shin from every direction. They launched a coordinated attack, not giving him any window to catch his breath.
'Demonic Skill: Shadow Punishment'
Shin responded accordingly and dodged every strike in an easy manner. He continued to move in eight major directions, dodging every attack with a single step.
He was calmly dodging all the attacks with simple movements. He was waiting for the final moment before dodging the incoming daggers, not wasting even a single movement.
Andre immediately realized this and started changing his strategy. He used a different approach during his attack and changed from a coordinated series of attacks to consecutive yet chaotic attacks.
Shin immediately sensed the sudden change in his opponent's attacks and responded to it accordingly. He also adjusted his style and followed his instincts instead of using a systematic attack.
He was also using a couple of casual sword techniques that seemed to be a little too ordinary, but Andre could not break through any of them. It was as if Shin had a solid wall that was blocking every attack directed at him regardless of the timing and angle that they had.
He seemed to be able to see all the hidden attacks following the first series of assaults, particularly the ones that were coming from behind, seemingly indicating that he had a pair of eyes at the back of his head.
As time passed, Andre started to feel a little anxious and uncomfortable. It was as if something bad was bound to happen if he let the progress of the battle continue this way.
That was when he decided to take a different approach. He changed his strategy once again. But this time, he would be using all the powers that the demonic formation was providing him.
He distanced himself away from Shin, creating enough breathing space for himself. He then sheathed his daggers before clasping his hands together.
He did not wait that long as he quickly made a series of seals with his hands while chanting out some words that could not be understood.
Bang!
When the final seal was formed and the last syllable was chanted, the surrounding area seemed to have dimmed a little. Even the sky turned a little darker as dark clouds gathered above that mountain forest.
Shin quickly sensed the change and wanted to do something about it. But before he could even more to stop Andre, strong pressure suddenly fell from the sky and pressed against him.
He was unable to due to it.
He could only grit his teeth and tense his muscles to endure the pressure. He also strengthened his legs to prevent himself from kneeling on the ground.
Realizing that this was not going to work, he suddenly switched his equipment set while tightly gripping the sheathed [Yamato]. He held the sword in front of him, holding the sheath with his left hand while grabbing the hilt of the sword with the other.
He then inhaled deeply while activating one of the blessings that the [Yamato] had received when it was reforged by Berlin.
The [Yamato] released a blinding light before separating into two different swords; one was a pure-white katana while the other was a pitch-black one.
He also did not stop there as he quickly summoned Whitie Blackie to possess those swords respectively. "Light Reaper! Dark Reaper!"
Right after he called out their reaper's names, the two specks of light circling around him broke free from their respective revolution and fused with the pair of swords that he was holding.
'Elemental Spirit Possession (Light): Sacred Vanquisher'
'Elemental Spirit Possession (Darkness): Abyssal Conqueror'
While they were releasing two opposing lights, Shin held the swords in front of him, crossed against each other.
...…
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