Chapter 75 Retreat In Defeat
Chapter 75 Retreat In Defeat
‘How could he be so fast?
‘How could he be so fast?'
Too many emotions – shock, astonishment, nervousness and many others flashed through his mind. But during the short time in which Fang Xingjian had thrust his sword out, Griffin was given no time to process all the emotions he was feeling before throwing out the Reduced Force Field by reflex.
At this most important moment, Griffin performed the most simple and basic life saving technique of every first transitioned Knight.
With Griffin as the center, raging energy shot out in all directions, and circles of ripples seemed to discharge from his body into the air. They were a type of explosive impact waves which formed when the air was pushed out in layers by the Reduced Force Field.
The air currents gushed forth, and Fang Xingjian felt as if the air in the surroundings seemed to suddenly turn very thick as the Reduced Forced Field caged around him. It made him feel as if he had suddenly been teleported deep down in the sea.
However, half of Griffin’s strength was obviously not enough to stop Fang Xingjian’s charge. Fang Xingjian went against the impact of the Reduced Force Field as his longsword inched closer and closer to Griffin.
The time between the explosion of the force field and Fang Xingjian’s sword thrust had been far too short. Just as Griffin’s brain received the signal from his nerves and truly started to feel terror, anxiety and panic, the longsword arrived half an inch away from his forehead.
Finally, under stress from Fang Xingjian’s physical strength, the air pressure in surroundings, and the pressure from Griffin’s force field, the longsword could not handle the impact from the three sources. Just a moment before the sword pierced into Griffin, with a crisp bang it shattered into tens of pieces which shot out in every direction.
Owhhhh!
Griffin wailed loudly. One of his eyeballs had been pierced by the pieces, and blood was gushing out from his eye socket. Frantically, he ran for his life like an injured wild beast.
The speed of Fang Xingjian’s attack had been too fast. Only now did Griffin’s brain finally react to it. His whole mind was filled to the brim with the fear and terror of almost being killed.
Fang Xingjian stood there unmoving, looking coldly at Griffin’s silhouette as the latter frantically made his escape. Fang Xingjian only looked but did not chase him. Once his longsword had shattered, he had lost the effect from the specialty ‘Single Sword World Subjugation’, and his powers had now been reduced to less than half of what they were before.
More importantly, he had seen a streak of ember sparks surging into the skies. He did not know what secret technique the First Prince had performed, but the fire clone had charged through Huang Lin’s and the Headmaster’s trap, had grabbed Griffin and dashed away. In but a moment, the two of them had disappeared.
“Huang Lin, Jackson, I shall remember what happened today. We’ll meet again at the Association’s trial.”
Huang Lin was looking at the First Prince’s disappearing silhouette, his gaze filled with killing intent.
Headmaster Jackson who, at the side, seemed to have gone back to the kind and amiable old grandfather persona, shaking his head while saying, “This fellow’s mastery of the Purgatory Demonic Compendium has improved. To think that a clone alone is able to escape from our joint efforts!”
Huang Lin coldly said, “That isn’t just any clone, but one of the clones from his thirty-two paged Devil's Note. There’s a total of thirty-two pages in the Devil's Note, and each can be used to create an extraordinary clone which would not only have the power to control the person who signs on it, but it would also have 10% of the powers of the First Prince himself.”
“Is it that powerful?” Fang Xingjian’s eyes narrowed as he asked, “What is the First Prince’s second transition job? Is this specialty alone so unbelievably powerful?”
Jackson laughed bitterly and said, “That is one of the secret second transition jobs in the Ancient Path of Hell, Demon Overlord. If he himself were to come today, or send a few more clones together with the people he has a contract with, we would be the ones who’d need to run.”
Huang Lin added, “Xingjian, you’ve always felt that the Empire is the strongest faction in the world. Then do you know that the Empire’s first generation King was the Sovereign of the Ancient Path of Hell back then?
“The Ancient Path of Hell is the faction that the royal family belongs to. They choose the two most outstanding princes from each generation, one to inherit the throne, the other to become the Sovereign of the Ancient Path of Hell, and to pass on the legacy.
“The First Prince is considered the next successor to the throne from this generation. Even with the Empire’s rich resources, it can only nurture one Demon Overlord each generation.
“The Killing technique that he practices – Purgatory Demonic Compendium – is one of the secret legacies of the Ancient Path of Hell, one which harbors the most ancient secrets of Heaven and Earth.”
