Chapter 1095 Umbrella in the Rain <TOC> Chapter 1097 At the Edge of a Lava Pool
Previous page password is bold portion: sW3!wApuG@P
Translator: SumTLMan
Faced with the terrifying Great Demon, it wasn’t merely Samantha and Canter. Atop the skyward floating iceberg, a second Great Demon had made its appearance as well.
At that moment, Sanders and Minotaur were still fiercely embattled.
Minotaur was a combat lunatic. Many times it had the opportunity to break out of their fight and launch an assault on the floating iceberg, yet it refrained from doing so, instead relentlessly pursuing Sanders with a flurry of wild strikes.
Likewise, Sanders had risen to the occasion, putting up a tenacious fight, focusing solely on restraining the movements of Minotaur.
Interestingly enough, of all the currently seated seven Great Demons of the Void Obelisk, Minotaur’ physical strength was the most formidable, yet its mental power was the weakest. Even though Sanders was unable to match him in a head-on physical clash, by utilizing his illusion spells, he could hold his own for an extended period of time.
However, the physical strength of Minotaur was so immense, so zenith reaching, that even if it couldn’t completely shatter illusions, it could still overbearingly disrupt them. Using its terrifying power and a body brimming with vitality, every strike of Minotaur could cause spatial energy to fluctuate, thereby gradually dismantling the illusion nodes attached to the stable spatial barriers.
Yet, Sanders, the grandmaster of illusions, always had another illusion spell up his sleeve. Coupled with his mastery of Nightmare Spells, it resulted in a somewhat evenly matched confrontation despite the difference in their ranks.
In all likelihood, Sanders was the only one who could pull off such a feat.
However, if this seesaw battle continues to drain, as time goes by, Minotaur will eventually shatter all the stable spaces around it, and Sanders, in his constant use of illusion spells, will show signs of defeat first.
Faced with this situation, Sanders must also consider his next move.
“I will trap it with the Dark Tower Nightmare Domain. With the strength I have left now, I can hold him for at least five minutes.” Sanders finally turned around and spoke to the people on the floating ice: “I hope you can gather your strength and eliminate it within these five minutes.”
Dragging on is not a good strategy. Sanders decides to use the Dark Tower Nightmare Domain while his losses are not significant, to trap Minotaur, hoping to combine everyone’s strength to eliminate this major issue.
Being able to trap Minotaur for as long as five minutes is indeed a golden opportunity to kill it. As soon as his words fell, Mengke immediately nodded in agreement. He also understood that now it is crucial to cut the Gordian knot, as the variables in a protracted battle are too many.
Mengke began to allocate personnel, preparing to carry out a decapitation operation on Minotaur.
However, everything imagined was fine, but they did not anticipate that when Sanders was preparing to release the Dark Tower Nightmare Domain, a gust of scorching wind, accompanied by the whistling of the air tearing, attacked from the side of Sanders.
Sanders did not know what had happened, but his rich combat experience allowed him to respond quickly. Temporarily abandoning the release of the Dark Tower Nightmare Domain, at the same time, he stretched out his black wand and drew a mysterious trace in the air. Magic power surged from his fingertips, and a spell was instantly formed.
The magical fluctuation of the spell lifted the black gold cloak behind him, making a loud noise in the wind.
Simultaneously, a bloodstained battle-axe, as sharp as a piercing winter wind, sliced through the air. Its keen, eerie wail filled the atmosphere, its aim pointed unerringly towards the vulnerable neck of Sanders.
“Lord Phantom Master, beware an ambush!” Alarmed by this sight, wizards standing on the floating iceberg cried out in unison.
However, by the time their voices pierced the air, they were already half a beat too slow. The axe was dreadfully near, almost leaving no room for Sanders to dodge.
But at this moment, from Sanders’s staff, sprang a peculiar horse-shaped creature, covered with scales and ablaze with black flames. Its long neighing resounded, its hooves thundered, and a strange rune-shaped spell formation appeared beneath the black horse, which then transformed into a streak of black light that shot through the void and appeared beside Minotaur not far away.
As the ferocious axe hurtled towards Sanders’s neck, his eyes darkened, and a soft murmur slipped from his lips.
In the next moment, Sanders’s figure vanished from sight, and in his place was… Minotaur!
“Nightmare Double!” A wizard recognized this spell, a true knowledge original creation that made Sanders famous!
Nightmare Double, a spell designed to swap coordinates. Though it seemed to be a defensive utility, this spell was a blend of both offense and defense. As was evident now, Sanders was initially in danger. However, through this coordinate swap, he not only instantly escaped danger but also plunged Minotaur into the path of the attack.
Killing two birds with one stone, the crisis was defused instantaneously, and trouble was bestowed upon the enemy.
And this was merely the basic application of Nightmare Double. In the past, when Sanders had to rescue Poku from the confinement of a spatial rift, Nightmare Double proved to be a valuable asset.
The Nightmare Double spell brushes aside any and all topographical hazards and calamities, unfettered even by spatial rifts, permitting entrance into its mysterious confines. Therefore, it stands peerless as a potent aide-de-camp in rescue operations!
Once Sanders was safe and sound, there was finally time to cast a closer eye at the adversary who had launched the surprise attack on him.
The antagonist was another colossal Minotaur, brandishing a blood-stained axe, with a physique of staggering robustness. His waist was only scantily clad in a ragged leather skirt, revealing a muscular body covered in coarse black hair, and his legs were of unimaginable thickness.
