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< Boots of Teleportation >

Cooldown: 00:09:32

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The explosion was so powerful that even the soldiers fighting way off in the distance noticed it, making them wonder what was happening in a place that was devoid of any of their soldiers.

However, since they were currently neck to neck with each other, they pulled their attention back to their enemy and fought with everything they had.

The Ammarian Army didn't know that their General was currently dealing with a threat greater than General Carran at the moment, while the Yelan Soldiers weren't aware that their Trump Card was currently dealing with the greatest threat in the Glouswell Forest.

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At the center of a crater that was hundreds of meters wide, dense white smoke rose towards the sky, blocking anyone from seeing anything past it.

A moment later, the smoke was dispersed and the Ammarian General roared in anger.

The clothes in his body were covered in soot, and he received very minor injuries. However, his mount, the Black Panther, didn't survive Lux's devastating attack.

Although the Black Panther was a peak Rank 5 Field Boss Monster, it wasn't able to survive Lux's devastating attacks that were imbued by the Power of the Abyss. The Touch of the Abyss directly targeted the soul, so even if someone had strong defenses, they wouldn't be able to block it completely.

Even General Revon's wasn't an exception, and he sustained some injuries to his soul. However, that kind of injury wouldn't stop the Ammarian General from killing the Half-Elf who had already broken past his bottom line.

After finally deciding that he would no longer play games with his target, General Revon stomped his right foot on the ground, and was about to run at full speed to where the Half-Elf was when he felt another strong pull coming from behind him.

General Revon growled fiercely before turning his head to look at the person who dared to stop him from killing the person he wanted to kill.

There, he saw Lux's clone sneering at him and making the "come over here" gesture with his hands, making something inside the Ammarian General snap.

"You bastard!" General Revon growled before lunging at the Half-Elf's clone, who was looking at him with disdain.

"Do you think I'll just allow you to kill me so easily?" Lux asked with a sneer. "My life isn't cheap. Even if I am fighting against a Ranker, I will struggle to the bitter end."

"I'll seal your soul and torture you for a hundred years!" General Revon shouted as he swung his sword to end the clone's life. "I will not stop even if you beg me to kill you!"

"Whether you will be able to seal my soul or not is still uncertain," Lux replied. "Don't think too highly of yourself just because you are a Ranker."

Lux's clone then pressed his closed fists together, casting his strongest attack at him.

"Draco Meteor!"

Immediately, giant fireballs descended from the sky and fell toward where the Half-Elf was standing. Any ability that Lux used was empowered by the Touch of the Abyss. No matter how minor it was, any injury to the soul was harder to heal compared to the injuries of the flesh.

The fireballs descended from the sky, creating another round of explosions, but General Revon's furious roar overpowered the noise of the explosions, showing just how much he hated the Half-Elf who kept on delaying his inevitable death by his hands.

Half a minute later, General Revon emerged from the devastated forest and ran towards the red-headed teenager, who had made him suffer more than General Carran whom he had faced repeatedly inside the Glouswell Forest.

He had already noticed that the injuries he received to his body were all minor injuries, and that he didn't even need to bother with them. However, the injuries he received to his soul were something that he couldn't turn a blind eye to, so with this, he planned to capture the Half-Elf and return to his camp to start the recovery of his soul.

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< Cooldown: 00:08:08 >

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Lux, who was inside his hiding place, raised his hand and summoned Pazuzu in front of him.

"Pazuzu, buy as much time as you can," Lux ordered. "I still have one clone to hold him off, and Eiko's two clones are also moving to intercept him. You are my last line of defense. Please, hold him off for as long as you can."

Pazuzu knelt like a knight and pressed his right fist over his chest. "The only time General Revon will be able to get past me is over my dead body, Master. I will do everything in my power to hold him back."

"I know," Lux nodded.

The Half-Elf then stood up and tapped Pazuzu's shoulder, signaling his Fortress Defender to stand up.

After doing that, he walked towards the entrance of the cave and summoned his Dragon Knight, Bedivere.

"Bedivere, help Pazuzu fend off General Revon to the best of your abilities," Lux stated.

"I will, Master," Bedivere replied as he pressed his fist over his chest, while mounted on the back of his wind dragon. "I will fight to the death for your sake."

Lux nodded. "Blackfire, come!"

A moment later, a black coffin appeared behind Lux. Its lid opened, and two black mists surged out from inside it.

Sid and Scarlet stood in front of Lux with different expressions on their faces.

The Dhamphir Assassin knelt and bowed his head with respect, while Scarlet only gave Lux a brief nod of acknowledgement.

"Sid, Scarlet, I call upon you now to protect me," Lux stated. "You are facing a Ranker, so don't hold back and attack with everything you have. I have managed to damage his soul, so he isn't at his peak. If you are lucky, you might be able to give him a scratch. Just make sure that the blades you use are coated with poison."

"Yes, Master," Sid replied.

"If I die from this, you better revive me," Scarlet said through gritted teeth. "I still have many goals in this lifetime, and I want to achieve them all."

Lux glared at the beautiful scarlet-haired Dwarf in annoyance. "I am doing my best to not raise any death flags, yet you casually jinx us. Girl, you need to learn how to choose your words."

Scarlet snorted, but she no longer said anything else. Lux was her Master, so she couldn't be too rude to him, so she decided to just shut up and do what he asked of her.

If Lux died, she would also die. Although dying in the Dungeon wasn't a permanent death, she knew that if she allowed the Half-Elf to die right now, the latter would lose more stats, making his rank regress.

And, if his Rank regressed again, wouldn't that make him weaker?

If Lux was weak, he might accidentally die if he was slapped by a monster while he was exploring Elysium.

If Lux died outside of the Dungeon, she would die for real as well. This was a fact, so no matter what would happen, she would not allow the Half-Elf to die.

His death would also be the end of her ambitions.

"Don't worry," Lux said as if to assure Scarlet. "If you die, I will make sure to revive you, okay?"

Scarlet nodded in relief after hearing Lux's assurance. Unlike Lux's Named Creatures, Sid, Scarlet, and Bedivere couldn't be summoned back to life so easily.

Once they died, the Half-Elf had to use Beast Cores in order to revive them, chipping away at valuable resources, which Lux could use to increase his strength instead.

The Half-Elf then glanced to the North and saw a dust cloud heading in his direction.

"Our guest is finally here," Lux stated. "Make sure to let him know that I am not someone he can kill just because he has the strength to. Let him know that even a rat will bite back once it is cornered."

"""Yes, Master!"""

Pazuzu, Bedivere, Sid, and Scarlet, all went to intercept the Ammarian General who planned to kill their Master.

Now that the Half-Elf's life was on the line, the four of them would do everything in their power to stop the General in his tracks, even if they had to sacrifice their own lives to make it happen.

Lux stared at his subordinates as they faced the enemy Ranker in battle.

He then took out the Dragon Token and held it firmly in his hand.

He didn't really want to use it until it was absolutely necessary. But, he wouldn't be shy when it came to using one of his Trump Cards in order to save his life.

Additionally, the Half-Elf was waiting for something else to happen.

He didn't just randomly decide to come to this cave in order to lure General Revon out to attack him.

If he genuinely wanted to play it safe, he would just have stayed in the Yelan Camp where he was heavily protected.

"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity," Lux said softly as he stared in the direction where the Ammarian Army and Yelan Army were fighting against each other. "Whether you use this opportunity or not is for you to decide."

The Half-Elf stepped back inside the cave and sat in meditation. The seconds that passed felt like days, and the minutes felt like years.

Now that the final minutes of the clock were ticking down, it was only a matter of time before the conclusion to Lux's gamble would come to pass.