NOVPUB"Aitio, although you are indeed Eighth-order, you are still too weak,"
Perlman’s voice passed through the energy barrier, sounding like a whisper from a deity.
Before the words were even finished, Perlman raised his staff.
The energy barrier around him suddenly contracted, then flowed towards Aitio at a speed difficult to observe.
Aitio started to weave a crystal ice shield immediately, but its formation was far slower than Perlman’s defense and counterattack.
At the critical moment, a pitch-black figure flashed before Aitio.
Nigel crossed his dual swords, a dark red shadow rising from the blades.
He used his own body to block the deadly strike forcefully.
His resistance to psychic power was high; he could almost use sword techniques to control and neutralize it.
Regrettably, even Nigel couldn’t completely neutralize that terrible force.
With the sound of metal clashing, he was sent flying by the psychic power’s aftershock, slamming hard into a wall a hundred meters away, a trickle of fresh blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.
In an instant.
Perlman seized the opportunity, turned into a dark cyan blur, and suddenly appeared in front of Nigel.
He reached out his right hand, fingers curved like hooks, and plucked Nigel from the rubble by his neck, holding him midair.
"Nigel, seeing your unwavering will, I am sincerely comforted,"
Perlman said with a sad smile, his grip slowly tightening,
"It’s a shame, steadfastness is sometimes foolishness."
"Nigel!"
Aitio tried to rush forward to rescue him, only to find her feet seemed nailed to the ground, her pace getting slower and slower.
It was the combination of Perlman’s psychic power and spiritual power; this centuries-old demon could actually control two entirely different types of forces simultaneously and weave them together perfectly.
Perlman looked at Aitio, a flicker of amusement in his eyes, as if asking her to wait a moment, to wait until he settled the Quelstern family affair.
He methodically tightened his fingers, watching Nigel’s face twist as he began to suffocate.
Although his strength was not as mighty as that of a Demon Race martial artist, telekinesis magic, also known as force magic, could be used like immense strength.
"Nigel, hand over Duke Tiffany’s cryptogram,"
Perlman sighed, looking at Nigel.
He hadn’t expected Duke Tiffany to be so genuine towards Nigel.
However, Perlman could guess the reason. Nigel might not remember, but when this generation’s Duke Tiffany was just a little girl, the young Nigel had saved her once. Perhaps since then, Duke Tiffany had never forgotten that member of the Demon Race.
"You think I would carry it on me to fight you?"
Nigel let out a faint, weakened laugh, his eyes showing an unafraid gaze.
"Oh?"
Perlman raised an eyebrow slightly.
...
In Sector 10 of Poseen, far behind a large building, a vehicle was parked with Lanci holding the steering wheel, listening to the sound from the center of the battlefield through the half-open window.
Using Auditory Enhancement Magic channeled by Talia, Lanci roughly understood the Crystal Key Cryptogram Nigel had given him before entering the Demon World.
He then took out a crystal key pendant and looked at it in his palm.
It turned out the last cryptogram of Duke Tiffany was currently in his possession.
And Nigel handing over this key to him meant that if the worst situation occurred, he should take the key and run, not caring about Nigel’s life or death, making sure the key didn’t fall into the enemy’s hands.
"Tata, what do you think?"
Lanci asked Talia.
According to Talia’s thoughts at the moment, the safest strategy would be taking the cryptogram and leaving Floral City Pariel, whether it was heading south to find the Eighth-order Assassin General in the Poseen Kingdom or rushing back to the Hutton Kingdom to ask for help.
But if the Cerryti Empire declared war in the meantime, it could all be lost.
And if the unrest couldn’t be quelled tonight, the casualties in Floral City would be unimaginable.
"I don’t know…"
Talia was clearly struggling, her feelings in turmoil.
If it had been in the past, she would definitely have chosen to retreat.
But now she couldn’t allow the enemy to tarnish her sister’s reputation, nor could she watch a rare friend like Countess Rosalinda be put in danger.
She was starting to think more and more like a human, and her vulnerabilities were multiplying.
"Lanci, can you help me?"
Talia had no choice but to seek Lanci’s assistance.
When she felt helpless, this guy was always synonymous with miracles.
It was as if she made a wish; she hoped Lanci could help her protect her sister’s honor and her friends in Floral City.
"If I let you go and fight Perlman, could you win?"
Lanci conveyed his thoughts.
"I could win, but I couldn’t possibly resolve him in three minutes,"
Talia replied confidently with her thoughts.
In her normal state, as a member of the Great Demon Clan, she would have an advantage over a regular Demon Race member.
Now in her Demon King state, her advantage against demons was even greater.
So even if she was slightly weaker than Perlman, considering the Nine Seals combined with Lanci’s Divine Power, she could definitely beat Perlman.
But the current problem was the lack of energy supply.
Her fighting style was more about control and counterattacks, and unlike Sinola who could quickly determine the outcome with a frontal assault, she was better at wearing down her opponents.
"And this is assuming he has no other tricks. Looking at Aitio fighting with all his might, even that didn’t make Perlman seriously use his real abilities,"
Talia added.
That was what worried her the most.
Perlman, who had developed successfully in the Poseen Kingdom for a hundred years, even Talia couldn’t guess what kind of trump cards the leader of such an independent branch of the Demon Race might have.
