Chapter 75: Another Internal Fight
Bang!
Varuk’s body smashed into the ground.
Even though he could still stand up and fight, his condition was pitiful. His armor was broken and blood was dripping from several parts of his body.
But even so, his expression was still the same.
He didn’t cry out in pain or lose control of himself. He still fought Ren with a clear mind and a big grin, as if he didn’t feel any pain at all.
"KRRRAGH!" Varuk charged at Ren once more.
Ren raised his sword to welcome his strike.
Countless sounds of metal clashing filled the air. Even though they had been fighting for several minutes, the power of their attacks was still the same.
They were heavy, fast, and precise.
It was as if the duo had unlimited stamina and energy.
While they were fighting fiercely, Axel closed in silently. He didn’t launch a surprise attack immediately.
He waited for the right time to launch a fatal attack.
Bang!
Ren kicked Varuk’s chest hard, sending him flying into the air.
He didn’t rush toward Varuk.
He remained in his position as if he were waiting for Varuk to stand up and charge at him again.
Axel mistook it as a sign that Ren was nearing his limit. Believing the time to strike had finally come, he quickly raised his staff.
’Piercing Lightning Fang.’
A bolt of blue lightning burst out from the magic circle.
It was small in size, but its power was far more terrifying than the one he had used to burn the goblins and hobgoblins.
"KRRRAGH!" Varuk roared and rushed toward Ren.
At the same time, Ren was ready to strike, too.
But before the clash happened, a lightning bolt pierced the air and shot toward Ren.
Ren shifted his gaze when he heard a crackling sound from behind him. But before he could react, Axel’s strike hit his back.
Zztt!
His body froze on the spot.
The lightning didn’t explode.
It went straight into his body like a living being.
His eyes widened, and his expression stiffened.
The lightning spread inside him, running through his veins and striking his organs.
"Ghk!" His face turned pale, and his body trembled for a moment.
The lightning surged again, attacking his heart and throwing its rhythm into chaos.
A sharp pain exploded from his chest as his heartbeat became irregular.
When it surged once more, the pain became unbearable, and he finally dropped to one knee.
Varuk halted midway when Ren suddenly fell.
Even though they were enemies, he didn’t take the opportunity to kill Ren; instead, he shifted his gaze to Axel.
"GRRR..." Varuk shot him an angry glare.
He was annoyed.
He was furious.
He was enjoying his fight with Ren so much, but Axel appeared out of nowhere and ruined his fun.
Since he wanted to make Axel pay for his actions, he walked over to one of the corpses and took his spear.
But before he could throw it at Axel, a jaguar shifter jumped at Axel.
"How dare you attack him from behind, you bastard!" David roared angrily.
He saw clearly what Axel had done to Ren as he was on his way to help him.
The moment Axel knew who it was, his lips curled up into a grin. "Great! You are here, too. Now I can finally make you pay for what you did yesterday."
David crossed his arms in front of his chest as Axel’s strike shot toward him. The lightning spread across his arms and made them go numb for a moment.
But even so, it didn’t stop him from attacking Axel.
When he was close to Axel, he transformed his right arm into that of a jaguar and channeled his energy into his claws.
Boom!
Debris exploded in all directions as his claws slammed into the ground.
Just as he was about to launch another attack, two lightning chains shot out from the magic circle beneath him and entangled him.
"Raahhh!" he unleashed his full power to break free.
As soon as he shattered the chains, a streak of lightning struck him. His body trembled uncontrollably, and he dropped to his knees instantly.
Piercing Lightning Fang magic!
Axel unleashed the same spell he had used to attack Ren.
David had tried to thwart his revenge, so he let David experience the pain Ren felt.
"How does it feel? Are your internal organs screaming in pain right now?" Axel grinned as he walked toward David slowly.
David didn’t say anything and just shot him a furious glare. His body was still in pain, and his legs had no strength to support him, so he could not attack Axel immediately.
"This is the consequence of messing with me." Axel slowly pointed his staff toward David’s head. "Now, perish."
