When everyone heard the words that left Aegis' mouth, they were dumbfounded. He wanted three of them to freely hand over their lives? What kind of madness was that?
The atmosphere became heavy as Zi Yi and the others had a darkened expression on their face. As for Izroth, he stood there in a carefree manner, as if he were not bothered by Aegis' words.
At the moment, Izroth perceived that small piece of the Undying Maelstrom to be a more imminent threat than Aegis and his group. There was something that troubled him about it, but he could not quite put his finger on it.
"Funny! Just who is going to make us forfeit our lives?" Guan Yu said in a mocking tone as he pointed his guandao at Aegis.
"See? No one likes you, Aegis. Even some nobody can look down on you! Chichi!" The cloaked figure who stood next to Aegis said.
"Do you remember our agreement, Ruin?" Aegis said as he glanced over at the cloaked figure.
"What are you afraid of? You don't have to remind me, Aegis. I always keep my promises." The one called Ruin said in a serious tone of voice. It was as if a switch flipped somewhere as Ruin gently put the unconscious woman down from over his shoulders. She was standing up, but she still appeared to be fast asleep.
"Humor does not seem to be your strong suit, Aegis. However, on the small off chance that you are being serious then I must ask, do you think of me as someone who can be bullied on a whim? Our last encounter appears to have eluded you." Izroth narrowed his eyes as they swept across Aegis and his group.
Aegis glared at Izroth as he said, "Hmph, you may have earned some of my respect, but you cannot honestly believe such a battle was taken seriously. Since you have earned some of my respect, I'm willing to let you leave here without interfering Izroth. You can even take two of your party members with you. However, three of them must stay behind without question."
Although Aegis gave such an offer, he knew well the answer he would receive in return given Izroth's personality.
"It would appear that words are being wasted. Come, let us see if you have the power to do as you please." Izroth said as he stood tall and took up a simple sword stance. There was nothing special about the sword stance itself, but the amount of pressure he gave off was terrifying.
"I see, that's why you brought her along. I suppose I'll just have to make the most out of what I've been given." Ruin said as his gaze fell upon Guan Yu and the others.
"I will deal with Aegis. You can handle the one called Ruin and the woman should she join the fight." Izroth said. He rarely had a chance to fight against other players and when he did, it would usually end up being a short fight.
The last time they met, Izroth wanted to continue the fight against Aegis, but he escaped using an unknown method. This time, Izroth would not let him escape so easily.
Guan Yu frowned as he said, "There's no need for all of us to fight. I can handle him alone. Besides, what kind of man would I be if I took part in teaming up against others?"
"A smart one." Zi Yi commented.
She then continued, "The members of Heaven's Law should not be underestimated. This is even more so given what's at stake within the Chaotic Dogma Realm. It is not only your own life you have to worry about, but you have to consider the lives of your party members as well."
Guan Yu gripped the guandao within his hand tightly. Indeed, he could not just think about himself in this situation, but he still felt uncomfortable using numbers as an advantage in a fight. He was not afraid of a tough battle.
Aegis unsheathed both swords from his back. Both swords were identical, being crimson red in color with a simple black hilt, a sharp blade that was around 80cm in length, and a faint white aura drifted just above the surface of the swords.
"I figured those would be your words. Then, shall we?" Aegis moved with quickened steps as he dashed towards the left side of the mountain peak.
The mountain peak was flat and quite spacious. Aegis decided to create a bit of distance from the group so that he could fight against Izroth without any restraint.
"Remain vigilant." Izroth reminded them before he took off in the same direction as Aegis.
"Be careful." Luna said softly as she watched Izroth move further and further away. However, she saw that Izroth gave a slight nod in response to her words which made her feel slightly relieved. She knew that Izroth was strong, but for some reason, she could not help but worry.
"Here should be fine." Aegis said as he came to an abrupt stop.
Izroth and Aegis were now around fifty meters away from Luna, Ruin, and the others. There should not be anyone who could interfere with their battle from this distance.
Izroth stopped around ten meters away from Aegis. He observed Aegis' fighting stance and saw that there was no obvious weakness to exploit.
"Out of pure curiosity, I suppose I will ask a question before we start. What is your purpose?" Izroth asked. He knew that Aegis was far from being a fool. However, starting a seemingly pointless fight inside of the Endless Pandemonium Tower did not make any sense.
Of course, there was a chance that Aegis did not want to risk losing or sharing with anyone, but Izroth did not believe that was the case. After crossing paths with Aegis quite a few times, Izroth had a basic understanding of his personality.
Aegis was arrogant, prideful but respectful in his own way to those he considered to be his equal, and he did not go around starting senseless fights with others. Therefore, there was a good possibility that he did so with a purpose.
