The Geared Immortal

Chapter 926 - The Inner Kingdom: Confronting The Dark Duke

Chapter 926

(Unedited)

…

"You have come sooner than I expected." Duke Malin Guard said with a slight frown.

"It seems that the Duke has already expected my appearance in your castle… I'm hoping for some of your warm welcomes, but I was a little bit disappointed." Shin Jiao said with a smile of provocation.

When the Duke heard this, he suddenly smirked.

"I am Duke Malin Guard, and I assume that you are Mister Shin Jiao, of the Mystique Shop… My domain does not welcome you… So if you leave, I will not make a move on you or your group…" The Duke said as he slowly walks to the side and takes a seat.

"Hmmm… What a considerable offer… However, our paths would always intertwine. I seek to change the lives of the people and not let them suffer in ignorance and puberty. I wish to improve this land. But in your case, you need to destroy everything to appease your master, so we are going to have a conflict with regards to that cause." Shin Jiao said as he folded his arms.

The Duke did not say anything and just showed a faint smile on his face. Then he began to chuckle.

"You know that I have a master and yet you dare challenge me? You have the guts don't you…"

"Well, yeah… Plus I could also tell that there is something inside of you that is bursting to break free. In a month, you will be a corpse, so I don't have to do anything anyway… Hahaha…" Shin Jiao said with a smirk.

Shin Jiao's words stunned the Duke.

"How… How did he know that? Did I look down on him?" he thought as he glared at Shin Jiao.

In an instant, he suddenly calmed down and did not show any reaction on his face anymore.

He did not want to appear weak in front of his enemy. He is the Duke and no matter what others say, he would not let just anyone trample on his pride and glory.

Suddenly within his mind, something happened. A strong command that he has felt before and it has been a long time that he has never experienced it, but this command became familiar all of a sudden. The command in his mind is saying, 'Kill him!'…

The Duke's expression suddenly turned serious. And without warning his body suddenly glowed brightly as the power of an Arch Mage erupted from within him.

The strong force sends everything in the room crashing to the walls.

"You dare mock me in my own territory… then die!" he shouted.

A large fireball with a diameter of one meter suddenly formed in his hand. Then it flew in Shin Jiao's direction like a raging comet.

Ka-Boom!!!

The entire floor of the castle was destroyed, turning everything into cinders.

Everyone in the castle was immediately alarmed as the expression of soldiers turned gloomy and their eyes began to turn pure black. They seem to have turned into mechanical creatures as they uniformly march towards the entrance of the mansion.

The uniform footsteps create a crescendo of sound that could make someone who heard it feel their heart thumping in anxiousness and fear.

Because of the strong explosion, the figure of Shin Jiao was thrown out of the castle as he floated in the air while looking at the burning castle floor.

Shin Jiao did not let this go as he also conjures two fireballs in both of his hands. Though his affinity with any elements in the immortal land is subpar, he could still conjure nascent fire which is blue.

The two bluish fireballs flew to the burning floor and exploded. This made the whole tower shake.

Then the burning walls began to collapse as the tower started to collapse on itself.

Crack! Crack! Crash! Bang!

The sound of falling boulder began to turn the entire tower into a ruin. Because of the high-temperature everything slowly collapses because of the weight.

The soldiers that have entered the tower mechanically are like people who entered their deaths without them knowing it.

Shin Jiao just shook his head while looking at the devastation.

Then suddenly a figure came flying out of the tower towards him. It was too fast that he could only get a glimpse of the man covered in flame before that man hit him.

Wham!

The Duke's fist came crashing to Shin Jiao's face; however, a firm hand catches his burning fist with ease.

"Is this the best that the famed Dark Duke can do?" Shin Jiao asked with a smirk.

The Duke did not hesitate to use his skill.

"Dark God's Hand…" he shouted as a huge palm appear behind him and quickly hit Shin Jiao's figure.

Bam!

The impact sent Shin Jiao tumbling in the air, but it did not hurt him that badly.

"You are stronger than the Grand Magus I have faced so far… You really are one of the heroes of the kingdom…" Shin Jiao praised with a thumbs up.

But this action felt like an insult to the Duke. He has poured a fourth of his mana in that attack, but it did not damage his opponent. Instead, it just pushes him away.

"Dark God's Claw!" the Duke shouted as he suddenly forms a claw in his hands and black surging mana came out from behind him and a large dark hand forming a claw appears.

It suddenly tried to capture Shin Jiao's figure like a large eagle's claws capturing its prey.

Swoosh!

How could Shin Jiao let himself be capture? How could it be easy for him to fall into the enemy's hands? He suddenly takes out a rifle from his dimension and then without warning shoots the huge hand made of dark mana.

Bang! Bang!

He shot two bullets at the black mana-clawed hand. The first bullet destroyed the dark mana and the second thoroughly passes through it and directly flew towards the Duke.

The Duke was already aware of such an artifact and quickly dodges to the side. However, his speed is not as fast as the bullet hence his shoulder was hit by the strong bullet.

But the strong defensive spell in his body was able to block the bullet. However, the strong force of the impact sent the Duke tumbling to the ruined tower of his castle.

Bam!

His figure landed heavily which created a huge crater.

"Damn you!" the Duke shouted as he flew upwards and take out his staff.

"Dark God Spear!" he shouted as the black mana around him formed into a spear shape in front of him.

The speed was too fast that it created a strong sonic boom.

Shin Jiao saw this and quickly takes out a shield in his dimension.

Bam!

The two collided in the air and both were sent flying on each opposite side.

The Duke was once again thrown to the ground, but this time he landed on his back. While Shin Jiao has just retreated a few meters before stopping in mid-air.

From this exchange alone one could tell the difference in their strength.

"You… You are a late-stage Grand Magus… You… you are like my… my master…" the Duke said as black blood began oozing out of his mouth.

"Hmmm… I am not like your master. Your master is coward, while I do things on my own… I face my troubles head-on."

"Hahaha… You are too cocky, but my master is not a pushover. I too am not one either…" the Duke said as he slowly picks himself up.

"Heal!" he shouted.

With this spell, his whole body began to recover from his wounds.

When Shin Jiao saw this, he remembers that this person can use both Light and Dark magic. So he felt a bit interested in how this person is able to use it. So he immediately combined his spiritual and absolute senses. Using his divine sense could take a toll on his mental ability, but it could also make him see things that he could not see using either of the senses.

With the activation of his divine sense, Shin Jiao could immediately see what is really happening inside the body of the Duke.

Then he saw it…

Inside his body, there is another mana core or mana sphere. So the two mana spheres are black and white which holds the same amount of strength. However, what he saw further made him understand what is really happening.

The black mana core is actually artificially implanted inside his body.

"So this is the source of that sinister aura. The ticking time bomb inside his body…" Shin Jiao thought.

If that thing blows up, then half of the city might be destroyed.

"I guess, I have to take this in another place, then…" Shin Jiao thought with a smile.

Suddenly he made a move and in a flash appears next to the Duke.

With a twist of his hand, he delivers a powerful punch on his face.

Wham!

The duke was caught off-guard as just healed his body. But he was still quick to defend himself.

He flew back in the air as Shin Jiao follows up his attack.