A blue magic circle appeared in front of his rod, but before the lightning could burst out, a dagger flew toward Axel at an incredible speed.
Realizing he was in danger, Axel dispelled his magic and made a long backward jump.
"You! How could you still move?" Axel was shocked and furious at the same time.
Piercing Lightning Fang was supposed to be an overwhelming magic against 1-star awakeners.
Ren was already close to his limit when he made a move on him. His attack should have left him badly injured, as the magic was meant to strike his internal organs.
So, how?
How was he still able to move?
How could he stand up and throw a dagger at him?
Was his magic ineffective against tiger shifters?
Or was his magic too weak to injure his internal organs?
His expression twisted in anger as countless questions flashed through his mind.
At the same time, Ren began walking toward him slowly.
His presence was no longer the same as before.
The air around him grew heavy, and his gaze was as cold as a frozen abyss.
He no longer looked like a human being because at that moment, he was like a devil king who had finally unleashed all the anger he had been suppressing.
"So, it was you who attacked me from behind." The anger within him grew bigger when Ren noticed David’s state.
Even though he was in an immobilized state, he could still hear everything around him so he knew that David had tried to save him earlier.
"We are in the middle of fighting magical creatures, yet you attacked your ally from behind." Ren spoke and paused for a second before he continued, "Since you have endangered us, I will punish you in the Village Head’s place."
"Hmph! You really think you have the strength to do that?" Axel believed Ren would not last long.
"You will regret saying that." Ren rushed toward Axel with the intent to beat him half-dead.
While they were fighting brutally, Varuk looked at them with a stunned expression.
He was their enemy, yet they completely ignored him and fought with each other. He had been in war a few times before, but this was the first time he had ever seen something like this.
He believed anyone would be speechless if they were in his shoes since this kind of situation was so unusual on the battlefield.
Sure, internal conflict sometimes occurred during war or battle, but it rarely escalated into direct combat between allies because it would be detrimental to them and lead to defeat.
*Roar...
Axel’s soul shook for a moment when Ren unleashed the Roar of Dominance skill.
Ren didn’t waste the opportunity.
He quickly used the Tiger Leaps ability and swung his sword.
Since his life was in danger and he could not avoid it, Axel raised his staff in a diagonal to block it.
*Slice...
Ren’s sword was at an Uncommon rank, so it easily cut the staff in half.
Axel’s jacket was sliced, but he was unharmed as he quickly took a single leap backward.
’Damn it!’
Axel gritted his teeth before throwing his broken staff to the ground.
"I will kill you!" Axel raised his right hand and unleashed his Piercing Lightning Fang magic.
Mages could still use magic without staves. Staves were only tools that enhanced their magic, improving mana efficiency, channeling, etc.
That was why Axel could still attack Ren with his lightning magic.
As they were fighting each other, Bernard was facing hobgoblins with his people.
Since Virelia’s subordinates supported him, he only suffered minor injuries and managed to kill a few goblins.
While piercing his enemy with his spear, an uneasy feeling suddenly arose within him. He quickly looked toward the area where the fiercest battle was taking place.
’What’s with this feeling?’
He didn’t understand what was going on.
’They are fine, right?’
He faced the enemies again, but the feeling didn’t disappear.
Instead, it grew bigger.
’I need to check on them.’
They were the key to winning the battle, so he wanted to ensure they had enough support to kill their enemies.
"Tomas, I will go check their situation," Bernard said abruptly.
"Them? Who are you talking about?" Tomas asked with a confused expression.
"The awakeners from the Pillar Organizations." Bernard replied. "I’ve suddenly got an uneasy feeling, so I need to check on them."
"Then, I will go with you." They were on the battlefield, so Tomas wanted to make sure Bernard would not die.
"Alright." Bernard agreed instantly.
They quickly headed to the area where the fiercest battle was taking place. The moment they arrived, they were stunned by what they were seeing.
What they saw was not the fight between the Awakeners they had hired and the magical beasts, but a battle between Ren and Axel.
When they came to their senses, they rushed toward them while shouting, "Stop!"
