Published at 8th of June 2026 6:53 am

Chapter 1788 Brutal Cycle

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Marden moved like a scarlet phantom across the battlefield. Blood surged from the wounds on his body before rapidly condensing into crimson daggers that floated around him. With a series of hand seals, the daggers shot forth at terrifying speed, tearing through the air with piercing shrieks. At the same time, his wounds rapidly healed.

Powerful gusts of wind erupted around Nylian as he swung his hand outward. Blades of compressed air crashed against the incoming blood daggers midair, detonating into storms of crimson mist and spiraling winds.

At the same time, Daniel's figure flickered through the shadows like a ghost. One moment, he was dozens of meters away, and the next…

He emerged directly behind Marden with a sword cloaked in darkness.

Clang!

A blood dagger instantly flew back to intercept the strike, producing sparks and violent shockwaves.

The battlefield trembled beneath the three Magi as the dance of shadow, wind, and blood raged on.

Scarlet blades filled the sky like a bloody rainstorm. Tempestuous winds shredded the earth apart. And shadows twisted and surged across the battlefield like a living tide.

And at the center of it all, the Blood Lord controlled countless crimson projectiles at once, battling two powerful Magi simultaneously without retreating even a single step.

After dozens of brutal exchanges, the two sides finally separated.

On one side, Nylian and Daniel looked utterly grim and weary. There were several wounds on their bodies, and their chests heaved up and down as they took long, ragged breaths.

Although they hated to admit it… Marden was truly a powerful combatant. Moreover, the magic he wielded complemented him greatly. The battle with him was turning out to be more arduous than they had expected.

Since the beginning of the battle, the two of them had sustained heavy injuries and depleted quite a lot of their stamina. As a result, the longer the battle continued, the weaker they became.

Marden, on the other hand, could heal all his injuries with the help of blood magic. It didn't matter if the wounds were minor or severe. He could heal them all. Worse still, it didn't even look like he had broken a sweat yet.

And that was indeed true.

Another application of blood magic that Marden had recently come to learn was the ability to control the blood flowing within his own body.

By accelerating his blood circulation and forcefully increasing the transport of oxygen and nutrients throughout his muscles and organs, he could temporarily enhance his physical capabilities to astonishing levels.

His body became stronger, faster, and much more explosive. Every movement carried great power as the blood within him flowed like a raging river.

The enhancement granted monstrous strength, but the price was equally severe.

The longer Marden maintained it, the more his body destroyed itself from within. But through blood magic, he could also heal the damage internally, forcefully repairing torn muscles, ruptured vessels, and strained organs from the inside.

It was a brutal cycle of destruction and regeneration. Every second felt agonizing, as though the body was continuously tearing itself apart and stitching itself back together at the same time.

Such was the terrible price for wielding such overwhelming power.

To gain monstrous strength, he had to continuously push his body beyond its natural limits, destroying himself from within faster than any normal human could endure. And then, before his body could collapse entirely, he forcibly healed the damage through blood magic, only to destroy himself all over again moments later.

It was a savage and agonizing technique, one that demanded him to suffer every second of its power.

But in the end, it was worth it. Although it still remained to be seen what the long-term effects of such a technique had on his body.

However, worrying about future problems was a luxury at the moment.

Just as the two Ravenfell Magi were having difficulty dealing with him, Marden was also having a tough time getting rid of them. Although they were individually far weaker than him, but shockingly, their teamwork was phenomenal.

But in hindsight, it made perfect sense considering they had both grown up studying the arcane arts under the same teacher.

The constant sounds of battles reverberated around their battlefield. Not for a single moment was there silence. Every Mana Core Magus of the Allied Forces was desperately fighting with their life on the line.

I need to find an opportunity to separate them, Marden thought solemnly, his gaze never once leaving the pair.

Once I've dealt with one of them, the other won't be that difficult to take down.

Suddenly, Marden's pupils dilated as he sensed a great disturbance in the mana. Daniel and Nylian also felt it, and they momentarily froze in shock. In fact, not just them, every Mana Core Magus on this great battlefield felt the disturbance.

