Chapter 454: The New Ability of the Flowing Flame Sword

Long before the founding ceremony, Luo Ning had briefly sparred with Garrett.

At that time, to save his brother-in-law’s dignity and also to conceal his true strength, Luo Ning had voluntarily surrendered, ending their match.

He never expected this act would lead Garrett to mistakenly believe he was inferior in power.

“Since the Crown Prince has proposed a solution, I shall comply.”

Luo Ning spoke with an easy expression. “Ruidar, keep a close watch on Murphist. Don’t let him slip away.”

“Yes, my lord!”

In a flash, Ruidar darted behind Murphist, his speed so astonishing that Garrett and his accompanying knights paled, their hearts suddenly gripped by dread.

Yet deep inside, Garrett felt a secret relief.

Thankfully, Luo Ning had accepted his challenge. As long as he won again, just as last time, surely the other wouldn’t dare break his word publicly.

He drew the sword handed to him by the Swordmaster. “Come then, Luo Ning—let me see the foundation of your arrogance!”

Whoosh!

Before the echo faded, Garrett became a purple shadow hurtling toward Luo Ning.

From the very start, he unleashed everything, wielding his full might without restraint.

Luo Ning focused, ready to meet the assault—this was also a chance for him to test his current limits.

Clang!

The swords clashed with a thunderous ring.

Luo Ning felt the Flameflow Blade in his hand more responsive than ever. With each surge of battle aura, the blade seemed to amplify his strength even further.

Beyond that, he sensed something deeper—an elusive awareness, as if hidden powers within the Flameflow Blade awaited his discovery.

Battle aura roared. Luo Ning stood firm, rooted like a mountain, while Garrett was flung backward by the sheer force of impact.

“Impossible!”

Garrett’s face twisted in shock. In that single strike, he had felt an overwhelming pressure—unshakable, immovable.

How could Luo Ning possess such terrifying strength?

The knights who followed the Crown Prince stared in disbelief. They never imagined Garrett, hailed as the greatest among the younger generation, could be so thoroughly outmatched.

“Thunderous Roar!”

Purple lightning erupted wildly. Wherever the electric fox raced, craters exploded across the earth.

Garrett slashed forward—a savage storm of thunder engulfing Luo Ning’s entire field of vision.

At that moment, Luo Ning seemed to hear a voice from the Flameflow Blade—a whisper telling him that one swing of his sword would erase the thunder before him.

So he obeyed the instinct. He swung.

In an instant, space itself turned into a sea of fire.

Flames surged violently, forming a monstrous god of slaughter that devoured Garrett’s lightning in a heartbeat. Then, carrying its fury onward, it lunged toward Garrett himself.

The proud, arrogant Crown Prince now felt Death beckoning. His body went cold; fear, unlike anything he’d ever known, seized his soul.

“Protect the prince!”

“Hurry!”

His five guards threw themselves forward, rushing to intercept the residual blast.

But they were half a breath too late. Blazing fire swallowed Garrett whole, hurling him through the air like a meteor.

The five knights activated their battle-aura armors. Two caught Garrett’s battered body mid-flight, but the impact sent them flying as well.

The remaining three met the same fate—each hurled back, grievously wounded, crashing onto the barren highlands.

Thud!

The Flameflow Blade plunged deep into the ground. Luo Ning gasped, breath ragged.

That single strike had drained every drop of his battle aura—and consumed vast reserves of magic and mental strength.

Now, even lifting a finger felt like an impossible task.

“I should’ve known better than to use that move…”

Though inwardly cursing his recklessness, Luo Ning couldn’t help but marvel at the technique’s devastating power.

“This move… I’ll call it *Heavenfire Scorching Earth*.”

He named it silently in his heart.

When the inferno faded, the five knights struggled to rise—but Garrett lay motionless, staring blankly at the sky.

A crystalline energy shield around him slowly cracked and shattered—the remnants of an eighth-tier earth-element spell, *Sanctuary Armor*.

Without this life-saving magic, Garrett would already be unconscious, gravely injured.

Even so, his body burned with searing pain, bones feeling shattered, limbs disjointed.

But physical agony was secondary. The deepest wound was to his spirit.

He had never imagined losing to Luo Ning—let alone being crushed so utterly.

Two moves.

Only two moves.

Not only had Luo Ning defeated him, but he had felled all five of his elite escorts.

These men—three Meteor Knights, two others peak-level Golden warriors, famed commanders along the frontier—had fallen like wheat before a scythe.

On the other side, Murphist watched in utter terror. Such horrifying power—even if he absorbed more soul essence, even if he solidified his strength—he knew he could never stand against it.

Seeing Luo Ning leaning on his sword, panting heavily, Murphist saw his chance.

“Escape!”

In an instant, he transformed into a streak of dark light, fleeing madly.

But he hadn’t gone thirty meters when a crushing fist slammed into him, sending him tumbling across the ground, rolling endlessly before finally stopping.

“You can’t kill me!” Murphist shrieked, suddenly pointing at Jesus. “Kill me, and he dies too! He’s the king’s own brother—the blood of the Oduin royal house!”

Ruidar froze, glancing at Luo Ning.

The latter exhaled softly—one word: “Kill.”

A dying archmage versus a near-full-strength Solar Knight.

Murphist fought back desperately, casting spells like *Dark Bat Swarm*, but Ruidar dismantled each effortlessly.

With a sharp, piercing sound, Ruidar’s blade pierced through Murphist’s chest.

Battle aura flooded the wound, tearing through his insides like wildfire.

The Shadow Apostle, responsible for the suffering of hundreds of thousands, eyes wide, mouth agape, his pale face suddenly splitting with countless cracks—like parched earth under a merciless sun.

The fissures widened—then, with a deafening boom, his body exploded into dust, vanishing into the wind.

Floating in midair, the Sorcerer Soul Pearl fused within Murphist began to glow fiercely—then shattered with a violent burst.

“Graaah!”

Jesus, who had been fine moments ago, suddenly writhed as if choked, clawing at his throat—until, inevitably, he collapsed into death.

Yet compared to the other sorcerer-knights and soldiers, he at least died with his body intact—perhaps the only mercy granted.

Garrett had already been helped to his feet by his men. He watched the scene unfold in silence—offering no protest, no command.

His mind was still fixated on his own failure, unable to accept it.

At the same time, the knights fighting in the city below ceased their final clash, halting mid-battle.

The last thousand or so Wraith Knights, those remaining spectral warriors, writhed briefly before collapsing lifelessly to the ground, utterly motionless.

"Did we... win?" someone asked in disbelief.

"We won!"

"We've won!"

A single cheer rang out—then a second, then a third. In an instant, the entire battlefield erupted in jubilation.

Rulans panted heavily; it had been ages since he'd fought so fiercely. It felt like reliving the thrill and splendor of over thirty years past.

He gazed toward the distant peak. "Those who just perished—the end must have come from Rowan's doing. So... Murphist is truly dead?"

With that, he leapt into the air, soaring swiftly toward the mountaintop.

Meanwhile, on the far horizon, a flock of griffins approached—finally arriving: the royal griffin knights' squadron. (End of Chapter)