This Minotaur’s horns, pitch-black as the night, reflected a sharp, menacing glint under the illumination of the sky’s fire.
Most striking of all was the murky, eerie black aura that wafted behind the Minotaur, within which seemed to be innumerable faces of dread, contorting in constant struggle.
Upon identifying the attacker, a palpable pallor fell across the countenance of not just Sanders, but every wizard present.
They had seen this Minotaur before, launching from the Void Obelisk with their own eyes. However, his whereabouts afterwards had remained a mystery. Now he had turned up on the battlefield in the sky, launching a covert attack on Sanders.
There was no room for doubt — this was a formidable demon!
Their resources had been heavily taxed during their encounter with the other Minotaur. Now, in the face of this second powerful Great Demon, the collective expression of the party was understandably grim.
Their only hope was that the demon’s mighty axe would be the end of the Minotaur, who had been swapped in by the Nightmare Double.
However…that was not to be.
Just as the axe was about to land on Minotaur, a sudden “huh?” echoed through the air, and the descent of the axe was abruptly halted.
In a demonstration of tremendous brute force, Minotaur manages to halt the momentum of a swinging axe mid-air, highlighting the terror-inspiring physical strength it possesses.
Despite the Minotaur’s sense of something wrong, Minotaur, ensnared by an illusion, remains oblivious to the trickery. It continues to dismantle the surrounding “illusionary realm” with immense force. Sensing heat nearby, it throws a punch without hesitation.
Although Minotaur finds the scent tickling its nostrils vaguely familiar, it, being trapped in an illusion, chalks it up to some sort of sensory-dulling illusion woven by Sanders.
Minotaur’s blow lands ruthlessly on the belly of the other Minotaur, with such immense force that a large whirlpool-like mark appears on Minotaur’s abdomen!
Black blood spews out from the Minotaur’s mouth.
Its large, bell-like eyes wide open in disbelief, it bellows furiously as it is thrown off its feet, “Minotaur, what in the Abyss are you doing?!”
The outcry of shock and rage reaches the ears of Minotaur. The illusion around it, shattered by the previous powerful blow, also breaks open. Only then does it see the wounded minotaur it has hurt.
A flicker of confusion crosses its eyes, “Baphomet? Why are you here? Is this another cursed illusion conjured by that human wizard?”
“My task is complete. I came to help you!” Baphomet, blood still dripping from the corner of his mouth, rebukes angrily.
“Is this really not an illusion?” Minotaur, obviously bewildered by the endless illusions previously conjured by Sanders, asks.
At this moment, the grave and raspy voice of Sanders echoed from behind, uttering words in fluent demonic language, “The previous phenomenon was not an illusion, however, what you are witnessing now, this indeed is an illusion.”
With the sibilant sound that followed, a wave of dark radiance radiated from Sanders as the epicenter, altering the surroundings in a way similar to ripples spreading across a tranquil pond.
Magical energy spurted out uncontrolled, with the fluctuating energy waves casting an ominous silhouette of a black tower behind Sanders. Bats took flight, and the full moon hung high in the somber sky.
What stood before them was the Black Tower Nightmare Domain! Sanders had devoted two centuries to integrating three nightmare domains into one singular form!
The scope of the Black Tower Nightmare Domain was exceptionally vast, not only enveloping Minotaur but also the subsequent Baphomet arriving on the scene.
Even all the wizards on the floating iceberg appeared within the nightmare domain at that moment, although they were designated to the outer periphery of the nightmare domain by Sanders. The two most critical adversaries, however, were trapped at the very core of the domain.
Having ensnared the two great demons within the Black Tower Nightmare Domain, Sanders’ complexion turned deathly pale instantaneously.
The Black Tower Nightmare Domain was not particularly draining for him, but as Minotaur discovered he was entrapped once more, it swung a fist casually at the surrounding space. Each of its punches could nearly shatter the space, inflicting substantial damage on Sanders.
Factoring in Baphomet… Sanders’ expression was slightly contorted in discomfort, and he instantly relocated to stand beside Mengke.
“So this is the mysterious Black Tower Nightmare Domain?” A glimmer of puzzlement flashed in Mengke’s eyes, as he couldn’t shake off the feeling that this mysterious Black Tower Nightmare Domain somehow resembled… the sensation of the Nightmare Plane?
“Indeed, this is the Black Tower Nightmare Domain.” Sanders offered a succinct explanation to the question at hand, before continuing, “While it may temporarily restrain them, any havoc they wreak here will recoil upon me. I can only hold out for two minutes at most…”
As Sanders was responding, a mental lapse abruptly struck him, like being impaled by something.
Crimson blood simultaneously seeped from his nostrils and corners of his mouth.
With Sanders’ injury, the Black Tower Nightmare Domain slightly wavered, displaying signs of instability. Clearly, Minotaur and Baphomet had launched their assault against the Nightmare Domain.
Recovering from his stupor, Sanders’ eyes flickered with a shadow of melancholy. As a thought formed in his mind, the nightmare domain experienced a new transformation.
Within the Black Tower Nightmare Domain, Baphomet was currently confronted by a Minotaur demon identical to him. The doppelgänger stood before the black tower, raising its gargantuan axe and bellowing furiously at him.
Minotaur was in a similar predicament. Hovering in mid-air, with a brilliant full moon as the backdrop, a demon exactly mirroring it was bearing a ferocious grin.
Chapter 1095 Umbrella in the Rain <TOC> Chapter 1097 At the Edge of a Lava Pool