The Epic Tale of Chaos vs Order

Chapter 1582: The real enemy (II)

The Night Prince attempted to twist his upper body and bring his sword and staff up in a defensive stance, but he was nowhere near fast enough. Before he could even focus on the emerging figure’s silhouette, a halberd bathed in blazing Star Power and undergirded by powerful Laws crashed viciously into his back.

“BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!”

The impact triggered a colossal explosion that reverberated throughout the battlefield. The halberd’s blow tore through the Night Prince’s dark mantle, ripping flesh from bone and shredding muscle and bones.

The force of the strike flung him across the remains of a shattered stronghold, through boulders and fragments of what used to be towering walls. He tumbled like a rag doll until his battered body finally collided with a broken piece of an energy tower, where he came to a painful stop.

The one who had unleashed that overwhelming strike was none other than Cain. He stood some distance away, halberd still vibrating with the aftershock of the blow.

His breathing was labored, for the technique known as Void Flight—which allowed him to teleport using brief portals of shadow and flame—demanded tremendous reserves of energy. Even the single, furious swing of his Shooting Star Dragon Halberd had cost him a major portion of his remaining strength. Despite the fatigue etched into his features, a smile tugged at his lips as he spotted the crumpled form of the Night Prince in the distance.

Victory.

A tide of satisfaction washed over Cain. Here, at last, he had truly defeated one of the great faction leaders. Overcoming the Night Prince brought a certain exhilaration, but he was not content with mere victory.

He began walking across the charred ruins, stepping over flames and broken stone. His goal was straightforward and ruthless: he intended to search the Night Prince’s soul and devour his Inner World, ensuring that his enemy would never rise again.

The Night Prince was still clinging to life, albeit barely. The damage to his body was so catastrophic that he could do little more than quiver in place. The halberd had severed his spine, rendering any attempt to gather energy or move impossible. Horror was plain in his eyes when he saw Cain’s approach. There was no doubt in the Night Prince’s mind that a gruesome fate lay ahead.

“No…” he rasped, voice nearly lost in the howling wind and crackling flames. “It cannot end like this. I am…the Night Prince…the heir of the Nightmare Kingdom…the future ruler of the Gu Sect…”

Raw desperation infused every syllable. Even though agony wracked his body, and each breath felt like shards of glass slicing his lungs, the Night Prince roared with whatever vestige of strength remained in him. It was the kind of determination that bordered on madness.

Cain’s eyes narrowed. The words did nothing to slow his advance. He flexed his left hand, and the power of the Soul Law flickered to life, swirling around his fingers like spectral wisps.

Despite his condition, the Night Prince’s eyes glowed with a final, fervent will. “I will…not die!”

At the very moment that last word rang out, a stabbing pain erupted in the Night Prince’s chest. He blinked, fear and confusion contorting his features. Looking down, he saw the source: his own Gu Insect—the winged salamander—had jumped from his arm and impaled his heart. The creature’s translucent wings quivered as its fangs tore deeper into his flesh.

Cain momentarily froze at the sight. By all known lore, Gu Insects devoured their hosts only after death. They operated on an animalistic level, with no true cunning or intellect—merely an instinct to consume the deceased vessel.

But the glow that flashed in the salamander’s eyes right before it killed the Night Prince was anything but mindless. Something sentient guided its actions.

‘This is wrong!’ Cain’s instincts screamed. Whatever was happening, it could only mean disaster if he let it continue.

Abandoning his previous plans, Cain mustered every scrap of strength in his exhausted body. The Shooting Star Dragon Halberd gleamed with renewed force as he launched himself forward, ready to obliterate the Night Prince’s body—and seal the Gu Insect.

But before he could land the finishing strike, an immense blast of psychic energy ripped outward from the Night Prince’s heart, slamming into Cain with overwhelming force.

“BOOOOOOM!”

Cain hurtled backward for thousands of meters before he managed to drive the butt of his halberd into the ground, arresting his momentum. Gritting his teeth, he fought to keep from being sent flying even farther. Waves of psychic force continued radiating from the Night Prince’s broken figure, forming a barrier that prevented any approach.

“Damn it!” Cain roared, anger seething in his voice. “At this rate, I can’t even get close enough to destroy the body!”

Before Cain could even figure out how to deal with those waves of psychic force, he saw how the Gu Insect from all the people he had killed before converged upon the Night Prince’s heart, drawn to it by some magnetic pull.

‘I must stop it!’ Cain had no idea what was happening, but there was no way he would allow the Gu Isect to grow stronger.

Without hesitation, Cain poured all his power into the Star Sealing Runic Formation etched into his left forearm.

A faint hum grew into a thunderous note as the power Star Sealing Runic Formation spread out in all directions. Half of the incoming Gu Insects veered off course, caught in the gravitational pull of that radiant cage. Despite the partial success, Cain’s frown deepened. Even with all the energy he channeled into the sealing formation, he could only offset the salamander’s power to an equal degree.

The fact that he could not fully control or contain the swarm revealed how shockingly strong the winged salamander was.

As he sealed more and more Gu Insects within the formation, Cain suddenly felt a malevolent, ancient gaze fix upon him, a presence so vast and vengeful that it made his blood run cold. An image rose unbidden in his mind: primeval shadows swirling in a boundless void, dripping with venomous hatred. It was a presence far beyond normal comprehension, older perhaps than even the Gu Contest.

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