Chapter 687 Earthen Advantage.
Chapter 687 Earthen Advantage.
There was something a tad chilly about Melinda's words and especially her action of pushing Creten aside and while it could be considered disrespectful and even had Creten raise a brow, the Prince did not say a word and even further stepped aside.
He understood that he had likely stepped out of bounds and let his eagerness for spilling Dystopian blood get the best of him.
The Haron who had previously introduced Creten as a Prince opened his mouth as though he was about to comment on the disrespect but Creten was quick to raise his hand to stop him.
The Haron shut his mouth immediately but Melinda, who had heard the smallest bit of an attempt to speak just turned her head and eyed him which caused the Haron expert to shiver.
The look only lasted a few seconds though and Melinda returned her attention to Reyna without giving Creten or the Haron Expert a second look.
It was not too much of an issue for Creten as his Armament, a large Green Halberd, was still very much out and ready to do battle as his challenge to the Dystopians still stood.
This was especially evident by the readiness for battle shown by the Dystopians, especially the man beside Reyna.
Speaking of the man, Reyna elbowed him in the side,
"Adlean, who are you going after?" she asked him.
Even as she asked, the answer was fairly obvious as Adlean was going to be doing battle with the bold and vocal Haron that was Creten.
And then Creten took away any chance of Adlean changing his mind and target by sending a charged Cosmic attack imbued with Semi-saint energy at the Dystopian side.
"Boom!"
The blast was loud and tossed people around Adlean to various areas of the hall but when the blast fizzled out, Adlean was not sporting any injuries and remained where he was.
In fact, his entire body was showing signs of cover with dragon scales for extra protection while dark lightning, almost the same color as his scales but managing to stand out, cracked all around his body.
As the lightning cracked, the energy it gave off made it clear that it was not some added boon on account of bloodline or cultivation... It was much more than that...
Adlean had long gained insight into the Ordinance of Lightning and the lightning formed a field around him that even the blast of Cosmic attack imbued with Cosmic semi-saint energy could not break through.
Adlean let a second or two pass to truly let everyone feeling his power revel in it (he was prideful that way) before he dashed forward towards his opponent with the speed that was further boosted by the crackling of his lightning.
The closer he got to Creten, the clearer the impact of Ordinance was to Creten who could feel that it went farther than a facade... That insight level Ordinance that Adlean possessed made him seem like the master of the element.
Before Adlean could get close enough to actually strike Creten though, the very ground that he was treading on seem to have shifted in shape while also causing his movements to become sluggish.
It took Adlean a few seconds to figure out what had caused his slower movement and when he did realize that he was experiencing the Ordinance of his opponent, it was too late and Creten was striking him with his Halberd.
Adlean found that he could not move out of the way in time with Creten's Ordinance still slowing him down but he did manage to raise his scaled hand, which was coated with his lightning Ordinance, up in time to block the Halberd strike.
That said, the impact and force behind the strike still sent him sailing past the battles between Harons and Dystopians to smack into an opposite wall.
Creten's Elemental Ordinance, which he had been able to gain insight into the last time the monument was in the Nexus World, was Earth.
Like all Ordinances which were usually principles that went past simply being aesthetic of power, the Elemental Ordinance of Earth went past throwing rocks all about at various opponents... In fact, ever since he had had the Ordinance, Creten had never once chugged a rock at an Opponent.
The Elemental Ordinance of Earth was more about stability... It was more about the control of foundations... Of solid grounds.
'Earth' was just a fairly innovative way of naming the Ordinance even though it was accurate enough.
The ground could be made of any material; wood, metal, whatever... As long it was a surface to be stood on, as long as it was a surface to support a body and allow It to remain upright... As long as it was a surface that could keep something or someone grounded, the Ordinance of Earth was useful anywhere.
When Creten made Adlean's movements sluggish, he had been using this principle to keep his opponent grounded and used it to take away the speed advantage that Adlean had had and had been so proud of using.
The way he now moved so fast while also clearing battles out of his way, was also by using this principle.
Adlean was back to his feet almost immediately after he slammed against the wall and he was a tad more aware of what his opponent could make use of and when Creten attempted to stab him, Adlean was able to dodge.
The Halberd struck into the wall behind Adlean but Creten was not bothered and quickly followed up with a swing of the weapon at Adlean who tried to move out of the way but once again found that he had been grounded by Creten's Ordinance.
Adlean gritted his teeth but he was not overly worried as he actually had something up his sleeve... The field of lightning around his body expanded with a blast and it not only forced Creten's weapon back but also drove the electricity into the Haron Prince's body.
Creten was not stupid... He knew that this was an attack open to the Dystopian but close combat was important for what he planned to do next.
Even as the electricity was coursing through his body and wracked his insides, he grounded himself with his Earthen Ordinance, managing to pass a fair bit of the current into the ground before he boosted his strength with his Ordinance and punched his opponent's jaw.
*BAM!*
For a big of context on just how powerful that jaw strike had been, you need to know that, considering their fairly equal cultivation levels, an Ordinary hit should not have been able to move the Dystopian considering his dragon blood.
While Adlean was not yet going all-out with his use of his dragon blood, the scale protection he had used so far should have been enough to reduce the impact of the blow that Creten just delivered...
However, the Ordinance of Earth had uses that surpassed just grounding an opponent or making its user faster... Earth is known for stability... It's known fur strength and if pressed, a wielder of the Ordinance of Earth could augment his strength against an opponent.
The Jaw hit was much more impactful than Adlean had expected and it resulted in a cracked jaw as he was sent flying back once again...
Being sent flying a second time by a Haron annoyed Adlean and hurt his pride but he was still quite calm... All of Creten's attacks have been impressive and while they had taken him by surprise, Adlean was not yet down for the count.
Despite how broken he looked, he still had a lot to offer... Two successful strikes could not possibly be enough for the Haron Pronxe to pick up the win... However, Creten thought it was enough... Or at least he thought this was his opening to put a definitive end to this battle.
Civilians could never understand the pressure of being an Haron Prince...
Everyone had been given an order to kill as many Dystopians as they could within the monument but for the Harons, especially a Prince who hoped to one day rule the Continent, this was a test of capability.
Creten had to kill Dystopians... He also had to bring back trophies to confirm that he had done as his father had ordered.
Civilians could try to survive the battles that would happen within the monument just so that they could somehow comprehend an Ordinance but Creten needed actual proof of accomplishments.
Killing a Dystopian, any Dystopian meant a lot to Creten so, of course, he was going to go for the kill when he saw his chance...
"Die!" Creten yelled with quite an intense look on his handsome face.
He even had his Ordinance bearing down on Adlean to make sure he did not move as he attempted to stab him with the large green Halberd.
Before he could pierce Adlean though, a dark cloud appeared in the sky right above the two and immediately rained powerful lightning that struck Creten.
*KrakaBooom!!!*
Creten was getting smoked by lightning strikes of even greater magnitude than before so it was no wonder that his hold on Adlean lessened as the Dystopian rose to strike before Creten could once again make use of his Earthen advantage...