Wonder coursed through the Warlord's mind after that peculiar event. For an instant, the lady seemed to have summoned the head of a massive grey wolf.
This was the first time he had seen an ability like that. It intrigued him.
The ways of mana were vast, and she had stepped on a rather unusual one.
The lady's aura exploded in the distance pulling him out of his thoughts, and Lord Rishil felt stunned that her attack had reached him despite that distance.
Retaining accuracy over such a distance was difficult even for experts their level. Yet she made it appear effortless.
Still, he shook off his awe and prepared himself for the next clash. Unfortunately, no one could be prepared for what happened next.
Expecting to find another set of jaws trying to crush him, blood drained out of Lord Rishil's features when nine different beastly attacks manifested around him INSTANTLY!
A massive reptilian tail that cracked towards him.
Two sets of four claws trying to rip him apart.
A giant scorpion's tail that threatened to pierce his armor.
A pair of red crab-like claws.
The teethed jaw of a massive black bear in partnership with the jaws of both a black and grey wolf.
Those offensives appeared around him at the same time, leaving him unable to dodge.
Lord Rishil weighed his odds in that instant and decided that an all-out attack was his best option.
Nevertheless, those attacks landed on his figure before he could respond with an attack of his own.
But he still did.
An incredible explosion of blue, nigh-white flames, formed in the sky, creating a burning sphere that caused the region beneath it to quake and burn.
The warlord had left the area containing his knights, but the heatwaves from that offensive reached them nonetheless.
Two godlike entities clashed, and even the golden knights could only spectate from a relatively safe distance.
Lord Rishil's flames destroyed the lady's attack, but at a cost nonetheless.
Pain seeped into his consciousness from every side of his body. Those attacks had been well-targeted.
She had intended to kill him with that offensive and had nearly succeeded. The only reason the warlord remained alive was thanks to the impressive armor given to them by their mysterious king.
Still, the blunt force behind the attacks cracked bones and left some rather nasty bruises.
Within the armor, most of Lord Rishil's skin now carried shades of deep purple and black. And agony caused him to grunt.
Shooting out the ball of flames the moment he recovered, the flame-warrior covered the distance between him and the lady in mere seconds and immediately swung his axes at her figure.
Another series of lines shot forward, deliberately less stable than the first. When several beastly figures rushed to shield their summoner, the shining blue lines detonated, engulfing the entire area in scorching flames.
Lord Rishil had once again taken the lady by surprise, and he didn't hesitate to exploit that upper hand.
Letting go of his battleaxes the instant he noticed that gap in her defense, the warlord scoffed inwardly. "You're not the only one with unique abilities."
Clasping his palms above his head, the ethereal image of a blue tree with six branches appeared for a split second before disappearing.
He activated a technique he had only used four times in his life.
It took but a second to activate, but the outcome was nothing short of spectacular.
Within a radius of about two hundred meters, EVERYTHING turned to FIRE.
And as if to make matters worse, the lady realized that the air she breathed shifted into flames mid-breath, leading to a rush of unimaginable pain.
That spell was an ability he had only seen adult dragons employ. A skill that forced every non-living thing within a certain range to directly become flames.
Even mana was forced to change form, making it an insanely dangerous ability. After all, there was nothing worse that watching one's attacks turn into the enemy's power.
His version was far weaker than a dragon's, for to those creatures such power came naturally—by virtue of their very existence!
Those creatures possessed an authority over flames so high, that it affected everything.
He called it "The Flames of Existence." And it was a six-leaf spell.
His attack caused even the lady's clothes to change form, scorching her body in the process.
Her figure descended from the sky due to excruciating pain, but Lord Rishil needed her dead, not unconscious.
Fatigue burned in his bones right after he deactivated the 'Flames of Existence', but he pressed forward anyway.
Descending along with the lady, he made his axes fly into his grip before performing a downward swing on her severely burnt body.
The whole region shook, and a mighty wave of pure force tore through the lands, leaving fissures and unleashing more shockwaves.
They were close to a small lake, but the heat coming from their battle caused it to evaporate nigh-instantly. As such, the region around them came alive with flames, too, but that did not matter to the warlord.
His point-blank attack had been directed at her legs, and he severed them in one strike, but that was all he could achieve in one swing.
Her body was sturdy! Unnaturally so. Almost like what he'd expect from a magical creature.
He had expected nothing to be left of her, even if his target had been her legs. He felt disappointed.
Nonetheless, he raised his arms to perform another swing when danger appeared in his mind, and he needed to escape.
Five large stingers appeared out of thin air to try to cut him into pieces, but he had been much quicker.
However, the lady's goal had been to interrupt his attacks, not necessarily kill him.
His attacks were overwhelming her, and thus: she grew desperate.
His first attack had been so powerful that the arm she raised to counter it had completely vanished—leaving behind only a bloodied stump. That alone had nearly killed her!
Now, the expert wasn't relenting. She had to admit that she would die if things continued this way. And they hadn't even been fighting for ten minutes yet!
Lord Rishil created a whole kilometer of distance in one leap, but he shot back a moment later after catching his breath.
He was running out of time, plus he feared how immediate her techniques were. Another attack of the first caliber would leave him in a fatal state. He had to end it.
His armored figure flickered into existence above her figure, and he threatened to strike when pain exploded in his right side, then his left, then the nape of his neck.
Agony nearly made him pass out!
!!??
Questions appeared In his mind, but horror replaced them when he realized that she had set those creatures to strike the moment he arrived!
The jaws that pressed into his figure could not directly shatter the armor, but the blunt force their initial blow unleashed was enough to send Lord Rishil into shock, giving his opponent the chance to lay her hands on him.
"Get away from me, you monster!" She roared, pouring every bit of her mana into one last attack.
Multicolored lights gushed into the world at that point, as a cacophony of beastly cries erupted from her offensive. She unleashed every attack within her skillset in that instant, and the consequences were devastating.
Everything within a hundred meters radius suffered countless clawed and bite attacks in one second—grinding the terrain to nothingness.
Apart from the kilometers of unbridled destruction caused by remanant shockwaves from her attack, a hole no less than one hundred meters deep, formed.
The barrage of attacks ended seconds after they appeared, and although the lady had been caught in it, she had survived enough to remain standing.
Her figure stood naked, but it didn't matter since her skin was completely charred on all sides.
She hardly resembled a human, especially considering the deep gashes that riddled her body; it was hard to believe she was even still breathing.
Her partially blinded eyes scanned the environment for remnants of the monstrous Warlord, but she found nothing. Her attack had ground him to nothing!
A wave of relief and joy even began to swell in her chest, but all of it was cut short when her world suddenly spun, and she watched her headless, charred body fall to the ground with a heavy thud.
???!
"W-wha—?" She tried to voice her confusion, but her consciousness went dark.
Lord Rishil had unleashed his attack after all, but his death served as the second loss among the warlords—a news that would reach the ends of the world in the days to come.