Chapter 1095: Section 1096 Barfiment
Not only were Samantha and Kanter facing the terrifying Greater Demon, but a second one had just arrived above the floating ice in the sky.
At that time, Sanders and the Minotaur were still fiercely engaged in battle.
The Minotaur was a battle maniac; many times, it had the opportunity to break away from the melee and attack the floating ice, but it didn’t do so. Instead, it kept chasing Sanders with a barrage of relentless strikes.
Sanders too, had put real effort into the non-stop fight, focused on hindering the Minotaur’s movements.
It was somewhat coincidental that among the current top seven Greater Demons in the Void Tower, the Minotaur’s physical strength was the strongest, yet its spiritual power was the weakest. Although Sanders couldn’t match it in physical combat, he could still engage it for a long time with his Illusion Techniques.
Nevertheless, the Minotaur’s physical might was so extreme that even if it couldn’t break through the illusions, its brute force could overpower finesse. By relying on its terrifying strength and peak vitality, the Minotaur’s attacks often caused spatial energy to become disordered, thus managing to dismantle the Illusion Nodes dependent on the stabilized spatial energy field.
However, as an Illusion Master, if one illusion didn’t work for Sanders, he had a second, and then the Art of Nightmare Illusion to top it off, so despite being an entire rank below, their fight was surprisingly even.
But perhaps only Sanders could achieve such a feat.
Yet, if this draining stalemate continued, as time passed, the Minotaur would eventually shatter all the stable space around it, and Sanders, using up his illusions, would show signs of defeat first.
Facing this situation, Sanders had to consider his next move.
“I’m going to trap it with the Nightmare Realm of the Black Tower,” Sanders finally turned around and said to the people on the floating ice, “With the power I have left now, I can hold it for at least five minutes. I hope everyone can gather their strength and kill it within these five minutes.”
Continuing the standoff wasn’t a good strategy. Sanders decided to use the Nightmare Realm of the Black Tower to trap the Minotaur while the cost was still bearable, with the hope that the combined efforts of everyone could take care of this major problem.
Being able to trap the Minotaur for a full five minutes was indeed a golden opportunity to kill it. Once Sanders finished speaking, Monty immediately nodded in agreement, understanding that decisive action was crucial now, as prolonging the battle only increased the uncertainty.
Monty began to assign personnel, preparing for a decapitation strike against the Minotaur.
However, as well planned as everything was, they didn’t anticipate that, just when Sanders was about to release the Nightmare Realm of the Black Tower, a searing wind accompanied by a screeching sonic boom attacked from Sanders’ side.
Sanders didn’t know what had happened, but his rich experience in battle allowed him to react quickly. Temporarily abandoning the release of the Nightmare Realm, he extended his black staff, tracing a mysterious pattern in the air. Magic power surged from his fingertips, and a spell technique swiftly formed.
The magic power fluctuations of the spell lifted the black and gold cloak on his back, making a fierce sound in the wind.
At the same time, a massive, blood-stained axe, with a piercing scream, targeted Sanders’ neck.
“Watch out for the ambush, Illusion Demon!” the Wizards on the floating ice shouted upon seeing this.
However, by the time they reacted, it was already half a beat too slow. The axe was already too close, leaving almost no room for escape.
Yet in that moment, a horse-shaped Magical Creature, covered in scales and burning with black flames, burst out from within Sanders’ staff, and with a long neigh, it stomped its hooves, immediately conjuring a strange Patterned Magical Energy Array beneath. The fiery horse then turned into a streak of black light, piercing through the void and appearing beside the Minotaur not far away.
As the axe swung wildly toward Sanders’ neck, his eyes grew dim, and he quickly murmured an incantation.
The next second, Sanders’ figure vanished instantly, and in his original place was… the Minotaur!
“Nightmare Substitute!” recognized one of the Wizards, a famed spell technique created by Sanders’ True Knowledge!
Nightmare Substitute was meant to swap coordinates. Though it seemed to be an auxiliary tool, this spell was actually both offensive and defensive; just as now, Sanders had been in a crisis, but with a coordinate swap, not only was he immediately safe, but he also left the Minotaur in the position to be attacked.
It was a double win; the crisis resolved in an instant, and he brought trouble upon the enemy.
And this was just a basic application of Nightmare Substitute. Back when Sanders had to rescue Boku from being surrounded by the Space Rift, Nightmare Substitute had also come in handy.
Ignoring all terrain and danger, even space rifts, Nightmare Substitute could enter them. Thus, as a rescue tool, it was an exceptional spell without equal!
After Sanders was safe, he then had time to take a closer look at the enemy that had launched the ambush against him.
It was a Minotaur Demon, wielding a blood-stained massive axe and possessing an unimaginably robust physique, clad only in a ragged leather skirt, revealing its body covered in black hair and large muscles, with legs of inconceivable girth.
