Building An Empire Starting From The Labor Camp In Exile-Chapter 274: Pomora... was dead?

His gaze turned down to scan the trees for his master. His eyes turned toward the black tower once more. Terrix asked in a heavy voice, "You killed the Clan leader?"

Atrox’s voice rumbled in the air. "Kill? Are you talking about the rebel leader? I am the Clan leader! Atrox Soryu!"

Terrix shuddered as if he had swallowed something horrible that stuck in his throat. He looked around him, shifty, as if searching for something to help him.

Atrox read the hesitation on his face and asked, "What are you going to do now? Your leader is dead. The core that everything was gathered around no longer exists."

Terrix tensed, and then he relaxed. He smiled. "Then we will create a new core."

Light bloomed behind him like a new day taking wing. A feverish burst of brilliance spread around him for miles. The wings were like those of a bird of prey, and each feather was like a sword.

Golden armor formed around his body, and then he let out a roar as he raised a spear made entirely of light. His surroundings rippled with his power as aura twisted around him as if he were a small sun.

Pomora turned to the tower. "He’s taken a real battle mode, and all his power is unleashed. I’m afraid he’s trying to go all out."

Atrox smiled inside the tower. "Make a step of water around. I still have a sword with a lot of power left. Let me use it here. Don’t worry about me. I will make a law with this tower."

Pomora nodded, and then she raised her two hands. The dark, heavy clouds above her shook and trembled before they fell on her, crashing into her small form in crushing waves.

But instead of blowing her away, the waves began to shrink around her as if she were a sponge sucking in the water. More and more water joined the waves until she sucked the moisture right out of the air.

The rain that had been falling stopped, and the water condensed into her body.

But—

She wasn’t a sponge. Atrox watched in mild fascination as her body turned pale and soggy. Her skin turned blue, and her flesh looked as if it would break down at any moment.

Her face was swollen, but it didn’t reach the size of her stomach, which had swelled to the utmost. Her clothes had long since been ripped apart, and she was now covered in layers of dense water that hid her body.

"Well, this might be referred to as my battle form as well, Comma... Clan leader!" Pomora’s voice sounded as if it were coming from underwater.

A flash of silver light came out of the tower, and Atrox stood atop the platform created by the Master Knight. His sword was held firmly in his right hand, far away from touching his body. He nodded at Pomora, and at the same time, he declared, "No light is allowed here!"

A ripple left the tower like the surface of a river and covered the surroundings for several miles. The light coming from Terrix dimmed a little, as if a shadow had overlapped the golden hue.

But the man didn’t seem bothered by this. His eyes were on Atrox, and with a single push of his light wings, he blasted forward in a blur. The air cracked and groaned as if its barrier had been broken by Terrix’s movement.

"So fast!" Atrox exclaimed. He couldn’t even see Terrix at all. It was as if the man had disappeared. He knew that any Knight able to manipulate light was usually fast, but he’d never seen speed like that before. It left him staring wide-eyed at the space Terrix had been standing in.

It was as if the rule that Atrox had used with the tower wasn’t affecting him at all.

Atrox couldn’t see it, but the same couldn’t be said for Pomora. The water platform beneath him dissolved into a globe of water that encircled him like a shield.

"Stay out of things for now!" Pomora said impatiently, and then she was gone as well, leaving behind a blurred shadow of herself that seemed to be made of mist.

Atrox grumbled inside the water shield, but he wasn’t angry. He knew the limits of his own power and understood that the Master Knight rank was one he couldn’t punch through, even with the highest potential.

For the brief moment that the two fought, Atrox didn’t see them clearly, even though his eyes were locked on them with intensity. The last person he had seen move faster than that was Takoda when he was in his monster form.

All he saw was a streak of gold and bluish-black that clashed and then separated, only to clash again. And again. The sky was filled with shockwaves that even Atrox felt from his place.

If they had been on the ground, the place would have been destroyed.

Suddenly, two sets of wings lit up with feverish golden light, and for a brief moment, it was as if daylight had come. Atrox swallowed. "He’s really going all out? Is he stupid? His master is dead! Doesn’t he want to preserve his Clan?"

Atrox was angry. Just like Thrain had said, he didn’t want to make the Clan any weaker than it was right then. Why should they waste another Master Knight? 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

But Terrix didn’t hear Atrox’s thoughts. Instead, his golden wings bent, arching his back, and he stabbed downward. The golden light that lit his body drained to the tips of each wing... and then he stabbed downward with it.

Boom!

Twisting yellow light like twin stars suddenly lit up the air, and the ground shook as if countless thunderclaps had rained down. Even from his place, Atrox felt the scorching heat that the light brought along.

The golden light burned in the air for a long time before it faded.

All through it, Atrox’s hand was clenched, and his face narrowed. He was hardly breathing.

"...Is Pomora alright? That attack... it doesn’t seem like something she could defend against easily..."

This time, since there was no running around, he was able to see them clearly.

Pomora... was dead?