Affinity: Chaos

Chapter 2180: Short And Decisive

Grey did not remain with the Ninth-stage Sovereigns. The moment the armies clashed, he broke away and flew straight toward the high-altitude battle between Elder Varis and the Peak Sovereign Gnome.

Below him, the Mayor led the rest of the human experts against the Ninth-stage Gnomes and the large number of weaker enemies that had surrounded them.

High in the night sky the exchange between Elder Varis and the Gnome was already violent. Each collision tore visible rifts in the surrounding space before the world forced them shut again. Shockwaves rolled outward in continuous waves.

Grey approached carefully, staying just outside the most destructive range until he had a clear view. Elder Varis was locked in a fierce struggle against both Peak-level puppets at once. The Gnome controlled the two constructs with practiced precision, using one to press the attack while the other intercepted Elder Varis’s heavier strikes. Grey had seen Gnomes command two puppets before, but this was the first time he had faced a Peak Sovereign who possessed two puppets of the same level. He did not waste time. The others could not afford a prolonged fight. He released his mental energy attack at once.

The Peak Sovereign Gnome’s full attention was fixed on directing the puppets against Elder Varis’s relentless assault. He still could not understand the sudden change in the usually cautious human. Since their camp had been established in these mountains, the Gnomes had always been the ones to initiate attacks. In most of those battles Elder Varis had avoided a direct confrontation with him. Now the same man had marched an army into the mountains and attacked without even a word of negotiation. The Gnome was still turning the question over in his mind when a sharp wave of mental energy washed across him.

The effect was immediate. His body locked in place. Both puppets froze in mid-motion as the links connecting them to their master were severed.

Elder Varis, still fully committed to the exchange with the puppets, was caught by surprise when one of his flaming strikes blasted the head clean off the nearest puppet. Realization struck him a fraction of a second later. Grey had used the technique. Without hesitation Elder Varis abandoned the remaining puppet and shot toward the immobilized Gnome. Even before he closed the full distance, a large hand formed of condensed fire elemental energy reached out and clamped around the Gnome’s head, intending to crush it.

The moment the flaming hand closed, the Gnome’s body erupted with a violent surge of darkness essence. The blast forced the fire hanf open just enough for him to tear free and shoot through the gap. His heart pounded wildly as he fled.

Elder Varis’s expression darkened. He had missed the cleanest possible opening. The failure was understandable. He had been locked in a tight, high-speed exchange with two Peak-level puppets when the mental attack landed, and the sudden change had cost him a critical instant of reaction. However, he was still feeling remorseful. He knew now it was impossible to kill the Gnome.

The Peak Sovereign Gnome had no intention of staying. Only one person in the entire human race was known to produce that exact effect on a puppet link. Grey Dawson was here. Remaining on the battlefield was no longer an option.

A masked figure in black appeared directly in his escape path. Sensing only a Ninth-stage cultivation from the blocker, the Gnome released both his domain and the full weight of his Peak Sovereign aura, hoping to stun the opponent long enough to break away. He did not even glance at the figure, certain that any ordinary Ninth-stage Sovereign would be forced back under the pressure.

His eyes widened in shock when the same Ninth-stage Sovereign calmly tossed a four-colored orb toward him. The energy contained inside the orb made the Gnome’s heart seize. He desperately layered defensive barriers one after another as the fusion orb closed the distance and detonated.

Bang!

The explosion overwhelmed every defense he had managed to raise. The residual force hurled his body across the sky like a broken kite. He slammed into a mountain peak with catastrophic impact, shattering most of the upper slope into cascading rock and dust.

Elder Varis pursued without pause. The instant the Gnome crashed into the peak, the elder unleashed a dense rain of flames that poured down onto the impact site and reduced what remained of the mountain top to scorched rubble and drifting ash. He was not going to once again miss another opportunity.

Grey appeared beside Elder Varis a moment later. The two of them hovered in the air, staring down at the settling dust cloud.

Elder Varis glanced at Grey with a faintly apologetic expression. ”I missed the critical moment.”

”He broke free faster than expected,” Grey replied. ”Do not dwell on it.”

Grey did not blame the elder. In truth he himself was surprised by how quickly the Gnome had recovered. He had assumed that controlling two Peak Sovereign puppets would make the effects of the mental severance last longer. Instead it seemed the opposite was true. Only an expert with unusually strong mental energy could command two such puppets at the same time. That same mental strength had apparently allowed the Gnome to regain control far sooner than others had managed in previous battles.

Elder Varis waved one hand and dispersed the remaining dust. Below them the Peak Sovereign Gnome lay sprawled across the broken rock, his body covered in blood and open wounds. He could not even rise. Only the shallow rise and fall of his chest showed he was still alive.

With a trembling hand the Gnome pointed up at Grey. Disbelief and recognition filled his eyes as he finally confirmed the identity of the masked Ninth-stage Sovereign.

Elder Varis formed a spinning arrow of condensed fire and sent it downward. The arrow pierced straight through the Gnome’s head, ending his life in a single strike. The elder did not look at the corpse a second time.

”Let’s go,” he said.

They turned at once and flew back toward the main force. The situation below had not improved in their absence. The human experts remained completely surrounded. The circle of Gnomes had tightened rather than broken, and the Mayor together with the other Ninth-stage Sovereigns were still locked in heavy fighting to keep the formation from collapsing. Even though barely a minute had passed since the opening clash, several human experts already carried visible injuries. The pressure on the lower battlefield continued to mount as Grey and Elder Varis raced to rejoin the fight.