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Jin and Murakan.
The two of them were the first to sense the presence of the fake.
"Guys, he's coming."
"It's fake. I was worried that he might visit other regions again, but luckily, he's coming to face us himself."
Even the Ten Great Knights heightened their senses to perceive the fake's power.
"Knights of the castle, gather! It's the day of the final battle."
"Today, we will execute him and cleanse the grudge of the patriarch..."
"Vamel, Murakan. Show us your skills."
As the fake Murakan appeared in the nearby airspace, the storm intensified, and the night grew even darker. It seemed like not a dragon, but some evil being had descended here to bring it to an end.
The Ten Great Knights moved busily and commanded the knights.
"...He's strong. I guess Mr. Kaytam indeed painted your prime self. Even though the distance between us and him is quite far, I can clearly feel his immense power."
"Hmph! Even so, he's a fake, nothing more than a painting."
"The fact that you say that means you also feel that he's powerful, right?"
"Of course, the real me was even stronger than that, but yes. He's a dangerous one. We have to stay alert, kid."
As they went outside, the knights were already deployed.
Even among the weakest knights, there was no one who was terrified. They all stood ready to face death with resolute postures.
Jin and Murakan climbed up the castle gate.
"I know you already know this, but there's no answer as long as he's in the air."
"As he swept away Lugado and Mitoil, he must have been aware of me and Murakan. Soon, he'll be within our reach."
Srrrr...
Jin slowly drew Sigmund. In the pitch-black storm without a single trace of moonlight, the pale blade calmly flickered.
"We have to force him to the ground with me and the kid at the center. Frey, you will be in charge of long-range support until the ground battle starts, then charge in with the knights. Dranax and Vyollo will be responsible for close combat with us in the air."
The Ten Great Knights nodded their heads in agreement.
"Vamel, Murakan."
"Speak, Dame Frey."
"What?"
"I couldn't welcome you properly at first, and now, such a big fight is about to begin. I feel sorry about that."
Now, everyone in the Storm Castle completely trusted Jin and Murakan.
In this situation, only those who were truly enraged, those who could die for Runcandel, could emit such fighting spirit into the dark night, emitting such overwhelming fighting spirit as if they could crush and tear anything apart.
"No need to worry about that."
"Also, we are grateful that you are here. Looking at it now, we wouldn't have been able to handle that guy on our own."
"I told you, you wouldn't be disappointed. It's an honor to fight alongside you knights."
"As are we."
As Frey replied,
Suddenly, in the middle of the sky that Runcandel was looking at, a black whirlwind appeared. It was the breath the fake had exhaled.
"Hup!"
At the same time, Murakan leaned back, clenching his fist with all his strength. His fist and leg were covered in black dragon scales, and as he took a step forward, one side of the castle wall crumbled.
"Uryah!"
The fist he swung forward emitted a huge and sharp shadow force like a breath. Two beams of shadow force collided in the air, distorting space.
Before the scattered shadow force could return to each other, Murakan transformed back to his true form and surrounded the entire castle with a black shield.
[Not only to impersonate me, but are you also prepared to pay the price for harming Temar and killing countless people without reason, you fake and ephemeral existence.]
In response to those words, the fake stopped in mid-air and stared at Murakan.
'That guy is even bigger than Murakan…'
The two massive bodies of the black dragons seemed to fill the sky. Although they looked completely identical, at first glance, the fake appeared larger and exuded a more imposing atmosphere.
[The insects of Mitoil were telling the truth. There is someone who looks exactly like me... That power, it's quite commendable. Who made you?]
[This bastard still thinks he's the real one. Whatever, there's no need to talk too much. If he gets hit, he'll realize, 'Oh, I'm the fake, I'm just worthless trash.']
["Can you accomplish that without Temar Runcandel? None of you can kill me. If you surrender the Barisada peacefully, I'll spare your lives. Especially you, fake, I might find some use for you in the future…]
Shhhh-!
In the moment the fake was about to finish speaking, the beams of light crossed the castle wall and cut through the storm. The rainwater falling on it evaporated in a flash, leaving a trace.
The Fifth Secret Technique: Light-speed Thrust- Plutonian. Seven streams of sword aura divided the dark sky and rushed towards the fake.
The fake had already activated its protective shield, so six of the streams were blocked, but the last one, fired in succession, pierced through the gap and struck the fake's chest.
From the deeply pierced wound, shadow force poured out like blood.
However, the shadow force fell to the ground and quickly returned to reform the fake.
'It's not just simple regeneration. It seems that there is no damage to the absolute amount of shadow force that makes up the fake…'
-If it were my prime, even if this kid and I teamed up, there would be no chance of winning.
-Really? To that extent? You said you were close to your prime?
-Being close and being complete are two different things, kid. Haha. At that time, this Murakan could not be killed unless there was a Genesis Knight. It's impossible to kill me, even if a bunch of strong guys gather, as long as there's no Genesis knight.
After delivering the first blow, Jin recalled what Murakan said before he entered the painting.
Indeed, as Murakan said, Jin felt as if he had cut the ocean. No matter how huge a trace he left on the water, the sea quickly returned to its original form.
Jin thought of the abilities he possessed that could effectively strike the fake.
