Immortal Creed

Instance.

The scene changed.

Before their eyes, the vast whiteness had transformed into a battlefield where two armies clashed.

It was the stage before the battle truly began, before the two armies engaged in actual combat, with the Rebel Army gathering its formation.

Alfred almost immediately sensed the abnormal flow of elements on that side, and as the anomaly became more and more apparent, he understood that it was the method the Rebel Army was using to deal with him.

After all, he had already failed several times; if they didn't show any progress, he would truly have no reason to continue holding back.

"Attack immediately; the Rebel Army is preparing to launch some special attack."

Alfred spoke to the generals beside him with a feigned serious expression, and before they could react, he transformed into a streak of light and swiftly rushed towards the Rebel Army.

He could hold back, but he wouldn't do so carelessly. The elemental changes caused by the Rebel Army were already very obvious; if he still couldn't detect them, it would be like treating both sides as fools.

On the other side, Liens had a detached expression, and Lucrezia beside him could clearly sense the change in his aura.

At this moment, in her eyes, Liens seemed to merge with the surrounding environment, yet also appeared to transcend it, like a supreme deity descending upon the world, dominating this space.

"This feeling…"

Lucrezia frowned slightly, thoughts rising in her mind, and before she could carefully observe Liens's state, he had already transformed into a swift wind, rushing towards the battlefield at the border of the two armies.

"Clang!"

The sound of weapons clashing almost immediately followed. Watching Liens, who was repelled after a brief clash, Lucrezia knew this was not the time for overthinking.

Without hesitation, the moment Liens was sent flying, Lucrezia, along with the others, launched a fierce assault on Alfred, who was briefly paused in the center of the battlefield.

"Spear of Hellfire."

Several dark-red long spears, seemingly made of lava, instantly formed within the dark-red magic circle in front of Lucrezia, and then shot out at an extremely fast speed.

Almost instantly, those long spears crossed hundreds of meters, leaving dark-red afterimages in the air, like several rays of light from purgatory shining towards Alfred.

But these "lights" stopped abruptly in mid-air before they even reached Alfred.

"Extreme Wind!"

Liens murmured in his mind, his consciousness spreading. In an instant, all things came to a halt.

A phantom representing his consciousness emerged from Liens's body, but he did not immediately walk towards Alfred, who was not far away; he just stood still and waited silently.

He didn't have to wait long; almost in the blink of an eye, Alfred, in good condition, broke free from the mental suppression of "Extreme Wind."

And the moment his mental phantom emerged from his body, the two consciousnesses converged, and an invisible ripple spread. Time seemed to truly stop at this moment.

Liens silently watched the formation of the "Mental Battlefield." He could have stopped it, but he didn't.

If this were reality, he would suppress the formation of the Mental Battlefield through "Extreme Wind." That way, this battlefield would still belong to the domain of "Extreme Wind," and he could still have some initiative.

For example, dispelling "Extreme Wind" to avoid the clash of their consciousnesses.

But this was an Instance, so there was no need to waste that effort.

The so-called "Mental Battlefield" refers to the consciousness space formed when two or more consciousnesses converge.

Although multiple consciousnesses in the same consciousness space do not necessarily conflict, Liens's first encounter here was during his battle with Alfred, so he naturally named this place a battlefield.

When this consciousness space forms, escaping it is no longer up to Liens's personal will; it only happens when all consciousnesses within the space reach a consensus.

Alfred told him this, and he had verified it himself.

And to reach a consensus among all consciousnesses, besides unifying everyone's will, there is only one other way—

Kill!

No longer wasting time, as soon as the "Mental Battlefield" formed, Liens's mental phantom, wielding a sword, rushed towards Alfred at extreme speed.

Seeing the charging mental phantom, Alfred, who had just realized what was happening, couldn't help but frown, his eyes showing a genuine seriousness.

Fighting here was not like fighting outside; if one's consciousness was damaged, it couldn't be restored by a simple Healing Potion.

For him, who was about to charge towards the Legend realm, damage to his consciousness would greatly slow down his progress, and if the damage was severe, it would even affect his advancement.

Although he had some reservations, Alfred did not show any sign of fear in the face of Liens's charge.

He extended his right hand, condensing a sword from the void, and Alfred swung his sword horizontally, clashing with Liens's two swords.

"Clang!"

There was no sound in the Mental Battlefield, but the sound of weapons clashing resonated in the minds of both Liens and Alfred simultaneously.

That sound of clashing weapons was the cognition of Liens and Alfred regarding the collision of their two swords.

In the "Mental Battlefield," there are no elements, nor any blessings from heaven and earth.

Here, consciousness is the body, and cognition is the power. How much strength you can exert is based on the strength of your own consciousness and your level of cognition of all things.

It was also because of this characteristic of the "Mental Battlefield" that Liens chose to battle Alfred here. Nothing could demonstrate their mutual cognition better than a clash of consciousnesses.

Only here could he peel back the superficial appearance and directly experience Alfred's pure swordsmanship, without being casually sent flying by a single sword like outside, and without anyone disturbing them.

Of course, this did not mean he could defeat Alfred here.

The gap between him and Alfred was still very large. Whether in terms of mental strength or skill level, he was inferior to Alfred; it was just that, overall, the gap was not as large as outside.

"Clang! Clang! Clang…"

Blades continuously clashed. The two, using their consciousness as swords, constantly displayed their understanding of the world, power, and swordsmanship through the most perilous close-quarters combat.

"Swift Blade."

Azure wind swirled around Liens. After a brief charge, the long sword in his hand rapidly slashed forward, moving so fast that it left an azure sword mark in the air.

That wind was not an element, but a state of Elemental blessing simulated by Liens through his consciousness.

"Block."

Alfred did not panic at the suddenly accelerated sword. His expression was calm, and the long sword in his hand blocked in front of him, a faint glow flickering on the blade.

The two swords met, and Alfred easily blocked Liens's rapid slash, not even a tremble in his posture.

"Slash."

After blocking the attack, Alfred swung his sword in a counterattack. The glowing long sword quickly slashed out. Its speed was not too fast, at least not as fast as Liens's previous sword.

But Liens found that he had no room to dodge at all, as if he was locked onto by something in the dark, with only one option: to take the attack.

"Wind Iron Wall."

Liens trusted his feelings, so he once again expended a large amount of consciousness to simulate the elemental skill from the outside.

However, Alfred's slash was even heavier than he expected, and the 'Wind Iron Wall,' cast with a large expenditure of consciousness, failed to stop the long sword from slashing towards him.

The shadow of death seemed to be about to descend upon him.