Chapter 993 High Horse
Dyon's master watched all of this from beginning to end and she was the only one who understood just how much pressure Dyon was under. She couldn't help but feel her heart bloom with pride.
In order to utilize the silver plaques the way he had been, Dyon was utilizing an aurora stone in secret. However, the ferocity of the flames were taking a massive toll and his body was beginning to break down. To be so calm and calculating while also dealing with a ridiculous amount of pain was enough to stun even her who had long since seen many things in her life.
The only good news was the environment. Although the fog was nothing to Dyon because of The Seal, it still had to be remembered that this very fog was actually a very dense illusion formation. If one lost focus, they would also fall into this illusion.
The reason Dyon was so sure in his plan was because the backlash of having to retract their attacks at the last moment was enough for this fog to begin taking effect. Although Amory, Cullen and Diana were the treasures of the clans and thus had protective measures against this fog that surpassed just their own base tolerance, the Kings wouldn't receive such treatment.
Because of this, the moment they suffered backlash and injury to their meridians, they were immediately bombarded with the effects of the fog, causing their battle power to drastically drop, and thus causing them to be injured by Dyon's sneak attack despite trying to defend.
Dyon knew that with normal means, defeating this group of individuals was impossible with his cultivation sealed. His battle power had taken too much of a hit.
However, Dyon wasn't a person restricted to normal means. Even with his back against the wall, as long as his mind was intact, he always had confidence in his ability to see the path to victory!
The four once again fell into the dregs of battle, each fueled with their own fury. Diana no longer cared about her greed, all she wanted to do was eliminate this threat. With the protection of the tower, it was impossible for her elders to seek revenge for any deaths, so it was up to her to stop them from happening in the first place.
Cullen and Amory were even more fierce with their attacks because only they were truly aware of just how much of a threat Dyon was because only they saw his clash with Anak.
Dyon nimbly dodged saber strikes and rage filled fists, all while paying attention to Diana's occasional arrow. It was clear to anyone watching that he was on his back foot, and his willingness to use his plaques seemed to be dwindling more as time went one.
'He's running out!' The three of them thought at once.
Their attacks increased their ferocity, hoping to force Dyon into using the last of his means. It was no wonder, they all thought, those plaques are too expensive for him to have so much of them. This kind of battle style isn't sustainable. It costs too much.
'Are you ready yet?' Aki communicated silently with Gin who had yet to make a move. He was beginning to feel the strain of locking down space for so long. This wasn't something you could do without large reserves of mental energy, or, celestial level energy or above. Only celestial energy was loved by the heavens enough to allow something like sealing space to be done easily.
'Just about.' Gin replied, his eyes still red from Masako's death.
Dyon's calm had been replaced by a serious expression. Before, only Cullen and Amory had been doing all out, knowing exactly how great Dyon's potential was. But, Diana had held back, still probing the enemy.
Now seeing that Dyon was slowing down his use of the plaques, she too had begun to release more devasting attacks.
"[Amazonian Goddess: Arrows of Truth]!"
Diana's attack strength tripled, tearing through Dyon's defensive arrays with even more ease that Cullen's [Half Moon Slash].
Amory applied pressure of his own. An illusory red-scaled Dragon appeared behind him, boosting the strength behind his attacks.
Seemingly taking a cue, a bow appeared behind Diana just as twin moon sabers appeared at Cullen's back.
The geniuses watching couldn't help but hold their breath. They never saw they'd see the day when three Emperors needed to go all out to beat a single unknown man. If he was one of the well known three Gods of the saint floor, it would make sense. But, this man had come out of nowhere!
The attacks were becoming too much. Dyon's body was slowing down because of the damage the aurora flames were causing, while the defense arrays, even layered by tens and twenties, could no longer withstand the impacts of their strikes.
The worst part was that the only movement technique Dyon knew was a staple technique of the former Celestial Deer Sect. How could he use that out in the open? That was blatantly begging to be exposed.
