Chapter 459 – Chaos

“Boom”!

“Damn you, Punk Cyan! What the hell is this thing? You definitely knew Sorsend was going to summon this abomination, didn’t you? You bastard deliberately kept it from me? Are you even human? Do you have any humanity left in you?”

With a thunderous explosion that shattered the crystalline ground, a crater burst open amidst the fractured earth. Kane, gripping his lance tightly, was the first to leap out rapidly from beneath the soil.

Though he emerged the fastest, Kane was in poor condition. He even momentarily forgot Punk was a half-elf, foolishly questioning whether he was “human.”

Yet it had to be admitted that after the Demon Sub-Lord’s Projection slammed its massive claw down, Kane was arguably the unluckiest of the four Master-Level powerhouses present.

As for Sorsend, the instigator—he had long since covertly prepared a magic array for his own concealment. Though the shockwave had buried him underground as well, Sorsend suffered only minor injuries at worst.

Then there were Punk and Ovakain…

In terms of defensive capability, Punk’s seven layers of magical protection were quite sturdy. Though the outermost three protective spells had shattered completely, they still significantly mitigated the Sub-Lord’s shockwave attack. Punk only sustained internal organ vibrations, with no loss to his combat effectiveness.

As for Ovakain, there was no need to even mention him—his insane fifteen layers of protective spells were no mere decoration. The black dragon remained completely unharmed, even casting “Earth Element Traversal” underground in an attempt to close in on Punk for another assault.

But… compared to Sorsend, Punk, and Ovakain, Kane—with his inferior defensive means—was in a pitiful state. Relying solely on his Battle Aura armor for protection, the knight who typically prioritized evasion in combat clearly lacked any defensive “Secret Techniques.”

Now, Kane’s gleaming golden armor had been completely pulverized by the terrifying impact. His exposed upper body showed nearly the entire left chest—including the heart—and left abdomen torn apart by violent energy. Even one-third of his skull had vanished without a trace in the shockwave.

Through Kane’s bleeding wounds, one could easily see his writhing internal organs and torn muscles. Anyone could confirm that half his body—including the spine—had undoubtedly suffered comminuted fractures.

Fortunately, such injuries were merely physical damage. The Sub-Lord’s Projection’s strike hadn’t affected the Master-Level powerhouse’s soul. While this level of bodily destruction would leave even the hardiest Formal-Level professional immobilized and near death, for a Master-Level expert… these wounds were far from fatal.

In fact, not only could Kane still deftly wield his lance with his remaining arm, he even managed to tear away bone fragments from his wounds while loudly complaining to Punk.Moreover, a knight bold enough to venture alone into the Raging Wave Desert naturally had his own trump card.

As Kane swiftly leaped backward using the balls of his feet, his fingers deftly retrieved a thumb-sized potion bottle from a hidden compartment in his lance’s hilt.

Without hesitation, Kane tossed the entire potion bottle into his mouth at nearly top speed. Then, the knight decisively crunched the vial between his teeth and swallowed both the potion and the shattered glass.

Amid the crunching sound of glass, something miraculous abruptly occurred to Kane in the very next second.

Countless green lights seeped directly from Kane’s bloodstream, with vast emerald radiance nearly enveloping every one of his wounds. His shattered bones, muscles, and even internal organs began repairing at a speed invisible to the naked eye. In less than a second, Kane’s body was fully restored under the nourishing green glow.

“Whoa, it feels so much better to control my body with nerves again. Forcing wounds to move with Battle Aura was downright painful.”

Twisting his fully recovered neck, Kane finally let out a long, relieved sigh and remarked cheerfully.

“Master-Level potion—Natural Vitality Extract? The druids won’t let you off easily if they find out you have this…”

Before Kane could further muse on the potion’s taste, Punk’s eerie voice slowly drifted from behind him. The knight, who had just been stretching his limbs, was so startled he nearly stumbled.

“Hey, hey, hey, you really know everything, don’t you? But you never share what you know—can we even play nice anymore…”

While continuing to spout nonsensical drivel, Kane subtly aimed his lance backward. Clearly, he held significant wariness toward Punk.

Although the knight’s injuries had healed, his Battle Aura couldn’t recover as quickly. Especially with the Demon Sub-Lord’s projected claw poised to strike again at any moment—if Punk landed a sneak attack at a critical juncture, Kane could easily find himself in peril once more.

In contrast to Kane’s vigilance, Punk’s expression remained nonchalant.

Frankly, he had indeed considered delivering a “Kinetic Blast” to the knight while he was severely wounded. But Punk hadn’t anticipated Kane possessing a bottle of “Natural Vitality Extract” potion.

Now that Kane had recovered, Punk saw no reason to risk an attack. After all… merely hundreds of meters from the battlefield, the Sub-Lord’s projected colossal hand was still casually flexing its fingers.

“Alright, Kane, same plan as before. You hold off that mad dragon, and I’ll make sure Sorsend takes a hard fall.”

“What did you say? Didn’t you say that last time? I held off that black dragon perfectly, but what about you? Look at the ‘trouble’ you caused Sorsend!”

Hearing Punk’s authoritative arrangement, Kane immediately widened his eyes in disbelief. With a hostile tone, the knight pointed at the distant Demon Sub-Lord’s projected claw and exclaimed loudly:”So that’s the trouble you had Sorsend suffer? Pretty good, isn’t it? A Sub-Lord’s Projection? What else will you conjure up next to be satisfied? Bro, have some mercy, are you actually in cahoots with Sorsend?”

Kane’s expression now looked as if Punk owed him hundreds of millions of Gold Coins. If he didn’t know that demons generally had the insane habit of “chasing down whoever runs first,” this unreliable knight would surely have turned and fled on the spot.

But no matter how bitter and resentful Kane’s expression was, Punk’s remained as cold and calm as ever:

“I need to clarify three facts!

First: It was Sorsend who conjured the Sub-Lord’s Projection, not me.

Second: If I were in cahoots with Sorsend, you’d be dead already!

Third: If you have a good way to close that Abyss passage and deal with Sorsend… then you can take over my job. I’d be more than happy to help you hold off Ovakain, since that’s much easier than escaping from a Legendary powerhouse’s Projection!”

(End of Chapter)