Bai Shi rode Torrent, galloping across the vast Wailing Dunes.
Under the crimson sky of Caelid, the boundless, magnificent dunes appeared even more spectacular.
In every direction, endless dunes stretched to the horizon, rising and falling like the waves of a tumultuous ocean.
Scattered across the sands, the various pieces of broken armor and shattered weapons still echoed with the soaring fighting spirit of a bygone battle, as if this desert had specially preserved the memory of that fierce engagement.
And at the very center of this sea of sand stood the impossibly powerful General Radahn.
Both his colossal size and the archery he had just displayed were enough to strike terror into anyone's heart.
Radahn's muscles bulged and his face was savage. Even eroded by the Scarlet Rot, his indomitable spirit could not be suppressed.
No battle hymn was needed; the roars of the warriors were the greatest testament to this fight.
On this land of rippling sand, this battle was destined to become an indelible legend.
Bai Shi could hardly suppress his excitement; the blood in his veins was boiling.In the Lands Between, the disparity in power levels was unimaginable.
Only by reaching the level of a powerful demigod like Morgott or Radahn could one truly possess the strength to influence the Lands Between.
Compared to the power of a truly mighty demigod, just how strong was he now?
Bai Shi's heart pounded violently with excitement, so much so that his eyes turned bloodshot.
A battlefield like this was the battlefield he craved.
Torrent's speed was swift, so Radahn's first volley of arrows had missed the far-ahead Bai Shi, instead striking the larger group of warriors behind him.
From this, Bai Shi witnessed the terrifying lethality of the gravity arrows against ordinary soldiers.
But this only made Bai Shi more thrilled.
That was more like it. This was the level of skill General Radahn should possess.
As the strongest gravity sorcerer in the Lands Between, it was only natural that he would have such a move.
After that strike, Radahn also noticed Bai Shi, who had charged ahead of the pack.
He had realized that he probably needed to eliminate the strongest person, Bai Shi, first.
Even though he had descended into madness and his mind was unclear, his martial arts and combat awareness had long been ingrained in his flesh, becoming pure instinct.
Therefore, Radahn immediately made the most accurate decision with beast-like intuition.
Radahn once again pulled a blood-stained Cleanrot Knight's spear from his own body and nocked it on his greatbow.
This time, Radahn did not aim for the sky. Instead, he pointed the spearhead directly at Bai Shi, his gaze locked onto him.
The greatbow was drawn to its absolute limit, the bowstring forming a perfect full moon.
Countless rock fragments floated up from the ground, converging and fusing onto the Cleanrot Knight's spear.
The rocks endowed the spear with unimaginable weight, which, under Radahn's monstrous strength, translated into unparalleled destructive power.
With a sound that ripped through the air, the spear shot across the desert, rocketing toward Bai Shi.
The stone-clad spear kicked up a plume of sand, its shockwave carving a trench across the desert floor. To be hit by this arrow would mean being shattered to pieces.
Bai Shi swung out with the Dragonslayer Greatspear, which Master Iji had already reinforced to +18.
The vastly strengthened greatspear collided with the heavy spear shaft, precisely knocking it upward.
Bai Shi was marveling at Radahn's immense strength when the rock fragments on the spear exploded, shooting out in all directions.
Caught off guard, Bai Shi was struck by the shrapnel, which left several wounds on his face and body.
Bai Shi casually plucked a piece of rock embedded in the gap of his armor and wiped the blood from his face where the fragments had struck him.
Thanks to his extremely high vitality, the wounds began to slowly heal on their own.
Because Bai Shi had deflected the spear upwards, Torrent only suffered a glancing blow.
However, several of the riders behind Bai Shi were grievously injured by the exploding fragments.
One was particularly unlucky; his warhorse was struck in the leg by a rock, and both horse and rider fell, tumbling several times across the dunes.
Torrent, however, put all his strength into his sprint and continued to charge, not pausing for a minor injury.
Across the vast dunes, the distance to Radahn was still great.
Riding Torrent, Bai Shi was the strongest and fastest person on the field.
Bai Shi knew he had to close the distance with Radahn immediately to stop him from firing more arrows.
The warriors were prepared to die, but that didn't mean Bai Shi would stand by and watch them die meaningless deaths.
At that moment, Radahn had already pulled out another spear and nocked it on his bow.
Bai Shi had no ultra-long-range attacks, and the reach of his sorceries was no match for Radahn's bow.
However, Bai Shi had another way to interrupt Radahn's assault from here.
Bai Shi estimated the current distance between himself and Radahn. It seemed to be just enough.
He reversed his grip on the Dragonslayer Greatspear, stretching his right arm far back.
A storm gathered around the greatspear as lightning crackled along its length. Then, a flicker of black-and-white flame coated its surface.
