Chapter 75 At Death's Doors
More than half of the Lesser Demons in the underground arena were defeated quickly with the combined efforts of Liam, Ludwig, and the other Natives.
Everyone contributed in their own way when it came to obliterating the Lesser Demons, and nobody overdid it, well almost nobody. While Kian, Felicia, and Olivia were doing their utmost to make sure that they could defeat as many opponents as possible without endangering their own life, Ludwig was the exact opposite. He didn't worry about the Shedim around him and viciously cut everyone in his way apart.
His fighting style, if one could call it such, purely consisted of destruction. There was no poise, or elegance in his movement. But that was not something Ludwig required to mercilessly butcher hundreds of Shedim in less than half an hour. Most of the opponents Ludwig defeated were Ordinary Shedim and Elite Shedim but that didn't really matter much when it came to demonstrating his dominance over the Lesser Demons.
Liam, on the other hand, focused mostly on increasing his Arcanium while fighting. He tore the Canine Shedim and Mutant Elite Shedim into pieces while making it seem as if it was a mundane task, something that was not worth his time.
As long as he kept the Mutant Elite Shedim and Canine Shedim at bay, he would earn the most Arcanium. The corpses of the Ordinary Shedim and Elite Shedim fetched him more Arcanium than they would bring him for killing them. The opposite was the case when it came to the Mutant Elite Shedim and Canine Shedim. Killing them was worth more than the Arcanium their corpses would fetch.
Furthermore, only he was able to defeat them with great precision. Ludwig was in a Berserk state where he was influenced by the Arcane Power that surged through his cells. Ludwig's Arcane Power intensified the outburst of adrenaline and other hormones as well. This made it more difficult for him to control himself as he continued to pave his way through the masses of opponents.
Liam was still in full control of himself, aiming precisely at the strongest opponents instead of letting rage overtake him. He chose to ignore Ludwig and the challenge the young Native gave him indirectly. There was not really a need for him to lower himself to Ludwig's level.
The Native was getting too arrogant and full of himself. That was clearly visible as he rushed past Felicia, who had been surrounded by more than six Elite Shedim but seemed to be faring decently. A single mistake would still lead to their death but she was faring well enough to defeat the Elite Shedim on her own. Yet, the moment Ludwig shot past her, the Black Steel Halbert nearly did what the Elite Shedim were not capable of; the Halbert's razor-sharp blade nearly cut through Felicia's neck, beheading her in an instant!
If not for Felicia's fast reflexes and the premonition she felt at that moment, her head would be rolling over the ground and her body would become one more addition to the growing piles of corpses that littered the ground.
"Ludwig!!" Olivia shouted out all of a sudden, her voice filled with coldness. It was the first time anyone to see Olivia like this. Her movements accelerated and she rushed over to Felicia, who had lost her balance as Ludwig's sudden attack forced her to evade it in a way she would have never moved under normal circumstances.
Ludwig's attack killed three Elite Mutant Shedim, which had been his targets, in the first place. As for his opinion of Felicia, Ludwig couldn't really care less whether she would turn into Arcanium that filled his balance even more upon kiling her, or if she was alive. If she wanted to survive, Felicia should pay more attention to her surroundings and make sure to avoid the strongest fighters when they saved the day!
There were still three Elite Shedim around Felicia and they pounced at her as she lost her balance. Olivia knew that she would need a few seconds to reach her friend. It would be too late by then. The thought that one of their own comrades would be at fault for their death caused a flame of rage to ignite deep inside Olivia, whose emotions drove her to fight with more precision. Almost every slash initiated by her killed one Lesser Demon in her way.
Hope arose from within her, the hope to be able to save her friend. However, it was just at this moment that Felicia's shrill cry rang out from the surroundings.
One of the Elite Shedim had managed to dig its claws deep inside her shoulder and it was ready to bite off her head. Holding the saber tightly, Felicia continues to scream while using all her might to slash upward. Tears trickled down her cheeks and warm blood oozed out of the wounds but she ignored the pain and focused on the familiar tension of her blade digging deep into the body of her opponent.
The Elite Shedim on top of her froze in its tracks and collapsed dead just seconds later. In these seconds, Felicia was about to take a deep breath that was filled with the sensation of relief when the two other Elite Shedim pushed aside the body of their dying brethren. Her Saber cut into her hand as a result response, rendering her unable to do anything. Big fat drops of tears continued to stream down her cheeks as she expected the worst.
The Elite Shedim leaned forward, their claws digging into her thigh and the other side of the shoulder while their heads lunged forward, their slimy tongues rolling out with the intention to feast on her.
Felicia was overwhelmed with desperation and fear. Her mind went blank when the overwhelming and pungent stench of the Elite Shedims' breath fanned her face. She gasped, making the putrid smell rise from her nostrils and shoot straight to her head. Felicia flinched, and she tried to move desperately to escape the grasp of the terrific Lesser Demons.
However, nothing helped and death seemed imminent. The fangs of the Elite Shedims were only centimeters away from her and to Felicia, it felt like time had slowed down all of a sudden. Everything moved slowed while Felicia witnessed everything clearly as if only her time continue to run normally.
At least that was the case until a blue blade cut through the back of the head of the closest Elite Shedim, only to halt millimeters away from the wide-open eyes of the utterly shocked and desperate girl.
Meanwhile, an emotionless, almost cold voice rang through her ears.
"Looks like you gotta make it."
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