The Demon Monarch System

Chapter 554: Astarat's War: Humans v. Terrors (VII)

Astarat's War: Humans v. Terrors (VII)

Now that Brukti stimulated the second activation of the Death Command, he could essentially merge with other Terrors of his choosing to advance his power as a Disaster. As mentioned before, this ability also meant that he exhausted Death Essence at an absurd rate in exchange for unprecedented raw power.

Nevertheless, the trade-off was more than worth it as he absorbed enough power to catapult himself to the next stage in the Disaster realm, hence, why both Soren and Solomon failed to react in time. If either of them had to guess, the current Brukti was somewhere between the middle levels of the Saint power level, whereas Solomon and Soren were in the earlier levels.

Soren and Solomon would be at a disadvantage at their base level. Of course, they weren't alone. After realizing they were at a disadvantage, Valerie performed a set of hand seals. Her unique milky aura appeared behind the two and placed her hands behind their backs.

Strength flowed into Soren and Solomon's body, invigorating their vessels. There was a faint reaction at a deeper level, but it was within the limits of their vessels, and the empowerment didn't come with any detrimental effects. It was similar to the principle of tapping into hidden potential in the body.

Both Solomon and Soren looked at each other before slowly looking towards Brukti.

"Are you ready? We need to do this together."

"I'm ready. However, I'll be the one taking the lead whether you like it or not," Soren asserted. It was already embarrassing enough that he needed to team up with Solomon at all to overcome an opponent.

An instant later, the same symbols appeared down Soren's cheeks as he stimulated his Spiritualization once again. The presence of the Soul Embers returned, presenting the torrential blue aura from earlier.

Meanwhile, as Solomon activated his Spiritualization, his eyes lost their color, becoming completely white. At the same time, his expression became tranquil while his hands became as dark as the night sky. It was quite an odd sight because from his wrist up, the color of his skin was left unchanged.

"Ahahaha! Trivial actions! I will remain superior no matter what you do!" Brukti roared. His hand morphed again, taking on the form of two axes as he rushed towards the duo at a speed that defied common sense. Even Valerie struggled with following his movements as Brukti seemed like a blur in her eyes.

Fortunately, Solomon and Soren didn't experience this issue. Unlike the last attack, both Soren and Solomon responded in time. Solomon deflected the attack aimed at him by shifting the blow away from his body with fluid actions. The unabated flow of his movement resembled water flowing down a snaking stream.

On the other hand, Soren performed a back step and stabbed the ax sideways, forcing the weapon to the ground with a huge explosion. As both sides wielded frightening power, the effects of their attacks were genuinely devastating!

Bang! Bang! Bang! BOOM! BOOM!

As Brukti continued his exchanges with the Spiritualized Solomon and Soren, constant explosions and tremors were felt around the battlefield. However, Solomon stressed the need to extend the fight as long as possible, limiting their exchanges to physical attacks.

"Even if you're tempted to, don't use any of your big moves just yet. After all, this guy has yet to pull anything big out of his arsenal," Solomon said. He stood beside Soren as Brukti savagely rushed towards them once more.

Soren grunted while sparing Solomon a sidelong glance."I'm aware. You don't need to walk me through battle as if I'm some sort of child. I have more than enough battle experience to understand what needs to happen."

Solomon only gave a faint smile in response as he followed Soren's lead, matching his momentum. Unlike Brukti, they possessed the upper hand in numbers. Whereas Brukti was limited to his two hands and feet, Solomon and Soren had both four hands and four feet to work with.

Bang!

Solomon and Soren's combined attack sent Brukti flying backward but not as far as they hoped. Brukti destroyed the momentum coming to an immediate halt. "The fact you can only attack me together shows your insecurity towards your own strength. Alone you aren't strong enough."

"Save your words. They mean nothing now that you've declared war. We'll use any tactic necessary to ensure victory," Solomon said, ignoring Brukti's goading words. He understood that Brukti was trying to goad them into acting individually. However, why would they make such a foolish decision?

It wasn't happening.

Since his attempt was unsuccessful, Brukti resorted to what he knew best, absolute decimation. Brukti manifested a vast amount of Death Essence, which turned into a tidal wave of power as Brukti smashed his fist downward.

The ground beneath Solomon and Soren's feet caved in as they received the attack in unison. If any of the others soldiers witnessed this sight, they'd be left wordless. The aftershocks of the attacks decimated every area this fight touched.

Now that Brukti had made a big move, Solomon and Soren reciprocated. A terrifyingly sharp aura appeared around Soren as his Soul Embers transformed into a massive spear image. There was an unusual pressure within the aura that touched upon a mystifying power.

As for what that pressure what, it was Soren's unique Spear Intent birthed from his extensive experience with this weapon. Since it was his most beloved weapon, it was only fitting that his Spear Intent reached a baffling purity.

The spear image and tidal wave of power met, with the spear trying its all to pierce through. At first, it seemed as if both sides were equally powerful, but then a change occurred, headed by Solomon's actions. Two large hands formed by dark energy grabbed the spear image, adding the slight advantage needed to pierce through the tidal wave.

However, before the spear could hit Brukti directly, his hands morphed into two shields that protected his body from direct impact. The explosive noise eclipsed all other battlefield sounds, almost causing a considerable disturbance.

Sadly, the situation on the battlefield wasn't leisure enough to warrant misplaced attention. Everyone engaged in battle paid full attention to their opponent lest they received a fatal injury.

Brukti emerged relatively unscathed despite the large attack as he lowered the two shields. In exchange, Solomon and Soren panted as their first significant move resulted in a substantial blow to their Spiritual Reserves.

"We need to force him to employ an even larger move. Any ideas?" Solomon asked while gradually regaining control of his breathing. His panting subsided, and he stood erect once more.

"Of course. It's just a matter of whether or not you'll like what I have to say," Soren replied.

Solomon's expression was conflicted at first because Soren's suggestion typically bordered on the edge of insanity. His high-risk, high reward battle style truly wasn't Solomon's forte. However, Solomon could disregard the fact that this battle bordered on the edge of insane as well.

"Fine, what do you suggest?"

"Push ourselves past exhaustion. Fight him until neither side can continue. Once that happens, we can just substitute ourselves," Soren said.

As Solomon expected, Soren's suggestion was truthfully insane. It was dangerous to exhaust themselves without understanding the limits of Brukti's endurance. How long could he last? And would they drain themselves before reducing him to the same state?

These questions made it difficult for Solomon to agree. Moreover, he didn't quite understand what Soren meant by a substitute.

"You do know there are no substitutions, right? Who do we have on our side that's capable of going up against this monster? Certainly not Sirius. While he is strong, he isn't strong enough," Solomon answered.

"Fool. We'll substitute ourselves with the young Paragons. As long as we make him weak enough we can have them finish off this monster," Soren said with a scoff.

"What?!" Solomon exclaimed. His eyes widened as he couldn't believe his ears. According to his knowledge, the young Paragons were only Zul Lords and Soul Lords. That was far too weak to be effective in this fight. In fact, Solomon was confident that one attack was enough to end them.

However, Solomon understood what Soren implied after giving the matter some thought. "You want them… to use that state, don't you?"

"That's the only way we'll be able to clinch victory. We must make sacrifices. But if they're careful, perhaps we can avoid sacrifices altogether."

"That sounds about right," Solomon muttered in a cryptic tone. Suddenly, his body emitted a strange presence as a symbol appeared on his forehead.