DarkSorrow thought about Ravan's offer for a lengthy time, his silence on the matter making his mercenary brethren uncomfortable as the seconds passed.
" How long will it take you to launch a demon incursion?
Even if I do accept your offer and join your organisation like I once joined the church, my ultimate goal is the annihilation of the demon race.
I won't feel comfortable serving you if in the end our goals don't align " DarkSorrow said as he looked towards Max for his reply
" I'll annihilate the demon's as soon as I'm strong enough.
Although it seems like a joke for someone to hope to become as strong as the devil, but I have faith in my own abilities that I'll get there.
Once I become tier8 and ascend the throne as the Vampire King, I'll turn the entire monarchy against the demon's of the dark faction.
The goal being the death of Lucifer " Max replied honestly as he did not mislead DarkSorrow about his ambition.
DarkSorrow chuckled as he heard this, being a tier5 warrior he understood the wide chasm that separated one from tier5 to tier6, a chasm that he needed to prepare for at least a decade to attempt to cross.
If just ascending to Godhood was so hard, the subsequent power ups were sure to be even more ridiculous as the exp requirement to ascend each level aside, the actual tier promotion test was sure to be something that only a handful could ever pass.
In this universe there were trillions of life forms, yet only a few thousand god's and only about two dozen individuals to reach the realm of the monarch.
It was true that only a monarch could take on Lucifer the devil, however, the path to reaching tier8 was full of perils and uncertainty.
The promise that the vampire lord had given him was very shaky and might never come to fruition, however it was true and without deceit.
" I'll accept your offer Lord Ravan, however, I'll do it only if you can defeat me in one on one combat.
I know my own potential, I'll be a god, but probably that is where my journey ends.
Show me that you have what it takes to be a Monarch and I will follow you" DarkSorrow said as all of his mercenary brethren sucked in a breath of cold air.
Their leader had made an abrupt decision to jump ship, their ambitions to hunt demons till the end of time seemed to have been cut short.
" But sorrow, what about our dreams? " One of the mercenary asked
" What dreams? My dream is to kill Lucifer, we won't be able to do it without an army.
I'm proud to serve with you guys in this mercenary group, however, against a demon army how much difference can our ragtag group really make?
The best we can do is fight on such lawless dark faction planets and eliminate the local demon hoodlums.
I need something more meaningful…. I'm sorry " DarkSorrow said as he expressed his piece of mind.
His brethren felt betrayed by his decision, but they also understood his conviction.
His hatred for Lucifer was the strongest amongst them all and anyone could tell with their eyes closed that teaming up with Ravan was the better way to get to Lucifer rather than fighting in a small group like this alone.
Standing up, Max brought out his bone staff as he swished it and pointed it at DarkSorrow as he said " I'll fight you, but just know that it's a tier4 fighting against a tier5 "
DarkSorrow could not believe his ears when he heard Ravan say that he was tier4.
The two had fought shoulder to shoulder just moments ago, and whether in speed or power the two were not much different at all.
" Is he really tier4? " DarkSorrow asked Sebastian for confirmation as the dwarf nodded with a smile.
It was only now that DarkSorrow truly understood the monster he was facing in battle.
" I guess then I'll go easy on you… " He said with a smile as he charged towards Max.
[ Fireblast ]
Max started with fireblast as he wished to slow down the rapidly charging enemy's rhythm, however DarkSorrow seemed to have anticipated this move as he did a frontflip over the attack and continued to charge towards Max without losing a beat.
[ Paladin's Slice ]
DarkSorrow unleashed a sword slice towards Max, while also bursting with speed and following closely behind the sword qi blast he had just created.
Max analysed the attack pattern quickly and saw the genius of DarkSorrow's attack pattern.
Even if Max blocked the first sword slash aimed for his neck, he would have to raise one or both of his hands to block the attack, which would leave a section of his body undefended against the follow up attack by DarkSorrow who was coming hot on the tail of the slash.
If he tried to dodge the attack by bending down or jumping to the side, DarkSorrow would immediately capitalise on the opening and send another attack towards him in a position where he would be unable to either block or dodge.
The masterfully crafted attack sequence seemed like a sure-fire checkmate, however, Max was not the average fighter!
[ Firewall ]
Max created a tall firewall between himself and DarkSorrow as he momentarily cut off the vision of DarkSorrow.
Naturally his sword strike sliced through the firewall like butter, since the attack power of the move was much stronger than the tier1 defensive spell, however, Max had already taken advantage of the shroud of vision loss and dodged the attack without giving DarkSorrow the chance to counterattack while he was moving.
By the time DarkSorrow relocated him, Max was ready to blast him with an [ Inferno ] spell which hit him right at the chest.
*Boom*
-12,700
Max's attack hit sorrow straight on the chest and the impact caused him to break three tree branches before crashing against a trunk.
A trickle of blood dripped from his lips as he smiled and looked at the man who inflicted these wounds on him.
Although his HP bar was still mostly intact and this fight was a long way from its conclusion were it a life and death battle, this small exchange was enough for DarkSorrow to understand the combat genius that Max truly was.
Getting to his feet, DarkSorrow bowed deeply and dropped to one knee as he said " Happy to be at your service, Lord Ravan"
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/// A/N - Chapter 2/30, let's go! ///