'Eternal flame, Flame of Hell, Plutonian's Reign Sword, Decimating effusive flame orb final version, and the clan's secret techniques.'
Among them, Jin decided to use Eternal flame when he was absolutely certain that he could aim for the heart. He judged that eternal flame has the ability that most closely resembled the characteristics of 'Genesis Knight.'
[You are an unfamiliar knight. I didn't know Temar was hiding someone like you.]
"Lord Temar probably doesn't know either."
[Is that so? You were in Laprarosa, using the power of the Plutonians.]
"You don't need to know about me. We can't coexist under the same sky."
The fake didn't understand that Jin's words implied the world inside the painting and just sneered.
[That's a story I wish would come true. You are interesting. There's a lot I need to find out, so I'll spare your life for now.]
Thunk-!
Murakan swiftly lunged at the fake, biting into its neck. At the same time, the fake also bit Murakan's neck, and both of them held their breath.
Their breaths exploded, and for a moment, the two dragons' heads were obscured by the shadow force they exhaled. Their heads and necks seemed to have exploded, but there was hardly any actual damage.
Then, Jin and the Ten Great Knights surrounded the fake by riding the Sword Wind. Dranax and Vyollo's swords first tore through the overlapping layers of shield, and Jin entered the opening to approach the fake.
The Ninth Sword Technique of Battle god: sword of annihilation, expanded like a wing and slammed both wings of the fake down. Then, the Seventh Sword Technique: Dragon Killer aimed at its chest, and Meteor Shower targeted its back.
Especially, the 7th Sword Technique of Battle god: Dragon Killer, as the name suggests, was a sword specialized for dragons. Spiraling blades relentlessly pierced and cut through the scales on its chest. The fake seemed to be in pain and focused on dealing with the 7th Sword Technique, unable to respond to other attacks.
'There's no direct impact, but it seems he feels pain. Maybe the recovery through shadow force consumes mental power, or anyway, he's trying to avoid attacks as much as possible. I should lure him down to the ground.'
Even as the two dragons were entangled and rotating, Jin and the Ten Great Knights accurately targeted only the fake. It was a domain that only the top-tier superhumans among giants could achieve. In the first place, without them, not a single knight was able to withstand the breath and shadow force constantly emanated by the two black dragons.
At the Storm Castle side, Frey was also ready to attack the fake. Next to her were thick and giant spears made of ancient everlasting steel, and she was carefully aiming one of them at the fake.
'Now.'
Thunk, swoosh-!
Frey threw the spear with all her might, and the ground beneath her, the castle wall crumbled as shockwaves erupted. The spear shot diagonally and left a dazzling trajectory in the dark sky, precisely piercing the fake's head.
Before the fake could startle, Frey was already throwing another spear. With each hit of the spear on the fake, the battlefield resonated with a heavy vibration.
Little by little, the fake Murakan's altitude was decreasing. It expelled black thorns all over its body to push back Jin and the Ten Great Knights who were trying to get closer.
However, the three of them persisted in clinging to the fake's body, slashing and crushing it with their swords. They thrust their swords into its neck, tore through the wing membranes, and fired aura explosions on its abdomen. In the process, they also sustained both large and small wounds on their bodies.
From the beginning, the situation was intense, and Jin's group achieved what they wanted. At the end of the body-to-body fight, Murakan climbed up the fake's back.
With its teeth still sunk into the fake's neck, Murakan relentlessly struck its shoulders and wings with both front paws. From its two wings, thorns formed and stabbed its sides. Crack, thunk, puff! The fake's scales, flesh, bones, and organs were shattered and scattered as shadow force.
It was being restored, though. Despite the pain, there was no fundamental damage being inflicted.
"Get back!"
Dranax shouted as he thrust his sword into the fake's shoulder pierced by Frey's spear. The spear broke, digging deeper into the fake's wound, and Vyollo slashed the thorns aimed at Dranax and Jin.
Even if the fake could be a perfect clone of Murakan's prime, it seemed it couldn't escape from this state without transforming. With both the knights and Murakan constantly neutralizing the thorns released by the fake's shadow force, it seemed impossible for it to escape purely based on its body structure.
In the end, the fake transformed into a human and settled on the ground, with Jin, Dranax, and Vyollo descending like lightning and swinging their swords.
However, in the next moment, the three of them simultaneously stopped their movements and raised their sword winds. Instinctively they sensed the danger and deviated from their descent path.
Seeing their reaction, the fake smirked.
"Does dragging me down to the ground make any difference? Especially you, fake, you seemed the most desperate. Maybe because you know me well."
[This is driving me crazy. Who's calling who fake? You're not coming to your senses, it seems you need more beating.]
"Yeah... Now that I think about it, you guys seemed to be more concerned about someone else getting hurt. Anyway, first, let's destroy the Storm Castle. Since Barisada is over there anyway."
As the fake spoke, it reached out its hand towards the direction of the Storm Castle.
"This is how you use shadow force, fake. And you, fake contractor."
In the next moment, the entire mountain range, including the peak of Mt. Murakan, where Storm Castle is located, was dyed black with shadow force.
And the knights waiting in the Storm Castle area were witnessing something strange happening to the shadows beneath their feet.
Almost all the shadows in the Storm Castle were distorted. Those beings whose shadows were distorted by its authority were turning identical to knights.
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