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The black sword, infused with Shadow Energy, pierced through the dense group and aimed directly at Amela.
Each strike was aimed at vital points.
Jin's eyes sparkled amidst the torn and bright cannon shots, indicating one thing:
Jin was truly determined to kill Amela.
Amela startled, and a shiver ran down her spine at the vivid murderous intent that seemed to materialize into something resembling a dark and venomous mass.
Slash...!
Their eyes met, Jin and Amela clashed their weapons, competing with each other's strength.
The aura cannons and Bradamante collided, creating an unpleasant sound of friction.
'It seems he won't lose his sanity like Sister Yona when seeing Shadow Energy. Is it because of the type and size of the chaos or something else?'
The exact reason wasn't clear, but it didn't matter in the heat of battle.
In fact, it would have been more convenient if she had lost her sanity since she hadn't been able to fully utilize her abilities.
Jin pulled back the sword that was in contact with the cannon barrel and tried to swing it again, but he felt something hard entwining with Bradamante.
They were thorns.
They appeared on the cannon out of nowhere, and the cannon looked like a hedgehog.
And the thorns entangled and clung to Bradamante.
There was a moment when he tried to forcefully remove them.
Of course, Amela didn't let it go to waste and detonated a bomb over Jin's head.
It was a bomb she conjured in an instant using the muddy aura.
The explosion seemed capable of bursting eardrums, but it caused no real damage thanks to the runes and Myulta's armor.
Meanwhile, Murakan tried to protect Lata and Faye, but suddenly felt something unknown and dangerous under his feet as he ran.
He quickly moved out of the way.
If he had been a moment slower, he would have suffered significant injuries because explosions were happening beneath his feet.
"How strange. How come the bombs explode under the ground?"
Murakan looked at the strangely excavated ground and clicked his tongue. Valkas had informed him in advance about these attack patterns.
She had a wide variety of tactics.
Bombs exploding from below.
Arrows shot at different intervals.
Various traps and complex devices.
Normally, these kinds of things require preparation and a considerable amount of time, but the unlimited muddy fog made it possible.
Weapons and traps were continuously forming in all directions according to her will.
Bombs, mines, huge pendulums, spiked nets, rapid-fire crossbows, and much more.
If it had been anyone other than Jin and Murakan, maybe a warrior or a magician below 10 stars, they would have been defenseless.
The result would probably have been the same even if an entire order of renowned knights or a magical corps had come.
However, their compatibility was at least unfavorable.
There were no openings, as her curses had no effect on Jin and Murakan, and the weapons and explosives she wielded were suitable for mass destruction but not for piercing the defenses of high-level warriors or magicians.
Of course, she had the infinite power of the muddy aura, so her compatibility didn't seem to matter at all.
Amela was sure she would win as long as the battle continued until one of them perished. Because her opponent would eventually tire.
Swish!
Bradamante traced a sharp arc.
Despite the overwhelming cannonades and traps, Jin kept closing the distance with evasive maneuvers and his Shadow Force armor.
The way he reacts to my attacks is nothing compared to high-level knights I know.
If she had fought without prior preparation and completely exposed, Amela wouldn't have been able to defeat Jin even without her infinite power.
She would be a very difficult opponent if it weren't for her infinite power and high-speed regeneration.
Jin believed in Tess's flames.
The blue flames had already proven their worth when he cut through the Gates of Hell and Zephyrin's subspace.
If this space, acting as the core of the murky aura, was the source of Amela's infinite power, he could deal with that too.
If the situation couldn't be resolved through the pressure of the flames, he would demolish the island entirely.
Or even if he had to destroy the entire archipelago off the face of the earth.
Jin was determined to settle things with Amela.
However, there was something strange.
Why is she fighting so recklessly?
Jin wondered.
Amela kept dodging or blocking Jin's attacks as if she didn't have the ability of rapid regeneration.
Given the level of rapid regeneration she had demonstrated moments ago, Amela could fully utilize the "give flesh, take bone" strategy.
She could intentionally allow attacks to create an opening, catch the opponent off guard, or occasionally attempt self-destruction.
Jin expected her to fight that way if she had high-speed regeneration.
Instead, she gritted her teeth and hastily dodged the black blades.
Could it be that she couldn't bear the pain, despite the rapid regeneration?
But that didn't explain why she had demonstrated her high-speed regeneration by voluntarily cutting her left wrist.
Could it be...?
Jin squinted his eyes within the Myulta Rune.
He quickly glanced at Murakan and saw bombs and shields constantly forming with the murky aura.
Murakan refrained from recklessly breaking through, fearing that the Proch brothers might get injured...
But Jin could see how the Shadow Energy was breaking through the gaps in the muddy aura.
And every time the Shadow Energy emerged in that way, Jin noticed a slight change in Amela's breathing.