The bull horns on its head were pitch-black, reflecting a sharp glint under the fiery sky.
What was most striking was a stream of filthy, strange black mist behind the Minotaur Demon, within which countless frightened human faces seemed to struggle and morph.
Upon recognizing the assailant, the complexions of not just Sanders, but all the Wizards present darkened.
This Minotaur, which they had previously seen flying out of the Void Tower—its earlier whereabouts unknown to anyone—had now appeared on the battlefield in the sky, launching a sneak attack on Sanders.
Without a doubt, it was a great Demon!
Having already exhausted themselves facing the Minotaur, how could anyone look good with the appearance of this second great Demon?
Their only prayer at the moment was that this great Demon could kill the Minotaur, which had been replaced by a Nightmare Substitute, with a single blow of its axe.
However… that didn’t happen.
Just as the axe was about to strike the Minotaur, an “Huh?” sounded, and the axe froze in place instantly.
Being able to force a stop to the axe’s chopping inertia amid high-speed swinging, demonstrated the fearsome bodily strength of this Minotaur Demon.
Although the Minotaur Demon had realized something was amiss, the illusion-bewildered Minotaur hadn’t caught on to the trick, continuing to unleash its formidable power to shatter the surrounding “Illusionary Realm.” When it sensed a source of heat nearby, it didn’t hesitate to throw a punch.
Despite a faint sensation of familiarity in the scent near its nostrils, the Minotaur caught in the Illusionary Realm considered it another deceptive Illusion Technique employed by Sanders to confuse its senses.
The Minotaur’s punch landed heavily on the Minotaur Demon’s abdomen, with such force that a huge vortex pattern appeared on its belly!
Black blood poured from the Minotaur Demon’s mouth.
With eyes as wide as copper bells in disbelief, it cursed in mid-flight, “Minotaur, what are you doing?!”
The angry cry reached the Minotaur’s ears. The Illusion Technique around it, weakened by the previous display of great strength, broke apart. Only then did it see the Minotaur Demon it had injured.
A flicker of confusion crossed its eyes, “Barfiment? Why are you here? Could it be another Illusion Technique conjured by that damnable human Wizard?”
“My work here is done; I came to help you!” Barfiment, still bleeding from the mouth, retorted with fury.
“It’s not an Illusion?” The Minotaur was evidently confounded by Sanders’ relentless barrage of Illusion Techniques prior to this.
Then, in a deep, hoarse voice from behind, speaking in the standard Demon Language, Sanders said, “Previously, it was indeed no illusion, but, now, this is the Illusion.”
Accompanying a rustling sound, a black light spread out from Sanders at the center, altering the surrounding scenery like ripples on water.
Magic power leaked wildly, and with shifting energy waves, a shadowy vision of a black tower with bats fluttering about and a full moon hanging high appeared behind Sanders.
This was the Black Tower Nightmare Realm! Sanders had spent two hundred years merging three Nightmare Realms into one form!
The expanse of the Black Tower Nightmare Realm was incredibly vast, covering not only the Minotaur, but also the Minotaur Demon Barfiment who had arrived later.
All the Wizards floating on the iceberg found themselves within the Nightmare Realm too, though they were positioned on the outskirts by Sanders while the two most critical enemies were trapped at the core of the Nightmare Realm.
Having encompassed the two great Demons within the Black Tower Nightmare Realm, Sanders’ face suddenly turned pale.
The Black Tower Nightmare Realm was not a great drain on him, but the Minotaur, upon realizing it was trapped again, casually threw a punch at the surrounding space. Almost every punch could shatter the space, dealing significant damage to Sanders.
And with Barfiment added to the mix… Sanders’ expression turned sour, and he instantly flew beside Monty.
“Is this the Black Tower Labyrinth?” Monty’s eyes flashed with confusion. He felt that this Black Tower Labyrinth somehow seemed familiar… like the feeling of the Nightmare Realm?
“Yes, this is the Black Tower Labyrinth,” Sanders briefly touched on the question before continuing, “Although it can temporarily trap them, any destruction they cause here will reflect back on me. I can only hold it for, at most, two minutes… uh…”
As Sanders answered, his mind suddenly blurred, as if he had been stabbed by something.
Bright red blood began to flow from his nose and the corner of his mouth.
As Sanders was injured, the Black Tower Nightmare Realm wobbled unsteadily; clearly, the Minotaur and Barfiment had begun their assault on the Nightmare Realm.
After briefly losing focus, a gloomy look flashed through Sanders’ eyes, and with a thought, new changes arose in the Nightmare Realm.
Within the Black Tower Nightmare Realm, Barfiment now faced a Minotaur Demon identical to himself, standing in front of the black tower with a massive axe raised, roaring at him furiously.
The same went for the Minotaur, which was suspended mid-air against the backdrop of a bright round moon; a Demon, its exact replica, sneered at it with a malevolent grin—