Dyon's master began to worry, a deep frown taking over her delicate features. "Dyon, I can still attack once, let me help you."
'No!' Dyon roared in his Mind's Eye. 'Let me do this. I won't have you die again because of me. I'll make them suffer at my hands.'
At that moment, just as Dyon was desperately dodging attacks from three sides, Gin finally acted.
Time will was very special. By all rights, it should count as a Supreme Law, yet there were too many restrictions on it. For it to be powerful, one needed adequate legacies and ample time to prepare. Unfortunately, Gin had both of those things.
"Jikan's Legacy, First floor. [Tower of Time]!"
Gin's eyes flashed with a silver-white light as his hands clapped together. The veins on his face bulged as his tail became noticeably paler, losing its healthy sheen.
A black, illusory tower fell from the skies, right above Dyon, slamming onto his forehead and entering his mind.
In an instant, Dyon felt like the world around him sped up to inconceivable speeds. It was only later that he'd realize that it wasn't they that sped up, but rather him that had slowed down…
Gin violently coughed up mouthful after mouthful of blood before collapsing to the ground unconscious, but the sinister smile on his face didn't fade even as one of his tails turned to ash, leaving him with only seven.
At that very same moment, attacks that Dyon thought he had more than enough time to dodge slammed into him violently.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Diana's arrows slammed into Dyon's side, sending him flying toward Amory's fist.
The timing of the two blows was uncanny. Dyon felt that his inner organs had been violently shaken up, as though they had been stuck in a blender and turned up to the highest setting. If it wasn't for his mask, blood would have long since flown from his mask.
However, as things would have it, trouble never came alone. Cullen had long since sent a strike of own, aiming to slice Dyon in half.
At that moment, Dyon's robes had been torn to nothing. He didn't even have the time to summon his wings to protect himself. It was almost as though for every ten moves his enemies made, he could only think of executing one.
Cullen's moon saber met Dyon's shoulder, intent on slicing him from shoulder to hip.
Pu!
Dyon's finger flicked at an agonizingly slow pace.
A spear shot out from his own plaques, slamming into his shoulder and blasting him into the ground, allowing him to narrowly dodge Cullen's strike.
The geniuses watching were stunned. How cruel!
Dyon's shoulder had become a bloodied mess, making his left arm all but useless. By now, he understood what had happened despite his speed of thought being considerably slowed. Gin must have paid a heavy price to apply his time will to him.
One of the major restrictions on time will was its use against living objects. For obvious reasons, this was a massive taboo. It could be used on things with weak life force, like Masako's snakes, or inanimate objects with relative ease. But, anything above that threshold was subject to causing heavy backlash.
Gin had paid the price of his talent and his future prospects in order to slow Dyon's time relative to everyone else's for a short period. And they almost succeeded in taking Dyon's life too… Had it not been for Dyon forcibly injuring himself to dodge Cullen's killing blow, he would definitely be in two halves right now.
Even though Gin hadn't succeeded in his ultimate goal, his contributions were unprecedented.
Dyon's damage wasn't limited to his arm. Diana and Amory's attacks had torn up his insides, making it difficult to even breathe. Even worse, their attacks hadn't paused for even a moment. The instant they realized that Dyon hadn't died, they prepared their next attacks immediately.
Suddenly, Dyon began to laugh as he watched the three attacks approach him. "Good!"
His eyes reddened with unbridled rage. These bastards dared to slander his woman and even attack him for the sake of their own greed. Then when the lives of those they cared about came to be on the line, they dared to stand on a moral high-horse, telling him not to go too far with his revenge.
Gin's attack faded. It was completely unable to be sustained for an extended period of time, as such, this was no surprise.
Dyon's black wings erupted from his back, sending fierce winds that slapped Diana and Amory's attacks away.
The vibrations stirred his inner organs again, unable to withstand the full impact.
Cullen's moon saber slammed into Dyon's wings, sending him flying toward Aki's position.