Chapter 440: The Duel That Went Down In History
The air crackled with the sheer power radiating from the two combatants.
Northern's blue flames danced around him, while the Emperor's essence blazed like a crimson inferno. They moved at a pace that made heads spin, their forms blurring into streaks of color.
Clash after earth-shattering clash rang out as their blows met, each impact sending tremors through the very ground.
Northern continued with those lightning-fast kicks, which the Emperor met with unyielding blocks. The force of their exchange carved deep gouges into the earth.
Suddenly, Northern saw an opening and lunged forward, his leg whipping out in a devastating sweep.
The Emperor's eyes widened, but his reflexes were lightning-fast. He leapt into the air, his body twisting with grace and precision, evading the attack by mere inches.
Northern didn't relent, his onslaught unyielding. He pursued the Emperor, his movements a blur of blue and black as he unleashed a flurry of strikes.
The Emperor parried and dodged, his essence flaring brighter with each block, but Northern's speed and ferocity kept him on the defensive.
Just as Northern thought he had the upper hand, the Emperor's expression shifted.
A faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips, and in the next instant, he vanished from sight, reappearing behind Northern with his fist already hurtling towards his back, all his movements leaving a trail of crimson essence.
'Dang! Of course!' Northern's eyes widened, but he didn't panic.
He pivoted on his heel, his own fist colliding with the Emperor's in a titanic clash that shook the very air around them.
The ground trembled, cracks spiderwebbing outwards as the two titans traded blows at a breakneck pace.
The exchange was a blur of motion, each strike carrying the weight of mountains.
Northern's agility and the Emperor's raw power were evenly matched, neither gaining a decisive advantage.
It was a battle of wills, a test of who could push the other further before the inevitable breaking point.
The Emperor's eyes narrowed, and Northern felt a shift in the very fabric of the air.
The Emperor's essence was condensing, coalescing into a singularity of pure, devastating power.
Northern braced himself, knowing that what was coming next would be a decisive blow. The Emperor suddenly pulled back his head, sucking in air, and then roared.
That roar, however, came with a devastating burst of flame that created a wave of fire, engulfing everything in its path.
This flame was so intense that it immediately began to turn solid rock into molten lava.
The entire area was bathed in the warm radiance of viciously hot flames. The nobles felt the hot blizzard threatening to throw them all away.
Even Guillever had to use a barrier to shield himself from the attack. It was insane and crazy. His face paled as he watched it happen.
The building he was standing on was even assaulted by the strong force of the wind, forcefully pulling down the mighty edifice without a shred of mercy.
However, Guilever was unaffected. At first, he thought it was the sure end for Northern. Then he looked closer with a narrowed expression.
The flames had surrounded him from all sides, so he had thought that Northern was being burned alive.
But just a moment's glance granted him the opportunity to see the white-haired kid standing unfazed in the flames.
His face and hair were now covered with a vicious helmet, giving him an even more devilish presence, a black shadowy cloak dancing off his back.
He couldn't help but exclaim silently, "What... are... you?"
Even though he wasn't being touched by the flames, thanks to the Void force of Limitless Void, Northern still felt the heat.
Mainly because of the armor he was wearing, he had observed that the Night Terror armor was resistant against cold, but it was incredibly weak to heat.
Although it held up a good front of defense, he was already sweating buckets.
The flames stopped just in front of him, as if a wall of air was preventing them from burning forward. The ground in front of him had been turned into a seething pool of molten rock.
He narrowed his eyes with a small smile and then moved, his body a blur of motion as he launched himself upward, twisting through the air with a grace that belied the chaos around him.
The flames roared beneath him, their searing tongues licking at his heels but still not reaching him.
'Why aren't my flames touching him...?' The Emperor frowned at this strange phenomenon.
Northern's muscles coiled like springs, propelling him out of the firestorm's reach.
The Emperor's attack was relentless, a tidal wave of raw, fiery power that consumed everything in its path, like a living beast.
Northern's eyes blazed with determination as he shot forward, his blue flames igniting around his fists as he hurtled toward the Emperor.
The ground below, already fractured by their previous clashes, gave way under the intense pressure, the molten rock bubbling and hissing as it was pulverized by the sheer force of their
battle.
The Emperor's eyes widened in amazement. Until now, he had been wearing a straight face; however, in this moment, his expression changed completely.
A mad grin adorned his face as he met Northern head-on, a flash of crimson essence bursting from his core. He seemed intensely happy, too happy, that it almost freaked Northern out.
"Magnificent! No one, not even my worthless sons, can impress me the way you do. Individually, you make me want to stop restraining myself!"
Their fists collided in midair, the impact creating a shockwave that rippled outwards, shattering the molten ground and sending chunks of rock flying in all directions.
The shockwave tore through the surrounding landscape, flattening trees and throwing up dust clouds that obscured the battlefield.
The Emperor seemed to be enjoying every second, but it wasn't that simple for Northern. Keeping up this much with the Emperor was taking the life out of him.
He felt like he was at the edge of a cliff and could fall off anytime soon. Every second he fought two things at the same time: the Emperor and staying conscious. Northern twisted in the air and brought out his blade, his movements a seamless blend of
power and agility.
Blue flames cloaked both blades of the staff as he launched another series of strikes.
The Emperor grunted, his muscles straining as he parried each blow with almost mechanical precision, but Northern's relentless assault kept him on his heels.
'He's parrying it with bare hands? Is he mad?' Northern stopped abruptly; he had thought the Emperor would naturally pull out a weapon. He didn't mean to fight unfairly, but he was
nearing his limit.
He had more cards up his sleeves, but his stamina could take no more.
And what had the man said a couple of seconds ago... he had been restraining himself.
'What would he be like if he wasn't restraining himself?' Northern wanted to go crazy internally but kept a calm demeanor.
He was weak and tired, feeling like he could faint any moment now.
And the Emperor had this insane smile attached to his face, saying after a couple of seconds:
"Come on, boy, don't tell me you're getting tired when things are just starting to get
interesting."