System's POV

Chapter 1166: You Can Run, But You Can’t Hide! [Part 1]

Prince Aurelion was forced to transform into his Dragon form to prevent his opponent from slicing his arm off his body.

While his quick thinking saved him from the worst-case scenario, he still received a serious injury to his shoulder from the attack of the Artemian Weapon Master.

Knowing that he needed time before his regeneration could completely heal his injury, the Dragonkin Prince didn’t hesitate to fly away to buy some time.

“You’re not going anywhere!” the Artemian Weapon Master, Carl, roared.

Korrin’s defeat didn’t escape his eyes, so he grew desperate to finish his opponent as soon as possible.

The Majin Prince who had tossed his comrade into a portal had yet to pair up with anyone after emerging victorious, so he believed that the other party must be lying in wait somewhere, ready to launch a sneak attack.

Carl didn’t want to take any risks, so he immediately rushed toward Prince Aurelion,planning to slice off his Draconic head.

But, just as he had just taken off from the ground, a giant ape body-slammed his body, pushing him away.

Khan had activated his ability that temporarily boosted his strength to that of a Rank 9 Sovereign.

When it came to raw power, he was only slightly weaker than the Weapon Master, who specialized in weapon techniques and killer moves.

A flash of annoyance appeared on Carl’s face as he landed on the ground, skidding a few meters before coming to a stop.

“I have no time for yo—”

The Weapon Master wasn’t able to finish whatever he was going to say because he suddenly felt something dangerous coming from under the ground.

Without hesitation, he jumped to his right side and rolled on the ground.

A second later, the place where he had stood earlier exploded, and a breath attack rose toward the sky.

Rocky thought that its new technique would be able to land a decisive hit on the enemy, but the latter’s combat sense was honed through countless battlefields.

Lord Zorcan also arrived at the scene, taking a short distance away from Khan.

Rocky also rose from the ground, and the three monsters encircled the Archon, ready to attack if he made a move.

Thirteen, who was still on Rocky’s head, eyed Carl calmly.

The Weapon Master, on the other hand, snorted before summoning a different weapon. This time, he summoned a two-handed War Axe, which could easily cleave anything it hit in half.

For Carl, the three monsters surrounding him weren’t a threat. However, his sixth sense was telling him that the black knight standing on top of the Hellfire Bal-Boa mustn’t be underestimated.

’I’ll kill the ape first,’ Carl thought as he faced Khan, who decided to run away in haste for an unknown reason.

Khan wasn’t the only one running away. The Goblin Emperor, Lord Zorca, could also be spotted swiftly leaving his location at an incredible speed.

Before he could understand what had happened, Rocky had also burrowed into the ground, leaving the Artemian Warrior behind.

Suddenly, he heard a rumbling sound above him, making him glance at the sky.

Two Mephisto Missiles were only seconds away from him, forcing him to use the War Axe, which was nearly the size of his body, as a shield at the last moment.

A powerful explosion thundered across the battlefield.

Black flames rose high into the sky forming a small mushroom cloud.

“Is he dead?” Khan asked the Goblin Emperor beside him.

“I hope so,” Lord Zorca replied. “But I doubt that was enough to take him out.”

Khan nodded as it focused its gaze on the smoking crater in the distance.

Nearly half a minute had passed before a powerful gust of wind dispersed the smoke completely.

Carl stood at the center of the crater, smoke oozing out of his body. A glance was enough to tell everyone that he was in a sorry state.

But even two Mephisto Missiles weren’t strong enough to kill him.

Still, the missiles still destroyed his prized weapon, which made the Weapon Master shout in anger.

As if to add salt to his injury, golden flames descended from the sky, as if to finish him off.

Prince Aurelion had returned to the battlefield.

After healing with a powerful potion, the Dragonkin Prince launched a sneak attack on his foe—the same opponent who had just deflected two missiles strong enough to kill a Rank 8 Sovereign outright and cripple a Rank 9.

The sudden attack was perfectly executed, making Carl scream in pain as the golden flames set his body on fire.

“We got him!” Lord Zorca exclaimed and was about to rush to finish off the Archon when Khan grabbed his arm, preventing him from finishing off their enemy.

“Do not underestimate an Archon,” Khan stated. “They have life-saving artifacts to ensure that they will not die that easily. There’s a chance he’s just waiting for anyone to come close before launching a surprise attack.”

“I didn’t think of that.” Lord Zorca frowned. “You’re smarter than you look, Khan. I thought you were as stupid as that Monkey, Harahon.”

The corner of Khan’s lips twitched after it being compared to the annoying Umbra Fang, who was busy targeting the Artemians and the Azothralls weaker than it.

Clearly, it was a monster that bullied the weak and feared the strong, which Khan found extremely disgusting!

Prince Aurelion had also returned to his demi-human form and eyed the still-burning Artemian, who was lying on the ground.

His senses were telling him that the danger had still not passed, so he didn’t dare to come close to Carl, who might just be playing dead to deal him a killing blow.

As if waiting for that moment, the “dead” Artemian suddenly rolled to his right side.

At first, the Dragonkin Prince, Khan, and Lord Zorca thought that the Artemian was just trying to put out the flames from his body.

But the ground once again exploded, and Rocky’s fire breath missed its target a second time.

“Be careful. He’s just playing dead.”

The Hellfire Bal-Boa rose up from the ground, and Thirteen warned his allies to keep their guard up.

“Damn it,” Carl cursed as he stood up from the ground.

The flames had already died out from his body.

His armor had cracks in a few places, and his arms looked like they had suffered third-degree burns, but he was still very much alive.

Thirteen and the others prepared to fight the seriously injured Artemian, but instead of fighting, Carl’s body was swallowed up by a bright flash of light.

He completely disappeared from where he stood earlier, making Thirteen and the others glance around him.

“He used teleportation!” Thirteen shouted before pointing in a direction. “He’s over there!”

Before the battle started, the teenage boy had asked Athena to lock on the energy signatures of King Astrion, as well as the Archons serving him.

This would allow him to always know where they were, giving him time to support his allies who were being pushed back by these hard-hitters from the Artemian Army.

Carl realized that fighting against Prince Aurelion and Zion’s group was extremely dangerous, so he decided to do a strategic retreat.

Unfortunately, no matter where he ran or hid, as long as he didn’t go underground, there was no place that he could hide from Athena’s watchful gaze from outer space.