726 Can he hold on for a few minutes?
Hidden behind a boulder, Kyle silently applauded for Hubert, completely oblivious to the fact that the old man was cursing him and planning to beat him up.
"Master may be weaker, but I have faith he can hold off the first shadow general. Just a few minutes will be enough until the reinforcements arrive."
Bia followed his gaze and observed the old man floating in the distance, clutching the spear, her curiosity piqued.
-"Is that the person who is your second master? He stopped Damien's attack. How did you find such a powerful individual?"
The two of them watched with anticipation, eagerly waiting for the old man to confront the shadow general head-on.
In the distance, Hubert's eyes glimmered with solemn intensity as they locked onto Damien's gaze—the man who belonged to the same race as him.
On the other hand, the first shadow general froze momentarily upon seeing his face.
"It's you?"
His eyes flashed with incredulity. How could he ever forget those solemn blue eyes that mirrored his own? But the idea that Hubert was still alive, even though the entire water dragon race and their planet had been obliterated by Azazeal into mere fragments right before his eyes, was almost unfathomable.
Damien's eyes were drawn to the silver spear in the old dragon's grasp, and they widened slightly. Wasn't that the spear Kyle had shown him earlier? Why was it with... His thoughts suddenly came to a halt as he finally remembered. He remembered where he had seen that spear before.
"Ah, just how could I forget?"
A wide smirk made his lips curve upward. After all, that spear was the very weapon Hubert had wielded when he battled him in the past, alongside many others, only to ultimately lose when Azazeal arrived.
He raised his eyes with a feigned relief in his gaze that was filled with thrill.
"It's been a while, hasn't it?"
Seeing his smirk, which contrasted sharply with the darkness rising behind him, Hubert clenched his fists. He felt his anger surging but managed to control himself. It was true that he had been residing in No Mana Land, but thanks to his strong physique, he could leave that place at any time.
He had occasionally traveled to nearby planets to ensure he stayed updated on every new piece of information regarding Azazeal and the shadow generals. That's why, he was well aware of their strength.
Hubert's physique was strong, and his spiritual energy was impressive as well. However, he had only recently reached the supreme rank. So how could he even think fighting Damien—the one who had already surpassed that rank? The outcome was clear: he would lose miserably.
'Still, my blood boils at the mere sight of him! He has grown immensely powerful, while I remain exactly the same... but that's to be expected because he acquired that strength by betraying his own race.'
Getting no response, Damien grew impatient. He raised his hand, and the darkness gathering behind him erupted, instantly shattering the chains of spiritual energy that held the dark blade in place. In the next instant, the blade crashed down at its intended destination.
However, the brief opportunity Hubert created provided James with enough time to clear his muddled thoughts and evade the sword using instant teleportation. An angry vein bulged on Damien's forehead as he spotted James's floating figure in the distance, sneering at him.
Truly, he was thrilled to see a familiar face from his race after so long, especially since that individual had once been someone he couldn't defeat. However, this situation was starting to irritate him. He turned his gaze to Hubert with a shake of his head.
"Now that you dare to interrupt me, I trust you are ready to face the consequences. If you've been alive all this time, it would have been far wiser to remain hidden and never reveal yourself. But alas, what a pity."
In the next moment, both Hubert and James felt an unsettling chill as the air around them began to quiver ominously. The ground trembled violently, and then a thick curtain of darkness unfurled in the sky, swirling with an eerie energy. It swiftly enveloped the entire planet, casting a shadow that seemed to consume the light, creating a formidable barrier that would not allow anyone on the planet to escape.
"No one shall leave this planet until I have ensured that every enemy is dead."
Damien declared loudly. He needed to eliminate James and this old, familiar face as well. Moreover, after seeing the spear, he had a hunch that Kyle wasn't dead.
He communicated telepathically with Onicuss and asked him to search for Kyle's body, only to find out that Onicuss had already scoured the area but had not even found a trace of Kyle's remains.
'Damn it, I was careless.'
He extended his senses, but after failing to detect Kyle, he asked Onicuss to search for the crimson phoenix—the one he and the others had overlooked all this time. If they found the phoenix, they would ultimately discover whether Kyle was alive or not.
'I have a bad feeling about this. I think I should use the natural laws to end this quickly, even if it puts a strain on my body and causes me harm.'
With narrowed eyes, he suddenly disappeared and launched an attack on Hubert, who had remained silent all this time, secretly searching for Kyle on the planet with his senses. But just as his strike was about to land, James intervened using instant teleportation. Damien cursed and sent him flying with a kick, but despite his bloodied state, James's lips curled into a smirk as he noticed the intense frustration and anger in the shadow general's eyes.
'Huhu... this is actually quite fun!'
After witnessing James fighting Damien with all his might, Hubert also refused to retreat from the battle and unleashed his spear art against the first shadow general. But Kyle and Bia were left speechless when he was sent flying like a piece of paper.
Kyle scratched his chin with a perplexed expression. It looked like he had overestimated his master's strength.
"Can he hold on for a few minutes? Or should I step in since I am the one who got him into this situation?"
But fortunately, just before he could join Hubert and James—only to add to the number of people getting beaten up—he sensed someone attempting to pierce the curtain of darkness enveloping the planet.
"At last, the elders have arrived!"