It took the clone a full 10 minutes to break free from the effects of the Maya Astra.
The moment the illusion broke, he found himself to be clueless as to what was going on as his senses went into overdrive giving him a splitting headache.
In his mind he was pumelling down on Ferox's face with his bare fists, but reality showed that Ferox was nowhere near him, in fact he was not even fighting the clone but rather fighting Max himself.
The clone looked at his hands and slapped himself on the face, not able to understand what was going on.
He could clearly feel Ferox's robes between his left palm, he could feel his enemy's breath, he could feel his knuckles landing on Ferox's face, yet apparently it was all an illusion.
The enemy had used a technique that was altering reality itself and had transcended the level of mental illusions.
It was dangerous to fight him one v one.
Max, who was already informed of the enemy's powers by Drax was told to keep his eyes closed and fight through his [ Way Of The Wind ] senses only.
Max relentless kept attacking with [ Inferno ] spells not giving Ferox a single second to recover and forcing him to keep moving and dodging.
The reason behind this relentless assault was because Max knew that Ferox had just unleashed a divine attack and needed to catch his breath before he could return to his peak prowess.
But Max was not giving him any opportunity to do so, but rather forcing him to exert himself even more, pushing him closer and closer to a space where he was most likely to make a big mistake.
Ferox stood amidst the battlefield, his breath coming in ragged gasps. The divine power he had unleashed with the [ Ethereal Sword Cut ] had left him drained, more than he had anticipated.
His chest heaved, his divine core pulsating like a weary heart. The raw exhaustion seeped into his bones, slowing his movements and blurring his thoughts. He had underestimated his opponent, he knew that Lord Ravan had a personal shadow-guard but no report suggested that Max Rajput had one too.
The cost of this misinformation was proving steeper than he had thought.
He needed a moment to recover, to collect his scattered strength, yet he got no such luxury.
To make matters even worse, Max Rajput also seemingly broke free from his first illusion and was now rejoining the battle alongside Ravan, making the fight a two on one which he so desperately wanted to avoid.
If Ravan was an elemental expert, Max seemed to be an elemental sword expert as he launched all sorts of elemental sword strikes towards him while also using traditional sword attacks in the middle from time to time.
The pairing of the duo was absolutely deadly as they moved in complete sync covering each other's defensive vulnerabilities while helping each other in offense.
Soon Ferox consistently began losing HP through small slices and explosions as he became more and more desperate to re-use his Maya Astra, but was unable to since both his opponents were fighting with their eyes closed.
Under such difficult circumstances, Ferox knew he needed to focus on self preservation first as he reached into his inventory and grabbed a talisman given to him by the sovereign Kane himself.
He had received it as a reward for destroying the disc and it had the attached promise of him coming to save his life once whenever it was activated.
Activating the hidden message, Ferox continued to fight as he hoped that the sovereign would make good on his promise and come to bail him out of this tough situation as he was clearly outclassed by himself.
**********
( Meanwhile on the other fronts )
Across the field, the necromantic forces led by Sebastian moved with an eerie precision and persistence, a relentless tide washing over the disoriented Blackfang forces.
With an iron grip, Sebastian commanded his troops towards the captivity area where the vampire women were held captive.
Some dastardly Blackfang soldiers tried to kill the captives before they could be freed, however the vampire women themselves were tough and fought for their self preservation as they had already listened to the commotion of the raging fight outside.
" WE'RE HERE! GOOD LORDS PLEASE SAVE US " They shouted for plea, expecting brave vampire soldiers to come and save them, however, the reality was slightly more complex-
When the undead horde burst into the captives' enclosure, a chorus of screams filled the air.
The women, seeing their supposed 'saviours' were beings of skeletal horror, reacted with terror and instinctive defiance. Feet and fists lashed out, aiming for heads and joints.
In the midst of this chaos, Sebastian stepped forward, his hands raised placatingly.
" It's okay bit-, err I mean ladies, I'm in control of these undead, they are here to help you " Sebastian said with a complete hero like aura as he saw his chance to become their knight in shining armour and absolutely took it.
His calm demeanour, so stark against the unsettling presence of his undead army, managed to coax the women into a shocked silence. He assured them of their safety, explaining his mission to rescue them.
As the women calmed down, they found themselves drawing closer to Sebastian. Their trepidation melted away, replaced with gratitude and admiration for their saviour. In their eyes, Sebastian was their superstar, their knight in not-so-shining armour.
They clung to him, their sobs of relief and words of thanks creating a symphony of hope amidst the brutal chaos of battle as the 4 feet tall dwarf who barely came up to the bosom of vampire women found himself in absolute paradise.
" Agh, another day at work…. " Sebastian said, pretending as if this was a daily routine for him.
**********
Elsewhere, DarkSorrow and Anna's forces were closing in on the mercenary ranks. The roar of their approach echoed through the field, a deafening war cry that challenged the enemy. The clash of steel against steel, the guttural yells and cries of pain - it was the grim symphony of a brutal conflict.
This was no war of attrition, but a full-scale clash between two formidable forces. The air was heavy with the scent of blood and the promise of death. But amidst the chaos, DarkSorrow and Anna stood firm.
Anna's [ Eolande Arc ] devastated the advancing Mercenary front lines claiming close to 7000 lives with just one move, creating panic amongst their front lines.
DarkSorrow on the other side led his forces as if he was the war-god himself, butchering anything that moved as he mawed through the frontlines himself, creating an opening for his legion to follow.
The war had began at a full swing and the Bloodfall clan held the upper hand for now.
*********
( Meanwhile Rudra )
Never in his life since reincarnating had Rudra ever felt his heart pulsate with pure terror as he did today.
Never had he expected that there would be a day where a fight which he considered trivial would take a turn far beyond what he had ever prepared for and make him question his worth as a strategist.
But that day had finally come today as Rudra saw in horror as the human Sovereign Kane left his camp and was speeding towards the spot where Max was currently fighting against Ferox.
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