Fang Xingjian’s eyes gleamed, as if he were secretly contemplating something after hearing Huang Lin’s words.
The Headmaster consoled him, “But, Xingjian. There’s no need for you to worry. There’s still the Royal Knight Association, in charge of all the Knights in the Empire, and George Krieg won’t be able to seize control of everything in the Empire. Moreover, both Huang Lin and myself are have quite the reputation. Since he has failed this time, he won’t have the face to look for you or trouble you personally, at least before the Regional Selection. As for any minor underhanded tricks… We’ll deal with them for you.”
‘So it’s true that there’s a formidable character supporting the Headmaster and teacher as well? That’s right, since they have already become Conferred Knights, how would it be possible for them not have any backing?’ Fang Xingjian sighed to himself and then said, “Then I’ll go for my practice now. I have yet to finish today’s assignments.”
“Mmmm, go ahead.” Huang Lin looked at Fang Xingjian and said, gratified, “I saw your battle with Griffin earlier. Although he isn’t strong in combat, it’s already been many years since he underwent the first transition. Being able to defeat him shows that your progress in this one month is simply amazing.
“With regards to the weapon, there’s no need for you to worry. The Headmaster and I will think of something. You can take your leave first.”
Fang Xingjian nodded and left. He looked at the broken sword in his hand, fully understanding the fact that his powers were now being restricted by the weapons he used. In fact, if not for the fact that the longsword had been unable to withstand his strength and agility, he would have killed Griffin with one sword strike.
Looking at Fang Xingjian’s departing silhouette, Huang Lin coldly said, “Their dog paws have reached out too soon. No matter how fast Xingjian’s progress is, it’s impossible for only us and himself to fend them off. If we’d been just one step too late, and Xingjian had been forced to sign the Devil's Note...”
The Headmaster nodded and let out a sigh, “Then it’s about time for us to contact that person. It’s just that after he returned from his studies abroad, he has been moving around and it’s hard to track his current location. It’ll probably be hard for us to find him within a short timeframe.”
“He isn’t the only one we have to get in contact with,” Huang Lin said. “To think that the Weaponry has also fallen into the First Prince’s grasp... We’ll need to think of another way to get Fang Xingjian a weapon.”
On the other hand, the First Prince’s fire clone had made its escape while carrying Griffin. Within a few minutes’ time, they were already more than ten kilometers away.
The two of them landed with a loud thud on the ground. Griffin covered his eyes, yelling furiously, “That rascal, that rascal! I am going to kill him!”
“Shut up!” the First Prince coldly commanded. Looking at Griffin, who had fallen on the ground, he was starting to feel slightly impatient. The other party was definitely good at forging weapons and Divine Weapons, but in combat he was no more than a huge burden.
The First Prince’s fire clone started contracting, and in a blink of an eye he turned into a one meter tall young kid. He angrily thought to himself, ‘To think that this Huang Lin and Jackson harmed my clone’s vitality this much...
‘Hmm, but that Fang Xingjian’s potential is really not something to be underestimated. To think that he is able to defeat Griffin despite only having transitioned into a Windstorm Sword Hero one month ago! If that’s the case, I definitely cannot let him fall into someone else’s hands.
‘The Weaponry, the Path of Hell, the Imperial Capital and the northern troops all are in urgent need of manpower. However, if Fang Xingjian continues progressing at this rate, he'll become a great threat. I can't leave this be.
‘Such a talent must only be under my control!’
The First Prince’s ember eyes narrowed, shining like two sparkles floating in the air.
At that moment, a silhouette dashed out of the forest. It was Kaunitz, who was avoiding the people from the academy, and who had came to this area to practice his sword techniques. The injuries on his skull had just recovered but he did not dare to show his face in the academy, and so he was training alone in the vicinity.
Earlier, he had seen fiery sparks flying into the sky, so he had rushed over to see what was happening.
Seeing Kaunitz suddenly appear, the embers from the First Prince’s clones jumped ever so slightly as he suddenly broke into laughter.
He recognized the other party, since it was one of the countless candidates whom he was considering to establish a contract with through his Devil’s Note.
“Tresia’s youngster. As long as you’re willing to give up your freedom and sign a contract with me, I’ll grant you an endless amount of power to be able to stamp down on Fang Xingjian.”