Ziel and the Archaic Knights shed in the sky. Ziel''s face looked solemn as he was in fullbat mode. His eyes only focused on the armored man in front of him. Ziel had to defeat him as quickly as possible, no matter what.


    nk! nk!


    The Archaic Knight blocked Ziel''s sessive shes and felt thrilled after feeling his opponent''s sword much heavier and sharper than before. He was a little overwhelmed by the fighting intent released from Ziel.


    "Hahaha... Good! Show me more of your power!" Archaic Knight is excited. He and Ziel had exerted their full strength, but neither was pushed back. If this had happened before Azalia was injured, perhaps Ziel would have lost the exchange.


    Ziel calmly resisted and countered the attack from the Archaic Knight. He used his full potential to improve his swordsmanship in battle and suppress his opponent. His anger turned into a solid determination to defeat the Archaic Knight.


    Under the constant pressure of time and formidable opponents, Ziel''s swordsmanship increased by leaps and bounds. He even managed tond some of his sh on the Archaic Knight''s armor.


    "I can''t go on like this. If the situation continues, I don''t know how long it will take to defeat him." Ziel narrowed his eyes, and his face turned grave. In addition to fighting with Archaic Knights, Ziel must race against time. Azalia''s life would be in danger if he still didn''t defeat his opponent before the time. Ziel didn''t want that to happen.


    Ziel gripped the sword in his right hand tighter and a ck light coiled around the de. He condensed the power of the Sacred Demonel many times more extreme than he had done in this battle. Then he shed at the Archaic Knight.


    [de of Annihtion]


    The Archaic Knight didn''t seem to want to lose to Ziel. He also condensed a blue aura on his sword and swung it at Ziel.


    [Invincible de]


    Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmm!


    A tremendous explosion was created from the sh of attacks, but that didn''t stop their battle. They charged into the center of the st and shed their swords dozens of times. But it didn''tst long until they finally kept their distance from each other.


    The smoke and dust from the explosion dispersed due to the impact of Ziel and the Archaic Knight''s sh, which caused a tremendous shockwave. Not long after, the two again shed with their full strength and shook the skies of the Rubelia Kingdom.


    Boom! Boom! Booooooooooooooooooooooooom!


    The Archaic Knights continued tounch attack after attack at Ziel without stopping. He swung his sword vigorously like he had been waiting for that battle for a long time.


    [Sword Storm]


    [Invincible Sword Rain]


    The Archaic Knight unleashed his two strongest skills simultaneously on Ziel. He felt that Ziel''s swordsmanship grew rapidly in that battle and could no longer suppress him with pure swordsmanship.


    Tornadoes and rain of swords appeared in front of Ziel with sizes and numbers thatpletely covered the sky. Ziel looked thoughtfully at the attacking at him. Hepressed the two swords in his hands with the power of the Sacred Demonel and the nine-headed imperial dragon.


    The sword in Ziel''s right hand gave off jet ck light, while in his left, an aurora. Then he shed his two swords simultaneously at the Archaic Knight''s attack.


    [X - de of Annihtion]


    Ziel''s two aura des shot toward the iing attack and collided.


    Boooooooooooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmm!


    Ziel opened his mouth andunched another attack right after the explosion.


    [Ultimate Dragon''s breath]


    Ziel''s dragon''s breath shot through the explosion and headed straight for the Archaic Knight. But Ziel still wasn''t done with his attack. A giant magic circle appeared above the Archaic Knight''s head and shone brightly.


    [Extermination Feathers]


    Thousands of annihtion feathers emerged from the magic circle above the Archaic Knight and rained down on him.


    "Hahaha... Good!" Ziel''s two attacks trapped the Archaic Knight, but the other party didn''t panic. On the contrary, he seemed to enjoy the pressure.


    [Imprable Defense]


    The Archaic Knight covered his body with a blue light barrier and delivered a double sh with full force towards Ziel''s two attacks.


    [Invincible de]


    Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmm!


