The massive battle erupting inside the Death Arena held every dignitary seated across Franklin Hall in breathless suspense.
Although the Death Arena blocked all sound in the interest of fairness—preventing any interference or assistance from beyond the barrier—merely watching the barrier absorb the oncoming shockwaves of mana and seeing the silent bursts of white light struck terror into the hearts of these dignitaries.
To living beings of tier six and below, a clash of tier eight was like the wrath of the gods; any creature caught in it would be crushed to pieces in an instant.
Three demons of varied forms closed in on Askesan, forming an impassable battle line.
They served as Sigrid's unyielding shield, while acting as a lethal spear aimed at Askesan.
The vanguard demon was the most agile and swift. Even without a weapon in hand, any motion she made could unleash invisible blades that tore through the air with piercing screeches, leaving sharp gouges across the floor.
The center demon seemed mysterious, his blurred figure appearing as if forged from the waters of the abyss, dark ripples constantly surging across it.
As long as he held the center, whatever offensive or defensive intentions Askesan had were seemingly seen through by him and accurately relayed to the other two demons. Serving as the central commander, he repeatedly summoned vast swathes of all-devouring dark power, seeking to drag Askesan into the endless abyss.
The demon in the rear appeared indolent, yet with a light wave of her hand, incantations spread all along the Death Arena, spinning rapidly and fusing in midair to form impregnable floating barriers that precisely shielded the other two demons and turned aside Askesan's fierce counterattacks.
The figure of Askesan, Bishop of Extinction, darted across the Death Arena.
Besieged by the three demons, he was in a state of utter disarray; every dodge was a desperate struggle to hold on.
Even the noble lords in the seats who knew nothing of magic could tell that if Askesan kept fighting like this, his chances of winning were slim.
"Is this really a summoner fighting a Sealer?"
A noble in the audience couldn't help but voice his confusion.
Generally speaking, in a summoner's battle, the summoner had to serve personally as the tactical commander, doing their utmost to give combat commands and buffing spells to their summons, while their own body could join the fight to harass the opponent.
Yet these three summons looked completely self-aware—and dead set on beating Askesan to death!
"I can't shake the feeling that this looks like a gang beating up someone in an alley, but I have no proof."
"But look at Askesan's face, cursing in absolute fury. He clearly doesn't think Sigrid is fighting a duel either."
Discussions buzzed throughout the seating in the Parliament Hall.
At that moment, the female demon in the rear had already constructed a translucent bar counter and stool using pale blue mana, inviting Sigrid to take a seat while waiting attentively beside her like a bartender at Sigrid's beck and call—a true display of professionalism.
If beverages weren't barred from being brought into the Death Arena, she probably would have already started mixing drinks for Sigrid.
"Look at that, the magic is so bright."
"Indeed. But the King did explain to us that if someone within the city limits of his hometown uses tier-seven or higher magic as fireworks or a light show, even if no public damage is caused, they face hefty fines. Once, a friend of his—both mentor and friend—had to pay a massive fine to City Hall just for forcibly tearing down a barrier to stop a campus competitive event that ran into an accident."
"Then that friend of his is quite something. By the way, why would a campus competition run into that kind of accident?"
"The King didn't say."
Sigrid sat there doing nothing at all, watching from her chair as Askesan was hunted down in the distance by two tier-eight epic demons, casually chatting now and then with the demon beside her.
On the other side, besieged by three great demons, Askesan had no time to vent his emotions even if his rage boiled over and he wished nothing more than to curse Sigrid for being shameless.
All of his fury condensed into a sinister sneer.
Because Sigrid, believing victory was already in her grasp, had no idea what was about to happen next!
Outside the Death Arena, on the right side of the Assembly Hall in the seats of the Great Prelates of Extinction, a figure was ostensibly watching the fierce battle raging in the center of the hall with rapt attention.
Blending into the tense and expectant atmosphere of the hall, this Great Prelate of Extinction's actions appeared all the more covert and discreet.
His calculations were concealed behind this life-and-death struggle, waiting for the right moment to unleash his killing stroke.
The gaze of Askesan's clone left outside drifted continuously across the upper tier on the left side of Franklin Hall opposite him, where the southern nobles of the House of Lords sat.
Although it was difficult to spare attention for his clone outside the battlefield, Askesan was already certain that this aura of mana was somewhere nearby.
