The Viscount didn’t dare to be careless in the slightest. Even though Kolke seemed evenly matched with him in terms of raw strength on the surface, there was something mysterious and hard to read about this guy that made him feel like he had to give it everything he had.
So, he placed both hands steadily on the longsword that had been by his side for so many years, closed his eyes just a little, took a deep breath, and began focusing all of the “aura” within his body.
As the “aura” kept flowing and gathering inside him, his arms became wrapped in an invisible light. In an instant, they turned incredibly bright, giving off a sharp, chilling sensation.
Kolke watched this Viscount, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, with a lot of interest. The corners of his mouth curled up just slightly into a playful, amused smile.
Even though the “aura” inside Kolke stirred a little, like a tiny ripple spreading across a calm lake, he didn’t seem to plan on taking a defensive stance at all. He just stood there quietly, his eyes showing both a sense of disdain for the Viscount and a calm confidence toward whatever attack was coming.
The “aura” inside the Viscount burst forth like a flood from a broken dam, rushing along his arms and into the longsword at his waist.
In that very moment, the longsword let out a low, humming vibration. The Viscount kicked off the ground hard, and his body shot toward Kolke as fast as an arrow released from a bowstring. He raised his longsword high, and with a sharp, whistling wind, he swung it down toward Kolke’s neck.
The movement was incredibly fast. Wherever the blade passed, it left a faint, barely visible cut in the air.
“Did I get him?”
A flash of excitement went through the Viscount’s heart. He could almost already see the scene of his blade slicing through Kolke’s neck, with blood gushing out.
But just as he was about to succeed, it was as if time itself had frozen solid.
To his horror, the Viscount realized that his blade had stopped just a few millimeters away from Kolke’s neck. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t move it forward even a tiny bit.
“How is this even possible?!”
The Viscount’s eyes widened in utter disbelief. Beads of cold sweat started forming on his forehead.
“Nothing’s impossible. Even if you gave it everything you’ve got, you still couldn’t hurt me.”
Kolke gave a dismissive, smug smile. His voice was so calm, like he was just stating something completely ordinary.
The Viscount refused to accept that. He clenched his jaw tight, veins bulging on his face, and gathered every ounce of strength he had, trying to break through that seemingly invisible wall.
With a loud yell, the flow of his “aura” suddenly sped up, crashing against the invisible barrier like raging waves. At the same time, he twisted his wrist, and the longsword began vibrating at a strange frequency, letting out a sharp screech as it tried to find a gap from different angles.
Kolke saw how desperately the Viscount was fighting, yet he still kept that same casual, unbothered look on his face.
He shifted his body slightly to the side, effortlessly dodging the vibrating attacks of the Viscount’s longsword. Then he stomped down hard. The “aura” traveled from the soles of Kolke’s feet up into his palms. He reached out two fingers, wrapped in a dull yellow “aura,” and easily pinched the blade of the Viscount’s longsword.
“Is this really all you’ve got?”
Kolke’s lips curled upward as he applied a little more pressure with his fingers. The mocking look on his face was impossible to hide. The Viscount felt a huge force travel through the blade, making his entire arm go numb. He almost lost his grip on the sword.
“If this is it… if you’re really the strongest among the rebels in Mobis City, then you should be congratulating me. Because Mobis City is about to return to my embrace.”
The Viscount’s heart tightened. He knew he couldn’t just keep taking hits like this.
So he quickly let go of the longsword with his right hand, dodged to the left, and at the same time, pulled a short dagger from his waist with his left hand, stabbing it toward Kolke’s abdomen.
But Kolke seemed to have anticipated it. He leaned his body back slightly and easily avoided the dagger strike.
Then, with a swift turn, he kicked hard toward the Viscount’s stomach.
The Viscount felt the gust of wind coming right at him and thought, Oh no. He hurriedly threw himself backward, trying to dodge the kick. But because they were so close, Kolke’s toes still grazed his left side. His body stumbled, and he almost fell flat on the ground.
Over on the sidelines, Renith had been quietly watching for a while, and even she was a little surprised.
She watched with her own eyes as, even though Kolke kept taking hit after hit from the Viscount, the “aura” inside him didn’t weaken at all. Instead, it grew even denser. Some of it had even started condensing into liquid form, flowing slowly through his meridians.
That massive, overwhelming “aura” churned and surged inside Kolke like wild, crashing waves.
Renith knew things were going bad. She could sense, very clearly, that Kolke had unknowingly crossed right past the Viscount’s level and had become a Count!
And on top of that, there was that power they’d tentatively defined as coming from a “divine blessing.” Didn’t that mean he could grow even stronger?
Renith couldn’t help but think: if he could keep getting stronger, wouldn’t he eventually become just like a real Marquis? And with her current strength, unless she went all out, taking down a Marquis would probably be next to impossible.
“We can’t keep fighting like this.”
Renith furrowed her brows deeply and started planning in her head.
If Kolke really did have the ability to grow stronger the longer he fought, then if this battle continued, there probably wouldn’t be anyone left in Mobis City who could stop him.
But… what if his “divine blessing” worked differently?
Suddenly, something She Quan had once said flashed through Renith’s mind. Kolke was called Kolke the “Blind Believer.”
So then… wouldn’t his “divine blessing” have something to do with faith?
She thought back to what Kolke had said earlier:
“Nothing’s impossible. Even if you gave it everything you’ve got, you still couldn’t hurt me.”
Right after that, the Viscount launched his attack, and Kolke’s “aura” grew even stronger by another notch. It reached the very peak of what a Viscount could hold, and he successfully broke through to become a Count.