    Their two attacks shed, and the Archaic Knight managed to withstand Ziel''s onught. However, what Ziel did was still not over.


    [Demolition Beam]


    Zielbined the skills of the Sacred Demonel and his own into a new skill with many times more terrifying destructive power. A ckser beam with red lightning coiled around it shot towards the Archaic Knight, who had just blocked Ziel''s attack.


    Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmm!


    "Haa… Haa…" Ziel watched the explosion while breathing heavily. He had overextended himself by using the powers of the two continent guardians even though he had not yet fully mastered it. He felt excruciating pain, like being stabbed by thousands of needles as his mana channel was damaged due to overload.


    Ziel narrowed his eyes towards the center of the explosion after sensing that the Archaic Knight was still alive after being hit by his consecutive attacks. But it was within his expectations because the opponent was stronger than the Sacred Demonel and the nine-headed imperial dragon and would not die from such an attack.


    "Hahaha... Amazing! You are the best!" A burst ofughter sounded from within the center of the explosion, and the strong wind from the impact of the sword swing dispelled the smoke in the area.


    When the smoke cleared, Ziel could see the figure of the Archaic Knight in a battered state due to his consecutive attacks. The armor on his body was half shattered, and the helmet covering his face disappeared, revealing a decaying human face.


    Ziel frowned when he saw that face. He seemed familiar with the man wearing the armor in front of him. But he couldn''t remember where he had seen that person. Ziel shook his head to get rid of that thought. It would be dangerous for him if his focus were diverted in the middle of the battle.


    "Who are you?" Ziel asked in a low voice. He wanted to confirm his memory because he was sure he had seen that person somewhere.


    "Hmm? What do you mean by this body?" The Archaic Knight pointed at his face like it didn''t belong to him.


    "Are you like a Sacred Demonel who possesses another person''s body? Do all the guardians of the continent need an intermediary to appear in this world?" Ziel narrowed his eyes and asked. The ancient book he was reading didn''t exin how the continent''s guardians had appeared in the world. But if his guess was correct, he had to immediately take precautions so that the people around him didn''t be a vessel for the guardians.


    "Ooh? Do you understand about that too? You''re only half right about that since only me and the Sacred Demonel need a vessel to appear in this world. The dragons you defeated and thest guardian don''t need that because they can use this continent as an intermediary for manifesting." Archaic Knight exined. His voice trembled slightly when he mentioned thest guardian.


    "So you took the body of another being just like the Sacred Demonel did?" Ziel asked with a serious face. If the Archaic Knight''s words were valid, then he was the only guardian of the continent he had to be wary of right now.


    "Although the goal is the same, its principles are different. The Sacred Demonel took over the bodies of the living beings while I possessed the dead, or rather the corpses. This body is what I obtained several hundred years ago in the earth dragon desert, and it suits me very well. Does that answer your question? Think of it as a reward for having managed to make me like this. Then, let''s continue our fight!" The Archaic Knight grinned horribly with that rotting face.


    (Hundreds of years ago? Was that Gilmat?)


    Ziel raised his eyebrows when he heard the Archaic Knight''s exnation. He connected his memories with his opponent''s words and finally recognized the body''s owner that the Archaic Knight was currently using. Ziel was sure that that person was his opponent from the divine race he and hispanions had killed.


    Ziel hade to such a conclusion because only the body of a swordsman was suitable for an Archaic Knight. Gilmat, Ziel''s past opponent, was a formidable swordsman, and he was defeated in the earth dragon desert. All of that matched the Archaic Knight''s exnation.


    "I understand." Ziel answered curtly. He questioned that because he wanted to take precautions against thest continent''s guardians. But after hearing the Archaic Knight''s exnation, he felt his worries were unnecessary.


    Ziel believed in his opponent''s exnation because the other party had no reason to lie to him. Moreover, Archaic Knight didn''t look like someone who liked to talk nonsense and did cunning tactics. Ziel appreciates his personality. Even so, that didn''t change his intention to kill the Archaic Knight.


