Chương 340: Chapter 313: When Flames Meet the Storm

"Where is my son, human?" Elaria hissed at Thalion like a snake once only twenty meters remained between them. It must have taken all her willpower not to leap from her white steed and attack him outright. Her aura was already spilling loose, winds whipping around her, likely effect of her bloodline. Her hair floated in the current like a banner, and the killing intent radiating from the other elves crashed against Thalion like a tidal wave. He wasn't bothered in the slightest.

These elves had no idea of the carnage that lay beneath his skin, waiting to be unleashed. He was driven to become a god, obstacles simply didn't exist. He had fought Ankhet, whose aura was terrifying beyond reason. These elves were nothing in comparison. He would not, could not be intimidated by the pressure they released.

"He's in the dungeon. Where else would he be?" Thalion replied, his voice cold as ice. He would never show weakness to this elf. They stood on open grassland, with jungle beginning to the right, the long blades of grass bending violently in the growing winds.

"Bring him here immediately, and I will kill you quickly." Elaria's voice dripped venom as her aura flared once again. Did she truly think he would be shaken by her display? Behind him, Thalion saw the worried faces of those on the walls and skyships as the storm of aura on the elves' side intensified. Their combined pressure was immense, far stronger than anything his allies could project. To them, it must have looked as though he was standing at the edge of doom. But they should have known better.

What kind of fool offered a "quick death" as if it were mercy? And what madness made her think he was the weaker one here?

"Too kind. But I'm not interested. And you are the weak one." Thalion's voice rose, infused with mana, echoing with growing force as he loosened the restraints on his own aura. The Sanguis Impera could barely contain itself, hungry to spill outward, ravenous for power. The battlefield shifted instantly. A moment ago, the elves' combined aura had drowned Thalion out entirely, as though he weren't even there. But now crimson flames ignited around him, their aura shoved back with startling ease.

Smoke curled up from scorched grass as his crimson eyes started to glow. The mighty warhorses beneath the elves bucked nervously, some even retreating a step, terrified of the predatory pressure spilling from him. They were far more sensitive to the consuming hunger of the Sanguis Impera than their riders. Thalion's own aura wasn't pure killing intent like the Sanguis Imperas. Instead it carried something else. It radiated his conviction, his unyielding will to push forward no matter the cost.

The elves seemed genuinely shocked by his power, and Thalion seized the moment to twist the blade further.

"You attack my people. You stalk the weak in the forests. What mighty elves you are. Hiding behind your leader. Where is your courage? Where is your discipline? You're nothing but cowards. When I kill your leader, you will end these attacks, and you will return every human immediately, if you want to live." The voice that tore from him was not entirely his own. The hunger of the Sanguis Impera bled into his words, coating them with a sinister edge, dripping with the promise of carnage.

Elaria faltered only for a heartbeat, then her aura surged again in a spike of rage. Her reply came steeped in the arrogant venom Thalion despised so much in elves.

"The Humans are elven property. They are none of your concern. Let's begin. I will carve your face into pieces, and your suffering will stand as a warning to all who dare threaten my family." She slid from her horse, each step forward sharpening her aura until it clashed equally with his. Crimson fire and smoke against howling wind.

"Before we start," Thalion interrupted, his tone mocking, "why don't we leave the spatial rings behind? That way no one can pop one of those cursed escape tokens. I've already failed to kill three cowards because of them." Elaria sneered, her lips curling into a vicious smile.

"There's no need. You won't even have the chance to activate a token before I end you."

"Of course that's what you'd say." Thalion's voice was steel as he stepped back, widening the gap between them.

"Then let's begin." The elf likely had a token hidden in her robe anyway, but it had been worth a try. The elves behind her moved back, creating a wide open space in the middle. Not that it could truly contain either of the combatants. It was nothing but an illusion of fairness, a lie from both sides. Not that Thalion needed interference to win. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Elaria wasted no more time.

She attacked instantly, a white rapier flashing into her hand. The weapon immediately glowed with power, winds spiraling around it. Thalion wasn't the least bit surprised by her speed. He waited a moment, letting her close the distance, before unleashing a Mana Wave, pouring as much power into the skill as possible. Control didn't matter with this skill. It was nothing more than a shockwave, his body the epicenter. The result was almost an explosion, a blast that made a Tsunami Breaker look like a beginner's trick.

The earth itself tore apart, grass ripped away, as the massive blue shockwave burst outward. Thalion caught the brief flash of shock in Elaria's eyes before she stabbed forward, her rapier meeting the attack head-on. The blade must have had abilities similar to the Blade of the Blooded Templar, cutting through the Mana Wave more easily than should have been possible. Thalion suspected her bloodline was also at work. The way the winds wrapped tight around her blade just before she struck made that clear.

In truth, the wind seemed to aid her every movement. Thalion's greed for her bloodline flared hot. The elegance with which she carved a corridor through his massive wave was almost beautiful. But he had expected something like this. His arm was already raised in her direction, and a moment later a roaring jetstream of fire erupted forth. It wasn't as focused as he would have liked, but with that much raw power, precision hardly mattered.

The blast resembled a dragon's breath, two meters wide, streaking toward her in seconds. Elaria reacted instantly, her movements smooth, almost guided by the wind itself, gliding aside to safety. After dodging both attacks, she countered with one of her own. Though still more than ten meters away, she thrust and a blade of wind shot forward, a compressed strike not unlike Thalion's Mana Slash, but in the form of a piercing stab. The attack was too powerful to block.

With all the force focused on the rapier's tip, no mana barrier could hold. Thalion was forced to sidestep hard to avoid it. He had no choice but to go all out. He unleashed the Sanguis Impera. Vines erupted from his body as a crimson jungle bloomed around him, twisted and corrupted by the bloodline's influence. Flowers and trees looked as if they had grown in Chernobyl for centuries. Their trunks bent at unnatural angles, grotesque and warped. Vines lashed out, launching bloodthorns in rapid succession at Elaria.

The Sanguis Impera aimed them with cruel precision which was impressiv given the effect of his bloodline. If she didn't block, the projectiles would strike the elves and horses behind her. Elaria, of course, slipped between the barrage with elegance, as if dancing with the wind. But her evasions spelled carnage for those behind her. Elves fell screaming, pierced through by massive dark-red thorns. These were nothing like the simple bloodthorns Thalion had once wielded as a novice blood mage.

Now they stretched over two meters long, warped by the bloodline, lined with jagged, backward-curving spikes like rows of teeth. Thalion saw one elf struck straight through the chest, ripped from his saddle as easily as a rag doll. Around him, the crimson jungle pressed the attack. Vines lashed like serpents across the scorched earth, others burrowing underground only to strike upward from below. And it wasn't only the Sanguis Impera at work.

Thalion himself conjured bloodspears, hurling them at Elaria as he kept to range. He leapt from vine to vine, sometimes summoning entire rivers of blood beneath his feet, riding them like a wild current through the forest of crimson trees, now towering over forty meters tall. Wind and flame roared around him, his robe snapping in the chaos as though he rode a living storm. Even his blood manipulation surged faster and wilder under the bloodline's influence, the rivers harder to control.

He was forced to ride in wide arcs, avoiding sharp turns that would throw him violently off if his body wasn't perfectly in sync with the flow. Once, he leapt high to avoid one of Elaria's wind blades, which sliced cleanly through the corrupted jungle. She had shifted more toward ranged combat as well, wary of coming too close to the predatory forest. Thalion's focus was absolute, his eyes darting constantly, searching for the smallest weakness to exploit.

Blood manipulation was working pretty well so far, perhaps later he'd test her up close, forging weapons from blood or his mana blade.