Chapter 415 (1/2)

Book 4, Chapter 33 – Adder's Strength

Adder's brass lantern illuely, Cloudhawk could actually feel the photon particles striking his body – not with any weight, of course, for they wouldn't even bother a normal person much less one with Cloudhawk's constitution

What a dirty trick!

The light wasn't intended to harht away that his invisibility had been robbed At first he was a blotch of shadow a on Adder attacked with his crossblade He swung it at his slippery foe, heaving a blast of energy in Cloudhawk's direction

shi+t!

Cloudhawk stumbled out of the way, but in that instant Adder raised his hand and fired another searing bea He was already on his back foot, so he did the only thing he could think of and tried to block the light with his Silver Serpents The force froh to overcome his phase field

Boom!

It struck Cloudhaas flung against a stone pillar hard enough to cause cracks to form all over it

He wiped the blood trickling fro with the surprise So that was the trick, his lantern was a probing relic Much to Cloudhawk's chagrin it'd been able to sniff him out without issue, even easier than Claudia's Seeker's Torque

The invisibility cloak he as a high-grade relic that Claudia's relic was unable to detect Not so for Adder's lantern

He wasn't just invisible, either He was half-phased from reality For all intents and purposes he didn't exist, a fact which should have been him outside the ability of most relics to detect Why was this brass trinket the exception?

Of course the lantern was special The particles of light that it produced were especially large and filled the space This special property interacted differently with Cloudhawk's phase field, which folded space around hih to be visible disturbed by the field, Adder was able to determine where Cloudhaas

He could no longer rely on being unseen, not against Adder

The exiled de at Cloudhaith a pair of cal twice to cover the distance before bringing the crossblade down on Cloudhawk dozens of times with incredible speed

Adder wasn't justHis physical capabilities were no less impressive than Cloudhawk's He was truly a rare caliber of warrior

The holy crossblade was a relic that did day It was exactly opposed to Cloudhawk's phase abilities It could cleave right through his field in a single blow He couldn't just let attacks happen anymore, he would have to actively evade As the dozens of hissing strikes rained upon hiht clashed against the crossblade Deadly as vipers, fast as lightning and strong as a tempest, Cloudhawk's Silver Serpents' slipped from his sleeves

Gold and silver clashed over and over Their contest illuy Columns were cleaved apart, as in their conflict formations thousands of years old were torn asunder

The others watched as they fought this epic battle Wide eyes and gaping mouths abound, they were struck not by flashy moves or technique, but by the sheer force each combatant threw at their foe

Adder, wielding his crossblade, attacked with a straightforward and unadorned style Thrust, hack, parry No flourishes, just sinore Every swing of his arh to chop Cloudhawk in half

By contrast, Cloudhawk's Silver Serpents danced like cunning vipers His style was that he had no style, attacking in a thousand different ways froles It made him difficult to read; sometimes a strike would be slippery as an eel, followed by a thunderous direct blow Cloudhaas inferior to Adder in every sense, and the only way to beat a better opponent was to try and outsmart them

Clang!

One of the serpents knocked aside the crossblade The other swung around to try and exploit the opening

Cloudhaas fighting with all of hisAdder no mercy Like a sudden stor on target But instead of the satisfying squelch of steel of flesh, it felt like he was striking an iron statue

Clang-clang-clang! The cha out with the sound of metal on metal

Adder's ht It was enveloping hi, Cloudhawk's flurry of blows hadn't even left a mark On the contrary, much of the force he threw behind them was reflected back at him

Bringing the crossblade back around, Adder knocked the Silver Serpents away and hacked at his opponent Another si co

It struck, forcing Cloudhawk to stumble backward His cloak was torn froh his ar stench invaded his nostrils, the s

Adder wasn't the sort to ive him prey any mercy, especially when he had theoing in for the killing blow His weapon see Cloudhawk in two

Burning golden light was reflected in Cloudhawk's eyes He had no choice, noas the ti His phase stone shone, the light causing reality to ripple Cloudhawk then blinked out of existence, reappearing a hundred or so meters away