Chapter 432

Chapter 432: Bloodline vs Patterns

Bloodline awakening.

Simply put, Midi’s Dragon’s Blood had been stimulated during this crisis, awakening the pure ancestral bloodline dormant for ten thousand years.

This phenomenon—far more potent than ordinary bloodline refinement—could save Midi three years of effort, as Rot stated. For someone marked by Death’s Pursuit Order, this rumor brought rare hope.

But survival through a life-threatening battle was the prerequisite. Midi needed to wield this formidable Battle Mage as his Grinding Stone.

"A battle to the death leaves no room for retreat." Cold determination flashed in Midi’s eyes. "When else would I test myself against a rare Battle Mage?"

"Precisely," Rot nodded. The Eighth Apostle’s lofty standards had never found Midi wanting. Now, he watched keenly as his young ally confronted Ulhan.

Golden-red sword lights erupted around Midi. His Horn King Greatsword blazed as he shot through the air like an arrow, striking again at Ulhan.

"Predictable slashes can’t threaten me!" Ulhan sneered. Intricate patterns flared across his dragon scale armor—the Battle Mage’s signature Magic Patterns.

Battle Mages honed their physical forms with magic, unleashing melee skills that spilled excess magic. Through sheer will, they shaped this overflow into enhancing patterns—a dual-layered mastery unique to their profession.

Every skill cast spawned new patterns. Sustained battle layered these attributes: boosting attack power, defensive power, speed, elemental effects, even restoring Physical Strength and magic. The longer the fight, the more unstoppable they became.

Hence Midi’s opening move—the overwhelming "Mountain Smash Slash"—meant to suppress Ulhan’s War Spear and deny pattern-building opportunities.

Yet Ulhan knew this too. Instead of blocking, he chanted a spell. Ice Dragon Dance erupted—a roaring tornado masking his instant teleportation to the arena’s far side.

Under these circumstances, unless Midi utilized flying skills like "Sky Sword Dance," adjusting his orientation by 180 degrees through counter-thrust alone became utterly impossible.

The skyward strike instantly missed its mark.

The moment Midi’s Horn King Greatsword smashed into the ground, Ulhan – having retreated to a distance – immediately teleported back into close combat.

As he lunged forward, magical energy surged through his hands once more. Another spell manifested!

Ice Mages skill: Frost Domain!

A flawless ice sheet rapidly expanded across the arena floor, rendering footing treacherous.

Ulhan’s combat strategy became clear – using Ice Mages’ control abilities to set up killing blows with Battle Mage techniques.

Within moments, Ulhan closed in until he stood mere sword-length from Midi.

No words passed between them. Their greatsword and war spear collided violently.

KA-BOOM!

Ulhan went soaring backward while Midi staggered several steps from the impact.

Though appearing weaker in direct combat, Ulhan’s ice manipulation caused Midi to lose balance further.

Before Midi could recover, Ulhan smirked and pressed the assault.

Intricate patterns across Ulhan’s body began glowing faintly.

The first pattern activated – boosting defensive power.

Now reinforced, Ulhan held his ground during their second clash, matching Midi blow for blow.

The third exchange came. Then the fourth…

Neither retreated during these relentless attacks.

But while Midi’s Horn King Greatsword maintained consistent force, Ulhan’s patterns kept multiplying.

Attack power. Defense. Speed. Recovery. Reflexes…

Each new pattern enhanced Ulhan’s capabilities, his body radiating blinding magical light that dwarfed Midi’s golden-red sword glows.

From afar, Ulhan shone like the Shaded Realm’s sun while Midi resembled a faded moon.

"He’ll lose at this rate," Zaknavan and Mason muttered, exchanging disbelieving glances.

Midi… losing?

Yet the evidence proved undeniable. Midi had no counterstrategy.

Against Battle Mages, ranged attacks remained the simplest solution. Their pattern-generating skills required melee combat – maintaining distance prevented pattern formation and caused existing ones to fade.

But Midi couldn’t achieve this separation. Even using Asura and Ghost Cry’s mid-range techniques proved insufficient against Ulhan’s pursuit.

Moreover, Ulhan’s mastery of Ice Mages’ arts meant creating distance might trigger magical duels where Midi still held inferiority.

However, if Midi kept fighting close-range, he stood no chance.

The only way to stop a Battle Mage from creating patterns in melee was using hit-and-run tactics—creating gaps between clashes to predict and suppress their heavy Techniques, reducing pattern generation. Yet Midi’s greatsword swings matched Ulhan’s war spear attacks in speed. Every strike Midi threw, Ulhan could counter with one of his own. This meant Midi was practically feeding Ulhan opportunities to spawn patterns!

As time passed and patterns accumulated, Ulhan would grow stronger until even Midi couldn’t endure.

Midi clearly knew these fundamentals, making Zaknavan and Mason utterly perplexed. Why would he defy common sense despite understanding Battle Mage strengths and weaknesses?

What was he doing?

The two found no answers. The old mage and Galantis, inexperienced in melee combat, remained clueless. Only Alexis showed a shift in his gaze as Midi sank deeper into the struggle—not with mockery, but quiet contemplation.

“This guy… could he be…” Alexis suddenly stared at Midi with dawning understanding.

Before Alexis finished muttering, Midi’s voice rang across the arena.

“Enough patterns gathered yet?” Midi wiped blood from his lips, tone steady.

Recent clashes had left him battered. With Ulhan’s power now surpassing his own, every blocked strike shook Midi’s body, inflicting internal injuries. By all accounts, Midi was thoroughly overpowered.

Yet even in this peril, Midi stubbornly maintained his direct combat strategy, calmly watching Ulhan grow stronger—as if this had been his plan all along.

Such unshakable composure seeded doubt and irritation in Ulhan. Even anger.

“Stop bluffing, human. You’ve lost,” Ulhan declared, magic light haloing him like a war god receiving worship.

Midi remained expressionless before this radiant foe.

“Power, defense, speed, recovery, stamina… Patterns indeed craft experts with flawless stats,” Midi said lightly. “But battles aren’t decided by numbers alone.”

“Empty boasts!” Ulhan scowled.

“Level 64 Ulhan couldn’t beat me. What changes at Level 65?” Midi raised his greatsword. “Now I take control.”

“You control nothing! Only Death awaits!” Ulhan roared, lunging with his war spear!