Chapter 294: Fighti
Richard slowly approached the red chasm.
As he drew closer, he saw red shadows leaping out from within. Within moments, their numbers had already reached the hundreds.
When they finally stopped, he could see that they were Yumo as well—creatures with horns and spikes covering their bodies. The difference was that these were crimson in color and stood ten to fifteen meters tall. Each of them carried a long scythe.
Their auras were ferocious.
Compared to ordinary Lords, they were undoubtedly formidable.
But such a presence only made Richard laugh.
He lowered the hood of his robe, feeling there was no longer any need to hide his face. The group from the Order of the Crimson Veil was far behind anyway.
"Come on! Come on!" he taunted.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Dozens of Yumo immediately charged at him.
They had already surrounded him from every direction.
Each one swung its scythe toward him.
Richard clenched his fist.
It transformed into a black dragon claw marked with white lines.
He chose not to use Mind Attack.
What he needed was a truly powerful opponent.
BANG!
A casual punch shook the surrounding space.
A shockwave exploded outward in all directions.
Every Yumo struck by that shockwave was instantly obliterated.
The result did not surprise Richard in the slightest.
He knew exactly how powerful he was.
This was the strength of the fully mastered Codex of Dragon Emperor.
Even Dragon Knights were among the strongest despite never mastering it completely.
And his version was further fused with the Celestial power of the Skylight Clan.
Because the shockwave spread over such a vast area, every Yumo that had approached was annihilated—even those that had just emerged.
Yet their destruction only attracted more.
This time, over a thousand appeared.
And they were even larger.
ROAR! ROAR!
Their roars echoed across the battlefield.
Richard merely answered with a disdainful look.
Shua!
One suddenly appeared in front of him.
It was so fast that by the time Richard noticed, its scythe was already about to reach his chest.
He did not dodge.
Instead, he grabbed the blade with his dragon hand.
The scythe stopped completely, unable to cut through his scales.
Richard smiled at the Yumo.
To his surprise, the creature looked shocked.
Clearly, it was not emotionless.
With a single pull, Richard dragged it toward himself.
Then he opened his mouth and breathed fire.
Golden flames erupted forth.
They shone so brightly that even a tiny spark seemed capable of illuminating the endless darkness.
The Yumo instantly turned to ash.
The flames spread to the surrounding Yumo as well.
They seemed incapable of avoiding danger.
Instead of retreating, they continued charging forward.
As a result, they too were reduced to ashes by Richard’s flames.
Richard shook his head.
"Is there nothing stronger?" he shouted toward the crimson chasm.
Whatever lurked inside, he had no fear of provoking it.
He genuinely needed a worthy opponent.
RUMBLE!
A deafening tremor suddenly erupted.
A figure flew out of the chasm.
It was still a crimson Yumo.
But unlike the others, it was small—only human-sized.
More importantly, it wore a robe.
Its body lacked the countless spikes of the others, though horns still protruded from its head.
The scythe it carried had three curved blades.
Fresh blood dripped from it continuously.
It almost seemed as though the weapon itself bled whenever its power was unleashed.
ROAR!
This Yumo’s roar was far louder than the rest.
Its mouth opened unnaturally wide.
Richard’s eyes narrowed.
The creature was incredibly fast.
Before he could react, it had already appeared behind him.
Its blood-soaked scythe descended from above, aiming to split him apart from head to toe.
For the first time, Richard felt genuine danger.
A solid sword of light appeared in his hand.
Naturally, it was the weapon forged by Master Watson, Elena’s uncle.
CLANG!
Richard blocked the attack.
The sword of light collided directly with the scythe.
A tremendous shockwave exploded from the impact, forcing both Richard and the Yumo backward.
"You really are strong..." Richard admitted.
His excitement immediately rose.
At last, a worthy opponent.
His expression turned serious.
Whoosh!
His body merged with the wind as he moved.
In less than an instant, he appeared behind the Yumo.
His sword slashed downward.
At the same moment, the blade unleashed a blazing laser formed from the fusion of fire and lightning.
The laser was no longer concentrated into a single point.
Instead, it expanded into a spherical explosion, spreading outward like a miniature sun.
It was the kind of attack that could erase almost anything in its path.
The Yumo was completely engulfed.
At the same time, Richard’s sword successfully slashed across its back.
He didn’t know whether that had killed it instantly.
Being able to threaten him certainly didn’t mean it could truly fight him.
If Richard became serious, even Rulers would have no choice but to flee.
Yet he was quickly astonished.
Suddenly, the Yumo appeared right in front of him.
Its mouth had opened impossibly wide, like a serpent capable of extending its jaws far beyond the size of its own head.
It was actually trying to swallow Richard’s head whole.
When Richard looked more carefully, he realized something shocking.
Only the Yumo’s head remained.
The rest of its body had already been destroyed.
Its survival in such a state was simply absurd.
"Hmph."
Richard merely snorted.
An invisible ripple radiated from his eyes.
Nothing could be seen.
Yet the wave directly tore through space itself.
BANG!
The Yumo’s head exploded instantly.
His Wave Element was no weaker than his fire or lightning.
In fact, it was even more terrifying.
It was invisible, yet undeniably real.
After his affinity with the Wave Element reached ninety-three percent, Richard had come to understand its true nature.
It was like the hardest steel transformed into a wave moving at the highest possible speed.
In terms of raw impact, it was undoubtedly the strongest.
Yet if someone tried to use steel directly, there was no way it could compete with a wave.
Steel was rigid and limited.
A wave, on the other hand, was efficient, adaptable, and capable of spreading across vast distances in every direction.
Its power could be concentrated into a single point or dispersed over an enormous area without losing its terrifying nature.
That was why Richard considered the Wave Element far more dangerous than it appeared.
It possessed the hardness of the toughest material, yet retained the flexibility and reach of a wave.
Against ordinary opponents, they might not even realize they had been attacked before their bodies were torn apart.