When everything had been charged to its peak, Bai Shi seized the moment Radahn drew his bow and fiercely swung his arm, hurling the Dragonslayer Greatspear.
The immense force even caused Torrent's forward momentum to stutter for a moment.
The wind howled, propelling the Dragonslayer Greatspear across the long distance at extreme speed.
A black-and-white meteor streaked across the Wailing Dunes, leaving a trail of orange lightning in the sky.
Although Radahn reacted instantly, the act of drawing a bow was not one that could be easily stopped.
Thus, Radahn was forced to release the arrow before the bow was fully drawn.
His archery was superb; the Cleanrot Knight's spear accurately collided with Bai Shi's Dragonslayer Greatspear in mid-air.
But how could a spear from a half-drawn bow compete with Bai Shi's greatspear, imbued with three different powers?
The moment they collided, the ancient Cleanrot Knight's spear was shattered inch by inch.
However, Radahn's shot did succeed in deflecting the greatspear's trajectory.
The strike, originally aimed for Radahn's chest, pierced through his right shoulder, leaving a massive, gaping hole before sinking deep into the dune behind him, leaving only a part of the shaft visible.
Blood did not gush from the hole, because the black flame still clung to the charred flesh, burning continuously.
Radahn tilted his head back and let out a furious roar.
Flesh began to grow back at an unnatural rate, regenerating to a state where he could move again in just a few dozen seconds.
Bai Shi frowned at the sight.
The healing ability granted by Radahn's Great Rune was simply too powerful.
While it was a far cry from the infinite health of his Fengling Yueying system, it was still terrifying.
No wonder General Radahn, despite being infected with the most virulent Scarlet Rot, had held on for so long, his body even maintaining a considerable degree of integrity.
If not for the fact that the Scarlet Rot corroded one's mind and consciousness, the damage from this small amount of rot would likely be negligible.
But it didn't matter. He had never expected to kill General Radahn so easily.
Although the blow didn't hit a vital spot, the injury to his shoulder and the surrounding trapezius muscle prevented Radahn from immediately drawing his bow again.
Those few dozen seconds were enough for Bai Shi to close the distance significantly.
At this range, Radahn probably had only enough time for one last shot.
But rather than firing that final arrow, Radahn seemed more inclined to test his mettle against Bai Shi in close combat.
Thus, Radahn put away his greatbow from a distance.
Radahn spread his arms, a purple, gravitational hue glowing in his hands.
Answering their master's call, two greatswords erupted from beneath the distant dunes and flew into Radahn's grasp.
His steed, Leonard, who had fought by his side through thick and thin, was now extremely old.
The Scarlet Rot caused him excruciating pain as well, but he never left Radahn's side, remaining just as loyal as Radahn was to him.
Feeling his master's will, the horse broke into a charge, galloping toward Bai Shi.
Because Radahn continuously maintained his gravity magic, the horse felt almost none of his master's weight.
It was for this reason that he had always been able to fight by Radahn's side.
On the path of his charge, Radahn controlled gravity to summon countless large rocks from the ground.
The stone spheres floated in the air, then smashed down furiously toward Bai Shi.
Bai Shi drew the Sword of Night and Flame, held it in his hand, and poured magic into it.
The glintstone on the Sword of Night and Flame lit up, releasing the Glintblade Phalanx.
The phalanx of glintblades collided with the rock spheres in mid-air, shattering several that were in their path.
Torrent deftly dodged left and right, weaving through the remaining boulders.
One by one, the rock spheres crashed into the dunes, leaving deep craters.
The Dragon Communion Seal in Bai Shi's hand lit up, and an enormous dragon's head appeared before him.
Fierce flames spewed onto the sandy ground, roasting the sand into fine glass shards.
However, Radahn simply used his gravity magic, lifting both himself and Leonard into the air to evade the dragon's flames.
In the air, Radahn spun like a top, transforming into a drill and hurtling towards Bai Shi.
Torrent burst forward again, causing Radahn's gravity spiral attack to miss its mark.
At the same time, Bai Shi looked back and countered with the fire from his Sword of Night and Flame.
Radahn crashed heavily to the ground, the storm-enhanced flames washing over him as if he were completely unharmed.
As he came face to face with Radahn, Bai Shi truly appreciated his massive size.
Even if Bai Shi used his Great Rune to maximize his own size, he would still be about a third shorter than Radahn.
And that scrawny horse beneath him, which looked so small under Radahn, was only small in comparison.
In reality, the steed's frame was a size or two larger than the horses of the Tree Sentinels and the Night's Cavalry.
If not for being so emaciated, the visual effect wouldn't be quite so dramatic.
Bai Shi had Torrent create a bit more distance.