But, even if he did have a purpose for doing so, Izroth would not just allow three members of his party to experience an existence wipe just to satisfy the needs of others.
"You do not need to concern yourself with my purpose. Just know that no matter what, three of them will have to die. Since you have denied my generous offer, your life is no longer safe as well." Aegis said.
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"Oh? That's quite a bold statement to make." Izroth replied.
At the moment, it may seem that Izroth and Aegis were simply having an idle chat. However, the two of them were having a different kind of battle. Every small shift in their position made the other person react accordingly.
These shifts were extremely hard to determine from those spectating the fight from an outside point of view, but it was as if Izroth and Aegis were reading each other's moves so fast that before either of them could take action, they would be put into a disadvantageous situation.
Right now, it was a battle of wills and their minds.
A few moments later, Izroth made a slight mistake and immediately Aegis kicked off his back foot to close the distance between them. Aegis swung at a diagonal angle, aiming to bring one of his swords down across Izroth's neck and chest area.
However, Izroth feet slid on the ground as he used an incredible set of footwork to adjust his position and evade the attack at the last.
Aegis was surprised, however, before he could follow up with his next attack, he saw a flash headed towards him. This caused him to instantly change to a defensive stance as he parried the incoming blow.
Cling!
Izroth's Blade of Lightning crashed into Aegis' twin swords with a heavy force and caused him to slide back a few meters in the process from the impact of the attack.
Aegis managed to stop himself from sliding back further as he stared at Izroth with his lemniscate eyes. He had been too hasty when he saw that Izroth made a mistake. If he paid closer attention, he may have been able to discover that it was purposely done by Izroth.
'A bit interesting.'
Even though Aegis' attack did not touch his body, Izroth still somehow received damage in the process.
"I've underestimated you again, Izroth. However, you can be certain that it will not happen again." Aegis said in a voice full of confidence. This time, Aegis took on a more aggressive sword stance that focused on offense over defense.
"Will you continue to talk without end, or will you fight?" Izroth said.
Aegis decided not to waste any more words after that statement and dashed forward at an incredible speed. He was many times faster than he was just a few moments ago.
'His agility has shot up a great deal.'
At the moment, Izroth's Flickering Steps was on cooldown after he used it to avoid the attack by that small piece of the Undying Maelstrom. Therefore, Aegis currently the advantage when it came to agility.
Izroth and Aegis were locked in a fierce battle where neither side had a large enough advantage to overcome the other.
However, Aegis' attacks were becoming increasingly more ferocious. This had to do with Izroth maintaining such a carefree expression and attitude during their battle. It was as if there was no pressure on him whatsoever and he was behaving in a casual manner.
For some reason, seeing Izroth's carefree expression during their fight agitated Aegis. He felt as if he were not being taken seriously.
Aegis slid and twisted his left foot in a small yet precise motion as he rotated his body and dropped one of his swords behind his back and spun it mid-rotation. Then, in one motion, Aegis sent out a palm aimed at Izroth's abdomen with his now free hand.
Izroth gathered energy at the tip of his finger at he met Aegis' palm with his Fissuring Point skill.
As soon as Aegis' palm made contact with Izroth's finger, he spun the sword that was still within his other hand and held it with a backward grip as he slashed downward at Izroth from overhead.
However, his attack did not stop there. Almost simultaneously, once the momentum for his sword was built up, Aegis released the hilt of the sword and reached behind his back. He gripped onto the sword that he let go of earlier and used it to swiftly slashed at Izroth from the opposite angle.
In just a single moment, Aegis managed to attack Izroth from three different directions all at once! The power behind the attacks was not weak as they appeared to be fused with a skill.
Izroth saw no escape from all of the attacks. If he tried to dodge all of them, then he would suffer the consequences. However, he still had another move up his sleeve.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Cling!
Aegis' two swords passed right through the spot Izroth just stood. However, the two swords did not strike anything solid, but rather they struck against each other.
A faint shadow sped past Aegis on the ground. However, Aegis found it strange since there was nothing in the sky that would cause such a shadow to be cast. He immediately felt that something was wrong and retreated. But, he was too late.
Izroth left his shadow form from the skill Shadow Movement as an overbearing pressure filled with the surrounding atmosphere. That pressure was being released by his Blade of Lightning that released an aura of destruction where it traveled. It was even more apparent and sharp due to Izroth fusing some of his Essence into the attack.
Aegis eyes widened as he felt the overwhelming force headed straight towards him. "Slow!" The lemniscate within Aegis' eyes had a small wave of energy rotate constantly in an infinite pattern around it. All of a sudden everything around Aegis, including Izroth's incoming attack, appeared to slow down.