Renith felt more and more certain that her guess might be right.
“If that’s really the case…”
Renith flipped quickly through the codex in her hands:
“Page 24 of the Holy Codex — Fire Magic: Netherflame.”
In an instant, a wave of scorching heat spread through the air. Dark purple flames appeared out of nowhere, like ghosts.
“Page 85 of the Holy Codex — Earth Magic: Earth Prison.”
As Renith finished chanting, the ground began to shake violently. Huge chunks of rock rose up from underground, quickly forming a solid cage that trapped both the dark purple flames and Kolke inside.
Renith knew very well in her heart that these two spells definitely wouldn’t be enough to take down a Count. But that wasn’t her goal anyway.
She just wanted to use this time to pull the Viscount back out.
The Viscount understood right away. As soon as he saw Renith make her move, he didn’t hesitate for a second — he just turned and ran as fast as he could.
The moment the Earth Prison formed, Kolke sensed that something was wrong.
This time, he finally couldn’t just sit back and wait anymore.
The scorching Netherflame burned his whole body, making him sting with pain.
The oxygen inside the dark Earth Prison was being consumed rapidly, making it hard for him to breathe.
“I will break free.”
As soon as Kolke said those words, the Earth Prison nearby loosened up just a little. The oxygen that was about to run out got a small, slight replenishment.
Kolke took advantage of this chance. He touched his fingers to the Earth Prison that Renith had created. In an instant, his entire body was covered in a layer of earthy light, as if he had merged completely with the ground beneath him.
Then, he swung his fist and easily broke through Renith’s Earth Prison.
But Renith had no intention of letting Kolke escape that easily. If things went really well, maybe she could even bury him right here in this trap.
With that thought in mind, she flipped open the codex again:
“Page 764 of the Holy Codex — Earth Magic: Swamp Burial.”
Feiluò’s ethereal voice echoed out. As soon as the words faded, the ground beneath Kolke’s feet began collapsing. Within seconds, it turned into a hollow pit, and Kolke fell straight down into the dark abyss.
Then, more and more mud and swamp water poured into the pit where Kolke had fallen. The thick, sticky sludge gave off a sharp, pungent smell, corroding everything it touched.
Kolke grabbed onto the wall of the Earth Prison with one hand. He dug his five fingers hard into the walls on both sides.
Just before the swamp could fully close in around him, he mustered every bit of “aura” in his body and leaped upward.
“Page 105 of the Holy Codex — Water Magic: Binding Knots.”
Renith summoned tentacles made of water, trying to drag Kolke back down into the abyss.
But Kolke, deep inside that pit, had finally had enough. His presence steadily rose, stabilizing only once it reached just below the level of a Marquis.
By now, his muscles had bulged. With a wave of his large hand, the “aura” inside him exploded outward in all directions.
Thanks to that released “aura,” his whole body actually floated just slightly above the ground.
As the “aura” burst outward, everything within a fifty-meter radius centered on Kolke — every visible thing — was reduced to dust and ashes under the force of his release.
Those water tentacles that had been reaching for him evaporated without a trace the moment they touched his “aura.” The only thing left was the swamp still pouring down from above, stubbornly surging toward Kolke.
But by now, Kolke wasn’t afraid of the swamp anymore. He gave it a dismissive glance and shouted out into the empty air around him:
“Even if this swamp has strong killing power, if it can’t bury me, then what’s the point? It’s no better than worthless trash.”
And with that, he leaped high into the air, looking down at everything beneath him.
Kolke wanted to see who exactly had dared to ambush him.
If he hadn’t reacted in time, he might really have been buried alive right there.
“I’ve pretty much figured out Kolke’s strength by now… There’s just one last thing left to check.”
Renith glanced at the exhausted Viscount beside her, then looked up at Kolke hovering in midair with his menacing presence, and made her decision without hesitation.
She tilted her head back and downed a bottle of mana potion in one go. Then, she quickly flipped open the codex:
“Page 853 of the Holy Codex — Holy Light Magic: Pseudo-Divine Arts · Aurora Holy Spear!”
In an instant, a dazzling, radiant holy spear took shape rapidly. Its light was so bright it was almost impossible to look at directly. Of course, Kolke couldn’t possibly miss what Renith was doing. His eyes sharpened, and with a flick of his mind, a sturdy shield appeared in his left palm. Meanwhile, with his right hand, he secretly began gathering “aura” inside his body, causing faint streams of energy to swirl around him.
Renith acted extremely quickly — just a little faster than Kolke, in fact.
The holy spear shot out from the center of the codex like a bolt of lightning, charging straight at Kolke with an unstoppable force.
Seeing this, Kolke hurriedly raised his shield to block. The holy spear and the shield collided in an instant, the two powerful forces locking each other in a standstill right there in midair. The airflow around them was thrown into complete chaos.
As Kolke held off the holy spear, he stole a glance toward the direction from which the spear had come. His heart sank. This is bad.
He made a quick decision. The “aura” he’d been gathering in his right hand was released all at once, like a flood bursting through a dam, and he hurled it straight toward where Renith and the Viscount were standing.
But just then, the holy spear that had been locked in that stalemate suddenly exploded with a deafening BOOM. The massive shockwave sent Kolke flying backward.
A thick cloud of holy light particles scattered everywhere, like a blizzard of snowflakes whipped up by a fierce storm. They left countless tiny wounds all over Kolke’s body, and blood began seeping out slowly.
By the time Kolke finally managed to steady himself and got back to the street where his punch had left a deep handprint in the ground, that place was already completely empty. Renith and the Viscount had vanished without a trace.
“Heh. This time, it’s a draw.”