The Sword of Night and Flame in his hand gathered a vast amount of magic, and then an immense torrent of energy erupted from the blade.
Radahn's colossal size made precise dodging impossible, and the Comet Azur shot straight through his side.
The other knights had now arrived at Radahn's position, their weapons striking him in succession.
The mindless Radahn immediately switched targets to deal with the warriors around him.
Having landed a successful hit, Bai Shi did not press his advantage, instead turning to once again create distance.
After drinking a Flask of Cerulean Tears to replenish his magic, Bai Shi suddenly felt a violent tremor from beneath the ground, as if an earthquake was about to strike.
Torrent also sensed the abnormal shaking and immediately galloped faster, using its double jump to try and escape the area.
But the range of the tremors was too vast; even Torrent's speed wasn't enough to escape in time.
Clusters of bladed rocks erupted from the ground, instantly covering the area for a hundred meters around Radahn.
The rock blades were incredibly sharp, easily capable of piercing a creature's body.
Already in the air, Torrent could no longer dodge, so it immediately entered its spirit form to pass through the stone spikes.
Bai Shi, however, urgently grabbed onto one of the rock blades.
His dragonscale gloves were instantly torn apart, and blood flowed freely.
Temporarily finding a foothold, Bai Shi scanned his surroundings to assess the situation.
He saw that nearly all the warriors and their mounts had been impaled by the rock spikes, hanging there as blood dripped down the stone pillars.
The warriors on foot, who had lagged behind due to their slower speed, were fortunate enough to have escaped the initial attack entirely.
The cavalry was almost completely wiped out. Only a handful managed to grab onto the rocks in time, surviving for the moment.
But just as they were contemplating how to get down from the rock spikes, they discovered with horror that:
The rock blades had not stopped growing!
The spikes continued to extend upwards, locking onto each person's position and thrusting forward again and again.
The surviving warriors were quickly pursued and impaled one by one, becoming the next victims.
Bai Shi was powerless to help them; this area was extremely dangerous for him as well, and he could barely fend for himself.
Bai Shi could only leap between the blades and spikes, trying to escape the spell's range.
Several times, the sharp rock spikes grazed his body, carving deep wounds.
However, the relentless assault of rock spikes ultimately failed to pin Bai Shi down.
At the highest point on the edge of the spike-filled area, Bai Shi finally found a brief opening.
Enveloping himself in a storm, he charged up a jump and leaped out of the region covered in stone spikes.
As he was leaving the area, another thick, sharp spike shot up from the ground, aiming straight for him.
Bai Shi scraped the Sword of Night and Flame along the stone pillar, deflecting his trajectory so he wasn't hit.
The sword blade and the stone pillar created a trail of sparks until Bai Shi slid back to the ground.
With the sole survivor having escaped the range of the rock blades, Radahn no longer needed to expend a massive amount of magic to maintain the terrain.
The large expanse of stone pillars crumbled, turning back into a field of rubble.
If Radahn wanted to, he could have continued to summon rock blades to attack Bai Shi, but he didn't.
Because Radahn had already charged up to Bai Shi's position.
Blood was still flowing from the wound pierced by Comet Azur; such a massive injury couldn't be healed in a short moment.
But a wound like this was not enough to hinder Radahn's attacks.
The twin Starscourge Greatswords swept out, and a gravity wave surged across the ground, ripping up rocks from beneath.
At the same time, a series of deep purple gravity orbs materialized behind Radahn.
This was Radahn's signature move—Starcaller Cry.
Bai Shi leaped high into the air and simultaneously summoned a dragon's claw. Suspended in mid-air, he dodged the gravity wave below as the dragon claw swiped out, dispersing all the gravity orbs.
However, even though the gravity orbs were scattered, their residual gravity briefly held Bai Shi suspended in the air. Radahn's two Starscourge Greatswords swung ferociously at Bai Shi. There was no escape.
Bai Shi's brow furrowed, his expression grave.
Sheathing the Sword of Night and Flame, he instantly swapped to the heavy Ruins Greatsword, holding it before him as his storm armor rapidly formed around his body.
Since he couldn't dodge, Bai Shi prepared to take the hit head-on, planning to dissipate the force in mid-air to mitigate some of the damage.
However, the warriors on foot had also reached the battlefield.
Blaidd the half-wolf, being the fastest runner, was the first to arrive.
Seeing Bai Shi's predicament, Blaidd immediately rushed forward to rescue him.
He leaped high, spinning to unleash his signature move—Wolf's Assault—driving the Royal Greatsword deep into Radahn's shoulder blade.
As he pulled the greatsword free, a fierce burst of cold erupted from the blade, the shock interfering with Radahn's movements.