It was as if she was barely suppressing her fear.
She couldn't deceive herself.
Unlike ordinary warriors, fear was an inevitable weakness that couldn't be fooled or hidden when facing someone like Jin.
"Wounds caused by Shadow Energy can't heal, can they, Amela?"
Amela's two eyes widened within the hood of her bushy clothes.
How did he know...?
She was about to shout it out in surprise, but she managed to swallow it the next instant.
Bradamante's fierce thrust hadn't hit her shoulder.
A piece of her shoulder armor fell as leaves and branches shattered around her.
Bright red drops of blood splattered amid all of it.
Amela hadn't reacted correctly to the blow.
However, her shoulder armor was instantly repaired by the mud aura, but Jin hadn't missed the moment just before the leaves and twigs formed.
Her shoulder isn't regenerating.
The fact that the armor on her shoulder regenerated before her actual shoulder was an order of unnatural regeneration.
Therefore, Jin was convinced that his assumption was correct: the chaos energy, or at least part of the chaos abilities that Amela possessed, could be neutralized by Shadow Energy.
"Look at this, the charlatan has fallen silent."
A sharp blue flame swirled over the Shadow Energy surrounding the sword.
"I'll make sure you don't suffer too much."
Shadow Energy and blue flames were growing stronger.
Amela stared fixedly at the sword pointing at her without the slightest tremor, but she had an intuition.
'If this continues, I will definitely die!'
Amela had experienced many battlefields throughout her life.
The Great Mercenary, the embodiment of the battlefield, Gaifa's nightmare, and so on.
The titles that followed her represented the kind of life she lived.
There were intense battles where she felt suffocated, and there were battlefields as comfortable as playgrounds.
She liked war, but she had never felt such an intense threat of death before.
Like many titles, the names Amela acquired didn't represent the depth of her nature.
In other words, the reason she showed little interest in the world despite having lived through many wars, and to top it off, the reason she didn't even know the name of the person who had stirred the world for the past few years, Jin Runcandel.
The Chaos.
Amela had always heard the voice of Chaos resonating within her.
Chaos prevented her from merging with a conventional life and protected her from being too absorbed in the lives of others.
The Proch brothers were exceptions because they had the "scent of Chaos."
No one had taught her what loneliness was in a life of war and death, and it was very hard to find someone strong enough to teach and guide her on the battlefield.
Even if they were to meet, there was no room to form such bonds in a place where people use evil to kill each other.
The power of Chaos had covered many emotions that she should have naturally felt.
In a way, Amela was like a child abandoned alone in her own world.
Thanks to the power of Chaos, she had naturally become a mercenary, but in reality, she wasn't much different from a wild beast.
'I'm scared...! I don't want to die.'
To some, it might seem amusing that Amela wished to live.
After all, she had killed countless people on the battlefield and rarely forgave those who annoyed her.
But was it really the will of a poor newborn abandoned in a well, or was it the will of Chaos?
One thing was certain, no one had guided Amela throughout her life.
Now, Shadow Energy and blue flames were not only emerging but pushing the fire outward.
"Kid! I saved the Snake Eyes brothers, let's destroy him now!"
While Amela was terrified and losing focus, Murakan was able to rescue the Proch Brothers.
There was no need to hold back their power any longer.
"Your lifelong fame won't even come close to being enough compared to this sword."
The blue flames and the force of the shadows, which had spread in all directions, quickly converged toward Jin.
Soon, Jin became the embodiment of the blue flames.
Sarah Runcandel's Secret Sword Technique, Hellfire Flame.
Jin looked at Amela with his fiery eyes.
The blue flames illuminated his face hidden by the bushy hood.
Amela had an incredibly young face, almost too young for someone of the same age as Valkas.
For some reason, Jin felt uncomfortable.
Despite having become accustomed to a world where life and death were constantly at stake.
'What a waste that this wasn't a better encounter.'
Jin cleared his mind and focused on wielding his sword to unleash the blue flames...
But at that precise moment...
[I surrender!]
Suddenly, Amela extended both hands and shouted wildly, shaking her head in the process.
[I surrender! I was wrong, please stop...!]
Even more astonishingly, Amela sat down and frantically shook her head.
What...?
Amela's sudden actions triggered a myriad of thoughts in Jin's mind.
Is it a trap to escape the situation, or is she really surrendering?
Even if it's the latter, is it right to spare her?
Amela has already decided to join Kinzelo, hasn't she?
Jin would face severe injuries if he forcibly stopped the half-unleashed blue flames.
However, Jin made a decision.
He would spare her for now and listen to her.
But he couldn't stop the blue flames.
"Murakan!"
Bradamante was imbued with blue flames rushing towards Amela, and Jin gritted his teeth and called out the name of his Dragon Guardian.
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