The Epic Tale of Chaos vs Order - Chapter 1581

Chapter 1581: The real enemy (I)
Despite Zafira being little more than a minor hindrance, the crucial moments Cain spent cutting through her gave the Night Prince just enough time to gather his energies and launch a counterattack.

“Soulstorm Obliteration!”

The Night Prince’s roar pierced the chaos. He joined sword and staff at the hilt, aiming them toward Cain. Immediately, a howling hurricane of black starlight infused with nightmare energy tore forward, billowing with overwhelming might.

Cain’s eyes narrowed. He could feel the potent mix of Star Power and Laws thrumming within the swirling gale of darkness, a testament to the Night Prince’s Astral-Essence Dual Cultivation. More striking, the Night Prince seemed to use a technique that fused both paths—something comparable to Cain’s own Shooting Star Dragon Cultivation.

“The Nightmare Kingdom’s background must be even greater than I thought,” Cain mused briefly, though he spared no concentration on idle speculation.

He channeled his own Star Power and Laws into the Shooting Star Dragon Halberd, igniting them with furious flames, and slashed with every ounce of force he had left. A massive arc of searing fire clashed against the oncoming hurricane.

“BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!”

A colossal explosion rocked the battlefield as black starlight collided with Cain’s blazing arc in a dazzling upheaval of heat and darkness. While Cain’s strike was marginally stronger, it wasn’t enough to gain an immediate, decisive edge. A somber look crossed his face.

“He’s more powerful than Karun or Elder Azure,” Cain realized. “And I already burned all the life force and soul force possible for that first attack and spent almost half my energy.”

Though the fight’s difficulty clearly exceeded his initial estimation, Cain refused to back down. Gritting his teeth, he plunged through the lingering waves of fire and darkness and charged at the Night Prince once more, the Shooting Star Dragon Halberd humming with renewed vigor.

By the time Cain emerged from the aftermath of the collision, the Night Prince had increased the distance between them. Despite his Astral Rebirth Path of Power reaching the Divine Transcendence Rank, he was not particularly focused on close combat. As a matter of fact, his most powerful ability only required only a single glance to be devastating.

Cold hatred blazed within the Night Prince’s heart. He summoned his Ego Wave in tandem with his black starlight, intensifying the shadowy vortex encircling his eyes. Within seconds, the swirling blackness transformed, revealing a fragment of a nightmare dimension.

“Eternal Dream Crucible!” The Night Prince shouted, his entire body glowing with life and nightmare energy as if his entire being had transformed into a massive dimension.

The next second, Cain felt a crushing force latch onto his consciousness, striving to rip it from his body and drag it into the Nightmare Dimension. Had he relied solely on raw soul force, Cain would have faced an unwinnable battle, but luckily, he did not have to.

Seeing the lack of resistance from Cain’s soul, a cold, devious smile carved itself onto the Night Prince’s face.

But that smile froze almost instantly.

Countless nanoscopic runes manifested across Cain’s flesh, forging a prison for his own consciousness. The inscriptions glowed as they negated the Night Prince’s strongest ability.

Shock flitted across the Night Prince’s features, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood as backlash tore through his body. Meanwhile, Cain never broke his momentum. He had continued his charge from the very start, and now nothing remained to stand between him and his target.

“Sundering Twilight Fang!” The Shooting Star Dragon Halberd erupted with dark flames bearing the compressed density of Fire Star Power, the destructive potency of the Law of Fire, and the unpredictable edge of the Laws of Space, Shadows, and Time.

A dragon-shaped blade composed of blackened fire tore across the space toward the Night Prince, who was still reeling from his failed Eternal Dream Crucible. With his body and soul in chaos, he found himself unable to summon an adequate defense.

But just as certain death seemed imminent, one of the Night Prince’s rings shattered. From its remnants, a dark mantle spread around him, forming a protective shroud that absorbed the worst of Cain’s strike.

“BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM!”

An explosion of fire and shadow consumed the Night Prince, sending him hurtling through the air like a ragdoll. Yet Cain felt no triumph, for he sensed the blow was far from lethal, thwarted in part by that mysterious mantle.

Though annoyed, Cain was not surprised by the Night Prince’s arsenal of trump cards. Without hesitating, he raced forward, unwilling to give his opponent even a single second to recover.

As the Night Prince clambered off the ground, a large wound in his chest oozing blood, dread flickered in his eyes.

“If not for the Nightmare Mantle, I’d already be dead…”

Before he could fully process that terrifying thought, his instincts screamed. Cain was upon him again, a predator closing in for the kill. Terror ignited a frenzy in the Night Prince’s heart, driving him to burn his own life and soul force. Gritting his teeth, he once more raised his sword and staff.

“Nightmare Realm’s Summon!”

A torrent of darkness spewed from the conjoined weapons, molding itself into hundreds of monstrous creatures. Each was a nightmarish abomination, claws dripping with ephemeral shadow, eyes burning with savage glee.

Had he chosen a direct clash, Cain might have simply torn through the wave of friends, counting on his herculean physique to withstand their claws and fangs. Instead, he took in a deep breath, and his Royal Supernova Space-Time Eye blazed with radiant light. In a single heartbeat, he activated one of the highest-level movement abilities of the Shooting Star Dragon Cultivation Technique.

The Night Prince watched the legion of nightmares race forward, fully expecting to witness Cain’s form ravaged by their attacks. Hatred and anticipation danced in his gaze. Yet in the blink of an eye, the young man’s figure simply vanished, leaving the monstrous horde striking at empty air.

A moment later, the Night Prince felt a ghostly chill along his spine.

Something had emerged from his very shadow.