The gravitational pull on Bai Shi instantly vanished, allowing him to fall from the sky.
A blade dripping with cursed blood from the Rivers of Blood katana swept in from the side, hacking heavily into Radahn's elbow joint.
The Old Man's sword strikes left deep, bone-exposing gashes on Radahn's arm.
And Bernahl now stood at Radahn's side.
He swung his Devourer's Scepter in a wide arc, smashing it down and shattering the armor on Radahn's waist.
The lightly armored Old Man and Bernahl, the strongest warrior aside from Bai Shi, arrived at the battlefield in quick succession.
Behind them were the other warriors, their ranks stretched out due to varying speeds.
The next closest warriors were still some distance away.
Radahn sensed he was surrounded.
With a furious roar, he slammed his two Starscourge Greatswords into the ground, unleashing the weapon's engraved skill—Starcaller Cry.
A powerful gravitational force pulled at them, dragging them forcefully toward Radahn.
If they were pulled in, they would surely be hit by Radahn's fully charged follow-up slam.
The warriors further away were not yet in the skill's range; this attack was aimed at Bai Shi, Bernahl, and the others near Radahn.
Bai Shi, Blaidd, and Bernahl all plunged their weapons deep into the sand, bracing themselves against the immense gravitational pull.
Only the Old Man, instead of steadying himself, leaped into the air, using the gravity to rapidly close in on Radahn.
A crazed look flashed in the Old Man's eyes.
With a flash of red light, the Rivers of Blood in the Old Man's hands slashed across Radahn's neck.
Blood gushed out violently, drenching the Old Man's body.
Faced with a true life-or-death crisis, the survival instinct in Radahn's body became incredibly strong.
The Great Rune within Radahn blazed to life, burning furiously, pushed to its very limits.
The wound on his neck sealed instantly, and the healing rate of his previous injuries rapidly increased.
In almost an instant, all his previous wounds had fully healed.
Radahn swung his arm, smashing the Old Man away.
The blow landed squarely, and the Old Man tumbled several times across the ground before he barely managed to stand up.
Several rock spheres were already shooting towards him.
The Old Man drew his wakizashi with his left hand and, dual-wielding, he continuously parried the rock spheres before him.
The Rivers of Blood katana split the spheres, and the wakizashi shattered the smaller fragments.
But his earlier injury had destabilized his breathing, and he was about to fail to block the last rock sphere.
At that moment, a warrior from the Land of Reeds threw himself in front of the Old Man and was smashed to a pulp.
The Old Man didn't even glance at him. Seeing that Radahn had changed targets, he immediately began to regulate his breathing on the spot.
—
Radahn's target was still Bai Shi.
After Radahn launched the rock spheres at the Old Man, Bai Shi stepped forward to continue the fight.
Switching back to the Sword of Night and Flame, he fired several Night Comets at Radahn, drawing streams of blood with each hit.
After casting another circle of Glintblade Phalanx, Bai Shi swung the Sword of Night and Flame, unleashing its fire.
The fire combined with the storm, creating an unprecedented firestorm.
The firestorm engulfed Radahn, charring his already dark skin to black.
After a short delay, the Glintblade Phalanx also shot towards Radahn.
Enraged by these mosquito-like attacks, Radahn turned and swung his twin swords at Bai Shi.
Bai Shi jumped sideways, dodging the descending blades, which slammed down with such force that they sent sand flying everywhere.
Bai Shi's hands didn't stop moving, continuously casting spells to attack Radahn.
Bernahl plunged his Devourer's Scepter into the ground. The serpent's eye on the scepter glowed with a terrifying red light.
As a wave of blood-red light spread out, Radahn was enveloped by the power of the Devourer's Scepter.
Countless blood-snakes surged forth from the scepter, one after another, forming a crimson river.
The blood-snakes coiled around Radahn's body, biting through his flesh and constantly siphoning his blood, which flowed back into Bernahl's scepter.
In an instant, Bernahl had turned Radahn into a man drenched in blood.
At the same time, several blood-snakes attacked Radahn's steed, Leonard, attempting to cripple his mobility.
How could Radahn tolerate harm coming to his beloved horse?
He let out a roar filled with fury, his body shrouded in a purple light as gravity canceled out Bernahl's blood-snakes.
Blaidd took the opportunity to use his Wolf's Assault again, but this time Radahn smashed him out of the air.
Although he managed to block with the Royal Greatsword, he was still badly injured, coughing up blood.
The Old Man, who had been knocked away earlier, had stabilized his breathing.
He sheathed his wakizashi, stood with one foot forward and the other back, and raised the Rivers of Blood katana high to his side.
As the Old Man's presence built, the sheer malevolence from his body forcibly commanded the boundless spirits within the cursed blade.
At the peak