Chapter 49: Surrender, Glaimond
“…Perhaps you’re right,” Bai whispered.
Her light purple dress was torn and tattered, revealing the white bandages beneath, stained with faint, blue blood.
Her attacks had only been at mid-Destruction Class level, the strongest barely reaching peak Destruction Class, far from the power of Authority.
However, it had been enough to severely injure Glaimond.
Glaimond, relying heavily on the Authority fragment, had absorbed most of the damage with his enhanced physique. And after his emotional outburst, his attacks had become less focused, less effective.
Although Bai’s injuries were serious, her demonic regeneration was already at work, the wounds closing visibly.
If this continued, Glaimond would lose.
He realized this and knew he had to act quickly.
“I will defeat you. Eventually. One day…” Glaimond chuckled, the image of the calm, indifferent girl before him blurring as memories flashed through his mind.
…
“Stop! Glaimond is defeated. The victor is Xu Bai.”
“What a spectacular fight, though it barely lasted a minute. A pity, a pity…”
“Is General Glaimond truly a Grand Knight? Why is the difference in strength between him and the newly promoted Grand Knight Xu so vast…?”
…
“General Glaimond, regarding the defenses at the Inod front, I expect you to cooperate with Commander Xu.”
“Cooperate?”
“In other words, you will follow his orders.”
“What?! You want me to listen to that brat? He doesn’t even have a proper rank!”
“Rank doesn’t mean everything, General. I’m sure you understand that.”
…
“I regret to inform you, General Glaimond, that Commander Lugner has decided to bestow his position as Legendary Knight upon Commander Xu.”
“Impossible! Why Xu Bai again?! He’s only seventeen…”
“A seventeen-year-old Chief Grand Knight. Precisely. Commander Xu has limitless potential. He is the Empire’s future.”
…
He had lost to him time and time again, yet Xu Bai had never seen him as a rival.
Considering him an equal had been Glaimond’s wishful thinking.
But now, it was over.
A faint smile touched Glaimond’s lips. He raised his left hand with difficulty, a strange light flickering on the ring.
He would detonate the Authority fragment.
It would be destroyed, and he might not survive the resulting surge of power, but it was his only chance.
“Let it all end, along with me…”
—Authority fragment [City Breaker], complete release, Calamity Class level, fueled by his life force.
An immense surge of power, drawing in the surrounding psychic energy, even from beyond Vikarn Port, converged on the Clock Tower’s ruins.
“No, that madman Glaimond is—” Sasha’s eyes widened in alarm as she looked at the dust-filled ruins.
She hadn’t been able to see the fight, nor had she dared approach.
But the signs were clear. Glaimond was making a desperate gamble, detonating the Authority fragment.
It would grant him a temporary surge of power, a Calamity Class level attack, enough to threaten even Bai’s demonic physique.
The civilians and nobles had been evacuated. The observing Demon Hunters, seeing Glaimond’s reckless action, quickly retreated. Only Sasha remained, hesitant.
“Bai…”
Although she hadn’t seen Bai’s techniques, she had a strong suspicion.
[Bloodfire Ascension] wasn’t a common technique, nor was it easily mastered.
“Who were you, in the past…?”
Within the dust-filled ruins of the Clock Tower:
“Hahahaha… is this the power of a Legendary Knight? Incredible!”
Glaimond stood up, laughing, his face covered in blood.
His injuries were completely healed; he had never felt stronger.
Like the last rays of the setting sun, his power flared brightly, a final, desperate blaze.
He looked up, his usual arrogance returning, a smirk on his face.
But then, his expression turned frantic.
“Xu Bai! You should be dead! You can’t be alive!”
“Shatter!”
—Authority: [City Breaker].
A powerful shockwave rippled outwards, the very space around him distorting.
Facing a Calamity Class attack, Bai, already weakened by multiple injuries, was sent flying.
“Xu Bai! I win!” Glaimond roared triumphantly.
He had finally won…
But then, everything froze, as if time itself had stopped.
Glaimond’s triumphant smile froze on his face, his eyes widening in horror.
This… this was…
—Authority: [Time Stop].
Not a true cessation of time, but a freezing of its flow, like pausing a scene, the collapsing Clock Tower suspended mid-fall.
“Surrender, Glaimond.”
A weary sigh echoed through the still air, and a hunched figure appeared before Glaimond.
As Glaimond watched in horror, the old man reached out a trembling hand and removed his ring.
Frozen for a brief moment by [Time Stop], Glaimond couldn’t react, feeling the immense power drain away, replaced by a deeper, more profound fear.
“No… my Authority! My power…”
“I was wrong. I overestimated you, Glaimond.”
The figure sighed again, then, looking towards Sasha, tossed the ring to her. “This is what you wanted, Miss Sasha.”
Sasha caught the ring, her expression complex.
She had anticipated he still had some fight left in him, but she hadn’t expected him to wield such power, even suppressing the release of a similar level of Authority.
The figure was Lugner, frail and weak, his life force fading rapidly.
Leave a Reply