And only a split second later, the world was engulfed in a blinding white light. For a while, it felt as though a star had exploded upon the surface of the earth.

At the same time, the opportunity Marden had been waiting for had finally presented itself.

In the next heartbeat, he rapidly weaved hand seals and swiped his fingers upward. The blood — his blood — that he had strategically scattered all across the battlefield suddenly stirred before rising into the air and coalescing into countless small crimson spheres.

And then, right on cue, he detonated every single bloody sphere around his opponents just as the ear-splitting roar of lightning tore through the world.

THUNDER!!!!

When the blinding light finally faded away, Marden's figure shot straight past Daniel and Nylian in a crimson blur.

For a moment, their battlefield fell silent.

And then…

Two lines violently split open across Marden's neck and chest before hot blood burst out from those wounds. He staggered forward, his legs briefly going weak beneath him. But in the end, he gritted his teeth and forcefully straightened himself.

His claws dripped with blood that did not belong to him.

As he turned around, he couldn't help but spit venomously, "Damn you two! To the very end, you make things difficult for me…"

Behind him, blood savagely gushed out of several wounds across Daniel and Nylian's bodies. First came the crimson explosions, and then came Marden's ruthless claw strikes aimed directly at their vitals. The two Magi could not even utter a single word before collapsing face-first onto the ground. More and more blood rapidly pooled beneath them as color drained from their faces.

Meanwhile, while the pair lay at death's door, Marden had already begun healing himself.

He took several deep breaths before finally turning around and slowly walking toward them. At his will, the blood gathered around his hand and condensed into a long, slender blade.

His brown eyes gleamed with ruthlessness, and he coldly muttered:

"Time to end this farce."

***

The battlefield trembled beneath Leland Haynam's fury.

Massive stone pillars erupted from the earth one after another, sealing every possible path of escape as gigantic walls of rock closed from all directions.

The Stone Lord stood at the center of the chaos like an immovable mountain, his hands constantly weaving earth magic capable of reshaping the battlefield itself.

"Corner him!" he roared.

At the same time, the azirai devil unleashed torrents of fire across the shattered land.

Rivers of flames swept through the stone labyrinth while giant Fireballs exploded overhead, turning the battlefield into a blazing inferno. The very air distorted from the heat as fire and earth worked together to trap the Hermit from every direction.

And yet…

They could never catch him.

Every single time the Stone Lord believed he had sealed the Hermit's movements, the old man would somehow appear elsewhere. A Fireball would strike… only to reveal it had merely hit an illusion.

Stone walls would close shut, yet the real Hermit would calmly emerge from another direction moments later. His figure flickered endlessly across the battlefield like a phantom. Sometimes there were two hermits. Sometimes there were five. And sometimes none at all.

Reality itself seemed to bend around the old Magus as illusion magic twisted the senses of everyone present. The cultist and the devil began doubting their own eyes and even their mana perception.

Meanwhile, amidst the raging firestorms and collapsing earth, the Hermit calmly walked through it all with a wooden staff in one hand and a lantern in the other. It was as though the devastating battle around him was nothing more than a mild inconvenience.

But that was what he led his enemies to believe.

Only he knew how difficult it was to continuously sustain illusion magic in order to deceive the Stone Lord and the azirai. Both were expert fighters. A moment of distraction could result in grave consequences.

And so, although he was uncertain about winning the battle against the two, he remained fully confident in holding them back on this battlefield.

After all, he had never once been a Magus who relied on overwhelming, destructive power. He was a man who specialized in confusion, deception, and control.

The longer the battle dragged on, the more dangerous he became. And right now, both the Stone Lord and the azirai devil were gradually being dragged into the rhythm of his illusions.

That was until the balance suddenly broke.

All three Magi abruptly froze when they sensed another presence rapidly approaching their battlefield.

The aura this newcomer radiated was vast, overwhelming, and drenched in bloodlust.

Leland initially grew wary, but the moment he recognized the familiar aura, his lips slowly curled into a triumphant grin.

A few moments later, a gory figure stepped onto the battlefield. The instant the Hermit realized who it was, his expression darkened.

The Blood Lord had arrived.

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