"Sh*t!" one of the Rankres said through gritted teeth as his feet skidded on the ground, trying to fight the strong pull that had taken hold of his body.

Even so, the force was simply too powerful to resist.

With their Main Army erecting barriers to prevent the spread of the Corpse Explosion Skill, no reinforcements would come to save the two of them.

The two Rankers glared angrily at Lux's Fortress Defender and Jade Golem who stood in the distance.

"Damn you!" one of the Rankers shouted as he turned into a fireball and charged in Orion's direction, who had already taken a fighting pose to receive his attack.

The other Ranker did the same, but he headed towards Pazuzu.

After mastering the art of Duel [EX], and dying several times because of it, the Fortress Defender and the Jade Golem had created a strategy that would prevent them from dying, which they had shared with their Master, Lux.

As soon as the two Rankers exchanged blows with the Half-Elf's two Named Creatures, Lux immediately summoned the two of them to his side, preventing them from dying.

Pazuzu and Orion both had the skill, Guts, which prevented them from dying from a single attack.

As soon as their health started to decrease rapidly, the Half-Elf summoned them to his side, and initiated the second part of his plan, which made the two Rankers cough up blood due to how shameless it was.

Lux's two Clones also activated Duel [EX] forcing the two Rankers to charge at them, while they were standing in front of the Yelan Army.

"T-Time out!" one of the Rankers shouted in fear when he saw Great General Watson and General Carran move to intercept the two of them at the same time.

The other Ranker also shouted in desperation, but unlike his comrade, the latter tried to use a life saving artifact that could allow him to escape this deadly clash.

But, before he could activate it, Asmodeus' Death Tyrant, Morpheus, shot a Petrification Ray at the Ranker's hand, turning it to stone.

"Nice one, Morpheus," Lazarus, said as he hovered beside the Death Tyrant who was very pleased with himself.

Both of them were floating Skulls, and the two were like kindred brothers-in-arms who immediately hit it off as soon as they met each other.

Morpheus gave an eerie chuckle, which was enough to give the Vanguard of the Yelan Army goosebumps due to how unworldly its laughter was.

The two Rankers did their best to defend themselves, but since their bodies weren't cooperating with them, Great General Watson's sword and General Carran's spear found their marks.

The Great General managed to cut off one of the Ranker's arms, which was holding his life saving artifact that had turned to stone.

General Carran, on the other hand, managed to stab his spear through the other Ranker's chest, making the latter cough up blood.

What surprised Great General Watson, and General Carran was the fact that after the two received serious injuries, they didn't stop to charge towards the clones of the Half-Elf, who were being protected by two more Rankers, who served as Great General Sherlock's bodyguard.

Two blood curdling screams filled with unwillingness spread along the side of the Yelan Army as the two Rankers were attacked by the powerful fighters of the Yelan Army, who made sure that both of them wouldn't be able to leave alive.

"What a shame," Asmodeus said with a sigh. "Those were two fine specimens. These Yelan punks don't know when to hold back."

The Archlich liked to collect the bodies of strong individuals to experiment on.

Although he could use Animate Undead to turn them into his minions, he wanted to have their bodies intact as much as possible.

Half a minute later, the two Rankers dead bodies, which had been mutilated by their attackers, dropped on the ground.

Asmodeus reluctantly collected their bodies before joining the retreat of the Yalan Army, who had managed to distance themselves from their enemies, who were too anxious to pursue them.

There were still many dead bodies that were blocking their way, and they were afraid that if they went near them, the Half-Elf would detonate them, starting a new wave of terror that already gripped their hearts.

Meanwhile, General Fahad, who had lost nearly five thousand soldiers, also retreated. He did his best to fend off General Herodes' Army for as long as he could, allowing Lux to carry out his plan.

Although he had lost many men, his opponents also suffered the same in order to prevent the Main Army from getting attacked from behind, while they retreated after fending off General Herodes' Army for as long as he could.

Asmodeus' two clones, who were stationed on his side, also used the skill, Corpse Explosion, which killed a quarter of the Ammarian Army, forcing General Herodes to give an order to stop their pursuit of the fleeing Yelanians, who had created a strategy that would grant mutual destruction to both sides.

"What a disgusting strategy." Great General Gideon spat on the ground as he looked at the retreating army in the distance. "Mages, burn those bodies until nothing is left!"

"G-General?" The Commander of the Mages in the Army looked at their Great General in shock. "B-But our soldiers' bodies are mixed up with them. Can we spare them?"

"No," Great General Gideon replied firmly. "It is better that we dispose of them using our own means, than have those bodies explode right under our noses."

"B-But, General" the Commander of the Mages wasn't able to finish his words because his body froze when Great General Gideon's eyes, filled with killing intent, landed on his body.

Great General Gideon narrowed his eyes as he stared down the Commander who dared to oppose his orders.

"Obey your orders, Soldier," Great General Gideon growled in a voice that was as cold as ice. "Or else, I will let your body burn alongside the dead. Do I make myself clear?"

"Y-Yes, General!" The Commander immediately moved into action and ordered his subordinates to set the dead bodies in front of them ablaze, until only ashes were left.

Nero, who watched the battle from start to finish frowned. Although he hadn't joined the battle earlier, he had seen first hand what the Half-Elf was capable of doing.

"What do you think? Will you need help in dealing with that pesky Half-Elf?"

A playful voice reached Nero's ears, and the latter's frown deepened.

"No need," Nero replied. "I can take care of him myself."

"Are you sure about that?" the silver-haired man's voice asked inside Nero's head. "The way I see it, he will give you a lot of trouble in your duel."

"They are just petty tricks," Nero replied. "In the face of absolute strength, all of his schemes are meaningless."

A laugh filled with amusement echoed inside Nero's head for a few seconds before disappearing completely.

For some reason, the brown-haired teenager sensed a faint tone of ridicule in his benefactor's laughter, which made him subconsciously clench his fist because the Half-Elf he wanted to duel with had once again shown that he was someone that shouldn't be underestimated.