Chapter 316: Chapter 50: I Have All the Time and Energy to Wear You Down

"Hahahaha! Yes, yes, Lord Westheid! This is it! This is our battle, a fight to the death that belongs only to us! Where do others get to interfere?!"

The words had barely left her lips when the Knightess’s deadly, swift figure lunged before Westheid, unleashing a dazzling flurry of sword attacks.

Thrusts, side-slashes, spinning downward chops, the clash of Great Swords... Countless fluid movements were completed in a flash, too fast for the naked eye to follow. Storm-wreathed, pale-blue, illusory afterimages were seared into the retinas of all who watched.

No, these weren’t just afterimages! They were actually moving, delivering weaker, yet still tangible, slashes.

Countless blades of solidified storm scraped against Westheid’s body. They were impossible to dodge; he could only endure them head-on.

But Westheid, struggling to hold his ground amidst the storm of attacks, wasn’t just putting up a brave front to preserve his dignity.

He truly had a path to victory!

Mephit was only holding the statistical advantage thanks to her [Riding God Steel Will]. But no matter how formidable, that power was borrowed. The Celestial Blessing was far from infinite; it was a consumable that would eventually run out.

Westheid’s strength, on the other hand, was entirely his own, earned through hard work! (And working the ’piston’ is still work!) Naturally, he had no such limitation.

So, the plan was simple: stall. Just drag it out. That’s all it would take.

And he couldn’t just stall; he had to make Mephit burn through her Celestial Blessing as quickly as possible.

Westheid’s thoughts raced, and an idea quickly formed. He parried a piercing thrust from Mephit, then leaped back to evade. The moment he swung Shadow-Born, a dazzling, brilliant torrent of energy erupted from its tip.

There was no need to charge. The instant his nigh-inexhaustible Magic Power poured into the weapon, a blinding radiance flashed into existence.

"[Annihilation Light Punishment]!"

It was hard to tell if Mephit was surprised or exultant. Upon seeing Westheid take the initiative with his signature Knight’s Light Cannon, there was only one possible reaction for her—one that any Yonglan Knight would have.

To meet a Light Cannon with a Light Cannon!

Gripping her Two-Handed Greatsword, Mephit slammed it down as well. Two torrents of light, looking as if they were copy-pasted, crashed into each other.

"BOOM BOOM BOOM—"

A deep rumble emanated from where the two Light Cannons met. The snowy plains were completely obliterated by the twin blasts, and the resulting wave of light and heat washed over the entire battlefield before Gale Heart, forcing even the Knights locked in fierce combat to turn their gazes.

The light from the intersecting Light Cannons made the skies above the Yonglan Capital seem dim by comparison. In a span of a few dozen seconds that felt like an eternity, the Light Cannon fired by Westheid finally began to falter, completely overpowered by the one pushing in from the right.

"SSSSSS—"

Engulfed by the [Annihilation Light Punishment], a horrifying sizzling sound came from all over Westheid’s body as he was repeatedly torn apart and healed within the beam.

By the time Mephit’s Light Cannon finally dissipated, Westheid was on one knee, panting heavily.

He hadn’t taken bonus damage from a non-human entity, but the injuries were still far from light. His entire body was drenched in blood. Even though the Severe Injury was instantly mitigated, averting a mortal crisis, the searing, scalding pain still made Westheid’s brow furrow sharply.

’Taking the beam struggle from the left was a miscalculation on my part, but the objective has been achieved.’

[Annihilation Light Punishment] is a Combat Technique that consumes a massive amount of energy. In Mephit’s current Status, her every breath consumed the Blessing; the drain was unavoidable.

At this point, Mephit either hadn’t realized Westheid’s strategy... or she had, and simply didn’t care. Hoisting the Great Sword onto her shoulder, she tapped it lightly with the flat of the blade and said:

"What’s wrong, Duke Qinghui? You look a bit unsteady on your feet. Are you about to collapse?"

Westheid staggered to his feet. He wounded himself with Shadow-Born, using its lifesteal property to recover as he clumsily regained his footing, and said with a grin through gritted teeth:

"Ha, I can do this all day! I’ve got all the time and energy in the world to wear you down!"

