Chapter 395 Showdown
395 Showdown
'She is troublesome, more so than the Scorpion,' Alex thought as he used the appraisal of the Red Gem on the lady and saw her stats in detail.
At first, Alex used a simple appraisal to gain an understanding of the twins, not checking their status in detail as it wouldn't matter much when their strength was just peak Fifth Rank.
But now, seeing the young lady cast a peak Sixth Rank barrier of light that prevented him or anyone from leaving and doing so in a matter of seconds, he was forced to check her status again in detail.
As he had expected, it was not normal, as besides all her stats being 90k which was far above average, her mana stat was surpassing 135k points, while she also held a legendary-grade physique, giving her innate abilities.
After gaining the new info, his whole perspective of the battle till now shifted, as Alex saw the lady as more of a threat than Scorpion because, besides the light prison, her physique gave her two more innate abilities, called Luminous Renewal and Luminal Mirage.
While the healing skill wouldn't give him much trouble, the same was not true for the illusion skills, because as much as Alex trusted his magical eyes, he couldn't be sure if he could see through the illusion, knowing it would be a high or peak Sixth Rank skill.
So without a moment of hesitation, he used the Chrono Sanctuary skill, saving his physical condition, so in case he failed to break free of the illusion and get killed, he would have a second chance.
"Boy, now you are trapped, and I will be generous for real this time and give you two options, so listen very carefully,"
"You either pay us a handsome amount that satisfies me or struggle for your life and die a useless death," Scorpion said as he laughed out loud, his fist bashing against the light barrier.
"You are gravely mistaken if you think I am trapped," Alex said as he used the Tenebrous Shard Enclave, making vast darkness manifest and rapidly spread in all directions.
The light prison was around a hundred meters in length and height, shaped like a box, and the spreading darkness filled it, devouring any trace of light created by the walls, making the inside an area of blinding darkness.
'Shadow Doppelganger.'
Alex immediately created four Doppelgangers, each having 20% of his base stats, and while they were useless in battle, because of their ability to regenerate endlessly, he could throw them at the male twin and keep him mostly out of battle.
Before even the battle began, Alex had already prepared a plan of action in case he fell to the illusion, which involved using Death's Mirage and Abyssal Chimerabell simultaneously on the female twin and then using all of his big damage attacks.
But for the time being, he decided to solely focus on Scorpion because, for this battle to end and his plan to work, he needed to go through that crafty bastard.
Alex kept his eyes active, and as he moved toward Scorpion, he used Cloak of Emptiness to diminish his presence greatly, but it only gave him a slight edge as he couldn't hope to get past the senses of a veteran Sixth Rank warrior who lived the brutal life of a bandit.
Alex held the destruction knife in his left hand, making use of the Decay Surge skill to cover the knife in a destructive aura, holding his sword in his right hand while the other three knives stayed strapped to his waist.
Scorpion went silent as the clash of their weapons began, and as a veteran quickly noticed his element being suppressed, which only made him take Alex more seriously and throw every trick he had in his arsenal at him to make sure he would be the victor.
Scorpion was a veteran, having lived a life of betrayal and slaughter for years and while he was a respectable middle-
stage Elementalist, he was not the type to take his opponents lightly and did not spare any effort to neutralize the threat.
In just thirty seconds, he used multiple metal attacks, confirming that nothing he threw at his opponent fazed him in the slightest. Even his style of slowly poisoning his opponent to weaken their defense and then using his trump card to end the battle would prove ineffective in the current situation.
Scorpion could sense that he was not physically stronger, his physical attacks were useless, and his agility and weapon provided him little edge if he couldn't capitalize on it.
Instead of wasting energy and time trying to find a solution and giving his opponent a chance to make a move, he decided to use a move he reserved for life-and-death situations.
The thought of running away or surrendering and choosing to leave his treacherous ways never crossed his mind and it wasn't due to excessive pride but rather his confidence in winning.
In the thirty seconds since the battle began, Alex received some minor cuts and didn't land a single strike and he did so intentionally, creating an image in Scorpion's mind to seize an opportunity and end the battle in a small window before the female twin could even come to his aid.
While exchanging blows with Scorpion, Alex noticed the unusual behavior of the twins. They didn't interfere in the battle, although it could be because Scorpion didn't ask them and because they trusted the strength of their boss.
But seeing both of them battling against his doppelgangers, that they could destroy with ease, and not do any major damage to them painted a different picture.
It could be that they were just preserving their mana and waiting for the command or the moment Alex showed dominance, so they could attack him and give their boss the opportunity to end his life or simply they had some other agenda.
Alex thought it was very much possible that the twins were planning to betray their boss and then finish him off to remove the threat, positioning themselves as the leaders of the bandit group.
Alex's chain of thoughts was disturbed by a battle cry from Scorpion as he swung his blade, forcing Alex back, and then roared the order for the female twin to use Luminous Renewal on him.
"Zelia, use Luminous Renewal on me!" Scorpion roared as he created distance from Alex.
The female twin slammed her staff into a Doppelganger, sending the doppelganger flying, and then used a quick light arrow to tear a hole in the chest, as she created a safe distance before firmly gripping her staff with both hands.
Alex saw Scorpion's veins swell in size before returning to normal, his skin color turning darker and the reason was the poison flowing through his veins and blood.
'He is using poison to enhance his strength and utilizing continuous healing to mediate the damage to his body,' Alex thought as he saw Luminous Renewal take effect, an intricate white rune appearing above Scorpion's head before vanishing.
'He is not the type to engage in an honorable battle, so why is he not asking the girl to use the illusion skill on me?' Alex thought, with many such questions coming to mind and the only logical answer he could think of was that Scorpion didn't know about the illusion skill.
'Let's end this battle,' Alex thought, pushing various thoughts back.
Even though with Scorpion boosting his stats, he lost the major stat advantage he held, it wouldn't make a difference in battle.
Alex exchanged to the space knife while picking up the free knife using his darkness manipulation and moved forward to clash against Scorpion, who was laughing like a madman, the venom in his blood affecting his sanity.
The strikes became more erratic and harder to predict, and Scorpion commenced to twist and turn his body at unusual angles, even dislocating his joints to further his reach, delivering one attack after another.
Scorpion was not making calculated attacks like before, but he was still crafty enough to anticipate the attack in advance when Alex teleported or did not fall for fake teleportation.
Alex attached all three free knives to chains, cloaking them in a dense shroud of darkness, making their shapes unrecognizable. He threw them in separate directions, pulling them all toward Scorpion at the last moment before he teleported, creating an opportunity to attack.
Alex could have ended the battle in a matter of moments by using various time skills, but he had chosen this battle to learn to wield his knives, and that's what he did in the following two minutes the battle lasted.
Alex conveyed a minor wound with his first attack, but as he got better and quicker at synchronizing his teleportation and creating it less predictable, the combat went smoothly.
He received a few good strikes as Scorpion was no beginner, but even with the twins getting involved after their boss lost his left leg, Alex still ended the combat by thrusting a dagger into Scorpion's eye and another into his neck, both coated in pulsing decay energy.
"We Surrender, Please Spare Us," Alex heard the twins scream as they threw their weapons away, the moment Scorpion's life slipped away.
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