"He's probably on the same level as Radahn, a top-tier Demigod, but still far from being a Lord." Nolan's lips curved into a faint smile.
Nolan remained in his most original form, twisting his wrist as he gripped the Promised Claymore in a proper forehand hold.
The Lord of the Night came charging in, the twin swords in his hands flashing with cold light as he rushed straight at Nolan with fierce momentum.
The Lord of the Night thrust out both swords in rapid succession, and Nolan raised his own blade to meet him.
He faced the Lord of the Night's assault head-on. The three greatswords collided, and the sheer force of those heavy strikes could split the earth open without even touching it.
As greatsword met greatsword, lightning and flame tangled together like two raging dragons, twisting and swelling in midair.
The energy they released erupted like a volcano, toppling the city's buildings one after another and leaving ruin after ruin in its wake.
Countless people watched the battle from far away. Blaidd and Eleonora were full of confidence, but the Night Priestesses were clearly beginning to lose theirs.
As they looked at the newly born Lord, worry rose in their hearts.
This Lord had only just stepped onto the path of claiming the throne, yet he had already run into an opponent of terrifying power. They could all feel it. Though the two looked identical, their strength was not equal.
The Lord of the Night had unleashed everything from the very beginning, his twin swords whirling in a storm that seemed to overturn heaven and earth. By contrast, the Lord who had come from the surface looked completely at ease, blocking with one hand as if it took no effort at all.
The entire city became their battlefield. Their figures flashed through every corner as towers and city walls collapsed one after another, sending shattered stone and dust flying into the sky.
Shockwaves from the clashing greatswords swept out in every direction like surging waves, flattening houses and streets alike.
They clashed, then broke apart. It was a pure collision of strength and martial skill. Their figures flickered throughout the city, and this continued for several minutes before finally stopping.
At last, the two collided again atop the city wall. One figure fell, smashing into the ruins below and leaving a huge crater behind, while another identical figure leaped down after him.
Nolan looked at the crater and raised his sword once more. This time, it was no casual gesture. He settled into a proper stance, as though the game was over and he had finally decided to get serious.
To him, everything before this had been no more than a game.
In his body, the beauty of numerical values could be magnified without limit. Even the smallest difference could widen into a chasm on the scale of dimensions.
And the gap between the Lord of the Night and him on the Lord's Way was already so vast it could only be called unreachable.
Unlike other artificial weapons, the Lord of the Night was not dull-witted. It struggled up from the rubble, its body trembling faintly.
It tilted its head with surprising liveliness, as if sensing the threat from its enemy growing stronger and stronger.
That feeling was so real that its body began to shake beyond its control.
Perhaps it was because it had copied Nolan's intuition, or perhaps it was simply the instinct of life itself, but the Lord of the Night suddenly realized that its opponent had become so powerful it no longer knew how to make its next move.
Lightning and flame coiled around Nolan's sword edge, almost identical to the techniques it used, yet they gave off a threat it could not understand.
That threat filled the Lord of the Night with fear unlike anything it had felt before. It could not understand the source of this power, much less judge how to respond to it.
When the distant figure's arm moved slightly, the Lord of the Night's body seemed to be pushed by some invisible force. It instinctively rolled to the side.
All around, there was dead silence. Not the slightest sound could be heard, and there were none of the dazzling sparks one might have imagined.
In that moment of absolute stillness, a crimson-gold light suddenly flashed, then vanished in an instant.
Wherever that light passed, the air seemed scorched into distortion. Even the earth was vaporized in a heartbeat, leaving behind a bottomless sword scar like a wound torn open across the land.
Beside that sword scar, the Lord of the Night crouched, gasping for breath.
"Not a bad reaction. Or maybe it's just a strong will to survive."
Nolan stood not far away, the corners of his mouth lifting into an approving smile.
In a battle of life and death, only the living are victors. Until the final moment, one should never give up hope of survival.
But that still was not enough. Wherever there are victors, there will always be losers. And where there are losers, people die.
Nolan raised his left foot and brought it down hard.
Rumble!!
Golden lightning spread from beneath his foot, the sound like a thousand birds crying at once, chaotic and piercing enough to shatter eardrums.
The ground shook violently with it, while dense arcs of golden lightning wove through the air like a spiderweb.
Nolan vanished from where he stood. Buildings began to sway, countless bricks and stones came crashing down, and this already ruined district finally collapsed completely.
At that moment, the Lord of the Night's body ran at its absolute limit under the scouring lightning, like a computer pushed beyond capacity. Its white dragon scales softened under the heat, as though they were about to melt.
But it could no longer display even greater power the way Nolan could. Just as the knights and Priestesses had thought, it had gone all out from the start, and its ceiling was already plain to see.
The Lord of the Night raised both enormous swords high and swung them forward with all its strength, tracing arcs as beautiful as angel wings.
It was not attacking. It was trying to protect itself inside this storm of lightning.
Nolan stared at that fragile arc of protection. In his eyes, the Lord of the Night's movements were painfully slow.
He could clearly hear the discordant noise coming from the heart the Lord of the Night had imitated. Its heartbeat was too fast. It was the sound of fear.
Nolan did not know why an artificial weapon would be afraid, but at the final instant, he turned aside.
The Lord of the Night's blade scraped against the Lord of Cinder's armor, throwing off a few sparks, but it was only light friction. It did not even leave a scratch.
Nolan gripped the cracked Promised Claymore with both hands. Flames seemed to burn within the blade, causing the entire greatsword to glow with a scorching, dark radiance.
The Promised Claymore came down, but the Lord of the Night's arm and body split apart. Not because Nolan had cut them open, but because it had severed them itself.
In the blink of an eye, the Lord of the Night's body rapidly reassembled.
The Promised Claymore's assault did not stop. Its sword light flashed through the air at terrifying speed, as if space itself were shattering. No one could make out how Nolan was attacking.
Nor did the Lord of the Night simply endure the beating. It swung the two greatswords in its hands with all its strength, cutting into Nolan's dense web of sword light.
The greatswords collided with deafening force, and countless sparks fell like rain. Each spark was a fragment of red-hot metal melted by extreme heat.
The exchange lasted only a brief moment, but the Lord of the Night's imitations of the Promised Claymore and Dark Moon Greatsword were already broken and incomplete. Even its own body had been smashed into a heap of fragments.
The silver fluid quickly gathered together again. The Lord of the Night kept repairing its body and greatswords, only for them to shatter into pieces once more.
Metallic wails echoed through the empty city. The surviving Noxians covered their ears in terror, trying to keep that horrifying sound from reaching their eardrums.
***
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
[email protected]/PinkSnake (50 Chapters Ahead).
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.
***