"Nothing would make me happier!"

Mephit took a bounding leap, landing before Westheid once again. She raised her Two-Handed Greatsword high overhead as it began to glow.

A point-blank [Annihilation Light Punishment]!

Westheid was overjoyed. Without him even having to provoke her, Mephit had thoughtfully initiated another Light Cannon exchange. He immediately met the Knightess’s beam with his own.

The two once again erupted with shocking speed, darting to the far side of Gale Heart as they clashed. They periodically unleashed short, fierce, point-blank Light Cannons. Taking those solidified torrents to the face required a massive expenditure of Magic Power just to maintain their shields and stay conscious.

This was precisely the greatest drain on her power. Behind Westheid’s seemingly desperate defense, it was all about the details!

"CLANG—"

Once he clearly sensed Mephit’s fatigue, Westheid threw Shadow-Born. It knocked the Silver Sword from the blue-haired girl’s grasp, and the two blades, locked in their own duel, shot off into the city of Gale Heart.

As Legendary Powerhouses, both could control their weapons remotely. But as his signature weapon, Westheid’s command over Shadow-Born was undoubtedly superior. No matter how hard Mephit tried to recall her Silver Sword, Shadow-Born kept it firmly locked down.

Mephit raised an eyebrow and said:

"Hm? Lord Westheid, what’s this? Discarding our weapons? Are you planning to have a primitive brawl with me?"

His response was a straight punch.

"Exactly!"

The blue-haired girl took the blow squarely on her face. She spat out a mouthful of blood and foam, then excitedly swung her own right fist in return.

"Hahaha... Just like a wild beast!" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"This is good, this is good... You enjoy a pure, instinctive battle? So do I!"

Mephit willingly dove into close-quarters combat.

Forcing her to abandon her Silver Sword by giving up Shadow-Born was a huge advantage for Westheid. It was the equivalent of lowering both their damage outputs by a tier. And with the damage of the brawl reduced, Westheid’s advantage in a battle of attrition would be on full display.

You have no idea what it means to be a legendary Durability King!

No matter how many times his bones were shattered, his joints pulverized, his organs ruptured... no matter how many times he was beaten to the ground, covered in his own blood... he could always hang on by a thread with his self-healing and lifesteal abilities, climbing back to his feet again and again to retaliate with even greater ferocity.

Their fight was filled with a sense of extreme, violent beauty, a testament to the most fundamental strength of a living being.

Every punch and kick unleashed a terrifying storm, sending shockwaves surging and churning the air.

To an outsider, it looked as if two supreme beings were battling to the end of the world, powerful enough to grind the very laws of existence to dust.

After Reiya and Mivana had each defeated the remaining Steel Will Guardians, the battlefield before Gale Heart gradually fell silent.

Thus, everyone could now quietly await the outcome of this final battle.

Even if Westheid were to fall, victory would likely still be assured as long as Mivana and Reiya stepped in.

But such a victory would never be enough to win their submission. The proud Yonglan Knights submit only to strength. A king who was publicly thrashed like a dead dog?

Heh. Few would ever acknowledge such a ruler.

"It’s just like my fight with West... No, this is even more brutal."

Mivana shook her head at the sight. "At least when I fought him, it was a back-and-forth exchange. Right now, he’s at a complete disadvantage."

"But West will still win in the end. I’m sure of it,"

Reiya said without a moment’s hesitation.

As if in answer to her faith, after a long and brutal slugfest, Mephit once again knocked Westheid to his knees. But as the Knightess moved to follow up with another combo, her hands were caught in an iron grip.

Westheid slowly raised his head, his dark purple eyes shimmering with a light that trembled with excitement.

"You... you’ve gotten slow."

"Excellent. Now then... it’s my turn to return the favor!"

The tables had turned!

Westheid’s Heartless Iron Hand shot out, clamping directly around Mephit’s throat. His knees bent slightly, and then...

Westheid leaped, dragging her body through the air like a heavy plow carving through untouched earth.

"CRASH—"

He crashed straight into the outer wall of Gale Heart.