Nameless King



Many creatures were able to create clones - the quality, purpose, and number of clones varied depending on the strength of a person, but this ability could not be called unique.

Among Undeads, many were able to summon shadow clones - to distract opponents, to escape, and to conduct stealth attacks. However, such clones, like many others, were completely weak and could not convey even 1/1000 of the original.

However, sometimes clones could be quite strong opponents, a real weapon capable of forcing the enemy to use resources to destroy them.

Gael was a special case, as it was a waste of energy to use clones against such an opponent. After all, no matter how strong the clones were, they couldn't withstand the swing of his sword that could cut through anything.

It was obvious to everyone, as well as to Ereg, but that didn't stop him from using clones because they were different from everyone else.

"Crimson darkness...? What the hell is that?" Gael frowned, looking puzzled at the clones surrounding him on all sides.

Ereg smirked, "Nothing, much it's just a little invention of mine. I accidentally created them when I was trying to figure out how to best utilize my new attribute. I won't say they're my main trump card, but I'm sure they're unrivaled among battle clones."

Whooooooooooooooooooosh.

At the same moment, the ten clones attacked Gael again. Expectedly, they were faster than before, as well as stronger. However, their intelligence had also increased as much as it was possible with non-living creatures.

The clones weren't just running at Gael in a straight line, they were trying to trick him into attacking the clone that actually posed the least threat.

"Agh... I see... Well, like I said earlier none of this matters. Even if these clones become much stronger, I can easily deal with them." Gael uttered before stepping forward and swinging his sword from bottom to top.

His target was not any particular clone, since he summoned streams of ash that were like sharp blades quickly approaching the ten clones.

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

The clones bounced aside, trying to fight off the streams of ash with their sharp and sturdy claws, but their attempts were unsuccessful. The ash simply split into many pieces, into smaller blades, and pierced the clones from all sides.

"Hm? How interesting..." Gael muttered looking at the crimson sheath of the clones.

When a clone was supposed to die, it didn't, instead the crimson part just disintegrated into particles disappearing and leaving behind only natural darkness. This happened to every clone without exception.

Ereg wasn't upset that his clones had died once again, as his face had a satisfied smirk on it, and his arms were crossed over his chest. He wasn't worried and was confident in his victory.

"I see. These are truly extraordinary clones. Crimson layer isn't just an enhancement, but also an extra life to some extent, right?" Gael muttered, trying to make sense of the situation.

It was unlikely that the Go opponent would reveal his secrets, but Ereg didn't mind. After all, this whole fight was necessary so they could figure out who was the strongest now and how much they had evolved over a few hundred years.

There was no need to hide anything in this fight. After all, they themselves had chosen this format of their fight in the form of rounds. If they used their Forms, none of this would matter, the clones as well as the ashes would simply cease to be anything of significance.

Each of them realized this, also, they didn't want to put the audience in danger too soon. After all, even a fortified colosseum would hardly be able to withstand their full power.

"Yeah, and so it will continue until they are completely crimson ones. I'll give you a hint." Ereg smirked, leaning forward slightly, "There may be five layers in total, so considering you've killed my clones twice already, there are only three left to reach their final form."

Gael nodded quietly. In fact, he had assumed something like this based on the appearance of the clones. He had enough experience that he understood the essence of many skills at a glance.

"It's definitely an interesting ability. I haven't encountered anything like it before. However, fighting against clones is too boring." Gael calmly said, exhaled a cold vapor, and stepped forward.

Whooooooooooooooooosh.

In a heartbeat, he found himself right in front of Ereg, who didn't seem to be expecting this at all. His arms were still crossed over his chest, and the smirk was still on his face while the sharp sword with ash particles was heading straight for him.

In a split second the sword should have reached Ereg's neck, and their fight could have been over, but Ereg had been expecting Gael to try something like that from the start.

"Nice try." Ereg smirked before his body turned into a blob of darkness, in a heartbeat disappearing and ending up on the other side of the colosseum.

In Ereg's place appeared a clone, as they exchanged places, the ash blade easily passed through the clone that was now 2/5 composed of crimson darkness.

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

The Crimson layer shattered into small shards, then the clone fully recovered as it had another layer.

Gael frowned as he turned around, casting a hard stare at Ereg. The clone behind Gael tried to attack him, but as soon as the clone came into motion, two streams of ash cut it into multiple pieces twice, completely killing that one.

"You thought that was interesting? How many times do I have to kill these clones to get to you? A hundred? Five hundred? Maybe a thousand?" Gael frowned, before stepping forward and channeling energy to his sword that was covered in white energy.

Ereg was wary as the smirk disappeared from his face. He realized that Gael had had enough of this, and now it was his turn to use something more powerful to fight the clones.

"Even if there are a million clones, and they have ten crimson layers each, I can destroy every single one of them. You realize that perfectly well, but if I only use a sword it will take too long. I can't do that, or I'll just fall asleep in the middle of the fight." Gael uttered in a majestic tone before thrusting his sword into the ground.

Whoooooooooosh.

At the same moment, the sword slowly plunged into the ground, entering it like an etheric space and stopping before reaching the middle.

Then, the ground trembled as throughout the arena many sprouts appeared, thin and weak, but all they needed to grow was a bit of energy.

"Technically, I can create clones too, but I'd have to control each of them individually, so... I have a better option," Gael said calmly, as his eyes sparkled and he channeled a huge amount of energy into his sword.

Ereg became wary and swung his hand, sending all the clones straight at Gael. He couldn't let Gael finish his skill, or he would be in serious trouble. Ereg had already lost one round, and all he wanted to do was win especially after he said he wouldn't feel weak anymore.

However, as soon as the clones approached Gael, the streams of ash coming from the sword threw them aside. This ash was rather weak compared to what Gael could summon, but it was enough to prevent the clones from approaching the sword.

Nila's eyes grew darker as she nervously began to nibble her nails.

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Why does he always have some way to respond to the King's actions!" Nila exclaimed irritably, clearly wanting Gael to lose.

"Hah, looks like someone lost faith in Ereg, doesn't it?" Alucard smirked, glaring at Nila.

Nila's eyes went wide, "No! I didn't mean that at all! It's just... How's he supposed to win if Gael keeps finding something to answer with!"

Liang shook his head, "What did you expect? That Gael would stand still and let Ereg beat himself up? In that case, this fight would have no meaning, for either of them. Only winning a difficult fight can be valuable, and Gael, given his scars, understands that better than most."

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Under the energy and protection of the ash, the sprouts grew quickly, becoming six massive trees as great as ancient oaks. Their crowns burned brightly with white flames, and their bark occasionally emitted particles of ash, hovering around them like eternal companions unwilling to leave their home.

The nine clones tried one last time to attack Gael to do some damage and this time Gael did nothing. His sword remained motionless, and he simply pointed his hand forward like a commander giving orders to his squad.

Ereg's look changed, as if he realized what was about to happen, and he wasn't prepared for it.

"In this arena, there is no place for darkness while I am here." Gael said coldly as dozens of ashy roots emerged from the ground, piercing the clones.