By analyzing the mana fluctuations of the suspects one by one across the vast Franklin Hall, he would sooner or later identify the Holy Son of Domination based on his mana profile.
Based on his deductions, Askesan believed the Holy Son of Domination was most likely a minor noble.
The probability of him being in the House of Lords was greater than in the House of Commons.
Furthermore, the chance that the Holy Son of Domination was among the southern nobility was the highest, followed by the east, and lastly the north.
Therefore, he should start searching among the southern nobles.
He just needed a little more time. It would be enough as long as he stalled those three demons in the arena a bit longer.
Foolish Sigrid and her three demon hounds had no inkling of what was about to unfold.
The moment he found the Holy Son of Domination would be the moment he reversed the tide of battle and made Sigrid regret this for the rest of her life!
Inside the Death Arena, thick gray mana flashed constantly around Askesan's true body, condensing into sealing runes. Under his control, he shifted from an offensive stance to defense and counterattacks, doing everything possible to fend off the siege of the three demons.
Yet the three demons' combat style was exceedingly cunning and ruthless. Like predators in the dark, they launched surprise attacks against Askesan from every angle.
The barrier demon's sturdy shields, the cutting demon's razor blades, the abyss demon's boundless darkness—every organized, disciplined wave of attacks steadily drained Askesan's physical stamina and mana.
They were clearly living beings, not mere summons!
Summoned creatures would have thrown their lives away long ago to clash with him.
Yet these three demons had no intention of trading their lives; they purely wanted to wear him down to death without taking a scratch.
Unfortunately for them, this was a poor move!
As the battle raged on, thick smoke and scattered sparks like those of an iron foundry filled the barrier. Askesan's body was riddled with wounds, but a flame burned in his eyes.
After several clashes, Askesan suddenly expanded the range of his sealing arts. Several sealing magic circles instantly overlapped around him, forming a massive, disc-shaped barrier.
When the demons' attacks struck the barrier, the runes upon it reacted like living things, absorbing and converting the blows before reflecting them back at the demons.
The barrier's reflective power was exceptionally potent. Even the three demons grew wary; rather than breaking through by force, waiting for the barrier to decay and fail on its own seemed the wiser choice.
Under the center demon's direction, the three demons shifted their offensive toward regrouping and containment, no longer pressing forward as wildly as before.
By this point, the death battle had long reached a fever pitch; any clash between them could decide the outcome in the very next instant.
This was the pivotal defensive sealing art Askesan had finally deployed, buying him merely a few seconds to focus all his attention outside the arena.
His clone in the seating of the Great Prelates of Extinction outside the arena had his brows furrowed tightly.
Something wasn't right.
Why didn't a single person in the seats of the southern nobles or the Domination branch match the mana frequency?
He had screened the eastern side as well; because the seats of the eastern nobles and assembly members were further away, there were very few suspects.
Could that fellow actually be hiding among the northern seats?
And yet, faintly...
Askesan had the lingering sensation that the Holy Son of Domination was even closer to him than he had imagined.
It was like an itch on his body that he couldn't pinpoint; every time he scratched, it was just slightly off the mark, as though he had the location entirely backward.
The more he thought, the more anxious he became, causing the arm of Askesan's clone to tremble slightly.
Right at that moment.
Askesan's clone felt a wisp of mana brush against him like a silken thread.
This mana frequency was none other than the Holy Son of Domination he was searching for!
For the weak, merely casting a glance toward a powerhouse produced mana fluctuations that could trigger the powerhouse's counter-detection.
An eighth-tier mage like Askesan, whose senses were exceedingly sharp, could immediately detect such subtle shifts in mana—
It was as if the Holy Son of Domination had, for some reason, actively begun observing him!
You rascal, you actually dare to walk right into my trap?!
Though he didn't know why the Holy Son of Domination was probing him at this precise moment, Askesan was certain that only he could perceive such crude and immature mana fluctuations. The other party had no idea that this covert observation had already been detected by Askesan!
The Holy Son of Domination was right behind him.
*At last, I've found you!*
Askesan sneered, a cruel smirk curling the corners of his mouth—the expression of a hunter discovering his prey's weakness.
He turned his head slowly.
He found a pair of emerald green eyes gazing at him.
That puzzled, concerned look seemed to ask: *Sir, are you feeling unwell?*
At that moment.
The eyes of Askesan's clone went wide.
Because the person he saw was—
Luoqi McCarthy!!
Chapter 475