The Dawn of the New World Chapter 1638

Hell, Hao Xuan could have arrived at the same conclusion on his own after one look at the demon's eyes.

It had met his gaze with a strange familiarity as if they already knew each other from somewhere, completely ignoring Gudmunder who was just an arm's reach away from him.

Hao Xuan's fist tightened, 'I can feel your blood,' he said inwardly.

[And I...yours] the demon responded.

'How can you...talk to me?' Hao Xuan questioned.

[Your blood...it calls to me...] the demon replied.

"...."

Hao Xuan's concerns grew. The demon was strong, much stronger than either of them expected but even worse- it had made a connection to the True Demon it was born from thanks to his blood.

[We will...battle!] the demon proclaimed.

Its bulging muscles flexed with such power that a shockwave was created from the sudden expansion. Its body grew for an instant before quickly shrinking to the same size as that of Hao Xuan's.

It was preparing for battle but when it saw the caution and hints of hesitation in his eyes it knew what he was thinking.

[Fight...me. Bring honor...to your bloodline...a warrior's death! Your life...for theirs...] he gestured towards the mine.

Hao Xuan could feel its overflowing battle intent. It was a demon through and through but it was only looking for a fight from him.

'You will leave them alone?' he asked just to be sure.

The demon gave a solemn nod, [A battle...to the death. Yours...or mine...]

Its words brought a smile to Hao Xuan's face. He had never heard of a demon who was willing to admit there was even a chance of losing a battle.

'Are you sure about that?' he cracked his neck, 'I was built to kill your kind.'

The demon, quite literally, welcomed him with open arms, [As...was I]

Hao Xuan's pupils narrowed to the size of pinholes as both his and the demon's figures flashed forward and met in mid-air the very next moment.

A fist meeting a fist, creating a crackling boom like that of a thunderstrike.

*BOOOOOM*

Gudmunder shot back into the nearest sand dune from the resulting shockwave as the last two magic circles around his wrists collapsed in on themselves.

He crawled out from the other side a moment later covering his bleeding ears.

The ground was shaking beneath his feet from all the clashes taking place more than 300 meters away.

He peaked his head over trying to see the fight but it was all a blur. They were moving faster than what he could see. But there was always a way!

Gudmunder used the excess blood to draw circles around his eyes while chanting a spell.

"Lu'kba tee ra mun rah!"

The moment the chant finished blood vessels propped up around his eyes while the scene turned clearer and clearer.

*BANG*BANG*BANG*BANG*

It sounded like canon fire but he was seeing skin clashing against bare skin in a monumental display of peak physical condition. For a second he had forgotten that one of them was a demon because you wouldn't be able to tell from a glance.

Wide-eyed, Gudmunder could not look away. Every strike, every single blow made by the demon was countered with absolute finesse by a mere human.

Elbows, knees, wrists, ankles- there was not a single part of the body that was not used in combat here.

*Craaackle*

*BOOOM*

Their legs fell against each other before they finally separated for good.

Hao Xuan used the blow's momentum to gracefully land near Gudmunder.

*Gulp*

Gudmunder couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva upon seeing Hao Xuan utterly unscathed after trading blows with the pseudo-demon.

"A-Are you okay?"

"For the moment," Hao Xuan muttered while rubbing his knuckles, "But I think he's going to fight for real now."

Gudmunder's already bulging eyes threatened to pop out entirely as he yelled, "That wasn't for real?!"

"No, he was just testing the waters," Hao Xuan informed the magician and soon he realized why.

The demonic energy that was so prevalent in the surroundings until just a moment ago was now nowhere to be found.

"He absorbed it!" Gudmunder exclaimed, "That's very...VERY bad!"

There was a hint of frenzy in the demon's eyes as it finished absorbing the last of the demonic energy. It had pushed itself to the very limits, reaching the height of the Fifth Stage Profound Realm before finally relenting.

*Gulp*

"That's really not good," Gudmunder said while scurrying over to Hao Xuan, "Don't move!"

He bit open his fingers and using all five fingers began making a magic circle on his back.

"What is this for?" Hao Xuan asked but the magician was too busy to answer.

He took out an energy crystal from somewhere and started chanting a spell.

"Ra'Lu Ma'Kabha Pero Tu La Mi!"

With the final letter, he smashed the crystal on his back.