Building An Empire Starting From The Labor Camp In Exile-Chapter 247: let’s kill each other

Cross didn’t seem to care. His face was hardened, and the veins on his hand stood against his skin as he held the sword up. "I don’t care. How dare you toy with me! This is my territory."

Tiber would have nodded in understanding if he could. Instead, he settled for a huff. "Seems you haven’t faced anyone really strong before."

Cross didn’t reply. He brought the sword down, edge gleaming in the air, but just then a pulse of black came out of Tiber.

It was his nightmare aura, but this was different. It was powered by a technique. Its sole job was to create fear. Deep, nightmarish fear that was inborn in everyone.

Cross didn’t know how, but he stopped swinging and jumped away from the place. His heart was beating so hard he could hear it, and his face was white as cold sweat covered him.

The sword he held dissolved, and he stared blankly at Tiber, his legs moving him involuntarily back. But then something settled on his mind. It was subtle, but it was there. He jerked forward as if his body was suddenly out of his control.

It wasn’t directly close to Tiber, but it was in front of him, directly where his head lay. Tiber had used the opportunity of the nightmare aura to hijack his mind and line him where his head was.

The branches holding him had loosened a little, and it was enough for him to open his mouth. Smoke curled around his flaring nostrils, and then he opened his mouth.

Fire blasted out of it, a rippling wave of scorching black fire. The heat was so intense Cross felt it immediately as it came out of Tiber’s mouth.

He froze for an instant, and it was nearly his undoing.

But then the forest rippled and twisted, the trees flickering before half of the forest collapsed and disappeared.

And Cross suddenly wore an armor of green. A shield flickered into place in front of him, a full-body shield. The wave of fire crashed into it, and it cracked, but it held, shielding the fire away from Cross.

Meanwhile, Tiber used the opportunity. He rose to his full height and struggled with the branches. Even as the thorns dug into his body, he didn’t care and ripped them away from him.

He growled and looked at his ruined wings in disgust. "It’s getting in the way."

His eyes darkened briefly, and his body shuddered as he went into his own mind swiftly. He already knew where he was going, and he ripped away some threads in his mind. It would grow again, but for now, Tiber didn’t need it.

He used his head to support himself on the ground, and then his two short hands gripped his wings firmly. With a crack, he ripped them away, bones and all.

But Tiber felt no pain. What he did earlier was temporarily block pain from entering his head.

In front of him, Cross froze. "You... you are sick."

Tiber didn’t deny it. His eyes turned, and he focused on the man, dark eyes locking on the green-armored knight. "I know, but this is something I cannot lose. Alright, boy, bring your attack."

Cross raised his sword, and all around him petals bloomed, each one closed, bending over something. Tiber stared at them warily and took a deep breath.

Then the petals opened up. Inside was a flower shoot. It looked like a small, straight branch. Each was turned on Tiber, and each glowed with unreleased power.

Tiber’s powerful limbs tensed, and he lurched himself into the air. The petals followed, swinging upward, and each sent a beam of green energy at him.

Tiber growled and opened his mouth. Black fire poured down like a wave, an intense rippling heat that shattered the attacks and wiped out the petals in one go.

He swung his head around, looking for Cross, but the man wasn’t where he should be. Tiber swung his head up, and right there with his sword lifted up and pressed tightly on his back was Cross.

Tiber could almost imagine his smile behind that helmet and the question. "How are you going to avoid this now, eh?"

Woosh!

A shockwave blasted behind Cross and threw the man forward. Tiber cursed. He made too much of a large target to accurately avoid Cross. In short, Cross had outmatched him.

Or had he? Tiber smiled, his neck stretched forward like a snake, seemingly accepting his fate. Cross crossed the distance between them in a blink. He let out a triumphant shout, and his sword slashed down on Tiber’s neck.

Time seemed to slow down to a crawl. The sword was so close, its edges already touching Tiber’s skin. And then, Tiber vanished. His great bulk compressed, and he turned into a human.

Cross was surprised, and his figure blurred forward. Meanwhile, Tiber had already changed back, and his mouth opened to spew forth a great wave of fire.

Cross didn’t have the time to create more than a small shield around himself. The momentum of the earlier attack, combined with Tiber’s fire, rammed him into the ground with bone-snapping force.

Tiber, on the other hand, also slammed into the ground, his whole body shuddering as he absorbed the force. He turned to where Cross was picking himself up.

The man swayed, and for a moment, his forest flickered as if it would disappear. His armor was cracked, and the one covering his head was gone, showing a bloodied face.

Tiber narrowed his eyes, black smoke curling out of his mouth. "Have you had enough? You look as if you can’t even see properly."

Cross didn’t reply. He seemed to be focusing on something, and then, with a snap, his forest disappeared. Green light rushed forward, wrapping around his limbs and body. His face healed, and his armor began to reconstruct around him.

Before long, he was standing there as if he’d never taken a hit. And behind him spread massive wings like that of an eagle. He flapped them, creating a gust of wind.

Tiber crouched. "This is really turning out to be really, really troublesome. I must admit, you are very strong."

Cross sneered, and his voice came out twisted. "I don’t need that from a dead man."

Tiber grunted. "Alright then, let’s kill each other."