    The Archaic Knight and Ziel released their powers simultaneously, and the friction created a storm of hot winds that scorched the air. The temperature in the entire territory of the Rubelia Kingdom increased drastically, and the weather became hotter than the earth dragon desert.


    [Lightning Rhythm]


    "Let''s continue our battle!" The Archaic Knight shot towards Ziel at an astonishing speed. He instantly closed the hundreds of meters away from Ziel and swung his sword from the front.


    Ziel tightly gripped the two swords in his hands and shed them in session. The first swing blocks the opponent''s attack, and the second cut off his head. But the Archaic Knight''s reaction was fast, and he could easily parry the sword aimed at his neck.


    nk!


    Ziel and Archaic exchanged shes, and their battle extended to the border between the Rubelia Kingdom and the Earth Dragon Desert. Wherever they shed, thend beneath them would be ravaged by the impact of their attacks. Because of that, Ziel led the Archaic Knights towards the earth dragon desert to reduce casualties and damage.


    The Archaic Knight understood what Ziel was thinking and didn''t care about it. He didn''t mind fighting anywhere as long as he could fight a strong opponent.


    Little by little, the armor on the Archaic Knight''s body shattered due to Ziel''s attack. He was surprised that it didn''t take long for Ziel to surpass his swordsmanship. Even so, it made the Archaic Knight filled with ecstasy, and his fighting spirit grew even more intense.


    "Hahaha! I don''t think you''ve surpassed me in swordsmanship. Even so, it''s still not enough to beat me!" The Archaic Knight''s face became serious, and hepressed his sword with strength until a bright blue light condensed on the de.


    [Invincible Sword]


    [A hundred times sh]


    The Archaic Knight swung his sword with terrifying speed and showered Ziel with aura des from his deadly skill.


    Ziel''s face sank when he saw the attack. A single sword was terrifying enough. Now, the Archaic Knights released hundreds of shes at once. Ziel felt tremendous pressure from his opponent''s skill. He kept his ck sword andpressed the power of the Sacred Demonel and the nine-headed imperial dragon in his white sword.


    cklight and aurora coiled around Ziel''s sword and condensed on the de. His hands trembled as he endured thepression of the two enormous powers.


    Cracks!


    Ziel heard the sound of his sword and saw cracks forming on the de. He realized that his sword couldn''t take any more of that power. Not long after, blood gushed out from all the pores of Ziel''s body as he forcefully restrained the power of the two continent guardians within his sword.


    "Aaahh!" Ziel roared and swung his sword at the Archaic Knight''s attack.


    [Dimension Breakers]


    sh!


    After Ziel shed his sword, the space in front of him copsed, and the void gulped down the attack from the Archaic Knight. But the impact of the sh was so great that it sent Ziel and the Archaic Knight to the ground while vomiting blood.


    "Argh!"


    "Urgh!"


    Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooommmmmm!


    Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooommmmmm!


    The two of them hit the ground and made a huge crater. Ziel and the Archaic Knight didn''t move for a while, but suddenly they pushed their bodies simultaneously and tried to get out of the hole they were lying on.


    "Hahaha... I enjoyed it! You are powerful!" Archaic Knight said with blood gushing from his mouth.


    Ziel reced his cracked white sword with his ck sword. He was breathing heavily, and the wounds all over his body couldn''t heal because the Archaic Knight left the essence of the Invincible de in every sh that hit Ziel, as happened to Azalia.


    "Let''s finish our battle!" Ziel brandished his sword and said coldly.


    "I have the same thoughts as you!" The Archaic Knight also raised his sword.


    The two of thempressed their remaining strength into their swords. Their hands trembled from resisting the tremendous force they were pressing against their des.


    "AAAAHHHHH!"


    "Die!"


    Ziel and Archaic Knight swung their swords simultaneously. Gigantic blue and gray aura des as tall as the sky-piercing pirs shed against each other and tore apart everything around them.